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

Shifting Gears and a Different Direction

One might think that shifting gears and a different direction are synonymous. However, the truth is that though related, they are two separate actions. A different direction in that I will be liquidating a portion of my current collection to focus on another and shifting gears in that I will be buying fewer but higher quality coins to upgrade the remaining sets. All this started with my losing interest in collecting Morgan Dollars. A year or two into collecting Morgans, I got bored with them.
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Shifting Gears and a Different Direction

One might think that shifting gears and a different direction are synonymous. However, the truth is that though related, they are two separate actions. A different direction in that I will be liquidating a portion of my current collection to focus on another and shifting gears in that I will be buying fewer but higher quality coins to upgrade the remaining sets. All this started with my losing interest in collecting Morgan Dollars. A year or two into collecting Morgans, I got bored with them.
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Rethinking the detail grading issue

After sleeping on it and reading other opinions on the issue of NGC detail grading, I can see the bigger picture. Thank you Society members for chiming in on the issue of details grading. After reading up on the issue and sleeping on it, I am thinking clearer on the subject. Our coins are national treasures and an important part of our nation?s history. As hobbyists, whether we realize it or not, we are entrusted with continuing a legacy for future generations by ensuring our coins are pres
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Reflections

Reviewing my journal entries of the past year showing how far I have come. Early this morning with everyone else quietly asleep, I took time to read many of my journal posts of the past year and reflect. January 1 is a good time for reflection, because it is the end of one year and the beginning of the next. For those of you contemplating journaling in 2010, journals are a wonderful way to chronicle your collecting journey. In them, you store your thoughts, feelings, accomplishments, and impre
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Recent Submissions to NCS

After Conservation my coins are returned NGC graded Recently I submitted several coins to NCS for conservation. The Silver and nickel coins had PVC residue on them and the copper coins had carbon spots. One of the copper coins a 1911 Italian 10 centismo I purchased raw for $26.00. I knew of the carbon spotting, but I noticed the coin had a particularly strong strike with no noticeable wear on the high spots of the coin's relief. To see what level of spotting was gradable I sent the coin to NGC
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coinsbygary

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Recent Purchases and Other Musings

Cool coins that enhance my collection! By limiting my coin collection to type collecting, themes, select series, and upgrades, I have found purchasing and selling coins to be systematic and focused. Conscience of my collecting goals, I made several purchases over the last couple of weeks. With one of my purchases I upgraded a 1913 Netherlands Queen Wilhelmina 10 Gulden gold coin from MS-63 to MS-64. Graded coins in this series are scarce, therefore even a meager step in my quest for a MS-65 or
coinsbygary

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Recent Purchases and an Interesting Contrast

Two recent purchases and the quality of New Orleans Mint coins. Greetings collectors, these past two months have been an active period of acquiring coins for my collection. My New Orleans Morgan Dollar collection now stands at 14 coins, all acquired within the last two months and partially paid for by the sale of existing coins from my collection. My two most recent purchases made just this past week was an AU-55 1886-O and a MS-65 1900-O Morgan Dollar. With the 1886-O Morgan Dollar valued
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Recent Cross-Over Results

The results of an NTC experiment and ANACS & ICG cross-overs. This past spring, in a journal post (?My worst Numismatic Nightmare? 3/21/09) I put forth a plan for an experiment to cross over the coins in my collection certified by NTC (Numistrust Corp). In this experiment, I would submit half the coins in their holders and the other half cracked out of their holders. Now I can report with some finality the results of that experiment and show a clear trend. I suspected that many
coinsbygary

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Re:Working on my CLAD DIMES and MINT SETS

To fully grasp this post, please read the recent thread posted by Six Mile Rick The following is only my opinion to two points MV has made. One, that third party graders have done harm to the hobby, and two that he enters this discussion as a dealer making his living through a brick and mortar coin shop. First, I do not begrudge a person who makes a living by selling coins to profit from them. Second, I have been a collector for more than 40 years and have witnessed the evolution of the market
coinsbygary

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Re: Old Green Holder

A picture is worth a thousand words Old Green Holder or OGH refers to a previous generation PCGS holder. I am not sure of the dates these holders were used except that it seems the holder itself is a collector item and commands a premium in the market place. For the life of me it seems the holder is almost more important than what is in it, kind of backwards, isn't it. Rattler refers to the first generation PCGS holder. At any rate I am posting of a picture of a coin I bought for the coin that
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RE: Dishonest Dealers...(and collectors?)

