Question for current and former Morgan collectors...

anablep

If you are still collecting Morgans... how far along (percentage-wise) are you and if you are greater than 75% there, how hard is it getting? How is the availability of semi-keys in the grades you are searching for? Have you taken an extended break and then returned to the collection at all?

If you gave up collecting Morgans... when did you finally throw in the towel? How far along were you and what were the stumbling blocks for you?


I'm about 75% of the way there (73/97 coins) with an average grade of 61 for the collection and at this point, there are maybe 5-10 left that I can afford in MS60 and above condition. The rest of the way will have to be AU and lower for me to stay within a budget...

I'm not having doubts, just wondering how much more difficult this series will become within the next 3-5 years or so, assuming by then I should be done.

BAJJERFAN

If the coin market tanks in the next 3-5 years it will be easier to complete the set. But who really knows what the future will bring. If you have a plan in place to finish just stick with it.

dizzlecc

I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm 76% with an average grade of 62.

I'm being picky about what I add to the collection to make sure it fits and doesn't just fill a slot.

I'm also to the point of looking at the coins that will be AU due to price. I need to see more of them especially in person before I feel comfortable about knowing the grading characteristics and what I like.

The challenge aside from finding quality coins is not being distracted. Lately, I have bought a peace dollar and a world coin.

anablep

I hear what you mean about distraction...

I recently tried finishing my Lincoln cent collection and have 4 left to get and am wondering if I should pursue that in time for 2009. I love the Peace dollars too and even have been purchasing some German coins when I go to shows.

My other option is to sell everything else (prolly ~500 coins) and keep the Morgans, then just apply the money I make to more Morgan dollars.

dizzlecc

I just bought a german coin, a 1615 Saxony in pcgs xf-45. Now that I have it, it is a very cool series that has me interested in finding more of them.

I have decided to reduce some of the excess as well and look into trading or selling some of my duplicates to fund other purchases.

Newcomp103

I am not trying to complete a Morgan set, but I have been trying to find better dates in better grades for a while. It seems like it is getting harder to find MS 65s that actually meet the standard and have outstanding eye appeal. There are many MS65 slabs on the market that I would probably have graded 64. This is where the problem is in my opinion!

BAJJERFAN

I guess that I did wander a bit. I had a complete set at one time and sold off more than I probably should have, currently at 89% complete. I am slowly getting a few of them back, tho I am focusing more on the toned ones to the detriment of hole filling.

anablep

Yes, it seems there are many unimpressive 63's and 64's out there and the 65's are only fair...

blu62vette

I agree with lots above. I have found a Morgan that I really felt was good in a while. Like others said some of the 63 and 64's just seem blah. Havent found anything to fill a hole in a while. I think I am sitting at 83% or so.

sweetwilliet

I am 68% complete with my prooflike set (100% prooflike or dmpl) and 78% complete with the regular set. I could have easily added many coins to my regular set, but haven't. It is now very difficult finding prooflikes of the less common dates in grades I can afford, but a lot of the fun is in the search. Looking thru Heritage, ebay, dealer inventories, I could finish off my regular set without too much expense, but my tastes keep making me increase the grades I buy to get the right look to each coin, and I have already begun selling out some of my lower grades and upgrading where possible. I figure I'll finish in 2-3 more years, but am always in search of not only new dates, but upgrades to my current dates I have.

Arizonadesertrat

Sweetwilliet, some of us have a fondness for watery tarts.

Coxe

My PL date and mint mark set has 93 of the 102, or 91%. However, 6 of the remaining 9 to go are ones that are readily available every month in acceptable quality and could easily be worked in within a quarter whenever. That would bring it to 97%. Three stoppers right now, and only one is a hugely serious stopper. As far as certified Morgan VAMs go, I think the last count was 936 out of something like 4,000 out there.



<< <i>Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
>>



But sometimes you do need to yield to those so wise in the ways of science to logically weigh a suspect with a duck. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.

sweetwilliet

I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!

