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W.K.F.

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Journal Entries posted by W.K.F.

  1. W.K.F.
    I guess i'm a whore as this is just my latest love...
    Creating a complete set of fbl franklins is my goal. I thought that a set in 64 would satisfy me but I know it will not as I have already added several 65's and I have 5 in non fbl 66. I have been collecting coins in general since 1965 when my uncle gave me an 1810 large cent that he had found on some railroad tracks in st. marys ga. It had alot of pitting and just had it graded in 2006 and it came back from ncs as an 1810 over 9 with extra fine details. Only since the early 1980's have I had the means to expand into other items. I currently have all the mint and proof sets from 1950 to present. My other coins include graded gold in most all denominations and a complete washington quarter set in bu with only the two keys slabbed. I also have a complete set of all the proof silver eagles and one roll of each of the unc's. Lots of misc. silver and copper but my main love has been half dollars, having the short set of walkers in 64 all but two in 65 and all but four coins in 66. I have stopped on the walkers for the time being and have been hooked since mid 2006 on these franklin's. Being short of funds at the end of 2007 I have slowed quite a bit in my buying. I will say that for the most part my franklins have been purchased online at Teletrade. I have quite a few duplicates that I could sell to procur ones I dont have but once I buy a coin, to this day I have not been able to sell it. My daughter and my ex wife think I have a problem and I tend to agree. I do think there are worse problems to have. This is my main hobby, I just wish I could make a living at it. Oh well, happy hunting to all you franklin heads and look for me to be in at least the top ten by 2011 and maybe even higher if I can bring myself to sell something. I would just like to say what an honor it is to be in such great collecting company. A special thanks to Rick Tomaska for teaching this "dummy" so much in his "guide to franklin halves"
  2. W.K.F.
    I Am "Eat Up" With Collecting Walkers & FBL Franklins!!!!!
    I started collecting coins in the mid 60's but did'nt get serious until the late 80's when at that time I started buying slabbed coins. I also started getting proof and mint sets every year along with buying all the back dates where now I have proof and mint sets all the way back from 1950 to the present. Silver eagles caught my fancy and in 1996 I started buying a roll every year which I have continued to the present. It was a bit of luck starting when I did with these rolls, as the 116 dollars spent on the '96 turned out to be a heck of a deal. I hate I did not spring for the thousand bucks for the 4-piece gold with that special silver eagle attached in '95. Oh well, can't win em all. Several years later I got into buying gold in which at this point I have 11 type three liberty's and saints ranging from my best one which is a 1905 au 58 ngc and the rest are all ms 62's mostly s-mint late 1800's and early 1900's The best grade being an 1904 ms 63 that looks 64.The saints are all ms64's. My gold type set is complete with the exception of I have no ten dollar indian,one dollar and no four dollar stella. I know which of these last two that I will never own. Since 2005 I have continued buying gold and for somewhat of a novice I have had real good luck buying what looked to me like undergraded gold $2.50's and $5.00's and "cracking" them out to have them re-graded. The best jump was a 1910 $2.50 that went from a au 55 to an ms62 and I have had several liberty and indians that have gone from au 55's and 58's to ms 61's ms 62's. Only once did one come back the same grade and "knock on wood" never have I had one go down a grade. My main love during these last couple of years has started with the short set of walkers in which I have a pretty decent set going, ranked in the high 20's. But my latest "girlfriend" is those beautiful 35 coin set as in FBL Franklins and also the proof's in which while not the best in the "registry" on either I'm real proud to be in the company of so many other outstanding collectors. I think we all share the greatest hobby on the planet. Happy collecting to all!!!
  3. W.K.F.
    Sick and tired of "shady" dealers...
