How to do a theme type collection for world coins.

From time to tome I like to do theme type collections. Many others here do the same. What I like about themes is that one can create their own personal collection. Another is that depending on the collection, you can be as broad or small as you desire. In developing this type of collection, much of the work evolves a lot of research before you actually start collecting the coins. Before you can collect you must narrow your search and focus. To start you must set certain goals.

1) What is your specific area of focus.
2) What is the range of the collection? How many coins are involved? What is your budget?
3) Is the collection achievable? Can you obtain the coins you need? Where will you find them?
4) What resources will you need? Internet search, books, catalogs, help from fellow collectors.
5) What is your time frame? How long will it take to complete?

Once your have established you goals, you can start your research. This is going to take a while.
As you get more and more into it you will discover that you will have to be flexible and perhaps compromise or revise some of your criteria. This is a good thing. You will be able to answer most of the questions in step 3 above. It may be necessary to redefine your focus. Are you maintaining interest, or are you becoming frustrated? It’s better to find out now than to spend a lot of money and then find out you can’t complete the collection the way you want to.

Once that is all squared away, then the fun part begins. Find your coins and build you very own personal theme collection.



A while back I decide to do a collection around 50 Centavos. Using the steps above, this is what I set as my goals.

1) Collect one example of a 50 Centavos from any country, which had or currently has issued a coin marked as a 50 Centavos. Grade will be circulated between VF and AU where possible. Silver whenever possible.
2) I have identified 25 different countries and set a budget of $250 for the collection.
3) Internet search has proven that while some of the coins may be a little tough, I should be able to complete. I plan to use eBay as a primary source for the majority. I plan to visit local coin shows to fill in the gaps where needed. I have identified other web dealers for some of the hard to find coins.
4) Ebay search, Internet search, and my personal library of coin catalogs will be main source of research material.
5) Since I am impatient, I have given myself one month to complete this collection.


Fortunately I already have some of the coins I need in my current World coin collection. This will help the budget since I don’t plan to add that cost to this project. I have already spent over a week of the project doing research and redefining my focus. One coin I dropped from the list because it did not meet the criteria of stating “50 Centavos” on the coin. I currently have 6 coins in possession and a few more on order.
That gives me a couple of weeks to locate and purchase the remaining coins.

Once I have all the coins in hand I plan to photograph and document each coin to bring the collection to a conclusion. At that time I will present the collection on another thread in this forum.


I am interested in knowing if the information presented will inspire others to start their own theme type collections and if you find the format above helpful.

I invite anyone to add his or her comments and suggestions. I don’t pretend to be an expert and I am always looking to learn from others.

Happy collecting!

 

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good list.

#6. throw the budget away. lol some coins are sky high $$$.

 

That falls under this category, "As you get more and more into it you will discover that you will have to be flexible and perhaps compromise or revise some of your criteria". The closer you get to finishing, the more the anticipation builds and the budget gets thrown out the window.

 

I am completely hopeless since I cannot decide. I collect all Worldwide gold.

Now I have set some goals...

Collect everything that is affordable from 650BC to 1970
Collect only EF and better...FDC preferably
Collect diverse coin types from every culture
Go after early dated Christian AV coins
Just have fun with that

John

 

world gold coins will be my next collection after Canada and German States/Baden. affordable being the key $200-500 range will be my limit.

 

This is fantastic advice. This series of questions should be asked (and answered!) before beginning any set, not just theme type sets. To these questions, I would add a couple others that are just as important:

6) What is your budget? Are the coins that you need/want affordable? (if you are too ambitious, you won't make progress, may get frustrated, and may abandon your set)
7) What grade or range of grades are you going to look for? (grade and budget are obviously tied together, but deciding on a minimum grade, or a preferred range of grades can help you focus. Do you want all 70s? Are 69s and 70s ok? Are you building a premium circulated set in EF/AU? These are important questions).

 

Some (or maybe I should say many) themed collections don't have a "complete" status. I have been collecting numismatica with horses for over 5 years, and have over 260 graded items and another 150 or so raw. In general, I don't like collecting coins to fill pre-defined holes in sets.

The hobby is flexible and everyone has his/her own way of collecting. That being said, many of your points are valid, particularly those related to budget and resources (i.e., books, knowledge, etc.).

The OP included budget in his #2...

 

Good list. When I think of themes, I imagine animals, boats, etc. What about a type set of the 20th century. I guess the country and time period would be themes. I like the 50 centavo idea. What is you time range? In other words, are you looking back to the 1800s too?

 

my topical/themed collections are... "Coins with insects" "coins with certain stars" "coins with hands" "coins with small coins as the design itself". fun and challenging. some coins are way out of my price range. someday it will happen.

 

I guess it can work the other way - collect what you like first and then come up with a title of the type set you are creating. To be honest, that's how I started. (might sound completely absurd)

 

So far, at least 2 will be from the 1800s since they were not minted in the 1900s as a 50 centavos.

 

Oops, missed that The question is important enough, however, that is should be asked separately.

 

Any time you settle on a specific theme you are apt to spend too much. As for me, I collect mostly better grade silver with cut-off years around 1700 and 1960 on either end.
If I was to choose a theme it would be "ooh, shiny"

 

I collect "anything with an owl on it" and "anything with Abe Lincoln on it".

I also collect (at least) 1 coin from every country & every ruler that ever existed... A collection that will never be finished...

 

now that you made this thread I can remember 1 more theme I want to do in the future. my birth year and progressing older by century 1961, 1861, 1761, 1661, 1561, 1461... not sure how far back I can do this ??? by year ???

 

A man after my own heart!

 

joecoincollect - I recently finished Littleton's 20th Century Type set. It was much more fun than I thought it would be. It includes a section for "Birth Year Type Set", as well as all the standard issues from the period. There are a few unlabeled ports which give you the opportunity for some customization. I really enjoyed putting it together and actually completed the set in one evening, using duplicates from various series that I had on hand. It's laid out very nicely and the finished project looks really nice. I used my wife's birth year, and gave the completed set to her. It's definitely worth consideration. Jack

 

The only theme collection I have is British Empire — coins from each colony (dominion, protectorate, whatever) covering each monarch from Victoria through Elizabeth II.

The original concept was to acquire one high grade example of each, in shilling or larger size whenever available. I've stuck to that plan for the most part, although for some of the major regions like Australia, South Africa, etc., I've compiled (or am compiling) complete type sets.

I'm probably about 65-70% there. It's been a lot of fun, and the historical aspect of it helps keep it interesting.

 

One I've thought about, but haven't pursued, is holed coins.

 

The lowest current value circulating coin for every country (pick a year).
A coin for every country no longer in existence in the 20th/21st century.
Coins of previous colonies and first year of independence.
Astronomy/space coins