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Iowa Silver Baron Bammer

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Journal Entries posted by Iowa Silver Baron Bammer

  1. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer

    HK-338

    By Iowa Silver Baron Bammer,

    obverse photo
    Here's the other obverse picture. I also want to comment about the size of pics we can put in our journal's. I have the feeling the size has been increased by NGC, as I don't have to compress my pictures with the email choice in Picture Manager. Would this perception be correct?

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  2. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...an explanation!
    Well, probably everyone has noticed the wholesale (to a point) deletion of sets. I know I've touched on this in a few journal articles over the past year or so. Well, I've finally took some action.
    I really had to ask myself what my main interests are and how to achieve them on a limited budget. Well, the answer was to delete some sets so I could concentrate on my currency and what's really important to me. For example, while I like the clad Commemorative halves, the key word here is CLAD! So out they went, I will be keeping a few (Civil War and the Bald Eagle come quickly to mind) and the rest will be sold to raise some cash. I'm keeping the dollar commems, as my main interest has always been the historical aspects of coins and our great country. While my main interest has always been the West, I do enjoy all American history. Same way with my Canadian dollars, I do love the voyageur (did I spell that right???) and I do enjoy the historical ones in the set, so I kept it.
    Except for the Indian Head Cent and Buffalo Nickel, you may notice most all of the other sets are coins of either silver & gold. I think (while copper & nickel older coins are going to hold value, the large cents & half cents for example) I had to draw the line somewhere. The Indian Head Cent & Buffalo Nickel fit into my western theme. All in all, I"m happy with the way things are shaping up, I'll probably keep tweaking things throughout this year. I did remove the older commem set, as quite frankly, some of them I do not like even though they do represent some history. I"ll probably get a few more (Antietam & Stone Mountain for example) and put them in custom sets.
    Well I guess this is long enough. Picture for this journal is the reverse of the raw 1907 LIberty nickel I recently acquired.
    Thanks for reading.

  3. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    and I'm beginning to scan them
    I'm really happy tonight. Not because I received my lots I won in the recent 52 Collection auction at Stack's. What I'm really happy about is finding out a great local connection to one of the lots.
    I suppose technically this journal entry should be over on the currency side, as the main lot I wanted was used on Iowa obsolete currency. The lot in question was lot number 3860 in the 52 Collection sale. The lot consisted of a die proof vignette printed on India paper. The vignette is entitled "Iowa Arms". The catalog description noted the vignette was used on "State Bank Of Iowa $10 branch issue notes". Well, I pulled out my book entitled "Iowa Obsolete Notes and Scrip" by Dean G. Oates to check these notes out. Well, wonder of wonders, this vignette was used on State Bank notes issued in Dubuque, Des Moines, Burlington, Fort Madison and Keokuk. Possibly other branches as well, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
    Why haven't I gotten that far yet?? Well, I started reading about the Burlington, Fort Madison and Keokuk issues. These 3 cities are within a 40 mile radius of where I live, with Fort Madison being the closest at 14 miles, and is where I've worked for many years.
    It was also interesting to note (pun intended I guess) the people who signed (as President especially) the Fort Madison notes. Philip Viele signed as President, and there used to be a flag stop on the Santa Fe, named Viele. I'm really thinking the little town was named for the Viele family.
    Well, all for now, I really had to share my excitement on this lot. I've included a scan of it.
    Thanks for reading.

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  4. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...and we've had our 6 more weeks of winter in a day and a half. But this is a coin journal entry!
    Hi everyone,
    Well, it's a very, VERY white Groundhog's day here in southeastern Iowa. And before I go any further, my sympathy to the mideast and east who are probably getting the storm now that we had late Monday and yesterday.
    I have finally (with a little help from a friend) cleared some snow in front of my garage and a path made to my side garage door. We received somewhere around 16-18 inches the last day and a half. Of course, the wind was awful, and my deck has a 3 foot drift covering it. I don't really use my front door, so I figure it can sit and melt, but I needed to be able to back my cars from the garage, and a path for the paper lady and anyone who comes to visit. The wind swirls around my deck and driveway, so there were BIG drifts. I took a couple days vacation, fortunately where I work hasn't been too busy, so everything has worked out.
    The good thing about snow storms and blizzards is I can sit warm and snug in my house (I was worried about a power outage for about a half hour last night, fortunately it didn't happen). And what better thing to do than look at my coins and currency, take pictures and enjoy our wonderful hobby. (See, I said this would be a coin journal entry.)
    In my journals last week, I told about my purchases. One coin I forgot to mention was an 1879S Morgan dollar graded MS64. I have and 1879S already (MS65) but this particular coin was a Gold Reward perk from Teletrade. My points were getting up there, and after a year you lose them if you don't use them. So I redeemed some for coin, and promptly put it in my Wild West Silver & Gold from San Francisco custom set. I'm very happy with it, but I do need to say I love Morgan dollars.
    Also, I've been working on scanning my currency. I'm going to straighten some more images today, and hopefully within a few days have a custom set of World Currency set up. One of the first items that will be added is my 1908 German 100 mark note I purchased from Teletrade.
    The pic of the entry today is the reverse of the Morgan dollar, you can see both sides in my custom set.

