Are there many buyers for complete sets?
JimW
Posts: 583 ✭✭✭✭
I suspect many of us here started collecting by trying to fill an album - probably Lincoln wheats, etc.
Add to that: much of the fun of collecting is the hunt for needed coins and the quest to complete a collection; however one chooses to define it - but usually a certain series,
So, are they many buyers out there for complete sets?
Buying a set already completed is something I don't see myself doing - but perhaps that is just me 
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I agree. It's about the chase. Buying the complete set doesn't sound like fun. I would only guess a buyer of a complete set would most likely be looking to break it up for certain pieces and dump the rest.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
There are some buyers but it seems that modern issues (ASE's and such) comprise most of this market from what I've seen. Dealers only want the rare, condition rarities, or those that they think can become a condition rarity, the remainder is sold off. I would also add that there are fewer and fewer set builders in todays collector base which effects this.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Complete set buying is usually between Whales and a Top Set or Sets.
If someone approaches me on one of my complete sets I'll listen to offers. They'll be happier overall as a package deal, I'll take less as a final price knowing that I'm gonna save lots of hassle listing individually, not to mention buyers/sellers fees if on an auction site. Run the numbers for the work and effort saved...I'm in.
I have complete sets of PCGS graded state quarters in proof. I'm wondering the same thing as I no longer want to store them.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
I think most collectors prefer the DIY option. More rewarding, “look what I did”.
Funny you say this. For some reason I’ve been looking at nailing down the exact same thing but in silver. I’ve seen some prices that are a total steal as set when you factor in what was spent on grading, shipping, someone’s time, etc....
I can’t see buying a whole set of ANYTHING pre 1965. (Of course I prefer silver issues)
"Today the crumbs, tomorrow the
loaf. Perhaps someday the whole damn boulangerie." - fictional Jack Rackham
It depends upon the set and the price. If someone had a nice circulated set of SLQs or most of the SLQs at a nice price I would be interested.
Most people trying to complete a set of something are typically not interested in buying a set that it already complete because it takes the fun out of it and there are usually some coins in the set that they do not like.
I built a set of UNC Indian Head Cents all broke from PCGS/NGC holders, enjoyed it for a while , then got bored and sold it.
kept the 56 FE, 77, 09-s.(these I kept holdered) also the 69/9 (but am eventually selling it )
The fun was building it in all honesty!
You'll find buyers, but will likely take a loss depending on when and how you acquired them. I got about 50 cents on the dollar when I unloaded a complete set of 1999-2008 silver proof quarters in PCGS PR69DCAM flag holders within the last year on eBay. I purchased them as a set maybe ten years ago. They were simply taking up too much space, and have no long term value as a collectible. I can't recall now why I bought them in the first place.
It depends….
Several years ago, my son was attending Delhi College in (obviously) Delhi, NY. We went up to visit him and took him out for shopping and some lunch in Oneonta. While he and his Mom were clothes shopping, I saw a coin shop down the street. I could not resist. I walked in and struck up a conversation with the gentleman behind the counter. I think he was the owner but either way he was very personable and willing to let me browse and ask questions. I happened to notice some Dansco albums on the shelf behind the counter and asked if I could take a peak. He was obliging and said that he had a couple of nice sets of silver Rosie’s that I might like. I was not really interested in dimes but after thumbing through the other albums, I asked him if I could take a look. He handed me two complete silver sets in Dansco’s and a loop. No offense intended @DIMEMAN, but I am not a dime nut, as they are too small for these old eyes, but I know nice coins when I see them. These sets were both “white” (yes! @Ricko) and were put together by someone who knew quality. I looked at them for 30 seconds and asked for his price. He let them go for $89.00 each. No haggling, I paid him, thanked him, and caught up with my wife and son.
After we returned home, I took out my stereoscope and examined each dime. They were ALL full bands and none less than MS-65. I’m talking 1947-55’s in blazing luster. This was in a time when “Full Torch Bands” was just being recognized and silver was cheap. I cherry-picked both sets to create a nice single set and gave the other set to a friend who likes dimes. Yes, I told him it was a “seconds” set but he was very grateful anyway. Turns out, I gave him a couple of rare varieties so he made out better in the end. “No good deed goes unpunished!” I still have the original set; however, Dansco toning has now added some nice colors. (Sorry Ricko).
