Shout out (again) to Peak Rarities and Davidk who helped me "finish: a set
I finally semi-completed a set I have been working on since … well, a long time.
In 1961 on a Friday my father played cards with some friends and won, so he had a pocket full of change. (Low stakes plus prices were different then.) The next day he was speaking with a friend who was a collector and they started to look through my father’s change for 1960 small-date cents, which were very much in the news. They did not find any BUT they did discover my father had a 1931-S quarter. His friend offered him $35 for the coin, which was a fair price at the time, but my father declined. That night at dinner my father told us about his find. I thought that sounded interesting—free money 😊—and so I started searching rolls. I soon discovered that I did not enjoy roll searching but I did enjoy collecting. So, Red book in hand, I started collecting.
My father paid little enough attention to my endeavors but, like all mothers, my mother feigned interest. However, she was bored with collecting pennies, or dimes or whatever because, to her, all the coins looked identical. She seemed, however, actually semi-interested in commemoratives because the coins were generally different designs. So, as a dutiful child, I started buying a few commemoratives (and patterns, but that’s a story for another day). I collected for perhaps 5 years and then life interfered.
In 1994 I resumed collecting. My wife, similar to my mother, pretended she was interested but, also like my mother, date collecting was of no interest to her. Commemoratives, however, were. So, this time as a dutiful husband, I started buying commemoratives. When my wife passed away in 2015, I continued to collect commemoratives.
I decided I would try to collect the complete commemorative set, and have coins for which there were fewer than 100 with higher grades. Over the years, by looking at auctions and dealers’ stocks, I found all I needed except for a Lafayette dollar and a Grant with star. I could not find any that I liked.
Now, into my story enter @davidk7 and @peakrarities. I asked for their help, and they promptly found for me this Lafayette:
Then, last month (paid for this month) they found a Grant with star:
And with the Grant, my collection became semi-finished. I still have a few coins (Lincoln, 1936-D Columbia, etc) that I’d like to upgrade because there are more than 100 with higher grades, but at last my basic set is complete. So, this post is a warm shout-out to Davidk7 and Peak Rarities. They helped me complete a set I’ve been working on for over 60 years.
I’m not sure how well this link
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/publishedset/511 is going to work, but if you want to look at it, it’s the “Rush Family Collection” in the Silver Commemorative 144 Piece Mintmark and Variety Set.

Comments
NICE!!!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
Congrats. Very nice.
I am doing the commem set in CAC Rattlers only. It is fun putting restrictions on commems.
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
What a great story that you've shared. I enjoyed reading how you came to collect commems. Your coins look fantastic. Congratulations!
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
Wonderful coins, post, and story. Congrats!
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Thank you for your kind words and for the shoutout. I really enjoyed reading your backstory, and Dan and I are extremely happy that your set is finally 'complete'!
I definitely miss our various talks and discussions in person after my Econ classes, but I'm thankful we have text and the forum still. Hopefully you'll be at the Summer FUN show!
Collector of Capped Bust Halves, SLQ's, Commems, and random cool stuff! @davidv_numismatics on Instagram
One of the best collections of old holders I've ever seen...not to mention all of the other bangers! I fear for your inbox after posting so much heat
Very nice coins!
Condolences on the passing of your wife.
The commems look outstanding and I will go to your set to view the others. However, your father had quite the find from that poker game if he had a 1931-S quarter!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Mark, that's a great collection and congratulations on the amazing journey!
Not really looking for much these days but if I were, it might be a toner.
That Lafayette dollar is unreal.
I guess David is good for something once in a while
BHNC #248 … 140 and counting.
Congrats! Beautiful coins and awesome post.