Calling All 7070 Type Set Collectors (No Gold)

OAKSTAR

There's been some talk here lately about type sets.

How did you start your set? What advise or strategy would you have for those starting a type set?

I started filling holes with something like these and slowly worked my way up.

Walkerguy21D

Study each series. Be selective. Choose nice coins, that you won’t be anxious to upgrade, but if you do, they’re readily salable.
I personally like first and last year of issues, especially those with a major design change in the same year, like 1839 halves and 1909 cents.
I also like the concept of using low mintage, semi keys, to sustain value. I’m not a slave to matching grades; I decided early on that the late date coinage would be Proof or high ms, knowing fully well the early dates wouldn’t match.

P0CKETCHANGE

Plan ahead and spend time setting your total set budget, and then per coin budget. You can use the weighted averages in the 7070 Registry set to calculate a per coin budget. That will inform the approximate grade you will target for each coin. It’s a little work up front, but having predetermined criteria makes things much, much easier as you work to assemble your set.

CoffeeTime

Since you can’t buy the 7070, I created my own version. I’ve been slowly adding as I find opportunities at shows or auctions. It’s a marathon collection I’ll be working on for years.

lkenefic

I'm on my 4th shot at a "Type Set"... my 3rd attempt at a 7070... and it has definitely been an iterative process.

My first attempt was as a kid and I got a Whitman Small Denomination album along with a cast off copy of the Redbook from my older brother. It didn't take long to figure out that I'd likely not be able to finish the set... ever! ..ie, 1793 Chain, 1796 SE Quarter, etc, etc...

I've come close a couple of times on the 7070... it's much more doable as an album... but Life has a habit of intervening. That said, there were numerous coins in my previous iterations of the set that were part of my "learning curve". Fortunately, I didn't have too much money paid in "tuition" but you really get a feel for which were good coins and which were problems when you go to sell. I had a few coins in the 3rd version of the set (a particular 1873 Trade Dollar) that I really kick myself for selling but I did manage to make a little profit on a few of them.

I'm just 5 coins from completing my current 7070. I'll likely finish the Dollars in Baltimore in a couple of weeks with a Seated Liberty Dollar with Motto. My approach this go around has been XF to AU coins for a more unified look. Some have been purchased raw and some have been cracked from TPG holders. I like the look and they're a bit more affordable on my budget. Also, I like that these coins were used in commerce... but not used up! I do have a few coins that I'll likely upgrade at some point (I opted for a higher grade Classic Head LC but it is corroded, a VF30 details coin) but I'm pretty happy with how it's coming together.

Best of luck... and you have a lot of really knowledgeable people on this Forum for support.

vulcanize

To be honest, truly just winged it initially, picking up whatever coins I could find in my budget (including gold paage).
Did upgrade quite a few of them and is still pretty much an ongoing affair even though the initial enthusiasm that was present during cobbling it together has waned a lot.

jacrispies

Just completed 7070, and the seated dollars were a pain to find attractive. I settled for dollars I didn't initially want but look good anyway (I also got them for real cheap).

I would encourage to study all of the series before you buy, both to inform you to make safe purchases, while also allowing you to find your niche specialty. I found my bust half fever from filling a 7070, and now there's no going back!

Do not buy cheap "hole fillers" either! They are a waste of time and money. Buy coins that you are proud to own, not ones you are using for temporary satisfaction.

Btw for those who can't find albums, they are out there! I have found about a half dozen brand new in shops across a few states for $30-$40 each.

OAKSTAR

I've looked at type sets on this form for years. I always thought completing a set was out of reach. One day for the heck of it, I put a virtual set together on paper and started pulling coins from other sets and slabs just to see what I had. To my surprise, I actually had more then half the set.

There are just so many different variables and options you can compile with this set. High grades, low balls, a mix, consistent looking sets, a mix of proofs and business strikes, holed coins, clipped coins, etc..

NeophyteNumismatist

When I started my type set, I didn't know anything except that I thought coins were cool. Fortunately, I had a great dealer who taught me a lot in the beginning. Here were his tips to me:

1. Learn what years/mints come "nice" for the most affordable price for each series. This is more than merely selecting common dates, but also understanding which years/mints have the best strikes, etc.
2. When selecting a grade range, look at the prices of the older/tougher coins first. IMO this would be Seated Dollars, Draped and Classic Head Large Cents, Capped Bust Quarter and 20c Piece.
3. Try to prioritize buying the tougher coins first (if possible)

bagofnickels

My parents gifted me a dansco type set as a Christmas present in 2021. I've been filling it up a little bit at a time as I see coins that catch my eye. For me it's been a "just for fun" endeavor as I didn't do a ton of research into the series but I have learned a good deal about each one as I find a prospective coin and go through the process of vetting it for common issues. I did draw up a rough budget for most of the more pricy issues. I didn't commit myself to a specific grade range in lieu of picking out coins I felt were strong overall.

