Today I received the email from the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) with the images from my recently submitted 1986 Gold Eagle coin.  At first I thought $13 was a little too much for "images", but I am really pleased with the product NGC provided.  For $13 you get 3 separate files; one being a composite of the obverse and reverse with an NGC background (4 MB), one being an image of the obverse of the coin (3 MB) and the other image of the reverse of the coin (3 MB).  When I submit my next coin to NGC, I will definitely continue to add in the imaging service.

I have been a very casual collector; basically doing it for fun.  Well, a couple weeks ago I went home and visited my parents.  My mother knew I was collecting and we went thru the coin hoard that my step-grandfather had.  She gave me this 1986 Gold Eagle $25 gold coin.  I traveled back home and did some research, not really know much about this coin.  After researching, I was shocked!  Last week I sent it in to NGC.  Today I received the completion email.  NGC graded it at MS-68; valued at $875.00.  I was hoping for MS-69 (or 70 - haha), but I will take the 68.  This is my first time sending in a coin for grading and encapsulating.  The process was quick, fairly inexpensive, and I'll do it again if the right coin comes around again.

Yesterday I decided to head to my local bank and purchase as many rolls of half-dollars as possible.  Usually when I do this, I get 1-2 rolls max because most banks don't keep half-dollars.  Well, today was a little different.  I ended up hitting up a bank that had 27 rolls!!After opening each and every roll, I found.... zero silver coins.  But I was able to find about 10-12 coins that I needed to fill spots in my half-dollar folders.

Sorting thru my pennies and took out all of the 1943 steel cents.  The 1943 steel cents were struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper.  The Philadelphia, Denver, and San Fransisco mints all produced the 1943 cent in steel.  This unique composition consisted of low-grade steel coated with zinc; instead of the previously 95%-copper-based bronze composition.  The 1943 cent is known as the "wartime cent", "steel war penny", and "steelie".