Do you have trouble finding high grade common coins in your local area? I am so close to finishing my set of BU Jeffs, and I can't find local dealers with any selection of nice coins. I go into a shop around here and ask to see their high grade Jeffs, and they hand me a box of 2x2s with XF Jeffs that are labeled over the top things like "MS-65" or "BU"... And, to make things worse, they only have an example of every 3rd common date. What's up with that? Why are truly nice common coins so hard to find locally?
I guess I should be happy... The Jeffs I do have are GORGEOUS! They are not graded mind you, just mounted nice and neat in my Dansco. I lucked up on several with an even translucent blue toning that are to die for. I have the 39S and D spots filled, but not BU... Still looking. Need a better 42D also, along with 2 or 3 common dates. I CAN'T WAIT TILL THIS SET IS DONE!
Have you considered buying US Mint Sets, then cracking out the nickels? Plus the rest of the coins would give you a start on other sets. Also you can examine the Mint sets for better nickels (ones with few or no bad marks).
I think I have one graded jeff that came from a moderate sized show back in the day when I was building my set. But the problem is that jeffs contain no precious metal, they are fairly common, there are no major dates in the series that bring a premium unless you count specific varieties like the 94 and 97 matte, even then they are not show stoppers, and you can put together almost a complete set from roll searching. So there will be jeffs available, but if you want to find the truly nice ones you are going to have to look a bit further than your local shop, as those shops are going to stock what will sell. Have you tried ebay, I found some very nice nickels on there when I was building my set.
kanga: That is what I did for the post-64 coins. Even then though, it's really hard to find some year sets in good shape. So it's not so simple. I just finally found a decent enough looking 68 proof set and 69 mint set the other day. These 2 sets have been particularly hard as I have looked through dozens and until now they have all been clouded and just really nasty looking. 77 is another year I had trouble with... Every set I looked at was a cloudly pee yellow. The 5 coins left to upgrade from sub-BU are all 47 and earlier. bqcoins: Yeah, I have gotten several off of eBay, and ended up with some good deals. I don't get anything locally for the kind of pricing I get on eBay either. I used to be click happy on the auctions, and luckily never had an issue, but everyone around me seemed to be having bad luck with eBay so I made a concerted effort to ween myself away while I was ahead and attempt to rediscover the long lost (to me) thrill of the chase within shops and shows. It's nowhere as easy, that's for sure. I could make a few clicks I suppose and finish things up... That just isn't the mode I have been in for the last year or more.
A lot of the '69 (and '68) mint sets are getting pretty bad now days. Even the 1970's and 1984 are starting to go. Most of the Ike years have a little trouble with the yellow (golden) toning but at least it's attractive andstill affects a relatively low percentage of the sets. I think you've just had bad luck with this date. It's a very good thing there's so little demand for these coins because there isn't enough supply for much more. Collectors now are a little luckier since most dealers do try to keep most dates in stock. Unfortunately the really bad ones accumulate in their inventory so there aren't many to choose from. Most don't try to keep complete date runs and just card up what they have available even if it's just a nicer coin from pocket change.
