I still have a few holes to fill and upgrade on my Whitman classic 9139. 20th century US Type. It has mostly ms, and proof. I dont want to put $500 coins into an album, so in the case of the Barber coinage, what would you do? I want to upgrade the dime from the XF thats in there. I am looking at three options. Nice bright looking pcgs au 58. NGC ms62 that looks good for the grade(slight gold toning). Or ANACS genuine that has amazing detail but questionable color.All Three coins are in the $95-$150 range. There is also the Type 1 slq for which i have the same dilemma(which is an empty spot as of now), and the barber half and quarter( both upgrades). I wanna keep this set nice , but don't wanna regret cracking out some things.
Sounds like you have a good plan. Why put a top grade unc in an album, only to lower its grade due to rub or something else that affects the coin negatively. Go with a nice au or ef.
Many people, when putting a type set together, album-style, go with EF/AU coins. If you want a type set, slabbed, go with the highest grade you can afford. And out of the three options you've given, if they are all close in price, pick the one you like best, or is the best date. I didn't know that MS62 Baber's went that cheap, although the Barber series is not my series... If the color/toning on that genuine dime is appealing to you, and doesn't have any signs of cleaning or heavy damage, why not just get that one? You could always shop around more as well.
I think you'd be best served by finding a nice AU example for your album, and matching that coin's look to the rest of the coins in the album. Said a bit differently, coins chosen by price point don't generally look well when placed in an album together. Coins chosen by grade and look generally look much better when presented as a set. Hope this helps....Mike (who started filling his album with matched priced coins and has changed to a matched look)
Remember - if you do crack any coins out it is always a good idea to keep the paper insert from the slab.
I solved the problem by buying ONLY slabbed coins. And keeping them slabbed. Then I put them in an Eagle Certified Coin Album.
This is what a lot of collectors do. Many of my customers have either a raw set in an album or a slabbed set either in a slab box or an album such as the one kanga mentioned. Of course a number of people have both - a mid grade circulated type set in a Dansco or similar album to show to others and a higher grade slabbed set. It is just difficult to mix the two and display them well, unless you divide the set at a logical point, say 1916. Barber and earlier material slabbed, and housed in a slab album and the more recent, lower value material in a dansco album. There are many options. Hopefully some more type set collectors will reply with their ideas. ACE Mike
