Hi there. My Dad collects coins. I wanted to get him something under $100 for his birthday. I saw on Ebay where they have sets of coins from his birth year. His birth year is 1951. There were different sets that had a dash and a letter after the year. Like 1951-D. Am I on the right track for the birthday present? What do the letters after the year mean? THANKS!
Those are the mintmarks that show where they were minted (for example 1951-D was minted in Denver). Good gift idea... I've done this for my father too in fact (but for Christmas, rather than his birthday). The idea was that year I got everyone in the family proof sets from their year of birth. Exceptions were for my father, because a 1951 proof set was prohibitively expensive; and my grandfather (born in 1924) whose birth predated issued proof sets. For them I instead put together sets of reasonable condition for their birth years. If $100 is your limit, you can easily put together an uncirculated or almost uncirculated set for 1951. These make good anniversary gifts too... in fact for my prents' anniversary this year I put a copy of their wedding picture along with coins from a 1974 proof set (their wedding year), replacing the quarter with a Washington state quarter, the state they were married in. Capitol Plastics has a holder that works great for this, a hard plastic holder with holes for coins from 1 cent to half dollar with generous space to put a picture next to them (since their was no space for the Ike dollar, I just put that in my type set.) I'm doing the same thing for my brother who is about to be married as a Christmas gift for him and his wife.
Welcome and coins are great gifts for Dads. The "- letter" refers to the mint where the coins were made. D=Denver, P=Philly, O=New Orleans, S=San Fransisco, W=West Point, CC=Carson City. Some of these mints are no longer used. A set from is birth year is nice and usually well under your cost objective - with the exception of 1951 apparently :-( . You can also go on the mint web site and order new coins. I really like the American Silver Eagle Proofs. They are about $30 and you should receive yours within 2-3 weeks (normally). Pick something you like and think he will like. If there is a show in your area sometime soon that may be a better option as you can see what you are going to buy before you give someone your money. Also do not be afraid to go to local dealers and ask questions. Don't be afraid to post the ebay listing here for opinions if this is the way you are going. Many ebay listings are not so good - so please be careful. This group is good about giving advice on auctions/sellers. Good Luck!!! Darryl
i would shy away from getting him coins. i'm giving my father a stapler and another catalog case on wheels. -Steve
Here's the set I was talking about, not the best picture but gives you the idea (my digital camera has a macro feature, but I can' figure out how to turn it on and don't have the instructions anymore):
I like the idea of getting him a birth year set. I at first was going to suggest getting him a 1951 proof set, till I remembered the price. Good luck, and what kind of coins does he collect? Phoenix
I would not suggest buying coins. If you know of a coin shop your dad goes to frequently, you might try getting a gift certificate to the shop if they have any. There is a pretty good chance you are going to grossly overpay for what you get if you aren't a collector.
A gift certificate at his favorite coin store is the perfect gift. Watch his eyes light up when he opens the envelope!!!
Thanks! Will find out later I guess, haven't given it to them yet (Their anniversary is July 13.) I actually had the idea for it when I saw the empty holder in a coin shop and thought it weould be a good gift for my brother who will be getting married August 4. Would have to wait until they get a wedding picture done of course, and would also want to wait for 2007 proof sets to be released. Was thinking which of the 5 quarters to put in there, and thought well if it has to be a state quartere, why not use the Colorado quarter from last year, since that is the state they will be married in? It's then when I extended the idea of doing the same thing for my parents, and put together a set for them for their upcoming anniversary, breaking open a 1974 proof set for the coins, replacing the 1974 quarter with a 2007 Washington quarter (the state they were married in.)
Dad's birthday Wow thank you for all the prompt feedback and suggestions. It's great to understand that the letter means the city the coins were minted in. Dad was born in DENVER, so it would be awesome to get him the set from Denver. But are you guys saying that set (1951-D) is worth over $100??? And I see some of you are saying that buying coins is a bad idea for a novice; I can see why. The 1951-D set is on auction at EBay with three days left. It's currently at about $60. The seller has a record of many sales and positive feedback. If you go to www.ebay.com, it's auction # 300100293984 I love the idea of the American Eagle coin also. I know he would like that. The wedding set with photo is BEAUTIFUL! I would really like to try something like that for other people I know. My Dad lives out in the middle of nowhere; he doesn't have a favorite coin shop. He's about 3 hours outside of Denver. He has collected coins for the past 40 years by sort of stumbling upon them here and there - auctions and estate sales, friends of friends, etc. Where I live, there are some nearby antique stores and jewelry stores that have coins. I wouldn't really know what I was looking at. Can you guys look at that auction and tell me if it's crazy to even try to bid? Is that set worth over $100? And by the way, a stapler for your Dad's birthday? I hope he likes paperwork....... THANKS
Here is the link. It seems okay, but he has had 3 negatives, lat one saying coins weren't as described. But other than that, it seems fine to me. Will need opinions from other members. Good luck on it. Your welcome. Sounds like a nice gift, and I know they will like it. Tell us when you give it to them! Phoenix
Depends on condition. None of the regular issues that year were particularly rare but can get a bit pricey in unicirculated. If you don't mind them being slightly circulated a 1951-D set shouldn't be particularly expensive. Good luck on winning that set; looks nice and would be a great gift.
Howdy and Welcome! The set you posted looks alright---while you sure can't be sure I would doubt that any of the coins grade MS67. You might want to buy him just one coin---such as a 1951-D Half Dollar....or the like....and not bother with a "set". Also---make sure you tell him about Cointalk.org as he would be most welcome to join in the chat!! Speedy
I would be a little weary of the seller myself. He has 10 negatives and 11 more that were withdrawn - but the type of comments are very concerning. See: http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=tarheelr&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home I personally would look for a seller that does not have issues like this for feedback. He might be honest, but are you willing to gamble? I really like the set idea as I do not have a set for my birth year and would be realllllly excited to get one as a gift. If you live near a dealer you really should go check it out. An antique shop is not likely to know what they are doing either and may give you really bad advice. They are also not likely to have much of a selection. Ask the dealer for a quote as you are shopping around and have not made a decision on what you are going to get yet. Then don't be afraid to come back and ask opinions. GL. Darryl
Well, ol' JennaTy might have an 1875-CC $5 on the market soon... I bet that would make ol' Papa proud ! :thumb:
- Computerfairy - this would be out of you $100 dollar price range as he is referring to a gold five dollar coin that could be worth more than I make in a number of months.
Being a 1951 baby myself and a coin collector, my favorite would be any high grade proof top tier slabbed coin from that year. Teletrade has some nice values and they are well trusted. The pennies, nickels and dimes in high grade are reasonable but stay away from the half dollars and quarters. I think you could find something very nice for your budget. You may need to pay mom and use her credit card but tell her it's a secret! Remember, its the thought that counts.
Take him out to dinner, wish him a happy birthday, thank him for being a good dad and tell him you love him.
