@Justacommeman said:
I see he made his way back to his table
mark
He did. . The “he” Mark is referring to is Larry Shepherd, who I should have mentioned was the source of the Spanish Trail. I actually only recently met Larry briefly at the recent Vegas Invitational. He and James Sego were sharing a table at Long Beach and we had a much longer chat. Great guy to talk commems with.
In other thoughts, the Spanish Trail reminds me a bit of this old “Far Side” cartoon, which I find enormously insightful.
Good work. And by the way, Ira Allen on the VT commem was a patriot involved with delaying the arrival of British reinforcements from Montreal and thus contributing to the American victory at Saratoga; he later founded the University of Vermont.
@mirabela said:
Good work. And by the way, Ira Allen on the VT commem was a patriot involved with delaying the arrival of British reinforcements from Montreal and thus contributing to the American victory at Saratoga; he later founded the University of Vermont.
Congratulations from the Northeast Kingdom --
Good info. I actually lived in Vermont for a year during internship at Dartmouth. Never got out of the hospital much though. Wonderful state.
So, here's the little adjustment to the set that I mentioned earlier. As sometimes happens, every once in a while weird opportunities arise. James Sego and Larry Shepherd were sharing a table at the Long Beach show. I looked at the Old Spanish Trail in Larry's case and it jumped right in my box. While I was there I looked at a few coins that James was displaying including a nice Hawaiian. I really liked it, took a photo of it (with his permission), and promised myself I would take another look later in the day.
I somehow got home without circling back, and the next morning at work it was still swirling around in my mind. I looked up the TrueView and decided it really was as nice as I thought it was. Despite not really "needing" it, I called up James and pulled the trigger. Fortunately he still had it. It arrived in the mail today and I'm pleased as punch to have it.
This is a case of a downgrade really being an upgrade. The old coin is above. The new coin is below. I don't really care what the grades say, I like the new coin better and it seems to fit the rest of the set more appropriately in terms of luster and overall eye appeal. This is the second time in this set that I've replaced a higher graded coin with a lower graded coin that fit better.
I have looked at literally thousands of Lafayettes (tabulating die pairs) and I agree that you really selected an uncommonly outstanding specimen for a Choice BU. DuVall-1B is the pair; the most common one representing a bit over half of the extant population.
So, when I originally embarked on this journey of "favorite" commems, I intended to do a box of 20, because that's more-or-less about how many of the designs I really enjoyed. Some were obvious choices like the Gettysburg, Lincoln, Oregon Trail, and Pilgrim. Others were attractive to me for various reasons. A few at the bottom were having a hard time making the cut.
In particular I debated about the Grant, San Diego, Sesqui, Spanish Trail, and Wisconsin.
So, I broke the rules and just did them all, and make a box of 20.....ish. Here's the new additions:
Grant
Ulysses isn't universally liked as either a general or as a president, but he is a prominent Civil War figure and I admire much of the history around him. Apart from this, the Grant with Star issue is something people look for in a set of Commems. This one showed up at Great Collections and is nicer than most that I've seen. It seems like I did a post about it when it arrived several months ago. I'm OK spending a bit for the right coins, but I hate spending a lot for keys that are "yeah, but" coins. This one checks all the boxes for me, wasn't completely unreasonable, and seems nice for the grade:
Wisconsin
High-grade Wisconsin coins are not hard to find. They come nice, and I've looked at dozens at shows and in auctions from just about all the major auction houses. I've bid on a handful, but for one reason or another it just never worked out. High-grade coins are easy, but coins with a little pizzaz.... those are harder, and the flashiest toners go for more than I've been willing to pay for a coin that was part of my "B" team of commems. They usually tone in predictable red/green/yellow patterns. Then, as is often the case, John Agre sends out an Early Bird e-mail and there's something (or several somethings) a bit off the beaten path. In this case it's a blue and green Wisconsin in a somewhat older holder. Blue. Like a Smurf. Are you kidding me? Nope. Highest grade? Nope. Really, really, really fun and interesting? Yep.
So here's my box of 20..... just don't count too closely.
Love your collection. I have about 11 of your 20 and added 7 of the gold $1 during the pandemic year. Going to see what I can find at Long Beach in September (I hope). This is such a great series and I’m always amazed at the lack of attention it receives. The history of the various issues and the famous engravers involved makes this a very special group
Comments
Stunning !!!
Successful transactions with-Boosibri,lkeigwin,TomB,Broadstruck,coinsarefun,Type2,jom,ProfLiz, UltraHighRelief,Barndog,EXOJUNKIE,ldhair,fivecents,paesan,Crusty...
Awesome! Love each and every one of them
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
That set is super nice I'm interested to see how it evolves in the future.
Congratulations on a very attractive set!!!
U.S. Type Set
Felicidades!
And thank you for sharing the journey!
Spectacular!
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Great job! I understand your concerns about the full set. You've focused nicely on quality.
