W.K.F.'s Bio
What can I say, I LOVE COINS and coin collecting. I was born in Fl. and have lived here all my life except two years in S.C. I think I have been a collector first but as the years have gone by I would clasify myself as a collector/investor. Although most of my collection is "raw" I do have a few "Graded and Slabbed".
I started collecting in the mid sixties with a few buffalo nickles and lincoln and indian head cents, also a few barber and mercury dimes. Most everything I had in those first few years was no better than good to very good condition. This was mainly due to the fact that my paternal grandparents, who owned a small Dept. store in N.W. La. My "Me Ma" would often send me cards and letters with various coins "taped" to the inside. I fondly still remember coming home from school to find one of those letters, heavy and unbalanced sitting on top of my desk. Sadly, my me-ma's written contents were not read 'til much later,after my new "treasures" were removed, studied and deposited into one of my many little "blue Whitman" folders. I can't begin to express how fond these early days of coin collecting were to me. Another added thrill was when we would make the anual 800 mile, two day trip out to their home when I would be able to sit on that store counter that I could barely see over and ring up sales transactions, supervised of course, and be able to go through all the daily change. This is when I could work for some of the larger coins that were too heavy to mail in cards and letters, such as the Barber and walker halves. These along with the standing liberty quarters were still fairly common in change. I do remember that I had a complete Mercury dime folder filled but later down through the years it along with most of those coins I collected early on, got spent/swiped or misplaced. Out of all those coins, I wish I knew what condition my 1916-D Merc. was in. Then again it's for the best that I don't know 'cause it would just make me sick.
One really "neat coin", (that I still have by the way) is one my uncle gave me in 1966. It is a 1810 over nine classic head large cent. Many years later I sent it in to NGC. When I sent it in I didnt know it was an overdate as it had a fair amount of pourosity and some "green crud" growing on it having been found on the railroad tracks near St. Marys Ga. I have often wondered how long that coin lay there before my uncle found it? Anyway it came back slabbed by NCS with extra fine details. For many years early on, way before I had it graded, this was the "center peice" of my collection. I could'nt beleive I had a coin almost 150 years old!
After about 1970 I stepped away from collecting untill about 1990 when my interest was re-kindled, why I dont know. But around that time I started buying products from the U S Mint. Every year I would buy not one, but two, and sometimes three of every mint set & proof set. I also started buying silver eagles, UNC and Proof and several of these as well. About this same time I started buying "slabbed/graded" coins from a company out of New Orleans. (Blanchard & Company) I remember the year I started buying a roll of the UNC SE's. It was 1996 and lucky me this was the key roll. I did not realize this untill some years later that $122 for the roll was not a bad price to pay.
As the years went by I continued to buy these items from the mint and along with these purchases I started buying the back dates on the SE rolls and the other mint and proof sets. I sold my extra proof SE and bought the ones I did not have. I also bought a commemorative coin here and there if something caught my fancy. On these I usually used the "rule of thumb" of what would be a popular issue that many could relate to and be worth more years down the line. Boy did I hit it wrong on a few of them. The Statue of Liberty coins and the 1982 George Washington are a couple that come to mind that while very atractive issues, they made too darn many and now sell at a bullion melt price at best. It took several years to realize that on some issues you had to act quickly so I had to buy the $1 Buffalo in UNC and Proof along with the 1999 silver proof set in the after market. At the time paying $80 for each of these three issues did not make me very happy but in the long run I have done ok on these as well.
I was never into any of the gold eagle issues until much later except for one 1988 tenth once issue in proof that I bought from a friend. Boy I sure wish I could do that decision over.
My main focus as of the last couple of years has been Walker and Franklin halves along with pre-1933 gold and those 1/10th modern gold issues I just mentioned. I have what I would like to think, is a fairly good start although there are so many other sets here on the registry that "blow mine away". I am still very thankful that God has blessed me the way he has up to this point. I really dont think I will ever be completely satisfied as there will always be "one more" coin that I would like to have. (Anybody else relate to that one?) I sometimes think this makes me appear ungrateful but I dont mean to be. It is hard to beleive how many issues the mint comes out with each year and I for one can no longer afford to keep up with "one of each". I am just happy to be where I am at this point in my life, taking part in a hobby that I truely love, and also to be in the "collecting company" I share with all of you here at the "registry". It is an honor and I am thankful for all of you from the top of the pack to the bottom. Thanks again and may God bless you and yours. Don't forget to have fun with your coins. While it is called "A Hobby of Kings", I can tell you from 1st hand experiance, you don't have to be a king to get a "bushel basket" of JOY from it. Take care & Happy Collecting to all. W.K.F.