Honesty is the best policy In my experience, I have found people who collect coins to be among the most honest people I have met. It is in part, this sense of honesty and comradely that attracts me to this hobby. I to have made foolish purchases on EBay, I purchased a double eagle and a 3 dollar gold piece that turned up being counterfeit. These two coins would have meant a significant loss to me had those people I purchased them from not been honest and refunded my money. Since then,
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Questionable Grade

Judge for yourselves, 70 or something less. NGC defines MS or PF-70 as having no post-production imperfections at 5-X magnification. I understand what imperfections at 5-X means, but I have always had a question as to what post-production means. By this definition, it seems that most any coin should be a 70 when it first comes off the dies and that imperfections come in the form of contact marks and hairlines as the coins are bagged and rolled. I also understand that collector coins receive sp
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

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Perfect Timing and the High Price of Silver

I could not have chosen a better time to start a high-grade Morgan Dollar collection than now. In addition, there is evidence to show that the value of low-grade, common date Morgan Dollars and the value of silver are joined at the hip. There has never been a better time for me to start a high-grade Morgan Dollar collection than now. Since I started collecting MS-65 and 66 Morgan Dollars in January, I have seen a monthly rise in the value of my collection, and more specifically my MS-66 coins.
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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PCGS, NGC, or Both??????????

Should I play the population reports to get the highest grade on my coins? I have often wondered whether it would be in my best interest to be a member of both NGC?s Collectors Society and PCGS?s Collectors Club. With submission privileges for both services, I wonder if I could use the large samplings in both population reports to predict which service might give the highest grade on a particular coin. Case in point, I have written in the past of the tendency of PCGS to grade Queen Wilhelmina
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

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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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One More to Go

25 coins after I started ?Born on the Bayou? on August 29, 2010, I have one more coin to go. Greetings everyone, three months ago, on a whim, I started a complete set of Morgan Dollars based on the New Orleans Mint, and now I stand within one coin of completing my set. With a strict budget of $200/coin, the last coin, the 1892-O, is proving to be quite a challenge to obtain in MS condition. Since I only get three points for an AU example, I am targeting this coin for MS-61 and 265 points. Curr
coinsbygary

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One Good Turn Deserves Another

Collector?s Society members are the best! Many of you know that I collect Britannia?s, the United Kingdom?s version of the Silver American Eagle with a goal to collect the entire series in MS-69 or 70. The biggest problem I have in collecting this series is that Britannia?s in MS-69 are rare and almost unheard of in MS-70. Additionally, the United Kingdom limits the mintage to 100,000 Britannia?s annually, meaning the supply of coins is significantly lower than with ASE?s. Currently, I lack fi
coinsbygary

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One Cool Coin

An 1860-O half-dollar with a fascinating pedigree. I have often wondered how coins minted decades ago found their way into my collection. I try to imagine who might have spent the coins in my collection and for what purpose the coins were used. I enjoy speculating on every place my coins may have been and the circumstances that caused them to be removed from circulation after many years of use. With coins directly purchased from the mint this sense of romantic charm is lacking. Not that I do
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Older and Wiser

I always thought it to be a shame if a person only grows older without growing any wiser. People often classify such a person as a fool. Concerning my relationship to coin collecting, wiser after so many years has finally come!   After going trailblazers buying Morgan Dollars several years ago, I had lost interest in the series and finally sold off much of my collection in 2017. Now my interest in Morgan Dollars only includes the following: MS-65 and higher Morgan’s, GSAs, and Carson C
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Old Friends, New Friends, Good Times

This year’s annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is perhaps one of the most memorable coin shows I have ever attended. Every show is special in its own way but this one was the first one in which I was a Money Talks presenter.   The annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is a wonderful opportunity for advanced and novice collectors alike to locate those hard to find coins for their collections. For some it is a rare opportunity to roam a large bourse floor filled with dealers from across the cou
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Obsessed!

Why do my obsessions have to cost so much? It seems that forever and a day I have been obsessing over coin photography. I absolutely must have high quality photographs of my coins to display in my registry sets. For years I have been trying to take just the right picture, but only with mixed results. To say that this has been an obsession with me is an understatement. To add to my obsession is the realization that with each coin being different, there is no such thing as a cookie cutter appr
coinsbygary

coinsbygary

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Coin Shows and Picnics

Numismatically Speaking, August 2022 has been a Month to Remember

Summer 2022 has ended with a couple of numismatic events that I thoroughly enjoyed. The first was the ANA summer show in Chicago. The other, just this week, was my coin club’s annual picnic. Both were significant and, for that matter, the year’s numismatic highlights.  First, there is nothing like a major coin show for buying new coins, viewing educational displays, making new friends, and catching up with old friends. The annual ANA Worlds Fair of Money is one of the year’s best shows, and

Numismatic Potpourri

A number of collecting irons in my fire. Greetings everyone, I pray that summer is going well for you as you plug away at your collecting goals. For me the summer of 2010 is a decidedly slower one than 2009. For the fun of it, I applied several filters to my collecting spreadsheet to discover a few eye-opening statistics. From May 1, 2009 to August 15, 2009, I bought a whopping 36 coins. During the same period this year, I bought 6 coins spending 42% less than last year. Sticking with my 2010
coinsbygary

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