Looking Back On 2016

I barely did anything this year, and in fact I sold a lot of nice coins to buy militaria. I hope to buy a pair of P41 HBT USMC pants after christmas (which will finish my USMC WWII set) and finally get back into buying coins again next year!

2016 started out with big dreams and didn't take off because of added work commitments and my favorite LCS closing. I added 1921 and 1921 d to complete my merc album minus 1916-d. I started a 7070 and added some nice type coins- including my first commemorative halves- patriot/Lexington, Rhode Island, Pilgrim. I also sold off some of the sets I had started to change focus- those were Washington quarters and Franklin halves. To start 2017 goals I just picked up a 7172 and Dansco nickels album including - v, buffalo and Jefferson in 1 album.

Also went to my first coin show in 2016

I collect mostly by date, rather than by series, or sets (with the exception of type sets). I try to keep about 50-60 coins on my want list with pretty exact grade and price requirements. If my want list gets below 40, I decide my next avenue of interest to get it back up in that 50-60 range.

The reason I do so is so that I don't fall into the trap of needing ONE MORE COIN to complete a given goal. In that way, I keep a close eye for the coins on my want list, I learn a great deal about them, their appearances, problems to look out for, frequency of righteous versus detailed grades, and in general often become familiar enough with given coins that I can consider myself fairly expert for that issue.

By keeping my want list up, I don't ever need "just one coin" to finish a set and then convince myself to buy something I shouldn't or at a price I shouldn't just because I want to FILL THAT HOLE.

Although I usually am very careful not to purchase duplicates for my collection, there have been a couple of cases this year when I was at a coin show and grabbed a couple of duplicate coins, just because I had become familiar enough with them that I knew they were too nice and well priced to pass up.

So I rarely "complete" a goal because I expand my goals as I progress. There are a couple of cases where I did finish off some notable collections.

I was able to complete a set of at least one of every date US Coin from 1796 to 1964, almost all in at least VF condition, and well over half in NGC MS.

The only post 1964 coins I collect are the American Silver and Gold Eagles, and I was able to finish all the burnished, reverse proof, enhanced finish, and mint state examples, with just a few proofs to go. If I get tired of waiting to find something in my main collection, I always have these to fall back to for an easy coin addition.

I finished all 10 of the 1897 Philadelphia mint set with gold in honor of my paternal grandfather.

I added a fair number of type coins to the monster everything up to 1964 set, with varieties.

I only need two more coins (1935-S Peace MS-64 & 1937-D Walker MS-65) to complete one of every coin issued from 1934 to 1964. I've gotten a little itchy a couple of times because I only need those two, but so far I'm still holding out for ones that I truly fall in love with.

So I do get a few goals done along the way, but mostly I just cycle through my want list and enjoy the chase.

My goal for 2016 was to finish my 7070. I manged to fill 33-1/3% of the remaining holes. Before you get too impressed, that means one of three.

I knew that goal was not going be met. Those now last two holes are the most expensive coins in the (non-gold page) album. Of course, the only reason why that one hole was filled was because TypeCoin971793 was kind enough to remember that I needed one.

Other than that...

I filled some more holes in the Indian Head cent and Buffalo nickel collections. Just three holes remain between them. (This goes along with the one Mercury dime hole. All three sets are together in a custom Dansco.)

Also, and probably most impressive, I got my first three slabbed Eisenhower dollars this year.

Thus begins my second Ike set, which is to be a companion (and not an upgrade) to my long completed Dansco album. Thanks go out to Bobby and Scopru for their assistance here.

I have had a very busy year. For purchases, I was able to get a 1932-D and a 1932-S quarter this year, and I also bought my first gold coin. The North Carolina Numismatic Association awarded me their YN of the year award, and I spent a few weeks of my summer organizing donations to my club's YN program.

As far as next year goes, I hope to finish either my Washington quarter set or my Mercury dime set (minus the 1916-D) and I also have my eyes set on attending the Summer Seminar next year.

It has overall been a very good year for my collections. My coin spending was down a bit compared to previous years but I added a few really nice quality pieces to my core collection. Filled a few holes in my type set and I should be able to fill another in early January. Lately most of my efforts have went into purchasing ancient coins and a few nice U.S. large size currency notes. In my other non-numismatic collections made the biggest gains in my opinion, I added some rare art pottery, scarce early political pins, and some cool 19th century stoneware a good prices. Even picked up some quality antique solid wood furniture at bargain prices.

In 2017 like in 2016 I need to re-emphasize the importance of quality over quality. In the past I've purchased too many lesser coins causing me to miss out on some better harder to find items.

DO IT! Make sure you keep to that promise. Its an experance you'll never forget. You'll learn more than you thought possible and meet some of the biggest names in numismatics. I may go back for 2017 time permitting.