OK.... Actually two moral quandaries. I have assembled a lot of Whitman’s and Dansco’s over the years and I can say that I deeply loathe empty holes in catalogs. Last year I decided to put together a two cent and three cent nickel Dansco. My goal is truly to plug the holes and upgrade over the years because it’s a good looking set and I think it could keep me busy for the foreseeable future. All the holes in the Dansco are filled with exception of 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1888 three cent. If you know the series, you know those years are quite pricey as business strikes but very affordable as proofs. Would it be a sin to use proofs in a business strike set? Second moral dilemma.... I cannot break a slab. Oh I have tried... But it would be easier for me to scratch the paint on my car. I just can’t do it. I have asked sellers with slabbed coins to break them out for me when I buy them..... Yes, that is pretty silly. But I just cannot do it. Second moral question.... Is it a sin to free proof three cent nickels from their slab to complete a Dansco?
It's your set and you should do what feels right to you. The only major Dansco album I have done is the 7070. I did mix in some proofs with business strikes but it wasn't because any spot was hard to fill (I already had the 1976 bicentennial set in proof and didn't want to buy a BU version). I'm not sure how I would approach your case. One idea is to buy slabbed examples (business strike or proof) and leave them in the slab. For the hole, make a cardboard filler where you write something like "see slab" and place that into the album. It's not a sin to free slabbed proofs, but one should be extra careful with those (make sure you don't add any hairlines/slide marks when sliding the plastic in place.
Who said it was a "business strike" set? They were wrong, apparently. Coins do not belong in TPG slabs in my opinion. If it's a sin to break out a coin from slabs, then sin away!
I have one coin in a slab, the 1916 D Dime. In my album I have a tag that says "slab". In other albums I have tags that say "see proof set" or "see mint set". As far as proof and circulation coins, I think the idea of a type set is to have a "representative" sample of each type.
Randy, perhaps your wife, child or friend could do the nasty deed for you out of sight and hearing? Safest way is with a pair of pincers applied to the edge of the label-end. Cal
Its your personal hobby OP. Depends entirely on you. I do know some OCD types who could not stand it. I am the opposite, cannot standing having to "fill in holes" at all. Most are in between. Would you feel much better with holes filled with proofs? Then do it. Regarding slabs, they are simply holders with one groups OPINION. Break it out if you want it in your holes instead. That is how I view them. I respect Mr Vagi and Mr Murphy's opinion, so I keep the insert, but its just a plastic holder man.
Randy, IMO, It’s your party and you can ‘proof’ if you want to! J.T. addendum: personally I usually prefer the HIGHER proof.
It becomes a mixed set as soon as you put a proof in there. There isn't a problem with either option; it boils down to what type of set you prefer to collect. I personally prefer to have a holey business strike set than a full (I'd still have some holes) mixed set. I want my type set to perfectly resemble what would have circulated in those times. Just my personal preference. Nobody is going to look at your set and say "yuck there's a proof trickle in there, it's worthless now!"
I did the same thing when I finished my Washington quarter set; couldn't find a reasonably priced example of the 1958 in decent shape, so went with a slightly impaired proof. Your set is for you, not for anyone else!
Take a deep breath and go for it! Mix up your set any way you want. Somebody else, namely NOT YOU, decided for you what holes to fill. Maybe some of those holes are not important to you. I consider my Lincoln set complete, for example, even though that 1922 No-D slot is still empty. Why should I fill it when Philadelphia did not strike any of them? Here I not only mix proofs (Barber, Kennedies) and business strikes but I had the audacity to flip some over!! Seriously, though, I had the same exact problem. I have two slabbed Proof 3 cent pieces and I bought a business strike to go in the album. In other cases I had no problems breaking slabs for the album. In most cases they are coins I considered under graded, or with Details grades that I consider questionable. I hedged my bets by assuming anything I broke out would regrade the same or higher if I resubmitted. I didn’t feel comfortable that the 3 cent proofs would meet that test, so I kept them as-is. I had the same problem with a 1909-S Lincoln - I left the MS65 RB CAC in the slab and got another one for the album. Now I may sell the slabbed one and end up with a better coin overall and money in my pocket.
Yeah, now I think that looks good. But then there is a small part of me that feels like @YoloBagels is on to something too. I am leaning toward plugging those holes with proofs simply because they are affordable. I do see it can be done tastefully. I appreciate that photo.
If your worried about the over all look of a proof next to a business strike, simply chose an impaired proof. Or a low end of the proof scale that has little luster.
So, I have a similar issue. I have quite a few coins from mint sets 2005 to 2010. As you know, they have a Satin Finish. This, technically, makes them a different coin than the official circulation grade. There are spots in my albums where I have yet to find a coin with the eye appeal that I like. Can I put Satin Finish coins in my albums and consider them to be the right coins in the right spots?
For my XF 3CS set I've 'settled' for a few impaired proofs (e.g. PF50) because the years after 1863 are nearly impossible to find. Your set, your rules!
Pretty much every time I have seen a complete set of nickel 3 cent pieces, the 84, 85 and 87 have been proofs. Same for shield nickels the 79, 80, and 81 are almost always proofs. It is just too difficult, and expensive, to get business strikes. My 3 cent set is all business strikes, but I don't have the 84 yet, and they are all circulated.
