![[1902-O Morgan Dollar (c) 2007 Michael Parrish]](images/header_morgan.jpg)
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Future GoalsMy Collection Blog
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![[1998 Silver Britannia (c) 2007 Michael Parrish]](images/header_britannia.jpg)
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October 18, 2008 |
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Life's been crazy lately, what with writing my thesis, but I wanted to take a moment and showcase some of the more recent acquisitions for my Birds on Coins set. First up was a gorgeous silver 2008 Belarus 10 Ruble depicting a Great White Heron. Next are two beautiful small pieces of gold: a Bahamas $50 depicting a Tobacco Dove and a Mexican 2 Peso piece with the classical Golden Eagle eating a snake on the reverse. The latter two, I've had for some time, but this is the first time I've had a chance to photograph them better.  See larger image here  See larger image here  See larger image here |
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September 26, 2008 |
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**Sigh** Sometimes, compromise is not an acceptable thing. I spoke last week about being willing to add a MS68 britannia to my set. Unfortunately, the coin, when it arrived, showed unacceptable spotting - and I mean unacceptable. I'm willing to compromise in grade a little for a 2007, but I'm not going to include a problem coin in my set just to fill that last hole. I'm just not that desperate, nor do I wish to degrade the quality of the set I'm building in that way. Back it went! I was very sad to have to send that coin back - what a disappointment! On the other hand, sometimes impulse buys can turn out beautifully. My Portuguese seller came through beautifully with this fantastic Cu-Ni Belarus 1 Ruble (coincidentally a 2007). This coin, with a mintage of only 5,000, will make a lovely addition to my Birds on Coins set!  See larger image here |
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September 15, 2008 |
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Sometimes, I think that compromise is an acceptable thing. This evening, I succeeded in purchasing a 2007 PCGS MS68 silver britannia for my set. As of today, there are three coins graded that high at PCGS and none graded higher (a top pop conditional rarity at 3/0, thank ya very much). NGC's registry department, of course, is twiddling their thumbs and not updating their pop reports, so goodness only knows if anyone's succeeded in slabbing a MS69 with them (I rather doubt it, considering the notoriously horrible quality of the 2007 issues). Therefore, at the moment, the MS68 coins are the best that are known in the world. That's not to say that a raw MS69 isn't out there, but I sure as heck haven't seen it in the past year and a half. I will continue to carry on my search, but in the meantime I'm happy to add the final coin to my MS69 silver britannia set (can I even call it that any more?) In other news, the other night I succumbed to a total impulse buy and picked up a nice 2007 Belarus 1 Ruble proof Nightingale. I know absolutely nothing about the coin (I need to ask someone to look it up for me, since my Krause only covers 20th century coins), but it's a beautiful design with a bird on it, so I'm hoping it'll be nice when it gets here. I bought it from a Portuguese seller, so heaven knows when it will arrive. Until then, here's the eBay photo. 
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September 7, 2008 |
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This week, I'll be sending another WLH back. The main two issues I continue to deal with remain originality of surfaces and strike sharpness. Finding a WLH with a clean, strong strike, particularly where separated thumb/hand/branches are concerned, is difficult. To date, everything I've seen has either exhibited a blobby, undefined thumb, or had a nice thumb separation but a bad dip job to boot. Finding good strikes in conjunction with a naturally untoned coin are proving to be near-impossible, but with the kind encouragement from supertooth on the NGC forums, I continue the search. Below, see the bane of my collecting existence: Here's what I'm talking about when I say, "blobby, undefined thumb" - the thumb, hand, and branches in a well-struck coin will be separated and the thigh, breast, and arm will be smoother and more lustrous than the example below. Note in particular: Liberty's left (her left) breast shows a patch of what almost looks like wear; that's the result of a poor strike.  Below is a microdroplet of residue on the flag, which I believe is likely due to a dip job. I know original, white coins exist - it's finding them that's difficult! 
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August 25, 2008 |
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A week ago, I wrote about buying a PCGS MS65 Walking Liberty Half in an old PCGS 'doily holder'. Unfortunately, when the coin arrived, it had a PVC spot (or something), so right back it went. I continue to search for the perfect coin... Want List (August 2008): Silver Britannias:
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August 18, 2008 |
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One of the future directions I want to move in with my collection is a 'British Favourites Type Set'. The money isn't forthcoming right now, but one day it will be. In the meantime, I'm creating a list of my favorite designs. Want List: British Favourites Type Set:
*Actually, I'd love to collect this series, but that's not happening anytime soon. |
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August 17, 2008 |
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Progress since last month has been slow, with my single acquisition being a PCGS MS65 Walking Liberty Half in an old PCGS 'doily holder'. I haven't received the coin yet, but I have high hopes it will prove to be an attractive specimen. Also, I've decided I need to add a nice MS69 Silver Eagle to my 20th Century Type Set. In honor of my little brother's birth year, I'll make the date 1987. Want List (August 2008): Silver Britannias:
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July, 2008 |
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I have made some progress with my 20th century set since June. Shortly after I wrote my June entry, I acquired a very nice 1943-P PCGS MS65FB Mercury Dime in an old rattler holder from WTCG on the PCGS forums. I believe that today, the coin would very likely have a good chance at PCGS MS66FB.
