I never thought type set collecting was for me (the little I knew of it). I may be turning the corner somewhat on this. My local coin dealer keeps saying, "A type set can include anything you want!" While I respect his thought, I'm also curious if there are some sort of official "guidelines" What should or should not be included? It just seems so different that a type set would only include (let's say) ONE Lincoln penny! Any thoughts or discussion? Thank you all in advance
As far as I am concerned, there are no guidelines since it will be YOUR set. Do it however you like, but if you are planning on using an album (Dansco-like), there will/may be some constraints, even if mixing and matching pages.
A type set is a genre as opposed to a strict form. Saying "type" is like saying "movie" or "music" - it tells you nothing about the specific content. You get to decide. You can assemble a 20th-century type set, 19th century, coins made of a particular alloy or denomination, etc.
Exactly Green! I am a type set collector, focusing on a pair of my collections ccurrently: 1) US Gem (MS-65+) Type Collection (this one will take a while) 2) Ancient Civilization Type Collection (this one will never be finished) And, I am going (when I get to it... Darn school work) to prepare a document listing what I want in each typeset, along with adding and Aussie Typeset, Canadian typeset and a Maritime Typeset.... Those will be easier to finish!
I've always thought an interesting type set would be all US coins that contained nickel, which would include all the nickels of course, in addition to the 3-cent piece, the 1859 IHC, and all the cu-ni clad stuff from the 20th century.
Maritime coins have always intrigued me Windchild. They might be the driving force to me maybe planning a foray into Canadian issues in the future........
Just to go off on a tangent to Kevinfred, my first "type set" was one coin each from the year of birth of my ancestors. That left many holes, which I filled from brothers, sisters, inlaws, etc. It made for a many year project. That was what I though of first when reading your post. -L
You can make up whatever type sets you like, but a complete US type set would be just that, one of every type.
@Green I may post a few pictures of some I have inherited soon... Depending on my schedule (and my memory)
The Dansco 7070 is indeed a good choice for a basic US type set. But they don't include issues prior to 1800 for obvious reasons. Nor do they include early dollars - I believe. As far as earlier 19th-century dollars go, I think the album only requires one Seated Liberty.
The reason I like working on my type set is learning about each type of coin. I am new to collecting so I would have never known that certain coins in certain years had rays or no rays or they had arrows aroundthe dates. Prior I just saw a "Half Dime" and thought they were all the same. I have been able to learn a great amount more about all kinds of coinsjust by trying to find a good coin to fill the hole that fits my budget. Once I am done with this I think I might start on a specific coin that I found the most interesting. At this time I find the half dime the most interesting.
I'm working on a "38mm Silver" type set. One example of as many major variations I can research. So I have a Morgan, Peace, some British Crowns from 1707~, Spanish and Mexican 8 Reales "Pieces of Eight", etc. It's a massive undertaking and a tremendous history lesson. I research then buy one or two of the best/affordable specimens a month. This method of collecting suits me well.
Let me ask you this Kevin - Would you really want to live in a country where a government agency specified "official" rules for participation in a hobby?
Kevin - The standard definition for "type" when talking about coins is - A variation in design, size, or metallic content of a specific coin design. So for example. if you used Lincoln cents the coins minted from 1909 through 1942 would be one type. The 1943 zinc coated steel would be another type. 1944 through 1958 would be the same type as the first group. The Memorial cents would be another type. The 4 different designs minted in 2009 would be 4 different types. And the Shield cent would be yet another type. So that's 8 different types just for Lincoln cents. That is the standard definition. And it applies to all coins. But the point others are making is that you have the choice the make your own type set up to include, or not include, any coins you'd like. There is no rule that says it has to be one way or the other.
