CoinsbyGary

A journal by coinsbygary

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About this journal

When I was a young boy, my cousin introduced me to the hobby of coin collecting. Because I was also interested in photography, I used to frequent a local camera store. Along with camera supplies, this store had a rotating display case full of coins that I enjoyed scrolling through. My very first coin purchase was an 1881-S Morgan Dollar in BU PL condition; this coin was old, shiny, and inexpensive at just $12! Now 35 years later, I still own that 1881-S Morgan Dollar, even though it is still worth less than $100. I loved looking through the Red Book dreaming of the coins I would buy if I had the money, especially the coins in the back of the book where the gold listings are. As a teenager, I was beginning to show signs of gold fever.

Working through high school, I spent the bulk of the money I did not save on coin purchases. My first gold purchase as a teenager was an 1881 BU Half Eagle for $105 from a mail order ad in "Coins" magazine. Since then I have had this coin graded, and it resides in my Gold Liberty type collection graded at PCGS MS-62.

My next gold purchase as a youth stretched my resources. I purchased an 1858-C VF Half Eagle for $350, and my attraction to this coin was that it had a low mintage from an obscure branch mint. I also enjoy the comradely among fellow coin enthusiasts, and once I invited a kid to attend a coin show with me who was much younger than I was. As fate would have it, this kid happened to be the son of my mother’s boss. This boss always said to my mother how impressed he was with me taking his son to that show. As for me, I enjoy the company of fellow coin collectors, whoever they may be.

Two other purchases I made as a teen were an 1876 20-cent piece and an 1885-CC Morgan Dollar from the Lavere Redfield hoard. Since then my collecting has been sporadic, depending on my life situation. However, the passion has always been there. Gold has still not lost its luster with me, and today I am a very active collector. The cousin that introduced me to coin collecting years ago no longer collects. For a different twist on my collection, visit my website at: coinsbygary.com

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Entries in this journal

A Roll of the Dice

You can buy your modern MS/PFUC 70 coins from a dealer or with a roll of the dice buy them directly from the mint at a lower price and hope for a 70 grade on your submission. I recently purchased one each of the P&W mint marked 2011 September 11 National Medal from the US Mint. The next day I sent both medals to NGC for certification and eventual incorporation into my ?Inspirational Ladies? custom set. Since some of these medals are already certified, I found ?Modern Coin Mart? offering
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Gary's December Coin of the Month

Greetings everyone, in celebration of my daughter's birthday, I present to you the December "Coin of the Month." About three and a half years ago, I purchased a 300 Baht gold coin from Thailand as a memento to my daughter teaching English in Thailand. I still remember showing her the coin and saying," I bet you never spent one of these." To no one's surprise, she replied that she had not. Also issued in denominations of 150 and 600 Baht, this coin commemorates the 36th birthday of Queen Siriki
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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The NYU Hall of Fame for Great Americans Medals

The New York University Hall of Fame for Great Americans is a 630 foot outdoor colonnade featuring the sculpted busts of 98 out of the 102 honorees elected into it. The Hall of Fame was conceived by Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, (Chancellor of New York University from 1891 to 1910) and was formally dedicated on May 30, 1901. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans currently stands on the campus of the Bronx Community College. (New York University closed due to financial difficulties in 1973). [1]
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Phase 1 Complete

The selling of my problem gold completes the first phase of reorganizing my collection. Greetings, three weeks ago I wrote of a major shift and reorganization in my collection. This shift in my collection started the day I bought a VG-10 1893-S Morgan Dollar. Since the 1893-S Morgan Dollar represents the most money I have ever paid for a coin, there was no way I could have purchased it without selling something. Oddly enough though, according to Numismedia my 2009 Ultra-High Relief St. Gaudens
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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The Other Side of the Aisle

Make no mistake, I am a coin collector through and through, but occasionally I get interested in collecting paper currency. The definition of numismatics according to Wikipedia is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. However, when I typically think of the term, I rarely associate it with anything other than coins. Occasionally though, for various reasons, there is paper currency on ?The Other Side of the Aisle? that catches my eye.
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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World Coins

The Three Graces on the Cheap

In December of 2019, the United Kingdom launched a series of commemorative coins based on the classic works of “The Great Engravers.” The inaugural issue features the classic “Una and the Lion” engraved by William Wyon. When this coin was first issued, you could find the 2-ounce silver version on e-bay for less than $500. From then on, the resale price has sky-rocketed. Recently, I saw an NGC PFUC-68 Una and the Lion on e-bay sell for $4000.00! Fortunately, I bought mine long before the numismat
coinsbygary

coinsbygary in World Coins

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Morgan?s are Simply Irresistible to Me

