Where do you draw the line. For example, I would love to own the entire morgan silver dollar set. But I would never be able to afford it in MS-69+ never. Where do you draw the line? I want my items to appreciate in value (within my lifetime if even by 1%) and I still want to see a lot of the details... I just don't want to pay an arm & a leg because it is perfect. What is a recommended condition for a poor guy like me to buy?
We all (or virtually all) have to place limits on our collecting. Where we draw that line depends primarily on how much money we can dedicate to our hobby. Nobody's answer other than your own matters, IMO. Collect what you like and can afford.
p.s. you are wise to think about the price of a set before you start collecting it. You'd be surprised at how many people don't give enough thought to this before starting a set.
I like collect what I call inflection points a lot when I collected US coins. An example would be a 27s quarter, when I was buying them a g was $5, a vg $8, a F was $14, a VF was $80, an XF was $250. I bought nice fines all day long since they are scarce dates and nice condition versus the price. I put away a couple of rolls this way. I would look for the same in your collection. Look to where price inflections are and buy the better buys if you are short on money to put together the highest grade set, (aren't we all). A few of them might put you down to F grade, and if that is unacceptable to you then bute the bullet on those and buy the level of quality that is acceptable to you. It all really come down to what is acceptable to you, and what your minimum level of detail is.
Medoraman good way at looking at it/ describing it. I figure I might (when building rolls) fill multiple rolls in VG-F condition and purchase XF-NM condition to use as the examination coin (of course it would be encased ) I just love holding coins and examining them without actually destroying their beautiful texture. As for older coins that is. Newer coins (Post 1964) I will purchase PF-69 & 70 for encased and MS for storage rolls.
AS for modern, there is a HUGE inflection point in my mind between 69 and 70. I think some modern commems might be good buys at 69 but not at 70. Just my opinion from a value collector.
tlasch - based on your comments it sounds like you are basing your decisions on some bad information and assumtions. You really need to understand a bit more about coins before you decide exactly what you want to do. For example, other than what you can count on 1 hand Morgans don't even exist in MS69. For that matter no coins do. Outside of modern commems and bullion coins anyway. As for coins in VF/XF - even in that grade some of them will cost more than some people probably make in 2 or 3 years. This is what I mean when I say you need to learn more about the coins first.
Another way to look at it and this depends on you is similar to what I am doing with various sets. I am filling in the holes with coins that I can afford/justify. I get all the commons and go after what keys and semi keys when I can. Then when all I have left is something like the 09 S VDB, I move on to another set. I am actually doing about five sets like this. My goal is to fill all the holes I can and leave the blanks for the hard to get ones. Then at this point and a few years later I will start obtaining the remaining hard to get ones. It's amazing how busy you can stay just going after the common and semi key coins. Except for the Morgans, which I am also going after the other holes in my sets are usually around $100 to $200 type coins. I can easily get about 10 to 15 commons for that price. Some people would say I am doing it back wards and should go after the keys first, which may be true for the actual appreciating argument, but I get much value looking at a set with few holes.
I would be careful relying too much on "common wisdom" Keys in my mind are overvalued, and assuming they will always go up at the same pace is dangerous. The same mindset happened recently with housing, and in the 90's with tech stocks. Nothing can go up that fast forever, and in a cyclical coin market if type sets or date sets come back in vogue, keys will be hit extremely hard. Keys used to be valued based on relative scarcity, now they are valued just because they are "key". Collect what you like, how you like to, and don't worry about "common wisdom".
I go about it a little different, I look and look and work on multiple sets a one time, when I come across a coin in the self imposed minimum condition that I am using for that set then I look at the price. if the price is more than I am willing to spend on that coin and the seller is unmovable on the price then I just go on and continue looking at other coins. I don't really start with keys or non-keys, I just take them as they come, if I do find keys or semi keys are a really great price for the grade then I buy them even if I already have them and hold them for awhile and resell when the time is right to make a profit. This money then returns to the coin collection fund for more buying power. I don't concentrate on any one type of coin when out shopping,this enables me to get the most bang for my buck as I can take advantage of sales, or stay away from buying things that are "in style" and commanding a premium, a year down the road or two and those premium coins are often found for half the price, cherrypicker extraordinaire! Here's an example, the coins have been changed to protect the innocent! Lets say a IHC (Indian head Cent)is a hot item, and the prices start going up, But as they do the BN(buffalo nickel) slides to the wayside and prices go down, that is when I will be running around taking all the BN's I can find at a reduced price,and will just let my IHC's sit idle. Now say three years later they reverse course and the BN's are back in style as a collectible and the IHC's are coming down in price, thats when I will start putting some BN's on the market and quietly buying up what IHC's I find at great prices, or even trading one for the other, of course my own collections get the very best out of what I find and get upgraded as things happen and the culls put back out there, this is just my way of avoiding false or "hot item" premiums, and it works pretty well, it doesn't fill sets overnight, but it is a patience thing and it can be frustrating at times.
If you want to collect Morgans, I suggest you get a copy of the Guide book to Morgan Dollars. It is full of great information on the series and shows where the big price jumps are in grades.
It's case by case, coin by coin. For instance, common date Morgans can by had in MS65 for $150 or so. Maybe that's a lot of money for you maybe not. What is clear is this : MS65 means "gem" and should be a fabulous coin. MS65 works for me for many series of coins, but not all. For instance, virtually none of us could remotely consider collecting early date Large Cents in MS65. For a single type coin, a guy might consider looking for a Draped Bust in XF40 or so, but a complete set might be more like VG10. It all comes down to your pocketbook and aesthetic.