  5. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    A continuation of my journal entry from 11/4...
    Yes, this is a continuation of my journal from a few days ago. The impetus for this entry was an editorial (I think) that I read a couple of years ago. The writer made the point there is just too many Canadian coins being produced and that the RCM should have to cut back.
     
     
     
    My feelings on the editorial are simple. Why would anyone complain about our great hobby, especially to complain there is too much of something. My point here is, unless my name is Eliasberg or Bass, I am never going to be able to afford a copy of every single coin. So what can we do?
     
     
     
    Speaking for myself, I have to decide on limits. What do I want to collect (I have never met any coin or piece of currency I do not like) and how much can I spend? Really, right now, the amount I can spend will be very simple to calculate, I have about an average of $850 of expenses every month. So, approximately 1/4 of the excess of that per month will be my limit. Ok, then what to collect.
     
     
     
    For examples here, I grew to love the Morgan dollar because my dad had saved several Morgans and Peace dollars. I think he loved, as I do, the feel of these big pieces of silver. Also, back when I was kid of 9 or 10 and was collecting, I thought the Liberty Nickel was the coolest thing since sliced bread. I still like them, along with Buffalo Nickels, Indian head cents and I have acquired an appreciation for the Large Cents and Half Cents. Competitive registry sets would too prohibitively expensive for me, so my solution is simple. I will either do some type sets, or use the Circulated Coin sets which only allow AU and below to be in the sets. Some of the coin series I like are fairly reasonable in grades of Fine to Extremely Fine. Or I can pick one really nice example of some of the coins I love and make a type set.
     
     
     
    This will be my goal for the next few years and I am hoping to be able to report on my journey for many years to come. Thanks for reading. My picture for this entry is a scanned picture of the Canadian $10 silver commemorative of the first Canadian banknote.

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  6. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...not many mother mint coins in my collection.
    Hello all,
    First, happy new year to everyone!!! I certainly hope 2011 is a great year for everyone.
    It's starting out OK for me. I have a Canadian nickel on the way for my Canadian Nickel set. Purchases have been slow lately, for a few reasons. Of course, Christmas time always leaves me a little short of cash. Secondly, there are 2 Stack's auctions coming up this month and as always, I have some watched items in both of them. So I need to watch my spending until the auctions are over. It seems I never have enough cash to buy everything I would like from auction, so I'll be thinking and watching to decide what I want to bid on. Finally, as you all may have noticed, I've deleted several sets. This goes back to an entry I wrote in 2010, I'm finding to do all the sets I wanted, cash was starting to be short again, so I've actually have finally defined my interests. (Yes I know I've said this before, but it's official now!!!)
    So, good bye to most all of my mother mint (Philaelphia) coins. The only sets that will contain any are the buffalo nickels, indian head cents, mint state Sac Dollars and commemoratives. I'm limiting myself to my Wild West theme and western mints. However I do love the 2 cent pieces, so that will be my one concession to the Philadelphia mint. Oh, my Franklin Half set is untouchable when it comes to pulling coins out, so Philadelpia coins will remain there.
    However, Philadelphia will be represented in my raw collection. I have a nice start on Liberty nickels and I'm also working on nickel three cent pieces and I've already written about my wheaties. Also, later date half and large cents will be represented as well.
    I'm really wanting to get back to the currency side. I've picked up a few more specimen notes (more recent years) and I'm still wanting to do research on my Mexican speciemen notes this year.
    So, I imagine 2011 will be another busy year coin and currency wise. I'm already starting to add coins to my Wild West mint custom sets.
    Picture for this journal entry will be my raw 1907 Liberty Nickel, the obverse.
    Thanks for reading.