 See larger version here In early July, I picked up an attractive 1943-P PCGS MS65FS Jefferson Nickel on eBay from tomscollectables. I was happy to make a rapid sale (<20 minutes!) of my 1943-D PCGS MS65FS Jefferson Nickel to partially fund the purchase (I paid what I felt was strong money for the 43-P, so I was pleased to sell the 43-D).  See larger version here
Last, but not least, in a fortunate turn of events, in early July I was clued into the location of a 2008 PCGS MS69 Silver Britannia, bringing my set to near-completion! I now only need a 2007 MS69 coin to have completed the set!
 See larger version here Want List (July 2008): Silver Britannias:
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June, 2008 |
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At mid-year, I've decided to revisit my goals set in January to see how things are progressing and whether any of my goals have changed. I've succeeded in trimming much of the fat off of my collection, which is particularly noticeable in that I've sold all of my proof silver eagles and my 1832 bust half. The eagles were sitting around collecting dust - I was concerned about possible spotting issues starting at some point, and I've decided that if I ever want to rebuild the set, it ought to be very easy. The bust half was sold to build up a little capital. I enjoyed the coin, but I don't think it was a one-in-a-million piece - really, it was average for the grade, and I'm glad to free up the money I put into it. I've still got a little more to sell, but nothing big at this point My core collections haven't changed. I've made very good progress on my silver britannia set: I added a 2006 NGC MS69 in March, a 2003 NGC MS69 in April (which was a difficult coin I've wanted for several years), and in May, I added a 1998 NGC MS69, another difficult, low-pop coin. I'm down to only the 2007 and 2008 MS69s, though I expect they'll be very difficult. I purchased a dozen 2008s from the Royal Mint and the quality was very disappointing (from a MS69 perspective), so I flipped them all. I'm toying still with the idea of working on a PF69 set after I'm done (or sooner). I haven't added any coins to the Lincoln set, mainly because I haven't found any decent looking raw coins in my price range - not that I've been very active in my searching. My 20th century set is not progressing at present. My main goal is to locate a 1943-P nickel, dime, and half in appropriate grades (see want list below) and surfaces. I'm finding all three coins to be very difficult if I (a) don't want to be fleeced and (b) don't want to settle for weak strikes or unoriginal surfaces. I'm being patient, however. Secondarily, I'd like to add a nice MS64 Liberty Head Nickel, a 1938 Jefferson to replace one I sold, and some of the Kennedy halves I need in a nice high-grade silver or silver-clad. I'm toying with the idea of starting a 1951 date set as well to fill in some holes in the type set, but that's undecided for now. I've added a little to my bullion supply, with some trades for silver Maple Leaf coins and a nice deal for a below-spot 1/10 oz GAE from Teletrade. I figure why not keep a little cash in metals while they have the potential to jump higher due to a crappy economy. I've been keeping a casual eye out for nice British coins, but I haven't had the free cash nor come across the right coins to take the plunge and buy more. I plan to eventually, though. My Jefferson nickels are coming along nicely. I opened a bank account with a bank that offers a free coin-counting machine in their lobby, allowing me to efficiently search lots of nickel rolls. I've added around 25 dates to the album in the last week, and I'm done with all of the 1960s to date except for 2008. I plan on buying a US mint set this year to take care of my albums. I've got to add the 2008 issues to my Kennedy halves and my little statehood quarters set, which are otherwise complete and up-to-date. Want List (June 2008): Silver Britannias:
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January, 2008 |
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My primary goal in 2008 will be to consolidate my collection into more formally-defined sets. I plan to trim the fat from my collection, selling off everything that doesn't have a place in a set. My core collections continue to be my MS69 Silver Britannia Set, my 20th century United States type set, and my Lincoln business strikes (1909-date) set. I continue to search for the last few britannias I need to bring myself up to date and I have begun occasionally adding a proof coin to the mix when they're affordable. The 20th century type set was completed in 2007 - at least all of the holes were filled - with the 1909 VDB Lincoln cent I purchased in December. This set is now in the open-ended 'upgrade' phase of collection, where I hope to eventually match the coins more or less in terms of grade and appearance, finances permitting. My Lincoln cent set is almost down to the nitty-gritty more expensive coins, but there are still a number of $10-$20 coins which I'll hopefully be able to knock out this year. The new year also sees me beginning the slow process of expanding my collection efforts into British coins. I added a very interesting 1679 Charles III groat in late 2007 (my first 17th century coin) and I hope to add at least a few attractive Victorian and possibly George III specimens this year. On a more casual front, I continue to work occasionally on my cheapie Jefferson nickels business strikes set. New coins for that album are coming mainly from bank rolls at face value, serving to keep the boredom away when my financial reserves are low. Also useful for staving off boredom when the new (expensive) coins aren't available is my birds on coins set, consisting of cheap foreign issues for which grade is only a passing concern. This set consists of birds identified to the species level, and reflects my ornithological leanings. Finally, I plan to keep my completed Kennedy halves set up-to-date with this year's coins and perhaps add the occasional non-20th century US coin to my collection if the mood strikes me (bearing in mind my efforts at consolodation). One additional goal I've set for myself is to finish updating all of the photographs on this website using my new Sigma macro lens. |
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