    How many times has this happened to you? or how many times have you heard of this happening to others? A dealer tries to sell a coin he or she claims is mint state when at best it's an au53 and then that same coin is offered to anouther dealer and they only want to pay ef45. This happens alot. I do beleive that a person just coming into our fine hobby cant help but get a "bad taste" and may say "screw coin collecting". I just received my latest issue of Coin World today and the only two articles on the front page display this exact problem. First a woman who was left several coins, not a hoard mind you, but a few silver dollars, some foreign coins and a silver half dollar. She then takes them to a local dealer and they offer her $100 for everything. They dont tell her that the "half" is an over date, one of less than ten in "captivity". Now I dont claim that the dealer should have been a "Capped Bust Half" expert but even the dummy I am, I can plainly see the "4" under the "7" and I'm blind in one eye and cant see out of the other one. Now if you ask me, I think they knew exactly what she had. This really "Stinks". Well after I got over this one, the next article talks about a man who goes several places with four $5 gold half eagles and everyone wants to give him $200 each. And what are they? They are mint state, just shy of "gem" with a "C" on the back. 1852 C that NGC graded two at 63 and two at 64. Can anyone look me in the eye and tell me a dealer cant tell mint state from bullion gold and exactly how many mints were around in 1852? Counting the 1850 D this dealer wanted to give this man $1000 dollars for 5 gold coins from a couple of the "rarest" mints around. With less than 20 of these 52's around in mint state not to mention the AU Ga. mint marked $5 this guy should have just "dropped his drawers" and backed into this "crooks" I mean dealers place of business. I am convinced that this happens "alot" and it's about time the people trying to pull this "" are exposed. I think next time I am going to let people know exactly how I feel! Any comments out there?
  4. W.K.F.
    "Forgot to give credit where credit was due"...
    I posted a journal yesterday that several people read and some could relate to, but in the "heat" of the moment I neglected to close on a more positive note. After reading the two front page articles in the Dec. 17th Coin World I had to put the mag. down I was so upset thinking about how many nice "Graded & Slabbed" coins are for sale and my imagination started to run wondering how many were bought by dealers for pennies on the dollar and were now for sale for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Thinking about the folks who brought them in to their local coin dealer to sell and were "ripped" off royally. As one who responded and "correctly so" most dealers will spend alot of time with "customers" who they want to return. But then their are those who do not know coins and have something to "sell", the time spent with them is more than likely just enough to purchase what they came in with for the least amount posible. This I have seen personally and some dealers even have the nerve to brag about what a great deal they got buying coins from a "little old lady" who did not realize what she had. There are shops like that in the city where I live. Needless to say I do no selling and little if any buying with them at all. On a more positive note, there is a medium size shop that "I DO" do business with. These guys and gals are as honest as the day is long and I have been known to go in, spend several hundred dollars and "hang out" for half a day. Really great people to do business with. I want to close by giving "MEGA KUDO'S to the "HONEST DEALER" Mike Joyce of Gulfcoast Coin and Jewelry. This fellow was honest & upfront with the guy who came in with the four 1852 C mint state $5 gold half eagles who others had tried to purchase for $200 each. Look at what has happened because he was honest. He has the pleasure and the monetary good fortune to be the one who auctions three out of the four along with anouther $5 gold 1850-D in AU. Tell me now, is'nt honesty the best policy. "What goes around comes around". My imagination is "running away with me" again, I wonder what happened to the other 1852-C? there is a "MS 64" that either the owner of the others decided to keep or do you think that because Mike was a "straght shooter" he purchased the fourth coin in a deal that was good for him as well as the seller. I would like to think "the latter" on that one... Any other comments out there? P.S. See Mike's ad on page 38 of the same issue of Coin World.
  5. W.K.F.

