Input on building a type set.

[classicalman-migration]

Building a type set seems to be the most interesting and varied way for me to collect in general and have something worthwhile to put my "coin money" into. I am considering actually building TWO sets. One would be to use only the highest grade that I can afford for each type coin. The other set would use high grade circ issues, most likely raw also. Primary and Secondary type sets.

 

Example: the primary one I would seek a Type 1 SLQ with full head and a Type 2 version with full head. In my secondary set, I would look perhaps for a low MS or even a slider AU without full head.

 

The reason for building two sets? the primary one would be the "investment" one, possibly to hand down to my son when the time comes. The second one would be more for personal enjoyment and a "display" for friends and family to enjoy with me. Also just as a challenge to see for instance, how complete of a set (let's say only going back to the mid-19th century) I could get by only putting an average of less than $150 in each coin. Obviously Gold is out for me, although in my primary set, I would attempt as many gold issues as possible.

 

Any thoughts and ideas on building this kind of set are welcome. Tell me what you think. BTW, Yes I would include the moderns, they are the easiest to get in high grade and most plentiful for now. But the classics are the most beautiful to me, and worthy of "the chase".

[fcloud-migration]

classicalman,

 

Sound like you have your work cut out for you, and fun, too. The only suggestions I would like to add (my two cents)--Buy what you enjoy--don't buy a coin for the holder--sometimes a small flaw that you think you can live with turns out to be something you can't live with.

 

Take you time and have fun. As far at the investment thing--becareful we are in a hot market, and sometime it takes many years for a coin to become profitable (and sometimes coins go down in value). Enjoyment should be your focus, and if you can make a profit, too, then great!

 

Tony

 

[MikeKing]

Why not build your son a set of coins based on the birth years of people in your family, highest grade possible.

 

You might find it considerably more expensive than you thought (based on conceptions of modern issues and surprising how that 19?? you never thought of, is one of the most highly sought after coins in the industry) and extremely difficult to find the right grades.

 

It's expansive, educational, attractive and meaningful.

[CarlWohlforth]

I don't advocate set building as an investment.

 

It sounds like fun to build a type set of circulating grade coins. While you can find a nice MS Standing Liberty Quarter for a reasonable price the 19'th century stuff gets expensive even in low grades. The 18'th century stuff is very expensive in any grade.

 

In other words I would just build one set. I am working on a complete type set myself and it is a very big task. If you aim for lower grades in the 20'th century stuff you will have more money left over for the early stuff. Also the entire set will be more closely matched as far as grade goes.

 

Anyway there are almost as many ways to collect type coins as there are collectors.

[Garneteye]

I will echo the statements made earlier about collecting for enjoyment and not for profit. However I have done something along the lines of your post, I have what I call a "Shadow" set(20th Century) obtained mainly from the "junk box" at my local dealer. Most of the coins cost less than $10.00, have enough detail to show the unique aspects of each type and can be handled without worrying that I am damaging the coin or reducing it value. Also it cuts down on trips to the bank to enjoy my MS type set!!

 

Enjoy whatever you collect and remember it is YOUR collection.

 

Dan

[Oldtrader3]

High Grade Type Sets are beginning to generate some collecting interest. Not too many years ago, dealers did not want to have dealings in Type Sets because they did not want the common date coins in the sets. But with third party grading, interest in Modern coinage growing and the price increases on Classical Type there is more of a seller's market than some years ago.

 

I would not build a Type Set as an investment. There are better returns in other denominational series, particularly in high grades. I have collected Type Coins for a very long time and have never made much money with Type.

[Higashiyama]

Although I also don't view coins as an investment, I nonetheless like a high grade type set from the standpoint of diversification. Even further diversification can be achieved by acquiring some better dates. In some cases, this can be accomplished with very little price differential. In other cases, you will need to compromise a bit on "quality". As an example, my seated liberty with motto dollar is an 1872-cc.

 

Regarding the circulated type set, this is a wonderful endeavor --- finding problem free, circulated type coins is a lot of fun, and the resulting set will be something you can display and show off.

[ldhair]

A type set is a great way to get started having fun with the hobby. Over time working with each type helps some folks decide which direction to go with their collecting.

 

Some never decide and thats ok too. If it's fun for you that's all that counts.

[TomB]

I don't know if I know you or not, classicalman, but it seems to me that your knowledge of numismatics is quite a bit more than you might be initially revealing. If so, you know the best way for you to collect, and I am certain it will be a great collection.

