Ello' everyone. And today, we raft down the Missouri from Idaho, and up the Mississippi to Illinois. The earliest known settlers of Illinois were the pre-Columbians that lived in the town of Cahokia, near present-day Collinsville. After the pre-Columbians lost power, the Illiniwek Confederation, a loose group of tribes allied with each other. This group gave the state its name. In 1673, Jacques Marquette (the college namesake) and Louis Jolliet explored the Mississippi and Illinois River. After this, Illinois would remain in French hands until the nation's loss in the French and Indian War, which would remain uninhabited by colonists due to the Proclamation of 1763.In 1818, Illinois became a state, but resistance continued by Indian groups, most notably Chief Black Hawk, who was finally defeated 1832. In 1839, the Latter Day Saints were started in Nauvoo, but in 1844 the group, led by Brigham Young, left the state after the killing of Prophet Joseph Smith near Carthage. (Numismaster, you are from Utah. Can you fact-check the above?). In 1860, Springfield lawyer Abe Lincoln became the 16th President, leaving the state and never returning. During the Civil War, the state produced many fine troops, including U.S. Grant, commander of all Union Forces. After the war, in 1871, Mrs. O'leary's cow kicked a kerosene lamp and started the Great Fire of Chicago, after which the city would be completely reinvented into a marvel of the US. Today, Illinois is still the Midwestern state it always was, attracting tourists to the Navy Pier and Lake Michigan, and following the trail of Lincoln. Famous citizens include Ray Bradbury, Al Capone, Miles Davis, Charlton Heston, Abraham Lincoln, and Robin Williams.Obviously, what comes to mind first in coins are the ATB and 50 state Quarters. The 50 state quarter was one of the first created by the AIFP and was considered one of the highlights of the 50 state quarter series. On it, is the words "Land of Lincoln" and a picture of Lincoln with a book. To the left of him is a strip of farmland and a silo. On the right, is a piece of the Chicago skyline with the Sears Tower in full view. This represents how Illinois is a crossroads of both rural and urban.On the ATB quarter, is one of the many rock features of Shawnee National Forest, a large expanse of forest and rock formation. The design on the 2016 coin is Camel Rock, one the most famous of the rock formations in Shawnee. For the classic commemorative lovers, we have a little bit extra to cover today. In 1918, a commemorative was released celebrating the 100th Birthday of the state. On the front was a younger, beardless image of Lincoln (Remember, Lincoln only grew whiskers as a campaign promise). On the back is the state seal, a "fierce eagle atop a crag, clutching a shield and carrying a banner..." (Bressett, 3rd Edition, 1091). The coin was issued by the Illinois Centennial Commission through various outlets for the grand price of one dollar. In 1937, an Illinois town was the subject of a coin. This time, the coin was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the town of Elgin. The dates were 1673 (no relation to the town- when Marquette and Joliet went up the river, and 1936. The fellow on the front was a generic pioneer, most likely a French Fur-trader from around the era. On the back is shameless self advertising for the Pioneer Memorial statuary group, the group that sponsors these coins. The people that released them however, were the Elgin Centennial Monumental Committee, headed by none other that L.W. Hoffecker, who somehow seems to get his greedy hands on every single darn Classic Commemorative. In 2009, the final commemorative commemorative somethin' outa Illinois was released. Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Birthday of Abe Lincoln, the coin was a Silver Dollar designed by Justin Kunz, who is now designing every coin in sight. The front is dated 2009 and features a bust of Lincoln, and on the back, is the final 43 words of the Gettysburg Address, surrounded by a laurel wreath. Thanks folks! And see you later, as we travel to the across the Wabash River.

The fiasco wheel rolls again. Ladies and gentlemen, what will go down at usmint.gov on November 5 of this year will go down as one of the wildest fandangos that the US Mint has artificially created. Yes. The American Silver and Gold Eagle, fit with a "V75" privy mark. Other than that, there is nothing special about the duo of coins. But, the wild thing is, what on Earth is the US Mint doing.After last years fiasco wheel with the Enhanced Silver Eagle, CoinWorld  stated that many US Mint patrons considered cancelling their subscription services after the sale ended in 15 minutes, with very few people getting their hands on one of the 30,000 coins pushed out. Many people felt that the Mint was treating dealers with "Special Treatment", giving them first dibs at the coins. While these rumors have not been proved, many people felt this way because of the way the website ran- crashes were common, and this got many people mad. After the sale ended, people turned to the dealers on eBay and other sites, such as the TV Infomercial HSN, who was selling the coin for the grand total of $8999.95, declaring themselves "the only place were you can get this coin" when guys on eBay sold it for about 75% less than what HSN.I feel that this is going to be replicated this year. With the "V75" coins, the fiasco wheel will rotate again. And with the gold's mintage of 1500, the demand will be even crazier. However, the silver's mintage has been doubled to accommodate for the anticipated surge in buyers. I predict bad things to happen. The site will crash, and the gold will sell out before you are even able to click on the mouse.It will be the "Black Friday" Doorbuster, except this time, the item is not a 80 inch-plasma TV with 4K ablities.I think that it is time to stop this. David Ryder, you are hurting the hobby.Not to mention the "W" uncirculated nickel will not be included with the Mint Set this year because they won't be able to strike enough (or something like that). We waited all this time. Now you don't commit with the nickel.What has happened?!Link to the video= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5IeIha4NIMThanks. See ya'll later. FUBAR at the mint.

For the typical casual collector, some of the rarer coins can be a pinch, and are just out of our disposable income can reach. Accept it. So instead, how about collecting some other cool coins, maybe not in as good of a condition, and building a cool collection off of those coins?And before anyone complains, the ANA's system for coins has caused these images to come out crooked. Blame them, not me.And special thanks to Marketplace Antiques in Murphy, North Carolina for the vendor who had these coins for cheap!Now, to the feature presentation.If you like the lifestyle of burning money on expensive coins, I don't believe this article will be right for you.  But, if you are like me, who has a teeny little pocketbook and hardly can pay for a nice coin without regrets, I think that this would be a good article to read. So, if this interests you, stick around.To most effectively live the bargain coin lifestyle, learn to bargain. Now, this will work normally only for the more expensive stuff. A good haggler in today's world of online shopping is rare. To combat this, antique markets and coin store will raise their prices 10% (this is also true for other old goods, such as typewriters). This is to take advantage of the people who don't care to bargain for a better deal, as they have been shopping online their whole life. So, learning to haggle is a good shopping deal. In one travel guide, I read about a good strategy to haggle. However, it is not good for people on a strict time constraint. Don't act too desperate, for this allows dealers to take advantage of your desperation of the object. Instead, act calm, and try not to sweat. First, list your starting price, beginning the haggling process. Then, he will list his price. Then, keep on giving counter-offer. But don't reach the final offer. Before that, WALK OUT THE DOOR and leave. In several hours (or days) come back, and see if that item is still there. If it is, list out your previous offer. This will assure you will get a much lower price. It doesn't work for everyone, however, and you are taking the risk that the item will not be taken in the time where you wait. The last main strategy I have is- digging in the bargain bin. Now, this is only cool if you like collecting the random US or World coins that have lined your dealer's display cabinet for years. So, take a good dig in there. You will be surprised at what you find. You know I was. See ya, and we will continue on our road trip of the United States later!