Modern Comm's question

[troy-migration]

Is it elementry to try and collect all the modern comms rather than trying to go for say the morgan registry? I would think it would be easier to get the modern comms then say the morgans, peace etc. Is it just a personal preference or a matter of $$$ or??? What do you think and what direction should I go? I already have the MS eagles and the easy PR70 Lunar's but want to start with another series.

[Beijim]

Howdy and welcome!

 

The main thing, of course, is to collect what you enjoy, what pleases you to see and own. Most advanced collectors (and here I exclude myself) seem to advise maintaining at least a modicum of focus, rather than spreading your resources across a spectrum of unrelated issues. Regardless of which direction you take, the Morgans, Peace, and modern commems will be there when you choose to turn your attention to them.

 

Completing any of the three series will be expensive in high grade. By "high grade" I mean relative to the series. For Morgans and Peace, I consider high grade to be MS 65 or better. For modern commems, high grade is minimum MS/PF 69, with ULTRA CAMEO designations on all proof issues.

 

Here are some comments, in no particular order:

 

- For overall ease of completion (in high grade), the modern commemoratives are the ticket. I say this because with few exceptions the coins are available on eBay and elsewhere in certified grades of MS/PFUC 69/70. Sometimes you may have to wait awhile (months to a year or so) for a particular coin to surface, but it eventually shows up.

 

- Certain modern commems, primarily the gold issues and various so-called key coins, have seen a recent (past year) price runup. You must exercise patience if you want to acquire these at reasonable prices. Recent eBay listings for a lot of these coins feature fixed prices or very high starting bids. Resist these and bid instead on listings that allow the market to set the price. Examples include the Jackie Robinson and certain 1995/1996 silver and gold Olympics issues.

 

- Save the "low pop" key coins for last when collecting moderns of any sort. The reason is that time is your ally as regards condition rarity. With few exceptions, today's so-called "Pop 1" coin will be Pop 10 in a year or two.

 

- Caveat: Modern commems are an open ended series, with new issues added annually. Unless and until the United States Mint terminates the program (unlikely), you'll be collecting a moving target for the foreseeable future. The upside is that contemporary commems are produced with extraordinary technical quality, so finding choice examples isn't difficult.

 

- From what I understand (not being a seasoned Morgan collector), assembling a complete set of Morgan dollars in MS 65 or better condition is next to impossible. First, a few of the coins are rarely available in this grade. Second, they cost a fortune. Hopefully the knowledgable Morgan collectors can fill in the details.

 

- Same for Peace dollars, but on a mercifully smaller scale. Many are easy to find in MS 65 for reasonable money (under $1K for example). A couple, however, are extremely expensive and difficult to find.

 

- Any of the three series will be a long road to completion in high grade (unless you're collecting the modern commems, have unlimited funds, and are unconcerned about value for money). Pick a series for which you'll enjoy the process. As many finer numismatic minds have observed, sometimes the thrill is more in the pursuit than in the obtaining!

 

Best of luck whatever you decide,

Beijim

[scroll]

I love the modern commems! It's always nice to be the 1st & only owner. But if you're expecting financial rewards or toned eye appeal you likely won't find it in 99.5% of the moderns.

 

As a hobby, the old timers are best. But just for nice shiny looks it's hard to beat the moderns.

 

Personally, I am considering just going to the older coins in the future. My stash of moderns is getting too big too soon.

[EZ_E]

I certainly have some modern commems that are certified, but, as a whole, I prefer to collect the modern commemorative silver dollars (proof and uncirculated) raw and housed in the Dansco albums. This allows the collector to appreciate the collection as a whole which, in my opinion, gives a broader view of the collection. Afterall, most all of them are in the 68/69 range anyway. With this in mind, the only reason to collect them certified is if one desires to participate in the NGC or PCGS registries.

 

The downside to collecting them in albums is that, since it is a continuing series, the third album has not yet been produced. This leaves the issues after 2001 just hanging. They do sell blank albums but this is less than ideal.

 

I still need about 10 of them to complete my collection but it is one that I plan on keeping for a long, long time.

 

Modern Commemoratives 1982-Date, EZ_E