Large Cents

I don't think that set was EVERY one since there are possibly many hundreds of varieties of those things. Must have been like mine a YEAR only set.
And your not the only one with no patience to study all those. I still have no idea what people mean when they say it's a N-3 or something like that. I'm about ready to shelve this set.

Carl, it is possible to enjoy the large cents without worrying about the varieties. When people talk about this being an N or S whatever it is simply a shorthand way of referencing the particular die marriage as identified in the standard references by Howard Newcomb or Dr William Sheldon. An additional identification feature that allows a more specific identification. It is like with the identification of a person. You can say this is a man. This is a 59 year old man. This is a 59 year old man named John Smith. This is John Smith 59 yr old who lives at 123 Sycamore St Kenton NJ etc etc etc. At each stage it becomes more specific and we know more and more about him. It can be the same with the large cents. This is a large cent. This is a large cent in VF. This is an 1803 large cent in VF. This is an 1803 S-257 large cent in VF. This is an 1803 S-257 in VF die state IV with the Cud on the reverse swallowing STATES OF.

I will admit that if you don't have the references and aren't familiar with what identifies each die marriage it can be confusing or even boring, but each collector is free to stop at any step along the way in the identification process. The large cents are widely collected by die marriage, (and those of us who collect them that way do tend to babble on about them) but they don't have to be. But it does mean that if a cent is a rarer variety it will probably be identified and priced accordingly.

Now it is true that you won't find large cents to be cheap, but how many 160 to 200 year old coins are cheap? And the large cents as date coins do tend to be cheaper than the other denominations from their era. Especially the late dates Compare their prices in VF or XF to other denominations in the 1840 to 1857 range. There are only three rare dates in the set, 1793, 1799, and 1804. (There are some lesser semi-keys but they pale in comparison to the big three. and all can be obtained for under $100 each in low grade.) Those keys, and even the semi keys have availabilities that make things like the 16-D dime look common.

Sounds to me Carl after reading your other post and this one you are just looking for something else to collect without having a real interest in the subject. You said you have 100 albums that are not filled yet, why not work on completing something, anything before moving on to something new. Have a goal and reach it before starting anything else ?
As was said they are not that expensive considering their age, they are not coins from the 1900's. most other older coins are up there in price too. Most lower grade Mid and Late dates can be had for way under 50 bucks.
You have 36 now out of a possible 64 and you just started collecting them? I just dont see the problem, you are half way there. A year set is the most logical way to start Large Cents, if you want to go for varieties then you have a huge undertaking on your hands.

Tony

Like me, I only collect the dates and not the varieties. It's nice to have a type example from each year. To keep it in the realm of affordability, I am doing a G-VG set. Yes, some are costly but, unlike some of my other sets (IHC's, Barber dimes) I will buy the big $ coins later.
There is something about old copper, kind of like a fine wine of the Coin World