How do you assemble a set when one coin is 10x the cost of the others?
airplanenut
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An idea popped into my head for a date set I might want to put together. Looking through the PCGS price guide to get a general idea of what it would cost, the set is pretty reasonable in 64-65, with most coins valued around $300-700 (except for a $20 gold, but that coin is expensive because of the gold, not the date).
However, one coin in the set is a few grand; the type collector in me hates the idea of ponying up so much for a coin just because it's a better date, especially when the idea for the set it somewhat on a whim and it's a type where I already have multiple nice examples of common dates. All that said, a lower AU would probably be priced in line with the other denominations, or a VF/XF could be the least expensive coin in the set. The other option would be to declare the set Philly only and then I could skip the half dollar entirely, but part of me thinks that's cheating.
I've always just purchased coins as I see them and like them, with no consideration for how multiple coins will appear side-by-side as part of a set. The closest I've come is my 7070, which has a wide range of grades and my goal was always just "nice," whether the coin is a good or uncirculated.
I'm sure many folks here have run into the same issue. I'm curious how you thought through it.
Comments
Bought a good looking fake that matched the condition of the set. This works well for filling Dansco’s or Capital holders, no so much for graded sets.
This probably won't help much but when I thought through it, I decided not to collect sets anymore.
If I was dedicated to building the date set I would probably pony up the money for a MS coin. At the end of the day you'll have a nicer better date.
I've done several date sets. Went with lower grades on the more expensive coins - the golds. Also a whim in each case. I've upgraded several, but not the gold.
It can work for graded sets if you get it in a fake holder
I've done it with sets where the expensive pieces appear absolutely rare.
I'd be more hesitant to do it if the more expensive piece is fairly generic.
That's what I've been doing since I started collecting!
True, but one more item of note (in case this changes anything)... the expensive coin would end up being a few times what I've ever paid for ANY coin. I like the set on the whole because the coins, while they'd be at the upper end of what I've paid for most coins, wouldn't be really expensive. The one expensive piece would cost enough on total dollars that there are some other pieces I'd like to have as a type collector in that range that I've never bought because of cost. Yes, I could afford them, but so far I haven't wanted to put that much money into one coin.
That's a fair way of looking at it. I like the idea of finding the sweet spot where small price increases get a lot more coin (another grade up), but the next grade is way more expensive. For most of this set (including the gold) it happens that 64/65 is that spot, but if it were 63 for one coin I wouldn't mind too much. It's just the one coin that would be well lower than the others.
If I understand the question correctly I'd have no problem buying an AU for the more expensive date to go with the others in MS...
That said, if I had to settle for a G or VG for that date I might have a different opinion...as in the case of Carson City half eagles (70-CC) or Dahlonega half eagles (61-D)....
Instead of lower AU maybe compromise on a high AU.
You understand it correctly. I could get an XF/AU (it looks like an upper AU would be getting pricey) in the right range.
I’ve run into that exact same issue with my Kennedy half dollar set. I have every coin, PDSS from ‘64 to 2020, even the 1998 SMS, most in white capital plastic albums with the exception of the gold Kennedy. Am I going to buy that thing? 😯
Does it really fit in a Kennedy half dollar set?
The same situation exists in a set with varieties, namely the Buffalo nickel series. The 1916/16 costs 7 or 8 times what the next most expensive variety, the 1918-D 8/7, does. I had to sacrifice my Indian Head $2.50 date set to get it but get it I did.
My personal choice is to not worry about the holes. I have some raw albums that expect me to get things like various 1793 and 1794 coins. Ain’t going to happen raw. If I got any, it would be slabbed and I wouldn’t crack them out.
I’m fine with holes in my albums or registry slots. I can always dream of a lottery or something to fill them. But they don’t bother me.
That said, if I wanted/needed it, I would get something that fills the slot even if it doesn’t match anything else. It’s why my Washington quarter album has an uncirculated 32 and an AG3 32d next to it.
I've seen 58s in every series that can make me drool.
