What to do with Dansco sets?

So you spend years picking out just the right coin for each set. As the years go by, you need to do something with them. I don't see an easy way to move on.

 

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I say have them imaged and then seal them in the vault. Create slideshows with the digital images so you can enjoy them every day without handling them.

 

Do you mean for storage or...?

 

Move on to what exactly?

 

They need to be sold. I have not looked at some of them in 10 or 15 years. Probably about 30 albums, around 3000 coins. I hate to just pull out the keys and dump the rest but that seems to be my best option. I let my collection get out of control.

 

That has to be tough parting with a collection you have obviously spent time and resources accumulating.

 

I'm sure you could sell some of them intact, but it is difficult.

 

This is hard part of collecting these year sets: What to do when you need to part with them!?

My opinion is that the best option (if money is important to you) is to pop out the keys and maybe sell the rest as an album sans key datesl, unless you can find that RARE somebody who will buy the entire album at a happy selling price for you...

 

I was thinking of breaking down all my sets after the first of the year and selling my coins one by one.


I enjoy taking pictures so while some people might think it would be a pain, I think I'd enjoy it.

 

Oh wow, any Barbers in there?

 

I obviously don't know anything about the sets, but before you do this, ask yourself if you know any dealers who have close relationships with a wide variety of customers. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about ubiquitous eBay sellers, but someone who deals face to face, genuinely cares about his cutomers, and goes out of his (or her) way to assist them. The reason I'm suggesting this is because it's possible, if you know such a person, they may be able to get the sets into the hands of someone who may enjoy them, appreciate the effort you've put into completing them, and will still pay a price on par with what you'll get from breaking them apart.

Yes, most prefer to put their own sets together, but there are a fair number of people involved in this hobby, who are often rather private about it and simply do not have the time (job, family, etc) and sometimes the knowledge to do so themselves, and are willing to buy lovingly assembled sets. It may be a long shot, but do give it some thought.

 

Well, I've thought of this...I have a full euro one I obtained as a complete set from someone else and like it as a memento of living in Europe--didn't really want to put a set together myself, so it's just something nice for the shelf in a slipcover.

The two companion sets are a US 7070 which I add to very sporadically. I never did decide what US coins to collect other than a type set, so that is what I work on. When/if it's ever complete I will likely look at it with a more critical eye and decide if it's worthy of upgrades. I like the US type set so it will also stay on the shelf.

My prize treasure is a third Dansco, the Japan Type set. I put some decent coins it in, but as Japan coins are my true 'love' I started collecting nicer ones. Too nice for a Dansco (or too reactive a metal--think aluminum and tin for the wartime issues). My solution was to make a 'mirror set' using slabbed coins that I set up as a custom NGC registry. The type set there has now expanded into a ton of date sets, variety collections etc, but the core of it was the Dansco.

I may or may not ever find another Dansco to work on and if I do then I will add it to my book shelf with the others. They sit with my numismatic 'book treasures' and fit right in. I can pull them out and look at them which isn't too much different than looking at my slabs or raw coins (in binders).

Anyway, I see no reason to dispose of them, but then I am a bit of a dragon and want to hoard my treasures. I like flipping through them once in awhile (instead of being a Scrooge McDuck and taking a flying nosedive into a big pile of coins...).

 

Try contacting one of the auction houses. They would deal with this relatively often and have strategies worked out already.

I believe some firms (I am thinking about GreatCollections) will handle breaking apart the set and getting everything graded.

I did, in fact, buy a Dansco of Lincolns 1934-1991. It had 180 coins, with both full red MS and most proofs from about 1957. I only mention this because the entire set was only $225. As I photograph them I see that the graded equivalents are tens of dollars - far from the $1.25 that I paid on average.

So I suspect that buyers for full sets may be rare, unless the buyer feels they're getting a huge bargain. If you can, get someone to maximize your value for each coin on the open market.

 

Do something with them??? I take them off the shelf, open them up and enjoy!!!

Repeat!

 

Great thoughts. Thanks. I never thought of this option. Most of my local dealer friends have passed but you gave me some ideas to work with.

 

Any chance of you listing them here first ? Let us have a look before going elsewhere ?

 

Bet you have some nice toners in there! I browse thru my Danscos a few times a year....always a nice surprise hiding.

 

I have had some problems with Dansco Dime Albums. The dimes keep falling out. I have contacted Dansco. They sent me new albums and I had the same problem. The dimes keep falling out. I have the dimes to put in when I get all I need to fill in all the holes and Maybe I can hold them in the spaces while I put in all the dimes. Maybe Santa will be good to me this Christmas. My other Dansco albums work very good.

 

What kind of sets are you trying to sell? Some of us might be interested in some of your sets.