BULLY's Bio
As you will see if you scroll through what has now turned into FIVE PAGES of Registry Sets, I have an eclectic collection.
My primary focus is on U.S. coins (Modern and some older), though I also like Canadian Bullion (Maple Leaf), Australian Bullion (Kookaburra and Koala), and Mexican Bullion (the stunning Silver Libertad for example). I also like the Australian Lunar coin series and the Chinese Panda -- partially because the designs change each year.
I also have an affinity for the unusual like the "Hot Lips" version of the Morgan Silver Dollar, as well as Hawaiian Coins, which were low mintage to begin with, and many of which were melted, so actual mintage numbers are likely far lower than is known.
I am what one might call a "Collector Investor" insofar as I try to collect coins which I believe will also increase in value "someday" whether that someday is next week, next month, next year, or ultimately one of those retirement type coins. For the record, when I refer to retirement coins, it may not be that I think it will take decades for the coin(s) to appreciate in value -- it's that the coin (or coins) went from $25 - $100 to $1,000 overnight or from $2,400 to $15,000 in a year, that sort of thing. THAT is what I call a retirement coin -- too precious to part with, because collectors will likely be wanting them for years to come, and the increase we've seen is probably only the beginning.
I am no longer trying to keep up with ALL the new issues from the US Mint. I am finding that it's generally easier and even less expensive to get things already graded on the market in MS/PF69 condition than it is to buy it from the Mint (never mind the cost of shipping to and from NGC and the grading costs). If the price is right, I might grab a 70 graded coin.
If I can get things at face value from local banks I sure do! It just seems to make sense. I also regularly get hundreds of dollars of worth of rolls of half dollars in search of SILVER (or even partly silver) Kennedy half dollars -- they can sometimes be elusive, other times it can really pay off! Anything that isn't silver, I can always re-deposit, it is money after all! I've gotten lucky and even once got AN ENTIRE ROLL of silver Kennedy halves!
Managing all the bullion coming from the Mint nowadays would be insane -- the First Spouse coins alone could bankrupt many a collector. While stunning coins, I don't know whose bright idea it was to make them each 1/2 ounce of .9999 pure gold.
I watch my change for anything odd - something I learned as a child and probably how I started collecting coins, that combined with being given one or two here and there.
So, that's a little about me and my collecting habits -- you'll see if you scroll through my collection that only a select few are complete, or near completion. Many are in bits and pieces.