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  7. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    With my interest in the West, am I wrong to not want to make a full set of Buffalo Nickels, Indian Head Cents and Oregon Trail Commeoratives?
    Hello all,
    In my last journal entry, you may recall I wrote my financial situation improved somewhat. Even though I haven't received all of the money yet, I'm at the point where I really want to improve my collections. As I've been pondering what sets to make and how I want to proceed with my currency, I came to a stunning revelation.
    This revelation is: "I'm having so much trouble deciding on sets and how to proceed came about because I FAILED to plan." My next thought was hearing my grandmother quoting one of her favorite sayings; "Plan your work and work your plan."
    So, last night a change has come over "collecting central" (my basement). I got out pen and paper and have begun to make a plan. Here are my "givens and druthers". Or to put it plainly, what I like and don't like. :-)
    Likes:
    Silver & Gold
    most 19th and early 20th century American coins
    The west and western mints
    Currency
    There are several series (Liberty Nickels, late date 1/2 and
    large cents) that I like enough where type sets could be
    an option.
    Dislikes:
    Anthony Dollars
    Presidential Dollars
    Lincoln cents memorial reverse
    Shield Nickels
    18th century coins (however these could be inbetween)
    So based on these, a lot of type sets are out, because practically all of my disklike are included. So my first dilemma I need to work out is: am I weird to like the Buffalo Nickel, Indiah Head Cent & Oregon Trail commems, but not want to do a full set? What I would really like to do are sets just of the western mints. And in the western mints, just do silver and gold, and include only those coins minted before 1964. But nowhere in the NGC list of registry sets can I find something like this, the cloesest I've come is one-per-year sets, that would work to some degree, but there are some coins I like where that isn't an option. This leads to my next dilemma!
    Which is, while I'm not all that hung up on registry points, I still have some competitive instincts picked up from playing baseball, here is my thought, if I do a one per year set, a lot of series have for example O and CC mints, or O and S, or O & D, and finally D or S mints. So I thought about making some custom sets, but would receive points for the aproximately half I would use in a 1 per year set.
    I guess I've rambled enough. But I WOULD love to hear opinions from some of you collectors.
    Finally, yes I got to it, I've had a wonderful Memorial Day, and to all the veterans here in the collector's society, Thank you very much for your service and sacrifice. And thank you to all the veterans (both past and present) in this great coundtry for all you have done for us. I'm breaking my tradition of a coin picture tonight, I'm instead adding a picture of my dad, who served in Europe in WW2 in an Antiaircraft battalion. TTHANKS DAD FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME AND OUR COUNTRY!

  8. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...won not 1, not 2, but 4 lots!!
    Hi everyone,
    Wow, what a great day! Several things were added to my collection today. First, I added 63 40% Kennedy halves to my silver hoard. The day I agreed to buy these halves (at $4 each), silver was up in the mid to high $28 dollar range. Consequently, I would have been up 25 cents per coin. I had to convert some stock into cash so I could pay for them (along with covering my bids in today's Stack's auction). Well, I silver closed down in the $26 range today, so I'm down 2 cents per coin. But that's ok, as I feel this is just a downward correction, I'm still very, VERY bullish on silver the next few years. We'll see what happens, I'm really in no hurry to sell any, this is more a fun thing for me to do as I have at least 4 years and 9 months till I can retire (at 62), and more years if I decide to wait until my full retirement age (66). So, I feel have time to speculate on silver, and it's (at least to my mind) always going to be worth something no matter what.
    The second purchase today (from the same gentleman I purchased the Kennedy's from, was a 1882 CC Morgan dollar in the GSA hard pack. I couldn't afford one of these back when they were originally being sold, so it's nice to be able to have this piece of numismatic history (although recent history to me). I would like to hear any suggestions and the reason for the suggestion from anyone here in the Society as to how I should handle it. I'm tempted to just leave it as it is. But then I wonder as how a NGC grade (even left in the hard pack) would affect value. After studying the coin tonight with a glass, I feel it would grade in the AU50 - MS62 range. The only downside to the coin is some toning (rather unattractive to me) on the lower right quadrant of the obverse. It looks to me possible from a bag covering it, but I could be mistaken. Normally I stay away from toned coins, so really have no comparison as to what caused the toning. Again, suggestions and reasoning would be appreciated.
    Now on to the Stack's auction. For those of you who are in my friend's list, and follow my journals, I've sold some of my coins, so I could return to one my big loves, currency! I love a crisp piece of currency, especially older currency and older foreign currency (Mexico and Latin America and Europe mainly). I also love adjunct pieces; engravings, proofs, stocks and impressions from the engravings. Well I got really lucky tonight. Today was Part 2 of The 52 Collection at Stack's. The 2 items I really wanted were Lots 3841 and 3860. Lot 3841 is an Archival Specimen Teller Order Certificate from the First National Bank of Deadwood, Dakota. This would be the Territory then, and as most of you probably know, I'm a huge Western history fan.
    Lot 3860 is a Die Proof Vignette of "Iows Arms", used, and I'm quoting the Stack's catalog, "on State Bank of Iowa notes".
    I was really afraid I wouldn't make it home from work in time to bid using Stack's live, so I left substantial maximum bids (substantial to me anyway). The max bids totaled $1300 for the pair. Well, to make a long story short, by the time I got home from work, did some things here that needed to be done and then got down to the computer and logged in to Stack's, it was 8 pm. I got really lucky, as they must have been running behind, they were about 9 lots before the first one on my watch list. So I got my mouse ready to bid, but I didn't have to, as my max bids stood up, and I won both lots for LESS than the max.
    So, I was able to bid on 2 other lots. First was lot 3876, which was titled "Die Proof Vignette of untitled Indian attack". I'd have to go back through my watch lists and catalogs, I really think I had a chance to by the actual ABN plate for this scene, but it went way more than I could afford when it was offered.
    The second lot was #3884. This lot consisted of 2 items, a Die Proof Vignette and a matching proof bill head from the Adams Express Company. Needless to say, both of these items fit in with my western theme, and I'm very happy to get them.
    I'll quit now, hope I haven't bored all the coin collectors with this.
    I'll attach a pic of the obverse of the 1882CC Morgan to make up. :-)
    Thanks for reading.

