As a new collector, I want to start on a set of silver dollars. What's better to start with, the Peace or Morgans??? Also, what grade coins do you think is good for a newbie with limited funds? Thanks for the help! ljkvette
Which do you like better? The Peace set is doable. The Morgan set may take you the rest of your life, depending on how wealthy you are. My opinion on "which grade" is: buy the highest grade you can afford. You can buy decent Peace dollars (common dates to start) in MS63 for under $25. Decent XF-AU for under $15. I`m a big time Morgan fan myself, but you can find common date Morgans in MS60-63 for between $25-$35. You can find many XF-AU Morgans for about $15. I recommend getting Q.David Bowers "Red Book of Morgan Silver Dollars. The new regular (2006) Red book is due out any day now. One of my local dealers may have them in today.
since you mentioned having a limited budget I recommend the Peace Dollars, that is a shorter series an has fewer keys (and no coins that require many thousands of dollars to acquire).
The Peace dollars...if you want to do a Morgan set I would suggest a date set...that way you don't have to get the rare mintmarks. Now for the grades I would say mixed...if you can buy a VG 1921 and a BU 1922 go for it...I would suggest that you buy the keys first...1921-1928-1934-S.....also buy coins that have NOT been cleaned. Speedy
Morgans are truly beautiful coins, but many of them can get pricey, costing upwards of several hundred and even thousands of dollars. Peace dollars are often overlooked but are really attractive coins too. A nice set of them would be much easier and cheaper to build.
Why not do a 20th century date set? 1901-1935. That way you get the 1901-04 and 1921 Morgans, and you get the Peace Dollars as well. Then you don't have to choose between the two. If you take a shine to the Morgans during this set, then once you've completed it you can work your way back a decade at a time.
I would do peace dollars. personally i think they look better ( a subjective thing ) but from a collecting stand-point you can put together a nice set of peace dollars for a reasonable amount of money, fine to Au collection would probably go for around $700 or so ( off the top of my head )
Subjectively i think Morgan Dollars look better! It's all a matter of preference in this hobby, basically you have to do what you think is best for you at the end of the day.
Of course, there are always the poor cousins of the dollar coins - the Eisenhowers. Someday, somebody is bound to collect them. I like the idea of doing the 20th century dollar set because it could be expanded to include Morgans, Peace, Eisenhower, and SBAs. Then, you could work forward and/or backward in time after that.
[Technically a 20th century collection would include a 2000 Sac too.] Very true, which adds even more variety to the set.
Morgan dollars wins hands down! Peace dollars are very difficult to grade and just don't have the detail a Morgan does. Common date XF to AU Morgans are relatively affordable and still a very eye appealling coin. The most important thing is for you lkjvette is to do YOUR own thing. If you are enjoying what you are collecting and feel good about it then no one can ever tell you your right or wrong! Welcome to the hobby, buy a book or two, do some reading and most importantly SHOP AROUND as there will always be another coin! Have fun and welcome to the forum!
There are a lot of Morgans, with prices going into the hundreds for the CC (carson City) mint marks. For a beginner, I suggest you go with the Peace dollars. Only 2 dates ( i think) go over $200 in VF-EF.
Just do Philadelphia! (I always miss off Denver and San Fransisco coins), i've never collected coins far enough back to encounter CC mint exmples, but i'd miss those as well.
If you're new, I would suggest a cheaper series. Sacs, SBAs, or even Ikes. Better to learn where your mistakes won't cost you lots of money. Just my $0.02...Mike
Just a note: I just got an e-mail offer from APMEX offering the new 2006 Red Book Spiral Bound for $9.95 or Hard Back for $10.95. There is a minimum order of $25.00 (not just in Redbooks) to get one at that price. I can say that I've bought lots of Silver Eagles and some other bullion coins from them, and thus far have been really pleased with all of my purchases. So, if anyone is interested, you can visit their site at www.APMEX.COM.
If you just do the P's in Morgan's you would have to get the 1895 and thats not cheap...I guess you could say that that isn't a real coin for that set since its proof...but its still a P! Speedy
Thanks for the help I appreciate everyone's input. I think I focus on the Peace dollars and keep my eyes open for Morgans if they cross my path. ljkvette
