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 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,292 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2254 Posts |
I'm thinking of actively starting on an actual set instead of buying things that just pop up here and there. It get's too expensive to just buy what I like.  Having said that, I am thinking of a Liberty nickel set. I really like the design for some reason. Anyone attempt one of these? Doesn't seem like an impossible set to accomplish in a decent grade, but I haven't investigated thoroughly yet. Any thoughts or suggestions? Resources? I'm thinking of trying to stay at XF and up. It may take a while, but what do I care......  I'm also wondering if acetone, or anything else for that matter, would get rid of this.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
914 Posts |
Nickle is tough to get stains out of. Acetone won't hurt it to try. I have about 80% of a full set. The keys are difficult, although I got my 1885 and 1886 via someone selling 'UNSEARCHED LIBERTY NICKLES' on ebay and dunking the undated ones in vinegar overnight! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
I've been working on a Liberty nickel set for some time. XF is a tough grade to come by for many of the years. The key dates (1885, 1886 and 1912-s) in particular are very scarce, IMHO, in this grade. You can find lots of them from AG to VG, but even true F (where you can actually see every letter in LIBERTY) is hard to come by. If you are fortunate, you live in Chicago or some other metropolitan area with numerous coin shows...you might have better luck than me. Proofs are actually easier to come by than AU-50's in some years, I swear. Prices on the higher grades have been rising rapidly, it seems. You're right, though, that this is a great set to put together, and even though prices are up, I think there's plenty of room for them to go higher; this is an underappreciated design, again IMHO. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1984 Posts |
As I continue working on my completed set, I am happy to have the (semi-)keys '85 &'86 in AG/G and the '12-S in an ANACS F-12 holder. The rest I upgrade as I can, my best right now is a 1911 MS-62. I like that the set is finished and I can pursue upgrades at my leisure. I look at nickels as part of my lifetime of collecting rather than an investment, so I get them when I can, and I don't worry so much about whether I've achieved a uniform look overall since the set will probably be broken up as soon as I've breathed my last.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2602 Posts |
I collect these, too. I've gone through through thousands and it is very very hard to get decent grades. All my 1900-1912 (except 12S) are at least Fine. The pre-1900s are very hard in higher grades except 83 No cents, which can be obtained really cheap in higher grades (VF/XF or better). I have only two AU coins (one is 83 NC) and no MS coins. My 85 and 86 are AG, my 12S is VG+. So I have a long way to go for upgrading. All over ebay you can buy partial sets of low grade for 75 cents to 1.50 per coin. That just amazes me how cheap they are for coins that are around 100 years old, and are really only slightly more than Buffalo nickels. There are many semi-keys, like 94, 87, 88- but rather than buying them individually, you are better off buying a 29 or 30 piece partial set for about 50-75 bucks- you get the semi-keys really cheap and only have to focus on the big three (85, 86, 12S). Do this twice and keep the best ones and pitch the lower grade set back to ebay. I've done this a few times and managed to very cheaply build a nicer than average set. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
I'll add that this series, especially pre-20th century dates, is noted for irregular and weak strikes. If you like die cracks, this is a good series, as well, for adding a little extra "flavor" and "character" to your collection. There really isn't any premium for different die combo's, etc., again because this has never been a really popular series. (So it makes it pretty easy on the pocketbook to pick up coins with different "looks."
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2254 Posts |
Thanks folks. Seems like I will be competing with a smaller crowd when I start on this set at least.
The coin in the picture is one that is for sale. Just curious if I could clean it up if I bought it....
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
I working on that set for my collection . The keys are 1912s, 1885, 1886. My 1912 s cost me like 150 bucks on ebay. The rest of I bought in bulk lots on ebay for less buck per coin. I need 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1894, 1896 to finish it. Mycrob is correct about partial sets for cheap prices compared to buying coins all by it self. I been trying to do samething since lots dealers want more money thats its worth on semi keys. One thing about those sets Dealers in coin mag want 1200 to 3000 complete for those sets. Its not worth buying them at that price . The complete sets greysheat around 1000 dollars on them. On ebay the completed sets aslong with keys sell for around 399 to 799 on fair market value . The books are wrong on prices and there is not much demand on them for whatever reason. You need be very careful on how much money you spend you on those keys since the price of 1885 , 1886 , 1912s keys will cause you overspend building your set. I am trying build my intire set for around fair market value and not the inflated dealer prices. I dont want lose money later if need to sell it. The sets on ebay I seen sell at fair market on ebay takes an long time for whatever. One dealer tryed for 700 his set for serval weeks and gave up and droped prices to 499 or 399 for his complete set to sell it. I thinking about buying for keys and never did. Strange market on those nickels and very few care about them. Example if my 1912s nickel was an 1916 d Mercury dime. I could sell for 600 to 1200 . The 1912 s nickel is rare like the 1916d dime. Its tough to find coins above ag/ good grade in those nickels. You may want buy serval partials and serval bulk lots to cherry pick coins to build it or an complete set to strip out the 1885 , 1886, 1912s keys . The extra just sell on ebay later. Chevrolet454ss |
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
How hard would it be to put together a decent set of Liberty V nickels? It seems that it is pretty hard to find them in XF grade. Or if you can find them, it would be expensive. Am I correct in assumming this? |
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Valued Member
United States
382 Posts |
Very cool set to do. I also like this series. Love the design. The only thing that I don;t like is the weak relief, and weak srike as was posted above. I don't think there are any "impossible keys". Goodluck, a nice set to do.
Tony
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2540 Posts |
Gold Certificates:
It is a very difficult set to complete, but very do'able if you go for VG to Fine.
Also, a very nice looking set.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
TreasHunt:
Thankyou, I'll keep that in mind. And yes I do agree that it is a beautiful set
-Ben
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Valued Member
United States
439 Posts |
I've got a set of these started, everything except the big three so far and it just kinda stalled there it seems.
It looks like everyone pretty much summed everything up though. They're fun and a relatively cheap and easy to work on.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2602 Posts |
GC: See my earlier post on this. I personally think it is hard to make higher graded sets without breaking the bank. But you can buy partial sets cheap on ebay and keep upgrading the best coins and dump the balance back on ebay until you get to the point where you are only upgrading one or no coins in a purchase. At that point, you should have a decent lower grade set of G-F coins (perhaps even one or two better), have all the semi-keys and now can work towards the keys and higher grades. There is very little activity on lower grade Liberty nickels on ebay from my many watches and purchases, so there are a lot of bargains for the lower grades. Hey, you have to start somewhere and still watch your budget! |
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Replies: 13 / Views: 1,292 |
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Posted 11/29/2007 09:41 am
