Collectors with multiple sets in a single category?

[Desert Gold]

I was just looking through some of the gold registry sets and noticed that two "collectors" (i.e., X1X1X1 and foresthamilton@universalcoin.com) have multiple sets within many of the gold categories. For example the number of sets for these two collectors in the following categories are listed below:

 

Indian Head Quarter Eagles 1908-1929: 48 and 49 sets, respectively.

 

Indian Head Half Eagles 1908-1929: 31 and 10 sets, respectively.

 

Indian Head Eagles 1907-1933: 26 and 7 sets, respectively.

 

Are the sets listed under these two collector's names actually sets of multiple individual collectors? Are these sets that were put together by dealers or investment houses? I hadn't seen anything like this before and just found this kind of interesting. I'm wondering what other people think about this?

 

 

[physics-fan3.14]

I know in the 7070 type set, there is one guy that has dozens of sets. They are each filled with modern *spoon*. I don't know what these people do, maybe they are just hoarding? If you have a big hoard but want it on the registry for some reason, you'll have to have an individual set for each duplicate.

[HiHoAudio]

There is a collector named Lawjudge with multiple sets of Newfoundland $2 Gold coins. These were only minted between 1865 to 1888 and are quite rare with very low mintages. Finding one above MS60 is a minor miracle. He owns thirty (!) with grades averaging AU55-MS63. It boggles the mind.

 

There are 21 active Newfoundland $2 Gold 1865-1888 Registry Sets. Lawjudge owns 15 of them. His #1 set is extremely impressive but what bothers me is that there are no photos of any of his coins. Even the ones in his #1 set.

 

A #1 award winning set without photos. I have the #6 set and have photos of my three coins on display. I have an 1865 waiting in the wings to be certified and I will have photos of that as well.

 

Should Competitive Sets require photos to compete? I think they should.

 

FAO - Mr. Lawjudge, I will take quality photos of all 30 of your Newfoundland $2 Gold coins for free just to see them, as there are few coins as beautiful. Bring a bottle of Bowmore 18 Single Malt as a thank you and we'll call it even.

 

 

They are VERY photogenic!

[Desert Gold]

I can understand someone hoarding 30 coins, but these two "collectors" rank as the first and third in terms of total registry points with 6,547,914 and 2,806,536 points, respectively. They also have multiple double eagle sets. It just doesn't seem like these are individual collectors.

[HiHoAudio]

"multiple double eagle sets"

 

That caught my attention.

 

Just another example of the Golden Rule. Those with the gold make the rules!

[MercuryMan]

FAO - Mr. Lawjudge, I will take quality photos of all 30 of your Newfoundland $2 Gold coins for free just to see them, as there are few coins as beautiful. Bring a bottle of Bowmore 18 Single Malt as a thank you and we'll call it even.

 

Very nice HiHo

[enzet-migration]

Most likely a couple of coin dealers building sets for individual clients.

[CSdot]

Was researching this and came across this thread. Did the owners of these two member IDs ever come forward and explain why they have so many sets? Are they dealers creating sets for their customers; hoarders as some have suggested; or maybe people who just like to enter slab numbers of coins they see on eBay?

[Kominsky Collection]

X1X1X1 is clearly a dealer/investment advisor that has multiple clients. Many of the sets even indicate the particular client's last name, i.e., John Smith Collection, Jones Family Trust, etc. It's probably not a good idea to rock the boat with the big guys, huh?

[CSdot]

You are probably correct about the company not wanting to "rock the boat", but it is frustrating to try to pick a new series only to see that the competition is not exactly active, and that they don't believe in posting pictures.

[trozau]

I only have 2 Competitive sets registered and they are both the same year and entry category. They are for my kids.

[CSdot]

OP was referring to two members with 105 and 66 sets respectively in just 3 categories. I don't think anyone is going to begrudge your having two sets for your kids. In fact, getting the next generation interested in the hobby sounds like a fine use of the registry.

[Mainer020648]

It does make it hard to move up in Ranking if you are an "average" collector. Most don't have pockets deep enough to be "competitive".

[CSdot]

It does make it hard to move up in Ranking if you are an "average" collector. Most don't have pockets deep enough to be "competitive".

 

I agree. It's hard enough to be competitive without a dealer adding sets to the mix that the coin owners may never view. Plus, what is the chance the owners will update the sets when they sell a coin? Does the dealer give them his password so they can update and enjoy their sets, or are they just a snapshot representations of his customer's purchase at that given moment? If the later, then they should be taken down.

[Mainer020648]

I also think some sets should be broken down more. I'll use the Franklin Half Proof as an example as I have that set 100% complete. I would suggest there be 2 sets here - CA and non-CA. I do not have any Cams in my set and it is ranked 114. Set Rank 92 is only 60% complete, but has many more point than mine because they are cams. The costs of cams can be prohibitive for some of us. My 1952 is PR67 gets 1103 points; a PR66CA , a grade lower but cam gets 1206. I cannot possibly go up in the rankings as long as others can assemble a set in lower grades and still get more points because they are cams. Cost wise, mine is listed as $750 in the guide. If I wanted to upgrade to a cam, the price jumps to $2900, an increase of 387%. This is just my personal observation.

[CBC]

I noticed those sets about a year ago. One of the "collectors" has over $30,000 in gold in his various colections - not $30k numismatic value, $30k FACE value!!!

[granbecoin]

As a new NGC Registry member, I've noticed that there is an increase of individuals with multiple sets in single categories. They don't have just a couple of sets. I'm talking about 20 to 30 sets. This seems to make it hard for those individuals who are really trying to see how they stack up against other collectors. I agree with some of the previous posters that it is most likely dealers who are building sets for customers. It seems like there must be a better way for them to do this rather than filling slots in the competitive sets categories.