I remember the night that Tom Wood, president of our Lynchburg, Virginia Coin Club, was soexcited to show us his complete set of Standing Liberty quarters (SLQ) at one of our monthlymeetings! Tom's SLQ set took many years to complete and included a mint state 1916 specimen.(For an intriguing story about 1916 SLQ patterns, see Steve Roach's in Coin World, November 2021, pp. 34-35).

Memories of that night and my own research about the SLQ series lead me to the treasure hunt ofadding another piece to my small collection of high-grade, well-struck and inexpensive U.S. typecoins in my favorite series: Indian Head cents, Lincoln cents, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes,Liberty Walking half dollars, Morgan dollars, Saint-Gaudens double eagles - and now StandingLiberty quarters.

Thomas G. Wood, Ph.D., was an important numismatic mentor to me during my membership inthe Lynchburg Coin Club (LCC), from 2006 to 2012. Tom had had several articles aboutStanding Liberty quarters, Nickel Three-Cent pieces and Liberty Head nickels (his threespecialties) published in The Numismatist in the 1970s. Tom taught me how to sharpen my skillsas a grader and to be patient when hunting for that elusive coin.

Before starting the search for a SLQ for my own collection, I reread sections of Q. DavidBowers' A Guide Book of Mercury Dimes, Standing Liberty Quarters and Liberty Walking HalfDollars, 2015, and J.H. Cline's Standing Liberty Quarters, 2007. In Cline's seminal work, myfavorite sections were when the author reminisced about collecting and selling SLQs in the1950s. I also read extensive information about Standing Liberty quarters on the Newman Numismatic Portal.

After considering the options within my price range, I opted to search for a 1917 Type I SLQbecause it is by far the most well struck coin in the series. In Ron Pope's limited survey of 1917Type I SLQ, 76% had full details. (Bowers, Guide Book, p. 163). My goal was to find a choicepiece in MS 62 to 65, certified by NGC or PCGS. I studied dozens of specimens (full head andnon-full head) on eBay and the Collectors Corner ranging in grades from Fair 2 to MS 67+. In theend, I was most captivated by a 1926 SLQ PCGS MS-65 white gem from NortheastNumismatics that I discovered on Collectors Corner. In Pope's survey on 1926 SLQ, only 1%had full details. (Bowers, Guide Book, p. 179). Although not in the full details category, the cointhat captured my attention still stood out for its overall beauty and luster.

This stellar quarter arrived in the mail in late January. It looks even better in person than it didduring my online examinations. My wife has declared it the most beautiful coin I've everpurchased!