100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins posted by Alan Lastufka

[CSJournals-migration]

The cat is out of the bag now.

 

I noticed the registry set for the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins about two weeks ago, and was quietly building my set all alone as the only registered set in the category. I already owned a few of the coins on the list, as they intrigued me, so it was fun starting with a few slots already knocked out.

 

But two days ago, NGC announced the registry listing, and as I type this there are 17 sets, and I've been bumped from 1st to 7th place. No biggie, competition is good, and will drive me to find only the best examples of each coin on the list.

 

My only fear is that now that the set is being promoted, the prices on some of these coins will go up dramatically as sellers know we need them for the set, and other set builders drive up auction biddings.

 

Maybe there's enough to go around and I shouldn't be concerned. But usually, collecting what's "hot" at the moment is a sure fire way to lose money.

 

Perhaps I should pause on collecting the 100 Greatest Moderns and find a less active set where some steals might still be found. Either way, it's an exciting set.

 

The only aspect of the 100 Greatest Moderns list that bugs me is that at least four or five coins on the list are so rare, few, if anyone, will be able to complete this set. The 2000 Sacagawea/Washington mule is on the list. There are less than ten examples of this coin known, and one person owns the majority of them. Anyone want to give me a quarter million dollars so I can make him an offer? And one of the coins, the misdated Taylor dollar, there's only ONE known example of. Le sigh.

 

Anyway, it's a fun set, and some of the Collectors Society members have fantastic coins in it already. If you haven't yet, you should stop by and browse a few image galleries.

 

...oh, those were the days:

 

See more journals by Alan Lastufka

[Jeffrey Cardona]

Hi Alan,

 

I checked out this set when NGC added it. I was quite surprised that I had a few of the coins in my collection already...SAEs and commemoratives. The 2001 Buffalo commemorative is one of my favorites and it was nice to see it on the list. Having it ranked at 27 out 100 is not to bad for modern comm!

 

Best of luck with your set!

 

Jeffrey

[bsshog40]

And I just happened to have won the book in the trivia contest.

[Lastufka Collection]

Bobby, congrats, I saw that this morning! It's a really fun list, minus the few drawbacks I reported above. Some expensive pieces, but also a number of pieces that can be had, for now, at $100 or under.

[bsshog40]

Thanks Alan. I'm looking forward to getting it. I'm curious as to some of the coins that will be included. What you have right now gives me an idea of what's to come but I still can't think of 100 coins. I think it will be an interesting book.

[Lastufka Collection]

Thanks Alan. I'm looking forward to getting it. I'm curious as to some of the coins that will be included. What you have right now gives me an idea of what's to come but I still can't think of 100 coins. I think it will be an interesting book.

 

If you want a "spoiler", you can view the full list here:

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=127100

 

...or wait for the book. It's a good read. Each coin is pictured and described as to why it is on the list. Additionally, they included the most commonly certified grades and the price points for those, which is a good quick reference rather than pulling up the NGC census for every coin.

[Merlin8*]

Hey Alan--

 

Nice post, I just found this set last nght while posting a 2nd Franklin Proof Set and remembered the book. I was curious to find out how many, if any, I might have and was pleasantly suprised to find 12 and ranked #6. I wish I would have thought to get a screenshot as you did, don't think I'll see such rarified air as 6th place in this set again. What a difference a day makes I'm now at #18 and fading fast------

 

Larry

[Mokiechan]

Is the set the same as the Whitman Book of 100 Greatest Modern coins? I may have to add it, the book, to my library.

[bsshog40]

Man I just got my book today. I didn't expect it to be such a nice hardbound book and to top it off, signed by Scott Schechter.

[Lastufka Collection]

That's really cool Bobby, hope you enjoy reading!

[James_OldeTowne]

Sadly, these people who proclaim certain coins as one of "the greatest" feel the uncontrollable urge to equate "expensive" with "greatness".

 

It's too bad, but such is the schlock that passes for numismatic literature these days (sorry to sound so sourpuss ).

[Lastufka Collection]

James, I definitely understand where you're coming from. However, the book does include a dozen or two coins that could be had in higher grades for around $100.

 

Overall, I'm pretty excited with the list presented, evidenced by my goal to complete as much of it as possible, but that's because 70% of the coins on the list were already on my "interesting" radar.

 

I do think there are too many commemoratives for my taste, especially Olympic commems. I made a spreadsheet and separated out all the coins by denomination, as that helps me when searching auctions and online retailers. They broke down as follows:

 

- Cents: 16

- Nickels: 8

- Dimes: 7

- Quarters: 9

- Half Dollars: 10

- Dollars: 17

- Silver/Gold/Platinum Eagles/Buffalos: 19

- 50c and $1 Commemoratives: 12

- $5 and $10 Gold Commemoratives: 10

 

(some of you may notice that equals more than 100 coins, that's because some entries in the list, such as the 1964 SMS coins, fit into numerous types, so I added a slot for each denomination in my spreadsheet)

 

Anyway, there are as many Olypmic Commems on the list as there are total dimes! But reading the entires, I understand why they were included, even if I personally would have trimmed that list differently. =)

 

PS. I'm not affiliated with the book, or the authors, in any way. I'm just excited about it, hence my continued discussion of it here.

[coinsbygary]

As I look through the list, I think the coins were picked primarily based on the impact they have had throughout the numismatic community. Subsequently, most of these coins have fascinating stories associated with them. One thing I noticed about the coins selected, is that except where noted, they are almost exclusively MS coins. For instance there are several proof coins I own that would fit in some of the slots except that the slots only allow for MS. I can understand though why the Jackie Robinson $5 is slotted for MS; because the low mintage on the MS coin IS a large part of the story. It is also interesting to note that a good portion of the coins are error coins and die varieties. Accordingly, many of the aforementioned coins are extremely expensive which means that completing this set will be a daunting task. I for one would love to see at least one person with the resources finish this set complete with accompanying photographs and coin descriptions. That set I would thoroughly enjoy perusing and dreaming of the coins I could purchase were money not an object. "Only in my dreams" is one of many of the aspects of coin collecting I enjoy so much!

Gary