I'm still a relatively new collector and this has really given me an appreciation for the especially tiny coins that have survived through some tumultuous times in history. The three cent nickel and silver and some of the half dimes I had never really seen up close and it was wild to me how thin and delicate they are. Here's a 3 cent nickel I'm fond of.

TimNH

I'm a type-set-type (if you will) but I never liked the actual 7070 because 1) I don't want to crack coins out of holders, and 2) I don't agree with their selections. 15 varieties of liberty seated coins, but not a single flowing hair silver or liberty/wreath cent? 4 commems, says who? Also all that modern stuff does not excite anyone, i want every coin in my collection to have some 'wow factor'.

Besides that, yeah I just jumped in and started buying lots of mixed quality stuff, got a nice little pouch of all the major types and picked the best ones out for my type set, that got me started with the cheap types. The most expensive types like Chain Cent and Flowing Hair dollar, i still haven't gotten, the higher up you go the more discerning you need to be.

And of course by now some of my early buys look rough, but gotta learn somehow, so yeah either take your time carefully selecting each coin to match your long-term theme, or be prepared to flip as your tastes get more refined.

Fairfaxthunder

I jumped in with an Intercept Shield Type Set album I found (empty) at a coin show just a month or two ago. I do Lincoln Cents mostly, the type set is new for me. Like one or two above this is my fun/learning round with the album. Personally I do not mind upgrading because the lower quality coins are great to take out and have the kids hold and look at. I do proofs when I can (certainly on moderns). What's killing me are the cost of the books, although of course they are well worth it. At this point in my journey I would rather find a stash of books than a stash of coins. I go to shows with people from my club who know more. I'd rather leave with one very nice coin than two so-so coins. I buy all my coins raw right now. Thank you for posting btw - I was just about to start a type set thread after searching old ones since I wasn't seeing much for the newbies recently with type sets. Now we have two active threads!

mirabela

The hardest thing about it from my POV is that in some series it's possible to get something really magnificent for fairly small money -- like, it's incredible what $200 can get you in a shield nickel or a seated half dime if you're patient and picky -- while in others you have to really pay up to get something that's not butt ugly, like for instance the Classic Head cent or the seated dollars. I've done the 7070 a couple of times and in hindsight I think those three coins are the thing to reckon with first. It's a two-part question -- what's going to be your price/quality point on those coins, and then how important is it to you that the rest of your set match them, or in what sense will you want it to?

TimNH

how important is it to you that the rest of your set match them

Right, you want to decide up front if the quality needs to be consistent throughout the set. Same thing w/ key dates if you are doing a single type. Me personally, nope, the most expensive types will be lower grades (or even the dreaded Details) but it is highly recommended to decide up front rather than undo errors later on.

oih82w8

I have done a couple of 7070 Type Sets in PCGS holders. I keep my fakes in my 7070 album for show and tell.

Mr_Spud

I started my type sets by slowly buying slabbed circulated coins mainly from the 1800s one at a time targeting AUs for most, and about VF for the more cost prohibitive ones. I did it real informally for about 15 years and then added them all in NGCs Registry first in 2020 and then in PCGS registry also. I ended up in the top 20 in the circulated 19th Century type sets, no gold both here and across the street and also in the circulated 7070 no gold set across the street (PCGS doesn’t have an Everyman 7070, but NGC does). I focused on filling the holes in the 19th Century Circulated sets, both with and without gold and ended up in 1st place briefly across the street for the circulated 7070 no gold and also still am in 1st place across the street for the circulated 19th Century no gold. I’m #2 in many of those circulated type sets here and across the street too. By focusing on those 1800s coins you end up completing all of those sets simultaneously.

CircCam

Completing that album was a blast and I learned a lot. The issue I had was that I cracked coins for it, so upgrading became too costly after awhile. If I did it again I would stick with 100% raw, problem free F-VF circs with a matched look.

Good luck!

Meltdown

I started mine in 2010 or so and was not picky enough. Filling the holes in there was fun & rewarding so I was quick to throw them in there. As I got closer to completion a few years later, it became really obvious the lesser quality coins and "lightly cleaned" pieces I settled for early on stuck out like a sore thumb and It took a few years more, upgrading every one to original. Now the set looks uniform and I'm quite happy with it. I'm sure I wasted a bunch of money in the beginning. It was by far the most educational, expensive and complicated set I've ever worked on. Over the years I've kicked around the idea of doing it again but I'm not in the same place these days. Now I buy individual type coins that I fell in love with while putting the set together and try to focus more on eye appeal, detail & surface originality.

OAKSTAR

Besides a consistent looking set, my goal was also problem free legit coins. So I've cracked out quite a few over the years.

For what it's worth, I take pictures of the slabs, print them out, scotch tape the barcode on the pictures and put them in a clear sleeve in the back of the album.

OAKSTAR

@CoffeeTime said:
Since you can’t buy the 7070, I created my own version. I’ve been slowly adding as I find opportunities at shows or auctions. It’s a marathon collection I’ll be working on for years.

