I'm considering completing a set of Washington quarters, mercury dimes, Franklin halves and Indian head cents. While I have some already that I found in change as a kid,the conditions are not consistent from coin to coin. I'm thinking of picking a set and grade. Key dates make the Mercury dime and to a lesser degree Indian cents a challenge. Could likely do the quarters an Franklin's in MS. Not so, the Indian head cents or mercury dimes. Probably XF40 or 45 for them. Thoughts?
I’m not really a set person but I’d prefer a set to have a matched looked rather than matched grade. like for Indians I’d probably go all brown with the same general color instead of having some red ones sticking out on the common dates.
Good points, thanks! Kinda like with silver coins. You wouldn't want some heavy toned and others with full mint luster.
Being consistent is the key. That was my goal when i was putting together my heraldic eagle dollar set. The color, strikes, and details are all very well matched. Someday, i will post pics.
I'm trying to decide between Indian head cents and buffalo nickels. Each has its challenges for key dates. Both will take a long time to complete.
Yes. This is what I’m currently doing with my Franklin Half set- replacing the proofs with circulated examples. I want a consistent circulated cameo look to the set. The proofs just don’t look like they belong there (in the Dansco). I would recommend doing a buffalo nickel set. I really enjoyed building mine. I didn’t concern myself so much with full horns as I did full dates and mms. A full date is what I cared about the most. I don’t have the 1918/7 or the 3 legger, but I still consider my set complete. I can’t remember how long it took me to finish, but I spent $1760 doing it.
Being the obsessive type person I am, empty holes in coin books make me crazy. I tend to fill them as rapidly as I can regardless the coin quality. Then I upgrade, key dates first usually.... Posted a thread once about it but I have my 1916-D Merc hole plugged with a very well done counterfeit! I do have a nice 1916-D slabbed in the safe deposit box. But the hole HAD to be plugged! It’s like a car with three hubcaps to me. Makes me nutz!
I’m the exact same way, which is why the 18/7, 3-legs, and all the blank empty holes in my buffalo nickel Dansco are filled with hobo skull nickels by John Hughey. I just can’t handle permanently empty holes.
I've though of getting some small number punches and punching a TPG serial number on a hole filler coin in an album (especially if I were to use a counterfeit or altered coin) when I want to keep the real thing in a slab. I haven't actually done it, but I've thought about it.
