What's more gratifying to YOU, accumulating a bunch of great coins or building a cool set?
SethChandler
Posts: 1,719 ✭✭✭✭
I gotta tell ya, I 've NEVER had the discipline to build a set. Although I wanna try. First it was a Charlotte set, then CC gold set, then a proof Morgan set, then Seated quaters,........etc., etc, its endless.
Please, collectors, tell me:
1) How do you stay focused?
2) How do you NOT buy coins outside of your sets?
3) How do you finally decide what to build a set in?
My ideal collection would consist of probably two or three sets and everything else will be great coins. This board doesn't help, after reading a cool thread about Indian cents......guess what I like now? I've been seriously collecting for 20+ yrs, therefore no series isn't new to me.....BUT I find the PASSION of so many members of this board contagious. I get excited about everything! That's part of my problem.
I'm the kind of guy that walks into a coin show with a few things that I have in mind (set building) and I walk out with something totally diffrerent. I think that when all is said and done most of my collection will consist of cool, great, rare coins........which is what I truly like.
But.....I've never had that feeling of the hunt........finally accomplishing and finishing a set. Registry guys can you add any thoughts?
Seth
Please, collectors, tell me:
1) How do you stay focused?
2) How do you NOT buy coins outside of your sets?
3) How do you finally decide what to build a set in?
My ideal collection would consist of probably two or three sets and everything else will be great coins. This board doesn't help, after reading a cool thread about Indian cents......guess what I like now? I've been seriously collecting for 20+ yrs, therefore no series isn't new to me.....BUT I find the PASSION of so many members of this board contagious. I get excited about everything! That's part of my problem.
I'm the kind of guy that walks into a coin show with a few things that I have in mind (set building) and I walk out with something totally diffrerent. I think that when all is said and done most of my collection will consist of cool, great, rare coins........which is what I truly like.
But.....I've never had that feeling of the hunt........finally accomplishing and finishing a set. Registry guys can you add any thoughts?
Seth
Collecting since 1976.
0
Comments
Jeremy
A complete date set never has interested me because I could never build it to the level of quality I would want. A partial date say like all the New Orlean mints or San Fransisco mints has tweaked my interest at times, but even that is cost prohibitive in the several series I am interested in.
roadrunner
After completing the trade dollar set, I bought individual neat coins as I searched for what to do next. My basic instinct is always to complete sets, but nothing really struck me as super desirable to complete. I did a proof twenty cent set and a proof reeded edge half set, but have since sold most of those off. Unless you really love the series, a set is not the way to go!
Lately, I've started on Seated Dollars and I find that much less satisfying than the trade dollar set because certain coins just don't exist in high grade. To my eye, it's not real nice having an AU55 next to an MS66. I'm tempted to abandon the set concept and just buy neat coins in that series, but we'll have to see.....
The only set I seriously considered and attempted were to buy the finest known of every "S" mint with motto seated quarter from 1866s to 1873s. Each was available in gem, even if only one coin existed. But once you missed one coin, you might never see it again for 5-15 years. Though there are only 6 coins here, it would be a chore to find the best of each of them. Finishing off the 74s to 91s would not be a big deal. Maybe someday. For now, I put together the best pieces I find of several denominations.
roadrunner
The last few years I have been building a die varity set of draped bust, heraldic eagle half dollars, 1801-1807, I now have 40 of the 59 known die varieties. I will never "complete" the set, no one ever has, as there are 2 R.8's (1-3 known) and 4 R.7's in the DBHE series. Having all of the years and most of the varieties is complete enough for me.
This series is captivating for me because of the large variety of overdates, shattered dies, cuds, and errors. The great draped bust design will never be duplicated again (try to get a draped bust design past the feminists!). They are truly rare, Overton concentrated on the capped series, many of the draped busts are understated in their rarity. New die states are still being discovered.
Each die varity represents a limited edition masterpiece by Robert Scot and later Reich and Kneass, further individualized by variation in planchet annealing and composition, striking pressure, die rotation, and die stage.
Being a member of the JRCS and BHNC allows me to meet the players in this series and further enhances my enjoyment of bust halves.
No other series I have collected presents these challenges, except perhaps early copper. A few MS64 Morgans, and single examples of other series I like is all I need. A modest collection of Ike dollars and gold is all else that I collect, but 95% of my money goes into bust halves.
But back in reality i want to live by the [box of 20 theory] by getting the nicest eye appeal coins by type that i can afford. Well, maybe 2 boxes of 20 when times get better, but for my expensive tastes unless i win the lottery i'd be happy with that.
Of course my main interest in that set is barber quarters & halves.
Les
1) How do you stay focused? By setting a goal for myself.
2) How do you NOT buy coins outside of your sets? I always have bought coins besides the series I am collecting... just dont blow the entire budget on something you don't "need" for your set.
3) How do you finally decide what to build a set in? It's always been one cool coin that has caught my eye and got me interested in the series.
Good questions.
Ryan
Total Copper Nutcase - African, British Ships, Channel Islands!!!
'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
<< <i>Barndog: kudos on one of the great thread resucitations of the century! >>
I'm truly interested to see if some of the "established" collectors/members here have changed their thoughts over the past few years!
Sets are goal oriented (and I have one of those), and accumulating a specific look (Blue toned coins) is a challenge too).
Guess I get to have my cake and eat it too!
If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Registry sets are my forte.
Not for the weak of heart.
I'm glad I didn't!
It was a ton easier, to try and complete a set 10 years or more ago. There were plenty of coins and it was before the Registry concept.
