Which Set Should I Embark on in 2010...Barber Dimes or Buffer Nicks?

OneCent

My circ Lincoln set (1909 - 1933) in XF/AU is coming along nicely and it will come closer to completion in 2010. I'll pick-up a '14-d next year and continue to add upgrades when I find quality pieces. Even though all the "holes" may be filled, the set will never be done.

So, I figured that I'd start on a new coin collecting adventure. My niche is early 20th century US coins so both Barber dimes and Buffalo Nickels fit the bill. I'm thinking about a barber dime set in choice VF/ XF or a buffalo nickel set in XF/AU. Both sets have their challenges but no stoppers in either one. I've always wanted to build a set of barber coinage yet I still regret selling my childhood buffalo nickel set when in college.


So what do you think? What set would you choose and why?



Oh, and then there are early date Walking Liberty Halves.....

TomB

If you want truly well struck branch mint Buffalo nickels from the 1920s then you may be in for a nasty surprise unless you have a significant amount of patience. However, Barber dimes in attractive, problem-free condition for your range are tougher than bid suggests and if you are doing a complete set of Barber dimes you will have to contend with the 1895-O, which is much tougher than you might think.

wheatguy

I agree, both are a difficult set to accomplish, although the Buffalo Nickel set isn't too hard in lower grades and without the errors. Barber coins in general are very difficult to find in high grades. Definitely depends on your budget and what grades your looking for.

ambro51

Neither. Go with Gold Dollars.

Much more rarity, three distinct types, Five mints......eighty coins to complete the forty year series.

When gold tops two, three grand an ounce, youll be glad you got the series underway now.

dsessom

Definitely Barber dimes. I think they are a more attractive design, and there are much better struck pieces out there compared to Buffalos.

ecichlid

If you are going to put the Buffalos in a Dansco, you will need the 8 over 7 to complete the set. Check the price on that coin - ouch! I have an older set of Dansco Buffalo pages that does not includes the 8 over 7. It really ticks me off when they put an error coin in the set. That's what the extra holes are for!

I don't know why TomB brought up the mint of branch mint coins i.e. 26-D being poorly struck. I don't think it's realistic to expect that you will find them. Some of them don't exist (I think). If they do, then are very rare.

Barber coins were not well received when they were first released for good reason. IT'S A MAN BABY!

RYK

I have always been partial to Barber dimes. I really liked them as a child (mine were all smoothies ), and I have flirted with the idea of collecting them in higher circulated grade as an adult. I actually, I have done a bit more than flirting.

TomB

<< <i>I don't know why TomB brought up the mint of branch mint coins i.e. 26-D being poorly struck. I don't think it's realistic to expect that you will find them. Some of them don't exist (I think). If they do, then are very rare. >>


I realize that you and other Buffalo experts know this, but I brought them up because not everyone knows this information and I thought it would be good to pass this along to OneCent before a decision was made so that there would be fewer surprises in the future.

OneCent

Did you ever put together a Barber Dime set, Tom?

rld14

Buffalo Nickels.. leave the Barber Dimes in VF to me

TomB

No. I never attempted a Barber dime set even though there are no true stoppers. This was primarily due to the fact that I do not like the way the portrait sits on the obverse when compared to how it sits on the obverse of the quarter and the half and also because I do not care for the reverse wreath motif.

LeeG

If I was doing Barbers, I'd go with the Qtr or Half. Buff's are always a popular choice. You should try these, prices are low, and availability high for most in the series, and each has it's own piece of history to tell:

BUFFNIXX

What about the 1894-s dime which only had a mintage of 24 pieces? That is certainly the stopper there. buffnixx

BUFFNIXX

Obviously I am biased but I would go for the 64 coin buffalo nickel set. If you chose that and want xf-au coins then you would want to look for coins that are well struck and problem free. Do not fall into the full strike fetish trap. Some of the coins offfered will be less than a full strike but will have nice lustre and no major problems. Rejecting a coin because it does not have a 100 percent full strike is a mistake. If you go after well struck coins and coins with no major problems then you will be picking long term winners. I would avoid the varieties for now. Just stike to the basic 64. And buy all means make sure that the coin has a full horn and not a "fool horn". This should keep you busy for a while -- in fact quite a while. buffnixx

illini420

Seems to me that if you need to ask us which one you should collect maybe you should just start working on both sets. Once you start getting into each set, you'll probably find yourself wanting to finish one of them first... then you'll have your answer.

