Since then, the friendly teller at our local bank has been saving Presidential Golden Dollars for me.  Briefly the background to these is that in December 2005, Congress approved the creation of a new dollar coinage known as ‘presidential dollars’.  During each year from 2007 to 2016, four different dollar designs, each bearing the image of a different president, are being released.  Living presidents, both current and former, are excluded from the programme.  The presidential dollars are the same golden colour as the sacagawea dollars.

On our recent visit to Florida, we discovered a coin and stamp specialist store at American Plaza, 1516 W. Vine Street, Kissimmee (on the 192).  It is an absolute treasure trove for coin or stamp enthusiasts.  The store carries an enormous amount of stock.  If anyone is searching for a specific item, I am sure the owner could track it down for you.  The tel. no is 407-933-2225.  I was able to purchase a presidential dollar coin album to start my collection.

My husband used to collect stamps many years ago, and he still has his albums.  We were interested to see second-hand collections/albums on sale.  Disney has also, over the years, released special ‘character’ postage stamps, and during the 1990’s special Disney albums of ‘Movie Classics’ were issued - A4 full story-book pages, with colourful illustrations by Disney artists and the relevant character stamps from various countries.  I couldn’t resist buying some of these, and I hope to collect some more.  

Jewellery  At Eagle Ridge shopping mall on Highway 27 between Haines City & Lakes Wales, we found Treasure Island Jewelry (outside Sears department store) 

The owner is very knowledgeable on gemstones and has some beautiful, good quality pieces on sale.

Jewellery Appraisals & Valuations  Approximately every four to six weeks, depending upon demand for the service, a certified gemologist  from the IGA will visit for the day to appraise and value customers jewellery for insurance purposes. Appointments are necessary and the fee is $85 per item.  This company also specialises in high quality loose diamonds, and customised jewellery can be obtained.

Their tel. no is 863-679-8989.