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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;hoth2, post: 2940790, member: 74431&quot;]I was waiting to get back from out of town so I could post with pictures, and I now have pictures (though they don&#039;t do the gifts justice).</p><p><br /></p><p>When I found this in the mail took a second for it to register that this was my secret santa gift, because the package it came in was quite a bit more book-shaped than coin-shaped (for a reason). It was wrapped in several layers.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the first layer was this lovely coin with the nativity on one side and the three kings on the other:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]716069[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]716070[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m half Spanish and grew up celebrating Three Kings Day on January 6th as a kind of second Christmas, so always appreciate their depiction on Christmasy things.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Next, under another layer of wrapping was a denarius of Domitian.&nbsp; This beautiful coin immediately became one of my favorites in my collection.&nbsp; It&#039;s the only coin I have with toning (barely visible in my photo but lovely in-hand), and is hands down my favorite reverse:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]716073[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]716075[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I just love the weirdness and specificity of the helmet-on-throne device.&nbsp; It actually took a second for me to figure out what was going on because I&#039;m so used to seeing a god or goddess just standing there.&nbsp; This coin was a wonderful selection and better than I had any right to hope for.</p><p><br /></p><p>The final package-within-a-package really touched me, as in I actually felt a little twinge in my heart when I opened it.&nbsp; The reason is that it really showed that my SS took some time on this gift and personalized it.&nbsp; My avatar is an image of the cover of <i>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao</i> by Junot Diaz, which is one of my favorite books of all time.&nbsp; Here is what the final package contained:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]716077[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Now, <i>Brief Wondrous Life</i> sold quite a few copies when it first came out, and it is not a rare book by any means, but what you&#039;re looking at is an uncorrected proof, which is basically a test pressing.&nbsp; This was special, and personalized, and not something I&#039;d seen before, let alone held in my hands.</p><p><br /></p><p>My SS still has not revealed his- or herself.&nbsp; If you&#039;re out there somewhere: Thank you so much for the gifts and for the thoughtfulness.&nbsp; You made some rough days better.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the way, when I read the card you wrote to me to my wife, she said, &quot;These coin folks <i>are</i> your people,&quot; which I thought was nice. Merry Christmas![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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