TONEDDOLLARS

I had 91 of the 107 I was hunting for (all toned) when I threw in the towel.
I am now heading towards a box of 20, well maybe 40. I still have around
65 down from 166. i guess I had a few dupes

Arizonadesertrat

<< <i>I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!
>>



Fetchez la vache!

MidLifeCrisis

<< <i>I hear what you mean about distraction...

I recently tried finishing my Lincoln cent collection and have 4 left to get and am wondering if I should pursue that in time for 2009. I love the Peace dollars too and even have been purchasing some German coins when I go to shows.

My other option is to sell everything else (prolly ~500 coins) and keep the Morgans, then just apply the money I make to more Morgan dollars. >>


I think if I were you, I'd sell off everything else and concentrate on finishing the Lincoln Cent collection and then the Morgan Dollar collection. Once they are complete, you will feel very good about your accomplishment and can then move on to other areas.

anablep

I would find it hard to walk away after getting 91 of 107; I'm impressed with that kind of resolve...

MadMarty

I sold my morgan set in 2001 when I lost my job. I had a 100% complete set with the lowest graded coin being the 93-S graded XF45. Bought most of them in the 80s and 90s, started getting them slabbed in the late 90s. The best coin (I think) in the set was the 89-CC in MS63DMPL I bought from Barry Stuppler. I paid $7000 for it at the time (the most I ever paid for a coin). Now when it sold in 2001 the market was in the crapper and it fetched over double that. I wish I had it now, it was a screamer!

The hardest part was paying the slabbing fees!

BAJJERFAN

Based on available spare cash, finishing the set is not necessarily top priority with me.

ProofArtworkonCircs

I sold mine in 1979 missing only the 1895 Philly. Some were in low grade. The 93 S was XF 50. I needed money.

Konahead

My set is at 68%, but I have been also working on a complete CC subset with all GSA in the boxes. The 89 and 93 are killers and out of my budget. I keep looking for someone who may not know what they have.

MORGANHUNTER2

I quit the Morgans entirely- I got to crazy with it. Kept only a certain few that now belong to the grandkids future- providing they understand the value that they have and then decide to cash in on them when they need it for their education.

I'm in to something a bit more realistic these days- Walkers, Frankies and JFK's(short set) and an occasional Washie.

My other goal- make it to 62 so I can retire in a nice warm climate with my honey..

Coins are fun- but ya have to know when to say when.

anablep

Reading many of your responses has me thinking about my future in this series.

The few things I guess I have going for me is I'm 34, so time to complete the series is on my side, and my wife & I have no kids, and no prospect of them any time soon.

I'm not going to rush to finish and the idea of selling many of my duplicates of other coins from other series is making more sense the more I read your responses.

Thank you guys!

I appreciate your candor & experiences with this tough series...

Arizonadesertrat

23 years ago, I completed a full set of Barber half dollars, and that was fairly exhausting. After resuming collecting this year, I decided to work on Morgans. I can't afford a full set of MS65 coins, so I decided to work on something that I am sure that I can finish in a few years: a year set in MS65-66 [no generics in 65 (and as few as possible in 66), 2 PF65 coins, 5 MS65 DMPLs, at least 1 coin from each mint, including interesting varieties (1878 7/8 TF, 1900 O/CC, etc.)].

It's better to think ahead of time than start a set that you later discover you cannot finish.

librtyhead

I have the completed set in an album (no 95p) and am now working on a 7070 in ef. Bust halves are a new interest also. Happy hunting.

DRUNNER

At 95% (need 1904 and 1897 (!!!!) in addition to 93-S and 89-CC). 03-S is in layaway mostly paid for. I've received some good counsel from my primary two dealers . . . wait a while and let the 89-CC and 93-S stabilize (or come back a bit???). They actually DON'T want to sell me either as they are afraid I would be buying at the 'top'. Both are looking long-term (i.e. buying back this PCGS Registry set) and I believe they'd rather lose a little bit now than not get the set later.

Of course the contrary view is that keys never regress in price . . . you should just get them no matter what ASAP.

