Every set has at least one or two... My 4 mint sets have a dozen or better...

Greetings Collectors,

I have cut way back on mt coin purchases and during that time I have had more time to dwell on scarcity, rarity & the costs associated in those "harder to acquire" pieces. I know that every set has a few of these stoppers but having been trying to build a few mint sets, every single one of these has the "stoppers" to beat all "stoppers". I have these 4 sets that are the most important to me, and those being the 1853, 1892, 1901 & the 1923. Not being an authority on Barber coinage or Standing Liberty quarters, or even the Lincoln cent or the Buffalo nickel, I don't think I could have picked a "harder" 4 sets to complete. I mean really, I'm talking thousands of dollars for coins in way less then F-15 all the way down to AG-3. It's needless to say that there will be several holes in each set. I am quite sure that between these four sets, the 1923 is the only one I have a prayer of completing 100%, and that may even be "stretching" it.

I always knew the 1853 mint set would be quite an undertaking knowing all of the "branch mint" gold I would need. But even those coins are in-expensive when compared to the 1892 "micro "O" Barber half which I saw one go for around $5000 in the lowest grade imaginable. There are other stoppers in that set too. Then there is the 1901-S Barber quarter which again is thousands of dollars in the same very low grade. That brings me around to the 1923 set and boy howdy, here, there are more stoppers. Not as bad as the 1892 & the 1901 and of course the 1853 with what I think I counted, some where around 35 coins to complete or better. Not only the C & D gold in the '53, but you have seated coinage "without" arrows and 1/2 cents & large cents and 3-cent silver ( not so bad on this little silver coin) and all the lesser expensive "with arrows" seated coinage except the New Orleans issues which are all as high as the stratosphere in "upper" decent grades.

The 1923 which at first thought, would not be so bad. It only has two gold coins, although both are double eagles, thank goodness they are not considered rare, just dam expensive for their gold content alone. But then not knowing the other series that well that populate that early 20's set, I had quite a shock, especially when I started looking at the "S" mint stuff. The Standing Liberty quarter being the worse, but the Buffalo nickel and the Lincoln cent in middle "mint state" (64-65) are anything but cheap. The Walker has only one coin for 1923 with nothing from the Denver or Philadelphia mints but it is no "cake walk" when it comes to even finding one, much less finding an example that's half way decent & affordable.

I am really feeling quite discouraged to say the least. I was hoping for an AU set for 1853. Then I was thinking about the same or maybe a wee bit better for the 1892. Then seeing as I already had several of the gold coins for the 1901, I had hoped "lower mint state" would not be out of the question. Boy have I had a "rude awakening". And the 1923 mint set which does not have almost 2-3 dozen different coins, I thought lower to middle mint state (60-64) might be something that was "do-able". I have lots of decisions to make on these 4 mint sets as I can think of at least a 3/4 dozen or better number of coins that will "NEVER" see the light of day in a collection owned by me.

I don't want this to sound like I'm complaining, because I'm not. I just like too many other coin series/sets that are also in need and there is just so much (or should I say "so little") money to make itself available, without getting into "ultra rare" Barber quarters & halves, branch gold, Standing Liberty, Morgan, Buffalo and gosh knows "what else" coinage. I really believe that the coin market "overall" is due to "take off" starting now and will continue to grow "long legs" a long way out into the future, which will only do one thing to each and every one of these keys/stoppers. And that is to send all of them through the roof. The sky may not even be the limit. It is hard to fathom just how high all of this will/can go.

I'm just going to continue to do the best I can and try to keep a "positive attitude" while I "chip away" at what looks to be an insurmountable task. I love this hobby way too much to give up and throw in the towel. And on that note, I leave you with a very affordable piece of "branch mint" gold that I acquired this last summer to fit into that "zillion coin" 1853 mint set. This little gold dollar has only seen a few more than a thousand at NGC, in all grades, which is nearly 8X scarcer than its Philadelphia sister, which has seen over 8000 in all grades.

I'm just very happy and feel quite blessed to have two of the four gold dollars needed for this set. It really makes little difference to me that these two, are the far easier examples to obtain compared to the "C" & "D" mint-marked coins of this mid 19th century mint set. I love absolutely every aspect of this hobby, both the difficult and the "not so" difficult.

Happy Collecting!

WKF