Just completed a date/mint set of business strike
Kennedy halves, starting in 1964 and going through 2017.
It is definitely a budget set, but I like it way more than I thought I would. Here is why:
Personal history. The starter coins were ones I found roll hunting and plugged into a Whitman folder as a kid. I didn't do much hunting through halves, though. Nickels were more my thing as the halves tied up too much money. Then, when college hit, the budget got tighter, and coin collecting went away for a few decades. Sad.
Gratification delayed. The final two holes were plugged with two '87 halves that I bought as a mint set (I have another still intact.) with my lawn mowing (push mower—riding mowers cut into profit!) money when I was about 13. Today, I finally did something with them! A moment I had set up nearly 34 years ago. It felt pretty satisfying, without any serious financial repercussions.
Help from a friend. The more recent halves—the ones not officially released for general circulation—I acquired for face value from my fishing buddy who is a coin roll hunting fiend and a lucky dog in that area. I got to cherry pick from his extras, and some of those were awfully nice. I have seen worse in mint sets.
100 and 5. The collection is exactly one hundred coins, filling exactly five full pages in a used Dansco I picked up from my LCS. I like full pages and round numbers. Somewhere, someone makes medication for that, I am sure, but coffee is as strong of a drug as I can handle.
Educational value. On another thread this weekend, cladking gave the opinion that putting together such a set is a good way to start learning. As an example, my pitiful 1983 P could represent what kind of year the mint was having, using dies until they were beyond worn out. I also have one of Rick Tomaska's books. While that book may be focused on the high end stuff, it is still interesting to compare to my circulated set and the proofs and three SMS coins I have. The connections are more tangible. Per cladking's advice, I am looking at the date/mm sets in a whole different way. They can be a beginning...
Budget friendly. No guilt. I have spent about $125 on the whole shebang, including the album. Anchored by eight coins containing ~$44 dollars in silver at current spot, and the rest representing another $46 in face value, this "textbook" will certainly hold its monetary value way better than any of my college textbooks.
A bad picture is included of my "key" coins, and I am not talking about the '70 D. Taking pictures of an album is beyond my skill level at the moment.
I might try for a higher grade set one of these days, or after more study I might define a certain set of types to go after in as high of a grade as I can stand. Not sure. But I am not finished with these!
BTW: Thanks to the many members who share their valuable, hard-earned knowledge on here. Some of us newbies are listening and act on advice, even if we didn't ask the original question!
Posted 02/15/2021 9:02 pm
congratulations
