Generally speaking, would a complete set, say for example a complete US quarter set 1796 - 2006 with all circ. strikes and major varieties, sell for more or less than the price of the individual coins? I'm just curious, I havent seen a lot of complete collections to make a comparison of prices.
Probably yes, but often if you want to sell it, you can make more profit when you break them up and sell them since there will be buyers who only want to buy some coins and yet pay full price.
It's been my experience that buying a complete set is less costly than buying the coins one at a time. I believe you must factor in the costs of S&H, travel expenses to, and from, coin shows/shops, and the time it takes you to look for the coins you wish to purchase. Personally, I prefer to assemble sets through individual purchases/finds, simply because it is more fun, and affords me the pleasure of making my sets "personalized". For me, this is a hobby. Buying complete sets, that someone else has assembled, tends to defeat the purpose.
Complete sets are hard to sell because the more coins you have to sell, the more the different grades. Also, the more coin groups (including sets) you offer the fewer investors or collectors you have who can afford them. If you were looking for a certain coin to fill your set and one is included in an offering by a dealer of several coins or a set which includes coins you already have, would you be interested in the whole group or complete set? And wouldn't you, as collector or investor, expect a discount for buying more than one coin? Clinker
It seems that the set should sell for more than the individual coins considering all of the work that goes into assembling it. However, this just doesn't seem to be the case. This is one reason I don't even try to put sets together anymore, and instead concentrate on just buying individual coins that I like, even if they are duplicates. It makes it unnecessary to buy things that I don't particularly want but are required to complete "the set."
Most of the time it seems that the set sells for less---but not always IMHO----I did a set of Washington Quarters kept it for about a month and sold it for more. Speedy
If I can complete my 1796-present collection of Quarters, then I believe that I could sell the entire set for more than what I purchased them for individually. I do see a problem in selling a complete set through which is so long. i know that certain collectors are searching for certain coins and a complete set will be overwhelming from both a price perspective and #/ type of coins' perspective.
While it is nice to grab nearly complete low grade sets at bargain prices sometimes. Then, have the fun and challenge of upgrading them when you can. I'm sure for many, nearly full or complete high grade sets will be a bit overwhelming, pricewise. Also, the loss of enjoyment gained by assembling the collections yourself is a drawback IMO.
