Thoughts & Strategies for Building a US Type Set

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Tom B, Feb 27, 2015.

  1. Pere

    Pere Active Member

    Perhaps another type album to look at is Littleton.


    I assume Dansco will eventually come out with a revamped version of 7070... given its popularity, I can't understand why they'd neglect the market.
     
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  3. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    With the first leaf between the 1 and 9, it looks like you have a DuVall 1-B there Tom. Nice even wear, very attractive. Every time I tried to buy a circulated Lafayette, the price went through the roof.
     
  4. kSigSteve

    kSigSteve Active Member

    Do you have the Littleton album? I am trying to find an album but am taking my sweet time.
     
  5. davidh

    davidh soloist gnomic

    The problem I found with the 7070, or any other commercial album, is that you're constrained by what the manufacturer considers to be a particular type. In my estimation, any change in design, weight, size or composition constitutes a different type. A quarter with arrows is not the same as the same design without arrows. An eagle surrounded by rays is not the same as one without the rays. A small cent containing tin is different from one without tin. This might be too fine a difference for many but I decided that I'd go that way.

    So, how to logically house this assemblage? As I am not a fan of slabs, I have a bit more leeway in how to combine things. My first thought was too put everything into 2x2's and those into loose leaf pages in a three ring binder. I tried this but soon found it too bulky and not really pleasant looking.

    Thinking this through a bit more I decided that 1) the coins had to be protected, 2) the coins had to be clearly visible, 3) the coins must be secure in place, 4) the coins had to be readily accessible and 5) the entire set had to be logically assembled.

    I found that Quadrum holders have the attributes of points 1, 2 and 3. They have paired with Intercept Shield and provide protection from corrosion for 15 years and are available in millimeter sizes from 14 through 40, with a few half sizes and other specific fractional sizes along the way.

    [​IMG]

    Now, to hold the individual types, I found that trays holding 20 coins each would do for my needs. I'd need one tray for small cents and large cents, one tray for small cents, one tray for two cents, twenty cents and half dimes, one tray for nickels, one tray for dimes, one tray for quarters, one tray for halves, one tray for dollars and one tray for miscellaneous items. What I found was the Lighthouse system of trays. Each tray holds twenty items in a 4 x 5 array (they do make trays to hold slabs if that is your ddesire). Each tray slides into a scratch proof holder and each holder has four small holes in the top matched by four small pegs on the bottom, allowing any two holders to be stacked without sliding.

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Finally, to assemble all of this into one appealing unit, Lighthouse also has various cases which hold different numbers of individual trays. There are lockable metal cases, leather carrying cases or, what I settled on, a shelf case holding ten trays.

    [​IMG]

    Pros - YOU can decide what coins to include and how to arrange them.

    The cons to this are that regular paper 2x2's won't fit in the tray slots. The one illustrated are Quardum holders that are slightly smaller. And Lighthouse products are very hard to find. Google is your friend in this search. The only place I was able to find the case shown above was on German ebay.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2015
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  6. MKent

    MKent Well-Known Member

    A 70/70 set is out of the question for me because of price mainly and not knowing enough about older rarities to buy them with confidence. I have purchased 3 Whitman 20th Century Type set albums for the grand sons and I feel like I would be able to fill these with high grade coins in most issues and nice circulated pieces for some of the more expensive coins. I think these will be fun to fill and pass along when they are old enough to appreciate them.
     
  7. J.A.K.

    J.A.K. Foriegn Fanatic

    Lighthouse products are avalible in the US from www.lighthouse.us
     
  8. davidh

    davidh soloist gnomic

    und www.leuchtturm.de auch

    There are no US dealers who carry the shelf case illustrated above.
     
  9. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    Lindner carries similar-looking cases. I've never seen them in person, so I don't know what they're made of, but they look nice.
     
  10. thetracer

    thetracer Active Member

    MKent, I ended up with a Whitman 20th C for less than a song. In a way I got lucky.

    I am a young 60s, and got back into coins 6 years ago. I saw, and could not believe the new reverse I saw on the 2009 cents. That got me back interested -- Hey, they changed Abe!

    I bought 09 cents and read online like crazy. After digesting enough, I thought the best way to really learn was to get a 7070. They were available back then.

    I was really fired up by then, but I didn't think about all the planning Tom mentioned. I did research before I bought, but got better at that later.

    Tom's advice is great for medium or more advanced collectors. But, I just had to jump in there while the iron was hot. Did the best I could for a few years. Took some shortcuts (to be upgraded later, of course), made some mistakes, bought some extras and some dogs.

    And learned an amazing amount of history, that is invaluable. Doing it made me consider and see what else I might want to collect next. And it did.

    Therefore, #4, I had a lot of FUN!

    When I got the Whitman 20th C album, it was a whole lot of fun because, I found in my collection enough extras and upgraded pieces to fill it up in one night!

    I also customized my 7070 with coins from my father's or my old collections as available.

    I did take the plunge for a late Seated dollar, but the early one is still missing.
     
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  11. MadMartigan

    MadMartigan Active Member

    The type set has alluded me for more than a decade. I am on my third try trying to build it. I am down to 13 coins which is probably the furthest I have ever gotten into it. Problem is the 13 coins left all command the heftier premiums.

    One thing I found is I built sets for my sons using the less inexpensive whitman 20th century album. This has allowed me to upgrade the coins for my 7070 and pass on the downgrades to sets I have built for my children.

    Someday I will finish this set someday.
     
