What is your Numismatic Specialization or Focus?

I suppose I never really explained what mine is. I really aren't knowledgeable enough to consider me being specialized. But I feel that I am pretty good at analyzing prices and values.

 

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I first became interested in coins back in 1966. I started collecting in 1972 and worked my way through Lincolns, Jefferson nickels, V nickels, Shield nickels, and buffalos, then Indian head cents, two cent, three cents 20 cent pieces and finally Seated Half Dimes. In 1982 I became interested in early large cents and joined EAC. In 1985 I started a date set of the Draped bust cents, I knew I couldn't do the varieties. Then two years later a collector aquaintence who was getting out of early copper made me an offer I couldn't refuse for 30 draped bust cents varieties. That gave me about 45 varieties and I was on my way. I added the Classic heads and then later the Liberty caps and today I have 259 of the 295 varieties. I lack only two varieties after 1794.

In 1992 large cents were getting more difficult to get and I turned to a similar item (I'd fallen in love with copper). I started collecting Conder tokens, large cent sized 18th century copper British trade tokens that were available in high grade inexpensively. I started just trying to get one pieces from each of the English counties. I believe that was 38 counties (but one is pretty much impossible. Leichestshire only issued one token and the mintage was 18 pieces.) By 1997 I had finished that and expanded my sights to an example of each of the "Genuine Trade Tokens". These were pieces that were issued by merchants and actually intended to circulate as money. (As opposed to pieces made for collectors or anonymous pieces intended to circulate that had no indication of where they could be redeemed.) There are about 650 different GTT's, I have 555 of them. Eventually I just started picking up other varieties that I didn't have, I currently have 950 different varieties.

About the same time I started collecting the Conder tokens seriously, I also began assembling my reference set of Authentication Services and Third Party Grading Service certificates and holders.

So those have been my primary focus for the past 36 years, Early date large cents by variety, Conder tokens by variety, and slabs,certificates by company and variety.

*** 20,000th POST!! ***

Now you won't have to put up with my countdown anymore. Or at least not til I get close to 25 or 30 thousand.

 

Good choice of thread for the post! And now we won't have to put up with your silence while you were waiting for the perfect moment.

 

I like to collect whatever catches my eye, but I have a special place for peace dollars, Victorian coins, and since about this time last year a growing interest in ancients. I definitely follow the "collect what you like" mantra...

 

My interests are in research. Last week I spent 20 hours over four days at the State of Texas Archives reading the burser's inventories and other documents of the Texian Navy of the 1840s as I research the Pay Warrants of 1841.

But I also just submitted two articles about "The Oblique View" of coins, ancients and others that take on a 3-D orientation. And, that, too, was the result of research time interviewing people on the phone and by email.

I often review books and I am a frequent contributor to the E-Sylum mail list.

 

I started with Lincolns in about 1964 and later added the matte proofs. That got me into bronze Lincoln plaques.
At some point I became hooked on clashed die coins especially the 1857 Flying Eagle cents with clashes. I did Seated dimes and half dimes for about 30 years. Started building several different type sets about 40 years ago.
Today, I'm hooked on Bust Half dollars and still add a bit to the type sets.

 

WOW. Some great stories.

@Conder101, how appropriate for your 20K post. You got me interested in adding a Conder Token or two to my collection.

1st Conder Token by JPeace$ posted Feb 19, 2019 at 7:55 PM

1st Conder Token reverse by JPeace$ posted Feb 19, 2019 at 7:55 PM

I consider myself a scattered collector. I enjoy the journey to becoming a Numismatist, but I have a long, long way before I would ever consider myself that.

I like large silver dollars and would like to finish my Peace Dollar collection. I have a Type Set started, which appeals to my scattered collecting approach. I like our earlier coinage a lot. In general, I have a little bit of everything: US Coins, World Coins, Ancients and some bullion.

Like @Randy Abercrombie posted earlier in the thread, that is what makes this hobby so great. It has so many interesting facets. When I add something new, I learn a little more about history.

