@PTVETTER said:
I have collected Mercury dimes of over 60 years.
You can't believe how bad the first dimes I started with. They were cleaned with an eraser, boy did they clean up nice!! Now after 60 years the set has improved by leaps and bounds!
Growing up, there were as many Mercuries in circulation as there were Roosevelts. I was already collecting Lincoln cents from circulation and couldn't afford to save dimes, too. When I had my first job I could buy BU Mercuries from fresh rolls at my local dealer for 90 cents (1941-1945 Phillies). They looked like sparkling little jewels compared to those I found in pocket change, and they were cheap! I continued to buy them sporadically, switching to PCGS coins after 1986. I became aware of the PCGS Set Registry in 2000, and completed the 1932-1964 Washington set in 2001. By that time I had accumulated fewer than half of the Mercuries, but I uploaded them onto the Registry anyway. I was immediately in 15th place, and added another coin that boosted me to 14th. I was warmly greeted by other Mercury collectors (aka "Mercateers") and joined a friendly, competitive group. At that time there were only 2 complete sets in the Registry. I'm still lacking the 1916-D, but love the Mercs, followed by Walking Liberty halves, Lincoln cents, and Morgans.
Here's a page from my time machine, dated January 21, 2002. Note the comment from PTVETTER, one of the few remaining from that era.
I guess I'm a modern guy. Been part of this hobby for 60+ years. Started with the Lincolns then had an opportunity to buy silver Roosevelt dimes 2 for a quarter. This would have been in the mid 60's. Always loved my Roosies and I've progressed to a few top 5 Registry sets. Never had the budget for coins from the 19th or early 20th century. My Kennedy halves also fairly highly rated Registry set.
@mirabela said:
I've gotten almost entirely away from series-based collecting. I think Buffalo nickels would have been a great project if I'd been a collector 50+ years earlier, but I don't think I'd take them on now. Like other circulation coinage of that era, the artwork is great. The series is reasonably concise, there are some interesting varieties, and while there are scarce and difficult coins there are no real stoppers.
The last series I built a collection of was Jefferson nickels, uncirculated business strikes & proofs 1938 until the Westward Expansion group of the early 2000's. I had a lot of fun with that in the 2007-2010 window; it was a nice way to stay really active in the hobby and build a beautiful set during a time when I was working on a very lean budget. One thing I did was to buy a bunch of raw unc album sets other people had built, generally the older the better, and then pull whatever coins therein would be an upgrade over what I already had. My set has the best coins from more than a dozen sets I engaged with that way. I enjoyed how DIY it all was, but honestly now that I think of it as "done" it's sort of a boring thing to own.
Would you mind sharing pictures? I'm working on an uncirculated jefferson nickel album currently. It's the only date/mintmark set I've gotten far into.
@mirabela said:
I've gotten almost entirely away from series-based collecting. I think Buffalo nickels would have been a great project if I'd been a collector 50+ years earlier, but I don't think I'd take them on now. Like other circulation coinage of that era, the artwork is great. The series is reasonably concise, there are some interesting varieties, and while there are scarce and difficult coins there are no real stoppers.
The last series I built a collection of was Jefferson nickels, uncirculated business strikes & proofs 1938 until the Westward Expansion group of the early 2000's. I had a lot of fun with that in the 2007-2010 window; it was a nice way to stay really active in the hobby and build a beautiful set during a time when I was working on a very lean budget. One thing I did was to buy a bunch of raw unc album sets other people had built, generally the older the better, and then pull whatever coins therein would be an upgrade over what I already had. My set has the best coins from more than a dozen sets I engaged with that way. I enjoyed how DIY it all was, but honestly now that I think of it as "done" it's sort of a boring thing to own.
Would you mind sharing pictures? I'm working on an uncirculated jefferson nickel album currently. It's the only date/mintmark set I've gotten far into.
Here are some pics I've posted before. There's also this thread, full of many great Jeffersons, many of them much better than mine. Some of my better coins are near the bottom of the first page of the thread. I haven't imaged most of them, and I also don't have reverse pics even of a lot of the ones I've got obverses for. I've got what I've got ... hope it gives an idea, though.
This question has been asked several times, but here goes...
Lincoln (Wheat) cents as that this what our Father started us (two older brothers) on back in the 60's/70's.
As my parents owned a neighborhood grocery store, my Father would keep all of the silver given through transactions. So collecting silver came in 2nd...
I have gone back and forth for my entire collecting career but mostly like copper.
