What coins do you collect that hardly anyone else collects?

[lclugza]

What coins do you collect that hardly anyone else collects? I would appreciate details about it.

[TomB]

It's not really a coin, but, I like Conder tokens and own many of them as well as owning the Dalton and Hamer reference work on the series.

[michael]

i like these no i love these

but not many collect these coins listed below

 

three cent nickels proofs cameos deep cameos monster toned

 

legend obverse half dimes business strike uncs wildly toned and eye appealling thick original skin white coins

 

wildly colored proof indian cents

 

trade dollars business strike uncs

 

sincerely michael

 

 

 

 

[BillJones]

Early half dimes

 

Few collectors collect these pieces for two reasons.

 

First, in coins "bigger is better" is a fairly well established rule. Most collectors like silver dollars and the like, and smaller coins are of little interest.

 

Second, these coins are so scarce and as a group so expensive that few collectors would consider them. I've been working on my set of these coins for over 25 years, and I know that I will never complete even a Red Book variety set because the 1802 half dime is beyond my financial reach.

[bohica-migration]

1965 Washington Quarters. Counting the UNC in the album and AU in my World Coin Collection I have 50. In circulation for 39 years these coins are showing significant wear now with most grading VG to F. As far as I know only one other person has admitted to actually collecting first year clads like this from circulation.

[CarlWohlforth]

I am working on a type set of holed coins. I sew them into a baseball hat I have. I wear the hat at shows.

 

This idea came from Lord Marcovan. I met someone else at the last Santa Clara show who really wanted my holed capped bust dime. So I guess I'm not the only one collecting these things!

[RotatedRainbows]

US coins with major die rotation of 90°-180°

[berylcoin-migration]

Stuff that s*cks.

 

BC

[BodyBag]

Original looking Circulated coins with that certain "antique patina".

[spiny]

Foreign coins made at the US mints. I haven't come across too many other people collecting them. I've got an ongoing thread started on the subject over at NumisAddict if anyone is interested. Eventually I'll have all of them (that I know about) listed there.

[jtryka]

I collect Saints which not a lot of people collect as a series (there are so many stoppers like the 27-D and 33), and I also collect circulated 3-cent nickels, which it seems so many people care little about (except for michael, but he likes the proofs, by the way, is anyone else as excited as I am about michael's unstoppable enthusiasm combined with the new instant gremlins? )

[BankNote1]

I like PL commems!

But Mississippi Nationals are my passion!

[lclugza]

Hey, I got a collection of circulated Jefferson nickels! Cost me 5 cent apiece!

[braddick]

Low grade, problem free early Commemoratives, but it looks like Keets over on the PCGS side is going to start collecting them too!

[Fairlaneman]

The attached.

[Sunnywood]

Shield nickels !!! For a while I seemed to be the ONLY person collecting high-grade MS shield nickels. I practically cornered the market in better date PCGS MS66 and MS67 coins. Nobody else wanted them !!! I also collected the proofs and patterns, but I have sold all of those. And I have sold many of the business strikes, to let other people have a chance to own them. (They seem to be more popular now.)

 

However, I still collect high-grade & finest known specimens of Cherrypicker varieties of MS shield nickels. This includes really cool doubled & tripled dies, hub varieties, logotype varieties, repunched dates, overdates, etc. If you look in the NGC Census for this series, you will see a number of these variety coins listed (for example, FS-001, FS-001.1, FS-002.1, etc). More than two-thirds of the variety coins listed in the NGC Census currently reside in the Sunnywood Collection. Very few other people collect these amazing treasures, and of those who do, most prefer the lower grades that are more affordable. This specialty requires a lot of work - scouring dealer inventories and auction lots for variety coins that are not attributed !!!

 

Of course, I have collected lots of other things too, from early type to Indian $2.50, proof seated dollars, proof coins of the 1870's (1871, 1873 and 1877, to be more precise), 1794 large cents, Lib nickels, Barber coinage, Fugio cents, etc.

 

Sunnywood

 

 

[Oldtrader3]

Sunnywood, your sets are legendary and stand alone. My comments could not even begin to do justice to your sets.

