Hi everybody. Im thinking about starting an indian head penny set, but some of them arent exactely cheap. Aside from that any advice on collecting them like what grade, varieties, etc.
well, I know some 1 said this already, but start with the rare ones, the commons will always be common, but the rares are rares lol
I think that you need to select a grade or series of grades for your collection. For example 1885-1909 XF40 or above. 1857-1884 VF30 or above. I strive to have uniformity of color - chocolate brown for me. I also try for little or no visible damage. That is condition based upon wear rather than gouges and such. Even in good/vg the Indians make a really great collection. There are a few that are quite price in any grade. Some people believe in buying the keys first because they will advance in price faster. You have to decide based on your personality. I currently have most of the lower priced coins - say $120 and below. My plan is to add one coin per quarter until my set is done. I purchase in an order that suites my needs. Like right now I'm looking for an 1861 VF30 to XF40 and an 1870 same condition. Good luck and enjoy.
Totally up to you, but if I were going to take on a new collecting challenge I would begin by reading everything I could get my hands on. LINK (click here)
Check around for pricing on the lowest grade that you would consider collecting. If that grade is too expensive, pick another coin to collect. If that one is in your price range, check the next grade up. Keep going until you find a grade that's too expensive, and you'll know what to collect. All that is a long-winded way of saying - collect what you like and will enjoy owning.
Just a note to let you know to be careful on the key date coins because there are some very nice looking counterfiet coins out there. As far as grade goes that is totally up to you, Have fun, Ben
Another method of choosing a grade to collect is to figure out how much you want to spend on the most expensive key dates. Find out what grade you can get for that price and then get the rest of the set at the same grade. Even circulated, a matched set of Indian Head cents is pretty neat.
Personally, I would advise you to purchase the best you can afford. In other words, look at the whole series, how long you wish to take to assemble the set, and how much money you want to invest in total. Using the information I would then go about acquiring the best possible examples given your level of funding. And, I would bear in mind other collecting interests you have as well - in other words if your looking to assemble a few other sets, look at the total you want to invest across the sets, where your major interests lie, and where you want to put the most money.
Thanks for the help. I will be going and getting a book at the coin store tommorow. I have another question about key dates and mintmarks. I have a relitively low amount of money to spend on coins in a month anywhere from 40$ to 100$. So what would be the best priced grade to buy keys in and or best deal?
Hardly Spider - what I know is how much there is I don't know. There are more than a few Indian cents that cost close to $50 in G4 grade. So you may wish to rethink this plan.
I also forgot to mention that I dont collect the mint errors or varieties just date and mintmark sets. That probably makes it much cheaper.
my advice is save your money for Mint-state coins. Quality, not quantity. buy a few nice pieces, instead of hoards of low grade coins. Me I started buying Morgans. Ive been buying 1880-o Morgans. I know it doesnt make sense to stick to one date, but thats what Im doing now. MS-63 in this date morgan is $400, so Ive got three PCGS slabs at MS-62, and some MS-63 slabs by some of the lower-tier grading companies. But I guess that follows one guys advice which was to buy rare coins. 1880-O morgans are a semi-tough date. But rare is relative. How rare is any coin? Buy at $20 sell at $40. Buy at $1,000; Sell at $2,000. It will ALL make money. Common stuff will go up also. If you're going to buy 20th century coins, those are not as rare as 19th century coins. The common dates of the Morgans are still rare to some extent. Everybody wants rare stuff, but you buy the best you can afford.
Indian Cents are notarious for being dipped and cleaned. Watch out for those Indians being sold that claim AU/MS with "some" red when the red is nothing more than residue from the cleaning agent. Also, watch out for the 1877 Indian. They just had another article in Coin World about counterfeits and all. I second the notion to buy quality over commons. Commons will always be common whereas there is only so many high end coins coupled with those that are rare. Buy the one coin instead of the 50 commons. It will kill you at first looking at open slot after open slot...but you will be rewarded in both the short and long run.
