Howdy I am working on my wheat penny selection, and buffallo nickels right now. Does anyone know where I can go to get some key dates? I've been looking on ebay. Tryng to focus on filling my books. Also I have no clue what Im doing.
Mary, I would highly suggest getting the Redbook. Its great for new collectors of US coins starting out. Also a copy of the ANA grading book would also be terrifically helpful. Grading is very important in US coins. As for getting key coins, I would suggest going to coin shows and buying from respected dealers. If you are going to spend quite a bit for a coin, and are a newby, I would highly suggest only buying a certified coin from a respected TPG company, (pcgs, ngc, anacs). This way you know its authentic and not cleaned or damaged. When you become more experienced you can buy these coins raw, but its a dangerous game when you do not know what you are doing. Chris
I also have a set of buffalo nickels going. Mostly F to VF. Some VG. My main goal is for all to have a clear, original date. I bought this book and found it to be very helpful. It discusses what you should look for with each date and mint mark in detail. It also explains why some years from some mints are almost impossible to find with a good strike. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Official-Re...60?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item1c205d36bc The buffalo nickel set is a moderately difficult set for a beginner. Even in lower grades. There are several higher dollar ones to get. Many of the later date ones from the 30s were made in mass, and are very common in high grade with clear dates. Some years are so common I'd give them away to somebody if they needed them. Then you get to the rarer ones and expect the same. Then you find out it's a few hundred dollars (or more), to get it. This has been a popular set so there is high demand for the keys. I think I have about 19 or 20 to go. I have around $900 invested in it and it's not a high grade set with several keys left to obtain.
Be very careful buying key dates on the 'bay raw. I'd suggest only buying your key dates slabbed (certified) by PCGS or NCG, maybe ANACS. Common dates are o.k. in raw as your noting going to be laying out heavy $ for them.
