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Posts: 9
I've been reading this forum for a while and am amazed at the amount of information on this board. I hope you guys can tolerate a few questions from a newbie ;-)
A penny collection as a kid is the extent of my coin collecting experience. I'd like to try it again and I am trying to decide what to collect. One of the key pieces of advice I have seen on this board is to collect what appeals to you. I also agree with the advice not to try and collect everything.
As I've been reading posts, and looking at coins I seem to be narrowing it down to the following types:
--Indian head cents
--Mercury dimes
--Walking liberty half dollars
--Franklin half dollars
My reasons are I like the design of these coins, I like the general years involved, and in the case of the dimes and half dollars they have some silver value.
I don't think I want to start out trying to collect 4 different things but am looking for decision points in how to narrow it to one, or possibly two coin types. I'd appreciate your thoughts on these 4 types and why you might go a certain direction. General thoughts on collecting any of these series is also appreciated.
Mike
A penny collection as a kid is the extent of my coin collecting experience. I'd like to try it again and I am trying to decide what to collect. One of the key pieces of advice I have seen on this board is to collect what appeals to you. I also agree with the advice not to try and collect everything.
As I've been reading posts, and looking at coins I seem to be narrowing it down to the following types:
--Indian head cents
--Mercury dimes
--Walking liberty half dollars
--Franklin half dollars
My reasons are I like the design of these coins, I like the general years involved, and in the case of the dimes and half dollars they have some silver value.
I don't think I want to start out trying to collect 4 different things but am looking for decision points in how to narrow it to one, or possibly two coin types. I'd appreciate your thoughts on these 4 types and why you might go a certain direction. General thoughts on collecting any of these series is also appreciated.
Mike
0
Comments
examine each one and go with what tickles your fancy. Have the dealer pick the ones for
you to examine. Make it fun. Then buy it and go from there!
bob
Freddie
Franklins and walkers are silver and at todays market will cost you $12+ per coin.
That said, with 14 proof franklins in proof condition (graded or not) for $168-$200 you can build a very nice proof franklin set.
Same with MS franklins where you can pretty much buy each date and mintmark in low grade for melt value.
walkers you can easily buy the later years for silver, but the earlier years are going to cost a little extra.
Same can be said for mercury dimes.
indian pennies I have always loved as well, but the earlier years are also going to cost a pretty penny even in lower grades.
That said, all those sets can bring much enjoyment in putting together
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Amazing design and the high grade WLHs just knock my sox off.
I'm a type collector now but I started out, when I found these boards, as a lincoln cent collector/accumulator.
Have fun and
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
if nothing, you might have learned some new cool numismatic thing.
<< <i>Welcome! Indian cents may be too close to what you have collected as a kid so maybe try something different. I'd pick the Walkers. Somewhat easy to aquire sans the two 21's in collector grades. Collect what you enjoy.
Freddie >>
This is funny because I was thinking the opposite, since you already have a connection with collecting cents maybe expanding on that would interest you the most. (especially if you still have the cent collection from when you were a kid)
Lots of good ideas posted above...
but if I could only pick one design first, I would look at Walkers
Besides being a great design, I think it's a good one for learning how to grade and determine surface, strike and luster qualities ... and they are very popular (should you decide to sell a few along the way)
My suggestion with any though is to buy what you like, and what you can afford to keep, and try to build a collection around that
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
<< <i>I've always told people in your situation to assemble a type set. Sooner or later 1 particular type will grow on you. >>
Can you define "type set" with examples of a set?
Here is an example of a typeset.....Typeset
BTW, I had more fun and learned more putting together this set then any others.
<< <i>
<< <i>I've always told people in your situation to assemble a type set. Sooner or later 1 particular type will grow on you. >>
Can you define "type set" with examples of a set? >>
A type set can be how ever you define it. I of each type...the Dansco album 7070 set is probably the most popular. Basically 1 of each major type from around 1800-present.
edit to add:It is exactly what dorkgirl linked to!
<< <i>Stop buying coins. Buy Books. Go to a SMALL coin show. Think outside the box. There are thousands of coin series out there, most you don't even know about (yet). I WILL guarantee you that two years after you " get into coins" you will be rethinking everything you have done/bought. >>
This is good advice
As you read and learn, pay attention to grading, what makes a problem coin a problem, what cleaning looks like for the various series. This board and others are an excellent place to get such info.
Walkers are fun and combine numismatic and bullion value -- Franklins (as long as we're talking circs or low grade uncs) will be mostly bullion-related value, and perhaps then easier for a novice to get a handle on pricing. Mercs and Indians are wonderful but more collector-oriented, vs. strictly bullion (no bullion aspect to the Indians) -- though with Mercs more than Walkers, with the exception of the 16-D and 21's, you can put together a set cheaply based on bullion prices.
I personally love Indians, ever since I was a beginning collector, so am happy to have a nice set of them now. But every collector's different, what's just right for one may not be for another.
Definitely don't jump in too fast -- it's too easy out there to spend more money than you need to. By taking it slow and enjoying the trip, you can hopefully avoid too many pitfalls and then find yourself still enjoying coin collecting many years from now.
I'm sure it's been mentioned already, but do pick up a current copy of the Red Book for US coins -- at a local coin dealer, major bookstore, or you can find via Amazon, eBay, etc. It'll be the most useful foundation for US collecting I can think of -- give you a good basic history of many different series -- etc.
Best of luck!
Take a look at pictures of individual coins in the series that you mentioned you have interest in. You can find high quality pictures of these coins in threads posted here on the forums (use the search box to pull up threads you can look at, for example by typing in "Walkers" and searching for threads with that word in it). Another way to look at photos is to go to the PCGS Registry Set link and look at the sets in the registry for the four series. Many of the registered sets have photographs of the coins in the sets that you can look at. Looking at photos from the two above sources is easy and you can get an idea what high grade examples of the coins look like. You can then figure out which coin series really tugs at your collecting heart.
In addition to looking at photos, spend some time going to shops and shows and looking at examples of the coins in hand under good lighting.
Have fun.