syzygy

That is truly an exceptional coin!

My first Arizona SQ and the only thing of interest in my change in a long while. The design, btw, is ok, but rather busy imo.

Just got my first one today, Art. A bit kocked around, but I'm sure there will be more

Picked up this 26-D for the Dansco.

Picked up three needed Lincoln proofs: 1975, 1994 and the 1999 below. These modern proof Lincolns sure cameo nicely!

With this well-travelled 34-S, the Dansco has but three holes....slowly but surely

Gotta love getting wheaties in change - especially pre-1930 - wonder where that one has been.

Noooooooooooooo I'm thinking of the 5 more I need and one of those the 28 that will definitely be the umm 'toughest'

I continue to make progress on the Peace Dansco - *gosh* I like these old, well-travelled, hunks of silver - what a great design!

The last year of "real" US Silver Dollars and another one for the Dansco album.

Another Lincoln for the album (forgot I needed this one).

Not the prettiest example, but it is welcome in my Peace Dollar collection...

Nope, no minimum grade - just a nice look for the price.

Picked up this little beauty today - plowing away at the Lincoln set.

My second purchase of 2008. This is just part of my large silver collection and was a bit of an impulse acquisition, but the pic barely does it justice.

A new addition to the Peace Dollar set.

My first one...

I know it's not much but I still love it when I get one of these in change.

This one was really more of an impulse buy than anything else. Still I am enamored with the wartime silver nickels. It has some toning/tarnish that does not do much for the eye appeal. But, it does have a pretty good strike with some very decent step definition for the year (I think). Still, I am a bit surprised at the grade - but toning should not influence the grade - right? After watching the incredible Ken Burns documentary "The War", I have a renewed interest in putting together a US WWII type set. If you look through some price guides, one could assemble such a set in F-VF at a very reasonable price and an MS set would not be out of sight. Further, if you don't mind some holes, the set could go into unmarked Dansco pages and make a nice album. Well, it's just a thought at this point.

I have wanted one of these since my start in coin collecting. The incuse design is absolutely superb!

Indeed, it can get quite difficult and costly, but remember, one can procastinate on these matters.

A new addition...(from the LD hoard

A couple of wheaties, including this one.

I agree with you folks. There are two shops I frequent the most. The owner of one of them is very well known in the profession and he is always pleasant and very friendly. I sometimes call on a Sunday to see if he is in town and even if he is not officially 'open', he invites me to stop in and visit. While it is true that I have been buying coins from him for a couple of years, my purchases are always on the small side - maybe $20-$50. He is well aware of my "comfort level" and he never pushes it except in a very friendly way..... I am most impressed by his willingness to provide his expert opinion and to explain things to me. Here's a true example...I purchased a 1921 Peace Dollar a while ago and not from him - it was part of a lot with a number of other coins and I would say that I got a pretty good deal (although as some noted here when I posted it, that it has been cleaned mildly - something I could see right away). There was a small die crack, which in itself was no big deal, but it was on the rim and I wasn't too familiar with that. On one visit, I brought the coin to him and he examined it, told me what he thought the grade was (which was higher than what I thought) and when I asked him about the 'crack' he said - yes that is a die problem and it is not unusual and that you can see this on other 1921s and to various degrees. He then took me through all of his 1921s to show me...and sure enough, there it was on some others. The second shop I frequent is very different. This fellow has probably the greatest amount of US stock that I have ever seen. He seems to do a huge buisness in bullion and sells to other dealers all the time. Consequently, his shop can be overflowing on a Saturday and I might have to wait 30 min to get to see a 1938 Jefferson and get the price. But he is fair and there is no haggling - if you don't want to buy it, that's fine and he doesn't hold it against you at all. Thing is, if you can get to him when he is not swamped, he is a freaking gold mine of information and he is happy to shoot the breeze with you. Those are the qualities I like most - honesty, respect for the customer, expertise, friendliness.

Yeah...I still haven't hit the lottery.