Post a Set/Series You've Started but not Sure You'll Ever Complete

MJ1927

Have you started a set with way too many years/mints, are the key dates impossible to find, or perhaps a set that will make you take out a second mortgage to complete? I'd love to see them. For me, it would have to be the 1800-present British shillings, I love the design but have other series on the go, and I'm only interested in MS63 or higher, so this set is definitely on the back burner. I'm never going to complete it but I'm looking forward to seeing where the collection will end up.

And maybe if the discussion gets some traction, one of you might find someone who is willing to sell that all elusive coin that would be the final piece to your puzzle!

(Here's a couple of my shillings!)

AuldFartte

I'm slowly building a British Victorian Type Set. I'll post a few coins below. I doubt I'll ever finish it because of two major factors. First, I'm shooting for XF to MS grades and the Gothic Crown is waaay too bloody expensive at those grade levels, and second, I am having a very hard time finding all the Maundy Sets. Plus, at my age, who knows if I'll even live long enough to finish it.

Boosibri

Complete set of Guatemalan Pillars

Stork

My Japan type set falls under this. It's a moving target and I keep adding varieties I want. Some are near or actually unobtainable for me. Like the old style dragon gold 20 yen. Even if I drop the gold, well I'd have to drop a few varieties too. Technically I could be 'done' as I've got the Dansco 7460 covered. BUT there I go, looking for varieties.

I had thought my Albanians would be that way...but as long one does not use Krause or some allegedly produced coins as part of the set, well I got the stopper for that one. Still a couple out there I could get, but am holding out for better examples.

TwoKopeiki

[looks at @bidask ]

Unknown

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MyWorldCoinTypeSet

My type set, see my signature line. 2100 types collected over 13 years, about 50000 types to go and new ones being made every day..

bigmarty58

My efforts to complete a Penny, Victoria, 1841-1901, One Per Date, Circulation Issue Set in AU/MS is my challenge both financially and the long reign of Queen Victoria. One can dream!

bidask

@TwoKopeiki said:
[looks at @bidask ]

I think you will complete your outstanding collection !😊

bidask

@bigmarty58 said:
My efforts to complete a Penny, Victoria, 1841-1901, One Per Date, Circulation Issue Set in AU/MS is my challenge both financially and the long reign of Queen Victoria. One can dream!

You will have a lot fun along the way!

WCC

Complete set of Peru pillars. I can complete the Bolivian pillars (only 20 coins) but not in any better grades. The others sets I have, I am making no effort to add to it regularly.

BillyKingsley

I'm not really going after sets, per se. I'd like to, but realistically I know that's impossible.
What I had been working on was one from every country, which was progressing nicely, and a bigger challenge was one from every year, but had to be dated on the coin itself. I got back to the 1890s with no missing years and only a handful of years missing back to the 1840s, but earlier than that it's mostly empty space.

When I got sick in 2013 that all pretty much came to a halt. I've been maintaining the modern US stuff because I had access to it from circulation, but I have not purchased anything specifically towards either of these projects in quite a while.

I'm back to reading the forums but I'm not back to actually buying things again, at least not in this hobby. I'm sure I will again at some point.

1904 turned out to be a very difficult year to locate but I eventually did. (Anything is acceptable really but if I buy something it has to fit into a rather small parameter I set for myself...$20 or less, circulated, no holes, major damage or toning) I can't remember what I'm missing anymore or what I'd gotten but I have it all written on paper. I'll have to dig it out and see how far I had gotten.

Edit: I just went and checked my scan folder. I did a little better than I thought, having 1882-2020. Haven't found a 2021 yet. The 1904 is not scanned but I remember getting it...I could never pull decent scans from coins in 2x2s.

The most recent decade that's not represented at all in the 1770s, but most in that time period are represented by 1 or 2 coins only.

Nap

A coin of every British Isles monarch dating back to Anglo-Saxon times.

