Set Category: Other

Set Name: Diversity in Numismatics

Set Description: I am not unlike many collectors my age that started collecting by filling holes in those little blue booklets. I was really into it with booklets for pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. I did have the booklets for Walking Liberty Halves but very seldom did I have a half dollar coin to place in the booklet. Since my basic source of collectables was pocket change silver dollars were just out of the question even thought my dad’s pay envelope did contain them. However since both my parents worked in mills $1 was close to an hour's pay back then and putting a dollar coin into a booklet was out of the question as far as my dad was concerned. Filling those booklets remained my basic approach to collecting even after graduating college although by then I was buying some of my coins. In the 1970’s I became aware of how broad the numismatic universe really is. I don’t mean just world coins vs. US coins. What I am talking about is US coins, world coins, ancient coins, medals and tokens. I can not believe how beautiful many of the Swiss Shooting Medals are; they are for all practical purposes small works of art. My awaking to the numismatic universe was reinforced by the sale of the Garrett collection sold from 1979 through 1985 (Seven auctions in total containing 2354 US pieces and 4841 world and ancient pieces). The sale of the Garrett collection was complemented by the Brand auctions of the early 1980’s. It was then that I completely revised my approach to coin collecting. Did I really need well over 100 Lincoln cents all looking the same except for dates and mint mark? I really became obsessed with variety or really diversity in what I added to my collection. I sold off most of my US material. Around 1995 I started selling off my collection to support my retirement. However when financial conditions permit I will add new less expensive pieces back to my collection. My current collection still reflects my desire for diversity as it contains the following: Ancient Coins Medieval Coins World Coins 1600 to Present US Coins from 1700 to Modern US Commemoratives Tokens & Medals Please, I realize my collection could never approach those of Garrett or Brand but I truly don’t care, that was not my objective. My objective was and is to achieve the type of numismatic diversity their collections embraced. I would say that if anyone had a complaint about my collection, it might be that there are too many minor coins. I think this goes back to my collecting origins. I collected from pocket change. I became attracted to small coins and coppers. To me minors were the work horse in economies before the 1800's where most citizens may never have owned a crown in their entire lifetime. I believe it is much more difficult to find high grade minors from the 18th century on back than it is to find high grade crowns and gold coins from this period. So what factors influenced my purchases? These factors can be summarized as follows: 1- Is the item historically significant? 2- Does it add diversity to my collection? 3- Does the subject mean something to me or relate to my family’s origins or things in my life? 4- Is it in above average grade and condition for its issue? 5- Is it good looking? 6- Do I really want to own it? 7- Cost vs. catalogue (yes sometimes I will buy something because it is simply a “steal” but in this case it must also satisfy criteria 5 & 6). Regarding item 4 – “Is it in above average grade and condition for its issue?” Let me be honest here in that I have no idea what “above average” is for any given coin, medal or token. My goal is that any coin in my collection from A.D. 1,000 to present be at least XF. To some extent this standard for a minimum grade of XF is based on my interpretation of Dr. Sheldon’s approach to valuing large cents. In his work Penny Whimsy the value for an XF coin should represent a majority of the coin’s value when compared its value as a top end uncirculated specimen. I can only assume Dr. Sheldon realized that once you have an XF the additional detail added going to UNC is not that significant. Personally as a collector I have always been satisfied with a nice XF. I’ll let the investors and grade chasers go for the high-end UNC’s. Yes I have MS-69’s and MS-70’s but that is want the US mint sent me, I did not buy them because they were certified with those grades when I obtained them. I do have less than a dozen coins since the year 1,000 that do not meet this criterion to grade XF and all those grade better than VF-20. I should point out that far and away the most valuable coin in my collection grades Ch VF* and that coin is the finest known example of the remaining 19 known specimens of that particular coin. I do plan to continue to add to my collection but being retired and depending on SS my ability to grow my collection is very limited. There are two coins in my collection that I did not list that I would like to list. The first is a cast Aes Grave Semis (Sear #535). NGC does not certify cast ancient coins. This coin was authenticated by David Sear and graded Fine. It is my understanding based on a article in Coin World’s February 7, 2011 issue this coin can not be imported into the US for the next five years and possibly for ever if the MOU continues to be renewed. The second coin is a silver dirhem of Genghis Khan (Mitchiner-#1496) and a coin which NGC does not yet certify. This would be another medieval coin. I also have a ring binder full of coins and tokens. I can not justify certifying these pieces and NGC will not accept them all. This ring binder also reflects my desire to achieve diversity. Census info – when NGC census info is available I provide that data in my discussion of the listed item. I will up date this info a couple of times a year. So if you want the most current info you should click on the NGC provided census link at the top of the items page. I have always wanted to know where I stood within the universe of NGC Registry Sets. I have a pretty good feeling that if NGC assigned registry points for everything in an NGC holder my little set of 154 items would not be embarrassed where it ended up. My set includes 12 US colonials, seven miscellaneous US type coins, 10 modern US Commemoratives and 14 world coins for which I was able to determine their registry points. These 43 coins out of 149 items would give me 68,235 Registry Points and as of 8/23/11 I would be number 1049 in the competitive points standing. I feel pretty good about that. I hope you enjoy my collection as much as I do and I hope that this listing of the items in my collection demonstrates that a truly diverse numismatic collection is a thing of beauty. I also want to give a big thank you to my fellow registry members that provide extensive photos as part of their registry listing. I don’t mean to upset any of my fellow registry members, but looking at a registry set with no or very few photos is like going to an art museum only to find empty frames on the walls along with a little card providing the title of the picture and name of the artist that would be there if the museum ever decided to take the picture out of the vault. No one can find this either enlightening or interesting. I would also like to suggest that when posting photos in the registry you show only the coin. The holder provides absolutely no info not already presented in the registry listing and for providing absolutely no new information it takes up way too much of the space allotted by NGC for the photo. Well thank you for checking out my collection and I wish you the best of luck in the pursuit of your collecting goals and interests.

