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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,032 |
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
1) What is the dividing line between modern, ultra modern and contemporary? Does modern begin when they switched from allegorical to political figures on coins or does it begin when they switched from silver to clad in the mid 1960's? Does Ultra modern begin with gold and silver eagles of 1986 or was it in 1982 when the first modern commemoratives (the George Washington 250 anniversary half dollar) came out and they switched to copper plated zinc for the one cent piece? As for contemporary I believed that started around 1999/2000 with the 50 States quarters and the Sacagawea dollars. Maybe someone else has a different opinion on that. 2) Any recommended books about modern U.S. Coins? I don't really know much about modern coins except for what's in the Red Book. Other books also give some overview on the subject as well, but tend to be more focused on classic coins such as Morgan dollars and Buffalo nickels. I'm interested in books that focus just on moderns. Nothing exhaustive or anything. Maybe just 3 to 5 books that give a general overview of the area. Would any of the following be any good?: a) 100 Greatest Modern U.S. Coins, 4th edition by Jeff Garrett and Scott Schechter b) United States Clad Coinage by Ginger Rapsus c) A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins by Q. David Bowers d) The 50 Most Popular Modern Coins by Eric Jordan and John Maben e) Modern Commemorative Coins by Eric Jordan f) NGC Grading Guide for Modern U.S. Coins by Richard S. Montgomery and David W. Lange g) Warman's Modern U.S. Coins field Guide by Arlyn G. Sieber h) A Guide Book of Lincoln Cents, 2nd edition by Q. David Bowers I) American Silver Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program, 3rd edition by John Mercanti j) A Guide Book of Modern U.S. Proof Sets, 2nd edition by David W. Lange k) American Gold and Silver: U.S. Mint Collector and Investor Coins and Medals, Bicentennial to Date by Dennis Tucker l) A Guide Book of Washington quarters, 2nd edition by Q. David Bowers m) A Guide Book of Franklin and Kennedy half dollars, 3rd edition by Rick Tomaska ( Amazon says it's out of print with limited availability, which doesn't make sense for a brand new mass market book.) n) A Guide Book of Buffalo and Jefferson nickels by Q. David Bowers Ok, That's a bit more than five. But, are any of those any good for someone curious about moderns? Are there any others you'd recommend? 3) What are some good series for someone who's curious about modern coins but doesn't want to spend a lot of money starting out? Maybe $25 to $50 per coin. Thanks for any thoughts or advice.  Edited by rbjr85
04/19/2018 6:48 pm
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
Personally I consider "contemporary" US coins to be the switch from classic silver to something less, that would be circa 1964. and toss in any "series" running at the time, as Lincoln Memorial Cent(1959)and Jefferson nickels 1938). Dimes and quarters are the oddballs. I see many collections of silver Roosevelts without any clads and likewise silver Washington's minus the start of clads in '65 up for sale quite often. The clads, unless Mint state, you can't hardly give them away for face value!(example: check my store!)When it comes to the 2000 millenium coins, most of my collections end there due to lack of quality of designs or just changing way too much. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Warmans Modern U.S. Coins - Field Guide, (Krause Publications),
lists coins from
the first of the recent phase of commemorative coins issued in
1992
To me, that book provides a strong definition as to what a 'modern' U.S. coin should be.
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Valued Member
 United States
77 Posts |
I'm particularly interested in proofs and commemoratives. Certified proofs in the PF-66-68 range. 69's and 70's would be alright too, as long as I don't have to pay huge premiums for them. Like I said, I'm new to modern coins, but from what I've read the story usually goes something like this: The third party grading services have a particular coin listed as a condition rarity in MS-70/PF-70 and give it a value in their price guide as, say, $2000. Everyone and their Grandmother sees that, wants to cash in, and send examples of that particular coin in to be graded. As a result, the market eventually becomes overwhelmed with PF-70s and MS-70s, the price drops dramatically, and the poor guy who spent the old price, now feels like an idiot. I'm not sure how common that scenario is, but I've heard people use it as a reason to be careful with moderns. Is it really that bad? Or are people being ridiculous when they use that as an excuse to dismiss moderns?
