Challenge: Build a Dansco 7070 U.S. Type Set... FOR FREE!

I never enjoyed any set more than my old Dansco 7070. Years ago, I sold it off, and I regret it. It's time to take it back... for free. The idea here is to challenge myself to learn more about the values and varieties of U.S. type coins, and to prove that coin collectors don't have to spend huge amounts of money to create a wonderful collection.

Here are my rules:

1. I have to flip coins & collections and build up enough profit to pay for the coins.
2. I cannot spend any of my money on the set.
3. All coins must be XF or higher.
4. All coins must be (arguably) problem-free.

Let's get some of the easy and cheap stuff out of the way. Here are the coins I had around the house. Nothing fancy, but they fill slots for free. None are silver. None are worth much, but hey, they fall under my rules, so I'll gladly welcome them to their new album home.


OK, so first up: A couple months ago, I bought a lot of Lincolns on eBay. The guy had a bunch in albums and a bunch loose. There were like 10 1909 VDB's. After selling the lot, I had made enough money to keep one of the nicer VDB's. Probably a MS62 BN with nice soft luster. Here's a pic from the seller, (unfortunately this is the only one I could lift from the web since I bought it back in May). This purchase made me about $125 total, but I used only some of that money to buy the album and kept one of the 1909 VDB's out of there for free.




Next I picked up this little lot for $50 on eBay. I sold the buffalo and standing liberty and coppers for like $6. It's a weird assortment, but the toner Silver Eagle graded MS65. I kept the mercury dime and Silver Roosevelt for my album... once again, for free. Once the ASE sells (I know, I'm cheating here because it hasn't sold yet), I plan on filling the slot for that with a plain-Jane white ASE. After the ASE grading fee, I'm into this group for$64. So if/when I sell the ASE for $100 or so, I'll end up getting 3 "free" coins out of this lot. Here is a pic of the lot, and the 2 coins for my album.




This next one is still developing, and could be big for me. I bought this nickel set for $100. I already sold 2 of the coins for $150, and used some of the profit to change out the 1883 No Cents "V" Nickel for one I liked a little better. I am trying to sell the buffalo nickel currently, to fund a "free" AU shield nickel, but no luck yet. Additionally, the half dime was scratched, but I sold it for $22, which is a nice start on funding a problem-free half dime for my album. Anyway, here's the lot and my free V Nickel.



I also bought a set of Washington Quarters about a month ago. I didn't make as much as I had hoped on these, but I certainly made enough to keep one of the silver ones for free. Here is a picture of the lot I bought and the coin for my album. A plain old 1964-D, but after flipping the lot, it didn't cost me a single cent.




Last week I bought a set of 5 1943-D Walking Liberty Halves on eBay for $75. I already sold 2 for $74, so I'm calling this a big win and I'm keeping one for my free set. Here's a pic of the set I bought and the one going in my album.



You get the idea. As I get new free coins from selling and flipping, I'll post my progress. And I'd like to challenge you to make your own free set! Just look for great deals and learn how to spot them. Have fun!

 

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Here's my FREE Dansco 7070 progress so far:

 

This is another one still developing. I bought this lot for $80. The Lincoln Commem graded MS63 and I sold it for $143. Sold the Morgan and Columbian for $30. So the Peace Dollar was free! I still have enough funds to get a nice silver commem or two, and probably a Morgan!

 

Excellent project! I kinda want to do something similar: obtain a gold piece for free by cherrypicking and selling.

There IS money to be made by cherrypicking!

 

I"m loving you collecting your set too. Keep up the good work!

 

Have you filed a 1099 with the IRS for these "Free Coins" ?

 

Keep us up to date, and have fun

 

This is how I put together my type set, simply because I cannot afford to otherwise. You buy and sell enough to be able to fulfill a goal of EF and above. Should take you at most three years.

(BTW, lucky you on the nickel set; I would have snatched it up at that price. That sheild nickel was NICE.)

My favorite "freebies:"

 

The 1986 Statue of Liberty commemorative is

 

Love this, look forward to following along and learning a thing or 2!

 

Herculean task for sure, but you are off to an excellent start. Good luck. Definitely keep us informed as you progress.

 

Good luck. I wish I had the patience to buy and sell like you. I've got the buying part down but have no skill selling.

 

Hey John I knew were having issues with all those IRS forms so....my neighbor the IRS agent said he help....so gave him your contact information and he will have an agent in your area stop by to lend you a hand.....no need to thank me always willing get to lend a hand.

 

You got THAT lot for $80???!!! Wowzers.

 

Huh... so you mean there IS actually money to be made buying unattributed, undergraded, and/or underpriced coins? Who knew?

 

Funnily enough, I did get audited last week by the feds.

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea!

One quick question... why is the SAE going to sell for $100?

 

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Wait till they show up at Type coins house