A couple of them are so rare that they simply do not exist outside of museums.

amwldcoin

I was always biting off more than I could chew. My original goal was to assemble the largest privately owned coin collection. My endeavor is actually what began my career as a coin dealer. I started setting up at coin shows with the main goal to buy coins for my collection. For 40 years I collected everything in Krause by date and MM. When I bought collections, etc., if I didn't have it I kept it. When I stopped and started selling I had around 35,000 different coins.

Stork

I forgot about the One From Every Country Collection...how so many of us start. I mean, define country and how far back do you want to go? That can be split oh so many ways. I like the idea of a year set. There was a thread over at cointalk that went on starting with the current year and to see how far back we could go. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how that end up resolved. It was great fun. And a set that might never get finished either! Hmmm.

EVillageProwler

I have never completed any set that I started: US Early Dollars (by die marriage; the R8's are too competitive!); US Seated Dollars (the 1870-S is prohibitive); US Trade Dollars (by major hub variety), missing the common 1878-S.

I am currently working on Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Viking, Anglo-Scandinavian, Hiberno-Norse and early Viking coinage; these I will never complete because it's a constant moving target due to developing research. For example, some imitative Anglo-Scandinavian types might actually have been struck in the lower and eastern Baltic Sea regions. It's also not possible for me to complete due to the high rarity (and thus cost) of some types.

I am also working on a high-grade type set of European coins post-Renaissance and pre-Industrial. It's a type set so there is really no well defined boundaries other than what catches my eye and fits my budget.

MasonG

I have pretty much given up on sets. The only one I've got going anymore is a "Birth year, one from every country, highest denomination that's not gold, in BU" set. I have found it to be surprisingly difficult, but not because of rare/expensive coins. It's the $1 and under coins that are the hard ones since there's not enough profit in them for people to offer them for sale individually.

MrBreeze

@MasonG Which year?

I collect crowns from each year from the present to as far back as I can go (see tag line). It will never be completed, but that was the point when I started it. I like the parameters of a “set,” but not the forced purchase of a coin I don’t really want due to the fact that it fills some slot.

WCC

@amwldcoin said:
I was always biting off more than I could chew. My original goal was to assemble the largest privately owned coin collection. My endeavor is actually what began my career as a coin dealer. I started setting up at coin shows with the main goal to buy coins for my collection. For 40 years I collected everything in Krause by date and MM. When I bought collections, etc., if I didn't have it I kept it. When I stopped and started selling I had around 35,000 different coins.

Even at 35,000, you wouldn't be close to Virgil Brand, like 10% of the way there. He's rather hard to beat for largest.

amwldcoin

I had a customer that did a set from every Mint in the world back into the 1600's. I bought his set and dang if he didn't turn around and do it again. I must say that was one of the most interesting collections I ever bought!

@Stork said:
I forgot about the One From Every Country Collection...how so many of us start. I mean, define country and how far back do you want to go? That can be split oh so many ways. I like the idea of a year set. There was a thread over at cointalk that went on starting with the current year and to see how far back we could go. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how that end up resolved. It was great fun. And a set that might never get finished either! Hmmm.

MasonG

@MrBreeze said:
@MasonG Which year?

In the 1950's.

bidask

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mexican-milled-coinage/mexican-first-republic/mexican-8-reales-circulation-strikes-1823-1897/alltimeset/182600

I also have around 20 or so NGC graded 8 reales that compliments this set

I estimate I only need another 700 coins or so to complete this set.

That’s all .

TwoKopeiki

@bidask said:

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mexican-milled-coinage/mexican-first-republic/mexican-8-reales-circulation-strikes-1823-1897/alltimeset/182600

I also have around 20 or so NGC graded 8 reales that compliments this set

I estimate I only need another 700 coins or so to complete this set.

That’s all .

coinkat

Hopefully our host will find this post persuasive to add the Edward VII Crown to the registry set... 2 coins would be required that would feature both the Matte Proof and the business strike. Such a move might make us all feel a little better about what we are able to complete.