Not buying it outright, but collecting them coin by coin. Not high grade... probably VG or less... I know that the 1877 will be the priciest, followed by the 1909-s I believe. Thoughts? Advice?
Probably looking at over 1k including the key dates. 1877 and 09s aline will be $750 or so, all the others will add up quick from the late 1860s through the 1870s. Probably $1200 or so is doable, but might take you a while to find problem free dates that are reasonably priced.
Prices of raw G/VG semi-keys are going for about half of what Greysheet says. They are rarely faked in those grade levels, so you should be fairly confident in buying them raw. unless you are confident in your abilities to authenticate the key dates raw, I would buy them certified. But be aware of fake slabs and try to stick to slabs that can be verified through TPG pictures or auction records. Buying from an expert dealer will greatly lower the chance of a fake slab
I started my collection of the IHCs after my father left his collection to me. He had about three-fourths of the coins. I've gotten it down to one coin. I'm sure you have guessed which one it is. Yep! The 1877. I was lucky enough that a friend had been asked to sell his collection. I could buy the whole collection, but the price was prohibitive. I had the money, but just couldn't pay that much for the coins. I was still rather new. That was a few years ago. Now, I can't buy the 1877 in a condition I want for my collection. The cheapest I've seen one was about $500-$660 for a G rated coin. Crap! I should have bought the collection.
I have enjoyed putting three sets of IHC's together but as of late last year I decided to keep what we have, including extras, and move on to other denominations. Reason is simple, prices for several years in the set are getting outrageously over priced and the quality of the coins continue to drop, sad but true. I love the coins and hope the IHC continue to flourish as well they should!
I would recommend Rick Snow from Eagle Eye Rare Coins and Charmy Harker from The Penny Lady. Both are very knowledgeable and friendly. They each have a well rounded inventory concerning IHC's. My advice is when you get to a price level where you are concerned about value and authenticity then buy coins in TPG plastic. Peace of mind is everything. When you buy coins in the TPG plastic NEVER NEVER remove them. This makes for future resale easy for you or your heirs.
A few years back you could get the last 30 years, 1880-1909, buying them outright for around $200 a set. I'm sure it didn't include all available mint marks, and the coins were only in good to fair condition. But, for less that $6.75 a coin, it's a good start.
Yes, I sure wouldn’t want them in “VG or less”. Why not skip the 2-3 key dates for now and collect the other dates in VF-AU? Maybe start with a small set of coins instead of buying them one by one? E.g. a quick eBay search for “indian head cent dansco” or “indian head cent collection” showed a couple of results.
I'd suppose around 2000 including both key dates. Which is where I would start for two reasons. One, the prices will only get higher if you put them off while buying others. Also, the key and some semi-key dates all to often keep most from a complete series if waiting until the end. Second, once you have them in a grade and price you could live with, adding similar grades will make for a more consistent eye appealing set.
Nobody knows if prices for key dates will go up. They could also go down. That’s one reason why I’d first observe the market and wait for the “right” coin. Another reason why I’d wait is that collectors usually “get an eye” for the series after a while and will likely make better purchasing decisions later in their endeavor.
I agree. Just finishing up the set myself. Same range but quite a few VF's or better. Have all but the 1909-s now. It killed me to crack the 1877 and 1869/69 from their NGC cases but I couldn't stand the thought of not completing the album and having the slabs hanging outside. The 1860's and 1870's did add up quickly. I'm guessing I have a little over $1200 into it now and probably another $350 or so for the 1909-S. That coin will be slabbed and broken out as well when I get it. I made sure to get slabbed key dates for authenticity and kept the foam holders as evidence. Have to say it took me a good 3 months to snag them all. There's alot of competition out there. The Buffalo nickel set was by far easier to put together and took about a month to do so.
Happy for you. And yes. Everyone loves them. Me included. I had very few. But I do have a heavy one. But can’t really tell the date
I could get that whole set for $1-2 Per coin in average circulated, not counting the S mints. Throw in the 1908 S ($75), and I am still under the $200 mark
