I am currently building a set in a higher grade than you describe but those before 1960 are not BU.
Those after 1960 will all be mostly AU55 to MS63.
The way I figure my value is to grade the few key date coins and value those.
1938 1938D 1938S 1939D 1939S 1942D The
War Nickels are probably G to VG in your set and only worth melt value or about a buck each. 1950D.
Then I would say the rest are worth about .50 to 1.00 each. Closer to .50 tops probably.
Most of these sets are simply put together so that the seller can attract a buyer with the complete set being the pitch. Some of these sets are better than others of course. A circulated coin can be attractive and a set of attractive circulated coins can be a prize and something to be proud of.
You can always upgrade individual coins as you encounter a better example.
Low grade dirty scratched ugly coins throughout a circulated set are pretty cheap, nice attractive circulated hand assembled sets done with some care can be worth 2 or 3 times more.
The best a circulated set will realize is probably about $125.00
The worst might be about $50.00
Adding the 1971 and later "S only" proofs which would be probably worth an additional $30.00 to $40.00.
This is my best guess.
The good thing about owning any of these sets is that they can be a learning tool of just how difficult a certain date and mint mark can be to upgrade while you are out looking for replacements.
If you bought a circulated set for investment. The profit probably will be minimal as there are no shortages of average circulated
Jefferson nickels or sub standard proof only issues.
My MAIN
Jefferson nickel set is worth thousands of dollars and has taken me more than half of my life to work on and improve. It will never be complete.
There are some guys on
ebay that put together some very nice sets like yours and there are many more sets for sale on there that are just slapped together to sell.
as always, I could be wrong about anything at anytime.
Posted 10/30/2009 1:40 pm