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  9. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    even though I haven't added any currency yet.
    Hi all,
    Yes, I'm happy. First, I need to give thanks to Kerry & Rick. Thank you both for helping me out.
    I'm happy with the direction my collection is going, even though I haven't purchased any new pieces of currency yet. I had hoped to bid on a couple of items in the just completed Bowers/Stacks auction, but didn't. I believe I've noted before that it seems like currency is slowly rising in price. That's good as far as I'm concerned, as there are some gorgeous notes out there, both US and world. However, the notes I was interested in went way over estimate, so I held off from buying. But that's ok, I'll keep looking, and I've found some notes here that need to be sent in for grading, so I'm thinking I may do that first, all the while watching auctions. I do have a couple of lots on my watch list in next Monday's Teletrade auction. Maybe I'll have better luck with those.
    However, all is not lost on the purchasing front. I don't know if I've mentioned, but I am tryint to emulate Kerry by buying silver. Well, today I hit the jackpot, I purchased $39 worth in the minor denominations, plus a junk Peace dollar, and 16 40% Kennedy halves. I paid a little higher price than I wanted, but if silver keeps going up like it did today, I'll be ok.
    A month or so ago, I did purchase this medal (silver round?). I did it more on a lark than anything, as it certainly fits in with my western theme collection. I've attached a pic of one side. I'll try to be a little more regular with my journals, so I can post the other side.

  10. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    appreciate the feedback
    I hadn't really planned on writing another entry tonight. I have a journal started in my head for tomorrow or Friday, as I had other good (at least to me) purchases before I even started bidding in the Stack's auction.
    What I really want to do tonight is to thank everyone for the VERY positive feedback, both on my journal entry and my purchases. I do appreciate the replies on the forum, I just finished reading them, and even though I've been a member here now for several years, I'm still amazed at the breadth of knowledge of our members, and how willing everyone is to share their knowledge. I especially appreciated the toning info.
    Also, I appreciated the feedback from W.K.F., J Lloyd YOung and others who sent me messages. I don't mean to slight anyone, so to all of you who messaged me, posted a message in the forum, or whatever, here's a big THANK YOU!!!!!!
    That's all for tonight, I'll try to post a pic of the obverse of the Morgan in the next few days. Keep on the lookout for at least one more journal entry this week.
    Thanks again to all.
    Bammer
  11. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...just when you get ahead, some problem rears it's ugly head.
    I think I jinxed myself. Back in May, on the 23rd I think, I wrote a journal entry saying how my financial situation had improved and I had some extra cash to spend on my coin passion. Well wouldn't you know it, something always happens to me to muck up my plans.
    We've been getting a lot of rain here in southeastern Iowa, and of course, my roof started to leak (although only in one place). Well, I knew this time would come, as my brother had told me a couple of years ago to start thinking about redoing the roof. We were hoping to get by till next spring, in fact I already had gotten myself on the work list of one contractor. Well, to make a long story short, he got me in this week and I was lucky enough to have the lumber yard have some good shingles (30 year guarantee) available at a good price. So bright and early this morning, work started on my roof. They really got a lot accomplished today, when I came home from work tonight, there were a bunch of shingle bundles up on the roof. So hopefully they'll have it finished in a couple of days.
    Anyway, that extra money is no more, we had some in our farm account to pay most of the bill, it's going to take my extra to take care of the shingles.
    I know this isn't a coin entry per se, but it does affect what can be spent on coins. So I'll work on photographs and keep watching auctions for lower price coins till we can get a stash built back up.
    Picture of the entry is the reverse of my 1942-D Merc.

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  12. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...but I didn't share purchases leading up to Tuesday.
    Hi all, I'm still on a high from my good day on Tuesday. What I didn't talk about though, in that journal entry, was purchases leading up to it.
    I do purchase some raw coins and one good company I've found to purchase from is Halan J. Berk in Chicago. I have bought several items (maybe even more than several) from them in the last couple of years. It came as a surprise to me though, the week between Christmas and New Year's, to get a $50 gift certificate from them to thank me for my business. Well, I think this was a very kind and thoughtful gesture on their part, I certainly wasn't expecting anything. Anyway, last Saturday I was browsing their newly listed coin section and spotted an 1882-S Morgan dollar. Well, their pictures of the coin were awesome. The coin is graded MS-63, and there was an extreme lack of contack marks. So I debated all weekend, on Monday morning I called them up, asked if it was available. They said it still was, so I asked if the coin was really as awesome as their pictures showed. The gentleman I talked to said "well, there are a few slight marks, but yes the pictures was a good representation in his opinion". So I used my gift certificate, as they had the coin priced at $50, just the amount of my certificate. I had to ante up the shipping but that's ok as I'm not that far from Chicago. Well, I'm here to tell you, it's an awesome coin, all the more so for being a 63. I'll post pictures of it soon.
    Well, then Monday night on the Teletrade auction I had a 1908 100 Mark note from Germany on my watchlist. The more I looked at it, the more the vivid colors (red serial numbers especially) popped out at me. Well, you all know I'm trying to pick up more currency, and Germany is one my countries I look for, as my ancestors came from there in the mid 1800's. Well, needless to say, the note has a new home, I haven't received it yet, but hoping to get it yet this week. Again, I'm planning on posting pictures
    Well, that's all for now. Don't know what I'm going to do for an encore.
    Picture of the entry is the reverse of my 1882 CC dollar.
    Thanks for reading.

