what U.S coin series has the widest range of love/hate?
WingedLiberty1957
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One candidate I can think of is Morgan Dollars. I know some people love them, they are or at least were, widely collected, but at the same time there also seems to be widespread hate. It's kind of interesting. I wonder what quality in a coin leads to extreme ranges in feelings. There might be similar feelings in a lot of moderns.
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Kennedy Half Dollars
With Morgans, their history of manufacture and distribution influences some collectors' mindsets about the series, mine included. They were mass produced to satisfy the silver mining interests in the US to the point where they piled up in vaults for decades. Incredible numbers of these never circulated, and that turns off collectors who believe that coins should fulfill (or at least have a chance at fulfilling) their intended purpose in commerce.
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Franklin halves maybe? But put me in the Morgan hater column, too.
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Modern coins in plastic is # one! Then in my opinion comes Roosevelt dimes! Yuck!
Modern Silver Eagles. The argument on are they bullion or coins, and lets not forget the toning battle....
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I'd like to see a bar chart with a gradient of love to hate for each series and see which one gets the longest bar. My guess is there would be a lot of love in that 1916 -1930 period due to the great designs: Buffalo Nickel, Merc Dime, SLQ, WLH, Peace Dollar ... but I dont think there is much counterbalancing hate of those. There might be some hate on the semi boring designs (JMHO) of Seated Liberty or Barber, but probably not that much widespread extreme love. The moderns are kind of boring in some cases, but accessible and not that expensive to collect and therefore more potentially more popular amongst the masses.
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Generic Morgan Dollars.
Hmm, widest possible distance between love and hate for a coin. Maybe those few people who love the SBA $ and everyone else?
If we’re thinking lovable losers, maybe the 2c?
1964 Peace Dollars and other fantasy date coins.
I just picked up the following MCMXXI Broken Sword Peace Dollar and love it:
Dan Carr coins.
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
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Washington Quarters. People liked the State quarters at first, but now it seems overkill with all the changing designs
Mr_Spud
Eisenhower dollars. And modern dollars (except SBA almost everyone hates those)
Toning is certainly a wildcard though ... add nuclear color to an unloved series and perhaps you can gather up some love from a few haters (maybe) ...
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I'd imagine something like Barber half dollars. These coins were used and used and used and used and used until the extant pieces were nubs of their former selves and many of the survivors with more meat had their surfaces abused in myriad ways. That, combined with the classic aesthetic of the design, leaves most pieces as less desirable to many collectors.
On the other hand, we have those fortunate few pieces that survived entirely unmolested in mid-grade and folks think they are quite handsome and, finally, the high grade super-coins shared by folks like @Eldorado9 can make nearly everyone a fan of the series.
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I was thinking Barber coins. A section love these, a section hates these, with a large section in the middle.
Jefferson nickels. Mostly hate, but our minority tries to make up for it with impassioned zeal.
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@TomB absolutely nailed it.
Dave
All of the Nickel designs... in general excluding Buffs.
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I was thinking about saying Barbers but didn't want to cast a negative light on my favorite series. They are scarce nice and unmolested because the people of the times didn't like the design.
I agree with the OP. Morgans.
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I've never cared for the Buffalo Nickel... I can appreciate a really nice one with booming luster or color but overall, they don't much appeal to me. I think I'm in the minority here though...
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Morgan Dollar.
A pretty big old piece of silver vs a super common coin.
i love the copper cents and all but the zincolns i truly do with out
Barber tends to be more underrated than anything. I'd say people love ASE's and AGE's but also hate the gimmicks of recent years.
Classic commems. When I'm not interested in them, they soar. When I buy them, they tank...groan.
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Jefferson nickels
I don't care for them much. In my eyes there's not much of a difference between 6FS and 5FS. I'd rate the design a 5/10 and it goes lower once they stopped being high relief; but I don't hate it either. The series does have some sweet toners though.