 

By the way, one of my "diversions" is by building a complete type set, without gold, and it is quite rewarding.

[classicalman-migration]

TomB, I am sure you don't know me, but I know enough to be dangerous (to my financial self, ) I am just looking for a good way to narrow my field of collecting. The type set seems the best way, if for no other reason to have as many different coins in my collection,without having to complete a set. I would have to say Morgans are my favorite along with the SLQ, but I just like all coins!! I used the term "investment" loosely, they would not be like a stock portfolio, but by the same token, I would like to be sure of quality coins and dates which would better hold their value over the long term. The circ set I see as a way to show others who might be interested in coin collecting that a type set can be had for decent money without breaking the bank or mortgaging the house. Obviously these coins would not be of any great value, however if the right dates and mints are chosen, even in EF or AU, they would be better runners than any of the multi-million mintages of any series as I see it. It would be nice to have all of the set as close to the same state of condition as possible, but as some have noted here, the early 19th century coins get rather pricey really fast above F. I guess what I meant to ask everyone is if I should try to focus on common dates or the odd dates that seem to be in a bit of demand, but which aren't total rarities. (1877 IHC, 1916-d winged liberty, etc.) I am still learning, and trying to learn as much as I can about as many coins as I can, along with grading wear of a coin. I enjoy reading, but it seems like good books on coins are hard to find.

[TomB]

I think one of the strengths of a type set is the variety, as you have noted. This type of variety can be appreciated by a long-time numismatist as well as a numismatic neophyte and can serve to introduce many people to coinage. Another great aspect of a type set is that you are not bound by a series in terms of what you want or need to buy. You choose the dates, mintmarks and even the minor variations in design to incorporate into your collection. Some folks do this as first year or last year of production within a series, some try to incorporate important historical dates or when mints opened or closed and others look for better dates. Lastly, with a type set you can always try to buy coinage that is out of favor at the moment.

 

For my type I try to buy nicely toned coins in both MS and PF. In this way I am able to avoid "hot" areas of the market and can purchase coins from series or eras that are lagging behind any market boom. Currently, I have been able buy some very attractive 19th century coinage with great toning for little or no premium over dipped-out coins. It has given me a very good value for my numismatic dollar.

 

I agree that a circulated set would be great to build. I had, in fact, toyed with the dual set idea myself but did not want to jump into both sets simultaneously as I also buy wildly toned coinage, nice Conder tokens and high end, mint state early Washingtons. It seemed like too many directions to keep up with good information, focus and depth.

 

If you have the dedication and patience to buy semi-key coins then I suggest you do so as it will make it much easier to sell your set when and if you decide to sell. Good luck and have fun!

[keithdagen]

Well, if you don't want to break the bank, the "key" dates are out in most series, except where there is no real price differential.

 

For my Type set, I'm trying to get all 20th century issues in MS-65 or better, with the silver coins toned. Seated era material in AU-58 or better, and pre-Seated material in affordable grades that show plenty of detail. Depending on the coin, that may be XF or F, just never know. The earlier stuff prefer to find toned, but if nothing else, at least with an original, problem-free look.

 

I'm currently focusing on non-gold, but will being to start adding some gold issues in again soon.

 

 

[classicalman-migration]

sounds like a good way to go, Keith. I am not sure if some issues will be in my affordability range in '65, but I may go 64 or so, unless I just can't pass it up in 65!

[Peace_Fan]

If I were to build a type set, I would try to collect the key date from each series rather than the highly-graded common date that is the norm. Personally, I would rather have a lower graded key that has a rarity factor associated with it than a set of common dates. Think about a type set consisting of a '93 S Morgan, a '34 S Peace $, a three-legged Buffalo, etc. That would be an achievement!

[BillJones]

I've been a type collector since the 1960s, and a VERY dedicated type collector since the mid 1970s.

 

The grade of your collection depends upon what you can afford to spend. If you have an unlimited budget, you can go for the ultimate grade in everything. To do that you will need to have a great deal of knownledge about grading, or you will need a dealer you can trust. For the early coins you will also need to have a lot of patience. Some these coins only appear in the ultimate grades at infrequent times.

 

If you are collecting the coins in lower grades, the same general advice applies. The only difference is that I would not be greatly concerned if coins that are of different rarities and (usually) different eras are in different grades. Years ago Dave Bowers told collectors that among the early dates (1790s to 1800s) coins in Fine or better are OK. The later coin should be better until by the 1900s you should be filling the slots mostly with Mint State or Proof pieces.