 

Yay, my thread was the reason he hit 20K
I feel special

 

And I love Varieties! I enjoy searching BU rolls of Wheat Cents to find RPMs, Doubled Dies, BIEs, and unusual die anomalies. And when I find them, I photograph them! I started out doing high magnification 2D, then moved to 3D, and now I'm doing ultra-resolution 2D. For last 10 years I've been on a quest to be able to produce a single image of a Lincoln Cent which can be zoomed-in to show all the die markers and details needed to fully document a variety, and I have finally succeeded. See an example here, showing obverse and reverse of a Lincoln Cent DDO that I discovered, imaged in ultra-resolution. You can zoom right in to see all the details:

https://easyzoom.com/image/125350

 

It's changed through the years, there's just so much neat stuff out there. Cheap older world coins (pre-1900) kept me fascinated for a while. Then Morgans, I still like them, thought I seldom buy one anymore. Tell myself I should sell them to finance newer interests, but I can't bring myself to do it. Then for a while it was the classic U.S. commemoratives, back to older world silver, then seated coinage. Recently it's been bust halves. Today I walked into my office and saw the list I made the other day - of CBH's on ebay, their item numbers, and the Overton numbers I'd put to them. Kind of had to laugh at myself, but I'm having fun!

 

Well I love gold coins, but that's not my specialty. I try to collect rare coins, but that's still not my specialty just part of what I collect. When I'm talking about rare, I mean less than 15,000 minted. I also, just started collecting medals, mostly political medals. Drum roll please. My specialty is tokens, pictorial tokens! Here's one of my favorite tokens and one of my rare gold coins below.

 

That Una and the lion is amazing.

 

Roman imperial non provincial coinage, I dabble in other ancients to some extent.

 

Always US coins but I am really into Asian cash coins (specifically Chinese) anywhere from BC times to the late 19th century as of recent.

U.S. Civil War era numismatics is also a big "specialization", could be anything from either side and I'd be interested (from a historical standpoint).

 

Best answer here, boss!

 

Yeah I put it on the bay every now and then but buyers only want to pay bullion prices and no way would I part with this coin for $250 or even $350. Supposedly there were only 300 of these minted in 97, it's KM516. I had it graded as well by ANACS here it is again! My apologies, but I love showing it off, there must be at least 10 threads where I jumped on the opportunity to show it off!

 

Great thread!! Really cool to learn about the folks that roam these here halls. So my long winded story starts when I was a kid in the 80s. I was just always curious, would go dig old bottles, loved history and old stuff and had a grandfather that collected coins and would show them to me when Id go over. A coin store opened in town and we would go agitate the owner over indian cents and foreign coins for hours. By the way, that store was Coins n things in Whitman Ma. I guess they are now a multi BILLION dollar company that supplies most of the countries gold or something. Crazy. Anyways, lost intetest in my teens but held onto the knowledge and collection I had. Got intetested again in my 20s and inherited the remains of my grandfathers collection. Sadly for me he had sold all those sweet trade dollars and other high end pieces i remembered, but there was still a good bit left of the usual and a lota canadian. This is where I could inflict pain on myself. Mid 20s, money problems, sold a lot of it. Familiar story. I get nauseas now thinking about it. Beautifully toned raw high mint state stuff with rainbow rings in albums that were breathtaking. He aquired a lot when they were new in the 50s!! Coin shop told me was worth scrap, silver was $6.50, and I needed gas. Have never forgiven myself. So now, got a nephew that is my clone. Thats good and bad. I was getting active again with coins and asked him if he wanted to start a collection. I could never have dreamt the enthusiastic response. Kid is smart and learnin fast. Now we' re not rich and Ive made a few vows this round. 1) Re assemble the best representation of my grandfathets collection I can. ( mostly complete or semi complete 20th century silver) 2) Aquire wisely. Quality over quantity. Aquire pieces that will retain or increase in value. 3) Coin roll hunt for errors and keepers. Both me and the kid love them and the best part is you can find them for free by looking and knowing what to look for. 4) Stack that silver!! Hitting the banks to find silver for face and hold onto it till silver rises OR sell it to buy pieces to add to the collection. Thats basically it. Hes in love with wheaties and indians and im focused on mint sets, Franklins and toners. Seriously LOVE this hobby though and what it has to offer. Just recently reaching out in the "community" and attempting to get as active as I can. So, collecting with the kid with a focus on quality 20th century pieces. Thanks yall!!!

 

Thank you!

 

@Jim sullivan , great story. Don't beat yourself up too badly about your grandfathers collection. Pour your regret into working with your Nephew on a new collection!