Mercury Dimes advice?

I'll preface this by stating I am an old poot on a limited SSI income. I still love my coin collecting though. Can't afford to throw money away so here is what I am wondering.

I recently purchased a Deluxe Whitman Album to start a Mercury dime collection. I purchase on ebay. I try to find the best price/condition for what I can afford at the time. It is fun looking for particular dates. Kind of like a treasure hunt. LOL. Yes, I do realize I will never be able to purchase the ultra high dollar coins. I approach my collecting for fun and not a future profit on investment, although I don't want to loose a lot either. I guess my concern is loosing money. Here is my question.

Is this album going to be completely worthless when I get to the point that I can't fill the high dollar slots?

 

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The value will be the sum of the parts. Each coin will have a value at that point, whether it's higher or lower than what you paid for it no one can say but it will not be worthless. Worst case scenario is they'll still be worth 10C each

I think mercs are a perfect budget friendly set to take on. Can get some nice coins for very cheap. Good luck.

 

Worst case scenario is that they will be worth melt value.

Chris

 

Which could be less than 10 cents in the true worst case!

 

........and that worst case scenario would be that a coin was ground away to almost nothing. Let's be realistic!

Chris

 

Nah, let's not.

 

never, still worth face value

 

Honestly, yes, your collection will be worth melt value or so when you complete it minus the high dollar ones. Knowing that, you should budget accordingly. Do you have the opportunity to go a local coin store? They usually have a bin you can dig through for melt plus a small premium. Great way to find dates and mms you're looking for.

 

Wash, rinse, repeat...

 

No, but it'll almost certainly be worth less than you spent to fill it, unless of course silver is much higher at that point.

It might feel like an almost-completed set is worth more than an equal number of randomly-picked coins, but that's not how it works in the market. Most of the dates are worth no more than melt unless they're in very high grade, and checking the grade of each coin takes more time -- and, of course, "time is money". So, buyers tend to value circulated sets based on melt for the number of coins, plus some extra for any keys or semi-keys.

When you're building the set, though, you're paying attention to each coin you add, and probably paying extra for ones that seem nicer or harder to find, especially when you're getting close to the end. Also, if you're buying coins one by one, you're paying extra for shipping and overhead on each.

If you're completing the set for enjoyment, don't think too much about resale value. If you're completing it for resale value, stop, and concentrate on either buying bulk coins below the going rate or buying key dates and choice specimens below the going rate. Both of these are hard, and require patience and knowledge (or, as always, luck).

 

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

Many worthwhile endevers never pay off from a financial standpoint. If you will enjoy building this set, go for it. Have fun.

 

And there is the absolute best response.

 

My old LCS used to have trays of Mercs, Buffaloes, V nickels, etc. for low prices.
These were circulated, but there were older dates with mint marks in there,
and depending on silver price they could all be had (the Mercs) for around $1+ apiece. I would see a couple of old guys in there searching through there with their albums filling a few holes for very little $.
Complete collections are worth more. Higher graded coins are worth more.
Most of your coins are still going to be worth from $1.25-$2.

 

High dollar? There is only three of them.

Most mercs are going for just over spot right now, with few exceptions. If you sell it as an incomplete collection, you'd probably get spot for the common dates, and a small premium for the better ones. At the end of the day, how much you lose depends on how much you spend on it. Don't let your LCS sell you common dates in G-VG for $5 a piece.

 

When people buy full collections, it's usually because they want the key dates.
An LCS that sells common circulated Mercs for $5 won't be in business very long. $2 is more likely.

 

Please confirm a quick calculation of the silver content of a mercury dime as:
(2.5 grams)x(.90)x (1 oz. / 28.35 grams)
= 0.07937 oz. Ag

and so the coin's spot value at last check would be
(0.07937 oz.) x ($17.20/oz) = $1.36

It's not obvious to me why aiming to collect this series in say, the VF20 - XF 40 range would result in that low melt value coming into play maybe 10 or 15 years down the road.
I understand that both the future price of silver and the level of interest in collecting are impossible to predict. But even taking a common date, 1927, (with mintage 28 million / but only est.5000 survivors), the corresponding PCGS retail value of $8-$10 ought to at least hold its own and more likely go up in that time. They aren't making more of them, at least as long as we can stay one step ahead of counterfeiters.
No doubt this is the rant of one recent returned to the hobby, so anyone please correct my naivete here.

 

What in the world makes you think there are only 5000 survivors?

This is a very heavily collected series, and has been for decades. Every date is plentiful. The "rare" ones are expensive only because there's so much demand.

Or am I misinterpreting your statement?

 

Well, after all the appreciated input, I guess I am worrying to much about the value. Heck, for what I have been paying for the coins I have added to the book, I can throw it away when I am done, except for any rarities along the way, and it won't make any difference. After thinking about it some more, I think I am just collecting them out of the enjoyment of collecting coins. If I spend three dollars for a dime I want for the book, big deal. I created my own perspective for my own question. And I rattle on. Enjoy your coins folks.