What's the most fun you ever had collecting? (favorite coin series) 0

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

What is the most fun coin collecting quest you ever took?  These don't have to be the most expensive coins (but can be).  I am looking for the series that you considered the most fun you had in your numismatic journey.

[Coinbuf]

My most enjoyable series to collect was the $2 1/2 gold Indians.   I love my Lincolns and had a lot of fun putting them together, but its a very long series and unless you are very wealthy takes a long time to complete which does drain some of the fun.    The $2 1/2 Indian set in AU was much less expensive when I put it together and not overly difficult, except for the 11-D the whole set is still within many collectors' budgets and can be put together within a short timeframe.   I bought all my coins raw and still have them in a nice Captial Plastics black holder, the gold looks amazing against the black holder.

 

[l.cutler]

Not a real popular collecting area but, the French billion coins counterstamped with a fleur de lys in 1640 to revalue them.  These can be collected by host coin, and the variety of host coins is amazing, some of which were over 300 years old at the time of counterstamping.  Hard to believe 300 year old coins still in circulation!  These were later sent to Canada where they circulated quite heavily.  Examples have been found in the US as well, and they are mentioned in US colonial era papers.  

[Fenntucky Mike]

My answers are probably not along the lines that you were thinking but are the two current coin collecting "series" that I'm having the most fun with. I say current as I can't really separate out one series that I had more fun with than any of the others as each series I ever collected was equally fun in it's own way. 

One is a NCLT series, Isle of Man 1/10 Angel. It has been a great fun researching these, identifying unlisted die varieties, privy marks, ect., and just discovering new things about these every time I sit down and do a deep dive. There is essentially zero documentation of these anywhere and starting a series where there is no guide, reference, or collector telling you everything you need to know is exhilarating to me. I often prefer the road less traveled, which gives me the opportunity to discover and acquire truly unique pieces I would not otherwise have been able to afford. 

Next is the Percy Metcalfe set I'm working on, one coin and medal of each of his designs used. Again, as with the 1/10A, a "series" lacking in documentation as there is no list or reference that I could find that named each coin and medal design done by Metcalfe. I am currently building my list of coins and medals, a list that initially started with roughly 12 coins after the first day has ballooned to nearly 60 and counting. This weekend while looking at upcoming auctions I saw a coin with a design that I knew had to have been done by Metcalfe and after a little bit of internet surfing I was able to confirm this. I'm currently looking for a pristine Fijian sixpence dated either 1942 or 43 - S to add to this "series" but so far it has been elusive. What a blast it has been so far. 

If we're not talking coins then my Ukrainian banknote and tokens of Allegan County Michigan collections would probably be at the top of my fun/favorite series to collect list. 

Since I like looking at coins, and a coin thread is just not a coin thread without a few coin images, here you go. Below is the "Waitangi" Crown, currently up for auction, I spotted and later confirmed it was a Metcalfe.

Here is an example of a Fijian sixpence, image from Numista. 

 

[powermad5000]

For me, it has been the continuation of filling the slots in my Morgans. I have enjoyed looking at all the beautiful examples both raw and slabbed, as well as those I can afford and those I cannot afford. In addition, looking for possible VAMs while trying to fill those slots has been enjoyable for me.

[samclemen3991]

I have 2 different answers.  The best "past" collection I built was a date set of Seated Half dollars in the late 90's  early 2000's.  I ended up with almost a 100 coins.  I found more than 30 varieties and had them re-slabbed, and I built a sub set of just New Orleans coins.

My current set has also been a great deal of fun.  I decided to build a date set from 1836 to 1892, however this time around I am using every 1cent thru $1 dollar coin I want for a particular year.  I have also built sub-sets inside this set.  One coin from each mint for each decade for 1/2 dime thru 1/2 dollar.  I have said before.  I am not rich so I have to settle for being called crazy instead of "eclectic'.  James

[ldhair]

My favorite was probably about 50 years ago collecting clashed die coins. I was always finding Flying Eagle cents with odd clash marks. I started saving everyone I found. At some point some really cool people in the hobby came up with the answer to what they were. That really got me looking for them and they could be bought for almost nothing. Some just called them damaged coins.