Proof Buffalo Registry Set
Capped Bust Quarters Registry Set
Proof Walking Liberty Halves Registry Set
He did.
. The “he” Mark is referring to is Larry Shepherd, who I should have mentioned was the source of the Spanish Trail. I actually only recently met Larry briefly at the recent Vegas Invitational. He and James Sego were sharing a table at Long Beach and we had a much longer chat. Great guy to talk commems with.
In other thoughts, the Spanish Trail reminds me a bit of this old “Far Side” cartoon, which I find enormously insightful.
Excellent choices!
The Norfolk was my first early commemorative coin purchase.
The real Norfolk Mace
Nice original colorful coins...very appealing set ! With prices so low, I still think it's time to buy if you are a passionate about commems
Commems and Early Type
Awesome coins! Loved looking at them. Most of what you have were in my group of about 25 of my favorites that I had put together years and years ago.
Good work. And by the way, Ira Allen on the VT commem was a patriot involved with delaying the arrival of British reinforcements from Montreal and thus contributing to the American victory at Saratoga; he later founded the University of Vermont.
Congratulations from the Northeast Kingdom --
Great job!
Latin American Collection
Good info. I actually lived in Vermont for a year during internship at Dartmouth. Never got out of the hospital much though. Wonderful state.
Not only are prices low, but in general, there’s not much of a premium for getting these already with CAC’s!
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
So, here's the little adjustment to the set that I mentioned earlier. As sometimes happens, every once in a while weird opportunities arise. James Sego and Larry Shepherd were sharing a table at the Long Beach show. I looked at the Old Spanish Trail in Larry's case and it jumped right in my box. While I was there I looked at a few coins that James was displaying including a nice Hawaiian. I really liked it, took a photo of it (with his permission), and promised myself I would take another look later in the day.
I somehow got home without circling back, and the next morning at work it was still swirling around in my mind. I looked up the TrueView and decided it really was as nice as I thought it was. Despite not really "needing" it, I called up James and pulled the trigger. Fortunately he still had it. It arrived in the mail today and I'm pleased as punch to have it.
This is a case of a downgrade really being an upgrade. The old coin is above. The new coin is below. I don't really care what the grades say, I like the new coin better and it seems to fit the rest of the set more appropriately in terms of luster and overall eye appeal. This is the second time in this set that I've replaced a higher graded coin with a lower graded coin that fit better.
New coin appears to have superior luster and color. Nice "downgrade"!
I have looked at literally thousands of Lafayettes (tabulating die pairs) and I agree that you really selected an uncommonly outstanding specimen for a Choice BU. DuVall-1B is the pair; the most common one representing a bit over half of the extant population.
You have a very discerning eye. Nice upgrade (?- yes!) to your set!
Easy choice between the two. Love your collection!
So, when I originally embarked on this journey of "favorite" commems, I intended to do a box of 20, because that's more-or-less about how many of the designs I really enjoyed. Some were obvious choices like the Gettysburg, Lincoln, Oregon Trail, and Pilgrim. Others were attractive to me for various reasons. A few at the bottom were having a hard time making the cut.
In particular I debated about the Grant, San Diego, Sesqui, Spanish Trail, and Wisconsin.
So, I broke the rules and just did them all, and make a box of 20.....ish. Here's the new additions:
Grant
Ulysses isn't universally liked as either a general or as a president, but he is a prominent Civil War figure and I admire much of the history around him. Apart from this, the Grant with Star issue is something people look for in a set of Commems. This one showed up at Great Collections and is nicer than most that I've seen. It seems like I did a post about it when it arrived several months ago. I'm OK spending a bit for the right coins, but I hate spending a lot for keys that are "yeah, but" coins. This one checks all the boxes for me, wasn't completely unreasonable, and seems nice for the grade:
Wisconsin
High-grade Wisconsin coins are not hard to find. They come nice, and I've looked at dozens at shows and in auctions from just about all the major auction houses. I've bid on a handful, but for one reason or another it just never worked out. High-grade coins are easy, but coins with a little pizzaz.... those are harder, and the flashiest toners go for more than I've been willing to pay for a coin that was part of my "B" team of commems. They usually tone in predictable red/green/yellow patterns. Then, as is often the case, John Agre sends out an Early Bird e-mail and there's something (or several somethings) a bit off the beaten path. In this case it's a blue and green Wisconsin in a somewhat older holder. Blue. Like a Smurf. Are you kidding me? Nope. Highest grade? Nope. Really, really, really fun and interesting? Yep.
So here's my box of 20..... just don't count too closely.
Love your collection. I have about 11 of your 20 and added 7 of the gold $1 during the pandemic year. Going to see what I can find at Long Beach in September (I hope). This is such a great series and I’m always amazed at the lack of attention it receives. The history of the various issues and the famous engravers involved makes this a very special group
OUTSTANDING!!!
great idea and terrific coins... I have had some luck myself with theses as of late
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Nice new pieces!
I'll never get over that Gettysburg though. Such a primo coin!