What would you pay for a completed set of Wheat Pennies?

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Could always check Ebay to see what prices are current.
Mine is missing only about 5. There is no spot for a 1955 DD.

 

It's always less expensive to buy a completed set than to put one together. There's no fun in that but it's cheaper. When you go to sell it, don't expect to get more for a completed set. It just doesn't work that way.

Enjoy the fun and build your own set from scratch. Cost more. Worth more. And the fun of building your own set is worth it. The satisfaction is unbelievable when you get that last coin.

Naturally, the lower the grade, the less it will cost. Key and semi keys will always command a premium, even in lower grades. Buy the best grade you can afford, don't just plug a hole because it's there, unless you are building a low cost set. The better grades especially the key dates tend to hold their value better than the lower grades.

 

I can give you a pretty close estimate. Figure in the VG8 grade range, for the varieties you listed as still missing from your set, you will need about $1,800. This, ofcourse, depends on where you search. I suggest finding a friendly, respectable dealer near you. If you don't live near such a dealer, search online, or the classifieds in coin publications i.e. Numismatic News, Coin world etc.

 

I think your first mistake is expecting to profit from this. Buying coins at or near retail pricing, it will be near impossible to sell at a profit. More probably you'll be looking at a loss.

My opinion, FWIW, is that most hobbyist/collectors get into this to build a set, not purchase one already completed. Most people looking for completed sets are looking at a gift for someone else, or looking to pull the key dates out for their own collections or to flip. The gift seeker will probably not be willing to pay the price of the keys, let alone the combined value of the set. The serious collector will look at the keys, determine what it will cost for those, dismiss the rest, and assume buying in "bulk" will offer some sort of discount, on top of the inherent discounted price because you are not a true dealer, and are selling these unslabbed. So any offers from this faction will be lower than what you think. Because those belonging to this class are doing exactly what you are trying to do...that is, get coins on the cheap and flip for profit on eBay.

Good luck with this project! You're probably going to need it.

 

Why assume the average poster would pay anything or be remotely interested in such a set? People here, right or wrong, are simply trying to help you, so instead of seemingly dismissing their advice and counting that profit before you've made it, perhaps you should listen and consider.

I'll be totally honest with you, Sully... you're not sitting on a potential windfall, but a painfully common dog. I've given sets, just like the one you described, originally purchased to acquire a select coin or two, away as freebies just to get rid of them, and hopefully into the hands of someone who may enjoy them. The reason is that theyre more trouble than they're worth; most wanting such a set would rather put it together themselves, or theyre looking for the coins you're missing, so the demand is almost nonexistent. Additionally, nine plus times out of ten when someone wishes to sell their set, a quick scan shows they're missing most of the very same coins you are, and for good reason - they (the obvious) are the ones people want and actually sell individually. When presented with such a set, the decision to make an offer or decline was made on the presense or lack of a few select coins. If there, the offer price was based almost entirely on the desirable dates and not the rest of the set itself. My point with this is that should you decide to peruse this, you're almost certainly in for a big disappointment, and likely a loss of money as well. I do respect your desire to make money off of coins, and trust me, I can relate, but the sooner you understand that A + B does not always equal C, and that some of us offering advice just might know what we're talking about, the better off you may be. Dump the set for whatever you can get, and invest your time, money, and energy elsewhere.

 

+1 to everything @BooksB4Coins just said. I missed earlier that the coins were already in an album. Just see if you can dump them on eBay for $25 and forget about them, if you don't want to keep the coins for your own collection.

 

if you could put a set together for $500 to $600 dollars , I will give you $800 for each .. just two of the keys dates cost more than that in good

 

I totally understand what everyone is saying but, my question was, what would you pay for this? You are all saying there is no money to be made form this, but your not telling me how much one would go for so I can try to get it for less than that so there is room to make money. Also I see that most of you think this is a bad idea and that I should just bail out now. Can you please explain your reasoning?

 

Wouldn't pay anything - even if the key dates were in it.

You'll have to figure out if any money can be made the hard way.

People assemble these sets as a way to enjoy this hobby, by hunting out the examples they need to fill the hole in the album. The reasons this is a bad idea have been previously explained.

Are you even a collector or just trying to make money off new collectors?

 

No, I don't think you do understand or else you wouldn't still be asking and hoping for the answer you want to hear. I thought my answer was pretty clear - the fact I've given perhaps better sets away just to be rid of them should tell you something - but if I must be direct, I would pay nothing; not even face for your set and (again) this is because they are dead weight.