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  13. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    currency, raw indian head cent, another photo of a Stack's lot etc.
    I've been meaning to write this entry for about a week now I guess. I've put it off, it's a lot more fun to be looking at currency auctions at Teletrade and Denly's currency inventory rather than writing a journal. :-)
    Thanks to Rick's & Kerry's generousity, I'm ready to pull the trigger and place some currency bids this comming week. I hope I can win at least one lot, but we'll have to wait and see. The only downside I can see about getting back on track with currency is I think I'm getting back in during a rising market. It seems to me (and I must admit, this has been a very unscientific survey) that currency is starting to take off big time. Seems like lots that used to bring $100 to $125 are now bringing anywhere from $200 to $250, and so on for higher value notes. Oh well, I guess that's good in a way, it means the notes I already have are possibly going up in value too.
    I have 3 lots in my tracking list in next Monday's Teletrade auction. One of the notes is a $2 legal tender for my registry set. Another is a Bahama 4 shillings note that I think is pretty. The final lot is a $1 silver certificate with the Hawaii overprint. These notes (along with the Africa silver certificates) intrigue me, as they're intertwined with WW2 history. I may make a denomination set of the Hawaii ones, will have to see how values run on them first before I deicide for sure.
    I see silver is back down a little bit today. High $35 range. I know yesterday it was well up into the $36 range, and while I was at the coin shop late yesterday afternoon, the lady there said it was pushing $37. That's ok with me, my 61 ounces is looking better and better, even at $35/ounce. Speaking of the coin shop, I was glad to be able to stop in yesterday afternoon after my doctor's appointments. I've been having foot problems and pain, and I'm trying to get them fixed as I'm tired of having to take vacation days because they're hurting so bad. Anyway, I did pick up a raw 1907 Indian Head cent for my raw collection. I think it has been cleaned in the past, but it still looks nice, so I'm ok with a cleaned coin for my raw set. It's nice to have the coin shop fairly close by (22 miles). It seems they always have something for me to look at and possibly purchase, even though it' only an Indian Head Cent.
    I don't know how the Stack's and Bowers-Merena merger is going to affect me. Stack's has always had lots that really interest and intrigue me. I don't know if they'll keep having these lots (especially ABN plates and proofs etc.) Guess I'll have to wait and see.
    Well, I guess this is enough for now. My photo this entry is a pic of one of the lots I won at the recent Stack's auction. It's an Adam's Express stock header, I think it's really cool.

  14. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    Whitman Boxes
    Hi All,
    I believe Six Mile Rick has a good idea with the coin storage boxes. I use the Whitman boxes as they can hold both PCGS and NGC slabs. I order from JP's Corner, they're located in Monroe City, Missouri. Their service is great, and their prices are reasonable. I also order the Air Tite coin holders from them. JP's carries all three boxes that has been discussed here. Their prices for the boxes are: NGC box $8.95, PCGS box $6.95 and the Whitman box is $7.95.
    I've placed several orders with them in the past and haven't had a bit of trouble with them and have always gotten great service. Shipping time has been great but I should say I only live about a half days drive from them. They're in Missouri and I'm in the southeast corner of Iowa.
    Hope this helps.
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  15. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...at a reasonable price
    Hi all,
    Well, I broke the ice this weekend. I finally found a piece of currency which didn't go way over estimate. I was browsing Teletrade Monday night and found a 1928F Small $2 Legal Tender note. The note was very nice, EPQ and most important right around FMV. So it's now on it's way to collecting central here. I'm ready to add it to my set. Thanks Rick, I'll scan it so you can see it! :-)
    While I was browsing Teletrade, I also found a 1978S proof Ike Dollar I needed, and also bought a First Day silver ATB quarter. I only need 2 more Ikes for my proof set.
    I'm hoping for a silver only ATB quarter set, like the state quarters set. PLease NGC will you make one?
    All for now. Pic of the entry is the reverse of the gold plated silver medal I recently purchased.

