What exactly is a variety? How do they differ from errors? Why are some coins that are obviously different considered neither.As a fairly new collector these are areas of great confusion to me. This was compounded by receiving a couple of rolls of Kennedys in a lot purchase.It included two rolls of 1996's. When opening the package I noticed one of the rolls had broken open. Picking up the first loose coin I saw what looked like a large scratch.  Needless to say I wasn't happy. Upon examining the coins I have two rolls of coins just like the one in the picture. It appears to be a scratch in the die but I am not sure. Any ideas of what I have here would be greatly appreciated. I bow to your great knowledge!

 Deciding on my first deliberate collection of coins was going to focus on Flying Eagle cents, Two cent pieces and Peace dollars I quickly found out what all experienced collectors know.  It doesnt matter if a series is two hundred coins or just three at least one of them is going to be a Stopper. You know-The one that make you question your sanity! For the Flying eagle it is the 1856. While my purchase of rolls with them on the ends I was able to get a number of 58's in varying conditions and acquired a couple of 57's as well.  Resigning my self to the fact that my interest in them would likely never extend to purchasing a 56, I determined to have a two coin series. Being a bit less than focused I picked up a couple of two cent pieces around the same time. Getting them for the novelty at first. The more I researched them more respect I gained for this lowly coin. Any idea how many hours it takes to find a true small motto that isnt labeled as such and in raw condition?  I would tell you but then we would all be depressed. Best keep that stat to myself! Hours of blowing up pictures and even having to resort to using a magnifier on the computer screen. I got it in a group of coins. More on that in a minute! I went after the others with a will. Then it came to a screeching halt at the 1872. For over a year now I have been looking and will buy a graded one when I do buy. Made a rule for myself early on that I wont spent over two hundred dollars on a uncertified coin. I have since violated that rule but for the two cent pieces that is where it stands today.  Now as to that group of coins. It is like the universe was messing with me. It contained a three cent silver, a three cent nickel and a half dime! More stuff to look at and worry over. And the universe wasnt done messing with me. I looked at all kinds of thing in my search for Peace Dollars. Found several in those framed "Coins of" things.  One day while looking I ran into one but that is not a Peace Dollar in the slot! Hello Trade Dollar! Bought it. More to study and yet another short set.Peace dollars have their own stoppers as well. The 21 and 28  seem to be the toughest for most people. I got lucky or maybe all that studying was starting to pay off.  Got them at prices that are well under what I believe they will grade.  For me the 35 was a problem.  Purchased a graded MS62 last month to finish my date/mint mark collection. Next- All These Short Sets?

 Hello Again,  First I would like to thank everyone for the kind reception my first blog generated. This is a continuing blog about my first year of coin collecting.I suppose a bit about myself is in order at this point. I am a 65 year old disabled veteran who took up coin collecting in July of 2019.  Any of you who read my first blog know how I got in this condition.  I decided to start my collecting activities with odd denomination coins. Flying Eagle cents were my first. Nice short set and easy to acquire in lesser grades. Spending hours on Ebay looking at raw coins and looking particularly at collections/lots. Spending a lot of time in PCGS photograde and NGC coin explorer I was able to learn a great deal. From the info in my account it looks like my first purchase was a lot of 100 slabbed coins.  International Numismatic Guarantee, Junk that is now in a box for my grandsons! Not too expensive of a lesson.  Working this way I was able to start on my two cent pieces. Was even able to pick up a small motto at a reasonable price. I even picked up a 1820/19 cent at a very low price by paying very close attention to the details apparent in the pics. Then came the ad that changed everything. I was loaded with a number of Silver Eagles and numerous raw coins. With one gold coin that appeared to be graded but the pictures were not the best. A bit of avarice seems to have come into play here. These were not coins that I intended to collect or keep. Just thought I could make some money to support the rest of my collecting. Needless to say I won the lot at around a thousand dollars. Now I know many of you have had the same feeling I had when purchasing  material for you collection. Have I Lost My Mind? Having no real idea of what was in the lot and not knowing what I was doing could have been a true disaster.I have been told many time that it is better to be lucky than good. It certainly came into play with this bunch. As you can see from the picture above the slab I thought was PCGS in the pics turned out to be yet another unknown third party grader. I am learning!!!  Upon receipt I was a bit concerned. Evaluating the rest of the lot gave me a bit of comfort. Now I will admit here that I find no interest in the Silver Eagles. I dont collect them because I think of them a collectables and not money. Turns out that they saved my bacon. Many were signed and desirable making them easy to sell. This where I discovered the cost of selling on Ebay.  OUCH! Luckily I recouped most of my expenditure for the lot with just these coins!  I sent the gold piece to NGC. Came back as MS62.  Not great but not bad considering , with ,the added benefit of making me feel better about the whole purchase. I was able to trade the gold for a number of other coins for my collection at the local coin shop. I was fortunate to break even and have a number of the "leftovers" still residing in my collection.  The pucker factor was high on this one! I realized that I could have lost hundreds of dollars on this one. Needless to say I am still collecting and have spent many hours educating myself. Currently watching all the good videos on this site. It is so much nicer to have some confidence when making purchases. Next up- Deciding what to  collect.Thanks for reading this. I look forward to your feedback.Ron