Key date quest

This is a hypothetical situation at the present time, but later this year I will be through the common date Morgans and on to the key date issues.

What is the "best" (I know, loaded question) way to pursue the key dates in a series?

Your thoughts are appreciated...
Cris

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Keys.

Unless you are very good at authenticating, or have a very good relationship with your dealer, buy them certified.

 

I am not, and I do, but I will buy them certified, even my crummy 1893-S in G (which is all I will be able to afford! )

 

When you are ready to make your key date purchases I suggest approaching a regular dealer with which you have a good working relationship. Tell him which date you will be starting with, what grade you desire the coin in, and what price range you are hoping for. If your dealer has the coin, great. If not, the dealer should be able to locate it for you in the grade and at the price point you desire - assuming you are reasonable on the price.

 

What about the 95 proof?

 

I might consider it later on in life - once I have the resources to do it right. But I really can't justify spending $30K on a single coin when I can buy the rest of the set for that...

 

I made the assumption we were talking business strikes ;-) If not, it had better be a REAL GOOD relationship with the dealer!

 

I just wanted to throw out the 95. I have only seen a couple over the years, and none were in a morgan set.
Have you considered any of the VAM varieties?
Other than certified keys, the rest is just shopping around for a good price.

 

Uh, yeah, we are talking about business strikes!!!!

The 95P is the only known version; all of the business strikes were presumably melted.

 

Yeah, I have about 36 to go on the others regular ones. There are countless VAMs, but I'll get those as a lifelong journey.

This first set is the "quest".

 

The VAM varities can be a lot of fun, and bargains can be found. At some of the smaller shows many of the dealers are either not aware of the varities, or do not have the market for them. As a result, they are often not labeled and can be purchased for a great deal if you know what you are looking for and are willing to search for it.

 

Well active goals are a great start. It is good to hear.

 

Off topic to ND, the hard times token was a good choice for the avatar and the picture looks great.

 

Well Peter fixed the problem for me.

 

So having my 'prime' coin dealer do the search from the available coin resources regionally or nationally is the best route to locate some of these keys?

 

I think so, but others do not.

First it is important to be very comfortable with each other. Not all graded coins are alike. You both must understand the "taste" of the other. If that issue is good, then the dealer has many avenues that most collectors do not.

As an example there are a couple of dealer only sites that we use to actively trade coins. Most of us travel to shows and auctions. These factors make it pretty easy to find coins. There really isn't many coins that a good large dealer can't find, given the price is right.