| Author |
 Replies: 10 / Views: 990 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
178 Posts |
Hey...I bought a Circulated Franklin set back in March of last year when silver was around 20$/ozt. It cost me 272 which I thought was a great deal because it was only $20 above melt. Anyways, I want to upgrade to a BU set, but I don't have the cash to do it all at once. Some of the later years are in pretty good shape and some of the early ones are in pretty bad shape. Obviously though, upgrading the earlier ones to BU costs more than upgrading the later ones to BU. Are there any Franklin half experts here who can advise me, or anybody done something like this before in the Franklin series? |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
Bronxman95,
I am just missing the 50-53 proofs for a complete BU63+/PF65+ set. I'll get them eventually when they present themselves at the "correct" price. This is how I worked on the entire set. I got what I needed when it was available. This is the only framework I used and it served me well. You just need to know what you're missing and keep an eye out for them. When I upgraded pieces, I disposed of the old coin in a separate transaction.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
I would go after the early S mint coins first, I recently finished putting together a nice MS set over the past 2-3 years and those coins have been the ones increasing in value the quickest. Also, always try to purchase coins with the best strike possible, paying attention to both sets of bell lines and PASS AND STOW. You can do this without paying a premium for certified FBL coins, just be selective and look for coins where 90+% of the bell lines are present(upper and lower bands) and the bell wording is legible. I have seen certified FBL coins where the wording was not even legible- that may be an FBL coin but it certainly is not a full strike coin  . |
|
Valued Member
 United States
178 Posts |
I don't get around to too many coin shops and I'm not looking for slabbed coins since I want to be able to display them in my album - so most "good" online retailers are out. I was looking at APMEX and they had individual BU uncertified Franklin's for sale. I occasionally order bullion from them so the next time I did I was thinking about throwing one in with my order... I will go to the only coin shop within 20 miles of my house soon and see what they are asking for BU Franklins. But those are my only two known options as of now for shopping. If I do go on vacation should I look in coin shops and just buy? How far underneath a Red Book price is a "must-buy"? |
|
Valued Member
United States
114 Posts |
I just started a book of Franklin's myself. have 7 coins so far. I will be watching these posts for advice too. Good luck bronxman95 on your hunt
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
581 Posts |
If you're going for "BU" and you want to buy raw, then MS-63 is pretty much the highest you should be looking at unless you can see it in hand and know how to grade 'em. First, the most important advice for any series is Patience. I know it sounds old and tired, but it is so true. If you follow that, you don't need to worry about which one to get first and last because you'll get "good" deals on all of them. This might take several months. Franklins, like most of the modern series, can have prices all over the place. For MS-63 and below, dealers/sellers haven't paid much for the coin. you just need to shop around and get them when the seller isn't trying to get 50% or whatever. Trouble with APMEX is that you could get a good (or bad) coin and there is absolutely no guarantee what you'll get the next time. I wouldn't go through APMEX if I were upgrading a set coin by coin. To illustrate the point about patience. Any BU Franklin from the late 50's and later can be bought for $8-$9 (and cheaper). But, if you don't look around or are in a hurry, you'll see truckloads of late '50s and early 60's "BU"s listed in the teens and higher. The choice is yours. It depends if you're willing to wait for the next train..... Edited by Kabiye_Lady
02/07/2009 09:33 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1083 Posts |
I did it like Seated Nut did. I started by completing the set I inherited of circulated coins. Than I began upgrading, buying proofs where minted and available, or no worse than MS-63 otherwise. I used my coin store bid board, ebay, and Heritage. Before you knew it I had a blazing set. This is probably the only set I will ever complete that is totally uncirculated and the reason is the price. Franklins are very inexpensive. I just sold a 1955 duplicate that was easily a 64 on ebay. To my sorrow it sold for $9.50. Someday, due to melting and just the passage of a little more time, this set is going to appreciate in value IMHO. |
|
Valued Member
United States
178 Posts |
So I should try to worry more about the earlier dates with an emphasis on the San Francisco ones. Look for the words "Pass and Stow" on the liberty bell inscription. I don't have my Red Book with me cause I'm at college right now...could someone give me the BU price of the 49-S,51-S,52-S,53-S, and 54-S? How far of a percentage under these prices would the coins be a must buy? |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1083 Posts |
I am sorry Bronxman, but that is impossible to answer. Price depends on too many variables, has the coin been dipped, full bell lines or not, and a thousand other variables. I would think you could get most the earlier dates in uncirculated, raw, for thirty bucks or lees. maybe your best bet is if you find a coin online that you like, post a picture here or give us the link and we will give you an informed opinion.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
178 Posts |
Yea...that's probably the case. Live and learn...I'll start with one of the less expensive ones (not the 49 S)...take a picture...post here and let you guys critique my skills.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
429 Posts |
This is a series I have wanted to start for awhile and finally did a couple of months ago and I am doing the same as others. My first step is to get them all and then upgrade them when I find a great deal of the pocket book lets me. Since I have no idea what condition your coins are in there really is no problem looking around at as many places to buy as possible and compare them to each other. You said you had a coin store within 20 miles and that would be the first place to go and pick through everything they have. Because of the big increase/decrease in silver over the last year they actually may have a great selection to go through and willing to sell for a cheaper price than you thought before. If they have buckets, see if you can go through them, just finding 1 or 2 to upgrade into your set would be worth the time alone.
One of the things I have also been thinking about is buying mint and proof sets and breaking them down for the individual coins. There are a lot of times you can buy the set cheaper than the price of the coin so you may want to look into this as well. And the most obvious is to search the buy and sell areas here on the board.
|
| |
Replies: 10 / Views: 990 |
|
Posted 02/06/2009 2:53 pm
