The J. Perry Collection of Colorado Coins and Exonumia

Set Description
“A NUMISMATIC TOUR OF COLORADO”
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This wide-array of over 400 coins and exonumia is intended to give an unprecedented look into the history of my native state and current home, Colorado, through the eyes of numismatics. Colorado is not just important to me personally, its relevance to numismatics is historically significant. Both the Denver Mint and the American Numismatic Association reside in the state which make it abundantly rich with numismatic artifacts.

From events, celebrations, landmarks, and renowned people to anniversaries, commemorations, stores, and saloons; all are common themes among these specimens which paint a colorful picture of the "Centennial State." — Although I collect coins in many other areas, Colorado-themed numismatics is my pride and joy. I have certainly dedicated the most time, effort, energy, and financial resources into this set and continue to actively work on it.

This collection consists of and includes nearly every genre in numismatics to give a broader yet concise description of their importance in Colorado history. United States federal issues, tokens, medals, so-called half dollars (C. Smith and Heraldic Art Medals), so-called dollars, world medals/federal issues specific to Colorado, error pieces, Masonic issues, elongated pennies, historic silver art bars, and various event-related memorabilia all make up this specific, yet wildly diverse, collection. From scarce to utterly illusive and pristine to circulated/worn, all are equally important in creating a lively historic image of not just my beautiful home state, but to also show my fascination, passion, and love for the uniqueness and intimacy of collecting numismatic items, as a whole. Some pieces are noted strictly for their undeniable beauty, others for their historic significance and many for their rarity in Colorado numismatics; however, all play a meaningful role in capturing a snapshot of the particular world I have set out to attain.

Additionally, this set contains ~75 official TOP POP specimens as of October 2023, as well as numerous issues where just 1 example is known to exist. This exhibits the historic value offered by this showcase. (Likely even more TOP POP examples but 95% of tokens and 75% of medals do not have population reports listed.)
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FULL COLLECTION IS LISTED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
1.) Federal Issues (Chronological): *13 Included*
- a.) Certified World Issues (Alphabetical) *2 Included*
- b.) U.S. Mint Commemorative Issues (Chronological) *2 Included*
2.) So-Called Half-Dollars/Heraldic Art Medals (Chronological): *8 Included*
3.) So-Called Dollars (Chronological by HK and/or SH Catalog Number): *41 Included*
4.) U.S. Mint Medals (Chronological by Swoger): *9 Included*
5.) A.N.A. (American Numismatic Association) Medals (Chronological)
- a.) Certified US A.N.A. Issues *33 Included*
- b.) Certified US A.N.A. Elongated Cents *3 Included*
- c.) Certified World A.N.A. Issues *7 Included*
6.) C.W.N.A (Colorado-Wyoming Numismatic Association) Medals (Chronological): *17 Included*
7.) Masonic Issues (Chronological by Chapter/Lodge Number and then Alphabetized):
- a.) Chapter Pennies *13 Included*
- b). Shekel Pennies *2 Included*
- c.) Lodges/Misc. Medals *6 Included*
8.) Commemorative Medals (Chronological):
- a.) Certified U.S. Medals *94 Included*
- b.) Raw Medals *11 Included*
- NOTE: Sub-Category for Same/Related Types (Ordered by Grade and/or Pedigree)
9.) Tokens
- a.) Bi-Metallic Tokens: Alphabetized by Schenkman Catalog Number: *10 Included*
- b.) Merchant/Trade Tokens: Alphabetized by Pritchard Catalog Number and City/Town of Origin: *114 Included*
- c.) Commemorative Tokens (Chronological): *4 Included*
10.) Art Bars (Silver): *3 Included*
11.) Memorabilia (Included as Event-Specific and Listed in Front of the Coins/Medals/Tokens that Correspond with the Event): *10 Included*
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FULL COLLECTION CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING:
- NGC/NCS: 367 of 401 Pieces (~92%)
- PCGS: 7 of 401 Pieces (~1.5%)
- ANACS: 2 of 401 Pieces (~0.5%)
- RAW: 12 of 401 Pieces (~3%): **Majority currently submitted for grading w/ NGC. Awaiting results/return.**
- MEMORABILIA: 11 of 401 Pieces (~3%)
TOTAL = ~100%

