A SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS TO STEVE HELLER!
wondercoin
Posts: 16,972 ✭✭✭✭✭
Tonight Steve Heller (Registrycoin) won every award conceivable in the PCGS Set Registry Awards and I wish to extend to Steve a very special congratulations from me and my family.
I started working with Steve 4-5 years ago when he was buying up myriad different coins on ebay - finest known Half Dimes through large bulk lots of hundreds of PR69 coins minted the week before
I really only made one suggestion to Steve back then, which was to focus in on those sets of coins you really love and build the greatest set of coins you possibly can. Steve ran with that idea and focused in on Franklin Halves (MS & Proof) - a set he truly loved as a kid. Steve embarked on his mission and sent me his childhood Franklin sets in old Blue Whitman Albums (which I still have) and asked me for whatever credit the set amounted to- to be used on the first Franklin I sold him. I thought to myself how do I break it to him that an XF-AU set of Franklins isn't worth very much
I assisted Steve with his Franklin pursuits, while also selling off his tonage of cheap slabs (I used to run ads on ebay for 20 coins at a time and it still took me nearly a year to dispose of all that crap)!!
Steve also stepped in and built a very nice 1934-1958 set of Lincolns because no one cared about a Lincoln dated after 1935 back 5 years ago. Steve also saw that I had registered my personal collection of silver Roosie dimes #1 in the 1999 PCGS Set Registry and managed to get a set up to #3 to also be included in that edition. Steve saw opportunities in Jefferson Nickels, silver Wash Quarters, Clad quarters, State quarters, Kennedy halves and a number of other sets, such as CAL Gold (before they even had a Registry set for it). Steve built #1 sets of all these Registry sets, one coin at a time!! Also, Steve didn't just buy slabs. He bought bank-wrapped rolls and we "made" many of the coins in the sets. Steve even got ambitious enough to fill his large garage with Memorial Cents for the upcoming project we envisioned working together on. But, then his focus shifted to Classic Silver Commems.
I told Steve the moment he told me he wanted to build the greatest silver Commem set ever assembled that it would "be at the expense of every set of coins" he owned. He assured me it wouldn't and told me to continue on my pursuit of upgrades for the other dozen sets he had (mostly all #1 in the category). Then, Steve really got bitten by the silver Commem bug!! Purchases like the Lafayette in MS67 and the Grant with Star in MS67 (my first interaction with Laura from Legend) were taking every available "hobby dollar". One by one, Steve told me to sell off his Registry sets so that he could not pass up that stunning pop 1 or 2 Commem he needed for his silver Commem set. As we sold each set, Steve assured me that was the last Registry set that needed to be sold to fund the Commems. Then, the same phone call followed where I was told to sell off the next set
I knew at some point that Steve was "hooked" on classic Commems and there was no turning back. Somewhere along the way, I also realized that Steve's vision was exactly along the lines of what I mentioned to him during our very first telephone call 5 years ago. He was being the VERY BEST at a single marvelous accomplishment - an accomplishment that was creating the "set of all sets". One of the All-Time finest Classic sets of coins the world has ever seen. And, through it all, those dozen top Registry sets Steve built and then sold were creating in Steve the experience and seasoning of a "Hall of Fame" Registy collector - one of the greatest US coin collectors out there today. Steve reached the very top with his personal decision to give up everything in the way of coins to build the #1 silver Commem set. I can't tell you how proud I am to have known Steve these past 5 years and to have been a part of his huge success.
From myself and Justin (toneboy) - congratulations Steve - you have reached the very top in the field of numismatics and your incredible silver commem set will live on forever in the hearts and minds of generations of collectors to come. Your coin buddies, Mitch and Justin.
I started working with Steve 4-5 years ago when he was buying up myriad different coins on ebay - finest known Half Dimes through large bulk lots of hundreds of PR69 coins minted the week before
I really only made one suggestion to Steve back then, which was to focus in on those sets of coins you really love and build the greatest set of coins you possibly can. Steve ran with that idea and focused in on Franklin Halves (MS & Proof) - a set he truly loved as a kid. Steve embarked on his mission and sent me his childhood Franklin sets in old Blue Whitman Albums (which I still have) and asked me for whatever credit the set amounted to- to be used on the first Franklin I sold him. I thought to myself how do I break it to him that an XF-AU set of Franklins isn't worth very much I assisted Steve with his Franklin pursuits, while also selling off his tonage of cheap slabs (I used to run ads on ebay for 20 coins at a time and it still took me nearly a year to dispose of all that crap)!!
Steve also stepped in and built a very nice 1934-1958 set of Lincolns because no one cared about a Lincoln dated after 1935 back 5 years ago. Steve also saw that I had registered my personal collection of silver Roosie dimes #1 in the 1999 PCGS Set Registry and managed to get a set up to #3 to also be included in that edition. Steve saw opportunities in Jefferson Nickels, silver Wash Quarters, Clad quarters, State quarters, Kennedy halves and a number of other sets, such as CAL Gold (before they even had a Registry set for it). Steve built #1 sets of all these Registry sets, one coin at a time!! Also, Steve didn't just buy slabs. He bought bank-wrapped rolls and we "made" many of the coins in the sets. Steve even got ambitious enough to fill his large garage with Memorial Cents for the upcoming project we envisioned working together on. But, then his focus shifted to Classic Silver Commems.
I told Steve the moment he told me he wanted to build the greatest silver Commem set ever assembled that it would "be at the expense of every set of coins" he owned. He assured me it wouldn't and told me to continue on my pursuit of upgrades for the other dozen sets he had (mostly all #1 in the category). Then, Steve really got bitten by the silver Commem bug!! Purchases like the Lafayette in MS67 and the Grant with Star in MS67 (my first interaction with Laura from Legend) were taking every available "hobby dollar". One by one, Steve told me to sell off his Registry sets so that he could not pass up that stunning pop 1 or 2 Commem he needed for his silver Commem set. As we sold each set, Steve assured me that was the last Registry set that needed to be sold to fund the Commems. Then, the same phone call followed where I was told to sell off the next set
I knew at some point that Steve was "hooked" on classic Commems and there was no turning back. Somewhere along the way, I also realized that Steve's vision was exactly along the lines of what I mentioned to him during our very first telephone call 5 years ago. He was being the VERY BEST at a single marvelous accomplishment - an accomplishment that was creating the "set of all sets". One of the All-Time finest Classic sets of coins the world has ever seen. And, through it all, those dozen top Registry sets Steve built and then sold were creating in Steve the experience and seasoning of a "Hall of Fame" Registy collector - one of the greatest US coin collectors out there today. Steve reached the very top with his personal decision to give up everything in the way of coins to build the #1 silver Commem set. I can't tell you how proud I am to have known Steve these past 5 years and to have been a part of his huge success.
From myself and Justin (toneboy) - congratulations Steve - you have reached the very top in the field of numismatics and your incredible silver commem set will live on forever in the hearts and minds of generations of collectors to come. Your coin buddies, Mitch and Justin.
Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
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Comments
09/07/2006
Steve,
Congratulations!! My hats off to you on all of your remarkable sets. The commens sound especially impressive.
Jon
Interestingly, the '46-'64 ms Roosie set, with a dozen or so ms68 toned beauties, is the real "astounding" accomplishment, if I may say, as in all likelyhood, in my opinion, should grading standards remain relatively constant, it will never be duplicated or exceeded.
Thanks again for your nice comments.
Steve
peacockcoins
What's next? I haven't a clue, but thanks for asking. I really enjoy the commems. I'm not sure the set would ever be really "completed".