Indian Head Cents Question

Good points all around!

The main point is this, low grade or junk coins always remain just that. In the end they are not resellable and generally a waste of money. Higher grade coins and Semi-key or Key date coins always remain desireable are nice to own and are in demand if you need to sell at some point. Take your time and build a nice set. Of course if you just want a set of lower grade coins and that makes you happy then by all means buy them but don't offer more than a buck appiece per coin maximum for common date low grade specimens!

with Jbuck--no rules here, but I think it's a mistake for a new collector of IHCs to buy keys/semi-keys first--unless they're all slabbed. Better advice is to buy common coins first and get a feeling for what cleaned/whizzed/dipped IHCs look like, because there are many out there.

The previous post are quite correct if you are buying willy-nilly from people you don't know or sight unseen, but, if you are trying to assemble a nice collection you should be buying from a reputible dealer. Most are willing to help you along the way so you you don't end up making costly mistakes. I laugh at people who buy coins from people they don't know thinking they really got a great deal or one upped that seller and then whine when they get home and realize they've been burned. Stick with a reputible dealer at first and acquire some good examples of fairly high grade coins to study and then after a year or so you'll feel more comfortable purchasing from auctions, sales, etc. Don't waste money on low grade common coins.

its always the same cliche what someone is willing to pay to for something they want plain and simple

I think what you are seeing is the 1907 underneath the position. Look at the first page when it's turned, the 1877 slot is empty.

There are a few empty holes "hiding" on the first page.

When is the auction? I hope you can look them over well, before you bid on them.

One reason to buy the keys first, is if your budget is limited, to get them first, since the price on the keys tends to go up much faster than the common ones.

If I did that in the 80s, I'd have the keys at a fraction of what they are today. Most people don't try to complete a set, once they see how expensive the keys are, compared to the rest of the coins. So they lose interest in that series. Instead I tried to get the common coins from most series first, before buying any keys. I should have focused on 1 or 2 series with the keys first.

And then I'd have a couple of complete sets, instead of many incomplete ones. Not a big deal though. I'm focusing on the keys and I'll probably sell most of my common coins to do so. I'm more interested in key coins now, in better grades, than the series as a whole.