That's a good list, but as already said it will take strong money to buy coins. I suggest use the entire field out there. You can often pick a key date from a dealer who normally doesn't have that kind of material. The price guides are so far off on seated material you can often buy at "retail" yet be getting the coin for wholesale money. If you decide to go with the top retail specialists you'll pay all the money.
indeed Dick's site has an 1842 ANACS XF-45 listed for $675 when I just bought one in ANACS XF-45 on the bay for $369... a bit pricy on their coins but if you want it bad enough I guess you'll haggle.
Liberty Seated Quarters are the most difficult set for a typical seated collector to assemble. While it doesn't have an 1873-cc NA dime (one known)...it does have the 1873-cc NA quarter (5 known). What makes the quarters so challenging is that there are about 20 real tough keys. And even better, there are about 75 dates in the seated quarters that are RARER than the 1901-s barber quarter (something like 75% of the series)....yet you don't have to pay thousands for each of them.
It is a supremely challenging set. So much so that I realized in the early 1980's that I had no shot of putting a set together in either high circ or UNC grades. Another way to do it is to break it down into smaller but more effective parts, such as all the "O" or "S" mints. That way you can escape the huge costs of the rare CC's, yet get coins that are still very challenging and for the most part, underrated and unhyped. I'd still love to put together an XF "S" mint set (less around 20 coins) or "O" mint set (less than 20 coins).
Real good post to this thread, Roadrunner. I tell the collectors here all the time how undervalued the Seated Quarters are. The comparision with the 1901-S Standing Quarter is a good one. In years to come, there's going to be a lot of, "I wish I'd have bought Seated Quarters back when they were undervalued". Dick Osburn and Brian Greer both have good selections. Rich Uhrich is an up and coming Seated Quarter dealer too.
<< <i>Another way to do it is to break it down into smaller but more effective parts, such as all the "O" or "S" mints. That way you can escape the huge costs of the rare CC's, yet get coins that are still very challenging and for the most part, underrated and unhyped. I'd still love to put together an XF "S" mint set (less around 20 coins) or "O" mint set (less than 20 coins).
roadrunner >>
An EF40 set of the San Francisco coins from 58-S to 61-S is a set very few have assembled. The coins just aren't out there. If I am looking at a set of quarters in a catalog, I will actually look at these before checking out the CCs.
I like the 64-s, 66-s, 67-s, 71-s, 72-s even better in nice XF. And those may be more achievable than the 1858-61 "S" mints in XF.
And what I also like is that those 5 later dates are very tough in all grades unlike the 55-s to 62-s (60-s excluded of course) which are available in less than XF with some regularity.
<< <i>Dick Osburn and Brian Greer both have good selections >>
Unfortunately, I don't see any photos of their coins for sale on their web sites. Don't they have any, or am I not looking in the right place? I don't buy coins "sight-unseen".
I never thought that growing old would happen so fast. - Jim
Unfortunately, I don't see any photos of their coins for sale on their web sites. Don't they have any, or am I not looking in the right place? I don't buy coins "sight-unseen".
Another incorrect usage of "sight-unseen", which really means that you mail order a coin or win it from a remote auction, with no return privilege. It has nothing to do with the presence or absence of a photo.
If you avoid sellers who do not have high quality photos, you are limiting yourself and will miss out on some excellent opportunities. Some of my favorite coins were purchased based on the description of the seller, without a photo, but with a return privilege. It never fails to amaze me, however, that some people will liberally buy coins with a photo without a return privilege.
like the 64-s, 66-s, 67-s, 71-s, 72-s even better in nice XF. And those may be more achievable than the 1858-61 "S" mints in XF. I think that you can add the 1857-S to this group. The 1857-S is an overlooked coin--Just try to find a nice one in XF or any grade for that matter. I have seen quite a few more 1858-S's than 1857-S's.
Comments
http://www.jjteaparty.com/
http://www.dickosburn.com/
http://www.briangreerrarecoins.com/inventory.html?c=25
http://www.alpinenumismatics.com/invent.cfm
If you decide to go with the top retail specialists you'll pay all the money.
roadrunner
<< <i>RR is dead on. Some very good (but hard to find) deals will be made with non-seated dealers. >>
Very true. Some of my best deals were made with dealers who were standing!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
(one known)...it does have the 1873-cc NA quarter (5 known). What makes the quarters so challenging is that there are about 20 real tough keys. And even better, there are about 75 dates in the seated quarters that are RARER than the 1901-s barber quarter (something like 75% of the series)....yet you don't have to pay thousands for each of them.
It is a supremely challenging set. So much so that I realized in the early 1980's that I had no shot of putting a set together in either high circ or UNC grades. Another way to do it is to break it down into smaller but more effective parts, such as all the "O" or "S" mints.
That way you can escape the huge costs of the rare CC's, yet get coins that are still very challenging and for the most part, underrated and unhyped. I'd still love to put together an XF "S" mint set (less around 20 coins) or "O" mint set (less than 20 coins).
roadrunner
I tell the collectors here all the time how undervalued the Seated Quarters are. The comparision with the 1901-S Standing Quarter is a good one.
In years to come, there's going to be a lot of, "I wish I'd have bought Seated Quarters back when they were undervalued".
Dick Osburn and Brian Greer both have good selections.
Rich Uhrich is an up and coming Seated Quarter dealer too.
Ray
<< <i>Another way to do it is to break it down into smaller but more effective parts, such as all the "O" or "S" mints.
That way you can escape the huge costs of the rare CC's, yet get coins that are still very challenging and for the most part, underrated and unhyped. I'd still love to put together an XF "S" mint set (less around 20 coins) or "O" mint set (less than 20 coins).
roadrunner >>
An EF40 set of the San Francisco coins from 58-S to 61-S is a set very few have assembled. The coins just aren't out there. If I am looking at a set of quarters in a catalog, I will actually look at these before checking out the CCs.
And what I also like is that those 5 later dates are very tough in all grades unlike the 55-s to 62-s (60-s excluded of course) which are available in less than XF with some regularity.
roadrunner
<< <i>Dick Osburn and Brian Greer both have good selections >>
Unfortunately, I don't see any photos of their coins for sale on their web sites.
- Jim
Another incorrect usage of "sight-unseen", which really means that you mail order a coin or win it from a remote auction, with no return privilege. It has nothing to do with the presence or absence of a photo.
If you avoid sellers who do not have high quality photos, you are limiting yourself and will miss out on some excellent opportunities. Some of my favorite coins were purchased based on the description of the seller, without a photo, but with a return privilege. It never fails to amaze me, however, that some people will liberally buy coins with a photo without a return privilege.
I think that you can add the 1857-S to this group. The 1857-S is an overlooked coin--Just try to find a nice one in XF or any grade for that matter. I have seen quite a few more 1858-S's than 1857-S's.