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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,627 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1080 Posts |
ok, help me out here. I have plenty of sets of coins that I bought at melt prices and then filled in the keys with the cheapest junk I could find -- V nickels, Mercs (minus the 16-D), WLH, Franklin halves, etc. So I decided to build my set of Washington quarters and to make it an actual nice set that I could be proud of. I'm slowly pulling the BU and AU silver coins as I find them. The copper-nickel coins are all from mint sets (except 82 and 83 of course, but the ones I picked up actually look better than many of the mint set versions). I have a couple that are probably only XF, and I think that's my goal -- XF or better all the way through. So here's where I need input. I'm shopping around to fill in the 32-S and 32-D slots. How do you feel about AU-cleaned or XF details coins? They are out there at attractive prices, and looking at some of the photos, I think I could totally live with these coins. What do some of you say who have had nicer sets for a long period of time? Do those "details" coins nag at you? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3276 Posts |
I don't have any nicer sets, but to me... If I were going to shell out the money for a key date, I would definitely only go with problem free. I can't see paying a lot of money to get a key that has problems, even if it is cheaper than the non problem version. That's just my preference, I like coins that have not been tampered with, even if it will cost me more.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3278 Posts |
details grade is a slab thing.
If you putting a set together, in a grade you have chosen
and the coin is nice enough for your set then go for it.
Please yourself, not some grader somewhere.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2651 Posts |
I don't have a quarter set...but I have a 32s :) Its not the prettiest...but I like it!
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Valued Member
United States
123 Posts |
Quote:
details grade is a slab thing.
If you putting a set together, in a grade you have chosen
and the coin is nice enough for your set then go for it.
Please yourself, not some grader somewhere. Agreed. I would be concentrate on high-mintages for now while patiently looking for the keys and waiting for a good deal on a coin you like. |
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Valued Member
United States
239 Posts |
Ultimately, it is up to you. How passionate are you about your hobby? Why the rush to get the key dates right away? You don't have to complete the set in a certain time frame, you have all the time in the world buddy!
Start with the easier dates like everyone else has been saving and eventually you will find nice XF / AU key dates for a price that you think is well worth it. Don't rush into it otherwise you will most likely regret your decisions.
I always say, why half butt something for yourself? It's like building your own house, but doing shotty work. Wouldn't you feel more proud and more eager to show off if you put some real time and effort into it? Same goes for you collection!
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Valued Member
United States
404 Posts |
Just my 2 cents...if you're going to knowingly buy a cleaned coin, I would just go with the XF. It sounds like you just enjoy putting the sets together, the grades don't really matter so I don't see the point in spending the extra money. I'm having the same problem with the Walking Liberty halves. I don't have a high grade set so far, and I haven't figured out how I want to attack the 1921's. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1080 Posts |
I'm already keeping an eye on the keys for a couple of reasons. I think the prices on 32-D and 32-S quarters are down right now, so it's a good time to snap one up. I also think if I buy the keys early in the collecting that it will help define the quality of the rest of the set. It also helps my mindset. Once I've spent XXX dollars on a key, I have an easier time spending XX dollars on a semi-key. My other sets I've found myself replacing common dates where I tried to save a buck or two.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3276 Posts |
Very good points specksynder.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
584 Posts |
Its all about the details! lol I say buy it! If you come across one you like that fits your budget I say go for it. You can always sell it at a later date when your ready to up grade. But what ever makes you happiest go with. If the details bother you after a while, upgrade them. At least you'll have a complete set. If that's what you enjoy. I'm constantly bouncing between grade and ownership, some issues I've got to go for the fence, even if the price is a little out of my league. But sometimes to satisfy my urge I will pick up one I can afford when I can, because on some I just can't wait.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
Get the best coin you can in the grade you've chosen, for a lightly circulated set, the keys and semi keys should be at least AU. I've worked on my BU silver Washington set for more than five years now, with one coin left to go: just waiting on finding the right problem free '32D in MS61/62. This is probably the year that I drop a grand and go for it. It's one of the few classic sets remaining thats affordable that you can get all of the dates over time in BU. Once you drop quantity for quality, the availability of affordable classic coins drops tremendously. With that in mind, don't buy a key date that's been cleaned, whizzed, dipped or otherwise looks unnatural for the grade. It may be a bargain at the time, but you have to live with the coin, and such a coin in a set will stand out negatively from its problem free neighbors like a sore thumb. Since it will be a quality set, you have to let go of the "any coin will do" mentality. You've gone past the point the filling holes in folders to acquiring choice eye appealing specimens in a specific grade, so why compromise on the key dates?
Edited by Bizybackson
01/10/2012 05:01 am
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Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
For me, I have no problem with a coin if the "problem" causing the "detail" grade is not visible to my naked eye and the price is right.
Regardless of what I think, the most important thing is that you are happy with the coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2295 Posts |
Also, look for eye appeal. No matter if the coin was cleaned or not, if the eye appeal isn't there, it would be tough to sell later on, if you want to upgrade that coin.
There are some coins, when cleaned correctly, that do look nice. I think all of the taboo around cleaned coins has gotten a huge bad wrap. There are many more cleaned coins out there, especially silver ones from the 1800s and early 1900s than we can all count. I have seen some slabbed coins by ANACS that say cleaned and you can't notice it.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,627 |
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Posted 01/09/2012 7:19 pm
