Just Started Classic Commemoratives 50 Piece Type Set

- IIRC, while it's not quite the case for those that the more expensive an issue is, the scarcer it is in non-MS grades (even comparatively), it's still a good rule of thumb, and the rarest types in non-MS are also some of the most expensive (Hawaiian, Spanish Trail).

I considered the 50-piece type set until I looked up their prices... 3 figures almost all except a few of the most common!
Now I'm not sure if I'd even find enough affordable examples to fill the 7070 row of four; I might have to get modern commemoratives for that, which would just be sad...

Looking good!

Enjoy the journey and keep us updated.

Welcome to the pursuit of a wonderful type set of USA coinage history. Your initial 7 coins have you off to a good start. Learn all you can about the history behind each coin and you'll certainly expand your enjoyment of the coins and pursuit.

You've chosen a good time to pursue such a set as prices are lower for these coins compared to 4-5 year ago .... not that they are inexpensive by any means.

I've long been a fan of the classic silver commemorative set ... and have completed type sets both MS and honestly circulated. For me, the opportunity to pursue 50 different coin designs ... each with a unique history ... was and remains a wonderful collecting experience.




A few thoughts come to mind from my experiences:

Your strategy of pursuing the 'most expensive coins' in circulated state will likely not bring you closer to your goal. Unlike the majority of US Mint production, these coins were not intended for circulation and, as such, honestly circulated examples for many (most) are in fact much more difficult to come across than mid-MS examples.

If you were pursuing say Lincoln Cents then such a strategy would work - you could obtain certified VF examples of the 1909-S VDB or 1914-D at lower cost then an MS63 example because they are available in the market.

That is not the case with this type set - a strategy of selecting your 1935 Spanish Trail (for example) in VF will not work. Even if you found one (I've been looking for over 10 years) you'll find the coin to be more expensive than an MS63 example due to collector demand for the honestly circulated example.

Second thought for you to consider is what I'm going to call 'optimal collecting grade'. There exists a market price for each MS type coin that slowly increases as the grade increases until the point where there is a significant price increase for a single grade jump. The 'optimal collecting grade' is the MS grade just before that big jump.

It's different for each coin in this MS type set - and some research on your behalf can identify the OCG for each. That would allow you to maximize the grades of your MS type set with not much additional investment.

As an example from your coins pictured above - your 1936 Oregon Trail is a handsome coin that anyone would be proud to own. At MS62 it is well below the "OCG" and you likely could have found an MS65 type Oregon Trail for just a few dollars more.

Again - welcome to this pursuit and I look forward to watching and reading as your type set grows.

Great start to a fun series to collect. I never understood how relatively inexpensive these coins are compared to their mintages. Enjoy the series as many of us do!

I began assembling my set as a young man with a piece here and another there filling slots in my Whitman album. Forgotten for times, additions in clusters and after over 40 years I am now down to the one Hawaiian example for a type set. these coins are a pleasure to view and I wish you success in your search for quality coins to add to your set.

I agree with others - you are off to a great set with your first seven coins!

The US commemorative series is my favorite series to collect. I started with a raw "BU" set, then upgraded it to a PCGS MS-63 set then upgraded that set to PCGS MS-65 and up. I've enjoyed the trip and have shared my current collection here on CCF.

The series definitely has a few coins that are expensive in mint state, but, as noted by nickelsearcher, some of them are expensive in circulated grades as well. I would suggest an approach that attempts to match the coins in your set as best you can, even if it means the pace of purchase needs to be slowed.

Each of the coins you have posted appears to be an attractive, problem-free, lustrous example. A worn VF example of a more scarce coin in the set would look out of place in such company and it would always be something that stands out and catches your eye as you view your collection.

I would suggest limiting yourself to coins that grade no lower than AU-55. It is a grade that you can find very nice looking coins with lots of luster but just the slightest amount of wear. There are nice AU examples out there that present every bit as nice as a mid-grade mint state coin except for some very minor wear. I recently saw a lustrous Isabella in PCGS AU-58 that was a dead ringer for an MS-63/64 coin - I had to look hard for the wear!

Take your time, get to know the "look" of each coin and wait for nice examples. I would also suggest not leaving all of the scarcer coins to the end of your journey. Such coins will experience the biggest price jumps when the market turns and commemorative coins are "hot" again.

Have fun!

It's all about the look! Many friends have heard me say 'if it doesn't make me feel like a kid at Christmas (or other similar analogy), I've learned to pass.' This presupposes your budget as well.
Have fun!