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 Replies: 17 / Views: 1,591 |
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Valued Member
United States
78 Posts |
This will be the first time I've attempted to collect an entire series of coins and I've chosen the Peace dollar. My selection criteria were: - The Peace dollar is aesthetically beautiful to me - It's a (mostly) silver, US minted coin so it will retain its value - I can tell myself I'm "diversifying my retirement portfolio with hard assets"  ha! - It won't break the bank/reasonable budget for VF/AU key coins and maybe even opportunistically get some of the common years in MS I'm not sure how to start the collection process - so that's question number one: Who can I trust to buy from? How did you answer this question? I'm in New England. There is a silver stacker guy about 1 hour West of me but I just don't feel confident enough to cherry-pick yet. I need to learn how to ID cleaned coins. There is also a coin shop moving into a downtown area about 2 miles North of me in May. I feel like I need more lines in the water though. I just ordered the Red Book for Peace dollars to help alleviate some of my ignorance. I plan on doing a forum search for grading requests for Peace dollars and studying what people here look for. I'm open to any additional feedback as relates to keeping myself from accidentally wasting money, making dumb mistakes, or not seeing a good opportunity when it presents itself. Thanks very much for any feedback. *** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. *** |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3848 Posts |
I would first educate myself on genuine vs counterfeit coins. Buying VF-XF raw coins is not realistic (too low value coins to justify grading) so you will need to buy raw coins.
What is your choice of storage? If raw, I would recommend a Dansco album. Entirely your choice. If you choose to pay up for expensive examples, you will need to buy these coins already slabbed by a third party grader.
Once you are comfortable grading and affirming authenticity, and you get comfortable with market pricing, you can buy from anyone. I would not go in with the mindset of trusting a dealer to give me a reasonable price without fully knowing the series. Shop around and enjoy the hunt!
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Valued Member
 United States
78 Posts |
Quote:
I would first educate myself on genuine vs counterfeit coins. Awesome idea - I shall! Quote:
What is your choice of storage? I'm going to go with a Dansco album for this collection. |
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Moderator
 United States
94636 Posts |
I have not decided to collect these particular dollars (yet), bit I did start one for Morgan dollars and my first purchase was the Dansco Albums and sleeves to go with them so I can fill it as I go - an easier way the mark my progress. Edited by Dearborn
04/12/2024 07:47 am
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
94636 Posts |
Great idea John!
And nice links too.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2001 Posts |
Its a short series so easily accomplished. I did a XF-AU set last year for about $1600. I would start with the key dates (1921, 1928, and 1934) in the highest grade you can afford. Then try to match the rest of the collection to those grades. The 1928 is going to be the most expensive but it will give you incentive to complete the rest. Keep in mind that there is a 1934 D (D.D.O.) and on the 1935 S there are two varieties, one with 3 rays and the other with 4 rays on the reverse just in case you wanted to include varieties. Happy hunting!
Edited by MisterT
04/11/2024 9:12 pm
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Valued Member
United States
450 Posts |
The Peace dollar series is great for compiling a complete date/mint set as it has only 24 total coins. I've built a lot of different sets of Peace dollars over the years. The Everyman AU set was the most enjoyable and fun for the money. They're all in decent condition and the cost can be reduced by going with lower AU keys. And you can move them through an auction house when you're ready to part with them. https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/215636But it's a rabbit hole if you're bitten by the VAM bug. |
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Valued Member
United States
465 Posts |
I completed a mostly BU set (34-s is AU) by finding a couple of coin dealers who allow layaway. This allowed my to buy coins that I couldn't pay for all at once to pay over a two or three month period. Admittedly I completed mine 5 years ago and the asking price has soared since then. I am doing the same with Morgan's and I just recently put a 93-s on layaway which is the last hole to fill for my set. The Morgan's are mostly ms but I have a few VG's in there as well. In my 10 years of collecting I've been able to almost complete both sets thanks to layaway.
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Valued Member
United States
238 Posts |
I would start with the common ones to get a feel for grading. The difference between a weak strike and wear was hard for me to see at first. I found my early purchases were off - I paid too much for over-graded pieces. After a while when you are more comfortable with grading then spend the money for the keys.
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Pillar of the Community
Sweden
1812 Posts |
Quote:
I would start with the common ones to get a feel for grading. The difference between a weak strike and wear was hard for me to see at first. I found my early purchases were off - I paid too much for over-graded pieces. After a while when you are more comfortable with grading then spend the money for the keys. Being a new collector I can only confirm this. Its easy to get burned, and a lot of sellers ready to fool you if you don't look out. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2001 Posts |
Please be aware that the 1921 high relief coin is often found without fully struck hair details that can be mistaken for wear when it is actually strike weakness. A different criteria is used to grade the 1921 than that of the rest of the series. For a novice I would recommend purchasing the three key dates (1921, 1928, 1934) certified by a TPG. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6449 Posts |
I am not a silver dollar collector, but the advice about buying the three most expensive coins first made the hairs on my neck stand up. Mister T's proposal to buy those slabbed seems less risky, but honestly, there is so much variation in slabbed coins (and slop by TPGs) that it seems better to start with a few common dates first. Show them to folks here, discuss thoroughly, and learn the lessons—partly by being burned—before moving up to the big leagues. Start the blackjack game at the $5 table. That's my Two Cents, fwiw. There is no pressure to bet big on your own skill right from the start. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
Put together a budget for grade and how much you want to spend for each coin. I would not recommend doing the key dates first as you are going to make buying mistakes on your first set. You are better off making the mistakes on common dates. Your buying ability and Peace dollar knowledge will improve as you progress through the set. Make a criteria of what you want each coin to look like, for example: problem free, original skin with eye appeal. |
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Moderator
United States
15381 Posts |
All good advice. Keep us posted on your progress.
Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art |
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Valued Member
United States
78 Posts |
First off - thanks for all the advice, I value it all. - I will bookmark the links John1, Thanks! - Collecting varieties sounds like part of the fun, so I appreciate that advice. - I never considered Layway would be an option, but that seems like a really good way for a guy to get certain coins on a budget. I will ask about those when I'm visiting Local Coin Shops. - It seems pragmatic advice that I don't start with keys at first since my skill level is quite low. There is a boon to my locality, Stack's and Bowers has a showroom 5.5 miles from my front door. I want to assume I can trust them for keys if I start struggling. :) - Formalizing a list of aesthetic criteria seems quite smart. The me of now can keep the me in the buying moment in check. The Red Book for Peace dollars arrived yesterday. I've got a 10x Belomo triplet on order as well. |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 1,591 |
Posted 04/11/2024 1:48 pm