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  16. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    One benefit possibly will be higher grades.
    Hi all,
    Well, I know I've been waffling on this for the last year. On Wednesday night (? I think it was) I took the big plunge. Some of you who have followed my sets have probably already noticed my Franklin FBL set is gone, along with several other sets. I've decided to delete them, sell a major portion of my coins so I can afford some more currency. I've come to the conclusion that my interests I've held long term is the way to go.
    What I'm going to do is concentrate a lot more on top graded currency (65EPQ and better) and coins that fit into my Western theme. There will be some coins included which fit in with my other major interests, namely World War 2 and railroads.
    Silver and gold will be my major focus, I see NGC has gold registry sets by mint, so I will be paying attention to these, and then putting silver coins in Custom sets grouped by Western mint. Of course, these mints will be New Orleans, Denver, Carson City and San Francisco. A few PHiladelphia coins will be found in various custom sets. One example is a 1964 Kennedy half my mom gave me, it will be included in my "Brian's Beauties" custom set.
    My major world interests will be Mexico, South America and Germany (and states) gold and silver. They will be ound in various custom sets also.
    This decision will also give me time to really work on my custom sets. I know I've given my major set "The Wild, Wild West" hardly any attention this past year. This will definitely change. I've look at some other member's set which have won "Best Presented" awards and really want to try to go up to their level. There are some AWESOME sets here, and I applaud the member's efforts. I hope I'm good enough to try to emulate them.
    I'll also still be working on my photography skills. I've noticed some other members here also that have some gorgeous pictures. This is one thing I love about the Collector's Society, the desire to have superb sets, and it spurs me on to try to make mine better.
    Currency of course will be a major part of my collecting hobby. I'm watching a Stack's/Bowers auction along with Lyn Knight. I don't know how many notes I"ll be buying right off, financial constraints for probably the rest of the year will slow me down, but I hope to keep plugging away.
    Well, enough for now. My photo this entry is a coin I came across as I've been sorting through everything, trying to sort out a bunch to sell. Anyway, the coin is a Peru 20 Soles commemorating a naval battle centennial.
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  17. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...still happy on my set choices.
    2011 is practically half over so I'd thought I'd look back on the year so far. First, I'm happy with the sets I have right now. The only new one I might add is Mexican 8 Reales minted in Mexico City. Like my Centavo set, if I do make the 8 Reales set, I don't know how finished it will become. But I do love silver so that may make a difference.
    Secondly, I've almost finished my Ike dollar proof set. I needed 2 to have a full set, and I received the 1977S clad today. So I just need the 1974S clad to have the set complete.
    I have also bought a few coins for my western mints silver. I believe I wrote about the 1841-O dime I purchased a few weeks ago. Today I received a nice 1942-D Merc, graded 66FB, and I have a 1945-D graded 65FB coming. For right now, I've decided just to do the silver sets I like (example, I don't know why, but I don't care for the Roosevelt Dime or the Washington Quarter). However I do like the state quarter and ATB silver proofs. Go figure I guess.
    I'm still looking for currency. I've bid on 3 pieces in the last month, but all went for strong prices, so I didn't get any of them. Not that bothers me I guess, strong prices in auction means better prices for what I have.
    Well, I'm going to post the obverse of 42-D Merc as my pic of the journal today.

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  18. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    13 coins in quality control
    Things are looking up! The registered package that was floating around in Chicago has been received by NGC!!!!!!!!!!!! I was starting to worry, but now my worry can be what grades will I receive. :-) I have high hopes for my 1883 Carson City Morgan dollar. I bought it raw because it looked so good. I sure hope the graders agree with me. My 13 coin submission which was received on the 24th of June is in Quality Control. I'm hoping for at least 2 70's, I thought both Franklin commems deserve the perfect grade.
    I'm still working on my photos. It's turning out to be a long process, but I feel the results will be worth the work. My photo for this journal entry will be the obverse of HK-302. This so-called dollar commemorates the Louisiana Purchase and was issued in 1904. I'm very pleased with how this photo turned out. This is how I'm expecting all my photos to look. I hope you all like it.

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  19. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    Looked thru a bunch of Lincoln Wheaties!
    Well, my Lincoln wheat penny albums are a little fuller tonight. My project for this week, as I'm on vacation after having some dental surgery yesterday, was to look thru close to 10 rolls of wheat cents.
    Some things surprised me. I thought I would find more D and S mints than I did. However, the most common coin I found was the 1957-D, which doesn't surprise me since I live west of the Missippi River, but other than those, some 56's and 58's, I didn't find too many others. Maybe I should explain, for those of you who didn't read my previous post, these coins were pulled out of circulation by our local small town bank. In fact, I was amazed at just how many 57-D's I found, I was guessing about 20 per cent out of 10 rolls, and in the last 2 rolls I searched, it came out to 15%. Yes 15 out of 100 were 57-D's, so I'm estimating now between 15 and 20 per cent of the coins were 57's.
    Anyway, out of all these, I found 22 coins for my folders. The earliest was a 1910 and a 1911. Bother were in fairly bac shape, pitted and corroded, but until I can find better ones at a reasonable price, they stay. One good thing though, my friendly banker said I could replace the 22 with 22 duplicate wheaties I have in a tube here at "collecting central". So all I have in my folders have only cost me a penny a piece. Not too bad I'd say.
    Anyway that's my wheaties report. I'm going to work on my pictures the rest of the week, and hopefully Thursday night right my more or less end of the year report before set & journal judging begins. Good luck to everyone for the awards.
    My coin for this entry is the obverse of a raw 1953 Great Britain crown.