  12. Volante

    Volante Well-Known Member

    Great post! You've inspired me to revisit my own type set quest, begun back when I was a young collector. I also populated my set with many coins of sentimental value, mainly inherited from my paternal grandfather, but will aim to fill out the rest with attractively toned/patinated coins.
     
  13. MadMartigan

    MadMartigan Active Member

    I just reduced my set to 12 coins, I got a very nice 1830 VF25 Bust Half Dollar yesterday. It is now my third most expensive coin in my 7070 (my 1833 XF half cent and my 1877s VF trade dollar being my most expensive). I go with uniformity there was a vf 30 half dollar for about the same amount of money but it had been blasted white to me the obvious cleaning should have knocked it down several grades. The one I bought looks to have been cleaned sometime long ago but has retoned back up nicely its really hard to find silver coins from the early 1800's that probably haven't been cleaned at one time or other but I can't stand a blast white coin in a VF grade.

    Sometimes to me detail coins can be nice other times not. I put at XF standing liberty quarter in my sons whitman 20th century type its a details grade because it has some jewelry sodder on it. I have been tempted to swap it out with my VF SLQ type 1 even though mine is problem free the details one is such a nice looking coin and the sodder is barely noticeable.

    When building a set you got to build it where it pleases you and not someone else.
     
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  14. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    Oh, wow.
    I didn't know there were Lafayette dollar varieties.
    Two things please.
    1. Which variety is mine?
    2. What is the resource that lists Early Commemorative varieties?

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
  15. littlehugger

    littlehugger Active Member

    Tom, I appreciate your thinking, and I am putting together a Dansco 7070 type set myself. I have about 60 coins now. I have managed to fill the first two pages completely.
    My strategy is to acquire high circulated grades, preferably XF-AU, as these are what I feel are the best combination of quality for the money. Also, all those obsolete coins of unusual design and denomination fascinate my kids. With circulated coins, they can enjoy a hands on experience without giving me a heart attack. Its my Type Set that interests them most.
    Its true about customizing. I decided to go with a 1798 Large Cent to start off the album, and it took months to find a decent looking affordable one. I decided to just
    take the plunge on my Classic cent, at $700, but time will prove me right.
    Other expensive ones are the Type 1 SLQ, Barber quarter and half, 20 cent piece, reeded edge half, and of course, the Seated dollars.
    Part of the fun, which adds expense, is going for something custom. Any date but the 1875-S 20 cent, first year issues, or an 1883 No Cents as your V-nickel rather than a generic date. I also have a Seated dime in there that I found with my metal detector.
    I decided on the Dansco 7070 as the best overall album too. Ideally, I would like a Capital, with holes to hold coins in airtights, so I could collect a seriously high grade set, but the cost makes it a dream, not a reality. For non-lotto winners, its the Dansco. Sigh!
    Really enjoy this thread.
     
  16. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    Kanga,

    You have a DuVall 2-C, the diagnostic is as follows:

    Reverse Die C: The tip of the first lower leaf is over the "9" in 1900 and the lower of the 14 leaves lie flat against the stem which is shorter and curved down.

    For a complete explanation of the Lafayette Dollar varieties, please consult post # 17 in the thread linked below.

    Lafayette Dollar A Numismatic Treasure

    I don't know if there are any references for early commem varieties.
     
  17. MadMartigan

    MadMartigan Active Member


    Thats the beauty of the set you can make it however you want to make it. You can do a low end set if your on a budget for probably around $1500 (I have about $2000 in my set currently with a dozen coins to go the set will end up being in the $3000-3500 range when finished as the two seated dollar will easily add $600-700 alone) or you could go crazy and do a high end set with tons of variables for $15,000. You could add the gold page. I personally added a page for all modern commemorative halves (they all pretty much fit on one page) then I did my commemorative slots in the 7070 with classic designs I like a lot like the Stone Mountain. I even think when the set is done I'll never truly be done with it as there are some coins I'd like to upgrade and then I pass them down to my boys whitman 20th century albums. Heck I've even thought of doing myself a high end MS set of the whitman 20th century album (the coins that will get you on a MS set of that are the Standing Liberty type 1, the barber half and quarter but all are doable). But I want to finish my 7070 first.
     
  18. littlehugger

    littlehugger Active Member

    Yeah, the urge to "upgrade" is almost irresistible with a Type Set.
    I started long ago on one, in a Dansco 7070. My young sons got hold of it and messed it up. I bought another album, used. Same thing.
    I was able to take early retirement a couple years ago, and my 3 wild boys are older and much more responsible, so I got back into it. I bought an unopened new 7070 off of Ebay.
    It amazes me that Dansco has ignored this need for years now, and same with the other album makers. Used Dansco 7070 albums sell for a premium on EBay and elsewhere, and reintroducing it would also allow them to update for newer varieties of Sacawagea, Presidential, National Parks, etc. The blindness is mystifying.
    I sometimes dream of winning the lotto and putting some ultimate set together, but my set, as it is, is very satisfying, as you can take each coin in hand to get the sense of it, and the tremendous variety is far more interesting than an album full of the same look-alike coins.
     
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  19. MadMartigan

    MadMartigan Active Member

    Whitman does a 20th and 21st century type album with a lot of the newer coins like the Sacawagea, Presidential and National parks etc. They removed all the types that they did just for the 20th century type. Like only one buffalo no type 1 and 2, only SLQ no type 1, a lot of the different silver ikes and kennedys to make room for the more modern stuff.
     
  20. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    Lehigh, thanks for answering my two questions.
     
  21. davidh

    davidh soloist gnomic

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