Contrarian Thought of the Day
Gazes
Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭✭✭
Our hobby is full of cliches. Like most cliches some have some truth, some are misleading and in most cases "it just depends".
We often hear a series is too long or too hard to collect by date. My contrarian opinion is these are the very series you should collect by date. Here is why
1) You can buy some really rare coins for far less than some not so rare coins in a shorter series. Why? Because you are one of the few collecting by date! I will use liberty quarter eagles as an example since im familar with that series. Since most people dont collect this series by date (it has 100+ coins to complete) many super rare coins are affordable. For instance, any unc philadelphia mint 2.5 from the 1840s is far rarer than most realize.
2) You can collect at your own pace. Because your series is so long, there is almost always one coin that is interesting out there.
3) Related to point #2---you never need any one coin. Lets say i collect lib quarter eagles. There is a key date 1864 qe that i love but the seller wants a huge premium. I can pass knowing that i have so many key dates (most dahlonega in unc, many philly dates, 1845-O, etc) that i can seek a better deal. In a short series you really cant avoid that one key date.
4) You become expert on the series and often know more than most dealers. Why? Because no one else is collecting your series by date and since you are you learn more than most.
5) if the series gains in popularity you will realize a windfall for your contrarian purchases. This happened with lib quarter eagles. Very few people collected by date until more recently and the small extra demand has caused many rare dates to go up considerably in value.
The drawback? You probably wont complete your long, difficult series. This isnt a drawback to me. I would rather have a super interesting 40 coins from the lib quarter eagle series than complete a short set that anyone can do going online in a month. Plus its all about the journey not the destination (appropriate to end with a cliche).
Comments
Great thought process @Gazes
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Interesting points.... I never did a long series by date, other than the Kennedy halves... and they were easy. I did the CC Morgans, but that is a short set. Oh well, perhaps I will embark on a coin quest if I get old and unable to actively pursue my other interests (wait, I am already old
)...Cheers, RickO
I would agree with that, if you want to collect series.
I still prefer type collecting to date/mintmark collecting. And, if one wants to alway have an open field to play in, there are world-wide options and exonumia as well.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.
I like your thinking and process
I have been collecting raw cameo proof and SMS coinage from 1950 to 1970 (105 coins total, without varieties) since 1998.
It has been a project that has been labor intensive (many hours looking for these coins at shops, shows and online) that is both frustrating and rewarding. I have been in upgrade mode for years now and the collection looks great. When an upgrade coin is found that is substantially better than the coin it replaces I am very happy.
In addition to the core 105 coin collection I have added varieties, toners and outliers to the mix.
A fun and modestly priced collecting endeavor.
Very good read. Despite all you said, you are very brave to collect such a daunting series, but it is a fascinating series. I once thought seriously of collecting a short subset of liberty quarter eagles, say, like the 1870's or 1880's issues, which have low mintages but aren't priced thru the roof. Alas, retirement and a tighter budget intervened, so I only have the 1885.
More doable with limited date run like pre Civil War or Civil War years, and your good points still mostly apply. Downside is popularity trumps scarcity and Liberty Quarter Eagles aren’t the most popular. I sure like them though. Great price to survival ratio, and the southern issues are quite popular.
popularity trumps scarcity
You betcha it does!
Thats why its a contrarian opinion!
Just an add on to my OP.
1) probably the most underrated point i make in my op is specializing in these long difficult to collect by date series really evens the playing field. Your knowledge will not only surpass most dealers but also most books on the subject after time.
2) an idea on a long series like lib quarter eagles----since you are unlikely to get all of them---do a box of 20 of the series. Imagine a box of 20 liberty quarter eagles containing an 1848 cal, unc examples of dahlonega, Charlotte and New Orleans, civil war dates, and maybe even a proof example. It would be a highly impressive collection even though not near complete.
You can buy some really rare coins for far less than some not so rare coins in a shorter series. Why? Because you are one of the few collecting by date!
I think that "really rare" coins have their own base of collectors that don't need to have every coin of that type, that collect keys.
