PCGS Everyman sets

[bochiman]

 

BTW.....I have an Everyman's set of half-cents that I am doing with my son.

We have a few other sets we are doing together. Even a raw 7070 type set. I never did subscribe to "give them all the same look" as I prefer to have the best that I can buy for that spot and, for some series, if I use a key, then maybe that is lower graded than a non-key, more common, more modern, example.

 

I showed a lot of my Everyman 1/2 cent set to some folks at a recent, local, show. A lot of nice comments about the coins and their looks. I probably wouldn't have been as focused without having the goal of getting the best of the circ (everyman) set.

 

Sure, that is something that I would need to accept or overcome, without the everyman set. In this case, it was helpful to have it as a goal/focus.

 

The point? Just because YOU don't do something, doesn't mean you should trash on everyone else for doing it. Some folks like to show their collection and don't always like to feel that they are #1,287 in a registry set, just because they don't have the same monetary resources as others, or have different goals/collecting needs. So what if an Everyman's set is something for them?

 

The people thrashing the Everyman's set....question for you (and the OP since he obviously has a burr in his butt on this since this is at least his 2nd thread about it).....did you, do you, thrash on the NGC sets and how they let you customize? Why not? I know that I don't. While I may not do what many are doing with them, I don't feel a need to bust other's in the chops for it.

 

If you need to bust on the Everyman sets is because of prices being offered/paid for some of the AU58 coins, then let me ask.....are you even a buyer for those coins? I know that I am, for the ones I want, but that, aside from a couple of cases, they haven't been pushed much higher, if at all, by the everyman sets.

[bochiman]

You guys really have a chip on your shoulder.

 

I don't have a chip on my shoulder. I have often praised PCGS for its superb marketing. I still stand by my comment regarding the title; it's analogous to having a set for "commoners" rather than the elite rich. Why not use a neutral term like "circlulated registries" instead?

 

Go complete the Everyman's 1/2 cent set, then tell me how it is for "commoners"! If it were, I would have been done a LONG time ago, and wouldn't have had to budget like I have....or miss out on some cool/key 1/2 cents just because I had just blown my budget on another one of them. (3 needed, not cheap, coins coming for sale at the exact same time.....try having to pick between them then seeing the other 2 not surface again, nor any comparables in value/look, in the following 1-2 years )

 

If you know marketing at all, you should know that any marketing person worth any part of their pay check will NOT try to use a "neutral" term when it comes to encouraging adoption and drive. Pretty silly to even suggest so, imho.

[coinman_23885]

You guys really have a chip on your shoulder.

 

I don't have a chip on my shoulder. I have often praised PCGS for its superb marketing. I still stand by my comment regarding the title; it's analogous to having a set for "commoners" rather than the elite rich. Why not use a neutral term like "circlulated registries" instead?

 

Go complete the Everyman's 1/2 cent set, then tell me how it is for "commoners"! If it were, I would have been done a LONG time ago, and wouldn't have had to budget like I have....or miss out on some cool/key 1/2 cents just because I had just blown my budget on another one of them. (3 needed, not cheap, coins coming for sale at the exact same time.....try having to pick between them then seeing the other 2 not surface again, nor any comparables in value/look, in the following 1-2 years )

 

If you know marketing at all, you should know that any marketing person worth any part of their pay check will NOT try to use a "neutral" term when it comes to encouraging adoption and drive. Pretty silly to even suggest so, imho.

 

 

The point? Just because YOU don't do something, doesn't mean you should trash on everyone else for doing it. Some folks like to show their collection and don't always like to feel that they are #1,287 in a registry set, just because they don't have the same monetary resources as others, or have different goals/collecting needs. So what if an Everyman's set is something for them?

 

The people thrashing the Everyman's set....question for you (and the OP since he obviously has a burr in his butt on this since this is at least his 2nd thread about it).....did you, do you, thrash on the NGC sets and how they let you customize? Why not? I know that I don't. While I may not do what many are doing with them, I don't feel a need to bust other's in the chops for it.

 

If you need to bust on the Everyman sets is because of prices being offered/paid for some of the AU58 coins, then let me ask.....are you even a buyer for those coins? I know that I am, for the ones I want, but that, aside from a couple of cases, they haven't been pushed much higher, if at all, by the everyman sets.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't have said neutral but "less offensive." For the record, my problem is with the terminology and not the concept. I have no problem with the idea of a circulated registry set, and I am not berating the concept. I too have collected circulated coins (XF Capped Bust Half Dollars), and I realize that sets such as those you suggest are by no means easy to complete. Judging by some of your comments, I think you (and perhaps others) may have misunderstood my intention. I don't like the term "Everyman," and apparently I am not the only one who has questioned the way this comes off. Perhaps effective marketing requires the use of charged terminology, but it should try to reduce any negative reaction. I stand by my original assertion.

