RCC/A Month in the Life of One Collector

A Month in the Life of One Collector

With August being a “social” month for the RCC, I decided to be a bit “sociable” with my article this month and subject you to a bit of self-indulgent rambling about what has happened to me – numismatically speaking – since our last club meeting. (I can ramble quicker than I can research and the newsletter deadline is fast approaching!)

On July 10th, I received a 1921 Maine commemorative half-dollar in the mail from a dealer with whom I’ve been building my set for the past three or four years. It is a very nice brilliant example with much luster (especially for a Maine); it’s graded MS-66 by PCGS. I had the piece a day or two before I realized that with the purchase of the coin I had completed my 50-piece mint state type set of traditional US commemoratives. There are a few pieces in my set that I would still like to upgrade and a few varieties that still need to be added, but for the first time ever I have all 50 types in my collection at the same time! At one time or another, I‘ve owned every piece in the set but always seemed to have a few trades or upgrades in process and therefore could never actually say that I owned them all at the same time. It’s kind of exciting to actually have the whole set in my possession as it represents about ten years worth of collecting effort. I bet it would be even more exciting if I could actually see the whole set at one time. Multiple safe deposit boxes at multiple local banks precludes such an event, however, but maybe I’ll take a day off from work soon and visit them all!

After many hours at the computer – and even more away from it doing research! -- I got the latest issue of The MCA Advisory in the mail on July 18th. The MCA Advisory is the newsletter of the Medal Collectors of America and it goes out to approximately 150 dedicated medal collectors across the US, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden. I took over the editorship of the newsletter during last year’s ANA show when the then-current editor announced that he would no longer be able to fill the position. As any editor of a hobby publication can attest, the hardest thing about being the editor is the fact that you do very little editing and a whole lot of writing! Thus, each issue of this newsletter represents quite a few keystrokes by yours truly and dropping an issue in the mail always brings a sigh of relief! I’ll bring a few complimentary copies of the 20-page newsletter to the next RCC meeting for anyone who may be interested.

The New Jersey statehood quarter was released on 17 May 1999 — number three in the series — with the official release ceremony held in Trenton, the state capital. I’ve always liked the design of the NJ quarter and believe it to be the best of the first year issues. I remember getting a few Philadelphia struck pieces in change around town soon after their release but never could seem to locate a Denver piece. My wait is now over, however, as on 23 July 2002, a mere twenty-six months and six days later, I received my first Denver Mint piece in change! (Who says these quarters aren’t circulating?) Though showing plenty of “mileage,” I put the piece away for safekeeping. After all, who knows when another will pass my way? Though I’ve seen every ‘P’ mint statehood quarter in circulation within a few weeks of its release, I’ve never seen a ‘D’ mint piece until months and months later. For some issues, I’m still waiting. In the last couple of months, however, I’ve seen more Denver pieces from the earlier issues than at any other time. I wonder if the original hoarding has finally given way to spending, and rolls of Denver quarters are now being opened and spent locally. With dealer “buy” prices on many of the issues at or very close to face value, these pieces seem to have lost their “investment potential.”

After wrestling with the decision for several weeks, I finally decided against going to the annual ANA Convention on July 28th. It was a very hard decision to make, as the ANA Convention had become a regular part of my summer in recent years. Activity at work and the economics of the trip finally swayed me, however, and I decided to take the money I would have spent on travel and accommodations and spend it on a coin for my collection. So, instead of experiencing five or six days in NYC, I’m now the proud owner of a frosty 1922 Ulysses .S. Grant commemorative half-dollar in PCGS MS-66. (One of the upgrades I mentioned earlier!) Someday I may wish I had made the trip to NYC and collected more numismatic memories, but for now I’m content with my latest acquisition!

Well, that’s about it for my July. Hopefully you’re hobby month was also enjoyable!

Until next month, Happy Collecting!

The RCC grants permission to reprint any articles not copyrighted by the author for non-profit educational purposes only, provided the Raleigh Coin Club and the author are cited as the original source.