Best Seated Series?

Veridicus · November 24, 2003 5:41AM

Dollars?

Halves?

Quarters?

20c?

Dimes?

Half Dimes?

Any why do you think so?

LanLord · November 24, 2003 5:42AM

dollars

because of the 1838 - 39 Gobrecht releases. That cool looking eagle on the back.

Placid · November 24, 2003 5:43AM

Dollar. Easier to see.

boiler78 · November 24, 2003 5:44AM

What Placid said

Barry · November 24, 2003 7:35AM

I'm a dime guy.

Conder101 · November 24, 2003 7:37AM

Half dimes. They are actually doable. There are no absolute stoppers in the set, other than the 70-S. Lots of tough pieces and some pricy ones but they are reachable.

JoyofCollecting · November 24, 2003 7:47AM

Dimes:

These were the working man's coins representing about a day's wages during that incredible part of American history that started with western expansion and ended when the expansion was complete.

I absolutely love the series!

lordmarcovan · November 24, 2003 7:48AM

Like 'em all. Dollars are the most visually impressive, but it's hard to find (or afford) nice ones, so I would go for halves or quarters.

20-centers are fun. I also like the No Stars dimes and half-dimes.

I keep thinking about doing a Seated dime year set... but only of coins with love token reverses!

When I completed my old Seated Type Set, I also included the Trade Dollar as a Seated type, though like the 20-cent piece, it's sort of a black sheep Seated coin.

coachleonard · November 24, 2003 7:55AM

I like the seated half dime and dime no stars types too--- they were only made for part of 2 years plus, to me, they have the look of pattern coins. Plus, in the half dime series, an 1864-s, Civil War silver issue with a mintage of 90,000, retails for only $35 in GOOD! Imagine what an Indian Head Cent with a mintage of 90,000 would retail for!

XpipedreamR · November 24, 2003 8:26AM

I like the dimes, because I actually have a nice one

Trime · November 24, 2003 8:49AM

They are all nice.
My preference has been HD,D,20C, q,Halves, dollars in that order of number owned. The dollars wonderful collector pieces because of limited number available.

Veridicus · November 24, 2003 8:55AM

I've always considered the no drapery coins to be some of the most beautiful US coins, especially the 1836 dollar and the no stars dime and half dime. I never really understood why, when they went to the drapery format, they changed the hubs and fattened Miss Liberty up, i.e check out the out of proportion Schwartzenegger arms on the Half Dime Miss Liberty! For some reason, the half dollar hub was kept the same and a small drapery fold was added but all the rest of the denominations had entirely new hubs created which were much less aesthetic. So, entire series' considered, I like the halves the best but I've always been annoyed at the lack of date/mint mark symmetry. It hums along until 1879-1891 when we only get Philadelphia issues. From an overall date/minmark interest perspective, I like the dimes best.

mgoodm3 · November 24, 2003 8:58AM

I like them all. Halfdimes are cool besause few care about them. Dollars are cool because of size.

Rittenhouse · November 24, 2003 9:40AM

Veridicus,

Seated was redesigned because Victorian sensibilites (a true oxymoron, heavy on the moron) were offended by the diaphenous gown that exposed Miss Liberty's figure and actually showed her (gasp!) elbow.

All but the half dollar were done by the American minaturist Robert Ball Hughes, who's fleeting fame vastly exceeded his talent. Realizing that the half was the largest coin likely to circulate in reasonable numbers, Gobrecht did the half himself, slightly modifying the master die.

tjkillian · November 24, 2003 9:56AM

Because the half is closest to Gobrect's design, and it is large coin, it is the best one.

Tom

p.s. Half Dimes is the only one doable, though.

tjk

Veridicus · November 24, 2003 9:58AM

Thanks Rittenhouse! Hughes should have been flogged. I wonder why all the hubs weren't modified like the half. It would seem like that would have been easier than creating new ones.

lordmarcovan · November 24, 2003 10:00AM

Interesting, Rittenhouse.

While I like all Seated coins, I have to admit that Lady Liberty looks rather butch on some of the post-drapery dimes and half dimes, kinda like she was takin' steroids. Gobrecht's original was far more graceful.

PS- Here's one of my favorite detector finds from around here:

Look, Ma! No Drapery!

MacCoin · November 24, 2003 10:03AM

.25 big enough to see cheap enough for me to buy in a little better grade.

Barry · November 24, 2003 11:34AM

Inspired by the style of Baley, here's my (completed) Seated Dime collection. The holes with little papers in them are place markers for slabbed coins. After doing the pics, I noticed some of them need to be updated (and sell that 1866 AG-3 has been upgraded and slabbed). Something else for the to do list... I kept the pics small (~20K each) so I don't incite the wrath of the dial-up guys. They really didn't turn out too good. Many look a lot darker than they really are. If anyone wants to see bigger pics, let me know, and I'll work on them tomorrow.

Coinosaurus · November 24, 2003 11:35AM

All seated coins are cool. Some reasons why I like this series:

* You can buy condition consensus coins at reasonable prices (anywhere from 2K on up)

* Specialized knowledge of the entire series is beyond the grasp of many dealers - good opportunities for the collector to find value

* Not a lot of people are ambitious enough to take on a whole series - leaving room for the rest of us!

* Seated coins are generally much more rare than their 20th century counterparts

* There are still plenty of research opportunities, unlike early copper which has been analyzed to death, etc. There is nice article on 42-O half dime die states which just came out in the new issue of the Gobrecht Journal - excellent read.

* And the top thing, you can cover a whole coin show by just talking to a dozen key dealers.

Nic · November 24, 2003 11:56AM

Great set Barry. K

mdwoods · November 24, 2003 12:09PM

I would choose Half Dollars. I like the size of a 1/2.

toyonakataro · November 24, 2003 12:15PM

I'm with Conder101
The only series I can collect by date and mintmark except for the unique 70s.
I also like other denom and own a few, but they are too expensive for me.
If I had more money, I would also collect seated dollers....both smallest and largest of the series.

Dave99B · November 24, 2003 3:05PM

Barry, nice collection, man. Neat!

I prefer (and collect) the quarters myself. It's a challenging series, but then again, all better date seated material is tough.

Dave

oldcameoproofsguy · November 24, 2003 4:04PM

I might try and put together a with moto proof quarters set in PR65. The reason is that it will be challenging but not so prohibitively priced that it can never be done.

ccr · November 24, 2003 4:35PM

Gobrect dollars I really like and out of reach for me money wise. I like the seated series too and like them all. But if I where to pick one in my price range it would be the quarters. Not alot in the field part but, alot of detail for the size. This is the only seated coin I have and hope to add a few more as time goes on.

michael · November 24, 2003 4:41PM

half dimes and dimes! followed closely by trade dollars i think trade dollars are seated coins!!??

another close follower are the quarters and twenty cent pieces/halves

the dollars are too expensive for most

but i guess all are overall good

michael

koinkrazy · November 24, 2003 10:50PM

My vote goes for the quarter. Alot of neat varieties. I am working on a date and mint set.

Best Seated Series?

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