I started collecting after being away from the hobby for many years, but I should have put more thought into what I wanted to collect. I thought I wanted to complete a date, mint, uncirculated set so I just completed the Franklin set, (we all know why that one), LOL. I've collected about 15 uncirculated Peace and Morgan dollars because I like big silver coins. I have a VF Bust Half, an XF Seated Liberty half and a number of uncirculated Walking Liberty halves, partly because their nice, and I like big silver coins..... But something was missing, and that something turned out to be what it is that I really enjoy collecting. So I am now concentrating on what I have always liked: the 1892 through 1954 commemorative half series. The often times unique designs for those commems. are not only interesting, but also little metalic snippets of history........and they're big silver coins too.
That's a great series to collect, and depending on the grades, quite affordable till ya hit Hawaii, Hudson, Old Spanish Trail, and the golds.
A lot of these are still very affordable in MS63 and worn ones even command a nice premium as they were not used for commerce so very few got worn very much unless they were carried as pocket pieces. Some were used in pocket watches, as lockets, etc., and did see some natural wear.
Affordability...Most other series have several stoppers for those of us that do not have unlimited funds.
As long as you're not after FBL pieces, almost the whole series is available under $100 apiece in MS65, with only a small handful exceeding $300. To put it this way, you can get a nice set of Franklins for close to what you'd expect to shell out for an MS63 Hawaiian.
I agree! I'm collecting the silver commems by type in MS63+, but just trying to find the best coin I can afford. I have my eye on a nice Hawaiian right now.
I need an Hawaiian as well as an Lafayette. I'm not too particular about grades as my eyes will tell me what's appealing for what remains in my pockets........
There are any number of reference books on the Classic Commems, the most recent of which is The Authoritative Reference on Commemorative Coins, 1892-1954 by Kevin Flynn. It was published in 2008. Chris
I admit to not having read this, or any of his books, but I'm skeptical that any one person can put together "The Authoritative Reference on..." seven coin series and contribute to six more. See http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...words=kevin+flynn+the+authoritative+reference There are commem books out there by Q. David Bowers and Anthony Swiatek that are well-regarded (particularly the latter).
You will note that I didn't say it was better or worse than any other. I merely stated that it was the most recent. Chris
There are a couple of guys selling pretty affordable classic commems on eBay, as long as you don't mind counterfeits...
I just finished a 50-coin set this year at FUN. There are some really neat coins in that series, and some of the best artwork you'll see on US coins. Take your time any be picky. http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/publishedset.aspx?s=45016
I think Swiateks book(Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States) is the most in depth and comprehensive work on the commem series to date.........