Set Goals:

Owner:     RAM-VT


custom-world-noNumber.png Best World Custom Set


Signature Set Details:
Slot NameCoin InfoGraded ByCountry
Ancient Greece NGC 
Ancient Greece NGC 
Ancient Greece NGC 
Ancient Celtic Coinage NGC 
Ancient Celtic Coinage NGC 
Roman Republic NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Roman Empire - Imperial Coinage NGC 
Ancient Barbarous Issue of Roman Coinage NGC 
Ancient Barbarous Issue of Roman Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Roman Provincial Coinage NGC 
Byzantine Coinage NGC 
Medieval Armenia - A truly rare and important coin NGC 
Austria NGC 
Austria NGC 
Austrian - Olmutz NGC 
Austrian - Salzburg NGC 
Austrian - Salzburg NGC 
Austrian - Salzburg NGC 
Brazil NGC 
Brazil NGC 
Canada NGC 
Cayman Islands $250 1988 Cayman KM-99 NGCCayman Islands
Cuba NGC 
Medieval England PENNY (978-1016) G.BRITAIN S-1144 AETHELRED II NGC 
Medieval England PENNY (1066-87) G.BRITAIN S-1257 WILLIAM I NGC 
Medieval England NGC 
Medieval England NGC 
England NGC 
England NGC 
England NGC 
England NGC 
England NGC 
England NGC 
Great Britain NGC 
England NGC 
Great Britain NGC 
Medieval France 1 1458-88 Rennes Roberts-6183 NGCFRANCE - 1601-1643
France NGC 
Medieval Germany NGC 
Germany NGC 
Germany NGC 
Germany 1/24T 1625-HI Ger.-Saxony KM-71 NGCGERMANY - STATES - 1801-1873
Iceland NGC 
Iceland NGC 
Medieval Italy 1GR 1139-1339 Genoa Biaggi-838 NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Italy NGC 
Japan NGC 
Japan NGC 
Netherlands NGC 
New Zealand NGC 
Rhodesia This is a super rare coin NGC 
Straits Settlements NGC 
Sweden 10K 1874/3-ST SWEDEN KM-732 PCGS 
Transylvania Romania Hungary NGC 
Thailand 5B 1972 Thailand KM-PN56 NGCThailand
Turkey NGC 
Venezuela NGC 
US Colonial Hibernia Coinage NGC 
US Colonial Hibernia Coinage NGC 
U.S. Colonial NGC 
US Colonial Kentucky (none) No Date Plain Edge Kentucky Copper PCGS 
US Colonial Massachusetts NGC 
US Colonial Connecticut PCGS 
Colonial Copper Nova Eborac coinage for New York PCGS 
US Colonial New Jersey NGC 
US Colonial New Jersey NGC 
US Colonial Vermont COP 1786 'ENSIUM' VERMONT NGC 
US Colonial Vermont NGC 
US Colonial Vermont NGC 
US Indian Head or Buffalo Nickel 1913-1938 NGC 
US Indian Head or Buffalo Nickel 1913-1938 NGC 
US Bust half Dollar NGC 
US Matte Proof 50C NGC 
United States Seat Silver Dollar $1 1843 Seated Liberty Dollar PCGS 
United States Gold Dollar - Type 3 G$1 1874 Lg Indian Head Gold Dollar PCGS 
United States Double Eagle NGC 
United States Double Eagle NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Modern US Commemorative NGC 
Chilean Silver Medal 60mm 1910 CHILE SILVER 100 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE NGC 
English Peace Medal AR 1713 G.BRIT MI-400 257 PEACE OF UTRECHT NGC 
French Death Medal for a Field Marshal WM (1774) FRANCE MORITZ VON SACHEN TOMB NGC 
