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What would your top 10 be?
Vetter
Posts: 1,053 ✭✭✭✭✭
My collecting strategy is to acquire much better to key dates only including doubled dies and overdates.. No common coins and no full sets. My budget is $2000 max for any coin so there are some with pretty low grades.
If you were to put together a collection of just 10 coins with the max budget of $2000 each, what 10 coins would they be. US coins only.
I’m curious if your 10 is close to mine.
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With a $2000 per coin budget...
My first thought...
Ten keys / semi keys from the 1900’s to 1940’s
1909 s vdb cent
1909 s Indian cent
1914 d cent
1922 cent
1955 double die cent
1916 d dime
1916 slq quarter
1932 d quarter
1932 s quarter
And Something else that catches your eye.
I don't collect any US coins but using your criteria, I doubt there are 10 coins at current prices I would want to buy. The ones I can come up with (exactly five) are all common type; two are the draped bust half and seated dollar.
With a $2000 per coin budget I think I would put together a set of coins that remind me of my childhood:
1909 VDB Lincoln
- I had one when I was a kid...I couldn't afford the S.
1972 Double Die Lincoln
- I wanted both a 55 and a 72 DDO when I was young. Never got either. Since then I've owned a few 55 DDOs, all in mint state, and that's how I prefer them. I might have a hard time getting a nice mint state 55 DDO for $2K so I'd go for a high grade 72 DDO.
1937-D 3 Legged Buffalo Nickel
- I've always loved these
1865 Three Cent Nickel
- I had one when I was a kid
Half Dime
- I had one when I was a kid...I don't remember the date. So, for this collection, the date wouldn't matter.
Mercury Dime
- I had a high grade, late-date Mercury Dime when I was a kid. I think it was a 1945. I bought it from New England Rare Coin Galleries...I don't remember exactly, but it must have been over the phone with my mom paying for it or we sent them a check. I just remember checking our mailbox every day with great anticipation.
1878-CC Morgan Dollar
- My grandmother gave me one when I was a kid
1926-S Peace Dollar
- My grandfather gave me one when I was a kid.
Susan B. Anthony Dollar
- My dad and I were buying proof sets from the mint when these came out in the late 70s, so I'd try to get a high grade proof.
Any gold coin
- I never had one when I was a kid...and have owned very few as an adult.
Nearly all doubled dies and die varieties
01 1955 cent DDO-001
02 1972 cent DDO-001
03 1867 two cents DDO-001
04 1918-D five cents DDO-001 (8/7)
05 1937-D 3 legged
06 1873 10c DDO-001
07 1916 25c
08 1918-S 25c DDO-001 (8/7)
09 1934 25c DDO-001 + DDR-001
10 1943 25c DDO-011
It's too bad we're limited to 2 grand each.
BTW Vetter-20th century overdates ARE doubled dies-they are Class III doubled dies.
There are so many to choose from. I don't know if I can limit it to 10 coins. Here are some choices you can likely find with a $2000 budget/coin.
Chesterb out
I'm on a similar path, but am focusing on 20th century coins (because that's what I collected as a kid). I left out the 1909-S VDB cent and 1916-D dime - while they are iconic coins, for reason they just don't appeal to me. Here's what I have so far; I'm on the fence on varieties but if I were to add those then the 1955 DDO cent and 1937-D three-leg buffalo would be the targets.
1) 1914-D Lincoln in AU
2) 1921 Peace in MS
3) 1921-D Walker in VF
4) 1926-S Buffalo in XF
5) 1927-S SLQ in AU
6) 1934-S Peace in AU
7) 1889-CC Morgan in VF
8) 1907 $10 Eagle in MS (not rare, but I like the no motto design and first-year issues)
9) 1907 $20 Saint in MS (same rationale as the $10 Eagle)
I haven't been in any hurry to acquire these, because at my price point none of them is actually rare, and in these collector grades I don't expect them to appreciate much in price over time. It's really just the satisfaction of owning the keys and semi-keys of the series I loved as a kid. The practical part of my brain also hopes that they will maintain more of their value over time relative to common dates, even if coin values continue to slide relative to inflation (which I expect they will).
Off the top of my head would be tough.
Something along a Dansco 7070 approach.
Diversified in metal, denomination, centuries.
Key or semi key dates with eye appeal, problem free PCGS/NGC holders etc...
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Interesting criteria.
Mine would be much different, but if I could only have 10, I would pick the best possible Date / Mint combination while sticking with the price and conditional criteria.
Ten would be tough, so I think I'd stick with only Silver issues, just because of the limitation. All coins would HAVE to be with original skin and attractive toning commiserate to their age. Something like this;
Draped Bust Half in VF35 or better
Capped Bust Half (from the 20's) in AU55 or better
Arrows and Rays Half Dollar (53-O) in AU55 or better
No Motto Seated Dollar in AU55 or better
Morgan Dollar (from the 90's) in MS64 or better
Barber Quarter (from the 90's) in MS63 or better
Mercury Dime (teens/early 20's) in MS64 or better
Standing Liberty Quarter (19 or the early 20's) in MS63 or better
Walking Liberty Half (pre-36) in MS63 or better
Peace Dollar in MS64 or better
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Off the top of my head
Fugio
Type 1 buff
Matte proof Lincoln
yolo
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/date-sets/hashtags-prefect-coin-grading-service-1879/album/7621
Key date Lincoln cents have lost noticeable proportional value (all except maybe the 1955 DDO) over the last half century. I have looked at the data. This is adjusted for price changes since there has been so much inflation. If I were to check the others outside the Lincoln cent, I suspect most have too.
Unless the US collector base expands noticeably, it's going to be even worse going forward.
1807/6 Large 7 Draped Bust large Cent
1955 DDO Lincoln Cent
1867 DDO Two Cent
1918/7 Buffalo Nickel
1942/1 Mercury Dime
1934 DDO Washington Quarter
Partial list. I'd rather have higher grades than more examples of the same type variety.
1916d Mercury dime
1889 or 1893 cc Morgan
1928 peace dollar
1877 indian cent
1853 A&R 25 cent or 50 cent
1/2 cent or cent with a 17xx date
Gold $10 eagle
Would have to think about the last three.
I was thinking about a thread like this when we were debating the top coins of all time. The difference in this exercise vs. the other thread is that this exercise is achievable for most people. Not $2000 per coin for a set, but most people on this forum could afford one $2000 coin in their lifetime if they gave something else up.
For me, with a $2000 per coin cap, I would look 18th/19th century. I personally like errors and overdates but don't have any in my collection. So an 1801 3 errors cent in F12 looks like a $1500 coin retail. Or an 1802 1/000 cent those are more common so looks like you could go up to XF and stay under $2k. Looking for economical overdates that are clear to detect - an 1817/3 50c looks under $2k in XF so you should be able to see the date.
This is a fun exercise
.
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1878 Morgan Dollar 8TF VAMS 14.5 thru 14.19
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Here are five I recently purchased for <2K.
1877cc 25c ms65+
1804 1/2 AU58+
1891cc $10 Au58
1851-c G$1 Au58
1921 HR $1 ms65
I like these but weren't chosen with the stated goal in mind.