Many started calling them Multi-denominational clashed die coins. When the CHERRYPICKERS GUIDE first came out, they became really popular and prices started going up.

This one was clashed with the die from the 1857 $20 gold piece. Great Collections sold it for me this year. It sold for $3100.

 

[RonnieR131]

  For me, I had pure excitement during the late fifties and early sixties looking through rolls of Lincoln cents hoping to find what we in my neighborhood considered the ultimate find, the coveted 1909 S VDB. We never found one, but we all filled in our coin albums pretty well in the process. I've never been able to duplicate the sense of enjoyment that I felt at the time, knowing that I was going to be the first on the block to find one if I stayed at it, just a matter of time.  Lol. AND of course, like others, I distinctly remember all of the mercury dimes that I put back into circulation if I didn't need that particular date and mint mark and it was no better than the one I already had. I guess you could say 'mercs' were 'a dime a dozen'. 

[Sandon]

   I have enjoyed collecting all series of U.S. coins, but the most memorable one for me is Liberty Seated dimes. I own at least one example of each date and mint except for the very expensive "CC" mints dated from 1871 to 1874. Most of these coins are uncertified and housed in a blue Whitman bookshelf album for that series, now long out of print. They vary in condition but are mostly VF or better. I bought many of the scarcer dates in the 1980s and 90s when they cost much less than they do now, but many of them are still underappreciated.  

   In 1996 I bid on a few of the less expensive lots in the first part of the Eliasberg collection auction and was successful on two lots, one of which was the 1859-S Seated dime, a very scarce date. While many of Eliasberg's coins were gems, the 1859-S was graded VF 30 in the catalog and cost $660, a high price at that time. It may have somewhat stronger details but was lightly brushed. The following year I obtained from the Pittman collection auction the 1856-S (Fine or better with a few nicks), another scarce early "S" mint, as well as an 1842 with AU details and vivid toning but lightly burnished and that Pittman had acquired in 1949, mistaking it for a proof. These coins from memorable collections all reside in my blue Whitman album along with many other desirable pieces. 

  You can see the NGC and PCGS certified pieces, which include some better dates such as the 1866, 1867 (certified as a proof but based on its die variety a more valuable circulation strike), 1879 and 1885-S in my registry sets at Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com) and Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com).

[VKurtB]

I toiled for decades collecting U.S. coins exclusively, but then I was gifted a MASSIVE bag of foreign coins. Through that hoard I fell in love with British (and other commonwealth nations by type) shillings. The shilling collection has now gone back as far as George III. It will be an area of concentration until I assume ambient temperature, tomorrow’s expected high temperature notwithstanding. My domestic collecting areas are Buffalo Nickels, earlier Walking Liberty halves, and Classic Commemoratives. 

Edited August 28 by VKurtB

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

I would say the most fun I have had was collecting braided hair half cents.  There are only 8 business strikes, and one variety for each year, so it's a very short and doable set.  While all of the coins are scarce, the lack of popularity makes them readily available.  I would recommend this set to any aspiring copper collector.  For the more advanced collectors, you can add coins with original red/brown color.  Wales can collect proofs.  

I only did the business strikes, but added a few errors and counter stamped coins.  I will likely get a proof at some point, but I cannot collect them all.  They are beyond my budget.  The 1850 is the toughest coin in the set (the 1849 can also be tricky to find nice).

 

Edited August 29 by The Neophyte Numismatist

[Just Bob]

Although I enjoy the hunt and the research involved in collecting tokens, and I like searching for the perfect coins for my type set, I have gotten the most pleasure out of filling Whitman and Harris albums with coins removed from circulation. About five years ago, I gathered up all of the pocket change that my wife and I had been putting back for about 25 years - several hundred dollars worth - and started filling album holes. It took me back to my early days of collecting when I was a young boy and could get a thrill out finding an elusive date or mint mark. I am still at it. I don’t roll hunt or buy any coins for this part of my collection. Everything is strictly from pocket change. I still get that same thrill, and it only costs face value. 

[powermad5000]

Interesting to see the members diversity in their answers to this question.

[l.cutler]

Also interesting is that there is not one mention of errors, yet that is all 99.9% of the new posters seem to care about.  While there is nothing wrong with a true collector specializing in errors, there are so many other fascinating facets of the hobby!