Anyway, all I’m saying is sometimes complete sets found in the wild hold just as much pleasure as “filling holes”. Collectors tend to fill those holes with the best they can afford. It is just the nature of the beast. When they are passed around, overtime they just appear to be plain complete sets. However, someone took the time to accumulate those coins and if you are fortunate, on occasion, you stumble onto a real collector’s set who took pride in filling those holes.
Exactly.
There are plenty of buyers for sets. HOWEVER, they generally will not give you a premium for the set. [Hanson level sets excepted.] People will buy them to break them up. People will buy them as starter sets and then upgrade them. People will buy them as gifts for children and grandchildren.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
The only complete set I bought was all of the Roosevelt Dimes, 1946 - 1964. It was the best way to buy that set. It was in an old Seiz Plastic holder with some really nice coins in it with no sliders. It also was much cheaper than the “one at a time” method. I have enjoyed the set for years.
I would not recommend buying a classic set, like the $2.50 Indians that way. Quite often the good coins have been lifted with the “clunkers” left in place.
Mr. Hansen might be able to answer that question.
From my shop experience, not often.
I've had a few tempting offers for my toned Indian set. Of course, that's after telling them I probably would not sell any of the top coins individually. If I sell a few of the best, what's the point of having the rest of them? It would be all or nothing for this set.
Great story @Intueor .
"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
I love the folks that list complete sets of mixed grades on ebay...they almost always sell for at or maybe a bit more than the average price of the lower grade coins in the set!
Told this story in the past but considering the title of this thread I'll tell it again.
At the 1977 ANA Convention Kagin's auction held in Atlanta I purchased a full set of Morgan Dollars minus the 1895 and a complete set of Peace dollars in 4 Bookshelf albums. I paid $1900.00 for the lot with no buyers fee. I already had a complete set that I had painstakingly put together over a period of 10 or 12 years so I kept what I thought was the best example of each and sold off the duplicates little by little. I still have the set today.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
I'm pretty sure that the guy who bought my Peace dollar set did it to acquire three or four key coins. I think that happens quite a bit.
There are definitely buyers out there for complete sets. I frequently see Dansco albums of Franklin halves, Kennedy halves, and others sell at local auctions. The prices are not firesale either, so they are probably going to collectors. For some time I have been considering buying a set of State Quarters. They are routinely for sale on eBay, for a fraction of what it would cost me to buy the coins individually, and an even smaller fraction of the hassle.
On the other end of the spectrum, #1 Registry sets sometimes sell intact to the next bigger whale who is willing to pay whatever it takes to be #1.
For all the stuff in between Dansco albums and #1 Registry sets, I suspect complete sets don't sell intact to collectors very often.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
I'm a buyer of complete sets for many different purposes, but mostly not to have a complete set. I'm usually looking for outstanding toning, varieties/errors, or a nice MS coin that is jumbled in with circs. So I buy to break up, looking for that one coin that could pay for all the others combined (I'm a collector, not a dealer, so this is cherrypicking). Especially at auctions.
On the note of auctions, many of the other collectors who attend--and this is a rural auction company with 99% collectors who are in agriculture--they buy the sets for healthy prices, as @savitale suggests. Some buy for the set, and some buy for the silver value. These sets never go for cheap, for at a minimum they are melt plus whatever premium the top bidders establish. These guys are not breaking out coins for grading or varieties, I would suspect. In fact, when the auctions themselves are stacked with the collections from true collectors and not dealer overstock or random stuff, there are often multiple sets of Peace and Morgan, Buff nickels, Mercury dimes, and even ASEs. More like hoarding/accumulation than collector or registry set stuff.
Typically the sets are scanned for things like key dates (especially Morgans and Lincoln cents) and often the same bidder will buy the key dates and also go after the Whitman or Dansco folders they came from, at least in my experience over the last 7 or 8 years.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
I would consider buying a set for special coins included... All depends on what they are and the price. I have not intentionally purchased a set yet... However, I have purchased two package deals that included raw coins and a couple of sets (incomplete).... There were some good coins and the sellers were just getting rid of an old collection. Cheers, RickO