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 Replies: 13 / Views: 2,761 |
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Valued Member
United States
104 Posts |
 I am new to collecting and would like to begin a type set soon. I have received some excellent advice for collecting Franklin halves, but have found myself also drawn to Peace dollars. I have not yet purchased my first coin and would like to get a bit of advice from those of you who have collected Peace dollars before I begin. My strategy would be to purchase the highest grade I could afford ( probably MS-60/61) in 1921 and then purchase the 1922,23 etc.. Any tips on Peace dollars you all can give before I start this endeavor?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
711 Posts |
Another good series to collect. Not a lot of coins, but some key coins so it will be more challenging than Franklin for the most part.
Start with the keys, or at least pricing buying all the keys in the grades you are interested in, and see if it is something you want to do or not.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
Be prepared to shell out for the '21.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
I assume you are collecting certified coins since you mentioned specific numeric grades so I'll leave that alone. My advice would be to select coins that have great eye appeal to you. Whether it's a 55 or 58 or MS-whatever, buy what you like and don't worry about who graded it (as long it's PCGS, NGC, ANACS, or ICG), what color holder it's in, or stickers, pluses, stars, etc. If you buy coins that are genuine and attractive then usually you'll be happy with them. Peace dollars often show areas of strike weakness so look at the reverse center Eagle's breast feathers and obverse center hair details. They might not be sharp but shouldn't be flat either. Avoid milk spotted coins and try to find even full mint luster (on MS coins) across both surfaces. Good luck! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
In high grades the 27-D, 28 and especially the 34-S are going to eat up your bank account. For the '21 MS63 is very collectible and affordable.
Advice from me would be to always buy the best coin you can afford, even if that means it takes you longer to put a set together.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Moderator
 United States
15464 Posts |
Having no idea about the budget that you intend to devote to this pursuit makes specific advise difficult .... I'll add some general guidance: Education is always the place to start. I suggest purchasing a collecting guide on the Peace dollar series and learning about the relative scarcity/price/striking quality of the individual 24 coins that make up the series. This knowledge would inform your planning decisions so you can avoid making haphazard choices (such as an MS60/61 1921). A good guide (they are many others) is the paperback RedBook Guide to Peace dollars. Second piece of advice is learn how to differentiate the difference between an AU55/58 Peace and an MS Peace. There are many AU 'sliders' being sold to unsuspecting (un-knowledgeable) collectors as MS coins. Last piece of advice .... assuming that your budget (after research) provides for the pursuit of an MS set ... then the key date is 1934-S and you should expect to devote a good portion of your funds to acquiring the best example you can. The 1934-S is the rarest coin in the series in MS condition up through MS64 ... and will likely hold/gain in value as demand at that grade exceeds supply. Enjoy the hunt! David |
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
Quote:A good guide (they are many others) is the paperback RedBook Guide to Peace Dollars I would suggest this as a must read as well and also stick to TPG graded coins if you are unfamiliar with the series. If you decide to purchase raw be sure to scrutinize the coin vey well. PCGS photograde should be saved to your favorites and post photos here on CCF for others' opinions if you are unsure. Most of all enjoy the hunt. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
650 Posts |
I'm no expert, I only have two Peace dollars, but I've done a bit of research because I'm thinking of starting a Peace dollar collection myself. There seems to be two trains of thought as to how to start collecting this series. One camp says start out with the key dates first and the other says start out with the easy ones first (1922-1925 Philly mint). As for grade, one article I read stated the following: Quote:To my eye, the Peace dollar is a very attractive coin, especially if in MS-63, MS-64, or even better grade. Worn pieces tend to look somewhat scruffy, and this is probably one of the reasons they were not popular with collectors for a long time... I have recommended MS-63 and MS-64 Peace dollars as personal favorites, and encourage you to buy coins of this quality, or even MS-65 (taking note that much cherry picking must be done especially at the MS-65 level), because I find that Peace dollars in lesser grades are apt to be fairly unattractive. Such grades as EF-45 and AU-55 are suitable for those on a budget, but lack much of the beauty that higher-grade pieces do. MS-60 coins are apt to be unappealing as well, although there are exceptions. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3210 Posts |