I will pick up my 1897 and 1904 in the next little bit, whenever the right coin comes along. The 03-S will go in for slabbing, and I'll wait for the green light for an 89-CC and 93-S. I have a good dealer who picks the keys according to my tastes . . . grades correctly, and prizes originality. He is third generation and they want my coins back.

My commons have eye appeal (that is the theme of the set) . . . PLs, DMPLs, and vibrant toners. Semi-keys are in nice mid-range 63-64 that have nice surfaces and originality. The keys are 45-58 with an occasional fluke nice BU, but my goal was crust and originality in the highest 'collector' grade I could afford. Been at it about 10 years . . . have moved quite a few commons out as better ones have come along. The set has done what it is supposed to do . . . when I go to a show I usually get stopped by a couple dealers in the hall inquiring if I'm ready to unload.

I also do other sets (Commems, nice Type, Jeffs) that allow me to buy a bit here and there while I wait on the right Morgans. My only advice . . . the legions are correct, it is a common series, so do what you can to class yours up.

Much fun, and I've learned a lot more about the economy of the time, history, and culture of the time than I ever did through HS and two advanced degrees. An amazing adventure . . . .

Drunner

skier07

I have around 70% of the set completed in MS 63+. I've had to compromise with key dates and buy 61's and 62's, finding
attractive ones has been quite difficult. It took me three years to find a nice 61 96O. I'm finally having PCGS regrade it.
I spent two days in Long Beach and must have looked at 15 93O's. The 63's, I saw four of them,
looked less attractive to me than the 61's I looked at. Needless to say I thought they were all pretty unattractive and
I passed.

I saw Barry Stupler buy 3 $6000 Morgans. I don't remember what the dates were. Unfortunately for me I suffer from
the cash deficiency sydrome. He's got a great eye for Morgan's.

Bruce

asin

My Uncle and I completed the 95% of the Morgan Dollar collection. We started in the 70's and finished buying all the coins by 1990. All the coins were bought raw back then. People didn't grade their coins thru TPG's. I have been trying to grade the collection with some real sad results (altered surfaces, cleaned, questionable color, scratch, rim nick) leaving me back down to about 50% that has to still be collected. It is really heart breaking when you lose 20 years of coin collecting and cash flow and have to pick up anew with inflated prices of today. But fortunately I still have all of the problem coins I am going to sell at probably a 50% loss and will pick the ball up again and start running with it when my son finishes college. Lesson learned only by coins graded by PCGS. That guarantee makes all the difference in the coin collecting game.

anablep

I guess I could update this thread...

Since I first posted this, I've mostly upgraded some of my 63s and 64s to MS65s.

Of the 97 coins I need for my date/MM collection, I have 81 of them.

Recently, finding nice examples of rim toned Morgans of the dates I still need in PCGS, NGC or older ANACS holders has become a little tougher.

A lot has changed in the market since my first post, but the prices on nicer dollars haven't budged. Key dates are still strong.

Will Morgan prices move downward in the coming year? From my point of view, that would be a good thing...

dwssws

hit the wall at about 85% sold off the set and collect just CC morgans now) which is complete with many dupes

still buy other Morgans ( non CC) but they must interest me or knock my socks off!

doh

I collected the key dates for awhile...all circulated. I had them all except the 93-S. I threw in the towel when I traded them away for some other coins in other series. I don't hate Morgans or anything...I just had my fill. The only coin I kept was a 79-CC in PCGS XF45. It's the nicest I've ever seen in that grade and I plan to hold onto it for awhile.

Coxe

I collected prooflike Morgans and, at its peak, had all dates (including 1887/6-O, 1882-O/S, but not 1900-O/CC) except three: 1883-S, 1893-S and 1921-S. Along the way, I added VAMs to the mix. I have every date except 1893-S and the 1895 proof; neither particularly interest me. Have literally thousands of VAMs though.

