What Do You Think About Buying Full Sets?

I've bought many partial & full sets on ebay cheap (lots of silver below melt). Got my 32D & S quarters & 21 & 21D Mercs below melt. Got my 14D & 31S Lincolns for better than free after I flipped the rest of the folder. Picked up a like new Dansco Buffalo nickel album nearly full that had most early dates including a 13S Type 2 in G4 or G6 (mixed opinions from members here) for $100. Sometimes you can grab a deal buying sets or partials. Even if you aren't happy with all the coins, you can flip them to fund future purchases!

Full sets don't interest me, based on two experiences with dealers. The first had amassed a full set of Seated halves over several years. Once he finished he lost interest and sold them. The other was a dealer who had purchased a full circulated set of Morgans (no 1895). He had no interest in them at all. The next time I saw him he had traded them for 20 krugerrands.

Focus on the keys and forget the rest IMO. Once you have one get another one in better condition to add to your hoard. The best coin on any given day may be one you already have.

Unless, of course, you are collecting sets.

For the record I am collecting sets, but only ones created by jbuck.

Totally agree. Any such set would be an "imposter."

However, if you could get one for an insanely low price, then why not? Still, there would be no real joy in this for me- only the thrill of a score. That doesn't last long for me either. The joy of assembling my own set is long term.

Like others say, part of the thrill is putting together sets yourself. I think the type set 7070 album is something every collector should do on his/her own for that reason.

However, I find purchasing sets like the Lincoln cents, Washington quarters, jeffersons etc to be useful if you just want to have a date set regardless of the specific qualities of each coin. Some collectors want every coin to be a minimum grade or color/toning - that is when set buying goes out the window

I have purchased one set as a whole, bullion American Silver Eagles. I had collected the proofs and decided to add the others to my holdings. Now I just add the new years to my silver eagles. The goal was to have one of each and the set was a easy fix but I do not see any other "set" that I would buy as a whole.

About five years ago, I purchased a complete Buffalo nickel set (clean G-F avg grades) for $199+tax at a pawn shop. It was a great deal and I simply dismantled the set keeping upgrades for my existing almost complete set.

I also purchased a complete 16-36 Walking Liberty half set from the same pawn shop a year before for $400+tax. I dismantled that one too and flipped it three days later for a 70% profit.

In my early years (12-14 yrs old) of collecting I purchased a complete Roosevelt dime set and help onto that for a long time...actually until 2011 when I sold all the coins for silver value and made 4 times what I originally spent.