**If doubles are included within this set, please read the description for that particular piece as to why because this will only occur for one or more of the following reasons: higher grade; better eye-appeal, and/or corresponds to a particular piece via its pedigree.**

Set Goals
PRIMARY COLLECTING GOALS:
After a 5 year hiatus focusing on my young family, my primary goal is now fourfold:
1.) To teach my 2 daughters about the beauty of numismatics through their home state of Colorado.
2.) Making this set a worthy contender and 2x winner for the 2022 NGC Registry Awards; which would be an incredible honor. — As it turns out, this was not the case which was extremely disappointing and unfortunate.

NOTE: The set itself has nearly tripled in size and is continuing to grow regularly since winning the 2017 Registry Award for “Most Informative Custom Set”; making it one of the most unique and extensive Colorado-specific registry collections on the planet. Updates were finally completed in May of 2022 after ~500+ hours of dedication!
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ADDITIONAL COLLECTING GOALS:
3.) To obtain any numismatic specimen minted in and/or having "any" association with the state of Colorado.
4.) To teach people about Colorado's rich history, as well as myself, through the tool of numismatic education. — I hope to one day involve my young children in this process, allowing them to understand their native state and father through numismatics.

“A HIATUS & THE ROAD TO REDISCOVERY”
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Although intended to be posted by the end of 2016, it had been extremely difficult processing the nearly 175+ new certified Colorado specimens I had obtained at the time. I acquired the majority in July of 2016; however, with the high and strict standards I have for presenting them, as well as a 2-year-old and newborn, I took a 5 year hiatus to focus on them. Within the months of December 2019 and January 2020, I put in roughly 100+ hours photographing, editing, and cropping all of the coins, tokens, and medals. With a full-time job and many other engagements in my life, finding large amounts of time to work was, and still is, a tremendous challenge. I am now proud to say I can finally share them with the world, as there are a number of interesting, unique, beautiful, and extremely scarce issues. This should undoubtedly be one of the most expansive Colorado numismatic collections ever assembled in a Registry. — I chose to utilize NGC’s Registry since I trust their judgment beyond all others, their experience in exonumia is unparalleled and subsequently, the vast majority of issues in this collection are graded by them.
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2022 UPDATES:
January 2022 Update: I have “finally” started adding the 175+ new specimens in early January of 2022. I am beginning by uploading photos of every piece, rearranging in the specified order, then entering the descriptions shortly thereafter. This will indeed take time. Subsequently, the collection may look a bit all over the place for the time being until everything is added, organized, and up-to-date. Nevertheless, it’s finally happening! Get ready for one of the most mesmerizing sets of Colorado coins, exonumia, and collectibles ever to be presented! Hold onto your hats my numismatic friends, it's going to be a beautiful site!

2/13/22 Update: All new certified medals have been added to the set, along with photographs. All have been rearranged in their specified order, as well. Descriptions are forthcoming. Current phase will be adding the 100+ NGC certified Colorado tokens. Descriptions for all medals/tokens will be updated after all are added, rearranged.

2/26/22 Update: All new certified tokens and remaining medals have been officially added to this set. This was certainly an undertaking but it is now finally complete. Next phase: rearranging/reordering all pieces in this set in accordance with the Set Description. Once completed, final research will go into the descriptions of each new piece.

2/28/22 Update: The entire set has been rearranged to its final and proper order based on the Set Description. After 5 years, the final stage of updating this collection is in sight. The research details that will go into all new issues that state, “INFO COMING SOON” will conclude all updates once completed. This will undoubtedly be the longest, most time consuming, phase yet. So, please be patient!