 

Jtryka you and I seem to cross paths a lot (certainly on Saints). I prefer Trimes to 3-Cent Nickels but both are dead denominations with small surviving populations and thin collector interest. I can only speak for Trimes, but because of the melt at the Mint in 1874, low mintages in later dates and their general lack of circulation, they are quite a challenge. Many Type III's for this reason, are as rare (or even rarer) than most Type II's. Looking for them certainly feels like a Boyscout "Snipe Hunt".

 

Trimes are, however, often toned, stunning "Gems" and that makes it all worth the effort.

[shirohniichan]

I collect 20 cent pieces and foreign equivalents minted between 1875 and 1878. I also collect George V shillings, florins, half crowns, crowns and their equivalents. Um... I also collect chopmarked coins.

[Higashiyama]

Braddick got me interested in one of his specialties -- circulated commemoratives. These are now some of my favorite coins. They are extremely exotic -- how many times have you seen a well worn Rhode Island? My set is about half done, but I'm always looking for downgrades!

 

Pat -- are there 3 of us now?

[cladking]

I collect an awful lot of things that almost no one else has any interest in. Many of them have more in common with tokens or medals than with coins though. There are two (one?) things though which I have some confidence that no one else collects; I just started collecting right side up and upside down clad quarters from circulation. If I find anything interesting then I'll start unc sets of them. It does seem unlikely that much will be discovered but it's a lot easier to find something if you're looking for it.

 

When clad blanks are punched out of strip the "top" of the planchet will be silver colored where it is cut cleanly and the "bottom" side will be copper colored as the core is smeared over it. Coins can be struck with either orientation.

[GDJMSP]

I collect columnarios - pillar coinage issued by the Spanish colonies in the New World. They were the first coins minted on this continent and circulated here for 250 years before the birth of the USA. I have examples dating back to 1536 - 42. They encompass both hammered & milled varieties.

 

They were by far the most commonly used coins in the US even after the US Mint began issuing coins and were considered legal tender in the US until 1857. They are also the first coin listed in the Red Book.

 

Much regarding US coinage, including intrinsic value, size, denominations, even colloquialisms were copied from these coins. To my way of thinking, no US coin collection can be complete without them.

[Klectorkid]

Gold dollars. They r very small so thats a turn off for people but gold doesnt hardly affect there price so u can collect them no matter what the gold market is doing.

[braddick]

Braddick got me interested in one of his specialties -- circulated commemoratives. These are now some of my favorite coins. They are extremely exotic -- how many times have you seen a well worn Rhode Island? My set is about half done, but I'm always looking for downgrades!

 

Pat -- are there 3 of us now?

I hope not! Keets demonstrated an interest on a thread across the street but here's hoping it is only a fleeting interest!

I think in some of these coins there probably are not THREE examples to go around. Like, I've only seen one VG08 Hawaiian. Some I've never seen nor heard of in grades less than maybe VF (remembering too the trick is these must be "slabbable"- problem free. Early Commemoratives that are available in super low grades usually have a list of issues common to keep them from being even close to problem free for PCGS or NGC to grade).

 

I've also learned that PCGS is not real happy grading these (I guess they think it's a waste of their time and talents?) and are particularly tough on them. I've had PO01 PCI Commemoratives cross usually into FA02 or AG03 holders. As much as the MS70 grade is sacred to PCGS the "PO01" grade, in a twisted kind of way, also is off limits- or so it seems.

 

[gmarguli]

I've also learned that PCGS is not real happy grading these (I guess they think it's a waste of their time and talents?)

 

Yeah, better to use their talents on grading Buffalo dollars and state quarters. Grading coins with history and character must really suck.

 

Besides, they just guess at the grade for these circ commens. They like to assign them "odd" grades such as VF25 or F15. Like they've really seen enough of them to know the difference between a VF20/25/30.

[kyuss-migration]

nice looking dateless buff, also dark purple toned buffalo nickels. Only need the 31S to complete my one per year set...

[TomB]

Seems like anything I'm trying to sell.