I've been compiling a series of year sets after not having taken part in the hobby since childhood, and I've been surprised at how enjoyable it's been. My childhood collection was very small -- just the Wheaties and older Jeffs I managed to find in circulation, and the 1918 Wheatie my grandfather gave me. Certain coins that I admired as a kid but never owned have been dazzling to see up close -- like Mercury Dimes, which I always thought of as the coolest. What's been really fun, though, is discovering new favorites. I thought the Standing Liberty Quarter looked good in photos I'd seen, but somehow I have a new appreciation for it now that I can see it in person. The one I have is a 1920-S described as being in EF-40 condition, and I really notice Liberty's chain mail in a way I'm not sure I had before. The shield, too. And I think the eagle on the reverse might be my favorite of all the eagles I've seen on coinage. I also love the IHC all of a sudden now that I own two of them. Profoundly simple and elegant, I think. Most surprising has been my reaction to the Barber Half. The Barber series never did anything for me in all the examples I'd seen in print and online. I bought two in VG condition, and they actually seem pretty nice. I'm not sure why. I think the eagle on the back is well done, and there's just something dignified about the coin. I'm a fan of halves in general, because of the size, so maybe that has something to do with it. Then there's the Morgan. I have an 1890 and a 1900-O, and again, it seems like the photos I've seen, well-taken though many have been, don't do it justice. Just really a beautiful design. And the heft of it; it really is too bad people found the large dollar coin such a hassle. I personally think it'd be easier, to take a couple of dollar coins out of my pocket than to reach into my back pocket for my wallet, open it, take out a bill, etc. But maybe that's just me. Apologies for not including photos here. I'm in the process of getting a new camera, and even when I do it may be a while before I feel competent enough to display pictures on CT. I tried scanning my 1900 Morgan, but it just ended up looking weird; it's just as well that I couldn't enlarge the images on my profile page. :goof:
Great story and welcome back to the hobby. I did about the same thing when I was 8 or 9. Started working with pulling wheaties out of grandma's change and we filled as many holes as we could. My father only recently(40 years later) gave me these books. I plan on taking them and getting most(not all) of the holes filled. I knew he still had some, but it took him a while to dig them up. Now he collects morgans and I collect a variety of different coins. One of them being the indian cent - gotta love copper. Here is one of the short runs I posted not too long ago. You might want to also check out the penny lady's IHC's - beautiful coins.
Very cool IHCs there! Maybe one day when I finish my year sets I'll consider a short run of SLQs or Mercs.
Some Canadian cents arrived today...blown away again! I got two large George V cents in AU condition from 1916 and 1918, and two small George V cents in AU from 1929 and 1932. Sophisticated is the word that comes to mind -- the intertwined maple leaves on the large cents, and the lettering of ONE CENT on the reverse of the small cents -- very cool. Any recommendations for an album that holds Canadian year sets?
