Gobrecht's "Monster-Toned" Raisinet Collection

About This Set: Sometimes I'm the kind of person who doesn't know where he's going until he gets there. I began this set with the chance acquisition of an exceptionally nicely toned (for 1909) red-brown VDB. I completed the set (which I now call my "Golden/Iridescent" collection) with eight predominantly red-looking coins (all but the Stewart Blay 1911 have since been upgraded), then lucked out again when I was able to buy a second, purely golden VDB, which was a much better match for the "look" of that set. I did get three Brian Wagner 'Hall-of-Fame' coins, but just one, Dave Kelly's Monet-like 1911, was very colorfully toned. Then out of the blue, over less than three months, the Epstein, Blake and Liston 1 collections came to market and eventually I bought all of their 'Hall-of-Fame' coins. Thus my second "Colorful" collection was born. Only after Pete Miller agreed to part with his two 67s (it was like prying the gun from Charlton Heston's cold, dead hands) did I rename my "Colorful" set the "Monster-Toned" set. Filled with 'Hall-of-Fame' caliber monster coins, with nothing graded less than PR66 except for the VDB, and everything stunningly toned except for the 1909 Lincoln, I can honestly say that I do not now know of even one Matte Proof Lincoln extant that would fit in this set better than these extraordinarily flamboyant and pristine, technicolor copper coins. Needless to say, I never could have accomplished this without Brian Wagner and Ira Stein. 11/2008

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