Draped Bust... Thomas Jefferson Spouse Coin?

[CoinCurious]

OK, so I purchased the Thomas Jefferson First spouse Proof and Unc coins. I had thought about selling them but decided I didnt need the cash so I just as well keep them. I think they are very pretty coins. But since I am going to keep them I have decided that I need to buy a few coins to go with them to make it interesting.

What I would like to do is purchase draped bust coins from each denomination. I know very very little about draped bust coins (which is why I am here). So please correct me where I am wrong. The image on the first spouse coin is also on the half cent, large cent, half dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar coin. (If that is correct) What I would like to eventually do is have one of each. At the moment I am thinking of grades F12 - VF20. As far as the particular dates go, I would like to look for the most common (asumming most inexpensive). I would appreciate any advice as to how some of you more experienced collectors would go about getting these coins. And also any ideas on the cost I should expect.

 

 

Or is this design only on the half cent?

[BillJones]

I've been collecting these coins by type for the last 35+ years. So here goes.

 

First you are going to need to have a fairly good sized bank account to do this. These coins have never been a large supply, and in recent years they have come into their own price wise.

 

The bust on the Jefferson spouse coin was modeled after the half cent. Here is a low end Mint State example of the half cent: The half cent is the lowest priced, coin witht the design. 1806 is the most common date in Mint State, but 1804 is the most date period. An example of this coin is Fine costs about $110 or so. A VF-20 will run you $150 or so. The trouble is there are not a lot of undamged properly graded coins out there, especially in F-VF when it comes to "no problem" pieces. This true of all these coins. If you have money finding them might be harder than paying for them.

 

 

I'll post pictures of obverese of the rest of these coins. These are the best examples in my collection. You will get a lot less detail on F-VF graded pieces.

 

The Half dime - the most common date is 1800, but these coins are all very scarce and hard to find.

 

 

The dime. The most common dates are 1805 and 1807

 

 

The quarter. The most common dates are 1805 to 1807.

 

 

The half dollar - This is most common of the silver issues, but one in Fine or VF is going to set you back $300 to $600. The most common dates are 1806 and 1807.

 

 

The silver dollar. These coins are very popular, and most are at least in VF. The most common date is 1799. You are proably looking at $2,000 or so for nice example of this coin.

 

 

If you want more info, please ask. This post was kind of long.

[CoinCurious]

Wow, beautiful coins. And very helpful thank you. Now I know this is something I want to do.

[BillJones]

If you can get a copy of "Coin Values" magazine, that will give some idea as what you will have to pay. But finding the coin is hard part IF you have the money.

 

Now for the crass part.

 

I am a part time dealer, and I do want lists. It will take a while, but I might be able to help you, if you can be patient. This will take time. These coins are not easy to find nice for the grade.

[CoinCurious]

I have purchased modern coins from ebay. But I dont believe I would feel comfortable purchasing these coins from there. Would Heritage be a better option?

I would prefer to see these coins in hand before I purchased them, but unfortunately there are no coin shops in my area.

[CoinCurious]

Just read your last post. How would that actually work...

[BillJones]

The best place to find these coins is at a major show. You find them at most small shows. You best shot is the silver dollar. Those coins are around. You will need to most likely see an Early American Coppers dealer for the half cent and cent. The quarter and dime are tough. The half dollar is somewhat common. The half dime is a bear. Those little beauties of very scarce and seldom offered.

 

Heritage might be able to help you in their auctions, but these are coins you really need to see before you buy them.

[BillJones]

Just read your last post. How would that actually work...

 

You give me a list of coins (e.g. I want a type coin of the Draped Bust half cent in F-VF), and I see what I can find. Although these coins are sometimes slabbed, the half cent in that grade would probably be raw. The silver coins would probably be slabbed.

 

I give you price, and you decide up on down. You pay for postage.

 

All of the coins in my first post grade from AU-55 to MS-61. Here are a couple of Draped bust coins in VF. These are earlier coins that are much rarer and more expemsive, which why I have lower grade examples. These coins are VERY NICE for the VF grade.

 

1797 half dime, NGC VF-20

 

 

1796 quarter, PCGS VF-25

 

[EZ_E]

If you can get a copy of "Coin Values" magazine, that will give some idea as what you will have to pay. But finding the coin is hard part IF you have the money.

 

In my experience, the price guides don't even come close to the fair market value for early type coins. The guides assume that the piece is raw with problems and won't slab. Be prepared to sometimes pay up to double or more of the periodical price guides if you want near problem-free, slabbed examples.

[TomB]

Bill has given you excellent advice and I must echo his thoughts that finding essentially original, attractive coins in the F-VF range is going to be tough regardless of your ability to pay. In my experience the half-dollar, dollar and half-cent will be easiest group to find in this range, followed by the quarter and large cent as the next most plentiful group and then finally followed by the dime and half-dime. Pieces that appear original, attractive and accurately graded typically sell well above the levels posted on guidesheets or publications and are not easy to find for each denomination. If you continue with this goal you will find that many, if not most dealers will sell previously cleaned coins that have retoned with secondary toning as original examples and that NGC and PCGS have no problem certifying these coins. In fact, I believe most collectors do not realize that these oftentimes blue-rimmed coins with lighter devices and gold hues are actually stripped coins that do not have original skin and that these collectors love those coins and will pay a premium for them.

 

Below are obverse images of a few coins that I own that would fall within your parameters. The half-dime is in a PCGS F15 holder, the quarter in a PCGS F12 holder, the halves are in PCGS VF30 holders and the dollar is in an NGC VF25 holder. In my opinion this design loses a critical amount of detail when traveling down the grading scale from VF30 to F12 and folks who might like very much what a VF30 looks like might also find an F12 to be unacceptable. Additionally, the range of F12 through EF40 is avidly collected and there is significant pressure on any date within this range from type collectors, from die marriage collectors and from those who target early, Federal coinage. I would expect a nice set in F12 to cost more than $8,000 while a VF20 set would cost a few thousand more.

1800 Half-Dime PCGS F15

1796 Quarter PCGS F12

1801 Half-Dollar PCGS VF30

1805 Half-Dollar PCGS VF30

1798 Dollar NGC VF25

[Just Bob]

[zrlevin]

Here are my two draped bust coins: