Saints, Morgans, some commemoratives, bullion, and special silver and gold pieces (i.e., ultra high reliefs). Heck, I paid $20 for a penny at FUN just because I liked it. Don't collect pennies at all (except the ones I get as change ).
Started with error coins but recently changed to error federal reserve star notes. Relatively hard to find in 60's condition.
Walkers, of course. Here's my set that I've been working on for quite some time: https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
@Skyman If I had to choose... it would be that '58 wow that 1 is so great (ultra deep deep deep cameo).
Are you talking about Allan's 1958, or mine? My above quote relates to Allan's 1958 Franklin. It's a nice 1958, but obviously not in the same ballpark as my 1958. 1958 proof Franklins don't have nearly the contrast of many of the other years for Franklin proofs, for example 1956, 1960-63. For 1958 proof Franklins there is one known die paring that produced awesome contrast for the first few strikes, probably on the order of 12 - 15 coins in existence. FWIW, my birth year is 1958, and, as mentioned, Franklins are my first love, so I was bound and determined to find one of the early strikes. It took me 17 years to find one (the longest I've ever searched for 1 specific coin). Needless to say, I was happy with the results. Here's a picture of the coin.
Great story, Skyman! I’ve always thought that you had some of the prettiest Franklins out there. Like me, many of your coins were acquired, years ago, before grade-flation and while they were still available. Nowadays, a great coin will surface, once in a long while, but it’s not the way it used to be. I like Franklins a lot, myself, because they follow the walker series and I always liked the design, ever since my dad gave me some, when I was a child...Along with his walkers. Although not as passionate as you; I have an appreciation for them and I pick them up from time to time. Someday, I will complete the set of 35 MS coins. I’m not as interested in proofs but I do appreciate them, too. Same goes for the proof Walkers. I may try my hand at Walker proofs after I get my primary MS set done.
this '58 wow. Are these worth a fortune ? If I ever got a franklin... it would have to be this frosty (deep cameo). I was born in 1961. Do the ultra deep cameos exist for 1961 ?
There is a proof 68 on eBay now for $22,000. yours looks better ??? link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1958-NGC-P...516954?hash=item420a1d0a9a:g:n8wAAOSw8o9dnQQI
Hmmmm, I'm sitting here thinking. I guess it would mostly fall in the US Classic range. My interest pretty much drops off after 1964. I've had an addiction or passion (since I was a kid) to "try" and complete as many decent, problem free, (always budget restricted) sets as possible. (no gold) Saving for missing key dates and always keeping an eye out to upgrade existing coins when possible. My goal: To establish a legacy collection that will (hopefully) remain in "my" family's possession and not yours.
For cognoscenti, a highly contrasted 1958 would certainly be worth more, although the asking price of $22,000 does seem steep. With regards to 1961 Franklins, the Franklin proof dies from 1950 - 1959 were all based on the same master die. If you look, you will see that Franklin proofs from the latter 1950's, particularly 1958-9, have less detail than those from 1950. The mint decided in 1960 to recreate the master die. The result was the details of the design became more distinct (although the bell lines on the reverse were not as sharply cut as on the old master die, so the bell lines did not show up as distinctly as on the early 1950's Franklins). The Franklin proofs minted from 1960-63 were created from dies based off of this new master die. Compared to the Franklin proof series AS A WHOLE, 1961's are relatively easy to find with an ultra deep cameo. One thing about them is that tend to be somewhat "unbalanced" in the sense that the ones with the ultimate deep cameo obverse don't have a reverse that is as deeply frosted. Notice I said relatively easy to find. 1961 is still the hardest year of the 1960-63 group of Franklins to find with ultra heavy cameos. FWIW, here's mine. It's a PCGS PR68DCAM. The scratch under the L of LIBERTY is on the slab. I've owned it for over 15 years, and given gradeflation (and what I've seen in slabs in shows) I would not be surprised if it upgraded.
Wow. That price is ridiculous. Divide by 4. That's more reasonable. And yes, Skyman's example is significantly deeper. Skyman has an eye for exceptional quality, and has some of the nicest examples of many issues. If you want to see something really crazy, you should ask him about his cameo proof Walker.
@physics-fan3.14 ; Jason, thank you for your kind comments above. Also, am I correct in remembering that you got to see the Walker in hand? Here ya' go... NGC has graded a total of 10 cameo Walkers in the whole series, and given how they are bunched up population/gradewise I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of those numbers are actually crackout and resubmits, so probably less in actuality. PCGS has graded a total of 8 cameo Walkers in the whole series. So a grand total of 18 Walkers graded as cameo out of well north of 40,000 Walking Liberty proofs graded between the two major TPGs. FWIW, the kicker to getting a cameo for a Walker is to have frost on the sun.
It was Morgans for a few years. Lately it has been late 18th/early 19th century US coins. But really just about anything with silver or gold, though I still prefer pre-WW2.
As my name on here might suggest, I collect just about everything. Current interest is Silk Roads, ancient India, south and central Asia.