124Spider

Hi, I have a number of coin albums for US coins--cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars--that are either complete or getting there. So now, having picked the low-hanging fruit, I am more and more left only with expensive coins. Certainly, lots of them are more expensive than I ever will pay for, but some are ones I will pay for; I won't buy a very expensive coin (especially one that is often counterfeited, like the 1922 plain Lincoln cent) that isn't certified, and I won't crack open the plastic container in a graded coin. So now I have holes in albums (a mix of Dansco and Whitman) when I actually own the coin. That offends my sensibility. So far, I've put smaller coins as placeholders, which works ok (e.g., EU one cent coins in the Lincoln cent albums), but that looks kind of silly in the larger coins' albums (e.g., a Mercury dime in a Standing Liberty quarter album). And I'm not real keen on buying a decent copy from the same year (e.g., an 1882 Morgan Dollar to fill a slot for an 1882-CC), since that costs real money. What have people done to solve this problem? Thanks. Mark

Yeah, we have a very good alarm system, so it is unlikely that a burglar would have a lot of time inside the house to play. And I do know that "fireproof" really is only "resistant" for a period of time. We do have a large gun safe with a number of shelves; we're thinking about moving things not of great monetary value (documents) to a second, smaller safe, and putting the coins on a shelf of the gun safe.

Hi, It seems that my collection has reached the point where I should have it in a fireproof safe. I'm looking for recommendations, from personal experience, for a safe that can hold albums 9-1/2" high, with about 30" of shelf space. It should be fireproof, and it should be heavy enough that a burglar can't just carry it out of the house. It also should be something that is convenient to get into, since I do like looking at my albums. Thanks! Mark

Thanks; that's helpful. As I had said in a subsequent post, after having acquired all the low-hanging fruit, I'm now working my way up to buying some very expensive coins (I've bought a striking 1972 DDO Lincoln cent in MS64RD condition, certified by PCGS, and a couple of other similar purchases of expensive slabbed coins, and I expect over time to be buying more--e.g., 1942 42/41 Mercury dimes), so having some good sites for such coins is useful. While I'm certainly not attempting to create a collection of the quality a fabulously wealthy person might, I've upped my sights quite a bit; it's still for my own enjoyment, but I find that I enjoy having high-quality versions of the more beautiful coins (e.g., walking liberty half dollars and silver dollars). And, yes, I even used eBay to buy a 1931-S Lincoln cent in very fine condition, and it seems to be exactly as advertised.

Yeah, I'm learning that the thing that gives oddities value is collectors' collective interest. So the 1955 DDO, with its dramatic appearance, is very valuable, but various less-common minting/striking errors don't attract any interest, so they aren't valuable. Yes, I know that that's just supply/demand, and should be obvious, but I kind of thought that sheer rarity itself would drive value to some extent. But, no.

Hi, I like both these coin sets, but neither is circulated. The U.S. Mint's uncirculated sets do not include either, and the proof set only includes the Sacagawea/Native American dollar. And they only sell the P and D versions in bulk, at a price above face. Our local coin shops do not carry them. Is there a way to get them without paying the markup and the postage from internet dealers? I have no issue with those dealers charging what they charge, but I'm wondering if there's another way to keep a collection current. Thanks. Mark

OP here, just circling back to say what I've found. I have found various online shops that seem to be honest and fairly-priced, along with a couple of local brick-and-mortar places. I bought bulk sets off of eBay to fill in the 50 years since I last collected; these were very inexpensive for P and D; not so inexpensive for the proof S versions that the coin albums include, but it's fun to order them some at a time and look forward to "Christmas" a couple of times a week. So I'm up-to-date on the modern coins (either in hand or ordered). Yay! Of course, I'm now completely sucked into the "red mist" (as we called it when I raced cars), and have considerably upped my goals; still only US coins, but I'm willing to get most of the less common varieties of 20th-century coins (and Morgan silver dollars). But that's part of the fun, right? Mark

Yeah, that's what I got. Thanks. I guess I'll just stay tuned, and see what comes with my subscription!

I'm wondering what the West Point U.S. Mint does. Clearly, it makes specialty coins, but I have a 2020 proof Jefferson Nickel from that mint. Will the West Point mint continue to make proof coins of cents, nickels, etc.? If so, how can one get them directly from the U.S. Mint (I don't see any way to order them on the U.S. Mint's website)? Thanks! Mark

Thanks; that's all very helpful. I'm not looking to build wealth, only have fun, without spending too much money. To the extent that I can convince myself that at least the silver coins have a melt-down value that is a significant portion of what I'm paying for the coin, that makes it easier to convince myself (and my wife) that this is ok. So I'll generally take quantity over quality--fill those holes! Mark

Hi, I was an enthusiastic coin collector when I was a kid, many decades ago. In those days, I collected only by saving coins that I got in change, or by going to the bank and buying rolls of coins, and going through them. I never bought a coin at a coin shop. As a result, I have some/many of the following: Morgan dollars (yes, they were in circulation when my parents visited Las Vegas in 1960 and they brought a couple back for each of the kids), JFK half dollars, Walking Liberty half dollars, Standing Liberty quarters, Washington quarters, Mercury dimes, Roosevelt dimes, Buffalo nickels, Jefferson nickels and Lincoln pennies. Something has caused me to rekindle the interest, and now I'm interested in filling in the more affordable holes in those old collections. At this point, I don't care to fill in all the decades that I was not active, preferring to fill in the holes in the folders I have. But that means that all the coins I'm now interested in buying date at least to the mid-1960s. Yes, I know that 90% silver ended in 1964, so the dimes, quarters and half dollars will have the value of the silver factored in. I've bought some coins at APMEX, which has the advantage of being reputable and easy, but they clearly don't have low prices. I tried looking at a local coin shop, but they didn't have prices on the coins, and they spent five minutes looking up each value (probably the catalog value plus the silver value, since they looked in two sources); I don't have the patience for that when I'm interested in buying a bunch of coins at a time. I am happy getting coins in reasonably good condition (generally, F or better, although I'll go below that for some very old coins, as long as the date is easily legible). I really don't care to pay for BU or better (or even for XF or better in most cases). Is APMEX about as good as it gets for one like me? I doubt I'll ever pay big bucks for a coin (although I flirted with the idea of buying a 1909-S VDB penny, but decided that a whole bunch of more plebeian coins is a better way to spend somewhat limited funds). Thanks. Mark