  20. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    Westward Journey Circulated Registry Set
    Hi Everyone,
    First off, I must start by giving thanks to a very helpful lady at NGC. I would put in her name, but I"m afraid I would really mis-spell her name, but she knows who she is. Anyway, I had called a few weeks ago to inquire if a Westward Journey Nickel circulation and proof sets could be added to the registry. Well, today, while I was out doing my errands, my cell phone rang. It was this very helpful lady calling to let me know the circulation Westward Journey Nickel set would be added by the end of the day. When I got home, I checked, and sure enough, there it was!!! So, I immediately made a set, and I'm a very happy camper right now. :-) So, THANK YOU to NGC and their wonderful staff.
    I've been musing and thinking about registry sets also today. As many of you who have been following my journals know, I'm a big Western buff, and my coins reflect this interest. But there are a handful of registry sets I do miss. A prime example is modern commemoratives. Now here's my problem; or maybe I should say dilemma. While registry points aren't a top priority, I still to some extent like the competition. So, I've been musing about adding a commemorative regsitry set, but the problem is, it will never be complete because quite frankly, there are some I just plain out don't like. Some examples are some of the Olympic issues. While I enjoy watching the Olympics (both summer and winter) I think some of the designs are, well boring to say the least, plus there are a lot of them. Except for the baseball half, I don't care if I have any of the others. Now, what does everyone think about registry sets which will never, ever be complete. All I would be doing is going for points. Well, guess I will keep thinking on this.
    My picture of the entry is a teaser for Jackson. I know how you like ships Jackson, so feast your eyes on this gorgeous engraving of Nelson's ship on this advertising piece from Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd. This firm is (was) an English concern, who (as the piece says) designed, engraved & printed bank notes, etc. etc.
    Hope you all like it, I think it's stunning! I purchased it from a (who else?) Stack's auction a year or so ago, just getting around to scanning it.

  21. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...finally figured out the tint and more.
    At last, I feel like I'm getting there in regards to my pictures. The big thing I learned was: the green tint was not coming from my ceiling, but from the light source, and how I was positioning the coin. I tried the different white balance settings on my cam, and found the automatic was probably the best for my light source and how I position the coin. At least for right now anyway.
    Silver coins are still picking up a little more, but I'm confident I can get very adequate pictures now. I may still have a little tint in them, but it all boils down to money. I could buy some good photo light sources, I looked at some on eBay and they were more than I wanted to pay. So I thought, do I want to buy the lights, or put that money to more coins and make due with what I have now that I know how to overcome the bulk of the tint. Well, you all can probably imagine my choice. I'd rather have a 90% good picture and not buy the lights, so I can put more money to coins.
    I also found out that possibly the holders have a slight impact on it. A while back (November I guess) I bought a Mexican 1903 peso at a local coin show. Rather than get it graded right now, I put it in an Airtite holder. There is a story behind why I like the pesos, I'll leave it for another journal article if anyone is interested. Anyway, I popped it out of the holder, and it came out really well I thought. I'm attaching a pic of the peso so you can see my photo progress.
    Anyway, now I'll be adding more pics to my sets as I get some taken.
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  22. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    Lighting is KEY!
    A week sure has made a difference for me. Last Thursday I sent 2 5-coin submissions for grading. The only bad thing is NGC hasn't received them yet, our local postmaster told me Friday that the Chicago registered mail office (facility?) is moving, and that's where he thinks the package is. Let's hope he's right, as (of course as my luck would have it) this submission is most valuable. Then on Monday, I sent a 13 coin submission which NGC has in the "Received" status. I'll try to keep everyone informed of what's happening with these submissions, and please keep your fingers crossed that the submission in Chicago gets to NGC SOON!!
    I've also received several purchases the past week. Nothing too major, but still they fill some slots. I do have 2 Franklin FBL's on my watchlist at David Lawrence, they're in the upcoming Thursday auction. As usual, I have several coins on my Teletrade watch lists. Again, nothing too major, but these will fill several slots.
    As I mentioned in my last entry, my major purchasing focus is on 2 items in the upcoming (Tuesday the 29th) auction at Stack's. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to take a vacation day that day as I would like to do, so I'll be figuring out maximum bids high enough so I can win the auctions. Please wish me luck!!
    As for my pictures, LIGHTING IS KEY!!!!!!!!! I've finally hit on the (more or less) correct combination of lights. 2 lights, positioned at 10 and 2 o'clock gives excellent coverage. I have noticed a few coins where I'll either be adjusting the position or adding a third light, but I can't describe the feeling of finally figuring out how to get good pictures. I'm attaching the obverse of my 1902-O Morgan dollar. It's a nice, lustrous coin and I"m really happy with the result.
    Thanks for reading.

