Mohawk

Well.....I did pick up my first Lucilla denarius.  I'm pretty psyched about it, though it is nowhere near the grades of your new pickups......but that's the ancients game  

I just went over to that thread to check it out. You have truly added some spectacular coins to your book. Congratulations on the new purchase, it’s a real beauty! 

Wow, it looks like you’ve added some really awesome examples to your collection Tom! I especially like the look of this one. I may need to stay away from this thread to avoid being enticed to start yet another collecting journey. All of you are bad influences on my coin budget.  

Well....I finally did it.  I broke down and bought my first Lucilla today.  Looks like my collection will be expanding some .  

I picked up another Faustina the Younger denarius today.  This will be my fifth one:

I've been having good luck with coins of my new numismatic muse lately  

I just picked this pretty lady up.....she's coming from France, so I may have a bit of a wait but I'm excited!
 

Here's my newest addition to my Faustina the Younger collection:

Another long wait......this one's coming from Sweden, but I'm really excited to share her with you guys!

Looking good, Don!! Those are some very nice new pickups!  I especially love the Victoria pieces.....as you know, I have a fondness for empresses   Thanks for sharing those!
~Tom

Some of these are not so new, but I am a bit behind posting pictures. 

Well, we all knew it was only a matter of time. 
Nice looking lady. 

Ahhh.......gotcha Bsshog and I agree on the whole sticker thing.  It's ridiculous all across the board in my opinion and I do feel that all of it's a waste of money, though for some reason CAC has taken off.  That I do not understand, but there is a lot in the hobby I guess I don't understand.  It's just weird that we're at a point of grading the graders with the whole CAC thing.......I really do not understand the need for it and I understand the need for what MAC is offering even less.

Indeed it is, sir, indeed it is......

Bsshog.....just because you don't like something doesn't mean collecting it is throwing your money away.  I could very easily say from my perspective "Nothing like throwing more money away on classic US coins", if I'm to be brutally honest with my feelings regarding that topic.  So I definitely take issue with your comment in that regard.  There are some good moderns and a lot of people really enjoy collecting them.  That said, I do agree that the whole sticker on the slab thing in its entirety is a waste of money....not just MAC, but all of them.  But that's just my thoughts on the issue.  It's ultimately up to each individual collector to decide what makes them happy with collecting coins and that answer is different for everyone. 

Yeah, the multiple posts are very bad manners. They give an air of a spoiled child whining at the lack of instant gratification. If someone doesn't hear for about a week, mostly they should assume: a) no one knows the answer, b) no one is interested in the question, or c) they have somehow managed to get all the regulars to say "I don't feel like doing this."
The latter is probably something we aren't supposed to admit to. Maybe I'm the only one who experiences it.
In any case, if a week passes and someone has no answers, I don't think it's unreasonable to bump the thread with a second post. Of course, if that post is whiny or testy or entitled, it will probably get the sort of reply it merits.

Those are very nice Faustina pieces. Good taste on display.

She's a Beaut! 

Here's my newest addition to my Faustina the Younger collection:

Another long wait......this one's coming from Sweden, but I'm really excited to share her with you guys!

I'm thinking that this coin hasn't lost its plating....I think that it gained another layer of zinc plating in a high school or college chemistry class.  This is a common occurrence and many of them end up in circulation once the novelty of having a silver colored cent wears off.

I'm thinking that this coin hasn't lost its plating....I think that it gained another layer of zinc plating in a high school or college chemistry class.  This is a common occurrence and many of them end up in circulation once the novelty of having a silver colored cent wears off.

Look like the prices have dropped pretty considerably on these.  That's a good thing for people who want them for their collections, not so good for guys like me who are looking for a flip.  But $30-$40 for a quarter found in circulation still isn't too shabby.  I'm still in the hunt!  I'm glad the price is going down some though.....I sell enough coins for my collecting needs.....I would really like to see collectors who want them for their collections to get the majority of these.  The price drop may make this easier for them if it discourages some of the really big companies from buying them all up.  Best of luck to all of you!

Welcome to the forum Bruce, you seem like you'll fit in well here. 

Hello and Welcome!
While it's been quite a long time since I've collected US coins, I think I can help you out here.  The problem with the Red Book is that it only comes out once a year.  Therefore, it does not keep up with market prices very well.  In most cases, I'd say prices slightly higher than Red Book would be very reasonable.  However, it is important to note that fluctuations in bullion prices for many common coins made of precious metal can cause rapid and pronounced price increases and decreases and the market for key and semi key date coins also moves around more than that for common dates, so if you're in the market for keys, you may have to pay significantly higher prices than what is in the Red Book.  If the dealer's prices are slightly above Red Book prices, I wouldn't try to bring them down to Red Book prices......that could be considered rude as such prices are already very reasonable.  I personally wouldn't do so.  Remember, dealers need to make a profit and a good dealer should be in touch with what the market is doing at the present time, so their data would be more up to date than the Red Book.  Basically, the best way to look at the Red Book is as a US coin guidebook, but not necessarily an effective US coin price guide. 
I hope that this is of some help to you!
~Tom
 

I just picked this pretty lady up.....she's coming from France, so I may have a bit of a wait but I'm excited!
 

Mohawk (Tom?), I will do my best to lend a helping hand so you do not have to go at this one alone. It appears he believes he also has a branch mint proof Morgan. 
Mason254, although your coins appear to be uncirculated they are not SMS coins. The Morgan dollar is not a branch mint proof. This set is not unique nor is it rare. It was likely a marketing ploy to trick uneducated people into paying exorbitant prices for average coins. Sets like these are common and beyond the Morgan dollar would most likely be sold for the silver content. As proof, here is an example just like yours with a different date/mintmark Morgan dollar in it. 

coinsandmedals has it just right.  Your coins are not at all what you are claiming and at one time there were many different sets assembled in those holders.  He showed an example with a different Morgan, also nothing unusual, in it.  Many of these privately assembled sets have been broken up over the years to retrieve the coins for different purposes, but they aren't valuable.  I have in fact seen several other sets of this type when I worked at a brick and mortar shop, always with 1964 business strikes and a different common date of Morgan Dollar included except for one that I saw with a 1923 Peace Dollar  .  We sold these sets for melt value plus whatever small premium the common date Morgan or Peace in the one instance commanded.  You may not like this answer, but it is the truth and the truth is not always what we want it to be.  And thanks to coinsandmedals for jumping in and helping out with this one!!