I don?t know what it is, but I am having a hard time breaking away from my Morgan Dollar collection. In my last journal, I opined that it might be a good time to take a break from Morgan Dollars and focus on other areas of my collection. My rational for temporarily shifting gears was an over-heating silver dollar market. What I failed to realize, as another collector reminded me, is that there are still good buys in the silver dollar market. While I was focusing on MS-65 & 66?s, I was unaw
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Garys October Coin of the Month

Garys Coin of the Month (Volume 3, Number 2) features a coin commemorating the 25th wedding anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elizabeth of Bavaria. The obverse of this coin portrays an image of their conjoined busts and the reverse features a seated image of the goddess Fortuna. This coin (KM#X5) grading MS-63 by NGC resides in my newest custom set entitled, The Use of Seated Imagery in Numismatics. In 1879, the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued a 2 gulden commemorative coin to
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Gary?s October Coin of the Month

My October ?Coin of the Month? is a 1988 Vatican City 50 Lire coin commemorating the ?Creation of Eve.? This month?s coin of the month comes by the way of ?The BRG Collection? and it is because of his E-Bay listing tip and recommendation that I currently own this coin. One of many things I like about ?Collectors Society? is when any one of its members spots a coin that may fit in another member?s collection that they will often notify that member of the buying opportunity. I have done this in
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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One of the More Intricate & Beautiful Coins I Have Ever Seen

When I read Jackson64’s journal, “Added coins 4 and 5 to my Jersey 1/12 shilling set” I got stoked because there was much about what he was saying about his style of collecting that matches my own. For instance, I like to manage 4 or 5 sets at a time like he does. Currently, I am working on a US type set, along with my custom sets Inspirational Ladies, The Use of Seated Imagery in Numismatics, and The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser. Still, there is a bit of a twist to my collecting
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Garys September Coin of the Month

Septembers Coin of the Month (Volume 2, Number 1) is an NGC AU-55, 1897 close date, Cuba Souvenir Peso. Modeled after the Columbian Exposition Half Dollar, the purpose of the 1897 Cuba Souvenir Peso was to raise money for the Cuban Revolutionary Party and their war for independence against Spain. On May 10, 1897, the head of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, Don Thomas Estrada Palma, placed an order with the Gorham Manufacturing Company for three million souvenir pesos. As per their agreement, de
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Julys Coin of the Month and our first 100 years of Independence

The Coin of the Month for July is an 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition Medal designed by William Barber. To help finance the exposition, Congress authorized the striking of commemorative medals in June of 1874. Overall, there were two different medals, each struck in a variety of metallic compositions. One medal was 38mm in diameter and the other 57mm. My Coin of the Month is the 57mm Julian CM-11 medal struck in white metal and graded MS-61 by NGC. White metal is an alloy composed of 82
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Parallels Between Life and Coin Collecting

As there are lessons to be learned in life, there are also lessons to be learned in coin collecting! Over my years of coin collecting, I have made many mistakes. Most often, my mistakes have cost me money. The positive aspects of these mistakes are the lessons learned that have made me a better coin collector (I wish I knew what it takes to call myself a numismatist). For instance, at one time I used to buy raw gold coins from e-bay listings. Two of my purchases ended up as counterfeits. Sinc
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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The Numismatic Beauty of a Strong Allegory

There are few things in numismatics that I enjoy more than strong allegories on coins and medals. Where the allegory is unknown, I endeavor to decipher it within the historical context of the numismatic piece. Because of this love I created two NGC custom sets, “Inspirational Ladies” and “The Use of Seated Imagery in Numismatics.” Researching the coins and medals contained in these two sets has given me many hours of enjoyment! One coin that I recently acquired illustrating a strong allegor
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Why I Collect Coins and use the Registry

Simply put, I love coin collecting and I use the registry to catalog, organize, and display my collection. I have enjoyed the healthy debate these past few days concerning the registry and the reasons' people participate in it. Many good and valid points have been made, but in the end, what matters is that you are happy with why you participate. For me this debate has caused me to re-evaluate my position and that is a good thing because it keeps me focused and on track. It is said that you
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Junes Coin of the Month is Out of this World

