Today is a special day for me as some of you are well aware. 41 years ago I married my best friend! I did start another collection today of quarters, so it's my second collection on this website. The pictures here and in the collection are just some of my favorites. Last year I enlisted in the U.S. Mint Silver Proof Program. In my case silver is more affordable than gold.  I'm not overly knowledgeable about quarters but I'm still on the learning curve. Today I learned that 147 million Americans collected the State Quarters and that number represents at least one person from every household collected these quarters. My step dad married my mom when I was about 10 years old. Although he never "officially" adopted me, I still called him Dad. He was quite a drinker so our family was what is now called dysfunctional. Being prior military, he commanded respect. I wasn't a big fan of his discipline tactics, but I did respect him. When the state quarter program began, he went to a local bank and obtained a map and started collecting the different states quarters when they were distributed. He didn't live long enough to complete his map, so I did it for him. I wouldn't meet my birth father until much later in my life. That's a WHOLE different story which will eventually be revealed in another blog.

     I received an email a few days ago from the U.S. Mint advising me that my silver proof set was on it's way. It's running $63 and some change, but to me it's worth it, I think. Last year they gave me a free 2019-W reverse proof penny which is really nice looking. This year it's going to be a 2020-W reverse proof nickel. It should be arriving any day now. I'll blog about it when I receive it just for Longstrider's benefit  :-))  Maybe I should start a "Junk money" collection ! When I found out that my step dad was collecting the state quarters I figured he would need a better way to display them so I went and bought a new "official looking" map. I spent $30 for the map, certificate of authenticity, and booklet telling the story behind each quarter. According to my research, there were 6 million free lesson plans related to the program that were downloaded from the US Mint by teachers, parents and students. My own vocabulary was also expanded to include the word "seigniorage" ! To explain this word, the US Mint made $6.1 billion from this program ! 

     I've never attempted to grade a quarter but since I've got a few, I may attempt it in the near future. I got my new 2021 Red Book in the mail yesterday but I'm going to need more information that what I currently have to subjectively grade them. I've got a few in my Junk money that I could look at, but it's a problem when you haven't been able to actually look at and examine MORE than a few graded specimens! Collecting coins is a lot like marriage! One has to determine if you're in love or lust! That's the best sage wisdom I can provide to young numismatists ! Until next time my friends stay SAFE, healthy, and Coronavirus free!  Roger and out ! Charlie aka slybluenote