PovertyRow

That's a handsome coin right there! For me the grease is a good thing. It separates itself from a "regular" '25 and has wonderful toning to boot!

Well my first post in this modern format Board: aka an NGC forum that is now separate from the CGC (comics) forum. So don't let my post count fool you. Apparently it followed me from the comics boards! I remember clearly as a 9 year old in 1959 or 1960 going to a small coin shop in Newton MA and looking through the 25 cent box of miscellanea. I was intrigued by an 1804 US Half Cent. It has a very deep punch in it but was really cool to me. I especially loved the concept of such a denomination and was initially confused by the 1/200 on the reverse. The dealer explained it and I paid him my 25 cents for that coin. I was interested enough by that to buy the Red Book and studied it often. I used to go to banks with money I made shoveling snow from the neighbor's yards or cutting their lawns. Then I would get rolls of coins and pull out the old ones: Indian Cents, Barbers, Buffalo Nickels, SLQs etc. Even the occasional Shield Nickel. And that was how I built up my collection back then. The one thing it did was make me really like those coins that were no longer being minted, so that defines my current new collecting endeavor. So far everything I have bought have has slabbed, mainly NGC or ICG with a lone ANACs (old holder). Despite the negativity by some I have no issue with ICG, especially as I go for lower to mid grade older coins (with an occasional exception). I've only just started buying again but made sure at least one half cent, large cent, 2 cent, 3 cent (both nickel and trime), half dime and 20 cent along with various designs of regular denominations such as SLQ, shield nickel, seated liberty etc. are represented. I'll post a few here to get started. NGC slabs shown full. Others just cropped for the coin. No retirement pieces but just enjoyable snapshots of history.