I really enjoy collecting coins, and trying to complete sets a coin or two at a time. Its alot of fun, and it feels very rewarding to watch your set grow. For example right now my Walker set, which I have about 20 different dates/mints. My problem is, I have trouble focusing on one series. I want to finish my sets of Jeffersons and Franklins too, and I also buy Morgan and Peace $'s on the side. Anyway, to get to the point, I was in my dealer's shop today, and saw that he had several complete sets with albums for sale. Including a set of Franklins. I'm very tempted to just buy the whole set, but I have conflicting emotions about buying a collection that someone else already put together. Sorry for rambling. Any opinions or advice?
I have the same problem---what I do is buy coins that I like and then maybe I find out that hey--it goes in my set!....I also keep a list of the dates I need in case I see like a "junk box" or such I can find them that way....but most of the time I just collect a good many coins and then one day I go through and find out that for such and such a set I'm only missing 5 or so...so I put those dates in my head and just remember to look for them.... Speedy
Adaml, I don't ordinarily give advice because I don't think I'm qualified, but in this case I'll make an exception. I think your instincts are leading you to put together your own set and I think that's what you should do. I believe it will always be more meaningful to you than a set assembled by somebody else. I also say this based on my own experience.
There is no better set then the one you put together yourself I would never think of buying a set that I did not have to work to get.
A good way to start is to buy a low grade set, that doesn't even need to be complete, and start upgrading the coins. And no one says you can't have more than one set too. If the coins in the Franklin set are circulated, it's probably not priced much over melt anyway. But it's up to you.
I did a coin by coin set purchase for my Mec dimes, all but the 1916-D, Silver Washington quarters all but the 32-D & S, all Franklins. This was a 2 yr quest as I combed all over Denver & Colorado Springs coin shops. This was a lot of fun but I did develop a complusive disorder... as I had to fill the holes....!
Whats a point of buying it then at all? there is no fun to buy a whole set, unless you want to resell it.
Actually it's somewhat cheaper to buy a whole set at once. If you cannot be bothered to look for them, maybe buying them at once is ok although like many said, where is the fun.
I think building your own set a few coins at a time or whatever is more personal and when its complete, it'll mean alot more to you because you've put it together with your money and your time looking for the coins you need. Collecting coins or anything for that matter is a whole lot more fun when you do it yourself. I could go out and buy complete sets also of almost any series but whats the point in that. I like the thrill of the hunt with certain hard to find coins.
I've done it both ways, plus other ways, for a variety of reasons. I just bought a complete set of Ikes (with proofs) for a bargain price. The coin itself doesn't move me that much, but it fits into my set of sets. I consider that more an investment than a collection. Still, who knows, I may read an article about Ikes and get into it. In that case I've got a good starting point for a really nice set. If not, I've got it stashed away and it wasn't all that expensive. APMEX was selling complete sets of silver Washington quarters (minus the 32S and 32D, of course) with a Dansco album for about the melt price of the silver. No-brainer as far as I was concerned - it's like a free Dansco album. Most of them were just in good condition, but some were nicer. It's been fun filling in the ones from circulation, as well as searching for and buying the 32S at a coin show. The 32D is a goal for next year. I'm gaining more of an appreciation for that design, especially the original version. I'll probably upgrade a few of the silver ones through the years, but not urgently, since that part of the set is practically done. I bought a few partial rolls of Liberty nickels. A real ugly coin, in my opinion. Of course, I only got the common dates. At first I was just going to finish off the set as cheaply as I could (again, thinking in a set of sets mindframe), but as I've filled some of the holes, the coin's design has grown on me. I still think it's ugly, but I like it that way and I can really appreciate XF and AU (and MS of course, but I'm thinking affordable here) examples of it now. I think I'll feel a good sense of accomplishment once I find nice examples of the 5 or 6 that I'm still missing even if I started off with a partial set. My 2-cent collection has been a one-by-one endeavor, and it's the set I like the most. However, I started off liking the 2-cent piece as a child, so I was already biased. If someone offered me a complete set of them for a reasonable price, I may take them up on the offer, but only to cherry-pick it and improve on my current set. It's a small enough set that each of the coins seems to have an individual nature. So I guess it depends for me. The modern coinage is so consistenly struck and cheaply available in such nice condition, buying it "in bulk" makes sense to me. Ones with designs no longer in circulation I tend to collect individually. Since they're often harder to afford in mint state, I have to consider the character of the coins and their condition. Sometimes a VF will appeal more to me than an XF, or this particular VF appeals more to me than that VF of the same date and mintmark. I doubt that buying a complete set would satisfy me in those cases. Of course, I can always work on upgrading the ones that I don't like. How's that for being wishy-washy? Dang, how much did I just type? Time to get some sleep! Scott
Here is one more thing I don't think you will every really finish a set I know for me when I complete a set I enjoy very much I then start to upgrade.
There is no end to it, and as you upgrade, then you decide to hoard certain dates of your favorite collection, or hoard all of them. What is better than having a key date, of, say a 1932 D or S Wahington quarter? Having six of them! Good luck. Buy the set if you wish, but then work on an upgrade to the set. No collection is ever done.
When I complete my "set of sets" like scoinca's, I'll start up grading the collections. Honeslty tho, It may take me a while to finish up a complete Morgan set. Once I get my Commission, I can look at the dreaded SVDB and 16-D ranged coins.
I've never completed a set of anything, although I've started several. It took awhile for me to realize that the "normal" methods of collecting by date/mintmark and by type just weren't for me. Now I just buy individual coins that I want to own when I can find them for prices I want to pay. I even purchased a "short set" of silver roosevelt dimes from 1946-64 earlier this year because of the price. I'd also like to start a "one coin coin collection," and obtain a number of examples of the exact same coin, but haven't settled on a coin yet. I don't ever expect to buy an empty album and fill all of the hole myself at anytime in my life. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that there is no wrong way to go about this, and just do what makes you happy. Here's a thought. If your dealer has a set of Franklins you like, buy it. Then look around and buy one or two more over time. Then reassemble the two or three sets into a highest, middle, and lowest grade coin set. Franklins are almost the perfect coin to do this in my opinion. Maybe I'll do it myself.
Thank you everyone for your responses. I think I'm going to go with my original instincts, and with what most of you said, and put together sets myself. Its much more fun that way. I'm just so hooked on coins I get kind of impatient sometimes. I'm going to keep buying my Walkers one at a time, and work on my Jefferson set by roll searching. There'll be plenty of time for other series in the future.
Adam, THE MORE YOU BUY THE LOWER THE PRICE! Get the set before it's gone. You can replace the lower grade coins with some of the better grades you already possess or purchase better ones later on. Getting this set will allow you to concentrate on filling your other sets. Clinker
There is no question that putting together a set on your own is more fun and rewarding than buying a set already completed. Having said that, there are certainly exceptions. My goal is to collect three sets of every type of coin I am interested in so building three different sets can get kind of old after a while. I usually build by buying a "Lot" of coins in the series, thats coins in a Lot. Then I fill in the remainder with single purchases and keys. I have been tempted to buy completed sets after the first one or two are done but I usually end up with extra coins from the first two sets and use them to begin the thrid set. Buying an already completed set would leave me with extra perfectly good coins with nowhere to put them. I have never bought completed sets outside of the ones that come with the purchase of someone else's entire collection and darn few of those. I have discovered though, that buying entire collections actually saves money in the long run. It also takes my collecting in directions I may not have gone without the influence of these other collectors.
