Liberty $5 Mintmark Set
brianc1959
Posts: 350 ✭✭✭✭✭
Due to the longevity of this series, there are countless ways to put together a classic 7-mintmark $5 Liberty set, ranging from relatively easy to essentially impossible (if you insisted on including the 1854 as the San Francisco specimen, for example). Now that I think about it, it would be an interesting math problem to calculate exactly how many such sets could exist - I would guess the number is truly staggering. I suspect lots of people who collect these small but cool sets have one or more "special interest" features. In my case, I wanted to include all three of the 1839 issues (Philadelphia, Charlotte and Dahlonega), which have a slightly different portrait style than the rest of the series, not to mention the neat "C" and "D" obverse mintmarks. I finally got my 1839-P crossed from NGC to PCGS so I could include it in my online set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/gold/liberty-head-5-gold-mintmark-set-1839-1908/album/171764
I've seen the 7-mintmark set discussed here before, but would enjoy seeing other examples if you have them.
Comments
The answer is 69x22x23x15x50x19x2 = 995,049,000 possible sets, counting dates only, not varieties.
cool set!
DOG acolyte
Nice set. I really like your New Orleans coin. I completed my set in 1985 and later had them graded and then upgraded some of them. I am in the top 20 out of 108 sets.
I did that, but stopped at the Civil War. Did it with quarter Eagles too.
Very nice, well done.
I need (want) to do this.
Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
At first I was going to reply with "how about we call it an even billion?". But then I thought about it some more, and I believe the number of possible sets might be vastly larger. For example, lets say you have only two mintmarks (P and S) and just three dates (1900, 1901 and 1902). The total number of sets in this case would be nine (3^2), and not six (3x2): 1900P/1900S; 1900P/1901S ; 1900P/1902S; 1901P/1900S; 1901P/1901S; 1901P/1902S; 1902P/1900S; 1902P/1901S; 1902P/1902S . The number of sets also wouldn't be 2^3=8. So, it may be that the formula involves the number of mintmarks as an exponent? My head is starting to hurt!
Any additional hints about which one?
True, and that's how I calculated it - 3x3 - 2 mints times 3 dates each. The number of dates across the 7 mints is 69x22x23x15x50x19x2. It's actually simple math, like calculating lottery odds.
Your 39 Philly is awesome
I think you're right, and that I misunderstood your earlier post. So a "billion" it is, then?
Thanks! I have higher grade P-fives, but the 1839 is special to me.
Nice set. I started one like that a little over 30 years ago, with the first being a Charlotte example. Never really made it beyond those Charlotte HEs, with the exception of the occasional Dahlonega, CC and NOLA examples, but most of those non-C mint coins have long been gone.
@brianc1959... That is an interesting set.... Well done!! Cheers, RickO
I have put together two of these sets. The first was in the early 1980s before there were slabs. I put it in a Capital plastics holder. I lost interest and sold it because a few of the coins, the Charlotte coin comes to mind, were only VFs.
I put together a second set over the last 10+ years. I have a number of options I could include for the Philadelphia, Charlotte and Dahlonega coins, but only have one piece for the others. I really wanted a No Motto coin for the New Orleans piece, and I didn’t want to spend a fortune on the Carson City coin.
If there is interest, I could post pictures later. I have the 1839 C and D coins, but I have other southern mint coins that are better.
I'm an avid viewer of your posted pictures, Bill, so please post away! My own 1839-D in particular is perhaps the homeliest AU $5 gold coin in existence, but I'm glad to have it. To paraphrase Linus Van Pelt, "I never thought it was such a bad little coin. It's not bad at all, really." So, I would certainly like to see your 1839-D and anything else you think is appropriate.