$2.50 Gold Indians And New Capitol Coin Holder

Making anyone jealous is the furthest thing I want to do.
I do enjoy sharing the coins I add to my collection.
And find the responses and opinions very interesting.

I feel I am just setting up the foundation for what
I hope will be a good collection someday.

For this series, I like the design and felt it was possible
to complete it.

I am not focused on any certain grade, just picking coins
that look ok to me.

We try to check out the coins the best we can, at two
local coin shops. We check weight and have a tester
to verify the correct gold. We also have guides to
check for known fakes. Most of the fakes we have
found, look off. Which leads to further investigation.

Committing to do this set is a big step, more so for
us middle income collectors. It also could be one of
the jewels of a collection once completed.

GR58- I don't think you have to worry about anyone assuming you are trying to act boastful just because you are excited about your work to complete this cornerstone set. Anyone who has read a few of your posts knows that isn't the case.

I look forward to seeing how your set progresses. You have all the tools you need to make good choices.

I can't wait to see more pictures as you work toward your goal.

One_Fine_Dime

I think what you just posted, is closer to my intent.
In my experience, in hobbies, motivation and focus are
very important. And it is easy to lose both.

With knowledge of what you want to do, and how to do it,
keeping focus, might be easier to keep.

Seeing what others are doing and deciding how you want
to do something similar, helps with motivation.

For me, I hope some of my posts help motivate others in
building their collection.

I know I get a lot of motivation from other CCF members.
There are some collection here that I admire, and know
I will never equal. I just hope I can build my collection
so that I am happy with what I have.

I can understand your worry about buying raw gold, there are
a lot of fake U.S. gold coins out there, more so on the
smaller denominations. I am far from a expert, I do feel
I am starting to see when something looks wrong with a coin.
Sometimes it is in the design or lettering, sometimes it is
the color.

Look at gold rings, once you look at enough of them, you
can start to see the color difference between 10K, 14K and
18K gold. Gold coins are similar, sometimes the color just
looks to light.

If possible, before buying a gold coin, or any higher priced
coin, try to give in more than one look. Put it down,
walk around and come back to it. If possible come back another day.
The first time I look at a coin I have been wanting,
I see the good. On the second look, I try to find the bad.
For me, it is on the second look I might see if something
looks off, or if it might be cleaned, rim damaged .. etc.
Train yourself to look for the bad.

On gold coins always check out the rim area, for signs of
being a jewelry piece. For a coin that was in jewelry there
is a good chance it has been cleaned/polished and have more
hits than it should have. Edge reeding is also a good place
to check if your thinking it might be fake. It might have a
cast line, or cast appearance.

The least I would want to do is weigh the coin and check it with a strong magnet.

Buying some slabbed gold coins might be a good start, gives
you something to study and compare to those future purchases.

"On gold coins always check out the rim area, for signs of
being a jewelry piece."

One interesting thing about these coins that not everyone knows... MANY 1914-D, and a few other dates, look like the have been in a pendant. There is a flat area around the rim that makes it look like it was an old jewelry piece, when most times they aren't. Even high MS examples can have this on some of the dates.

By the way, how do you do the quote? I do not see that option.

Great feedback GR58 and others! My wife and I received a 1915 1/4 eagle some years back from a relative, as a wedding gift. I do like it a lot. I collect Mercury dimes and these are about the same size. I like the fact that these are small but not super small and this set is only 15 issues, with only one key. I'll be watching to see if gold starts to dip again, and perhaps the affordability factor will spur some motivation. If I start on the series and gold gets crazy bullish, I'll likely peter out (or at least go on hiatus).

Nice!! I scratched my Indian Head gold coin itch back in the fall with a purchase of an AU coin.

How much would it cost to complete a set in AU grade? This would take me a little while to complete but it's very doable.

A complete set minus the 1911-D sold last night on ebay. Looked to be in AU to MS condition for most coins. I had a max bid of a little over $3,500... sold for about $3,656. Then add in the key, which you might be able to pick up for a little over a grand in decent condition (weak D). You can get a complete set for under $5k. http://www.ebay.com/itm/14-PIECES-S...AOSwvUlWqDVM