Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Half Dollar

I don't really talk about coin collecting too much...I've been mostly forced out of the hobby due to my severe allergy to the metal nickel. However, it is something I enjoyed immensely when I was able to collect, and to be honest, when I was mostly away from the card hobby in 2008, it's because that was the year I really took up coin collecting, and it got most of my attention.

But, I still keep an eye on what's going on in the hobby. When I saw that the US Mint would be producing a series of Commemorative coins for the Basketball Hall of Fame, I knew I had to have one. It arrived to me on June 22nd, and it is very cool indeed!

I love the way it scanned! The coin is curved- a technology that the US Mint created for the Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative several years ago. Since I scanned it with my scanner lid open, and it was raised up off the tray due to the holder it comes in, it reflected color...in this case, the sunlight coming in my window, giving the scan an orange tinge. The real coin is not colorful at all, it's normal silver/gray of nickel.

It's funny, I'm not a NCLT collector- Non-Circulating Legal Tender- I generally only get them if they are a subject that's really important to me, or if they are too cheap not to pass up. Since I began collecting coins fully in 2008, I've only added three of the commemorative half dollars to my collection, and two of them are curved! (I also got the one for the 50th Anniversary of the moon landing last year.) For those of you who are not coin collectors, NCLT have become a major factor in the coin hobby. They are generally created solely to be sold to collectors, and some of them are very interesting...but it's not my thing as a general rule. They do have a monetary denomination- you could spend this coin for 50 cents at any store, but you'd have to be an idiot to...because it cost $41.95 to add this to my collection!

There are three coins in the series, each available in both basic and Proof versions. I chose the basic clad half dollar version, because it's the one I wanted...it's also the cheapest. The others are the silver dollar, which starts at $64 before tax and shipping, and the gold half eagle, which starts at $634.50....well out of my price range. All three denominations/sizes feature the exact same designs on both sides. (US Mint listing) While I would like to have the gold one since it was made at West Point, a building I've seen in person, there's no way I am going to spend that kind of money on anything that's not a car. The coins come from different mints- the uncirculated half, which I got, is made in Denver. The proof version is made in San Francisco, while both versions of the dollar were made in Philadelphia and both the gold versions at West Point. You can also get a uncirculated San Francisco version from the Kids set, and there may be more versions coming later...including possibly a colorized version. To be a coin completist is a very expensive proposition- it would cost someone $1533 before tax and shipping to get all the versions currently available, and they all have the same design. I'm happy with my one version.

You don't just get the coin though. Each item in the Commemorative series comes with some fancy packaging....

an outer slipcase, with a hardwood pattern.

 The coin itself comes in what looks like leather but is actually patterned paper, and when you open that up there is an info card and the coin itself in it's plastic case, inside a felt form, with a Red, White & Blue ribbon that is glued down at the top, and you use the bottom to pop the coin out- it's a tight fit.

I don't plan to ever take it out of the plastic case it came in, by the way.

The info card, which is folded to fit inside the case, has a textured basketball and info about it. The text in the black banner on the info bar is actually foil, but not mirror foil. It looks really nice in hand.

One thing about the US Commemorative coin program is that each issue helps a cause. Of my $41.95 spent, the Basketball Hall of Fame is going to get $5 of it. They get more from the more expensive coins. I certainly like that idea, and I can't wait to visit the Hall of Fame when the virus is done...it was on the list of places we were going to visit in 2020. It's literally 2 hours (to the minute) away from home so it's not a bad ride at all.

This also ended up being my first coin from 2020. I believe that's the latest in the year I've gotten my first of the year since I began collecting in 2008, but, due to my general state of despair, especially as related to having to essentially give up the hobby, I gave up on keeping records...so I can't be fully sure when I got things or even what I actually have anymore.

Now I have to decide...keep this with my coin collection, or keep it with my NBA card collection?