Jim Bisognani: The Joys of Being a Numismatist

Coin collecting has been my hobby and profession for as long as I can remember. In real numbers, this equates to approximately 60 years. That said, I’m sure many of you are nodding your heads while reading this, while others — especially the younger set — are probably uttering something like, “boy, this guy is really old.”

Still, every day, as I spring spritely from my bed, I take great joy in bounding to my home office, opening my laptop and scanning upcoming auctions or making sense of just-concluded sales. Then, I devote time to pulling up various dealer websites, partially for inspiration and also to look at what’s currently in their respective inventories.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I try to test the waters and sway the direction of every conversation to some sort of untapped numismatic interest. I mean, how else can I find out if there’s a new or aspiring coindexter out there?

Just yesterday, I had such an opportunity. My next-door neighbor Frank had just sold his home and was getting ready for the closing within a few days. He had quietly put out the alarm for help in cleaning out his shed before the obligatory closing inspection. I graciously answered his plea, as did another neighbor, Dave.

So, while we were pulling out sundry discards bound for the trash heap, we, of course, found items we decided we could make use of and began divvying piles. Conversation ensued; we started talking about hobbies. Frank mentioned woodworking and how he used to be an amateur radio operator. Dave talked about carpentry and auto restoration. Then, he said, “Oh, I just inherited some coins from the family and I’m really into it!”

What a setup, I thought! So I replied, “So, Dave, what kind of coins are you interested in?”

Dave said, “Oh, right now it’s the early Lincoln pennies. There are a lot of the wheat ones and there is one with the ‘VBD’ you can make out on the back on the bottom. I read that it’s worth something.”

I told him that the ‘VDB’ was the designer’s initials — Victor David Brenner — and that the initials appeared on the reverse only in 1909, which also celebrated the hundredth anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. There was the 1909 VDB, the 1909 without the VDB (both struck in Philadelphia) and the 1909-S San Francisco Mint without the VDB. The key is the 1909-S with the VDB.

1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent from NGC Coin Explorer Click images to enlarge.

Dave said, “Wow, you know a lot about them!”

I replied, “Yes, that’s my profession. I am a numismatist — I write about coins and maintain price guides for US and World Coins for NGC.” I pulled up the NGC website for Dave to look at. He said, “Boy, now I know who to come to with questions; this is great!”

Then, as I returned to my house, the phone started ringing. It was Steve, my preferred HVAC guy. “Hey Jim,” he said, “I don’t know if you would be interested in this or not, but I thought I would run it by you…”

It seemed that one of his customers had inherited a bunch of coins — literally a tractor trailer load of them — from his family, and he was looking for someone trustworthy to take a look at what he had. I was imagining an 18-wheeler filled with nothing but rare coins – talk about Nirvana!

After I snapped out of my Walter Mitty interlude, I focused back to Steve and told him that I wouldn’t mind meeting this character. This had the potential to be a great adventure and story! So Steve said that he would advise the guy and set up an appointment for introductions. I thought, hey, even if this is just a few sacks of “Wheaties,” it’ll be fun… so stay tuned!

A Brand-new Platform for Collectors

Speaking of Lincoln Cents, a well-known West Coast dealer friend, Larry, advised me that Lincolns are definitely on the move. “Lincoln Cents are hot,” he said. “I am full blast into selling Lincolns!” When I asked if the Blay Lincoln Cent sales were what turned the market around, he said, “It helped, but it was warming up before that.”

My friend then said he had just posted some new photos of Lincolns on the new platform, “MyCollect.” I asked how he liked it, and he responded that it was “very new and very good.” I agree with him. For my fellow coindexters who aren’t familiar with “MyCollect,” I spoke to the founder, Ian Russel, this morning. He was ready for my call at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time!

Interview with Ian Russell, Founder of MyCollect

What is the purpose or need for MyCollect?

See, there are so many new collectors and they don’t know where to go. They are not used to the old-style forums. They’re more interested in interacting in social media aspects, and what we’ve done is combined set collecting with that. There are a lot of other features and advantages as well. That’s the key to MyCollect, and to do it across all collectibles is a huge advantage because there are so many people who collect multiple things.

Right now, collectors are going to all these different websites and some of them don’t have anything or any way to discuss certain collectibles. Others have limited bases, and most of them don’t have any set collecting or inventory management software, or anything like that. So, by combining it all in MyCollect, it’s great for these collectors.

Another important feature is Theft-Check. It is something that the industry has needed for so long, because it is very important to the industry. We’re not doing this to make money — we’re doing this to grow the industry.

Since MyCollect has just been introduced, would you say the results have been above expectations?

Oh, by far; the feedback has been substantial and very positive! Some of the most advanced collectors, ones who haven’t participated elsewhere, have already posted images of some of the most fabulous coins. I am blown away!

The last couple of days, there’s been a collector on there that’s been posting some amazing coins. They are just unbelievable, and people are interacting, learning and keeping others interested. This is the new way of really participating and being motivated regularly, I guess.

I mean, I am so motivated that the first thing I do in the morning is log on to see what images have been posted. This is not me as an employee and owner of the company, but just the collector in me enjoying this.

When did you initially come up with the concept for MyCollect?

It was a year ago, last June. I remember pitching it to someone who ultimately became our lead programmer. They are someone I’ve known for over 20 years, and I pitched it to him initially asking if he knew anyone who would want to work on this project (I really wanted him to work on it, too). We had a Zoom call late one Saturday night; I remember being at the office really, really late while I gave him the full pitch. A few days later he said, “I’m in, OK? I’ll do it myself.” He’s done a really amazing job.

Cloaked in secrecy!

I worked on it in secret for a year. I mean, no one knew about it. Not even my people at GreatCollections. I had a separate team of people working on it. I would have these closed-door meetings. The people here were probably wondering why, but it was all because of this, and I only told my staff a few days before we launched.

So why the secrecy?

I was keeping it a secret for a few reasons. One, I thought it was the best practice. I already had a plan of how I wanted this to work and I didn’t necessarily want people telling me it wasn’t going to work. I already had the plan in place and I also didn’t want it to be a distraction.

But yeah, it was a well-kept secret for a year. We finally decided on a launch date, even without every feature being added, and launched MyCollect about a month ago. It went live officially at 3 p.m. on July 12. Every day since the launch we’ve been making updates and adding features. It’s a lot of fun to see things grow so quickly!

In less than a week, there were over 1,600 users for just coins. That’s an unbelievable statistic. 22,000 posts have already been made across MyCollect. Dealers make up a relatively small percentage of those posts, with a number hovering around 200 or so. There are three groups with over 300 members in them already, and over a dozen groups with over 100 members each. This is a huge advantage and excellent exposure. So when you add content here from NGC, Jim, it links back to NGC. It’s a huge advantage for you for NGC, PMG, CGC and more!

One of Many Online Resources

Have fun, my fellow coindexters! Here is a chance to expand your collecting horizons. So please check the US and World Coin Price Guides, Auction Central and then perhaps make a visit to MyCollect!

Until next time, be safe and happy collecting!

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