Hi, My son and I have started collecting, and he wants to fill his indian head cent book. We have 1887 - 1909 (no 'S's) filled with various grades (probably from G to VG, maybe F). Now we are confronted with a bewildering range of options for completing the set. My instints tell me not to just start buying rolls from dealers in CoinAge, but I'm not sure how to proceed. So, I figured a query on Coin Talk would get some of the best advice available. I guess the bottom line is, short of simply going to a coin dealer and paying the KM price plus premium, what other acquisition strategies are available to the amateur collector? Thanks in advance for your help, Mike Willner
I've nearly filled by IH folder by looking in swap meets and antique stores. You won't find anything rare or in superb grades, but it's fun and cheap. I've also found a lot in the junk bins of coin shops. A F-VF IH set looks pretty nice. Guy~
Welcome! The indian head cents are a great series to collect I've heard. There are many options that you can choose from to aquire some indian head cents: 1. You can buy online. There are a bunch of sites online that sell them, some like www.ebay.com. I don't know how your feelings are towards ebay, but it is a possibility. Then there is a site I like called www.coinbug.com. It has a whole bunch of indian head cents on it listed at the time. It is a fairly new site, that is growing quite a bit, with a lot of potential still. There are also some dealers on the internet that sell indian heads too. 2. Buy right here from cointalk. There is an open forum here on cointalk near the bottom, where members with more than 10 posts can buy/sell/trade. You can watch there for when people list some coins that you want to buy, or you can post a wantlist. 3. Buy from your local dealer. Not all dealers sell at super high prices, sometimes more than often, there are some that sell at reasonable prices. 4. Visit local yard sales, flea markets. These are some of the best places to find some good coins at cheap prices. People will have coins and everything, and sometimes not know what they have. Also, if the price isn't right to you, you can also barter if you would like. Those are just a small list of places, countless others, but I hope they've helped you a little bit. Good luck buying, and have fun collecting! Phoenix
I would be inclined to look at internet dealers to fill the holes. I think alaskacoinexchange.com has a good selection for moderate prices. I've bought coins there before, but never IHCs.
IHC's are fun - I am working two sets, one graded and one dansco album. And no I would not buy rolls - most will be common dates. I would also look for a local dealer to go along with internet dealers (I have used Harlan J Berke(usually higher grade coins) and VTCoins.com). Both internet dealers have been good to me. If you do use ebay please make sure to consider shipping charges in the price of a coin. For key dates I recommend using a dealer you trust - just to make sure you do not get a fake coin. THE most important thing is to have fun - and do not be shy about sharing the coins purchased with us. I like all grades of IHC's - so post some pictures. Also checkout eagle eye rare coins - mainly you can download a grading guide from the site. Have fun and enjoy!
Welcome to the forum...I have bought many of them on ebay..Never was disappointed, and I have had some great buy's.
Welcome to the forum!! I would try Phoenix21 suggestions 1, 2, 3, and 4. 2 first and then work your way through the others.You can find a lot of places on the internet but before you go to ebay I would try other auction site like Yahoo and Biz.com they have less traffic and you can pick up coins a lot cheaper. Good Luck and let us know how you do.
Yahoo auction sites for Canada and the states shut down in June and biz.com appears to be shut down too.
If you get a chance to go to a coin show you will probably find several dealers with lots of old Indian cents. In this grade most won't cost much and they might even give a small discount to someone buying several coins. There are a few key coins that are tough to find at a good price.
