I got the new Zimbabwean $5 coins I ordered in a few days ago and... they look a lot more shiny and nice this time. They actually look shiny and nice this time - there are no dark spots or mint green areas of obvious environmental damage.

Unfortunately - no pictures for now. They got packed away a few days ago along with all the other raw coins in 2x2s in the binder.

We are now 8 days out from when we're supposed to get the keys to the new place and all non-essentials are rapidly getting packed away.

Tomorrow the last PMG-graded note I expect to receive in the mail at this house is going to be delivered. I'm hoping I get a chance to scan that in and get that in my Zimbabwe note set before the move but... it's almost immediately going into one of my note boxes with all its buddies and then those boxes and the NGC display boxes are going to get packed up soon for a trip - the first time most of them have moved in a while because they don't get out much.

The $2 Bond coins I ordered from a seller in Ukraine recently hit New York. Those will probably arrive in time to have them put in a box - unopened, in their mailer - and they probably won't be looked at good until I'm in the new house.

I'm hoping to snag up a $1 Bond coin and some other raw hole filler and maybe have a nice 2nd submission shape up for early 2022, maybe / hopefully getting that Zimbabwe coin collection into proper fighting shape. My descriptions are already drafted up and saved in a word file in my cloud storage. I'm really excited to roll out that set display and extend the Zimbabwe set back into the NGC side, coming back over here with it and coming full circle with it a bit. I always thought building a set of these coins to go with the notes and really complete the collection would be more of a "some day" thing but I think I'm going to be really happy with how this comes together - even if it takes me a while to fill in the last few slots.

Speaking of the NGC note boxes - I finally ordered more of them for the first time probably in 10-12 years. I over bought back in the day and had a couple of extras / empty ones and I've finally filled up what spare space I had a little at a time. I'll be getting 5 new boxes soon. One of which will be dedicated just to the new Zimbabwe set when it gets back from grading.

After the recent purchase of that 2011 set the Presidential proof coins are filling one box perfectly - I'm thinking and hoping that another of the new boxes is going to go towards more of those and maybe some innovation series dollars which I think I will build a set of as I'm able and inclined.

I'm going to keep trying with Ben. I hope he looks at all these things with the same wonder that I had when I looked at Grandpa's old silver dollars, but I'll also be showing him mercury dimes, standing liberty quarters, walking liberty halfs...

... and my wife is reminding me that, as and if I do this, we're also going to have to talk to him about the fact that he's not allowed to tell other people about them...

I love her, but she's kind of a buzz-kill some days.  But she's right. The kid runs his mouth and repeats everything.  

In all seriousness though, that's one of the reasons I like this place. The people that "really know me" and who I see face to face I don't talk to about this stuff with and I never have. Shandy has more than once made the comment that she didn't realize at the time how big of a deal it was when we were dating and I allowed her to see all this stuff.  

Edited to add: Some emerging drama got me to get the Binder out so here's shots: