After reviewing the additions of 2025, I have come up with these as my top 10. The first post will just be photos (in order from oldest purchases to most recent). The next post will have some commentary. Please share your thoughts and let me know which is your favorite. 1956 Franklin Half Dollar PCGS MS-64 1892 Columbian Exposition Half Dollar NGC AU-58 PL 2011 America the Beautiful 5 oz. Silver Quarter Gettysburg NP PCGS MS-64 DMPL 1949 Franklin Half Dollar PCGS MS-63 FBL 1852 Burma Kyat PCGS XF 45 1886 Morgan Silver Dollar NGC MS-62 1961 Washington Quarter PCGS Unc Details (Quest Color) 1885-O Morgan Silver Dollar CACG MS-62 Dominican Republic 1952 Silver Peso NGC MS-64 "1915" Pan Pac JANKOVSKY-740 BRASS FACSIMILE COCA COLA BOTTLING SLUG PCGS MS 64
A brief overview of the coins featured above: ~We have two Franklins with nice color; the 1949 is a less common date to find with toning while the 1956 is more available based on toners coming from the double mint sets. ~The Columbian is an AU prooflike coin from the Bagne collection (one of the bigger collections of PL classic commems). The holder is shown below. ~The "puck" is my largest toner. I did not previously own anything larger than a toned Eagle. I had only run across a handful of these so was happy to be able to acquire one in 2025! ~A Burma peacock had long been on my list and I was able to find one with nice color! ~Another series with two is the Morgan. The dual sided toner (with stronger color on the reverse) is quite close to a PL and seemed conservative to me as a 62. Meanwhile the obverse toner was my first CACG slabbed keeper (and I like the pattern formed by the two breaks in the toning). The slab photo is included below. ~The 1961 Quarter I alluded to in my "duds" thread. While I picked up some less spectacular questionable color coins, this one was very different. I don't think it would straight grade but the eye appeal is amazing (to my eye at least). ~The Dominican Peso is another design that I admire and was finally able to find one with cool color. ~The Coca Cola token has an interesting history. I first learned of it from PCGS forum member "coinsarefun" (thread linked below) and was able to purchase it when she sold one on Heritage recently. https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/14016047
I was all in to pick the kyat until I saw that coca cola one. I think I like it better, with the kyat a close second.
My top three favorites (in order) are the Coca-Cola bottling token, 2011 Gettysburg 5 oz. silver and the 1852 Burma Kyat. They all are fantastic pieces.
Neat to see a PL Columbian half. It's hard not to like that Burmese peacock, and the Dominican peso is lovely. But I really love that Pan-Pac Coca-Cola token- a type I was previously unfamiliar with. That's super cool. And I'm a big fan of owls. I'll pay you the highest compliment one collector can give another, and say "if you ever want to part with that one, let me know".
I know it may be perhaps the most common of them but the '56 Franklin is my favorite, beautifully toned (to me) and it looks perfectly natural.
Whenever someone posts an open ended question such as this I tend to use my preferences as a collector to answer. I have very little experience with coins outside the US classic market so this weighs heavily in my response. My #1 pick is the CACG -62 1885-O Morgan dollar. I find it the most attractive coin and love it's unusual toning. A keeper. My #2 pick is the 1886 NGC-62 Morgan Dollar. I think NGC went low on that one but if the price was right it was a great addition to your collection. My #3 pick is a way in left field, never ever even heard of a "Bottling Slug". I haven't a clue what we are even talking about here but I like it! James
Thank you for the comments @lordmarcovan @ksmooter61 @samclemens3991 The Coca Cola token has an interesting backstory that was posted on the PCGS forum. I'm linking it below. https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/14016047 @samclemens3991 the "bottling" was part of "Coca Cola Bottling" and slug is a reference to the large gold pieces from the Gold Rush and later the 1915 Panama Pacific Expo $50 Commemoratives, which this token is modeled after.
