INTENTMy intent when I started my type set was to be able to show people what designs the US Mint had issued from 1792 through 1964.
I wanted to be able to do a show-and-tell.
SCOPETo that end I grabbed my
Red Book and wrote down all of the different designs.
I included the various varieties that weren't Mint errors.
For instance both
Buffalo nickel design types were included BUT NOT such coins as the 3-leg (hence two
Buffalo nickels were all that were required).
I then discovered the NGC Registry Sets and found that I had missed a couple design varieties (by their definition) which I added to my list.
I also found that NGC had two different gold type sets: one that started with the first gold coins issued by the Mint, and one that went only back to issues
first struck in 1834 or after.
Because of the price of early gold coins I went with the "short" set (1834-1933).
COIN SPECIFICS (Grade vs. Cost)My initial idea was to get coins that had enough design elements remaining so that someone looking at them would be able to see what the Mint intended.
So my first criteria was:
-- XF or better
-- $500 or less
-- slabbed by PCGS or NGC (I had already decided to do an NGC Registry type set)
After acquiring the 20th century coins (mostly in MS) it quickly became apparent that my criteria were going to have to give a bit.
My decision was to hold to "XF or better" with the understanding that $500 wasn't going to be enough in many cases.
CURRENT STATUSMy
gold type set (NGC short set definition) is
complete.
I held to my "XF or better" criterion except for the Classic Head Half Eagle which is an 1836 in VF-30.
My nickel type set is complete "XF or better".
My copper type set is
NOT complete; I'm missing a number of the issues from the decade of the 1790's. Some I will
never get unless I hit the lottery. Most of the ones I
DO get will be less than XF.
My silver type set is
NOT complete; I'm missing a number of the issues from the decade of the 1790's. Some I will
never get unless I hit the lottery. Most of the ones I
DO get will be less than XF.
BOTTOM LINEMy Cu/Ni/Ag type set was 15th in the NGC Registry last I saw.
I don't remember where my Au type set ranked.