Type Set help needed

nags

I'm putting together a Dansco 7070 and have a question. So, what is the best way to competently fill the holes?

I consider myself semi-competent in grading and valuing two series. For most series I know the major key dates but not much more. If you handed me a seated dollar I would generally have no idea of its value.

What I have done so far is to simply look on Heritage, etc. and find a coin that is appealing. From there do the research to determine a reasonable price to bid.

Should I take it one series at a time, study up, select a certain date/mm and hunt it down? I really don't have a theme for the set outside MS/AU coins.

I've gone to one coin show and it was a waste of time for me. Cases and cases of coins, but I didn't really have a plan on what I was looking for. If I saw something appealing I didn't feel comfortable based on my lack of pricing knowledge for so many series.

Thanks for any advise.

TomB

One of the beautiful things about collecting coins, especially a type set, is that you can do it pretty much any way you want.

AnkurJ

I did one years ago, and now am slowly working on one with holed coins. Why? It's cheap yet fun

Walkerguy21D

<< <i>I've gone to one coin show and it was a waste of time for me. Cases and cases of coins, but I didn't really have a plan on what I was looking for. >>


This speaks volumes......it sounds like you probably should formulate a plan and study up in advance on the series you want to acquire specimens of, especially if your theme is AU/MS coins. This theme is good, but can get very expensive for the earlier coins. You should probably 'practice' on the later series....there are plenty to choose from, and prices are generally reasonable, and mistakes are not costly. This learning will prove valuable as you branch into the seated and bust coinage.
Other themes you can do - first year of issue, last year of issue, key date coins, 'sleeper' date coins, toned coins, etc. As Tom stated, you can do pretty much anything you want.

Good luck in your endeavor!

BryceM

Well, you're smart enough to know some of what you don't know. That's a start!

The order doesn't really matter. I'm doing a US design set from the 1700s to present. I started with the moderns and more or less worked backwards. Go slow. When I go to a show I'm there to look for 2 or 3 specific coins for my type set, and I generally look around to see what is available in my primary series (Peace dollars). At my last big show I came away with three nice type coins and one Peace dollar. I went specifically to look for seated quarters, twenty cent pieces, and seated dollars. I had studied each at least a little and at the show it was reasonably easy to find examples that met my criteria and budget. I've been dragging my feet on the pre-flying eagle copper as I know almost nothing about it. I'll probably tackle that all at once, making it my focus for 6 months or a year. The earlier, rarer issues present a certain challenge in any grade and I expect some of these to show up whenever the opportunity arises. It's sort of a lifetime project. Maybe I'll end up with the chain cent & half-disme, and maybe I won't.

It's always good to have a few holes to fill.

Over time, many of the coins will get upgraded. Maybe I'll sell the lot and move on to something else. Who knows. Collect what you like.

If doing a type set, try to organize it a little. Find coins with a certain look, include the various branch mints, look for sharp detail, etc. Just buying one of everything isn't hard. Making the set something special takes a little effort.

BillJones

If you don't have one, you need to buy a Red Book. That single source will give you more basic information for the money than other general book on the U..S. numismatic subject.

You might consider subscribing to the Coin Dealer Newsletter. Those are dealer buy prices, but there is a type coin page that will give you price information for every major type. I think you can subscribe for trial periods of like three months. It's a little expensive, but you will get to know the pricing lay of the land.

Finally you can look at my type set, which is complete. Every coin is photographed and every coin has a write-up. It's best to click on the "Gallery Button" so that you are not overwhelmed with the coin list and study the coins that interest. My type set goes beyond the Dansco Album, but it will show you all the coins you need and then some. Here is a link:

Bill Jones' Half cent thtough dollar type set

I have completed the gold and commemorative type sets too, but these are coins that go into your album.

AngryTurtle

One of the things about a type set is that you never become an expert on any series, you are always buying something new. It gets a bit easier after you start to narrow the field as you fill in your collection, then you can do some preemptive research on the dwindling number of holes you have to fill.

nags

Thanks for the replies. I do have a red book, which was the first numismatic book I purchased. I'm about half way through the set including the gold Dansco page. My half-dime, twenty cent, and quarter sections are pretty bare. I'll probably take each section at a time and study up.

In general I like to have a plan, and in this situation one is lacking.

guitarwes

Don't compromise to fill a hole just because a coin is available when you're looking for a certain type. Wait for "THE" coin you've planned for and you'll be much much happier later on and you won't have the burden of getting rid of dreck.

RYK

There are lots of interesting threads, posts, advice, etc. on the 7070. Search and ye shall find.

Here are some points I offered in this thread in 2005:

1. It can indeed be done with no coin costing more than $300, but that will really limit your seated dollar to fine/very fine condition. I paid more than $300 for two coins, a nice WA seated half from Mark Feld, and a XF No Stars seated dime. Either coin could have been substituted for a coin in lesser condition without significant compromise.

2. The seated dollar is by far the most difficult acquisition. At a recent show, I was offered two (sans and with motto) for $1300, and I really did not care for either. Come to think of it, you really do not see that many seated dollars on the market, in any price category.

3. As for the seated coins, you have the most flexibility with the dime. They are abundant on the market and can be owned in any condition for a relatively reasonable price.

4. I got the idea from someone else to get a "No Stars" seated dime for the "Stars" slot. Since you get the "Stars" with the WM, I did not think it was cheating to add the more expensive coin that is a different design type.

5. I have strived to include all five mints (P, D, S, O, and CC). So far, I am lacking the "CC", but I expect to fill it with either the 20c or the Legend seated dime.

6. The stupid large cents do not fit snugly in the assigned slots. !*^%%!&($#%! (as discussed in a recent thread)

7. You can lose a small coin within the layers of a page. I nearly lost my WA seated half dime this way.

8. Half dimes of all types are really cool. I can easily see why collectors are attracted to them.

9. Three cent nickels are really cool. I am surprised that more collectors are not attracted to them.

10. Dealers who sell the types of coins I would want for a set like this are not the same dealers that I patronize for the core collection.

11. If you wanted to, you could complete the set with reasonable coins with a single phone call to JJ Teaparty.

12. There are no slots for the Mad Marty weenie coin, the speared bison, or the AH Kennedy.

13. When I complete this set (early 2006), I plan to do another album set, perhaps SLQ's in XF/AU. That one should take me much longer to complete.

It references back to this thread, which was outstanding. Ah, I miss the glory days of the forum.

Sonorandesertrat

The Dansco 7070 album really is a compromise album---it omits a number of more expensive types of coins (no T2 dollar or $3 holes or high relief Saint in the gold page, for example). That said, take your time. There are many ways to approach this type of album---find circulated coins with similar looks, find just holed coins, use only coins in their first year of issue, etc.

I am 3 coins away from finishing mine (started 5 years ago in response to boredom), and I will likely make 6 or 7 replacements to boot. I have 19th-century MS and proof coins, coins that were owned by my father and paternal grandmother, a couple of contemporary counterfeits, a holed/notched Seated quarter, a couple of period tokens, etc. As noted before, this is the kind of album that could be completed in ONE OR TWO DAYS. Use it instead as a pleasant diversion, and as a means to learn about various types of U.S. coins. And if it takes decades to complete to your satisfaction, that's OK too.