The prices are steep but they are out there.

vulcanize

Got my 7070 Dansco from LCS for under $30 but the gold page from eBay was almost a hundred bucks.

lkenefic

@vulcanize said:
Got my 7070 Dansco from LCS for under $30 but the gold page from eBay was almost a hundred bucks.

I also bought my Dansco album new for around $30 but held onto it as I was doing my sell-offs. I considered buying the Gold Page when I got back into it, but the least expensive one I could find at the time was $80 or more. This lead me to evaluate the coins that Dansco decided to include on the page... almost half are Liberty Head and essentially the same obverse design. This sort of reminds me that there are 15 Seated Liberty coins (out of 76 total coins in the basic set) but that's a different thread. Also, absent is the $3 Type that was meant for circulation (I don't include the $4 Stella for this reason... AND it's way out of my means!). So, I'm doing a modified "Gold Page" as part of my Box-of-20.

GaCoinGuy

I have had my 7070 for years. Have cracked a few to put in, some were bought raw, and some of them came from my wife's grandfathers collection. It's a fun set to put together, especially challenging with a teachers budget, but I like it. I don't focus too much in any one area, I just buy what I like that catches my eye.

OAKSTAR

Any additional thoughts?

yspsales

I like wide open approach, and the focus is on problem free key dates and varieties.

It's virtual, not cracking anything out.

Mostly a guard rail that pushes me along my cherrypick, sell, buy, obtain, rinse, repeat, wait for my target coin.

coinbuf

The goal for my 7070 album was to assemble a set that doesn't need to live at the bank, as such I chose low grade, impaired or AT coins for the classic coins. Cheap coins that would not be much of a loss if taken but still something that I can show to non collectors (like young family members) without worry. I still need one, no two coins to finish it.

ad4400

My efforts on the 7070 project has manifest itself differently over the years.

First go was going to be a higher grade album set. I worked on the pieces by type (seated, capped, large copper etc) so my knowledge would be somewhat fresh and transferrable. Coins started raw but found myself buying more certified, then cracking those out, and then not. I sold some off for other interests at the time, then the album sat in a SDB after I married. It was at that point I decided that an album sitting in a box wasn't great. Many of the raw coins were sold here on BST, some went for grading and consignment, others got graded and stayed in my registry set.

Version II was a registry set, still in the works but with good progress this year. The theme changed to seeking nicely toned pieces and I'm pretty happy with where I am. I've worked through some of the financial road blocks from the raw set (esp the Seated Dollars). Not including the gold, I need the two earliest large cents to complete. Those looks like they will be a particular challenge in problem free /budget friendly targets.

While I mostly sold what was worth selling from the 7070 album itself, I, Like @coinbuf am continuing a set at home as a pass time, and maybe even a conversation starter. A number of the original coins just made sense to keep and I've been acquiring some lower grade hole fills. Just won a three cent nickel today for the set and expecting a XF IHC any day now.

ChangeInHistory

I have one that is complete, but there are about a dozen upgrades I'd like to do (mostly medium/less expensive stuff)
My current set has a few proofs in it and those have to go, I just don't like them next to the MS coins.

I put one together 20+ years ago, mostly ebay purchases, and sold the set for a mild profit. This was back in the wild west ebay days where you could find some good deals but had to be very careful. (I guess you still can, but it's a LOT tougher)

Whatever the budget or customizations, I would make the set well matched. If it's VF, stay as close to VF as possible throughout. I'd like to do a set in Choice G/VG one of these days, especially with a circ cam look.
Obviously, collectors should do what they want to, but a well-matched set pays visual dividends.

coinkat

There are album choices… the older Whitman blue bookshelf 2 volume set. One of the Whitman type sets was made prior to the Kennedy Half. There is also the Library of Coins type set album which is alittle harder to find but it has that “old school” look.

As for the coins, consider a broad spectrum in terms of grades. It is your set and seek out examples that have the album look… good luck and enjoy the experience

Bochiman

It's for you, so it's whatever fits your wants and needs.
Some of us went into it with 1 thought and then changed as we did it. Sometimes for aesthetics and sometimes for cost.
The older stuff may not be cheap and may be more than you want to put into the album. Maybe it's stuff you normally buy slabbed.

Maybe you put in counterfeits for some of them, or problem coins, due to cost/security (bust/seated dollars).

Some try to get an overall look, but when you compare something from circa 1800 to circa 2000, that usually doesn't happen.

Some go toned, some go no toning.

I have 2 7070 albums. One is lower grade, and more for display or showing to the casual friend who may ask, and 1 is more for me to pass on to my son that, while not high grade, has slightly more expensive and better date/better looking coins.

In the cheaper one, some of the more expensive, or older, may have slight problems or be much lower grade. In the better album, all the examples show most everything about the coin design. Everything can be read/seen and isn't rubbed off like a G4 or even some F12 are.