First Page
Posted 01/03/2021 5:49 pm
I think it comes down to what resonates with you or what is meaningful to you to collect. Many are drawn to a particular series of US (or World) coinage based on the design, and seek to assemble a set (filling all the holes in an album). I think is the traditional approach.
I ended up writing more than I initially intended, but it was fun to think about both the "what" and the "why", so here are some thoughts on my own personal journey in case it gives you any helpful ideas/insight:
My personal approach after I got back into collecting as an adult was to first dabble with various coins and series. For a while US modern commemorative gold and silver pieces were it for me, as I enjoyed the fact that each one was unique (i.e., not just the same coin every year with a different date), but together they were also a series. And I thought it was smart to "invest" in precious metals.
Then I started reading more about the classic US series (since I'm in the USA), and I came across this article:
https://coinweek.com/opinion/coin-r...-part-one-2/
This made a lot of sense to me, and I felt that I wanted to focus on coins that I found interesting but that could also potentially increase in value over maybe a 30 year period. Looking at the Red Book, I saw that coin prices for pre-1933 US coinage were far more dynamic than post-1933 prices, and this interested me a lot.
I then picked up some coins in various series: a half filled album at a coin auction, or a few select specimens from a LCS or coin show. Barber quarters, Standing Liberty quarters, a 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat cent, some scarcer date Walking Liberty half dollars at a pawn shop. I typically paid too much for coins in grades too low.
Eventually I read about the Mercury dime. I read how the wings on the Phrygian Cap were meant to represent freedom of thought. That really resonated with me! I read how Liberty was modeled after Elsie Stevens (wife to poet Wallace Stevens), who had lived in an apartment in a building in NYC owned by the dime's designer Adolph Alexander Weinman. My grandmother's name was Elsie and she had lived in NYC.
So I set about building a set of early date Mercury dimes. I had read that a well matched set usually looks nice, and that sounded about right. I didn't want Good grade coins of some dates mixed with MS grade in others. Then I bought The Complete Guide to Mercury dimes by David Lange. (a free scanned version of the first edition can be found here: https://blog.davidlawrence.com/enti...e-online-2/)
I looked for a Dansco album of the Mercury dimes, but they were sold out everywhere, and were long overdue to produce more. Even just page-1 (early dates) wasn't to be found anywhere! Eventually, I decided I would just skip the Philadelphia issues, as most were more common anyway (except 1921). I would focus on just the rarest of the rare dates: early date branch mints (Denver and Frisco), and I would aim for About Uncirculated if possible, and high VF or XF where certain rare semi-key dates were concerned. I came across the classic Capital Plastic 2x2 holders (in black) and I found black chicago screws (which looked nicer than either the cheap plastic ones they come with or the aluminum ones they sell too).
So in the end, I started with a wide net ("just go scattershot and pick stuff up here and there"), and ended up creating my own sub-set of a sub-set to focus my efforts. I only pick up a handful (or fewer) coins per year due to budget constraints, but I'm slowly building a "set" (collection) that I feel is focused and that I'll be happy with in the long run.
I'd say make sure you really appreciate whatever particular type of coins you get into, and try to limit sharp turns in your collecting goals, but it is certainly good to mix things up from time to time and branch out. I guess try not to limit yourself by the "traditional" approaches to collecting.
I ended up writing more than I initially intended, but it was fun to think about both the "what" and the "why", so here are some thoughts on my own personal journey in case it gives you any helpful ideas/insight:
My personal approach after I got back into collecting as an adult was to first dabble with various coins and series. For a while US modern commemorative gold and silver pieces were it for me, as I enjoyed the fact that each one was unique (i.e., not just the same coin every year with a different date), but together they were also a series. And I thought it was smart to "invest" in precious metals.
Then I started reading more about the classic US series (since I'm in the USA), and I came across this article:
https://coinweek.com/opinion/coin-r...-part-one-2/
This made a lot of sense to me, and I felt that I wanted to focus on coins that I found interesting but that could also potentially increase in value over maybe a 30 year period. Looking at the Red Book, I saw that coin prices for pre-1933 US coinage were far more dynamic than post-1933 prices, and this interested me a lot.
I then picked up some coins in various series: a half filled album at a coin auction, or a few select specimens from a LCS or coin show. Barber quarters, Standing Liberty quarters, a 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat cent, some scarcer date Walking Liberty half dollars at a pawn shop. I typically paid too much for coins in grades too low.
Eventually I read about the Mercury dime. I read how the wings on the Phrygian Cap were meant to represent freedom of thought. That really resonated with me! I read how Liberty was modeled after Elsie Stevens (wife to poet Wallace Stevens), who had lived in an apartment in a building in NYC owned by the dime's designer Adolph Alexander Weinman. My grandmother's name was Elsie and she had lived in NYC.
So I set about building a set of early date Mercury dimes. I had read that a well matched set usually looks nice, and that sounded about right. I didn't want Good grade coins of some dates mixed with MS grade in others. Then I bought The Complete Guide to Mercury dimes by David Lange. (a free scanned version of the first edition can be found here: https://blog.davidlawrence.com/enti...e-online-2/)
I looked for a Dansco album of the Mercury dimes, but they were sold out everywhere, and were long overdue to produce more. Even just page-1 (early dates) wasn't to be found anywhere! Eventually, I decided I would just skip the Philadelphia issues, as most were more common anyway (except 1921). I would focus on just the rarest of the rare dates: early date branch mints (Denver and Frisco), and I would aim for About Uncirculated if possible, and high VF or XF where certain rare semi-key dates were concerned. I came across the classic Capital Plastic 2x2 holders (in black) and I found black chicago screws (which looked nicer than either the cheap plastic ones they come with or the aluminum ones they sell too).
So in the end, I started with a wide net ("just go scattershot and pick stuff up here and there"), and ended up creating my own sub-set of a sub-set to focus my efforts. I only pick up a handful (or fewer) coins per year due to budget constraints, but I'm slowly building a "set" (collection) that I feel is focused and that I'll be happy with in the long run.
I'd say make sure you really appreciate whatever particular type of coins you get into, and try to limit sharp turns in your collecting goals, but it is certainly good to mix things up from time to time and branch out. I guess try not to limit yourself by the "traditional" approaches to collecting.
Edited by one_fine_dime
01/03/2021 9:00 pm
01/03/2021 9:00 pm
