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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
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My advice for folks starting out collecting Large Cents is to make their first expense membership in EAC. While I'm an EAC member, myself, I humbly disagree with this suggestion. For a newbie copper collector, the EAC material. articles, nomenclature, etc. can be overwhelming and potentially discouraging in the process. Simply buy some recommended books and acquire eye-appealing coins with problem-free planchets for starters. By focusing on the more common, later dates first, one can aquire a few decent specimens a month and still have some money to apply for books; this, on a $100 monthly budget. Attend area shows, join a local coin club or two and network with fellow enthusiasts in the process. Peruse and study the auction archives for companies like Stack's, Heritage and Goldberg. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3229 Posts |
 paymehigher. Buy the book(s) first is really good advice! Along with specialty large cent books be sure to have a RedBook to look through. It will have the major varieties and a "general" price guide and pictures to guide you what you feel you are attracted to. Also, feel free to make a few low end purchases to get your feet wet. See which coins speak to you. Many may disagree with this, but I feel that I have learned a lot from buying a few low end and even damaged coins. Of course I am now looking for higher end coins:D Most important; have fun! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Exoguy's advice is right on the money! And, don't waste money on junk LC's.
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Valued Member
United States
272 Posts |
Personally I had this kinda problem when I put together my 20th and 21st century type set, and the way that I started was a good grade coin. I'm all about detail so for me usually had to pay a little more, but as time has gone on I've bought the same coins in a better grade and sold the lower grade coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3162 Posts |
as far as your personal collection go for at least vf-xf coins as they are not that pricey and you can see the details well. It is helpful I think to dabble with buying and reselling some of the lower priced coins. If you do it right you can add to that $100 monthly budget and get a good feel for what you should pay for the nicer ones.
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Valued Member
United States
272 Posts |
i agree with jerryc39 its all about timing and getting the right grades at the right time
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1304 Posts |
I too agree with ExoGuy. I started with the later braided hair series of large cents, they can be had in better shape for lower prices than the earlier ones. This was just to get my feet wet and to learn a little without dropping large amounts of money. I collected for over a year before joining EAC, this gave me enough time to learn the ropes so that I could understand what I was reading in the EAC publications. As far as books, I would hold off on buying them until you know for sure you want to collect large cents beyond a date set (the books aren't exactly budget friendly), the number of varieties is overwhelming and some of the books cover each and every minute detail (not helpful to beginners imo). I suggest you start with a late date set, explore the series, figure out what you want to collect within the series then make your book purchase before jumping into nicer, harder to find varieties/dates. I went this route with US Half Cents and it has worked well for me. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
I have been looking for a large cent to go in my type set for a long time now. Sadly all the ones I have seen have some kind of damage. There are a ton of large cents that have been holed, bent, cleaned, and who knows what else. It takes time, but you should not pay for junk.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
My advice about collecting Large Cents is as follows: DON'T DO IT. To make it easy I started collecting Large Cents but only a year only set. It's in a Whitman Classic Album. AFter many years now it still needs about 7 coins. their prices can go up to more than the car I use to get to a coin show. If you try for a complete set, be prepared to spend a few million dollars and still not have them all.  A bit of an exageration but they do get expensive. At one coin show there is a dealer that had about 4 tables of mostly all Large Cents. Other dealers told me he is rather famous for that. Supposedly has millions of dollars tied up in them. One dealer I've purchased some from told me he has been trying to get a complete set of those for himself for over 30 years now. If you look up all the varieties people claim there is, you could end up spending the rest of your life looking for them all. Might be easier to just make your own. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
just carl has a good point. On a limited budget, you might consider doing a type set of as nice of examples as you can afford, going back as early as you can afford (since chain and wreath cents are pricey). I have been updating my 7070 with high grade large cent and Half Cents, and it is quite enjoyable, but that set only goes back to the draped bust series. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
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trying to get a complete set of those for himself for over 30 years now. If you look up all the varieties people claim there is, you could end up spending the rest of your life looking for them all. Precisely why I collect them..... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
I'm a relatively new early copper collector, and have immersed myself into the EAC pool deep, I hardly have any coins yet, but did join the EAC and bought every book I could find on them, (see my posts on EAC books, in the books and supplies forum). I find them fascinating - more so than almost any other coin series encompassing United States Issues. (a few of my posts on them below); https://goccf.com/t/166811https://goccf.com/t/157434https://goccf.com/t/159115https://goccf.com/t/115285One of my favorite stories from a guy that began to collect early coppers: http://www.largecents.net/articles/...cle-jp1.htmlHe tells the story well, and really seems to be like my foray into EAC collecting also, though I'm only a neophyte at this point. One thing I've found is that EACers will help you out if they know you are serious, there is so much to learn, I'm really hoping to attend the EAC convention in Colorado Springs this spring. Even though I've found I can't afford a lot of the coins - I get just as much pleasure studying them in books and auction catalogs, never had that interest in other series of coins. I do come from a error and variety collecting background, so the Sheldon and Cohen sets are right up my alley! I'm having a blast and trying to absorb as much knowledge of our 1st coins as I possibly can. The books, (there are so many good ones) can be as expensive as your monthly budget or 3 months worth in some cases, I've tried like heck to acquire as many as I can. "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
Collect coins you like. I've never liked anything other than the early Liberty Caps, which limits me to 1793-1796, but there's a lifetime's project
Buy the single most expensive coin you can afford. Don't buy any more unless you like that one. I returned a VF 1795 because ANACS slabbed it as details because of graffiti. That put me off my large cent appetite for a while. Same thing goes for dings, retooling, pitting, polishing, etc etc.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
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Valued Member
United States
324 Posts |
People say buy the book first before the coin and I disagree. It is better to have some large cents in your hand to better understand what the book is trying to teach you.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
Quote:
People say buy the book first before the coin ... Bluegrassriver - IMHO, this advise wasn't intended to be taken literally. It's aimed at those who buy coins without doing any study, those who make impulsive, uninformed purchases. While serious collectors certainly see coins as being more than simple commodities, coins are commodities, nonetheless. Whether buying a car, a microwave or a coin, it certainly pays in the long run for consumers to do some homework; this, by buying/borrowing a book or two. Of course, when an uninformed collector later bemoans making a poor purchase, he/she can always rationalize and blame the seller. That's one "upside" if you will that I can see after making an uninformed purchase. Another "upside" is that later realizing an ill-informed purchase may lead to the purchase of a coin book! Sadly, I've witnessed too many would-be coin collectors who were easily discouraged by making uninformed purchases; only to afterwards drift away from this great hobby. P.S. - Please, don't take my use of the word "upside" literally. I wrote that tongue-in-cheek! Edited by ExoGuy
02/01/2014 12:11 pm
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Posted 01/21/2014 10:00 am