There are as paralyze said that are costly in mint state....1928, 1934s, 1927pds, and sometimes the 21. The rest are somewhat easy although the 1920s San Francisco dates of 22-25 are very costly after ms63
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4469 Posts |
Here are my tips: 1) Buy a 1921 with a strong strike. On the typical coin the hair on the obverse is flat. 2) Buy a MS 1923S with brilliant white luster. A lot of the coins have greyish dull luster. 3) Try to buy coins without white spots. 4) Try to buy coins with attractive toning that will have market appeal, but it will cost a premium as the Peace dollars are not known for attractive toning. 5) If the budget permits stay away from the MS61/62 and buy a MS63. If you are new to the series, I would start with the common dates because any beginning mistakes will be less costly. I would not recommend the 1921 as your first purchase for a Peace dollar. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Many folks do enjoy a set grade series. In other words, everything is MS 63 or AU 55-58, or any other grade that fits within there budget. However, it is also advisable to actually look at the price jumps on the series before deciding on a grade to shoot for. The 1921, for example, is almost always in the $350 range for a 63 but more than doubles to $750 as a 64. Those prices I just mentioned are not ones you will see in most price guides. Those are prices I've noted for sales on ebay for nice coins (no junk or ugly tone and with good strikes, which are tough to find). It would take a while to find either of these at those prices, but it can be done. The point, however, is that if you look at the series you will see what I call CLIFF GRADES. Cliff grades are when the price jumps really high from one grade to the next. That is almost always due to the population of graded coins at the two main TPG's (Third Party Graders) PCGS and NGC. If you have quite a few of one grade, but very few of the next grade, you can expect to see that big jump from one to the other. Although ebay completed sales are probably the best for up to the minute (within the last two weeks) actual selling prices, you do have to be cautious because the lowest prices are usually for the lowest quality, even within the same grade. The best price guide I would recommend is the one found on Heritages web site. For the 1921 they have over 5800 examples of what that date sold for, and you can narrow down your search to any grades or any grading service. Not only that, but they give you what all the other price guides have to say all in one place. They list prices from Coin World, CDN, CCDN, Numismedia Retail, Numismedia CAC, Numismedia Wholesale, Heritage Value Index, NGC, NGC+, PCGS and PCGS+ all in one place under any coin they've sold. Use the Heritage Value Index as the most reliable for a good price to pay for a TPG coin. They have real world price ranges that really help. Once you've seen actual selling prices for the grades you are considering it is much easier to SET A GOAL of what grade you want for each date/mint mark. You don't HAVE to have the same grade for every coin. You can choose that as your way of going and have the prices you'll expect to pay mapped out, but it doesn't mean you can't have MS 63 or 64 for the common dates and maybe a 65 for a real common date like the 1922 or 1923, and even drop back to below MS for a beautiful AU-58 coin of the toughest issues. If you map out your plan before you start, you will be much happier with the results. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
I think if I were going to put together a more budget-conscious set I'd look for MS63-MS64 or better common dates, and try to find PQ-in-grade AU coins for the key dates. I'd rather have a nice, lustrous, PQ AU58 than a dog-ugly, milk spotted MS61 or MS62. The book value on the MS semi-key and key date coins will be higher, but they may be more difficult to sell later since when you get into that price level (4 figures+) buyers tend to be more picky in their choices.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Valued Member
 United States
104 Posts |
Thank you all so much for the advice! I have enjoyed reading your responses and has helped me tremendously! I just purchased the RedBook Guide to Peace dollars on my Kindle, so I will continue doing my research. I am torn as to whether I should splurge on the '21 right off the bat or start with a really nice '22. Regardless, I am going to try to stay at a minimum MS-63 on the entire set. I'm in no hurry and willing to save a while for the key dates. I am having trouble training my eye to see the difference between the grades on a raw coin. So, I'm sticking with slabbed coins (probably PCGS). I'm assuming it will take some time and several coins before I can tell the difference... :) |
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Valued Member
United States
452 Posts |
Hi, I am also working toward a complete set in MS-63 or better. Getting (at an affordable -for me- price) the 34-s in a 63+ that catches my eye has been the stumbling-block. We have plenty of competition in this endeavor.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 2,761 |
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Posted 01/19/2016 11:24 pm