    " To Slab or not to Slab"?

    By W.K.F.,

    Lots of "Raw" Coins! Any advice from you all?
    Here I sit after Christmas looking at what I have and seeing what high grade coins are bringing, I wonder if I should send them in to the only two grading services I trust. This being NGC and PCGS. I bought two rolls of 1955-D washington quarters almost twenty years ago and just recently unwrapped them. I did not find any multi-colored toning, quite the contrary they are all "blast white". From the looks of them I dont think any would grade less than MS65 and the great majority would go MS66 & MS67 Now I am not a grader by any means and I am only going by what I see in the digital pictures at "Teletrade" The value of these low mintage quarters in high mint state grades, make the idea very tempting. I also have a mint roll of every Silver Eagle from 1986 on and I wonder how many 70's may be in those rolls. The few that I have opened (only two) appear to be perfect coins but what would the graders think. Along with the above there are all the Proof Silver Eagles I have from 1986 on, could these coins that look perfect to me be worth sending in as well? And last but not least all the mint and proof sets in clad and silver from 1950 on. This is such a hard decision as to send all of these in would cost a "small fortune". But if half came back with the grade they appear to be, this would be a "large fortune" I really dont want to "disturb" the rolls, nor do I want to "break open" the plastic but in order to get them graded that is what I would have to do. Anyway I suppose I will dwell on this for the rest of the year at least. I do hope all of you had a great Christmas and will have a safe New Year. Happy collecting to all!!! W.K.F.
  6. W.K.F.
    I thought I "missed the boat" on the Bald Eagle Set... P.S. 2007 burnished silver eagles still available?
    I am sure that many of you spent time trying to get thru for the mints latest "limited edition". I am currently unemployed so I do have the luxury of logging on at anytime to try to procure the mints latest "apple of temptation" Much to my dismay the mints web site goes down at "high noon" on the fifteenth just when I was ready to pull the trigger. I continued to try to get thru on the land line but was unable to even get to the point where I was even put on hold. This went on all day and up into the evening. At ten pm I gave up and was resolved to the fact that I had missed out. The next day around noon I thought just for "the heck of it" I would try again and "low and behold" I got past the "press or say one for english". I dont think I have ever been so happy to hear that they were experiencing a high "call volume" and my wait time was to be a good while. As I waited My mind was racing, thinking about how many sets were being sold as the minutes crept by. When the moment finally came when I was speaking to a "real person" I think I startled the lady with the "I want to order the new Bald Eagle set" Looking back I'm sure I sounded like the kid in the Christmas movie when Santa responded "You'll shoot your eye out kid" Anyway I got one complete with the proverbial confirmation number. I also was able to purchase one of the 2007 "burnished" unc. silver eagles that everyone is saying is sold out. It seems that per this mint person I was speaking with, the mint has cranked up the presses again for this issue. I asked her at least three times, are you sure it's the 2007 burnished unc. one? and she said yes each time. I guess only time will tell...
  7. W.K.F.
    2007 W Burnished Silver Eagle, Sold Out Or Not???
    I posted a note earlier today as to being surprized that the above mentioned SE was available when I placed my order today for the Bald Eagle Set. The mint person informed me that the demand was such that the mint had started producing more of them. There was a later post by kjohn that said the mint was out of boxes and now that they have more "boxes" the said eagles were being churned out again. My question is this: If kjohn knows this then I would think "the dealers" know this as well. I know why the dealers are saying the mint is sold out, as they are saying "act now"! and add one of these to your set for the low low price of $32.95 plus $5.00 shipping. What I would like to know is, is this legal? as in deceptive advertising? Anouther ploy I saw was the comparison to the 2006 W which is well over $100. Here again the beginner or the uninformed will end up paying 50% more had he or she bought one or more of these 2007 W from one of these dealers, instead of a US Mint purchase. I must say up untill today I was sure the mint was sold out and having bought the 20th anniversary silver set with the 2006 W, it would not have been too much longer and I would have bought one of these $38 dollar coins to keep my total set alive. It seems like every time I turn around dealers are giving our great hobby a "black eye". Next post I'll let you all know how I really feel... Happy Collecting to all and dont forget to watch your back, mostly that section where your wallet resides...
  8. W.K.F.
    Dont mean to complain, just trying to help with the hobby I LOVE
    Looking back at the few journals I have posted in retrospect, I sound as if I have a bad attitude toward dealers in general. This is not the case at all even if it appeared as such. I have known many dealers and collector/dealers that were as good as gold. They have gone out of their way to help, teach and share their knowledge freely. Having said that, it bothers me, maybe more than it should, the fact that some are not as honest as all of us would like. I have always been one to speak my mind, and to get involved when I see an injustice to anyone in life. This has almost gotten me into serious trouble on more than one occasion. My thoughts are that when we see something thats not honest or right, bring it up, expose it and inform others. If we dont, the apathy will do nothing but bring ill will to this hobby that I, and I'm sure most anyone reading this truely love and enjoy. I have subscriptions to Coin World, Coins, Coinage and Numismatic News and I did not see the article kjohn mentioned in his or her post, but I am sure that the dealers did or someone informed of the contents. Bottom line, I dont begrudge someone in business making a profit, that is the American way, I just have a problem with doing it dishonestly which I think is the case here. First impressions are very important and I am thinking about the new kid on the block who is taken advantage of. Sure they will learn by their mistakes as we all have, but I think it is sad and detrimental for them to be greeted into this wonderful hobby by a person or company who is not completely honest. I am convinced that it will forever leave a bad taste in their mouth. This will be the last negative post from me as in enough negative already, I am waiting for the mailman for a nice $5.00 2006 gold AE I picked up on Teletrade last week along with a few raw coins that NGC has graded and should be here any day now. Boy do I love this hobby! Happy Collecting To All... WKF