Go Ahead, Make Me Rong!!!

Humans of Planet Earth. People. You know I love ’em. The fact is that they’re not really very calm or gentle, but that’s not my point at all. My point is that you wouldn’t expect a wild animal such as a lion or a tiger — even one that has been tamed — to not react with instant savage unthinking aggression, from time to time. Moreover, you couldn’t be certain what might or might not trigger the big cat off. This is where I part company with the psychologists and other micro-managers of the human brain. I quote from the Trans-Universe Beddikker’s Guide, to wit:

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Emotional Education

We’ve got Physical Education. Phys Ed is everywhere. Brain education is in university. But where is our post-sandbox Emotional Education? You don’t have to believe me; it takes a moment’s glance to see that Emotional Education is sadly — and perhaps dangerously — lacking in our society. Is there a cure? Yes, there is. Watch the ICW this coming weekend.

See You At The Top!!!

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Demons Runnin’ All Through Me….

Beetlejuice had it good, compared to most folks. You know what I mean; all of a sudden, without warning, your head is full of wild ass-tearing demons, screaming at the top of your lungs, wrecking house & home, making suicide seem like an option when it isn’t. Why do these horribles, kept submerged and supressed all these years, keep coming back to haunt you? Where do they come from? How did they get out? Why do they have so much destructive power over you? Why do they cause you to ruin your own life? How do they get re-triggered? How can you stop them from intruding on your life? Will they ever permanently go away? I’ll be answering these questions at the next ICW. If you have no such problem, don’t watch.

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3 Amigos

I have in hand three completely full collections of Lincoln Cents. One of them goes from 1909 to 1958 — it includes all the Wheat-backs, and the bulk of the key dates. The second is from 1909 to 2012 and it includes all ordinary in-circulation issues. The third contains all “proof-only” coins and was the hardest to collect and a nightmare to load into the album because they’re mirror-proofs and even gloved hands cause some damage.

In my opinion, inclusion of the “proof-only” coins is a complete misunderstanding of what the word “proof” means — totally unhandled.

Prosperity Path Coin Search is a Paranormal Activity. That’s what makes them different from ordinary coin searches. I go for the spirit, not the cash. To me, each coin connects with a Soul (Soul1) that can be helped along its Spiritual Path by passing through the hands and receiving through this copper coupling factor the guru’s grace. It’s one way that I work for the benefit of all beings everywhere. Think of the coins as beads in a mala, and you’ll get it.

The thing that makes these collections unique is that they were “challenge builds”, meaning that the coins are all self-collected and hand-searched by me. The only “bought coins” in the collections are all but one of the key coins — I found a 1909-s VDB a few months back, and it’s in the collections being offered.

Please note: conditions of the coins vary widely from G-4 all the way up to GEM BU, because they are self-found and not bought. I had no control over the grade or the features of any of the coins. They are exactly as I found them.

No coins are missing, every coin called for in the album is present. I do not include the 1955 doubled die mint error because most collectors realize it should be slabbed and purchased separately as there is no place in the album for it — however, the 1922 Plain mint error is included, as are the 1909s-VDB, 1909s, 1914d, 1931s and all semi-keys, some in surprisingly good condition for having still been in circulation!!!

1909-1958 — $3,500

1909-2012 — $4,500

1909-2012 –$5,500

I want to point out that the purchase of the key coins was what made the albums the price they are; without the keys and semi-keys, I could let the albums go for the price of the binding and a couple of bucks for the pennies, but I can’t. The key dates and semi-keys bring the cost of a basic Lincoln album way up. Here’s how it shakes down with just VF grades in the key slots:

1909s VDB — $1200-$1400 for anything recognizable

1909s — $950 for a decent one

1914d — $200-$400 for something that looks like an actual coin

1922 plain — $850-$950 for a nice strong reverse, from trusted source, many counterfeits

1931s — $650 for anything with clout

Do the math and you’ll see just how fast it adds up. Then figure in the semi-keys at anywhere from $50 to $160 apiece, and wham! You’re at the numbers I’m quoting as a selling price, leaving plenty of room for resale.

Of course, if I merely buy and resell sets, I can make them look much better; my resale sets are XF-GEM BU from front to back and sell for $12,500 with proofs. If you’re an eBay dealer, you should not be buying unslabbed sets, so this would not be good for you, due to the flood of “switcharoo” scams being run there of late.

My slabbed set was $27,500 and is no longer available. It takes me about a year to assemble a good one with a lot of bling. On these, resale is highly improbable; in ten years, it could go up in a 1 hour auction and bring megabucks, IMHO.

Total for all three? No discount. They are priced within $100 of my actual cost. I charge nothing for labor because I don’t have to.