I like both Buffalo Nickels and Barber Dimes, so that's all you'll get from me

BUFFNIXX

I just noticed that one of the other repliers to this thread mentions the fact that the dansco album has holes for the 1918/7-d and the 1937-d three legger within the 64 regular issues. If you want a dansco buffalo nickel album you can get a used one on ebay without those two holes. When you are done building the basic set of 64 coins then you can add the overdate and the 37d three leggers in the available extra slots on the last page of the album. Wonder why they put those two big time varieties in with the basic 64? Bet the dealers wanted that for obvious reasons. It would increase the demand for them. I understand at one time in the early 1960's whitman almost put the 1916 doubled die obverese into their Whitman bookshelf album which would have been a bad move since that coin is an almost uncolletcable variety for most people. buffnixx

OneCent

I'm leaning toward buffalo nickels...


I don't believe that the 1894-S dime is considered a "normal" stike and thus not a requirement for
set completion.




Classic commems are something that I would be interested in as well and they are priced-right, but for me they
do not have the same allure as early 20th century circulating coinage. So many choices....

originalisbest

Maybe work on them simultaneously? I like collecting both series, albeit at a lower grade level, but still seeking "nice" coins for the grade.

terribleredmonster

I'd be tempted to do the barber dime set in Good so that I could afford to match the harder coins to the rest of the set.

terribleredmonster

Man. JJTeaparty has some decent barber dimes right now.

originalisbest

In good is what I do -- like that '95-O a lot!

deltadimeman

i would try collecting both ! have you seen a well matched au buffalo nickel set in a capital plastics holder ? it looks awesome !!

take your time, buy only the nice coins for the grade, and put them in a white capital plastics holder. you will be pleased with the outcome !

Fairlaneman

Go with both then possibly you will be able to find enough coins to keep the interest level up. I know with my AU mercury set it was very tough to find only one coin every 6 months or so when it got down to the harder dates which were not necessarly the key date coins. Two sets will keep you busy with a higher interest level.

Use the Black Capital Holder. Sets look awesome in them.



Ken

OneCent

Very Nice Fairlaneman!


I like the capital plasitics holder...might have to put mine in one.

boyhowdy

I'm a Barber dime guy who has bought and sold on the 'bay for a dozen years.

I used to assemble a G-VG FULL RIMS set of Barber dimes every year. Around 2000
each year cost me $600-800 for the set. Then I would sell off the coins and start over.
Now I have 3 sets installed in old 1938-type coin boards (hat tip to David Lange!) that
I've framed and put on the wall. Prices now run around $1200 for the 74 coin basic set.
You can put together a set cheaper if you settle for full rim obverses and can live with the AG reverse.
MOST BARBERS ARE WEAKER STRUCK ON THE REVERSE. Translation -- do not buy the better coins
if there is no reverse scan.

If your pocket is willing you can tackle an XF+ set like I have. You cannot insist on a strict XF or AU
grade because some of the keys are just too difficult to be so picky. I couldn't turn my back on an AU-55
1896-O because it was too nice! Took me 9 months to find the final coin for this set. Yep, the '96-O.
I have around $15K and 4-5 years invested. I still look for nice upgrades and do so every few months.
My advice is to find a handful of dealers you trust who specialize in the series and make up a want list for
them. Bart or Lindsay or I can find an original XF 1898-O or 1904-S most of the time. Most cannot.

Steve

SeaEagleCoins

Being that I am a Buffalo Hunter from way back... it has always been my favorite coin... my biased suggestion would be to build a nicely matched set of VF/XF Buffalo Nickels... it is doable in that grade range and if the collector is patient, it can end up being a VERY attractive set...

Of couse, the same can be said for Barbers... or darn near any other series... however, more than a few series offer a challange to the average budget...

Whichever choice the OP makes, I just wish them well and hope they get to enjoy many more years of collecting pleasure... corny perhaps... but true...

MrSpud

Some of the Barber dimes are ridiculously hard to find problem free in circulated grades, especially ones like the 01-S. Here's MrsSpud's set. She's upgraded a few since the picture was taken

PonyExpress8

Either would be a great challenge and fun to collect. While I tend to specialize in Barbers I love the nickels too and have many of those as well. Both have their challenges which makes it fun in my mind.