Why did I sell off some of my favorite DMPLs? Fellow collector pressure to some extent. But that was mainly the catalyst. I started to appreciate the big difference between collecting my DMPLs and my VAMs. In the past, you could cherrypick a DMPL raw from a bag or roll. Those days are largely gone. Now you have to play the market and pay up. Best you might do is nab a great one in a less-deisrable holder from an older collection. Anyway, it was very apparent to be just a money shuffle. Not knocking that at all. I still do that with come coins as there is an investment side and an appreciation for really great specimens. However, I also like to have a hobby that is relaxing and recreational, a refuge from all the stresses in life. I still have that about 80% of the time with VAMs. It is 100% relaxing with lowballs. It isn't that I cannot afford to play with the big dogs, just that I am increasingly choosing not to do so. Even with VAMs, going after the finest knowns is less satisfying than it used to be. I could have had a top pop PCGS Top 100 cherry this past week in one of the internet auctions but passed on it. A fellow collector got it (for a nice price at that...the reasonable seller's common reserve!) and I am happy for him.

As far as difficulty is concerned, you would be surprised what 20 years can do to a collection. I sure never expected to get as far as I did with those DMPLs. Some of the dates, grades, and qualities were insane. Hard to believe I owned them and at the same time. But it happened. I know others with date sets that have accumulated similarly toward completion over time pretty successfully and not on unlimited budgets. The key for me was to get the keys and semikeys when they were available and a lot of them at the bottom of the market. Don't think I owned a single 1881-S until I had been colelcting them for 15 or more years. (I had the 1901, 1904, and 1894 already then!)

You sound like you are pretty close. If I was in that position, I might consider watching how the market goes. You might have an opportunity to pick up the more difficult dates, the ones that looked unaffordable. When I was getting semukey DMPLs in the mid-1990s, the prices were attractive and I even had the choice at times among several with virtually no PQ premiums.

sonoranmonsoon

I am 100% with my basic and major variety sets. I gave up a few years ago on the vam's, they were just too big a task for me. Completing the basic set is not that difficult, however getting a highly ranked set is very tough. It took me 4 years to break the top 50, it has taken another 2 years for me to move all the way up to #46. I hope to shoot up to #45 in another few years. LOL.

barbershopper

I got really lucky 3 or 4 years ago and never having started the Morgans,
I found a listing on the bay for a complete set which I bought for $22,000.
The seller was very nice and had picked out quality coins over the years.
He even sent the TPG holders with it for the keys and a list of the rest with
grades he bought them as.
I had no problems at all with any of the grades assigned.
I replaced the 1895 COPY he had in the hole with a PR62 and that was it.
The '93-S and '89-CC were XF 40 or 45.
I wrote him afterwards and he said he was sorry he sold them.
JT

DoubleEagle59

I just started collecting Morgans about two years ago.

I have quite a few in ms64 and higher grades.

Key dates (and semi-keys) will never be purchased in these high grades as I can't afford them.

I'm hitting a roadblock because of this, but for a slightly different reason......that is, Morgans in MS63 and higher grades are extremely beautiful, but in lower grades, such as Good to XF, they are one of the ugliest coins I've encountered.

Also, I have yet to find an 'AU' coin that is not hairlined, overdipped or not overgraded. AU Morgans (slabbed or not) just seem to be awful in appearance.

So because of this, I think I'll stop collecting Morgans when I complete my 'common date' set in ms64 to ms66.

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>I just started collecting Morgans about two years ago.

I have quite a few in ms64 and higher grades.

Key dates (and semi-keys) will never be purchased in these high grades as I can't afford them.

I'm hitting a roadblock because of this, but for a slightly different reason......that is, Morgans in MS63 and higher grades are extremely beautiful, but in lower grades, such as Good to XF, they are one of the ugliest coins I've encountered.

Also, I have yet to find an 'AU' coin that is not hairlined, overdipped or not overgraded. AU Morgans (slabbed or not) just seem to be awful in appearance.

So because of this, I think I'll stop collecting Morgans when I complete my 'common date' set in ms64 to ms66. >>



HMMMM.... many think that even nicely worn Morgans have quite a lot of eye appeal.

coinkat

I view myself as a collector and Morgans are not a priority on the radar now. It depends on what dates you are looking for