Why, after repeatedly being told there is no worthwhile money in this, do you still demand an answer on how you can.... make money on this? If you know more than some of is who've been in your shoes many, many times before, then you shouldn't need anyone here to answer your question. I warned you about this when you first announced your desire to become a "dealer" who didn't want to bother with learning his product. If you insist on seeing only what you want to, you're going to fail at this little endeavor, and it's as simple as that. Perhaps youll get lucky and after investing (at least many, many hundreds) completing an essentially now worthless set, will find some sucker willing to dole out retail for each individual coin, plus toss in extra for the album, but do you really want to count on it? Or if you simply want ot buy the set as-is and try to flip, go on eBay, check completed sales for the similar, and come up with your own price. I'm not trying ot be mean to you, Sully... but kid's games only work well with kids. Sooner or later the very generous individuals you've met thus far are not going to be so kind and patient.

 

If you didn't accidentally leave out any dates, I don't think you're as hosed as people are saying. Provided they're not corroded/scratched/cleaned/etc and they grade G, the 1910-S is a $15 coin, the 1922-D is an $20 coin, and the 1926-S is an $8 coin (these are retail prices and could vary some especially on eBay). If you only spent $20 and you got these 3 coins (and they look nice) plus all the others, I think you can get a reasonable price on them.

That said, I'd be tempted to cut my losses on completing the set and just try to flip what you have.

 

So from what your saying, not only does what I have now have no numismatic value but it's not even worth popping out the coins and taking them to the bank. Also from what you said even if i complete the set it will still worthless. I still don't think you guys understand what I am asking. I'm going to make this as clear as I can, how much would you pay for a completed set of wheat pennies? I ask this because I want to complete one and try to sell it but I want to know how much money I can can spend to finish it while still being able to make a profit. Now I know someone is gonna say "For the hundredth time you can't make any money on this set!" well lets say for the sake of argument, I was able to buy all the coins for $1, can I still not make money on the set? I understand all of your are not trying to be mean and are trying to help, but; your helping with the wrong problem.

 

I will certainly keep you in mind the next time I have one.

And for Sully this is the answer your after right here in the quoted post from CHUCCXB.

 

If the four keys (1909-S VDB, 1909-S, 1914-D, 1931-S) were certified (especially the 1909-S VDB and 1914-D) and I was in the market for a complete wheat cent set and had enough paper in my pockets, something in the neighborhood of $1000 would seem fair. As you can probably guess, about 85% of the value is made up by the four keys.

But in all honesty if you had a complete set I think you'd get more money breaking it up and selling the keys/semikeys separately and then sell the rest in bigger lots.

 

You're not talking to a bunch of morons, Sully... perhaps the fact you're not getting direct answers to your question should tell you something, and it is not that there's a lack of reading comprehension on our collective part.

Now, as a little tit for tat, I'm going to make this as clear as I can: you're a big boy, a "dealer", so if you don't like what you've been told, maybe, just maybe you should try to answer this question on your own. Think of it this way... which venue would you be selling this set in? I'm guessing eBay, so that might be a fine place to start.

As for the rest, I've already explained my position and told of experiences; if thats not good enough, or if you can't understand that parting widgets out does not interest everyone, I don't know what else to say besides good luck with your little endeavor.

 

"So from what your saying, not only does what I have now have no numismatic value but it's not even worth popping out the coins and taking them to the bank."
No, that's not what he's saying at all. The point being made is that a serious collector would not be interested in the set, per se, but in any key or semi-key dates contained within said set. This would detract from the prices of the more valuable coins, as the collector would look at what it would cost him to sort through the other coins and dispose of them.

"I'm going to make this as clear as I can, how much would you pay for a completed set of wheat pennies?"
And I'm going to try to make this as clear as I can...There is no definitive answer to this question because there are too many variables involved in providing a you with straight answer. For instance, what is your source of these coins? Are you buying from eBay? Did you find a little old lady who has no idea what she has, and you're able to get them for pennies (pun intended) on the dollar? Have you found a collector willing to let you buy these coins at a discount from Red Book pricing? Are you buying from a real dealer, paying close to Red Book pricing? Are you finding them as you walk down the street? See what I mean, there are too many variables involved in the cost of the set to give you a solid profit number when you go to flip the set.

