NOVEMBER 2006

Registry Set Collector Profile: LMI Trust

On my 10th birthday, my grandfather reached in his pocket and produced the first silver dollar I had ever seen. Already a great fan of American history and its heroes, the boldness of its design expressed the boldness of the American experience for me. The eagle, with its wings spread wide in defiance and strength, and Miss Liberty's beauty symbolizing this nation's fairness, liberty and justice for all, regardless of your social standing, started an instant love affair between me and American coins.

My biggest problem with coin collecting has always been which coins to collect. I love them all. I guess the guide I've always used came from an old collector friend of mine – buy the best you can and buy what you like. As long as you like it, that's all that matters. I guess I just didn't know when to stop. I've been collecting for 40 years now and will probably continue to collect. It's just my health isn't as good as it used to be, so I'm going to let go of most of my collection. That's the bad news. The good news is I get to start all over again. Teletrade is going to be handling the auction for me. All coins from the LMI Trust Collection will be noted as such on Teletrade's lot detail page, and have already started to appear in the auction held Sunday, Nov 19th, Auction 2288. There will be many top population coins from many different series.

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The 2006 NGC Registry Awards

The deadline for the Registry Awards is Sunday, December 10th.

Please make sure you have made all of your entries and upgrades before midnight, Eastern Time. We're looking for the top sets in the world — and as the most inclusive registry in the hobby, NGC will see thousands of world-class sets. Make sure yours are among them, and see if your collection has what it takes!

Competitive Set Awards
Awards will be presented in the following categories:

• The FIVE Best CLASSIC Sets: 1792-1964
• The FIVE Best MODERN Sets: 1950 to Date (including Jefferson nickels and Roosevelt dimes)
• The FIVE Best PRESENTED Sets (sets with the best descriptive text and coin images)

Signature Set Awards
And, new this year, we will present awards in four outstanding categories:

• The Best Overall Signature Set
• The Best World Signature Set
• The Most Creative Signature Set
• The Most Informative Signature Set

Take the honors in one of these categories, and you'll receive a personalized plaque, an icon of recognition next to your set's registry listing, and up to five (5) Deluxe PhotoProofs of NGC coins from your winning set. To participate, just enter your set online in the NGC Registry. Sets must be at least 50% complete to be eligible for the award categories above.

Collectors Journal Awards
Additionally, we will award three outstanding Collectors Journal Authors. We will consider an author's complete collection of journal entries in determining the winners. Journal entries will be judged on writing talent, creativity, enthusiasm, numismatic knowledge, and most importantly, the sharing of a personal sense of the collecting journey. The winning authors will receive a personalized plaque and an icon of recognition on their homepages.

Also, collectors with the #1 set in each category will receive an icon of recognition by his/her set in the registry and a certificate of achievement.

The deadline for set registration and journal entries is December 10, 2006. Winners will be announced on January 4, 2007.

Click here to learn more about the NGC Registry.

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From the NGC Archives: 1822 Capped Bust Quarter Dollar

Click to enlarge	Click to enlarge

Though it is the most useful and popular of our current coin denominations today, the quarter dollar was something of a poor relation in its early years. Minting of quarters was sporadic, and the numbers struck were often quite low. The Capped Bust of Liberty was created by John Reich, who was employed by the U.S. Mint as second engraver under Robert Scot from 1807 to 1817. Though a handsome design, his portrait bust of Liberty was derided by an early numismatist as portraying "Reich's fat German mistress." This apocryphal attribution was no doubt due to the anti-German prejudice common in the middle of the 19^thcentury.

The legendary collection of the late Louis Eliasberg, Sr. was laced with extreme rarities, of which this amazing proof was a standout piece. This superb gem is almost certainly the finest of just 6-8 proof 1822 quarters known to scholar Walter Breen. In its catalog of the Eliasberg coins, auctions by Bowers & Merena placed the figure at 5-6 coins. The lovely toning of this specimen was described as "light silver with pale lilac giving way to faint blue iridescence toward the edges." Sharply struck, with brilliant and reflective fields, this impressive rarity is a technical and aesthetic delight.

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