I wouldn't mind one of those in an MS set.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Not a set kind of guy so that issue irrelevant. Concentrate on material your comfortable with and don’t be manipulated by the set thing (marketing tool). Or just buy the key and forget about the others.
I can assure you this isn't me being swayed by marketing. This won't go in a registry... it would just be a set for me to have because I want to have the type run of that date.
Buy the most expensive coin first. It is easier to complete the set when you're just looking for commons. The most expensive will always return you at least good money. You may decide after filling some of the set that you really don't want to complete it and you can recoup the better part of your investment by selling the most expensive off. Much better than filling 95% of a set and not completing it because the last 1 or 2 are too much money and having it incomplete. I wouldn't even consider buying a counterfeit just to complete a set. That seems like cheating to me. Not knocking someone elses philosophy, just seems to defeat the whole purpose.
Bob Sr Ceo Fieldtechs Retired
I've drawn the line where I say "that's too much" and I accept there will be a hole or two (or four) in my set. When I get to that point, I'll move onto a new set (Silver Swiss 2 Francs recently). Or revisit an old set I'd hit a wall on a few years earlier (Australia Florins).
The result is that I now have a group of incomplete sets/albums with 80% nice collector-grade coins 10% could-be-betters and 10% holes.
Yep. I'm never going to have a named set in an auction catalogue.
I'm still having fun building them though, and I guess that's the point.
Easy peasy
just bump the key up or down one year! 
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
At some point I still need to buy a 1982 no P dime
Amen!
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
It gets worse in both directions!
> @Swampboy said:
I agree here, and I've said many times that I think nice 58s can often look better than 62s. Looking at some past sales, it looks like there are a few places where the price jumps. XF/low AU to high AU is double or triple, then the AU58 to MS62/63 doubles again, and then to 64 it doubles yet again. The AU58 would still be perhaps twice what most of the other coins would cost, where XF and maybe AU50 would be in line. Of course, as quality goes, there's a big gap from AU50 to AU58, though by no means does that mean an AU50 can't be a nice coin.
While it technically has a denomination of 50 cents, I don't think most collectors would say it's a half dollar in the JFK set (I don't even know where the PCGS price guide lists it). To that end, the ATB 5oz pucks are "25 cents" but they're not treated like normal quarters. Maybe a compromise for you would be to get a gold plated JFK half (they're available and cheap) and use that instead.
Or a small grinder
I wouldn’t make the most expensive (by far) coin in my collection be something I wasn’t thrilled about.
If you’re jazzed about owning it, awesome. Save up and buy it. If it just matches the others of the date, I’d find something else that I was excited to own.
I like the idea of a nice AU58 mentioned earlier - any resale later in the game will satisfy someone's Everyman so an improved likelyhood of resale when ready. My other thought is sell your more common duplicates. That should take the edge off a larger priced or rarer coin purchase needed later. Also, I will jump on great coins whether I am a collector of that issue / series or not... if they are at the right price. You can flip those for the revenue you need. I once bought a rare date Standing Lib that was not considered FH but I thought it should and it came back FH. I don't collect SLQ's but I grabbed it for flip value and eventual $ to pay for what I really want using up the margin gained.
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
"I agree here, and I've said many times that I think nice 58s can often look better than 62s."
I don't think it's at all unusual for many 58s to look better that a 62. Just by it's nature, something graded at MS62 is likely not gonna be an attractive coin, hence the grade. Some AUs would grade MS64 or even better were it not for that trace of wear. I'll take the 58 any day.
All my type duplicates are different in some way... I have lots of toned Morgans, but few if any have the same kind of toning. Type coins appeal to me because I don't have to worry about the date, and instead I can get the design and eye appeal I'm after at the lowest possible price. One of the reasons a lot of date runs don't appeal to me is that you get a set of coins that look very similar (not always, but often). If I just had a few ho-hum examples of the same type, I'd agree with you, but I very much enjoy each individual example I have (hence the few series were I have multiple examples).
