Fenntucky Mike's Bio
I have been fascinated by coins since I could remember. Seeing a parent throw loose change on a counter top and watching it dance as it settled noisily on the hard surface. Watching people exchange these magical little tokens for goods and services. Sitting quietly and wondering intently how long it took to amass such a stockpile, how much was there and how many different types of coins were in the old Barnum's Animals Crackers Tin as a parent would remove the lid and deliberately poor a small pile from it onto the dinner table, settling in for a game of cards or Risk with friends and family. Finally who could forget those wonderful mechanical banks, in my case it was the Duro Mercury Rocket Mechanical Bank. Where as you would place a coin on the top of the rocket and shoot it into a slot at the front of the ship. There was many a spare moment spent constantly emptying the contents of the bank and refilling it one coin at a time, joyfully shooting the coins at imaginary villains and saving the day yet again. Wonderful fun! My infatuation started early indeed... My first delve into something that could be called an official numismatic endeavor, would start like so many others with an Uncle stopping by with a Whitman Penny Coin Folder and starting a numismatic journey that has yet to end. Next followed by my first official purchase which I saw in a newspaper ad and diligently scraped, saved and worked for, the OBSOLETE COINS OF YESTERYEAR set consisting of a 1942 Walking Liberty half dollar, 1946 Washington quarter, 1942 Mercury dime, 1943 Jefferson nickel and finally a 1943 steel penny. All in well worn and in cleaned condition, I thought they were great.The years would pass with acquisitions here and there, an occasional slot filled in the Whitman's but the journey continuing as life drummed on to a steady rhythm.
As so many others the numismatic itch becomes stronger with age and sometimes you just need to scratch. I have decided to delve deeper into this journey and grow my collection as I have grown. Eclectic, well rounded and mature. I have decided to take a hard look at modern bullion and commemorative coins, particularly focusing on the coinage of Ukraine and to a lesser extent The Republic of Korea. I am greatly enjoying the coins of Ukraine as it is a newly reformed country with a young numismatic history and ancient overall history going back to the Greeks. This has lead to many wonderful and unusual coins being minted along with many die variants mixed in with loads of mint errors and eccentricities. It has been loads of fun so far and I expect it to continue as I acquire more Ukrainian coins. I am relatively new to TPG services but like so many I'm drawn to the security, organization, liquidity, unbiased grading and protection of the coin encapsulation brings. I am currently only using NGC for my world coins but may start to bring in some of my U.S. coinage in the future, starting with my Michigan Tokens collections I have acquired over the years. I look forward to many more years of numismatics and getting to know and work with fellow collectors.
Good Luck,
Mike