Do early dollars flip your switch?

ANACONDA

They flip my switch. I love 'em. Intrinsically desireable. "I like 'em with a skinny eagle!" (Didn't Laura say that first?)

coinlieutenant

Yes they do...unfortunately I cant afford to keep them.

prooflike

I like 'em also, but alas, can not afford them... just not in the old coin budget.

Shamika

Unfortunately, they flip my bottom line (financially) as well.

Nocerino18

I love bust dollars. It is my absolute favorite coin. I currently have 5 in inventory and I am always looking for more.

michael

great large historical coins

history in your hands

greghansen

I like 'em the way I like my Morgans, Bust Halfs, Barbers, etc.....VF-XF & original grey.

fivecents

Do early dollars flip your switch? Very much so. I also love the draped bust halves and quarters.

DNADave

<< <i>I like 'em the way I like my Morgans, Bust Halfs, Barbers, etc.....VF-XF & original grey.

>>



Me too.

matteproof

No. They don't flip my switch - at all. I feel they are very overrated for the most part. Their present value is mostly due to strong demand. There is no crisis of supply generally. They fall in line with the collector who likes "big shiney" coins (which may be one reason why so many of them are cleaned, dipped, whizzed, fizzed - because collectors who bought them in times past wanted to make them shiney).

Often, this is a first year collector series. Newbs seem to be attracted to Early Dollars, Morgan Dollars, $20 Saints - big coins. It is not uncommon for advanced numismatists to be more interested in, and specialize in smaller coins. There are certain small coin series which offer astounding rarities, and where value is sometimes not fully obvious. matteproof

BillJones

I like early dollars, but no more than any other pre-1807 coins. I agree with the previous posts that these coins are now overpriced. This is the one area of early coinage, where I think some investers and speculators have driven prices higher than they should be. Many collectors and probably almost all novices think that "bigger is better." I think that opinion has a lot of weight here.

I'm glad that I purchased my early type coins many years ago. Today I would not be able to afford the pieces that I have now in my collection.



Not only have the prices gone way up, but the grading standards have come way down. Back when I purchased this 1795 Flowing Hair dollar, more than 10 years ago, it was a good solid VF-20/30 coin. Today it is an EF-40.

ANACONDA

I think one thing about early dollars is that there probably isn't much more beginning or intermediate research a collector could undertake that is needed. However, I believe Cardinal is doing an advance study which is entitled "Can one man in his lifetime amass enough uncirculated flowing hair and bust dollars to equal his weight?"

And, yes the value is demand driven. But smallish rare coins that are cheap because nobody wants them are ......coins that nobody wants. (But I do get the idea that things that are too cheap can be good investments. Everything is relative, eh?)

And early dollars are indeed big. I like them because they're big. I have some small coins but they're so...so....small. I have to hold them really, really close to my face to see them. And I have to use a loop. Do you know how nice it is to wake up at 4 in the morning, head out to the rest room, pass by a new purchase on the bedroom dresser and grab it and look at it without a loop while you're waking up? I can never find a loop when I need one so bigger coins are just easier to see and.......bigger

I like how liberty is depicted on the bust coinage. Flowing curls. Looks content or maybe even happy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against Liberty taking a rest on a rock or just having her head visible with some lotus blossoms in it. I just like the shout of "AMERICA" when you look at Liberty on a Draped Bust Dollar.

Early dollars are also bigger than chain cents and not usually as dark. Liberty on a chain cent - now that's rustic Americana at it's best. Those are two great designs.

adrian

K6AZ

<< <i>Do you know how nice it is to wake up at 4 in the morning, head out to the rest room, pass by a new purchase on the bedroom dresser and grab it and look at it without a loop while you're waking up? >>



See the thread about stolen coins at the top of the page.

Merc

Yes, I like the early dollars. It just hard to find them and to afford them. Then I also want ones that have natural undipped/cleaned surfaces. 200+ year old silver should look old, not bright and flashy.

Here is a 1799. That is the easiest year to find.

baccaruda

Nope, don't like the early designs much. Most of the 1800's gold coins had downright ugly obverses. Silvers were only marginally better.

JrGMan2004

I'm more into Baby Busties

ANACONDA

Anyone who wants to come to my house either because I bring coins home on occasion or because I say so here is welcome to come on over. Something will occurr. He will either get a few coins or I will get the front page of the Dallas Morning News now ("Local attorney interrupted by police while burying body in back yard.") or later ("Local attorney's will reveals the location of body in back yard.")

ANACONDA

Hey merc...nice coin. Problem free.

numobri

Yes,my switch is ON when it come to bust dollars.

I have a dozen of them.

Like Adrain said,BIG IS GOOD.

I even have one with a plug right smack in the middle of it.(1795)

Brian

mgoodm3

They're OK.

ER

The flowing hair dollar design is not that great. But, the draped bust large eagle dollar is the most beautiful U.S. coin of all. JMO.

RYK

I like them to look at but not to buy.

TheRaven

1 day I would like to own some early material but alas it is to pricey for me.....

Remember sizes matters not.....

numobri

I like them so much,I even gave one away on these boards just to spread the joy.

They are getting hard to buy,cost alot.

Brian

Longacre

I like them and actually just read an interesting article on them in the Selections from the Numismatist book.

66Tbird

It's the smile that gets me. Someday I may get one if the price comes down.