As I got older, along with my eyes, I settled on 2 Cent Pieces, short series, larger sized and "reasonable prices".
SLQ. Like the design and the series represents a time period when the world experienced a war the world had never seen. A time when electric and gas was a luxury within the home. A time when the great depression had families struggling. Holding a MS example that would have normally changed hands hundreds of times to cover the cost of a few cans of soup still amazes me.
This particular one has a frost unlike any other MS I have seen in hand and have owned many. Gave up on the idea of upgrading as higher grades never seemed to have same eye appeal. I would still like to own a T2 with full head, full shield with all details, full drapery over knees. Saw one dated 1919 and still bothered by not buying.,Most candidates are 2 of 3.
Liberty Seated Quarters are my favorite series. A workhorse denomination and great design. It's a long series (108 date and MM combinations, not counting major varieties), and many design changes. The set has it all: common dates, tough dates, semi-key dates, and very rare key dates. There are 45 issues with less than 100,000 minted.
One of my favorites:
Comments
Growing up, there were as many Mercuries in circulation as there were Roosevelts. I was already collecting Lincoln cents from circulation and couldn't afford to save dimes, too. When I had my first job I could buy BU Mercuries from fresh rolls at my local dealer for 90 cents (1941-1945 Phillies). They looked like sparkling little jewels compared to those I found in pocket change, and they were cheap! I continued to buy them sporadically, switching to PCGS coins after 1986. I became aware of the PCGS Set Registry in 2000, and completed the 1932-1964 Washington set in 2001. By that time I had accumulated fewer than half of the Mercuries, but I uploaded them onto the Registry anyway. I was immediately in 15th place, and added another coin that boosted me to 14th. I was warmly greeted by other Mercury collectors (aka "Mercateers") and joined a friendly, competitive group. At that time there were only 2 complete sets in the Registry. I'm still lacking the 1916-D, but love the Mercs, followed by Walking Liberty halves, Lincoln cents, and Morgans.
Here's a page from my time machine, dated January 21, 2002. Note the comment from PTVETTER, one of the few remaining from that era.
I guess I'm a modern guy. Been part of this hobby for 60+ years. Started with the Lincolns then had an opportunity to buy silver Roosevelt dimes 2 for a quarter. This would have been in the mid 60's. Always loved my Roosies and I've progressed to a few top 5 Registry sets. Never had the budget for coins from the 19th or early 20th century. My Kennedy halves also fairly highly rated Registry set.
Would you mind sharing pictures? I'm working on an uncirculated jefferson nickel album currently. It's the only date/mintmark set I've gotten far into.
Here are some pics I've posted before. There's also this thread, full of many great Jeffersons, many of them much better than mine. Some of my better coins are near the bottom of the first page of the thread. I haven't imaged most of them, and I also don't have reverse pics even of a lot of the ones I've got obverses for. I've got what I've got ... hope it gives an idea, though.
This question has been asked several times, but here goes...
Lincoln (Wheat) cents as that this what our Father started us (two older brothers) on back in the 60's/70's.
As my parents owned a neighborhood grocery store, my Father would keep all of the silver given through transactions. So collecting silver came in 2nd...
Not a single series for me.
My favorite collecting area is 1936 - 1970 Proof and SMS coinage.
I have gone back and forth for my entire collecting career but mostly like copper.
As I got older, along with my eyes, I settled on 2 Cent Pieces, short series, larger sized and "reasonable prices".
SLQ. Like the design and the series represents a time period when the world experienced a war the world had never seen. A time when electric and gas was a luxury within the home. A time when the great depression had families struggling. Holding a MS example that would have normally changed hands hundreds of times to cover the cost of a few cans of soup still amazes me.
This particular one has a frost unlike any other MS I have seen in hand and have owned many. Gave up on the idea of upgrading as higher grades never seemed to have same eye appeal. I would still like to own a T2 with full head, full shield with all details, full drapery over knees. Saw one dated 1919 and still bothered by not buying.,Most candidates are 2 of 3.
PCGS designated this as FH and I disagree.
Liberty Seated Quarters are my favorite series. A workhorse denomination and great design. It's a long series (108 date and MM combinations, not counting major varieties), and many design changes. The set has it all: common dates, tough dates, semi-key dates, and very rare key dates. There are 45 issues with less than 100,000 minted.
One of my favorites:
Doug
Those last 3 or 4 are some very compelling arguments and based on the images alone I favor the standing liberty.
Edit: the bow is weak but the hairline is there.