| Author |
 Replies: 16 / Views: 3,027 |
|
Valued Member
United States
453 Posts |
Every Christmas my wife takes my pile of pocket change, the common stuff of course, and puts it through the coin machine to give me a little foldin money in my stocking. Usually it just goes in my wallet and gets spent. This year I am thinking of getting a coin or two for my very modest collection of classoc American coins. This years total is $57 American.
I have hardly ever bought coins, I usually just keep thing I find but I am considering starting a half dollar collection and I also have an idea of getting a small collection of what would be circulating 100 years before I was born, 1879. I already have a Morgan from 79 and a nice 64 Kennedy. Anything you guys think I should look for?
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
283 Posts |
Franklin halves are a fun set to collect. Nothing too expensive and it's easy to complete. You could start a circulated set of those.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
How about a nice grade common date Seated Liberty half? There are some out there for that price or,a Walking Liberty half you can buy some MS grade dates for cheap |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2210 Posts |
Whatever coin you get, try to get one that's brilliant uncirculated. That way, even though it may not be rare, it'll always be beautiful to look at. You could easily get a BU Peace dollar or Franklin half for that money. Possibly even a Walking half. Now THAT's a beautiful coin in BU! (By the way, you got yourself one cool wife!) Edited by jpsned
01/08/2015 7:46 pm
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
If I were you I would start a Kennedy half set. you can go for all unc's or all proof's. just do yourself a favor and purchase high grade only. the lower grade Kennedys would be useless to collect. Tony |
|
Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The 100-year typeset is not only a cool idea, but a goal tough enough so astute collectors will look respectfully. If you look at 1878-79 in terms of US minor issues, you'll see mintages drop off a cliff in many cases, already low in others. No doubt the onslaught of Morgan production (which is what it actually was, a near-Apocalyptic experience for them) had much to do with that. Either way 1879 is a difficult year indeed to gather as a set.
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
453 Posts |
Ssuperddave, I had spotted that issue about 1879 so I revised my idea a bit to a collection of coins someone would have likely been using in 1879. I plan on starting with the higher mintages within say 29 years and going from there. I still need to put in the time, money and effort to get that project rolling.
|
|
Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
A few years back from 1879 should put you into "doable" territory. I'm guessing you could possibly include Bust coinage in such a definition if you want, as well.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
952 Posts |
You could get a pretty nice 1878 Morgan for that.......nothing like a first year coin
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1314 Posts |
My first set that I started was the Lincolns. 40 years later, they still brings back lots of memories. I still love looking through wheat cents, even to this day.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
453 Posts |
Thanks of the advice everybody. I'm going to head to the lcs this week and see if he has anything good in stock. I'll post some pics when I make my acquisition.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Good luck on your search! And remember....  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1450 Posts |
I am no expert or coin investor but I like the Liberty Walking half dollar and all the silver coins of the 20th century. Mercury dimes can mostly be collected pretty cheaply as can the Liberty Walkers. I agree that we should all try and get coins in the best condition we can. I like Extra Fine or AU. If you only collect uncirculated coins it is going to cost you. I like to touch and handle my coins. I don't want them in little containers. Now if the coin is worth $1000 and in mint condition I might feel different. I don't know if these coins will increase greatly in value, but they are beautiful coins that had an actual silver value. I think it is a shame that many of these coins have been melted down just for their silver value. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1536 Posts |
I got Christmas money myself and looking for a BU Morgan, highest grade I can get. I have too many coins already especially when I stopped selling coins over a certain amount due to post office issues.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
453 Posts |
I picked these 2 coins up last week along with some supplies and hit my budget to about the dollar! Never having visited a coin shop before I wasn't prepared to haggle so I feel like I may have over paid a bit for one and gotten an ok deal on the other. All in all it was a nice shop with good inventory and friendly helpful folks so I'll probably do some more research and go back to work on my two little collections. I got one shiny coin and one with some age to it, I like the balance. 1847 Lrg Cent:   1963 Franklin Proof   Sorry if the Pics aren't very good the Image Optimizer didn't seem to have any edit options for some reason when I was using it. Thanks for all the help and advise, this has been fun! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1208 Posts |
If you haven't done much coin buying, I have a couple of basic
rules for you to consider following...
1: Never buy a "problem coin". You can find most any coin at a
lower price if it has problems. The problem for you though is
that it will always be a problem coin, and when it ever comes
time to sell, it will still be a 'cheap' coin. Scratches, holes,
nicks, and cleanings don't go away. So, spend a few bux more to
get an "honest" coin. Even if it's average circulated, honest
wear, as opposed to damage, will always be preferred by collectors.
2: When silver values are high, build your copper, nickel, and
clad collections. When silver is down, work on your silver issues.
You will have to decide for yourself what those levels are. Wait
long enough, and we'll see silver bounce between $5 and $50, just
as it has in the past.
|
| |
Replies: 16 / Views: 3,027 |
Posted 01/08/2015 7:27 pm
