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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 22103, member: 57463&quot;]You got two good answers right off the bat.&nbsp; In addition, you might consider the entire appearance of the specific collection.&nbsp; A nice set of Indianhead cents looks best when all the coins look pretty much alike in terms of grade, toning, etc.&nbsp; For some series, collecting in Proof or Uncirculated only would be prohibitive to impossible.&nbsp; This goes back to the last &quot;golden age&quot; of collecting, when people who are in their 50s now, were kids in the 1950s and 1960s.&nbsp; We could still find Mercury Dimes, etc., in change and fill the Whitman, except, perhaps for some keys, which would have to come from the coin store. </p><p><br /></p><p>For Morgan Dollars, on the other hand, about one-third of all known are uncirculated, so collecting in that grade is pretty much the norm. The 1885-(P) is difficult at $15,000 to $25,000 in Extremely Fine and above.</p><p><br /></p><p>Kennedy Half Dollars and other modern series are more affordable in Proof.&nbsp; In that case, however, still you have the pursuit of the highest grades, cameo proofs.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>In ancients, mint state coins are rare by any measure.&nbsp; A nice Fine can be a good addition, if you are building a set of denarius coins Roman emperors, for instance.&nbsp; On the other hand, there are so many Alexander the Great tetradrachms and gold staters out there, that if you are shopping for one, you are best off saving your money for the highest grade, rather than settling for less.&nbsp; A worn Alexander tet might sell for $250 and a near-uncirculated for $500.&nbsp; The price range is the same, roughly.&nbsp; This is also true of gold coins.&nbsp; Gold seldom circulated hand to hand, so uncirculated (or nearly unc.) coins are out there for only marginally more than one worn down past Very Fine.&nbsp; You can find near Mint state Byzantine gold for close to bullion, oddly enough.</p><p><br /></p><p>In our day, we tend to build collections one purchase at a time, rather than one find at a time.&nbsp; So, you decide what you can afford to pay for the most expensive keys and work from there.</p><p><br /></p><p>As an exception to the rule, I built a set of Mercury Dimes by searching bags of silver from coin dealers.&nbsp; Then, I purchased the keys I needed.&nbsp; Then I bought a couple of Uncirculated examples to complete my idea of what the set should represent.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for collecting from pocket change, the Jefferson Nickel is a good example of what can be done.&nbsp; The afficiandos count the number of steps on Monticello.&nbsp; Five step coins bring more praise, if not more money.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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