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  23. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    I like the new features (so far) but have a couple of nit pics!
    Hello all,
    I meant to write a grading update journal entry before the site upgrade; I'm really glad I waited. I've been checking things out tonight and do not have any major complaints (so far). However, I do have a couple of nit picks, but must say first, they're nit picks only in the respect of how I like to see my coin info.
    I'll give a specific example, just in case NGC would like to help out (HINT HINT) :-). I currently have 3 coins in my 1849 mint set, and one of them is my 1849 large cent. I originally purchased the coin in 2007, it was graded by ANACS. So I crossed it over, at a cost to me of $14.40. No problem with that especially since it went up from AU50 to AU53. What I do have a problem with is this: I put the original cost of the coin ($123.20) in the purchase price field, and the crossover grading fee ($14.40) in the purchase fees column. I feel the total is the true cost of my coin. What I'd like to see when I look at my set in My Collection is the purchase price field, then the purchase fees field, and finally a Total cost field. But I would be happy to have just the Total cost field to show up. My reasoning is as follows: in a few years, I have a computer crash and all my collection software data is lost; this site is a good backup method (we can never have enough backups can we?) and I may forget exactly all my costs and fees. It sure would be nice to be to see at a glance all pertinant info. However in the coin view, the total shows up, which is nice.
    My second nitpick is the entry of the date purchase (and I would assume sale date field also). I'd like to just to be able to enter the date from my keyboard without having to use the drop down arrows. Not that I want to see the drop down arrows disappear, it just happens I can enter this type of data faster from my keyboard.
    Otherwise, from what I've seen of the site, I like it.
    Now for my grading update. My second batch of coins are back. The grades were pretty much as I thought; 2 good news and 1 bad news. The good news is 2 70's from my bald eagle commmemorative submissions along with 2 69's. I can live (happily ever after) with those. However, I was disappointed though with my 1853-O gold dollar. I really did not think it had been cleaned. I was right on my estimate of the grade, as it came back AU details, but improperly cleaned. Oh well, I keep learning, and since I want to put the coin in my Western Mints signature set, I don't have a problem with it being cleaned.
    Sorry NGC, one more nitpick. For journal entries, please make the same size requirement as the gallery. I really am getting tired having to compress the pics twice.
    Anyway, otherwise, nice job NGC.
    Coin of the journal entry is the obverse of my recently acquired 1962 New Mexico medal.

  24. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    ...a journal entry I said I would write.
    Finally, I have some time to sit down and write an entry. I've been busy scanning my graded and raw currency to send to a the software company whose program I use to keep track of my coins & currency. I'm also finishing up some photos of my coins, but I'm still having some issues with my proof Sac dollars. Oh well, guess I'm learning something every day.
    In an earlier entry, I said I was going to write a couple of entries about my raw coins and sets. I have come to the conclusion I can't make decent registry sets of all the coins I like. The big problem of course is financial. For example, I truly love the Liberty Nickel. Along with the Morgan dollar, the Liberty Nickel is a design that caught my fancy when I collected as a boy, and it still has attractions now, close to 50 years later. I would love to put together a registry set of these, but to have any kind of set, even in the top 25 or so, would cost me more than I could dream of having. So I believe the next best thing will be to make a raw set in lower grades. To me, an attractive EF coin (or even VF) is still a coin worth having. I also believe the same criteria we look for in a top graded coin also apply to the circulated grades.
    Another couple of sets I'm really starting to like are the later issues of half & large cents. Both coins are really starting to "grow" on me. I can forsee making sets of these two coins in the future, again in lower circulated grades. Pricing will be a factor of course, with an eye to quality.
    The other main point of this (and possible one more) journal entries is "What dealers have other members found to be accurate in their grading and descriptions, and fair in price?" I was going to go both ways, both good and bad, but I think it's best for now to talk about the good.
    One dealer I have found, that I like and feel grade accurately, is Harlan J. Berk in Chicago. His descriptions seem fair and complete to me. If he feels the coin has been cleaned, he says so in his description, and will also identify other that affect the coin's value and eye appeal. For example, he will list rim bumps, scratches, etc. I also feel his prices are in line with what the coin's value is. I'm eager to hear from other members their experiences with various dealers.
    As my custom, I'm attaching a photo of a raw 1912 Liberty Nickel.
    Thanks for reading.

  25. Iowa Silver Baron Bammer
    and other ramblings.
    Since I posted my last journal entry, the days have flown by. Between work, home improvements and really doing some thinking on my collection.
    First off, I have 2 more competitive sets to add. I decided my name here (Iowa Silver Baron Bammer) should be one of two components of my collection. However there will be some gold (for example my Carson City type set and a little foreign gold). The second major focus will be the west, as evidenced by my (soon to be updated) Wild Wild West custom set and my western mint custom sets. The mint custom sets will only be in existence until (or if) NGC decides to do by mint sets for silver as they do now for gold (my New Orleans gold set). Included in all of this will be a 19th century type set, so a little copper and nickel will show up, as willa very few clad coinage (half dollar type set and a few satin finish Lincolns and state quarters).
    I will be continuing with some currency also, so if any of you are also interested in currency, check my sets from time to time. I have no timetable for any of this, so please don't get discouraged if you see no additions in certains sets for a period of time.
    And finally, I'll be updating the quality of my pictures. I feel I've got the hang of getting good coin pics, as evidenced by my attached photo for this journal, the obverse of the 2007P Jamestown commemorative. (By the way, the silver commem dollars and the silver state quarters and ATB quarters will show up in my competitive sets.)
    My first main goal for the rest of the year is to redo my custom sets and get a good start with the photos.
    Thanks for reading.

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