4/5/22 Update: Roughly 1/3 or ~33% of all issues in this set have been fully researched. Thorough, detailed, and accurate descriptions have been written in uniform formats. As stated previously, the research/writing phase is by far the lengthiest process. 2/3 or ~66% of the research for this set will be the next major milestone. More to come soon!

4/25/22 Update: Roughly 2/3 or ~66% of all issues in this set have been fully researched/updated. Numerous new pieces have also been added over the last 3 months. The final 33% of the set is now being researched. 100% coming soon!

5/6/22 Update: 100% completed! All issues in this set have now been fully updated. All listings are now in a consistent/uniform format, layout, proper order, fully photographed, and researched extensively. This has been quite the endeavor and personal accomplishment. — Although the major task has been completed through a total of ~500+ hours between time spent in 2017, December of 2019/January of 2020, and January-May of 2022, I will continue to add new Colorado examples as I acquire them. Now, all that’s left is to ENJOY!

**OCTOBER 2022 UPDATE**
102 new Colorado-related coins, tokens, and medals were just submitted to NGC for grading/certification/encapsulation — Officially “Received” on 10/14/22. This is the single largest submission I have ever sent in; which includes some incredible Colorado rarities (i.e. the 1906 CO HK-339 Pike's Peak "Imitation Issue," the 1959 CO HK-543 Rush to the Rockies: "Gold Nugget Dollar" in silver-nickel, and 8 Colorado Masonic issues from the renowned Maurice A. Storck Collection to single out a few). — An update will be posted once the issues are graded/returned; however, this likely will not happen before the November 1, 2022 cutoff for Registry Awards. Regardless, several new/rare issues were recently purchased and will be posted prior to 11/1.

2022 REGISTRY AWARDS:
To my utter disappointment and dismay, my set was not selected for a single category under Custom Sets. I find this to be quite astonishing considering the collection had just 25% of the coins it does now when it won “Most Informative” Custom Set in 2017. All updates were done and completed in 2022, quadrupling the size of the set, creating uniform layouts on “every” coin, 100% HD photos for all coins, and “extensive” in-depth research for each specimen; 500+ hours was spent in the process and thousands of dollars. I was somewhat shocked to compare my set with the 2022 winner for “Most Informative.” Nothing against the winner, it’s a great set; yet, the level of detail between mine and his/hers is unmatched. Although I will continue to build and grow this specific collection out of my love for Colorado numismatics, I will not be putting forth as much effort, energy, or resources. I truly feel like I was unjustly deprived of a deserving, merit-based win. To not have even been considered is both hurtful and upsetting. Yes, I also reached out expressing my feelings to NGC. Effectively, their response was: “There’s 250k+ sets and only a handful of people to sift through them to choose winners. However, your set is noteworthy and caught our eye.” — That is not a valid response, nor answer. An opportunity was made to adjust and/or correct but it was clearly not taken. If sets cannot be properly measured, weighed, examined and thoroughly evaluated, then awards should not be given at all. I apologize for even including this section of wording; however, I felt it important my feelings were made known on the matter, as well as NGC’s response. Believe me, if my set was not a worthy contender, or appeared to be completely insignificant compared to the 2022 winners, I’d fully accept that and work harder in 2023. However, that was not the case here as explained above. — Who knows, maybe next year (assuming one of the few people considering winners stumbles upon my set)…

MARCH 2023 UPDATE:
After 6 months, I have finally received all 102 tokens/medals that were submitted to NGC. For those of you building extensive sets like this, you’ll know how long processing 102 new coins can be. I have already started that process but it may be awhile before I finish. Please excuse the mess, as the Set may look a bit “all over the place” as I get all new issues photographed, cropped, edited, properly researched, and posted. — Adding these additional pieces should only add to the prestige of the collection, as a whole. — More to come soon!