Buying A Series As A Set Or One-At-A-Time?

Almost all dealers will assemble a complete set for you.About 15 years ago(before ebay)I bought a set of AU Edward large cents from J&M.It took about a month for them to get the set together,at the time it was well worth it.You will definitely pay less if you're careful and patient buying them on ebay.

Punman! It's easy to go out and buy an entire Collection or series of a particular denomination or grade, but what fun is that?
The whole purpose of Collecting "anything" whether it is bottle caps, wine bottles, oil cans or coins is "the thrill of the hunt"!
Collect each and every coin one at a time and when you look back at each piece it will bring back memories to you how you acquired it and from who. Going out and buying a collection or series all at once is boring and takes away from the learning, wheeling and dealing, bickering with dealers and other collectors over the price and the overall fun of Collecting.
To me, that's as important as the actual coin it's self.

Glenn

QUOTED: The whole purpose of Collecting "anything" whether it is bottle caps, wine bottles, oil cans or coins is "the thrill of the hunt"!
Collect each and every coin one at a time and when you look back at each piece it will bring back memories to you how you acquired it and from who.I like that comment. I have always bought individually thus far and it is fun that way. I needed a 1999 quarter recently and althought the price to buy was reasonable, I bought a few rolls from the bank and was lucky enough to find one. The time spent searching through with my son was memorable. It would have been just easier to buy one but not as fun. Of course some coins are impossible to find in that way.

Is there a coin show coming to your city soon, you can always go to a show, have a look a what's offered and choose the one you prefer from one dealer and the others from another. plus you can ask questions and can some fun time with your son

I'm still trying to complete my nickel and dime sets... and when I get an opportunity upgrade. While I'm not as active as I once was in hunting for hole-fillers... I do miss
meeting and dealing with some nice people... opportunities I never would have had to expand my knowledge base had I just gone out and bought an entire set.

I collected as a kid, pennies nickles and quarters and pretty much anything else,never bought a coin till about 10 years ago.Still a thrill to get a piece to add to a set, but as the previous post said it is great to have the story as to how you acquired it. I can recall a couple not to long ago when I found a 1873 indian head 1 cent ,it has a couple of scraps but othewise fine. I was thrilled and more so, that I did not have one in an otherwise fairly complete set . Today I have all but 4 to go to complete the series,but of all I am still proudest of the one on the sidewalk.
There is a great deal of satisfaction in completing a set.
I collect all denominations of Canadian and am getting concernd about what will I do when I finish them all...........probably won't happen, then there is the quality, upgrading, then another series or Country .Never ending.
If I looked at the time I have spent looking and assembling my sets, and all that goes with it and paid myself 10 cents an hour , my wages would be worth more than my collection. I some how still consider it time well spent.

Another vote for one at a time as well. I am a dealer and Do not collect per se . That said I have an Australian Penny collection in an old Whitman. Trying to match these in colour and VF 30 grade is about impossible after 40 years , but what fun! A very nicely matched set of any coin series is amzing to look at whether Choice or VG. Have fun and enjoy collecting the way you wish to!