When I was very little, I used to sing,

“All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth,” by Spike Jones. I was two or three years old and just as I am today 57 years later, incredibly cute. As I sang, I often got money by way of a reward. Now I get paid not to sing.

What I always wanted for Christmas was something other than a dumb bunch of stupid toys. I wanted stuff of substance.

I wanted old and rare books, stamps, coins, and antiques. From the age of seven onward, that’s what I got.

If I were to make up my wish list for Santa today, I’d really have to think about it. Should I get a chance to park my chubby frame on Santa’s knee, and I could only ask for ten gifts, what would they be? A few little pieces for my type set? Why not?

First of all, I’d ask for a 1915 set of the Panama-Pacific  Commemorative Coins in its original copper frame (copper  from the mines of Jerome, AZ). This set consists of a beautiful round fifty-dollar gold piece, featuring Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse, an octagonal fifty  dollar gold piece, a two-and-a half dollar gold piece featuring Columbia on a hippocamp (a sort of sea horse) on the obverse and an American eagle on the reverse.

The one dollar gold features a laborer representing the men who actually built the Panama Canal. The fifty cent piece features “Columbia” against the background of the Golden Gate. The reverse shows again the American eagle. I would argue that the five coin set in its original copper frame would only count as one piece of the ten on my want list. And of course, I want the set in M.S.67 condition. After all, what’s fair is fair.

The second coin on my Christmas list would be a pair of gold Stellas. Stellas were really patterns for four dollar gold pieces which were intended to be on a par with a lot of European coins like the French twenty Franc piece and Italian twenty line coins of the 1879 period. One of the pair of Stellas would have to have long hair and the other coiled hair. Again I would argue with Santa that the pair would have to count as a single piece on my list. The condition of course, would have to be MS.67.

In addition to these pieces, I would need to include for my third lot, an 1804 dollar; for my fourth lot an M.S. 67 1795 Half Eagle gold piece; for my fifth lot a 1795 (with nine leaves below the eagle) ten dollar gold piece in M.S.67 condition.

Or for my fifth lot, I might want all the varieties of Moffat-Humbert fifty dollar gold pieces in M.S.67 condition. Again, I consider them one lot.

For my sixth lot, I’d like an M.S. 67 1913 five cent Liberty/V nickel. Or for my sixth lot, how about a type set of all colonial coinage? I would settle for these being merely in M.S.65 condition.

For my seventh lot a pair of Gutenburg Bibles from the Estelle Doheny Collection. I want one printed on vellum and one printed on paper.

For my eighth lot, I want the 1893 Columbian Exposition Commemorative stamps in full unhinged, extra fine mint sheets. For my ninth gift lot, I want the only two known full sheets of the first and second stamps issued by the United States in 1847.

And just to round things out, I’d ask for “The 1835 King of Siam Set” of coins which includes one of the best 1804 dollars known, as well as one of the best of the four 1804 plain restrikes of the ten dollar gold coins.

In 1835 Andrew Jackson ordered a set  consisting of every circulating U.S. coin sent as a gift to the King of Siam. The set was housed in a special presentation case. The set contained the two 1804 restrikes mentioned, because coins of those denominations were not struck in 1835.

I guess the closest I’ll ever come to this in real life is the fact, that I have done a small amount of business with the man who actually owned this set at one time, and subsequently sold it for almost $9 million. At about this point I suspect that Santa would toss me through Macy’s plate glass window for a gross excess of seasonal greed.

But heck! Isn’t that what Christmas is all about – you know – stimulating the economy? Oh well. I hope that all of you numismatists, philatelists, and bibliomania victims get what you want for Christmas too. Merry Christmas to all!

A set of the Pan-American Commemorative coins would be a nice  present I would accept with gratitude.	How about some California fifty dollar slugs in my Christmas stocking.	This four dollar “Stella” (the reverse features a star hence the name) would be a nice Christmas gift too.	This turban headed ten dollar gold piece in M.S.65 would make a nice gift for Christmas 2004.
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How about a type set of all the English Colonial American coins? Wouldn’t that be a nice gift?	I’m a nice person. Don’t I deserve a nice 1804 dollar? How about The King of Siam Set?	I managed to get a set of the Graf Zeppelins of 1930. How about a set of sheets of 50? I’ve been a good boy.