Thoughts Of A 7070?

My personal thanks to all for your informed and considerate replies.

I have read them all ... and very much appreciate your shared wisdom from experience on this potential 7070 collecting adventure.

I distill your shared wisdom into the following expression ... my words to summarize what you have kindly shared ..

A satisfying Dansco 7070 is patiently built coin-by-coin by an informed collector who knows in the beginning of the quest what his grade and visual attraction goals are, and is willing to invest the necessary time and money in pursuit of knowledge and the myriad coins that meet this desired collecting standard.

Honestly can state that I have learned the tough lesson of 'know what you want' in my pursuit of the USA classic silver commemorative series.

To re-calibrate ... I am a newbie to the 7070 ... but have the growing desire and some resources to 'do it right' ...

Sooo ... question for you to consider ... Given a 3 to 5 year time horizon ... if you had say $30K to spend over that time ... how would you approach the 7070 to create a visually uniform set of lovely coins?

All continued opinions welcome and very much valued!

David

I started my type set with the 7070 ... but it's not as complete as I'd like for it to have been. I just got this stacking drawer set up from Vernon Coin. Each drawer has 20 2x2 compartments. I am going to buy the holders that fit, but the place I was shopping required that you place each item in your "shopping cart" as you made the selection .... not knowing that, I spent a considerable amount of time marking everything I wanted and hit the button ... one item in my cart. I didn't take the time to do it again. The 2x2s fit very securely in the compartments.

I'm going to build a mahogany cabinet to house the drawers and want to add another stack of 5 ... later. The aluminum case would be great for somebody who collected old 78 rpm records.

Chance

Are you looking to fill an album or have the slabbed cac approved as with your commemoratives?

I'd have to agree with Bryan and others. With 30k you should be able to build an AU+ 7070 with the Gold page included. Unless of course Gold goes crazy in the next 3-5 yrs. Would be an amazing set.

Sorry I'm behind the power curve on this one David, but may I impart some advice from one who has traveled this road? I know your proclivity (like mine) to upscale. That was a wonderful process for me in my three iterations of the 7070. I currently have only two coins under AU and those are the first two in the series of Large Cents. Given that, I estimate an investment (and it IS an investment) of $25K thus far in my v3.0. The first trip through the process was getting my feet wet while learning about the coins and their histories. The final two were upgrading/tweaking. I have no doubt at some point I will again attack the set and try to go even higher with it (at the expense of some of my other series excepting the commemoratives of course ) Knowing your love for minutia, there could be very few undertakings that would give you more pleasure IMHO. Bottom line, I'd do a set to do the set and then wrap around and really get into it. Whatever your decision, I know it will be something the rest of us will greatly enjoy vicariously and share your joy. PG

I have dealt with the issue by avoiding it.

I have yet to buy a slabbed coin. As time goes on, it is becoming an inevitability. When time comes, I am certain it will be a lower grade coin; it may even have a details grade if the eye appeal is still there and the price is right.

Just a side note for those of you who may be interested in a 7070 project but the 3 years and $30,000 comments give you pause:

Well, my 7070 ranges from one AG to Proof, I love it and not only don't I see anything "off" about that grade range in the same book, but I prefer it (and I'm an analytical guy who generally needs to see everything in its perfect looking place and things tying out to 5+ decimal places). My final outlay will probably be about $1500, with more than a few coins coming from when I was a kid or gifts.

I like many things about my approach. I don't have a heart attack when I pull the F 1846 Seated Liberty dollar to let some kid feel the texture and weight of a real silver dollar. That's what got me into the hobby, not slabs, populations and investment returns. Many coins have a personal story too, unlike if I tried to assemble a high grade set from scratch. There's the 3 cent CN I received from my grandfather. The IHC I found in change. The MS 1970-S SD LMC I got for free with the purchase of 2 circ Merc dimes decades ago. The 1972 DDO-001 I found in change. The 1826 Bust Half I got as a gift. The $65 Half Dime I sniped for $26. The cleaned 20 cent piece I bought when I didn't know any better. The 2005 Marines Commemorative Dollar I got because dad was a Marine. The AG 1877 Seated Half I found in the outfield during Little League practice. Etc. Etc.

So if 3 years and $30K is your thing, it will be a pleasurable pursuit and no doubt spectacular, but there are other approaches that can be personally rewarding at a much lower cost.