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
The only series I am currently collecting would be considered Modern: Lincoln cents, Jefferson nickels and 50 States quarters. "Ultra-Modern" seems like a superfluous term. "Contemporary" can be used in different ways for coins, so it's probably best to avoid that term in this case. For the series I'm working on, business and proof strikes can be had in your price range with LMCs, most Jeffersons except early proofs, and all of the 50 States quarters whether business, proof or silver proof (what I'm collecting). Wheat cents are a different story. Many can be had in that price range, but if you want anything near a complete set, you are most likely going to have to go over budget multiple times, especially with proofs. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2270 Posts |
I recommend a, b, i, and j. But more importantly you'll need the specialist books like the RPM book, Authoritative Reference on Eisenhower dollars, Authoritative Reference on Roosevelt dimes, Standard Guide to the Lincoln Cent, Complete Guide to the Lincoln Cent, The Kennedy half dollar Book, The Jefferson nickel Analyst, Cherry Pickers Guide, Looking Through Lincoln Cents, and a few others wouldn't hurt. The Accugrade System is grossly underrated because many didn't like the grading company. It is insightful. Rapsus' book is interesting and has background info. 100 Best Modern Coins is fun but don't put a lot of weight into the ranking. Bowers is an excellent author but I find his efforts in moderns to be mediocre. Don't trust any of the price guides for moderns since most are far too low and some much too high. Use ebay for pricing especially on business strike coins. Even the PCGS guide lists one coin for $1 that RedBook lists for $10 and routinely sells raw for $40. Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
 Don't get carried away so early in this hobby. So many do that and loose interest. It's not necessary to run out and get a pile of books that may just end up on a shelf and never read. Just take your time and look around at what interests you. There is really no hurry. Many of those coins will wait for you. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2270 Posts |
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
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Does modern begin when they switched from allegorical to political figures on coins In my opinion, this. It is also how CCF has the Classic and Modern US forums divided. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
Does modern begin when they switched from allegorical to political figures on coins When modern begins varies from one person to another. In my case the switch to "modern" happened in 1836 when they switched from hand cut/punched dies and screw presses, to hubbed dies and steam presses. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2270 Posts |
Quote:
When modern begins varies from one person to another. In my case the switch to "modern" happened in 1836 when they switched from hand cut/punched dies and screw presses, to hubbed dies and steam presses. Everything is perspective. When I started in 1957 I thought of a '50-D nickel as virtually ancient. Then in 1965 no one hated clad more than I so there were no "coins" after 1964 so everything else was 'classic". Then in 2006 I got interested in pre-history and the great pyramids and now all coins are ultra-modern. I went through various points in between as well. n Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
The way I break down the modern, Late modern and contemporary line for each denomination is as follows: (This could become modified as I gain more knowledge about moderns.) 1) Lincoln Cents: 1909 to 1958=Early modern. 1959 to 1982=Modern. 1982 to 2008=Late Modern. 2009 to present=Contemporary 2) Jefferson nickels: 1938 to 1967=Early Modern. 1968 to 2003=Modern. 2004 to present=Contemporary 3) Roosevelt dimes: 1946 to 1964=Early modern. 1965 to 1979=Modern. 1980 to present= Late modern 4) Washington quarters; 1932 to 1964=Early modern. 1965 to 1979=Modern. 1980 to 1998=Late modern. State, territorial and national parks Quarters of 1999 to present = Contemporary 5) Half Dollars: Franklin half dollars of 1948 to 1963 and Kennedy half dollars of 1964=Early Modern. 1965 to 1970=Late early modern. 1971 to 1979=modern. 1980 to present Late modern 6) Dollars: Eisenhower dollars of 1971 to 1978 = Modern. Susan B. Anthony dollars of 1979 to 1981 & 1999=Late modern. Sacagawea, Native American and Presidential dollars of 2000 to present=Contemporary. Edited by rbjr85
04/21/2018 08:45 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Like I said everyone defines modern differently.
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
Quote:
Like I said everyone defines modern differently. That's true. You could also over complicate tings by dissecting it all a little too much such as dividing post 1998 quarters into Early contemporary for 1999 to 2009 and contemporary for 2010 to present. The question is: When does it become too complicated and when does it become too simplified? What about the Bicentennial coins of 1975 and 1976? Where do they fall on the dividing line? How about the Westward Journey nickels of 2004 and 2005? Are they Early contemporary, contemporary or transitional? Does contemporary in Jefferson nickels begin in 2004 with the Westward journey series or in 2006 with the modified obverse portrait of Jefferson facing forward? |
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
A 21st century set by design type would be interesting, fairly inexpensive and diverse. It would consist of 6 different one cent pieces, 6 different five cent pieces, a dime, a half dollar, 50 different (so far) one dollar pieces and 101 different (so far) quarter dollars. I think I'll start with that as my collecting introduction to moderns. I want to do it as proofs. One question is: Should I go for government packaged proof sets or individually certified coins? (I don't like the idea of proof coins in anything other that hard plastic holders of some kind.) Another question is: Should I go for clad proofs or silver proofs?
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
That's 165 different coins. Mostly quarters, yes. But 165 different coins nonetheless.
Edited by rbjr85
04/21/2018 5:20 pm
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Replies: 20 / Views: 3,032 |
Posted 04/19/2018 9:09 pm