But today, after completing 4 sets( Barber halves in MS and Pr, and Lib nickels in MS and Proof), I will not be doing any more complete sets.
That doesn't mean I do not try to get the right coins in the Bust series. Dollars in AU 58, Halves from AU thru MS 66, quarters in AU thru MS 64,, dimes and half dimes when they come nice in all grades.
Concentrating on Bust is all one needs to keep busy. And I hear it is one popular series
Tom
However, I realized ithe holder I had based my collection on was flawed in some ways... for example it had holes for Ike, 40% silver Ike, and Bicentenial Ike, but it only had one whole for a Buffalo Nickel. And it did not include any gold.
Realizing I did not care for moderns (no offense intended) as much as I cared for gold or 'American Coin Renaissance Era' coins with all their endless Type 1 & 2 variants, I decided to focus on 1900 to 1950, including all Types & Gold, all business strike UNCs.
As of now, I have almost finished that set - it is done except for the Type 2 & 3 SLQs, the No Motto Saint, and the High Relief Saint - however, I am now looking to hone my interests even further.
When I think about it, I like good designs, I like gold coins, I like coins with subtypes, and I like coins with Mint Marks - pretty much in that order - and so I am now on the verge of abandoning my 1900 - 1950 idea and stepping off the grid with how I define 'set' all together.
What I am invisioning, are five or six, overlapping small type sets, that once completed will provide me with a broader, more dynamic swath of American Coinage than any more traditional set would have. Specifically, these are some of my ideas:
12 Piece Gold Type Set - Okay this one is somewhat conventional - it would still allow me to have a little Registry fun - but these coins would provide the basis for some of my other sets. Plus to make it interesting, I would include with it a No Motto Indian & and Saint.
American Coin Rennaisance Era - Basically include all of the coins Teddy had a hand in - i.e. Indian & Saint, Bella Lyon Pratts $2.50 & $5, and a 1909 VDB Lincoln, plus some other classics like the Buffalo Nickel, Mercury Dime, Standing Liberty Quarter, Walking Liberty Half & Peace Dollar.
Indian Princess Set - I love the notion of Lady Liberty donning Indigenous apparel, and I think this could be a great small set. IHC, $1G T2-3, $3.00 Gold (OUCH!) Indian $10. I might include an Arkansas half with this set just to further illustrate the idea behind it.
Obsolete Denominations of the Civil War - While 18th Century stuf is prohibitively expensive in the grades I like to collect, a small set of Civil War era coinage is doable and would allow me to include some fascinating coins in my collection. Namely, it would feature a $.02, $.03S, $.03N, $.10H, $1G - all dated between 1861 & 1865.
Mint Mark Set - the idea behind this set is straight forward enough - collect each mint mark! A way to make it interesting is to select coins that embody the mint that made them in some way. For instance, for CC I would go with a GSA dollar, for San Francisco, I would sight a Pan-Pac coin etc.
***
SO to answer your question, I tend to buy what I like and then figure out a way to make it into set s later. Best of both worlds that way.
>>>My Collection
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
siliconvalleycoins.com
However, now I find collecting great single coins by far the most gratifing.
Even my Third-World country superb Elaisburg coins are fun--although they'll never go up in value.
I started seriously collecting a few years ago and began with the idea of collecting Lincoln cents but soon realized that it was a daunting task to put a nice looking set together. The price, of course, was the biggest limiting factor for me, so I decided to change my focus. I started doing some reading and kept reading about getting the keys of any set first, so I did that. I bought key Lincoln cents, Mercury dimes, Washington Quarters, and Liberty nickels. Soon, I had very expensive (for my budget) coins but no sets. I then got into Liberty nickels after reading about the stories behind the production of the 1913 nickels, and so the "set bug" had finally bit me. I decided to change my course once again and build a Lib nickel set in MS64 for a few reasons:
1. It was a grade that was affordable to me.
2. There wasn't that many key dates in the series.
3. I wanted my set to have all nice looking coins (as TDN and others have said, I didn't want a MS64 next to an AU55 or VF30) coin.
I now try to upgrade my set as my budget allows me or at least try to find the BEST POSSIBLE MS64 for the dates in my set.
I'm sure I will build another set sometime but I haven't decided on which one. Either way, it was a lot of fun searching for nicely struck, eye-appealing coins when putting my set together, AND it certainly was an accomplishment (at least for me) when the set was finally completed.
Good luck Seth on which ever way you go. Just remember to have FUN while doing it.
Dave
1) Building a Proof dime collection.
2) World gold Collection
3) U.S. Type set
4) Government issued sets.
<< <i>It was extraordinarily satisfying to build the MS trade dollar set. No one had ever done a superb quality set in that series before and the timing was perfect. It ended up being a full gem quality set and every coin has a stunning look.
After completing the trade dollar set, I bought individual neat coins as I searched for what to do next. My basic instinct is always to complete sets, but nothing really struck me as super desirable to complete. I did a proof twenty cent set and a proof reeded edge half set, but have since sold most of those off. Unless you really love the series, a set is not the way to go!
Lately, I've started on Seated Dollars and I find that much less satisfying than the trade dollar set because certain coins just don't exist in high grade. To my eye, it's not real nice having an AU55 next to an MS66. I'm tempted to abandon the set concept and just buy neat coins in that series, but we'll have to see..... >>
Bruce, I think a good exercise for you would be to find a series that you particularly like and do a complete set in XF condition ONLY. I'll bet you'd end up with a set that in your heart is actually competitive with your (absolutely incredible) Trade Dollar set