joesmom

Hi all! At the local show this weekend I picked up a Dansco 7070 Type Set album. This is something that I've been thinking of starting for a while and I am very excited. I figure it will give me something to work on/play with when I run into roadblocks and dry spells in my other pursuits.

I would love to hear any tips, suggestions, thoughts, etc. on building a nice type set from those of you that have embarked on this challenge.
Thanks!

Robin

__________________
Coin Wench

jody526

Hi, Robin.

Does your album have the optional "gold type" page? LOL

If I could offer any suggestions, they would be to go slow.
Many of those holes are going to be very expensive to fill.
I have been working on a type set all my life, and I never expect to complete it. That may be because I don't settle for just any coin, in order to fill a hole, but I'd rather have a few coins with a fair amount of detail, than a lot that are barely recognizeable.

Anyway, it sounds like you realize that this will be a long-term project, and one that will no doubt bring you, and Joe, many hours of enjoyment.

cholmes75

I would start with nickels. You can build a type set of them very easily and pretty cheaply.

crystalk64

There are quite a few holes in that album that can be filled with high grade coins (raw) at very affordable prices. Seeing how the date is not important for such a set you will find more common high grades within most budgets. Take your time and be prepared to dig a little deeper for the rarer coins needed. I filled my type set in this manner and found only the Seated Liberty dollars really hurt, even in lower grades, but having a full book really makes it worth while. Be patient and buy WHAT YOU WANT, when you want it. The hunt can be very enjoyable if you make it so!

ziggy29

I'd consider what you want to overall "look" of the set to be. Whether it's a certain grade range, a certain color or other criteria, you may want to consider how you'll want the collection to look. Or maybe you'd rather just buy nice coins and cobble them together -- that works, too.

__________________
Tim (ANA R-167586)

"Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance."

-- William O. Douglas (1898-1980), U.S. Supreme Court Justice

mmarotta

How much effort you want to devote to this is entirely a matter of your own idea of fun. One approach is to fill a Type Set with rarities. They do not need to be expensive -- often not as costly or only a little more so than commons. For instance, for the Buffalo Nickel, you could have the famous Three-Legged, or one of the 3 1/2 leggeds more recently identified, or an overdate. Mercury Dimes are not that exciting as a series, but a semi-key with split bands would be an example, or at the least a 1916-P with split bands. (On the other hand anyone can find "Mint State" Mercs from 1941-1945.) Red Book varieties are fairly easy to identify and perhaps not so easy to find and therefore add a nice dimension of "true numismatica" to a Type Set.

__________________
Mike M
Michael E. Marotta
ANA MSNS CSNS

jody526

To get a better idea of what Robin is doing, by completing a Dansco 7070 Type Set album, click here.

joesmom

Oh Jody...that is truly a thing of beauty. I now have drool all over my keyboard. I can only hope to assemble a set that would be half as nice, but I am looking forward to the challenge. MINUS the gold pages!
Is that yours? Absolutely stunning.

__________________
Coin Wench

Art

Jody,

Great type set. Thanks for sharing.

Andy

Nice finding that album Jody. I really enjoyed looking at it. Good luck Joesmom, it looks like you will have some fun with your son on this.

__________________
We reap what we sow.

jody526

Unfortunately, no.

A gentleman, on another website posted it, so I thought I would share his accomplishment with the members here.

I do have most of those, in similar conditions, though.
(minus the gold and early silver dollars)

IvanV

wow this is just a nice set! Thanks for the link jody , good luck Robin!

__________________
WINS#408

joesmom

Thanks for all of the words of encouragement as I start off on this new challenge. I'm really looking forward to learning more about the coins that I don't normally collect through this project.

Not to mention that Joe will get a big kick out of some of the older denominations and seeing how our coinage has changed through the years.

__________________
Coin Wench

satootoko

Amazing!!!

__________________
Roy

tradernick

Robin I think a type set is the most fun (and challenging) and educational (and frustratingly fantastic) sets that a collector can assemble. In many ways, it's the perfect collection. You get to learn about every series of U.S. coinage. You learn how to grade them, which dates are better than others, what to look for to detect cleaned/altered/damaged or counterfeits, etc. And the best thing about a type set is that you're never really finished. Even after the holes are filled you can always look for upgrades! Somewhere along the way you're sure to find a coin type that really sings your name...something that really grabs you...and voila, there's the makings of your next set. Some of the greatest collectors ever got started with a type set!
I wish you all the best in your hunt. Remember that like life itself, the fun is in the journey, not just the destination.

Hah, that last sentence reads just like one of my books on Taoism

Nick

__________________
Eyes are not required for true vision.