I enjoy lib $2.5’s for the same reason. I have absolutely no interest in even coming close to completing the set. But I enjoy collecting the earlier key dates coins. I can buy beautiful earlier date $2.5’s with a couple of hundred or less survivors at a reasonable price. I have little interest collecting later date $2.5’s with their high mintages that to me are numismatically boring except for their gold content.
This topic makes me think of eating bland oatmeal everyday.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
And both are good for you!
All you say is gospel and I would add that completing a series is boring! I have found it is better to need to find the coins than to complete the set. I bought a set complete once and decided against buying a second and I am glad I did not buy it. Twenty years later I just need 5 more coins to complete it.
Okay so I'm weird.
Well all I can say is ... Nice!
I agree 100%. Having a finished set is not nearly as fun as building one
I've always preferred a sub-set of a long series where you only collect the under-rated, under-priced, and under-appreciated dates/grades/strikes. In many of those long 19th century series, such coins might make up 30-65% of the series....and cost much less than the so-called "keys." Your set is "complete" when you found all the coins you wanted. And at that point....you start another identical set of "under-rated" coins. Duplicates are welcome.
Gazes- I am at the very tale end of a Liberty Seated Dollar collection. What a journey it has been.... I still have 2 tough coins in order to finish and I’m sure it will take a couple years to finish because finding the coins with the right look won’t be easy. I also am a little over half way through an all CAC Trade dollar set build which is much easier than LSDs but still a real challenge. I’m contemplating what’s next for me. I’m fairly certain I’ll choose a gold set but have yet to decide which one. I definitely want a challenge Similar to the LSD set. I’m thinking an all CAC 20 libs but still thinking it over. In general type collecting just doesn’t do it for me. But recently I had the idea of filling up box’s of 10 (intercept) for each gold type. No doubt that would be a lot of coins but may be worth a shot.. Either would be a long term project for sure but I’m young enough where it should be possible.
Hmmmm, I was ecstatic when I finally finished my 58 set of Barber Halves. Now the quest continues trying to get all pluses!
There's always a set of First Lady commems.
What, only 100 plus coins to collect? 😊
Not so many ....
Try collecting a series with over 1100 coins ( different dates and mints and varieties .... Mexican 8 reales )
I’m up to about 250 so far .
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Some good ideas. I prefer a more challenging series and have been working on a set of 108 coins for 25 years. The fact that I will never finish (no one has ever finished this set) keeps me interested for a lifetime. I have finished a few easier sets and lost interest when completed, including a date set of 1807-1812 half eagles.
Try Seated Dimes next.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
After one "completes" a set, there is always the possibility of upgrading the coins therein to maintain interest.
Yes, that is a daunting set. Good luck. I've always wanted to do it, but have just never gotten started.
Throw in the other Spanish colonial if the Mexico gets boring.
India with its multiple states and thousands of years of history also is challenging.
Chinese cash coins go back almost 3000 years.
There are also fun sets like English pennies that go back 1000 years.
Almost infinite variety among hand struck Greek and Roman ancients.
U.S series are boring by comparison.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.
I'll say I was recently inspired by this one:
Just switch to US medals and tokens and you'll get a ton of variety
I like the $2.50 Liberty gold pieces and have thought about doing a “short set” of them from 1900 or 1880 or some other date. The trouble is I know I’d get bored. The last sets I completed were the a Classic Head $2.50 and $5.00 gold coins. Before that, it was a set of early dollars like the one shown above. All of those sets were fairly short, and most importantly, I found every one of the coins to be special. That has kept my interest up to this day, despite the fact that I have completed the sets.
The trouble with long sets like $2.50 gold is that some coins are just holes to fill. Ditto for super popular sets like the Morgan Dollars. Some coins, like 1848 CAL. are almost like a set by themselves because it has so much history behind it. But others are like “stuff.”
When my focus was lib quarter eagles i completely ignored the common dates. I knew if i wanted them that i could get them at anytime. Instead I focused on the sleeper coins for instance SF mint QEs from the 1860s or earlier Philly mint dates. I always wanted to save my resources for coins that were not available at anytime. I think filler coins are a bigger problem in a shorter series. If a series has 15 dates and 13 are common then you must collect them or you wont have any coins from the series. On the other hand, i can fill up 2 boxes of 20 of lib quarter eagles without even having considered one "filler" coin.