Expert comments:

The PCGS Currency Registry saw a 60% growth rate over the past year with nearly double the number of participants.  There are now some mind-blowing sets being listed in the Registry which makes selecting just one winner in each category challenging.  Therefore, we would like to give an honorable mention to the following runners-up:  A Day in the Life ($1 Large Size Design Set), Jeff Smith (1896 Educational Series Denomination Set), The R.S. Gore Collection ($1 Federal Reserve Notes 1963-Date District Set With Stars), The Skourtes Collection ($2 Federal Reserve Notes 1976-Date District Set With Stars), RayNY2E ($2 Federal Reserve Notes 1976-Date District Set No Stars), Gopher State Collection (Fractional Currency 24-Piece Design Set), The R.S. Gore Collection (Fractional Currency 24-Piece Design Set), jbarclaympc (MPC Series 681 Denomination Set), and the owners of the 88 sets who will receive "Best of the Registry" certificates for being at least 75% complete and #1 in their category.  Great job to everyone participating in the PCGS Currency Set Registry.  We thank all of you for your support and enthusiasm.

Laura A. Kessler
Vice President of Business Development, PCGS Currency

Best Collection of 2009

Ron Foley (cccurency)
Each year we choose an overall winner with the most impressive array of collections across the entire spectrum of the Set Registry competition. This year’s choice was again an easy one.  Mr. Foley’s collection exemplifies the Set Registry concept. He is actively competing in 56 different sets, remarkably holding first place in 24 with 100% completion in 16 of those 24. His collecting pursuits include a broad array of different sets, including Large Size notes, Small Size notes, and Fractionals. Four of his sets, the $1, $2, $5 and $20 Small Size design sets, are 100% complete and score weighted grade point averages of more than 69! We’d like to thank Mr. Foley for his leadership in promoting the Set Registry, and for providing stiff competition in many different areas. Congratulations, Ron. We look forward to watching your sets as they continue to grow!

Best New Set of 2009

Wayne Soifer (edman)
1896 Educational Series $1-$5 Silver Certificate Fr. # Set
Although not yet complete, having just four of the required seven notes, this set deserves mention as the top new set because of the incredible grade rarity present. The owner has obviously taken much time to be patient and choose only the best possible additions to his collection, as each note in his set (one $1, one $2, and two $5s) grades Superb Gem New 67PPQ. In fact, if this set had been entered as an Educational Type Set if would have won that category hands down. If completion is ever achieved in this grade, this would be a set that would stand for all time as a Hall of Fame winner. Watch this set over the next year or two—it has great potential and could be one of our top winners in the future!

Best Large Size Currency Set of 2009

Gopher State Collection
$5 Large Size Design Set
This impressive collection of Large Size $5 type notes is 100% complete, quite an achievement as there are a few very scarce design types of this denomination. There is room for improvement on some of the common notes in this set, but the rarities are all there and some are in outstanding grade. A few of the very difficult notes that enhance this set include the scarce $5 Demand Note and $5 National Gold Bank Note in the respectable grades of VF 25 and Fine 15. The Gopher State Collection’s Second Charter National Bank Notes all grade Gem or near-Gem, and his First Charter $5 is Uncirculated. While higher grade notes exist for each of these types, completion is an important component of this competition—and this collection’s $5 Design Type Set takes honors in the Large Size category because of his achievement of completing this difficult set.

Best Small Size Currency Set of 2009

 Kraig Tripp (SDCSD)
$5 Silver Certificate Type Set
Mr. Tripp’s Small Size $5 Silver Certificate design set is simply amazing. Every note in this eight note set grades Superb Gem New 68PPQ or finer, with an average weighted GPA of 70.077! Every single note in this set represents the finest known example of its kind, with the population report of his set reading with nothing finer across the board! Quite simply, this impressive set is the equivalent of a no-hitter or a perfect game in the Set Registry competition—his set is unbeatable in every respect. This set will remain a classic winner for many years to come and will be a likely future Set Registry Hall of Fame candidate.

Best Fractional Currency Set 2009

Ron Foley (cccurency)
Fractional Currency 24-Piece Design Set
This popular set had many entries, but the winner proved to be Mr. Foley’s impressive entry that featured every note in Choice New grades or finer—with most examples grading Gem New 65PPQ or better. The weighted grade point average of this set was an impressive 67.259, beating out the second-place entry by nearly a full point and a half. Ron’s Fractional type Set includes several important grade rarities, including the single finest known Fr. 1364 Justice Third Issue 50 cent (in Gem New 66PPQ) and the only Blue End-paper 10 cent Fourth Issue Fr. 1259 in Superb Gem New 67PPQ. A better fractional set would be difficult to imagine, and even more challenging to complete. Mr. Foley’s efforts to acquire the best available notes were fully realized in this fantastic Fractional Currency collection.  

Best Military Certificate Set of 2009

Jeff Smith
Military Payment Certificates Complete Set
Jeff took top honors in this category last year with this same set, and there was no other clear choice this year. Last year, Jeff’s set lacked a single note—the key series 471 $5 note. After locating a solid About New 55 example, Jeff completed this challenging 102 note set with a flourish. In addition, with the addition of several upgrades he boosted his overall weighted GPA to an impressive 64.48. The collection is replete with high grade examples, with many Superb Gems and an extensive selection of finest known notes for their design type. This set once again ranks as one of the highlights of this competition, and sets a benchmark for both completion and grade rarity that other competitors will find difficult to best in future years. 

Best Low Ball Set of 2009

Cliff Andrews (Cliff’s Incredibly Low Ball Large Size Design Set)
$1 Large Size Design Low Ball Set
This category always takes a bit of reverse logic to comprehend, as the idea here is to locate and acquire the worst possible examples of each type, although bonus points are given for problem-free notes in low grades—as oxymoronic as that statement might appear. Cliff’s unbelievable achievement here is completion of a 13 note set with a weighted GPA of 3.93. Even more incomprehensible is that not a single note is in a problem “Apparent” holder—and many of his grades are 2s, 3s, and 4s (his 1896 $1 Educational Silver Certificate remains a classic as one of the worst non-taped, non-stained and non-repaired notes our graders have ever seen!) Cliff has created a masterpiece with this ragtag (literally) bunch of notes, and fully 11 of the 13 entries in his set are “low pop” with each of these being the lowest graded notes of their type thus far graded. Please do not underestimate the difficulty of this task, as many of these notes simply do not exist in low grades because nearly all notes this worn were destroyed long ago. Mr. Andrews won top honors last year with his $1 Small Size Low Ball Set, but his Large Size entry this year is far more impressive. With a victory two years in a row in this category, Cliff is proving that the Set Registry competition is just as fun if you don’t have a ton of money to spend and can be a little creative—and no one has more fun putting together his sets than Cliff!  His enthusiasm is contagious and he has inspired others to compete in this category.

Best of the Registry Certificate Winners of 2009

(#1 set in each category with at least 75% completion, 5/29/09 5:00pm EST)