How importnant is it to have a "matched set"?

if your doing an ASE set yes it would be nice, just about any set with coins 20yrs and older thats really not a big issue.

I think a matched set is nice if there is some variety in look and design but you can easily tell how the pieces are related.

One example would be monster toners, whether they are Morgans, MPLs, ASEs, etc. Of course, in this case, matched means strong color, not that the colors are all the same.

Another example would be pieces with different designs, e.g. patterns, HTTs, Conders, etc.

It's really nice to see coin after coin in these sets IMO.

I match my coins in terms of eye appeal. Some are untoned and some are heavily toned. The grades go from really great 64's and up. I think ideally you just have a collection of really great coins. Whether or not they visually match is irrelevant.

What you decide to buy should reflect your tastes. This is very personal in nature, and I'd tell you to do what works for you.

I am not keen on a "matched set." This can involve buying the same coin, albeit maybe in a different grade, or maybe the same coin in the same grade, but with a different look. Every time you buy or sell a coin, you pay the bid / ask spread on said coin, if not more, with a possible exception of transactions by large fish in this pond. The only people who benefit from ideas which cause you to have multiple transactions for similar items are those from whom you buy and to whom you sell them.

For pre 1973 Proof coins you can find brilliant examples and you can find CAM/DCAM examples.

Having a mixture of brilliant coins and CAM/DCAM coins in a proof set (particularly 1950-1972) really does not provide eye appeal.

All brilliant coins or all CAM/DCAM coins provides a much better eye appeal.

You can then go even further in this area and get into toned vs. untoned brilliant coins; and toned vs. untoned CAM/DCAM coins. For some reason a mixture of toned and untoned can be eye appealing. So can all toned and all brilliant.

Same thing can be said for SMS coins for 1965-67, though this area has so many different types of coins [a wide range of finishes/appearances and a wide range of quality] that you could spend years trying to assemble representative sets of all the different looks. SMS sets can be fugly and can be breath taking in their beauty.

<< <i>Just concentrate on buying nice coins and you should be fine. >>


Excellent advice for 90% of the questions that come up here.

<< <i>I have been working on my 50 piece early commemorative half dollar set for a few years now. My set ranges from coins that are blast white to dark toned. I have some rainbow toners and some crusties. My question is, how important do most here feel is having your set with all coins similarly white or toned? Take a look at my set at the link below and tell me what you think. Im just curious. >>



In this particular situation, I think the coins are reasonably well matched. Even though the coins aren't all toned vs white, the toning is very even and the lustre looks good.

If you had other toners such as rainbow, tab, target, end-roll etc. the set would be less well matched and less cohesive IMO. Good job!

If all the coins are really nice they match

That said, it is quite interesting to see coins that are from (or could be from) the same proof or mint set. They just look very good together! I have a barber quarter and half that are that way and they are a couple of my favorites.

Not important at all. Eye appeal is what matters to me, within a grade range I can afford.

I like the variety. In my bust half set I have colorful pieces with different tone appearances, ones in "original dirty gray", a few lustrous white ones, both early die state and late. All around an AU target.
Lance.

I enjoyed putting together a matched set of brown Lincoln cents ...

Your set looks just fine to me. I generally try to buy blast white Classic Commemoratives, but I do own many nicely toned examples. Buy anything you like for the price. Dups are fine with me. I actually have many examples of a certain Classic Commem issue, one that has recognized varieties.

The white coins show off all the details, while the toned examples look prettier.

<< <i>If your goal is to have a matched set, then it's important. For the 50 pc. commems, I have my own ideas for which coins should be white (Iowa), which should be darker (Pilgrim), which should have a little peripheral toning (Gettysburg, Lafayette), which should have a little more color (Columbian, Isabella). All a matter of personal taste, probably developed as I looked at a bunch of coins over time. In my eyes, there's no way to match them all, in terms of color, without having some looking wrong. I'd rather have them all match how I perceive they should look. >>



This.

I'm primarily a type collector and I have my own ideas about what each coin should look like. I like my Barbers to have nice rim toning, my Peace Dollars to be mostly white with clear fields, my Rosies to have some nice color, and my early pieces to have character.

The "matched set" thing for anything other than an early Proof set is only a fantasy. In the case of early commemorative half dollars, unless you are looking for a dipped set of white coins, matching the toning is virtually impossible. The only way I could see that happening would be if a coin doctor AT'd the whole set. The same can be said for a set of copper coins, and even gold. Show me a older set of gold, silver or copper coins that is "matched," and I'll show you a set that has been doctored.

If a dealer tells you your set is worth less because it is not a "matched set" that is a strategy to get you to accept less for your coins for no legitimate reason. When a dealer sells the coins there is an almost 100% chance he's going to break up the set. Very few sets are sold "intact."

I would absolutely love to assemble a matched set of capped bust half dimes by die marriage and remarriage, but I have just one lifetime to complete the set. So I use that lifetime to work toward that goal of a matched set by making "upgrades" when possible with the least attention given to the grade on the label