100% agree
Hmmm, I wish all the other Barber Collectors would quite making me pay 63 or Better money for nice 58's.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/barber-half-dollars/1907-d-50c-au58-pcgs/a/1323-19241.s
I would go with the AU coin.... there are some very nice AU's and if you shop around at shops and shows, you can usually work a deal. Good luck... Cheers, RickO
How do you assemble a set when one coin is 10x the cost of the others??
Jeremy, I'm currently assembling a very short "Complete Set" which has, not one, but two coins which together will be about 10X the price of the rest of the collection. strangely, I am waiting to complete the common Eight Coins before I buy the two "stopper" coins. so far I have all but one of the eight and finding it has proven to be far more difficult than the other two, both of which I could easily find any day of the week.
--- what is the set?? Two-Cent pieces with strict parameters: PCGS AU58 with even, Brown color and no/minimal dark spotting.
the PCGS pop report shows 53 coins but I have only found 3-4 and both fell short of my "color and spotting" requirements.
--- what is the hardest date?? ironically, it's turned out to be 1866.
my suggestion to you or anyone else who struggles with you dilemma is simple: set you grade or price constraints before you start to assemble the set or buy the first coin, do your homework about price and availability. I knew I'd have trouble finding a few of these set coins, just not the one that's proved to be the real "stopper" for me.
I would save cash in reserve rather than buying a gold coin near record high gold prices
Are you assuming that gold prices will be lower in the future after continued massive deficit spending and a ballooning national debt?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
yes, I am recognizing all commodity prices go up and down and feel we are not at a new floor for precious metal values.
My collection is 25% holes.
6 out of 24 are stoppers.
If you accept failure from the beginning, it's easier on your ego.
My Saint Set
Failure is not an option!8
*It's a guarantee
Soooo, you already have the 75 no S
Missing! Along with the the 68 and 70 no S.. but those don’t cost more than my house 😱
My capital plastics holder thankfully is missing them as well
68 & 70? I learn a lot listening to you guys. Will be checking my sets later
If you have to ask, this set is not the best use of your money. Skip it and don’t sweat it. You’ll come up with a better idea and the money will be gone soon enough.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Aren't most sets that way?
It seems like it. Even a basic short set like the Susan B Anthony has that 1981 type two that’ll run you about 150 bucks.
EDIT ok make that $75-90... far from the $280 I paid 10 years ago. 😩
Don’t sweat it. I can’t think of a set that doesn’t have large spreads from date runs. Just find coins that make you want them instead of money and all will be well.
I've been working on an 1858 set for many years. There are 29 denomination/mm coins in the set. There are two that due to cost I won't attempt to buy.
Given that there are 27 other coins there was no way they were going to all be the same grade unless I bought a seriously lower grade for many of the coins than I could afford. So, I set an equal top price for every coin that I was willing to spend. This does mean the coin grades bounce around a bit, but, for myself, I'd rather have the highest grade coin that I could reasonably afford for each of the denomination/mm's.
U.S. Type Set
Worry not, I did just find a new way to make my money disappear!
As my friend @TomB once said to me when I was thinking about buying an expensive coin:
"Be a man; pony up; WTF's wrong with you?"
Was it a coin in TomB's inventory?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
No. It was at another dealer's table at a show in Baltimore.
In the sets I have collected, there is always at least one stopper. It is quite a joy to be able to add that coin in the range I was looking for, even if it takes a bit longer. I think I would save up and get the coin you think you want. You will be much happier in the long run with the whole set. I dont think I would buy the most expensive one first, but get into the set slowly and learn more about it. That way, if you change your mind, you havent laid out too much money.
Im curious though, what is this mysterious type set you keep mentioning? Im guessing a certain year with special significance perhaps? That is something I have considered in the past!
Buy the best you can afford. Choose a PQ example that matches well with the higher grade examples in the set.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I don't care about matching grade levels, and would rather collect a set in considerably varying grades since I like well worn coins as much as AU coins.
I never thought I would get a small eagle half dollar until recently:
(actually the 1797 half is 100X the cost of an 1806 DBH in G4)