Junes Coin of the Month is a NGC PFUC-69 French 2009 10 Euro coin that commemorates the International Year of Astronomy and the 40th anniversary of mans first steps on the moon. Greetings everyone, ever since I was a boy, I have had two enduring interests. The one is obvious, and it has to do with collecting coins. The other is not quite as apparent and has to do with science fiction and space exploration. This month, my Coin of the Month post brings both of these unrelated interests together
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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My First Great Collections Consignment

My first consignment with Great Collections is a success despite the recent fall in the gold market that depressed my bottom line. About a year ago, I decided to discontinue collecting First Spouse gold coins and liquidate my collection. Three weeks ago on consignment through Great Collections, I sold four First Spouse coins. With those four coins were six other coins; they were an 1881-CC PCGS rattler Morgan Dollar, three Eisenhower dollars, and a common date Roosevelt Dime and Washington Qua
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Silver Dollars may be Taking the Oxygen out of Most Everything Else

If you were to represent the pool of money available to buy coins as a pie, silver dollars are currently taking a much bigger piece of the pie. No one can deny the sudden surge in value of high-grade common date silver dollars. Conversely, there is evidence showing that the inverse is true concerning copper and smaller silver coins thus proving that with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, for the savvy collector there are some good deals in the marketplace.
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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A Coin May Have Saved the Isabelline Line of Spanish Succession

When I research the coins in my collection I often pour through websites like “Numista” that list dates, mintages, and basic data about world coins. As I have previously posted, I am assembling a Spanish peseta collection. While I was going through the copper issues of the 1870 1, 2, 5, and 10-centimos coins I noticed some anomalies in the years these coins were minted. Interestingly, sometimes you learn more from the questions you ask than you do by the information you absorb. Below are some of
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Half Way There

No, I am not trying to copy a post by another Society member, it just so happens that I have reached that very important milestone in my Morgan Dollar collection. Greetings everyone, a year ago I started a collection of Morgan Dollars based on the New Orleans Mint. After I finished that set one thing lead to another and now a year later I am halfway to completing the entire set. If in the last year, you would have told me I would be where I am today, I would have said you?re nuts. The sheer lo
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Garys November Coin of the Month

Novembers Coin of the Month (Volume 3 Number 3) column features an NGC PFUC-69, 1994 Canadian $200 gold coin (KM# 250) commemorating the Literary Legacy of Canadian Lucy Maud Montgomerys 1908 novel, Anne of Green Gables. This coin featuring a bust of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a young girl seated underneath a gazebo on the reverse is 29mm in diameter and weighs 17.135 grams. The mintage of this coin is 10,655 and the serial number on the certificate of authenticity that accompanies
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Mintage vs. Survivability

The difference between a coins mintage and the number that have survived through the years can be immense. Greetings everyone, when I was young collector, I relied heavily on mintage figures to determine whether a coin had the potential to rise in value. I thought that lower mintages correlated to a faster rise in value. Now years later, I have learned there are many more factors that combined with mintage figures contribute to a coin?s potential to increase in value. The first thing to consid
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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How Did I Get Here?

Numismatics has always been an obsession with me. It’s either all in or all out. While I have been able to maintain an even keel on almost all my sets, it has not been easy as she goes with my new custom set, “The Beginning, Dependability, and End of the Spanish Peseta.” This year most of my custom sets have seen some activity including my Inspirational Ladies set with a new French coin commemorating Joan of Arc and a Fantasy Crown featuring, “The Three Graces.” All my sets have had aesthe
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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A Beautiful Medal for a Worthy Recipient

The Buffalo Nickel since its release in 1913 is still a collector favorite. Today the legacy of the Buffalo Nickel and its sculptor live on in the 2001 American Buffalo Silver Dollar and $50, .9999 fine, Gold Buffalo. As such, when collectors hear the name of James Earle Fraser they almost invariably think of the Buffalo Nickel. Likewise, but to a smaller degree are some of the medallic works of Laura Gardin Fraser and in particular her rendition of “Fame” featured on the obverse of the Nat
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Garys March Coin of the Month

Garys March Coin of the Month (Volume 3 Number 7) features a copper NGC AU-58 1790s 1/2 penny Conder Token (D and H-36D). During the late 18th Century, the widespread use of merchant tokens in the United Kingdom filled a void left by the government's failure to mint enough coins for commerce. These tokens provided an effective means for merchants to advertise their wares or in the case of this token, propagate a political cause.   Now lets say that you owed a debt you could not pay. The wor
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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