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New to the boards...and I finally found my niche!

I've made a few posts on other threads, but this is my official "I'm new to the boards" thread! Permit me to introduce myself:

My name is David Dinkins (NOT the former mayor of New York =P), I'm 21 and will be graduating this May with a B.A. in History and will pursue an M.B.A. I am a writer of strategy guides for online role-playing games (I work for http://www.powerguides.com)--talk about a great job...getting paid to play games and write about them!) and am presently writing for Shadowbane (I can't wait until Worlds of Warcraft comes out). I have always had a passion for coin collecting but never had much money to spend on the hobby (unfortunately I still don't--but maybe once school is paid for I will). My grandmother bought me my first coin, a 1943 merc, at a flea market when I was 8 and I've been hooked every since. For awhile I bought raw coins at shows, usually in the $10-$50 range, but I had a terribly difficult time grading them and invariably overgraded everything. Even the A.N.A. book didn't help.

Eventually I wound up selling these coins and I found out about PCGS & NGC. I bought a lovely light golden toned 1937-S Buffalo nickel (MS66) as well as a very attractive pastel toned MS63 Morgan (1885-O). Shortly thereafter, however, I stopped buying new coins, simply because I couldn't find my niche. I just didn't know what to collect. I thought about a type set and I love the 1955/55 Lincoln cent as well as the 1909-S VDB, but I don't have enough money to purchase one. Looking back at my toned Morgan, and seeing some nice toned coins in the BST forums, I think I've decided that my "niche" is in toned coins. What is more wonderful than a beautiful coin with beautiful toning? I mean the "classic" designs are so much more attractive than the whole "dead president" thing we've got going now. Forgive me, but I'm something of a political cynic: of the presidents I consider truly "great"--Washington for being the first; Polk, Taylor, Pierce, and Buchanan for holding together the Union; Lincoln for being (among less attractive things) a masterful politician--only two of them ever made it onto our coins! I prefer the classic pictures of Liberty, in all her myriad "poses."

I just wanted to share some of my excitement with all of you. For a long time I've lurked these boards and learned as much as I could, but I never could figure out how to start collecting again--I saw so many coins I liked, but nothing rekindled that passion. Finally I think I've found what I've been looking for! Thanks for letting me share this with all of ya'll. Take care!

EDIT: FDR was okay too =D
I heard they were making a French version of Medal of Honor. I wonder how many hotkeys it'll have for "surrender."

Comments

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    Congrats on your purchases and welcome aboard.

    Bulldog
    Proud to have fought for America, and to be an AMERICAN!

    No good deed will go unpunished.

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    airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,702 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome aboard!

    ...and since your job seems SO grand.... and since you'll get this here eventually... here is your first... you suck! image
    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research
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    I've never gotten a you suck.....yet. Guess I haven't posted any AH DCAM Kennedy's, I don't even own one, lol.
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    FullHornFullHorn Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It is hard to decide what not to collect, welcome to the boards
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    LucyBopLucyBop Posts: 14,001 ✭✭✭
    You know, the HepKitty digs pretty toning as well.....

    image
    imageBe Bop A Lula!!
    "Senorita HepKitty"
    "I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
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    dpooledpoole Posts: 5,940 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Neat post, ddink! Welcome to the boards!
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    ddink:

    Lots of smart folks on here! LOTS and plenty of help and opinions too.

    bhsalesmanimage
    bhsalesman
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    Welcome to the boards. Buy what you can afford, your education being the #1 priority, and learn what you can about coins. When your done with your Masters and a good job, you`ll have more spending money on the hobby.image Glad you took the plunge. I like my videogames too when I have the time.image
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    richbeatrichbeat Posts: 2,288
    Welcome aboard! Glad to have you. image
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    lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 45,020 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome! I'm sure you'll like it here. image

    Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.

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    ClankeyeClankeye Posts: 3,928
    Great post, David!

    I love when a new member joins, tells a little about themselves and their interests, and is excited about joining in. You obviously seem to be, so have at it.

    Clankeye
    Brevity is the soul of wit. --William Shakespeare
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    Welcome to the board. I wish you luck on your journey.
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    HadleydogHadleydog Posts: 1,588 ✭✭✭
    Welcome aboard!image
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    What is more wonderful than a beautiful coin with beautiful toning? ... of the presidents I consider truly "great" ... only two of them ever made it onto our coins!

    Hey! Ya gotta like Ike!

    image
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    cladkingcladking Posts: 29,943 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome aboard. I agree that the dead presidents need to come off the coinage,
    but something needs to be done with those already made.image
    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
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    Welcome to the boards image.
    image

    image
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    ldhairldhair Posts: 7,440 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome to the board. This is a great place to learn and have fun. image
    Larry

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    RYKRYK Posts: 35,800 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome , David, and excellent post. Good luck with your collection, and we hope to have many informative, intersting, good-natured, and humorous posts from you.

    Now for my disagreement with you. If Buchanan were not such a lousy President, we may not have had the Civil War. Buchanan sucks!

    Welcome aboard!

    Robert
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    ahah Posts: 161 ✭✭✭
    David, welcome aboard, good to have a new opinion
    to hear from.
    Al
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    GeminiGemini Posts: 3,085
    Welcome Dave...I don't care much for dead Presidents either...I am a womanizer at heart...its Miss Liberty for me she is so purdy...(sigh)
    A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
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    << <i>Now for my disagreement with you. If Buchanan were not such a lousy President, we may not have had the Civil War. Buchanan sucks! >>



    A good point. Had Buchanan taken swift, strong action the war definitely would not have lasted long. Over 75% of the soon-to-be Confederate soldiers didn't even have weapons! However, going back through Battle Cry of Freedom I have the feeling that the Civil War was inevitable. In fact last night I had a realization: the sectional tensions would eventually have come to a head even without slavery. Remember the nullification crisis? At that point, sectional tensions were flaring not over slavery, but over the tariff. Later, of course, as more people began to realize the evils of slavery and began to oppose it, the political issues would change. Fortunately that's all over now. Today's Southerners eschew slavery and consider that no part of their identity as children of the South. They refer to "heritage" not hate, to noblesse oblige, to chivalric values--that is how they identify themselves today. Unfortunately, that's not the way they chose to identify themselves at back then. The most ironic thing is that, at the end of the war so many (mistakenly) believe was fought over slavery, the Confederacy put in motion plans to free their slaves (that is, acting on the Cleburne plan). If not for the cotton gin, slavery likely would have died anyway. I just find it so unfortunate that such an otherwise noble heritage is tainted by the evils of slavery. But that's history!

    Thank you all for the warm comments! I'm glad to become a part of this community.
    I heard they were making a French version of Medal of Honor. I wonder how many hotkeys it'll have for "surrender."
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    wingedlibertywingedliberty Posts: 4,805 ✭✭✭
    Welcome to our family. I wish you great joy in this best of hobbies.

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    ms71ms71 Posts: 1,645 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome aboard. Enjoy this great way to enjoy the hobby 24/7.
    Successful BST transactions: EagleEye, Christos, Proofmorgan, Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins, justindan, doubleeagle07

    Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't an optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.

    My mind reader refuses to charge me. . . . . . .
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    critocrito Posts: 1,735
    The tone freaks around here will rub off on you. Look what they made me buy this morning. It's all their fault image

    image

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