""For the hundredth time you can't make any money on this set!" well lets say for the sake of argument, I was able to buy all the coins for $1, can I still not make money on the set?"
For the sake of argument, you can make a very good profit if you buy this set for $1.00, even if you sell it for $100. However, for the sake of argument, let's pretend we live in the real world. Chances are you're not buying this completed set for a buck, or $100, or even $500. The last time I saw a similar set go at a live auction was several years ago, the set missing only the "09 S VDB and "14 D. The auctioneer set a reserve and if that wasn't met, he was selling the key dates separately. The reserve turned out to be $500 (revealed once it was met) and the set sold for $515.

"I understand all of your are not trying to be mean and are trying to help, but; your helping with the wrong problem."
I don't think anybody is being "mean", and most answers were quite helpful. You seem not to able to grasp the idea that there is no cut and dry answer to your question based on the information you provided in your original post. You have been given many helpful and insightful answers, yet you refuse to accept those answers and instead, demand a solid concrete number to an equation that has too many variables. The best I can tell you is this:

The very basic principle in making money by selling an item or commodity is to buy that item or commodity at the lowest price you can, then sell that item or commodity at the highest price you can. The difference between the two prices is your profit. it is up to you to fill in the blanks for those two numbers.

 

not a lot of value there

 

You are demanding a value that you could get, yet list no grades.

So, I'll presume all culls and same again:

Not much.

 

Ok, so here is my best guess at giving you a dollar figure. I'll be honest, I have no idea why you would take my advice as I have never done what you are asking and have no experience with it, but here goes.

If the set includes all coins in g4, Price from retail portion of numismedia.com
1909 s: $75 in g4
1909 s vdb : $680
1911 s : $25
1914 d: $150
1922: $575

Sold on ebay as acutal prices:

1909 s: f12 PCGS on ebay sold for $76
1909 s vdb: NGC f12 on ebay sold for $585
1911 s: raw but probably vf sold for $23 on ebay
1914 d: NGC vg10 sold on ebay for $169
1922 no d weak reverse NGC10 sold for $300 on ebay
1922 no d strong reverse NGC10 sold for $695

All the other coins in the full set I do not think would add any value. The market for selling this as a complete set would be other people looking to buy it, pull out the key dates and resell for a profit. There is almost no collector appeal to buying a complete set, it's just not what people like to do. The fun of collecting is chasing the coins, filling the holes, and taking the time to do it as a hobby. Compete sets are only bought by people looking to resell for a profit. Group lots always go for less than selling each coin individually.

So basically, numismedia in g4 totals $1505. If I were to seriously try to buy these raw in g4, I think this value is probably 50% too high, if you actually tried to sell them on ebay as raw coins I think you may get $750. So to make it worth my time to flip these, I would want to be into all those coins for 50% of that, or $375. But I would only try to do this if I was an expert on the series and grading, which I'm not, so I would not buy a raw g4 set of Lincolns for any amount of money.

Now to the graded versions. If you have some expertise in identifying genuine examples of those coins, as there are a ton of fakes, and you can grade extremely accurately, then you could buy those coins raw, grade them, and sell them on ebay. That vg10ish set sold for $1153 (weak reverse) or $1548 (strong reverse).

So, 6 coins which you would have to get graded to realize those prices would run you around $300 in grading fees. Assuming you did not get burned on authenticity/grade/details and all coins graded cleanly at the grade you expected, you would have $1548 - $300 in value, so $1248. Again, I would want to be into these for 50% of that, so I would buy them for $642.

So, to answer your question, I would only buy your complete set to flip these. So I would be looking to buy the compete set (strong reverse 1922 no d) with those keys graded at vg10 for around $774(50% of $1548). I would have no interest in raw coins, and I would only be interested in the set so that I could sell the keys and make money.

You may ask why I choose 50%, that is just my line for buying coins to resell. I figure I'm out 15% to 20% on fees when I sell which leaves me with 30% profit margin. That is enough wiggle room for me when I purchase with the intent of selling in an area where I know what I'm doing.

The reality is, the only way to know how much to pay for this is to do it yourself and learn. However, as everyone else in this thread has told you, If I were trying to make money on Lincoln cents I would not try to put together a complete set for re-sale, in fact I would do the opposite and look for complete sets that I could pull apart for re-sale. The market for complete sets is almost non-existent, and any interest would come from people looking to profit off your sale. As a dealer, you have to find a way to buy coins from people not interested in the profit and sell to people not interested in the profit, which is exactly the opposite of building a complete set and selling it as a complete set. You are getting such negative responses because your approach to making money on Lincolns runs exactly counter to how most people would try to profit off coins.