I think I've been debating whether or not to cross this coin to NGC about as long as I've been married and it's gotten to the point that when I talk about it my wife smiles a little and laughs silently under her breath. But I think I've finally made up my mind on how to deal with it - I'm not going to cross that PCGS MS67. No matter how hard I try, I don't think I'll ever be able to convince myself that it's a good move to spend $30+ shipping both ways to have a coin that is already graded and slabbed put in a new plastic case when the one its in isn't broken.

Since I don't have a lot of other things to submit currently, I'd basically be sending that coin in solo and, after shipping, it would cost me about $50 to have it graded and get it back.

On the other hand, because this coin is so common for that year, you can get an NGC MS65 for about $40-50 over whatever melt is at the time and you can often get an MS66 for less than $100 over melt. Given that, I really do think I'd rather just keep the MS67 as-is (the first coin ever bought for the set some 10 years ago), buy an NGC graded coin in MS65/66.

I haven't pulled the trigger on a purchase yet but I probably will soon. The 1875 is so common in relative terms and you can almost always find at least 4-5 NGC graded MS65/66 coins on eBay. So right now it's mostly just an issue of weighing options and deciding if any of those now available are right for the set and for the right price.

My plan is still going to be to give this set to Ben (William Benjamin) when the time comes, but I think the NGC graded set will go to Ben and the MS67 will go to Sam if it works out that way (the set is still around when I'm not anymore).

As part of the legacy / story of the set, the set won "Best in Category" in the registry the first time the year that Ben was born - 2016. So far it has won every year of his life. I'm hoping with the addition of a strong 1875 coin (and, with luck, later additions for the 1880, 1885, and 1886) I can keep that streak going for a while. That's a legacy I'd really love to hand off to him one day.

I have seen raw / ungraded 1880 and 1885 coins pop up this year but I just wasn't in a place where I could buy them at the time, unlike in 2016 and 2018 when the ultra-rare 1887 and 1888 appeared. Maybe one of these days I'll get another chance at those. The set has been building for 10 years. Maybe in 5-10 more it'll be complete. 

Maybe I should call this "Final call on the 1875?" Add the question mark because I've gone back and forth on this soooooo many times.