On the other hand I've seen many Jefferson nickel collectors that pour a lot of time and effort into their sets. Usually focused on grade/strike but I have seen some awesome toned sets (usually proofs).
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Oh and one more. We already mentioned morgan dollars, but more specifically: the 2021 Peace & morgan set.
I think it's awesome, I've been hoping for this for several years now. My only complaints is that they should be .900, not bullion. However I've also seen people rag on it calling the series restrikes, gimmicks and accusing the mint of using the series as a cash cow.
I can sort of see why people think that way but they might not realize that this commemorative has been in the back of many collector's minds for many years now. Lots of contrast in how the numismatic community has reacted to the set.
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Trimes. That's my answer to all of these questions.
Actually, times and similar obsolete denominations probably do not fit the bill at all. There is no spirited debate because most people are not thinking about them at all, most of the time.
Dimes
I agree with the post above on the 20th century replacement designs; don't think there is much "hate" there".
Generally though, I don't believe collectors choose not to collect a coin or series only because they don't like it much and they don't always have "love" for a series they do buy either. I'd consider most ASE and AGE buyers stackers, not collectors. For low priced series generally, it's a budget limitation over 99% of the time, not due to really liking it that much either. This is evident in how most collectors spend their money, abandoning this coinage as soon as their budget permits it.
I was thinking Barber coins also.
Quite a few have either lots of hate or lots of love, but there aren't too many with strong factions on both sides. I'd say Morgans are probably at the top of the list. I mostly hate how this single series consumes half of every auction, and my Peace dollars come immediately after so it's easy to miss out.
Barbers are in there somewhere too, but the hate faction is much stronger than the disciples.
Possibly classic commems should be listed too. Most either love them or hate them, with almost nothing in the middle.
Most of the esoteric series like Susies, the majority of post-64 issues, trimes, and such don't have enough love to even register on the meter.
What is this strange concept you speak of..."hating a coin"?!
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The Silver Eagles and all their fancy finishes..
I can't think of a coin I hate. Except for modern cents. I hate that they exist. Has anyone still alive ever purchased something for one cent? It's way past time for them to go.
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Shield nickels.
Is there a more boring design?
Standing liberty quarter. Liberty looks like she is ready for an MMA fight. Quite a leap from the classic beauty and grace of Walking Liberty.
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What U.S coin series has the widest range of love/hate?
I think it has to be Morgan dollars because I have a wide range of feelings within myself.
Roosie dimes seem to elicit a wide range of emotions.
Fantasy dates are the scourge of the hobby. But I am rather fond of Barbers.
Have you ever bought something for $1.98 or similar odd number? Do you live in a state with sales tax? Of course, we could eliminate the cent and round up or round down our purchase prices.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Has to be a toss-up-either Barber coinage or Morgans. That's my opinion.
These, and similar, tax tokens have disappeared so what prevents cents from disappearing if they only serve a similar purpose?
From https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces20569.html
@Zoins We could get rid of the cent and we wouldn't miss it. They cost more than a cent to make so it makes sense from an economic viewpoint.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I think one of the main reasons we still have the cent is that Lincoln is on it and it's not good politics to remove Lincoln from a coin.
It's easier for countries like the UK and Canada to rid themselves of coin denominations because the person on those coins are on all their other coins.
Franklin halves. I hated them until I loved them and put together a collection with nice toning (which has actually taken years to complete). Here's one of them:
Why did you hate Franklins?
Lincoln is on the $5 bill. You can abolish the coin without removing Lincoln from our money.
I do not 'hate' or 'dislike' any coin series... I do like some more than others... For me, coins are a hobby (one of several
), and they all interest me... I even enjoy checking pocket change - cents and all. By the way @savitale, I am still alive, and I recall purchasing penny candy... one cent, one piece. So bring me your Morgans, SBA's, Ike's and SHQ's... I will give them shelter and care. 
Cheers, RickO
You didn't mention toners!