Please advise on Morgan collecting

Given the commons can be bought reasonably in a high MS state, and the stoppers are big money in AU/MS... how do you set up your collection? Most collectors I know want the set to be 'consistent' (for lack of a better word)
Do you buy lower grade commons to match the key dates? Is it "ok" to have a 1884-O in high MS next to it's sister 1884-S in XF?? I know folks say, "Collect the way you want" ---- but I really need a LITTLE structure to what I'm doing. At the very least some reasoning to what I've put together.

I bought a Dansco Date Set album but I'm reluctant to dive into it....

 

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There really is no right or wrong way, its the way you would like to enjoy the coins in your book. Unless you want to create an all MS set as an investment piece for down the road, do it the way you'd like it to look when completed! I find for my set albums I tend to to enjoy having all the coins of the same grading stature, mint state. Other collectors just like having circulated "hole filler" coins. Now there are some crazy dates of certain series where its a truely hard & costly coin to find in a high grade example, like a 1877 Inidan Head cent or 1884-S morgan. Bottom line you should enjoy collecting the morgan dollars & completing your set. Have fun & enjoy!!!:yes:

 

Sadly having a full Morgan set in MS grade is nearly impossible. You have to understand the highest price of the rarest coin. The 1893-S and the 1895 Proof are next to impossible to get unless you're pretty rich. Even some of the semi-keys in MS grade can run you into the high thousands.

You should also get a book on Morgans before you get heavily into them. Understand why there are so many common date MS coins, and why certain years are more circulated than others. Getting the book will also let you know which ones are counterfeited the most, so you know what to look for.

As far as grades go, common dates can be had for a decent price in MS63, once you run into MS65 the price jumps quite a bit. Again there are no rules, collect what you can. And one final suggestion, don't have the "want it all" mentality this will make you broke and will make the hobby less enjoyable.

 

My Morgan set in the DANSCO ranges mostly from XF to MS63 with many coins in AU. There are a few exceptions, the 95 O and 95 S and some of the tougher CC coins(79,89) are in VF. I've decided to limit the 1893 S to Fine, after all, I've got to keep it within some kind of a budget. And I've been searching for the right 93 S for years.

Despite the fact that the coins on the pages don't all 'match', the set has been one of the most enjoyable series to collect. Collect what you like. Morgans are a great series and remain one of the most popular US coins for a reason; they're a lot of fun to collect!

 

For an album set, I'd go for XF to AU. MS coins may get impaired and downgraded when putting them in, and taking them out of the album. A date set (one of each year) is a good way to start and far less expensive than the full date and mintmark set. If a person wants to do MS, I'd go the slabbed route. Many collectors do subsets such as all the CCs or one from each mint. Again, for a person just starting these smaller goals are good stepping stones before dropping the huge money needed to complete a full set in higher grades.

 

I bought and filled a date set album 4-5 yrs ago with all MS coins. felt great. no'95. there are only 3 years that sting a bit , '92-'93-'94. and fill the holes at the end with 1 from each mint. it's a great goal and worth it. took me about 4 years to fill and I'm wasn't rich then by any measure.

 

I think this is a very personal decision. For me, I try and purchase the nicest example of each coin I can find. For the commons I want MS...for the keys I want the best example of the best grade in my budget. To me, consistency is not a critical issue, I like variety. I will say that I would avoid putting really high grade coins in an album though as the plastic sliding covers can wear the coin over time if they are opened a lot.

 

a date set is a whole different animal from a full set. a date set is not out of reach for most collectors.

 

I don't mind a little inconcistency. Well, its not so much that I don't mind it, but I know I have to learn to live with it. If I was putting together a Morgan set I wouldn't want to get the common dates in circulated grades, I would want them MS. But I couldn't afford to do MS for some of the less common dates. So I personally just have to deal with the inconsistency. Besides, it can be kind of interesting to look at your set and know that the ones that don't look as pretty as most are the rare ones

 

This debate has kept me from doing a Morgan album. The set is 90 some coins long and I sure didn't want a big jumble full of slabs so I thought an album would be sweet. I would like them to be all consistent looking. Certainly a mint state set is out of the question, yet I can't see spending $30 on a common date in vf-xf when a BU is only a few dollars more. Or $400 on a vf 1903 O, when a nice bu is only $500. And why oh why does the album have a spot for the proof only 1895 - a hole that will never be filled.

 

I just look for the cheapest, best looking coin that I can find.

 

I've got a Dansco date set album and decided to go with all New Orleans mintmarks (except 1878 & 1921 of course) because you can get about all but 3 or 4 of them in MS for under a grand. The key dates, I just buy what I can afford for now and will slowly upgrade them over the years. I'm still kinda young so I guess there's plenty of time. All of mine are mid to high MS except 1887 & 1892-1897. Those might take a while.

Whatever you decide, good luck & have fun!!!!

 

Collect as you want to. I used to collect Morgans commons in MS and the rare dates in XF and AU. I did have a complete set. I got out of coins and I sold my Morgans and bought my daughter a car. Getting back into coins I only collect KEY DATE Morgans in MS. But also collect some COMMON DATE Morgans in toned - rainbow or unusual look. This works for me. I would rather have 10 coins worth $40 K than a entire set worth 40K. The Key Dates go up in value faster than the Common Dates. One easy way to get started would be to collect the Carson City in MS. Start with the 1885CC. PErsonally I only collect slabbed coins..To each his/her own

 

The guys making them in China love people that collect like that.:devil:

 

Another way to look at this is to strive for a particular "look".

For example, many folks collect sets of various types down into the F or VF range, but they demand a very particular set of conditions..like "all original", or "circulated cameo", or what have you.

Or perhaps, instead, you decide to make the grade less important, and instead seek out, say, "all toned coins".

Doing something like this gives you a chance to collect what you can afford, but still sharpen your eye, and be rewarded for patience and careful selection.

 

A complete Morgan set is something I wouldn't attempt to tackle. I would have to give up all my other collecting interests and still probably would not be able to complete the set. If you win a lottery, then you might want to consider it. You have to consider what it will cost to complete a set before you start. I wouldn't start a set that I didn't feel that I could complete in my lifetime.

I'm admittedly a haphazard Morgan collector. I've purchased some loose Morgans but there are thousands if not millions of fakes floating around out there. Some bad fakes and some that can fool even advanced collectors.

Then there's a lot of different toned examples that could be AT or NT but nobody knows. For this reason, I really like Morgans with a pedigree from recognized hoards. Whether it be Redfield, GSA CC, Battlecreek, etc... Some of the Battlecreek examples have amazing toning and you know for sure they were not AT. That's not to say I wouldn't buy a regular slabbed toner if I really liked it.
If I were you, I would not feel pressured to do an entire date set. Look around and get the ones that catch your eye. I'm satisfied going about it that way, although I do not focus on collecting them. It's up to you.

 

just get one from Lo Wong's coins out of Chung Dong china

 

If you are collecting for profit, I can't advise you. If you are collecting for you own satisfaction, then collect the way you want to.

 

When I collect (large cents, Indian head cents, and Mercury dimes), I just like to get the slots filled (with G-4 coins or better). (With Morgans you might want something better than G-4, though.)

 

Well, G-4's might be okay. When I was young I collected silver dollars. They were still in circulation. Morgans were my favorite coins. I had to sell them in 1980 so I could afford to move out to Reno.