Thread: A Question of Affordability

I've narrowed down my collecting prospects to, along with Lincoln Wheats, collecting the following (either in part or in whole):

Braided-Hair Half Cent (1840-1857)
Braided-Hair Large Cent (1843-1857)
Indian Head Small Cent (1859-1909)
Two-Cent Pieces (1864-1873)
Three-Cent Pieces (both silver and nickel)
Liberty Head (V) Nickels
Half Dimes (1837-1873)
Mercury Dimes
Standing Liberty Quarter
Walking Liberty Half

Now after looking at this list, I have also further narrowed down what I just want one or two of because the design doesnt jump out at me that much or it just does all over. However, my main question is out of these sets, which are the easiest to acquire without breaking the bank?

Thanks in advance

Deffinately 2 cent pieces. I have never paid more than 10 dollars for one. And they are a nice odd denom coin

Originally Posted by cciesielski01

Deffinately 2 cent pieces. I have never paid more than 10 dollars for one. And they are a nice odd denom coin

Does that include the 64 small motto, 72 and 73 proof?

I'm pretty much just collecting dates and not varieties. For instance, I want to own a half dime because its an odd denomination that we dont use by that name anymore, but I have no desire to collect the whole set at all lol. Things like the Mercury dimes and Liberty Nickels, I will (try to) collect the whole dateset, but things like small and large date stuff doesnt matter to me at this point

If you are just doing a type set for some of the series, then cciesielski01 was correct. You can pick up examples of the 2C, 3CS and 3CN for around $10 each. Depending on your budget, I would try to get uniform grades for all of your type coins, i.e all VF or EF. They look much better that way.

Originally Posted by ReaperRuler

I'm pretty much just collecting dates and not varieties. For instance, I want to own a half dime because its an odd denomination that we dont use by that name anymore, but I have no desire to collect the whole set at all lol. Things like the Mercury dimes and Liberty Nickels, I will (try to) collect the whole dateset, but things like small and large date stuff doesnt matter to me at this point

Sorry, but you've lost me here. If you know what you want to collect, what are you asking?

Originally Posted by jhinton

If you are just doing a type set for some of the series, then cciesielski01 was correct. You can pick up examples of the 2C, 3CS and 3CN for around $10 each. Depending on your budget, I would try to get uniform grades for all of your type coins, i.e all VF or EF. They look much better that way.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by BooksB4Coins

Sorry, but you've lost me here. If you know what you want to collect, what are you asking?

I just wanted to see what advice people had as far as collecting anything from the listed sets on a budget as things like the half cents can be pricey sometimes. I just was curious.... Sorry if I wasted anyone's time...

Originally Posted by ReaperRuler

I just was curious.... Sorry if I wasted anyone's time...

No apology necessary. Your initial posts were confusing (at least to me) and for that I apologize.

If - other than the two mentioned - you are only looking for type examples, then yes... you can easily do so on a budget, but keep in mind that its usually best to pay up for quality regardless of grade. Basically, a budget does not need to go hand-oin-hand with the deal mentality.

I agree with BooksB4Coins, in the long run you will be much happier with eye appealing coins that you maybe had to pay an extra $5-10 for; then the bargain coins.

Nice coins aren't cheap and cheap coins aren't nice. The worn down or problem coins will always be around for "low prices" but a nice problem free coin can be elusive. Be patient and buy good coins.

[QUOTE]Nice coins aren't cheap and cheap coins aren't nice. The worn down or problem coins will always be around for "low prices" but a nice problem free coin can be elusive. Be patient and buy good coins.

This idea of only getting one nice coin for a type example is where you want to do two things.

Number one is to break the bank and get the best you can find. Eye appealing high grade coins are the best store of your collecting budget when it comes time to sell.
Number two is to only buy a coin certified by one of the top two grading firms.

Edit to add even if you only get one of them a year quality holds value better than common does.

Originally Posted by cciesielski01

Deffinately 2 cent pieces. I have never paid more than 10 dollars for one. And they are a nice odd denom coin

$10 for a small motto and the 72 darn ;0)

Edit oh shoo someone beat me to it

Alrighty everyone. Thank you for your advice

Originally Posted by KoinJester

$10 for a small motto and the 72 darn ;0)

Edit oh shoo someone beat me to it

of course it doesnt include the rare ones but you can get all the others for reasonable prices if you look long enough...

There is some things you would have to consider prior to making that decision. For example how you purchase your coins. If on line, could hardly make a difference since almost all of what you mentioned are there. However, people that buy on line seldom include postage, shipping, insurance, lost in mail, fake coins sent, etc. If you purchase from local coin stores, you would be very limited to any and all of those. And the prices would be usually high. IF you frequent coin shows, eventually you could find almost anything for decent price.
Another consideration is how many coins make a set. For example there are very few 2 and 3 cent coins needed to make a set. Many more to make a Mercury Dime set. But then back to availability, so much depends on what you can find.

Because of my age I prefer short sets.
I want something that there's a good chance I'll be around to finish.
Hence that eliminates all the Seated Liberty sets.

And I prefer 19th century issues.
And I don't collect proofs.

So the 2-cent series was one of my interests (11 coins; complete)
Classic Head Half Cents (15 coins; missing one variety)
Braided Hair Half Cents (8 coins; complete)

You get the idea.