BillJones

<< <i>It's the smile that gets me. Someday I may get one if the price comes down. >>



The prices might come down, especially for the pieces that have major defects that were ignored by the graders, BUT I doubt that the prices will come down as much as you would want them to.

K6AZ

Adrian, you're probably stubborn enough to not listen, but I find the recent coin thefts alarming. No matter what type of protection you have, if you are targeted by a pro it's all over with. I'm armed to the teeth here, but I keep all my coins valued at more than a couple of hundred dollars in the bank.

matteproof

For me, numismatics is all about RARE coin accumulation. It is not about DEMAND coin accumulation. If I were a dealer, I might think otherwise. But I'm not a dealer.

Rarity is the essence of numismatics. In numismatics Rarity is generally fixed, directly linked to it's unchangeable mintage figures and, to a large degree, survivorship (which arguably can shift somewhat in the unusual circumstance such as when hoards of former rarities are discovered). But for the most part, MINTAGE figures set the supply - rarity. So, Rarity equals supply.

Generally, supply does not change in numismatics but demand can, has and does change all of the time. In terms of popularity, what is hot today is cold tomorrow and vice-versa. And so, the mad pursuit of otherwise common coins is not really the ART of numismatics. Rather, it is a function of an ordinary "collector." Collectors collect things, hoard things, "put away" things that are essentially common and available to most at any given time. This is NOT true of the numismatist who pursues the true rarities which often arrive in "small coin" packages due to the number of great rarities among them.

Yet, it has been generally true that "large coins" are the first attraction of newbie and novice collectors. Note: collectors! Once they become educated, collectors (intellectual ones at least) tend to pursue the rarities and thus, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, they turn from being a collector to the higher order numismatist. matteproof

ANACONDA

But that doesn't change the fact that early dollars are big! Having said that, it is my opinion that you articulate your position well.

rays

<< <i>The flowing hair dollar design is not that great. But, the draped bust large eagle dollar is the most beautiful U.S. coin of all. JMO. >>



To each his own, this is my favorite coin in my collection:

Nysoto

I like early dollars, but not as much as flowing hair and draped bust halves. A little smaller than ED's, half the weight, a fraction of the cost. I have 82 of them.

rays

<< <i>I like early dollars, but not as much as flowing hair and draped bust halves. A little smaller than ED's, half the weight, a fraction of the cost. I have 82 of them. >>

DoctorPaper

Here's an interesting one. Looks like an overstrike. Unfortunate damage in obverse field.

matteproof

"But that doesn't change the fact that early dollars are big!.." Yes, you are correct. Early dollars are "big coins" and popular among many collectors.

"Having said that, it is my opinion that you articulate your position well." Thank you for your kind comment Anaconda. I much appreciate it. matteproof

ER

<< <i>The flowing hair dollar design is not that great. But, the draped bust large eagle dollar is the most beautiful U.S. coin of all. JMO. >>


But, this one really flips my switch.

etexmike

Yes they do.

I have only owned one and it is still in my collection.

I have thought of selling or trading it a couple of times but could never bring myself to do it.

-----------

etexmike

BBN

I know this is an old thread and I'm a buffalo fan, but I've been bitten by the early dollar bug. I'm currently saving up for a 1798 or 1799 in hopefully the VF-XF range.

BBN

BTW, Authentic or not?

pharmer

Think that can be determined by an image? A few people must think so. Are you one of the bidders?

STONE

THe die cracks almost guarantee authenticity.

Good luck on the biddig.

BBN

<< <i>Think that can be determined by an image? A few people must think so. Are you one of the bidders? >>



Naw, just watching. Good point about the die cracks. I want one bad, but am too paranoid to get one that's not at least slabbed and authenticated

SkyMan

<< <i>The flowing hair dollar design is not that great. But, the draped bust large eagle dollar is the most beautiful U.S. coin of all. JMO. >>



I agree with you.





Also MP, I am a collector and proud of it. Anybody that says you start big and then move into smaller and "finer" things IMO is blowing smoke. I would strongly suspect that many of us that like larger coins realize relative rarities (and maybe even the full desiderata of a series) but don't particularly want some miniscule half-dime or trime that makes us go blind just looking at it. Let's be honest about it. If relative rarity was were it's at then the only coins to buy would be patterns. Also, let's just look at a simple definition of numismatists. Here are two definitions by the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary... First off numismatics is defined as... "1. the study or collection of coins, medals, paper money etc." Second, a numismatist is defined as "1. a specialist in numismatics. 2. a person who collects numismatic items esp. coins."

I think we can all agree there are 2 types types of numismatist. There are the truly high end Numismatists, those that do original research and disperse their knowledge to the masses. The second type encompasses the vast majority of us... we collect coins (and hopefully learn quite a bit about them along the way, but that is not necessary). This second group would include all those who have found new VAMs or their equivalent in other series, but don't deliberately do research on them.

At the end of the day all of us buy what makes us happy. I am glad for you that it is small coins, but please don't tell those of us that have been collecting, studying and enjoying coins for 20ish years that we aren't numismatists because we like big coins.

ChrisRx

Like em, wallet does not

speety

Absolutely, i love the 'scrawny eagle' as my dad would call them.

Coxe

No, because I actively avoid them. If I spent time on them, they certainly would. But not now. I hardly need another distraction from my immediate goals.