 

Check out my type sets in the copper, nickel and silver category and the gold type set (1834 to 1933). I've like # 4 or 5 on the list. I actually have all but one of the types coins on those lists, but they are not all certified. That may give you some ideas about would you could collect on a middle class income.

 

I'd advise against forming a type set with key date coins. The trouble with that is that it will drive the price of your set though the roof. In addition to that it will probably force you to purchase lower grade coins. One of the joys of type collecting is that you try to get the BEST examples of the each design that you can afford. That will provide you with prime examples of U.S. coin designs, which might encourage you to get collect as series of special interest.

 

And here's the advertisement. I'm a full time dealer with lots of experience in this area. If you are spending a far amount of the money, I can help you. I've built sets that were FAR better than what I own for other collectors. Those collectors, of course, had a much bigger budget than I have.

 

My email address is billsnotes@attbi.com. I'll be home to answer your questions next week.

[zenny-migration]

I've been giving this some deep thought lately, as i've noticed a complete type set, by most accounts, will require well over 100 coins to complete. Taking into account the desire to have nice coins, the prospect is daunting, economically, to me. What i have come up with is a type set that includes my favorite type for each denomination that's been minted by the U.S. government. From half cent to 100 dollar platinum coin it works out to nineteen coins, including bullion coins, of course for $25 and $100, and the prohibitively expensive $4 stella.

 

This is my starting point, and while i don't have all the coins i eventually hope to include, (high relief saint, pan-pac $50 and stella if things go right), i've already got the makings of a pretty nice set as things are now. It's just a matter of selectively upgrading.

 

This I believe can also be financially rewarding as selecting only one coin of each denomination will allow me to spend some serious money on some nice grade keys, which seem to hold their value better than most, if not actually appreciating decently from time to time. It's also a space saver, fitting neatly into one slab box or eagle album, if slabs are your thing.

 

finally, if it's something that would be passed along, a smaller number of coins would make it exponentially easier for liquidation.

 

good luck, in whichever direction you head.

 

z

[TomB]

That's a great idea, zenny! Good luck!

[zenny-migration]

thanks, Tom. i'm looking forward to both paring down what i've got and sprucing up what's left.

 

I realize that I did forget to mention one of the things I like best about this type of set. The fact the one is forced to make tough decisions.

 

For instance: high relief peace dollar - type III gold dollar - gobrecht - proof morgan?

 

TOUGH decision.

[keithdagen]

zenny,

 

That's a great idea. One of each denomination. Hadn't thought of that one before.

[classicalman-migration]

Another good idea!! Great thinking, Zenny!!

[BillJones]

One way to begin a 19th century silver set is to get each denomination of the liberty seated coins (half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar). If you are "bitten by the bug" you can add the "with arrows" types, the "no drapery," and all the others. You can do the same for the Capped Bust types. You can also do the 3 Barber coins plus the Indian cent and liberty nickel. Then the Buffalo nickel, etc. This plan will take you quite a long time.

 

Whatever you do it's better to get nice coins. That means at least AU for the 19th coins and at least MS-61 or 62 (actualy MS-63+ is better for the 20th century material.).

 

I would never worry about items the Stella ($4 gold) and the $50 gold pieces or half unions. Those coins were not regular issues; they are patterns and are therefore not really part of a type set.

[EZ_E]

Hey there, Classicalman. So you're into pwr production. Cool. I was a nuke electrician on the USS Nimitz so I was responsible for power distribution on a 4160v, 1388 amp (X2) power plant. It was fun. Anyway, type sets....... I've just begun working on mine, housing them in a Dansco type set album from 1800. I am toying with the idea of having some key dates (i.e. 1909 S VDB Lincoln and 1909 S Indian in ms, etc.) But, as someone mentioned, it is cost prohibitive. Although I think that you have a great idea of building two sets, I don't think that it is too feasable if one has a limited budget. I plan on getting the best grade on most coins w/i the $500/each range with an exception of some key dates. The main thing is to keep it fun! For example, I have the 2001 commem Buffalo dollar next to the ASE. This shows reflects some great classical design that looks great in the type album. I also tend to prefer proofs when practical. Best of luck to you! Remember, enjoy what you're doing and don't turn it into a chore.