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 Replies: 16 / Views: 2,608 |
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
I am putting together a set of Indian Head cents for the first time. My question is about how you decide what quality of coins to make a coherent set. I have questions like is it better to have a guideline like "at least VF condition" or "all pieces in VF condition"? I ask because for the more available, later years, I find myself drifting towards AU/MS and the higher value coins drifting toward low VF. Is that a normal tendency? What do you do? Are there other factors to consider like getting a consistent "look" to the coins, like color, or toning etc? With the keys I will likely buy slabbed but all the common dates will be raw. Is that normal? Are there other considerations for slabbed vs. raw when building a set. What kind of factors do you consider to be important when putting a set together? I appreciate your thoughts! |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
8938 Posts |
For a circulated set, do fill liberty. MS would cost way over the average collectors budget.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
I have a full set of small cents and I have several smaller sets. In IHC I have a full set including flying eagle to the 1909 s and a second set of 1880 to 1909 (missing 1908 and 1909s), the only consideration you need to take into account is cost. If you have the money get all in AU/MS. The majority are easy to get in AU/MS except for the 1870's as those become very costly. As to what you should strive for, most people want full liberty, I tried and realized that I wouldn't spend that much so I have G to MS. I buy what I wanted to get at a price I was willing to pay. Of all of mine only 2 I would upgrade the 1872 and 1864 with L As to raw/slabbed I have all raws in my albums. I did pick up 2 slabbed as I liked the way they look but they aren't in my main set. Good luck in what you decide to get. It's a great series. Edited by hfjacinto
02/05/2020 10:39 pm
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New Member
 United States
39 Posts |
In the past I have done Sacagawea and Jeffersons both of which are relatively easy to obtain all in uncirculated condition. This is the first time I am tackling a type that is a little more difficult/pricey and want to make sure I am building it "responsibly".
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Your wallet will tell you if it's being built responsibly :)
Biggest cost are the 1870's with the 1877 being the most costly followed by the 1909s and 1908 S. Of the 1870's, the 1872 was costly and the hardest to find in good condition followed by the 1864 L. The 1874 and 1875 were also hard to get in good grades. I got lucky and picked up an 1873 iat a very good price.
In the 1880-1909 the 1889 was the hardest to get in good condition, I ordered two, returned one and kept a 2nd as filler before someone on here got me a really nice one.
The 1859-1863 are easy to find but many are cleaned só be careful.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10635 Posts |
I totally agree with hfjacinto. the main factor that you should build your collection upon is cost. Buy the best coin you can afford, is my recommendation. If you cannot afford a certain coin, buy the one that does fit your wallet and don't beat yourself up over it. Be realistic... are you buying (investing)to resell your collection someday, or are you buying for beauty? Beauty will always cost you more because you'll be more willing to part with your dollars over it.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
When I started to put my IHC collection together many years ago I started with all the common dates in nice chocolate brown mid VF-EF , full liberty's No problem coins . I said to myself wow this is easy until I started to look at the rest of the series . Holy Moly where did these high prices come from ? Needless to say I then had to change my way of putting the set together . Although , still not a complete set after all those years . I'm sure a lot of guys have had the same encounter with these elusive IHC's .  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5239 Posts |
This is a common issue with collecting sets. Count the cost in the grades that would make you happy, before you get frustrated, or decide if you are going to satisfied missing one or 2 key dates.
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
I thank hfjacinto for the input. I also agree with T-BOP. Realizing I am just running through these common date coins with no issue and avoiding the rare date IHC's because I don't want to face the reality of the costs of those pieces in any decent grade. BTW, it is easy to avoid the rarer date coins because you don't see them as much as you scroll through ebay or sift through the flips at the LCS. It seems this hobby is built to throw you against a brick wall as you get to the last 15% of the set. Thanks to all for the input! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
And when you start looking for the rare dates is when you notice the condition and cost. If it's a good price it's not a great coin. If it's a great coin the price won't be good. Sometimes you get lucky. My 1873 was a great price for g-4 coin as was my 1869 in vg/f. The rest I went to LCS, ebay and other areas and found nothing. The 1908 S and 1909 S I picked up in Washington State while on vacation. I could have also gotten the 1877 in WA but didn't have enough cash. Ended up buying the 1877 online for a great price as the seller needed cash. Sometimes you have to jump on a good deal. You also have to be flexible going to the internet and locally (and even far away if traveling). In my set the 1869, 1873, 1877, 1908 S and 1909 S where what I felt good purchases. The 1864 L, 1872, 1874, 1875 and 1889 where purchase that I settled and in some cases sold the one I got to get a different one. Edited by hfjacinto
02/06/2020 09:57 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2233 Posts |
It depends on what your coin collecting budget is. The 1877 and 1909-S will set you back $400 to $500 each even in G/VG condition, and most of the other 1866-78 dates get quite pricey in anything higher than F/VF.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1370 Posts |
I've got two of these sets I'm building, one is in a Dansco F-VF coins nothing better nothing worse. I personally like the matched set look especially in an album. The second set is my pipe dream set. All certified PCGS or NGC MS 63 or 64 brown. The certified set will take many years to complete. On these coins I try to find some red tucked in or unique toning. Taking my time on both sets, eye appeal is a major thing to consider. Why own a coin that you look at and think bleh I need to upgrade that.
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
@shadowtrooper78 I love that approach. I know I can complete something like F-VF. I also like the idea of "nothing better, nothing worse". Keeps it consistent. I also commend you on the MS63-64 goal. Probably a little crazy for my meager means, lol. Although I think a few pieces in those grades apart from a circlulated set would be a good complement. Maybe even a proof.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1370 Posts |
@aceman there is nothing like a nice indian proof. In all honesty I don't know if I'll be able to pull off the indian set in 63/64 but I'm giving it a shot. I'm not aggressively pursuing it but knocking off a piece here and there. It'll take me a minimum 10 years to do it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
Buy the best condition that you can afford. You could get AU/MS examples of the later dates, and then get VF/XF pieces for some of the earlier ones. The later ones should be easy to find, but the mid grade ones from the 1870s might take some time to find. Whatever you decide to do, good luck! IHCs are a great set to do!
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Replies: 16 / Views: 2,608 |
Posted 02/05/2020 10:36 pm