If you are interested in one, two or all three of these hand-searched Lincoln Cent collections, call or email me. I won’t put them up on brutal eBay to be raided and torn apart for the key coins, because that’s what the dealers do. These are magical collections of coins that came to me and passed through my hands in the course of nightly Magic Find coin searches.

I didn’t put up photos, because there’s no coin in there that’s going to take First Prize at the Coin Show. They’re ordinary or less than ordinary looking coins, but they came to me after 100 years in circulation, and that’s got to count for something! If you really must see photos, I’ll take them and post them on a private url. Remember, this is not for the general public, so don’t tell your friends. I’m serious.

See You At The Top!!!

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Fighting City Hall

You can’t fight City Hall. That’s the battlecry of the Great Unwashed; Urban Legend has it that the 800 pound gorilla always wins. Don’t believe it for a minute. That’s the point of the David & Goliath story in the Bible. Sometimes the Little Guy has a chance. In the case of coin collecting, the chance for the little guy is so close to zero as to be almost unnoticeable. My method of collecting goes against the very fibre of Popular Wisdom — an oxymoron if ever there was one.

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So Where’s The Profit in Lincoln Memorials???

So, where’s the profit in Lincoln Memorial cent collections? I thought you’d never ask. (Smiles Knowingly) Why, in the following goodies extracted (cherry-picked) from the mass of coins called a “bank box”. Here’s the list of high-ticket items you can expect to pull quite regularly from a bank box draw:

1960 small date…but wait; we did all this before, didn’t we??? Well, I’ll give you the Million Dollar Hint: the big money is all in the rainbows. My extreme rainbows can sell for upwards of $350. Ordinary ones can sell at around $10. Most of mine fall somewhere around the $80 level, at around four spectacular finds, and dozens of lesser stunningness rainbow coins throughout the search session. On my way to breakfast…

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Don’t Make Me Think!!!

Don’t Make Me Think!!! The battle-cry of the Great Unwashed. They’ll pay absolutely any price to avoid making decisions, finding out about things, going places off their cattle-path life-tracks and in general, doing anything with that brain Great Nature gave them as a sort of practical joke on a gigantic scale. What you’re doing with coin collections is merely sorting the coins, grading the coins and organizing the coins, all at once, meanwhile cherry-picking the hot high-end items out of the general bash. Give the GP (general public) a bag with only the needed coins in it, and they’ll still have the bag, untouched, in a closet somewhere, at the end of their lives. Why? Because it’s not what they do. They don’t HAVE to learn coin stuff in order to collect it. All they have to do is look for the word “Collectible” or, if they happen to live in England or on eBay, it’s “Collectable”. Where’s the payoff for the in-circulation coin dealer? Why, in the marketing, dummy. Where else? Certainly not in the coin!

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It Can’t Be About The Money

It can’t be about the money. This is real important. When you create a Lincoln Memorial Complete Collection, you have dipped into the world of in-circulation coins, and thus experienced the closest to “unsearched” coins you’ll ever find. If, along with that incredible and revitalizing experience, you include the 7 Attentions Exercise and Time Footprint Technology, you will have a mind-blowing timeless time, and if you do it every day, you’ll discover that it emphatically is NOT about the money. But a few extra bucks to cover expenses wouldn’t hurt…??? Want much more serious money? It’ll cost more to make more…but you knew that. For bigger bucks, sell Liberty Busts (Braided & Coronet) this week, at the XF-40 level. Want to search coins for free, stick with Lincoln Mems.

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OCD Heaven

OCD Heaven, that’s what it is. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder strikes dozens of people a day, and they’re all living inside you. 7 Attentions Coin Sorting, that’s what you want to get hold of and apply to your OCD habits, and it starts with Rule #1 for Lincoln Memorials:

There is no reason to collect any less-than-perfect Lincoln Memorial coin.

Now, granted, that doesn’t include the special cases and all them there fancy mint errors, but it does clear up a lot of unwanted informational clutter and get us down to brass tacks, where the money is. Unless there’s a compelling reason to do so — such as a wild rainbow coloration, or an unusual mint-mark, rpm or other similar manifestation of The Goddess Numisma, just don’t take a bad coin — meaning a coin that is less than your target grade for LincMems, which is???? That’s right! If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that the correct answer is: GEM BU = Gem Bright Uncirculated.

Of course, “uncirculated” doesn’t mean what you think it does. Stay on the Bright Side.

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Immaculate Coinception

It is said that Necessity is the Mother of Invention. That would make Invention the Child or Stepchild of Necessity. In the case of insomnia — the inability to just lie down and get to sleep — the necessity is rather severe. The first thing you must do is forgive yourself for not being able to sleep. After that, the rest is easy. I have a plan which I call Mindful Tedium…

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