| Author |
 Replies: 28 / Views: 2,589 |
|
Valued Member
Australia
52 Posts |
Is it worthwhile trying to collect all Indian cents, in reasonable condition, or are some just unobtainable for the average person? regards Edited by Forum Mom to move to Classic US Coin Forum from Modern US Coin Forum |
|
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187581 Posts |
The 1877 will be very pricey. The 1909-S is not cheap, either.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Hi, Yes--I think it's worthwhile, although rather difficult to find many IHCs in "reasonable condition", as I see many that are cleaned or toned for a quicker sale. And, the more valuable years in the 1870s have the added risk of counterfeits--some very good die-struck copies are showing up. I would suggest starting with those from 1900-09, since excluding the "S" coins those are relatively cheap and easy to find in better grades. Here is also a very helpful guide on grading written by an IHC expert. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
It would depend on your budget. If you wanted a set in VF, it will cost you over $5k.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2602 Posts |
I'm biased, but I think IHCs are wonderful to collect. I think you can pick up most of the common dates from 1880-1909 largely for $2-3 apiece (1909 might be closer to $10 now). The tough ones will be the rest, and getting them even in a grade of Good is hard without spending a lot.
Good luck!
|
|
Valued Member
United States
202 Posts |
I think that they would be a great series to collect. When I just started I thought about doing Indian Head cents but in pretty good condition all of the coins were rather expensive. So if you have good funds, I would go for it. |
|
Moderator
United States
187581 Posts |
Quote:
I'm biased, but I think IHCs are wonderful to collect. I hope my comment did not come across as a slam against the IHC. I think they are beautiful! When compared to the LHC, it is a shorter set that is easier to finish with only two "budget busters". |
|
Valued Member
United States
202 Posts |
Quote:I hope my comment did not come across as a slam against the IHC. I think they are beautiful! When compared to the LHC, it is a shorter set that is easier to finish with only two "budget busters". I didn't see it as a slam, it's more of a reality that every IHC collector will have to face if they want to complete a set. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
I am a collector of IHCs. With the exception of a few in the mid 90's, I have them all from 1888 through 1909. The ones from the 20th century can be had in XF condition for $3 to $4 each (except for '09 and the S mints). The earlier ones are the most difficult to obtain in decent shape for less than $40 and up. Since that is the case, I decided to try for a "set within a set", or short set. Right now I am trying to piece together a 7 piece Civil War set which includes mostly the Cu-Ni types. The Big Daddy of this set would be the 1864 L...I'll probably grab that one at the end as my Crowning Jewel.  |
|
Moderator
United States
187581 Posts |
Quote:I didn't see it as a slam, it's more of a reality that every IHC collector will have to face if they want to complete a set. So true! IMHO, that "reality" is no harsher than the one that the LHC collector faces. |
|
Moderator
United States
187581 Posts |
Quote:
Since that is the case, I decided to try for a "set within a set", or short set. My current "set within a set" is a thirty year (31 years inclusive) 1879-1909 date set. I will get the earlier dates and San Francisco coins eventually! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
JBuck, what condition is your set in primarily?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2540 Posts |
go for it!
Just get he best that you can afford, and ignore the 1856 Flying eagle.
[I did, ignore it that is.]
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
How can you ignore it when it probably hangs over your head like a dark cloud saying, "Buy me...sell your car and buy me!" Actually I would have to sell both of my cars to get one of those.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
If "reasonable condition" and "cleaned" are the same thing.......then it shouldn't be too hard to put it together ! But I know I need to really get more educated on "cleaned coins" and learn better on what to look for ! (as do many of us here on CCF probably).....because I really don't want to pay a high premium on ANYTHING and then find out it's been cleaned to attain that $$price$$!....  .. Edited by eaglefoot
08/05/2008 5:18 pm
|
|
Moderator
United States
187581 Posts |
Quote:
JBuck, what condition is your set in primarily? They range from G to EF. The bulk are G-VG, but a few of the common dates are EF. My IHC set is sort of an accident. It started in 1993, when I finally decided to get my few Buffalo nickels and Mercury dimes out of the Whitman folders I had. When I was looking at the Buffalo and Mercury Dansco albums, I noticed they only had two pages in a binder that could accommodate four. This bothered me! The dealer suggested making a custom binder with the blank nickel and dime pages he had. The blank pages allowed me to skip any of the varieties I did not want to deal with, like the three-legged Buffalo and over-date Mercury dimes, but still leave room for those at the bottom if I changed my mind. Sounded good, but the smallest generic Dansco binder he had holds six pages! Ah-ha!  Lets add two pages for Indian cents to the mix!  I figured I would go ahead an add the IHC, even though they are not really contemporary with the the other two series. I call it my "previous cent/nickel/dime series to the modern cent/nickel/dime series" album.  The two IHC pages sat empty for a few months until I bought eleven of the "common" date Indian Head cents from the "junk" pile at the coin shop for $10. Some of these "common" coins were in really good shape for the price! Those eleven coins sat alone for a few years. In 1999, I bought the other 20 coins in my "short set" for around $40 I think. Wow, the IHC collection has been idle almost ten years now! |
| |
Replies: 28 / Views: 2,589 |
Posted 08/04/2008 4:51 pm
