GRADE-WISE, my IH Cent Collection SUCKS.

[TJ]

(As do my Lincoln and Merc collections for that matter, but I haven't studied them yet. I inherited all these sets by the way.)

 

As for the IH, I have most dates, except a few of the expensive ones.

 

I transferred them today from old Whitmans to a Dansco album and noticed their very sorry condition. Most are G-4 or VG-8, a very few are F-12 (LIBERTY on headband completely visible).

 

HOWEVER, these are coins my late father handled and accumulated. (Non-monetary VALUE right there.)

 

Should I:

[*]slowly upgrade to all being at least F-12, LIBERTY visible? (I'm leaning toward this approach.)

 

[*]Buy outright a complete F-12 or better set. (But what joy would there be in that?)

 

[*]Keep the G-4 set as is and buy the missing coins at G-4. (Ugh, not an option unless I just want to say I have all the IHs).

 

[*]Realize I hate coin collecting and leave the incomplete set as is, knowing I at least put them in a Dansco for a future inheritor to deal with.

 

[chrisfuccione]

Well seeing that it is a family herloom I would try and at least hold on to the coins but maybe add on to them. You did the right thing by changing albums. CHRIS

[braddick]

The first thing you need to do is watch your potty mouth. SUCK is unacceptable over here.

It's one thing to use filthy language over at the Water Cooler, but you've entered a civilized forum now and your shananigans will be no longer tolerated.

If you keep it up you'll be banned to the Comic Forum.

 

There is no greater hell.

[Guest]

I would leave the set intact myself and start a new set at 12 or better. Considering you are missing the key dates anyway, the expense is going to be a few hundred bucks at the very outside to put togeter an album of better quality with the same key dates missing.

 

There is something about the coins and albums I collected with my Dad when I was a kid that will also make me keep these intact and special.

[gmarguli]

Do you like the coins? What grade do you like? I personally wouldn't go for under VF since I would want a solid looking coin. That being said you could add a lot of AU coins for very little money to the set.

[TJ]

Frank, thank you. I agree. I can leave the set alone a build a new one, and thereby preserve the link to my Dad. Thanks for the input.

 

Gmarguli, yes VF and up definetely.

[braddick]

Oh, and get the spelling down right too. "Definetely" ::Shesh::

[a2labmom]

TJ, my personal opinion is to leave your dad's set as is and, if anything, add to it. If you feel the need to collect a higher grade of these coins, start a new set. This way you are preserving what your dad left to you. I am doing a similar thing with all the coins my father-in-law gave me. He gave me my husband's boyhood collection. I am keeping those coins and just admiring them and preserving the memory that they are something my husband collected as a boy.

[keithdagen]

There is no greater hell.

 

Card Forum

[keithdagen]

Keep the set as is and add at similar grades.

 

My granddad gave me a partial set of Lincolns in GD-04 when I was a teen. Today, I could fill the set in higher grades, but then I would end up having to replace the coins given to me. I don't mind finding them in lower grades, and have most of the 20th Century coinage in circulated grades now.

 

Sometimes, those low grade coins are harder to find than higher graded ones.

[TJ]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am DEFINETELY now gonna keep Dad's collection in tact and start fresh if I want better grade coins. (Probably will leave Dad's in the Whitmans and use the new Danscos for my new collection.)

[paigow_johnny]

Be a sport...put Dad's in a Dansco, and get another one for your collection...

[BillJones]

As young collector I had some bad financial experiences with circulated Indidan cents. Part of the problem was that the market fell apart in the late 1960s and did not recover until the late 1970s. The other part of the problem is that dealers pay less for these coins relative to their retail selling prices because they don't sell as quickly as Mint State certified coins. I've learned that since I became a dealer. Key dates like the 1877 and the 1872 sell well in most any clean grade, but the others can take time to move.

 

I would advise to you keep the set as a family heirloon if you want to. If you do decide to upgrade, buy the coins in the final grade that you desire. Constantly trading up on these coins will cost you more in the long run. If you want Fine or VF pieces (full LIBERTY) buy them in the first place. Don't buy VGs with the idea of upgrading. That will only cost you more.

 

I'll also warn that the grading for certified coins is disappointing. You won't a full LIBERTY on an 1877 that is graded F12 or even F!5. I don't like like that, but that's the way things are now.

[Pushkin-migration]

 

Suggest you forget about F-12 and aim for XF-40 or better. Just based on my experience, I started the F-12 route and became very unhappy very fast. Started to see nice coins with excellent detail and starting selling off my "F-12s" shortly after acquiring them. Now have two sets, one XF/AU and one AU/MS plus a lot of varieties. Was never happy with the "just made full LIBERTY coins".

 

Also, suggest you go slowly - gives you a chance to find out what you are really attracted to in hte higher grades.

 

Just one collector's opinion.

[gmarguli]

Oh, and get the spelling down right too. "Definetely" ::Shesh::

 

Did your wife have to point out that spelling error to you, Mr. Worse/Worst?

[BillJones]

I don't spell very well and I have dyslexia to boot which adds to the errors. For that reason I often write my posts in Word and then paste them to the Internet. The trouble is for some reason parts of my messages come up as gibberish when they are pasted to these boards. For that reason the quality of my spelling will probably suffer here.

[EVillageProwler]

Bill,

 

When using MS Word, you can use the SAVE AS function to save the file into a different file format. Choose (PLAIN) TEXT. Then, cut-n-paste. There should be no special characters then.

 

EVP

[braddick]

Hey! That's true, but private!