 

Finally with regards to pricing, there is no way that you can rationalize to me the need to pay several hundred for a circulated wheat cent that sells in MS66 for much less (for example)! This is outrageous. Although I disagree with the idea, I am not attacking individuals who do not follow my path. If anyone has a chip on their shoulder, it is your post attacking me for a statement that was not meant to be controversial.

 

EDITED TO ADD: I realize that I may be responsible for sidetracking this old thread, but I would like to stop this diversion, which will not produce any fruitful results. As such, this will be my last post to this thread.

[Oldtrader3]

Point, Set, Match!

[bochiman]

Point, Set, Match!

 

Huh? From what? No competition in the thread from what I have seen. Just people talking about something that they have opinions on and may participate in.

[Coincrazed74]

Why are Noow's threads always...... so interesting, I personally think the everyman sets are a sales gimmick for PCGS... JMHO.

 

 

CC

[BillJones]

You guys really have a chip on your shoulder.

 

PCGS could feed the poor in Los Angeles for a year, and you would complain that they did not cover San Francisco or that they did not feed the city for two years.

 

I am going to propose that they call it the 99-percenter sets.

 

I don't have a chip on my shoulder.

 

I just think that it is utterly silly for collectors to pay over $140 for a coin that is has a Tends listing of $1.00 outside the holder because of a marketing scheme.

 

The term “every man” implies that this registry is for collectors who are on a budget who have to watch their hobby expenditures. Instead it has become a competition for slabs that contain massively over priced coins simply because they are in plastic.

 

The same thing has happened when rich collectors were bidding $40 grand for a spotted 1963 Proof Lincoln cent that was worth $10 out of the holder. The difference is “every man” does not have the funds to spend $140 for $1 coin. I thought I was bad in I spent $25 for a 1943 steel cent in MS-66.

[Coincrazed74]

I totally agree Bill. I couldn't say it better. IMO, You are TOTALLY buying the slab, that piece of plastic. Not a numismatic coin.

 

CC

[James_OldeTowne]

I have always found much more value and aesthetic appeal in a collection that is well matched. It may be a complete set of something where every coin fits in to VG-8 - VG-10, or VF-35 - EF-40... or MS-66 to MS-67!

 

To me, it isn't achieving some magical number as close to some theoretical "maximum" that's indicative of effort. Rather, a set where every coin matches up nicely, or well complements all the others in the same set, that shows the most amount of effort and patience, and grabs my attention.

[Oldtrader3]

My original post on this topic was based on practical experience with attempting to build a Walking Liberty half dollar set for about 30 months now. It is a set that I will never probably complete because of the sheer number of coins, the scarcity, the cost of some of the low mintage early date coins and my age. There is zero probability that this set is going to be MS65 or anywhere nearly so. Plus, there is no pressure to finish the set on any schedule or at a specific place within the registry. The set will never be even Top 30.

 

In fact, the best that I can do is stay engaged and focused on trying to find coins that are representative and nice enough to be put in the set (above Fine12) and at the same time acquire coins in a badly scewed-down-tight certified coin market where there are few examples of this series even available in grades below MS60, no matter how diligent you are.

 

This has created an artifical market where graded, non-MS coins are more difficult in many cases to find than their MS graded counterparts. Plus, costs are higher per specimen, of course. This also sets the stage for those who wish to take advantage of their peers to do so. These are not modern coins and most extent specimens are heavily circulated and or cleaned. All I am interested in is playing on a fairly level field and not being gouged just because some one thinks they have privilege to do so. Maybe I am in over my head but I am game and have the patience to try this for awhile and see what happens.

[James_OldeTowne]

My original post on this topic was based on practical experience with attempting to build a Walking Liberty half dollar set for about 30 months now. It is a set that I will never probably complete because of the sheer number of coins, the scarcity, the cost of some of the low mintage early date coins and my age. There is zero probability that this set is going to be MS65 or anywhere nearly so.

I've had a long-running WLH set in, of all things, "cleaned AU/BU" grades. I'm trying to get coins with close to maximum details, but with less paranoia about whether they've been dipped or wiped at some point, so long as they aren't visual horrors. Even with my lowering standards, though, it is a tough set, as you state.

[Oldtrader3]

James, I think that you strategy may be on solid ground with trying to collect better grade coins in the WLH series in Details holders. You will have a nice looking set of high grade coins and excellent detail. It will be a really nice set and still a major project to complete.

[Walkerfan]

You guys know how I feel about the WLH series and ANY type of better date collection is challenging at best.

 

I both admire AND encourage anyone who attempts any type of better date set like that.

 

Patience and perseverence will win out but it is very easy to get sidetracked---DON'T!

 

Hang in there and you will be rewarded for your efforts.

[Oldtrader3]

Whew, it is tough with WLH's to make progress. Too few graded and encapsulated and too many collectors. It is tough out there.