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I've Never Been A Collector Fan Of.....
BLUEJAYWAY
Posts: 11,905 ✭✭✭✭✭
pre 1900 coinage. What am I missing out on?
Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
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Some very beautiful designs, and loads of history; on the other hand your not missing out on lots of cleaned coins.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
The farther back you go the more individual each coin becomes and that means more work for the discerning collector to pick the best examples. Before machine struck, hubbed dies, each die was hand punched and each coin was manually struck on something like a screw press so you got a distinctly individual coin each time.
Or maybe you've been put off by the price difference.
Millions of Morgan Dollars.
If you're also not a non-collector fan, then you're probably not missing out on too much.
I've noticed that end up as a collector fan of older coinage, you need to start off at least as a non-collector fan.
Like they say you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink the water.
Yes, I am a collector of coinage, it just that the post 1900's through 1947 are what I consider "my golden age". Designs that are more appealing to my eye. Hard to argue against the Indian Head (Buff.) nickel,Mercury dime,Standing Lib. Quarter,Walker halfs,Peace Dollar, Saints gold designs. All stand alone in distinctive designs. I know Indian cents/Liberty nickels are pre- 1900 but they do reside in the 1900's as well. Barber coinage is represented on 3 denominations and is somewhat repetitive. To summarize these are the designs that had the most impact on me. As usual this is just my opinion that suits my tastes. We all, no doubt, have our favorites. And these are mine.
I see you dislike the fullness of bust designs, eh?
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
The 1916 Type 1 Standing Liberty Quarter more than fills that void.
Anything clad
I like the coins from the early part of the 20th century-Buff 5c, Merc 10c, SL 25c, WL 50c, Peace $1. The "classic" stuff. One 19th century I am very fond of is the Flying Eagle 1c which, unfortunately was a very short series.
“What am I missing out on” is a fair question to occasionally ask. One aspect is rarity. So let’s take a 1920D Walker in PC64 for $8000. Pop is 125 with 61 higher. Tough coin. Great, it’s widely collected and in demand.
Or you can take that same money and try to actually find an 1848p Seated Quarter in PC 64 pop 4 price guide ($7500). There are only 17 MS examples graded by PCGS.
And the 48p is not even a top 20 date in that series.
The same exercise can be played out at the $800 range. $400 as well.
That’s just one thing that points me to being both a fan and collector of the pre-1900 coins.
Demand plays a huge role in determining values. There are many more collectors of Walkers than there are of Seated quarters.
Yes, I can’t think of anything struck a clad planchet that really turns me on. About the only piece I admire is the Statue of Liberty commemorative half dollar because I admire the design.
Collect what you like and enjoy... there are no restrictions on a personal hobby. Your focus is certainly in a very nice period of American coinage.... Have fun... Cheers, RickO
I must admit our nation's most beautiful coins probably appeared in the 20th century. My sets of Buffalo Nickels and Peace Dollars speak to that. 19th century coins attract me in different ways though. First, America was a very different place in 1837 than it was in 1937. One could suggest that had Julius Caesar been dropped into rural America in 1837, he might not have noticed much difference compared to rural Italy in his own time. It feels nice to me to hold a coin that that circulated in everyday commerce in that age. Another attraction for me is true rarity. The RAREST regular issue Walking Liberty half has a PCGS population of 927 (1920-D, Jan/Feb 2019 PCGS Market Report). For Seated Dimes, 113 of the 114 coins in the series have LOWER populations than that.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
Never developed an interest in Morgan’s or Roosevelt’s among a few others.
Anyone mention Morgans?
I'm actually a big fan of wrong planchet clad coins. Here's my 1974 cent on a clad planchet. I got it because it was neat to think about with the 1974 aluminum cents. I love looking at it and I'm holding it was I'm writing this. I'm currently resisting the urge to build an entire date/mm set of cents on clad planchets
Copper coins, minor coins, small gold coins.
While I can't say I'm not a fan of, I am very fearful of buying RED copper as all too often it becomes RB or simply BROWN and with its change goes a large amount of value.
Interestingly, demand can diminish based upon the declining number of active collectors in a population.
Survival rates of a population of coins can stay the same, thus changing the game.
So in the long view, the question of demand is fluid, whereas the supply favors the truly rare.
My illustration was only a suggestion. Collect what you like, but consider the (pre-1900) options on their merits.
Modern coins
Collect what you like. If I could afford to, I would collect pre 1800 Half and Large cents.
The biggest thing you'd be missing out on are CBH's, imo.
Best you don't explore them.
You may never be the same.
But honestly, the era you are currently focused on offers a lifetime of enjoyment, pursuit and satisfaction.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
200+ years of incredible history, for one.
Dave
Lots of different coins were in circulation before the Coinage Act of 1857 ended the status of foreign coins as legal tender.