Though I joined this forum in 2012 when I was still stacking bullion, I have been a way for a while. I've recently rekindled my interest in collecting coins that I find interesting or cool. I'm currently starting to put together a collection of 1878 Morgan Silver Dollars. I like the wide variety (with all of the VAM's),and think that being the first year is extra cool, to me at least. I'm doing it mostly for fun, and to have something cool to leave to my kids one day, hopefully a very long time from now. Though my son is a police officer, he has a degree in anthropology. He shares my appreciation of some of our historic coins here in the US. Having looked at a local coin shop, and at a lot of pictures, and some of my own coins with 3x, 10x and 30x loupes, I 'm starting to remember why I often favored AU coins in the past. Especially at AU58 a lot of the coins, to my eyes, look much better than many of the MS60-62 coins, and some of the MS63. I purchased a 1878 8TF locally a while back, ungraded, but estimated at AU58. It has a good strike, and things like the hair detail above Liberty's ear is much more clear than on a lot of MS coins that don't have as good of a strike. The feathers on the eagles head and chest are also very well struck and very defined. I will get a pic of it soon, and post it. What is the current, most common thinking on graded vs ungraded at the AU level of Morgan's? I'm confident enough in my ability to semi-accurately gauge a coins grade to avoid really over paying. I'm fairly confident none of the coins will ever be sold, unless I come across a deal on a coin that would represent a nice upgrade. Like anyone, I'd prefer coins that aren't likely to take a drastic hit to their value, but I know that is always a possibility. I'd rather have a collection I enjoy owning, looking at and appreciating. If something causes the collectible coin market to tank I guess I'd rather be setting on several dozen AU58 coins than a similar amount of MS63 or better. Any advice or thoughts would be most appreciated.
Given your parameters, 58 is not what I would suggest. Consider assembling a collection of 45s, in your preferred interest. It is not easy, at all. Morgans, Barbers (1/2 and dime...forget quarters, that horse left so long ago it will never be found, not even by a Comanche), SL-all series. I wish you well.
Why 45's? I've looked at quite a few F and XF graded coins and the eye appeal of the 58's, to me, is so much better. I know good examples of things like an AU58 1878CC Morgan is going to cost substantially more than some of the other 1978 varieties, but I'm okay with that.
The base reason is: Survivors. Technical 45s are extremely difficult to assemble in a full Series in any of the Series I mentioned.. I am not referring to a Type Set. That is easy. Technical 58s...you will never complete. it has been tried.
AUs are great. On graded/ungraded, some insist on their coins graded, some not so much. That's really all up to you. I'd think a very nice set of AU-ish Morgans is a very achievable goal, graded or ungraded. Be wary of the higher-sticker ones, as they're sometimes faked. Those you'd want attributed, meaning, graded, as that's implicit in the grade. Very reasonable, very achievable goal. Good luck on it.
We have 3 complete sets of Morgans and Peace dollars among our collections. 1 set for each of our granddaughters. None of our coins are below AU-55. I personally agree with you that for some reason I prefer AU. Eye appeal, very few bag marks, and often look better than some of our MS coins. I believe the TPG's have a lot to do with it also. We enjoyed collecting them, and like you will enjoy them until the fair well train arrives. Today's prices have gone through the roof so being patient, choosey, and careful is your friend. Good luck, and welcome back to CT.
Thanks for the advice and thoughts everyone. I genuinely appreciate it. Ediespin, I think your point about getting the higher priced coins in a slab makes a lot of sense. The 1878CC's seem to be the most expensive, on average, of the 1878's. I will probably stick to buying those as graded coins. My very loose goal right now it to get all of the "standard" 1878's. 8TF, 7/8TF, 7TF, 7TF Rev of 79, S and CC. Once I have those 6 I'll probably start looking at some of the cool VAM's and such. Though I know they minted a lot of them, I may end up trying to get a complete set of 1921 last year coins too.
Your plan sounds reasonable to me. Now, you mentioned buying uncertified....can you spot cleaned, over dipped, whizzed, fakes, etc? Not doubting you, just don't know your level of knowledge. For some of the more expensive coins you should probably go with certified unless you are really comfortable with your knowledge base.
Sound like fun sets to build. The only problem I can see on the horizon is that there are a number of people building registry sets (PCGS/NGC), called Everyman sets that feature AU-58 coins. Those might get costly if you run into much competition. good luck either way. James
longshot, I have seen whizzed coins and am confident I can spot most of them. I can typically tell if a coin has been cleaned. As for over dipping I believe it would depend on how far over an acceptable limit it is, since I don't have a lot of experience. Not sure about fakes. I have an extremely accurate scale and can weigh coins. I have a great LCS that I can take any coins purchased elsewhere, such as an auction, and get their opinion. Samclemens3991 I hadn't realized until recently how popular building sets is. Seems like a cool way to enjoy this hobby for some folks. I'd be curious about opinions on the grade of this coin. It's an auction coin that I purchased and haven't received yet. Obviously, the white balance is way off and the lighting in general isn't great. I believe this is a potential VAM (117 I think?) as it has a broken star, the fourth one on the right.