French Bronze Medal AE 1833-DATED 41.4mm FRANKLIN - MONTYON NGC 
French Medal 33mm 1789 FRANCE BRONZE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1731 FRANCE SILVER CONSEIL DU ROI NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1750 FRANCE SILVER CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE NGC 
French Jeton SILVER 1757-DATED FRANCE MITCHINER-3532 NGC 
French Jeton SILVER 1764-DATED FRANCE MITCHINER-870 NGC 
French Jeton SILVER 1778-DATED FRANCE EXTRAORDINAIRE GUERRES NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1836 FRANCE SILVER SOCIETE ANONYME NGC 
French Jeton SILVER 1816-DATED FRANCE NOTARIES OF D'AMIENS NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1836 FRANCE SILVER CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE NGC 
French Jeton JETON (C1840) FRANCE L'ARRONDISSE DE GIEN NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1846 FRANCE SILVER L'INDUSTRIE LINIERE NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1848 FRANCE COPPER SYNDICALE DEW TAPISSIERS NGC 
French Jeton JETON (C1870) FRANCE CAMPAGNIE DES NOTAIRES NGC 
French Jeton JETON (1880)FRANCE SILVER CASISSE D'EPARGNE NGC 
French Jeton JETON 1900 FRANCE SILVER TRIBUNAL DE LA SEINE NGC 
German Bronze Medal BRONZE (1850) GERMANY 1ST COUNT BRANDENBURG NGC 
German Shooting Medal SILVER 1881 GERMANY 7TH FEDERAL SHOOTING FEST NGC 
German Aviation Medal MEDAL 1928 GERMANY KAISER-931 AR 36mm NGC 
Swiss Shooting Medal FEST 1892 SWISS SHOOTING R-1752a; AR 48mm NGC 
Swiss Shooting Medal FEST 1893 SWISS SHOOTING R-123a; AR 45mm NGC 
Swiss Shooting Medal FEST 1895 SWISS SHOOTING R-1756b; AR 45mm NGC 
Swiss Shooting Medal FEST 1897 SWISS SHOOTING R-234a; AR 45mm NGC 
Swiss Shooting Medal FEST 1949 SWISS SHOOTING R-857b; AR 33mm NGC 
US Columbian Expo Bronze Medal 76mm 1893 IL E-90 AE FERGUSON BROS. NGC 
US Pan-Pacific Medal AE 1915 CA 70.5mm MEDAL OF AWARD NGC 
US Token NGC 
Inauguration Medal BRONZE PRESIDENTIAL SERIES ROOSEVELT INAUGURATION NGC 
Inauguration Medal 70mm 1953-DATED BRONZE EISENHOWER INAUGURATION NGC 
US Silver Bicentennial Medal 76mm 1976 SILVER REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL NGC 
US Gold Bicentennial Medal MEDAL 1976 GOLD AMERICAN REVOLUTION NGC 
Maryland's 5 Piece Medal set for the US Bicentennial 38mm 1976 BRONZE BICENTENNIAL IN MARYLAND NGC 
Maryland's 5 Piece Medal set for the US Bicentennial 38mm 1976 SILVER BICENTENNIAL IN MARYLAND NGC 
Maryland's 5 Piece Medal set for the US Bicentennial 38mm 1976 GOLD PLATED BICENTENNIAL IN MARYLAND NGC 
Maryland's 5 Piece Medal set for the US Bicentennial 63.5mm 1976 BRONZE BICENTENNIAL IN MARYLAND NGC 
Maryland's 5 Piece Medal set for the US Bicentennial 63.5mm 1976 SILVER BICENTENNIAL IN MARYLAND NGC 

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