Brand new to collecting US silver coins and looking for a direction

You have to find what it is that You like.
Is it buying coins or finding coins?
Depending on what you’re after, if it’s Peace dollars like your grandfather gave you then buying is finding. And that’s great!
For me it’s finding coins and then having them graded and the thrill of turning .01 into 100.00 or more.

So I search rolls, mint, and proof sets looking for those opportunities. But if you want to just put a complete set of coins together of a type that you like then for now I would suggest buying PCGS graded coins. At least until you learn more and become more efficient at grading. And until such time reframe from buying raw coins or coins that are slabbed in anything other than the top 3 TPGs, that being PCGS, NGC, ANACS.
(Did I spell that correctly) honestly and for the best return buy PCGS only
For now!

Happy Hunting,
Chris

If you want to get a little experience in collecting sets of silver coins then the Franklin Half dollars would be a good start. It's a relatively easy set to assemble in circulated condition coins and also inexpensive. You can either buy an album for the halves or assemble them in 2x2's.

What is it about the few different things here and there you’ve picked up that doesn’t feel like a direction?

My 2 cents:

Definitely pick up a Redbook, and look through it. See what jumps out at you from a coin design perspective. Once you see something interesting, try and visit a coin shop or coin show, and see how they look in-hand. At that point you will likely be hooked.

Another thing you might want to do is decide if you want to focus on a single series (for example, Mercury dimes, or Lincoln cents), vs becoming a ‘type’ collector, where you pick up nice coins from different series. If you’re interested in completing a series, the Redbook will really help in terms of deciding what grade you can collect based on your budget.

Bottom line, there’s no rush. Take your time, and collect what you like.

Good luck,
Dave

That’s a great looking Half 👍

The Peace dollar set in a Dansco was the first one I completed in the raw and tad lower grade because the whole set was sort of the same price as a single Lincoln penny - the 1909 S V.D.B.
It also falls within the ballpark of your spending limit. Ofcourse the Keys 1921 and 1928 are the pricey ones to look out for.
The Roosevelt dimes are very doable (the Mercury dimes are fun but has the key dates that could take some time to source as the pocket permits)
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/roosevelt-silver-dime-values-and-prices-4056949
Another one is the nickels family (Jefferson, Buffalo, Liberty V nickels) that is not so expensive barring the key dates.
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/us-nickel-value-guides-768745
The Benjamin Franklin half dollars are also possible to be completed on a tight budget
https://www.gainesvillecoins.com/blog/most-valuable-franklin-half-dollars
Am suggesting these since it was the very same route I had taken while getting stuck with my Lincoln penny set and wanted a temporary diversion.

@Opie_IN said:
... I need help picking one type of coin that I will look back in two years and say "I had a fun time collecting those, and they are increasing in value".

I would not count on any purchased coins going up in value.
That is very hard to predict.
It's best to treat it as a hobby, where you would hopefully break even.

@Opie_IN ... First off... Welcome to the Forum! As others have already said, a great place to start and the first book I ever purchased is a copy of the Redbook. I poured through it as a kid and then bought an updated version when I resumed the hobby decades later. That book got me hooked on collecting Type Coins and then, ultimately, collecting Early Copper. The next book should be ANA Grading Standards or Scott Travers book on Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection... I have both. More recently, there are some pretty good YouTube videos on the basics of coin grading (surfaces, luster, wear, and more importantly... recognizing problems such as cleaning/hairlines/tooling/etc./etc.). I found those to be helpful too as I'm more of a visual learner. Once you decide on a series (if that's your direction) I highly encourage you to buy those books too.

Go slow. It's not a race to complete a set! Your monthly coin budget is about the same as mine which translates to buying a ~$350 coin about 3 times per year, or one major purchase (I'm low enough on the totem pole that $1k on a coin is a major purchase for me), while staying on budget. Of course, on the occasion I get a windfall or unexpected cash, anything that doesn't go into a Roth IRA or my retirement plan can be reasonably spent on my hobby... and this is just a hobby for me... I'm not expecting to make money here! My coin collecting (and guns) is part of my monthly Entertainment budget... much like going to the movies or eating at a nice restaurant. However, unlike those forms of entertainment, I can reasonably expect to recoup a certain amount of money I've put into my collection. I'll never get a dime back from going to watch "Ishtar" in the movie theater and I can pull out my coins and get lost in them for hours at a time! ...much more "Bang for the Buck"!

Lastly, don't hesitate to ask questions on the Forum. You have at your disposal some of the best eyes and brains that numismatics has to offer... quite literally, some of the Forum members here have "written the book" on their respective areas of expertise. Best, Leo

It's a great hobby, and yes very addictive. Buy your coins carefully, and select them based on great eye appeal. If you don't have anyone locally as a sounding board, put up some photos of your potential purchases, and you will get some critical opinions here on the board. I would only buy slabbed coins, and the CAC sticker is extra insurance. Coinfacts is really a nice resource too.

May I suggest Mercury Dimes. You have many different ways you can go with that series; you can complete almost the entire series in low grades (minus the 1916d key), buy a date set in vg-xf condition, buy slabbed common dates in high grades and have good examples, and they're always in demand and collectible.