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 Replies: 16 / Views: 1,041 |
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Valued Member
United States
142 Posts |
Hello, fellow coin fans. I have gotten back into coins after over a decade of not collecting. I have always liked trying to assemble "sets" of coins. The first one I actually sort of recently completed was a "BU" set of business strike National Park quarters. That said, I have more invested into nickels and such. I have mainly enjoyed collecting nickels because there are no super expensive silver coins outside of the War Nickels, which can still be had for reasonably prices evidently even in BU condition, but also no silver proofs, either. You can actually complete a set (albeit it might take a long time) fully from change still, although it might be quite difficult finding the 39-D or 50-D. That said, regarding proofs... I am just curious, is it really necessary to collect proofs? I have toyed with the idea of having both a BU collection of Jeffersons, and collecting all S proofs. I like both ideas, but having all S proofs I feel in a lot of regards makes me feel like I have a more complete assembled collection. I have also gotten into Buffalo nickels, and recently ordered an album for Liberty "V" nickels. But, I will not be collecting them in BU condition or anything like that. I have also seen others who try to assemble all their BU coins looking relatively similar with no toning? Honestly, I sometimes like a little bit of toning. For most cases, my coins that I have ordered, have come from ebay so what you receive isn't always as accurate as the picture leads you to believe. Also, I would assume being "BU" is a relatively loose term? For example, none of my coins are high grade BU or MS 65 or anything like that, but they still look really nice IMO. I think "Gem BU" or "Choice BU," is the terms that are usually under the listing, but none of them have been very costly, usually being 5-10 dollars. Any thoughts? |
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Moderator
 United States
157722 Posts |
Quote:
That said, regarding proofs... I am just curious, is it really necessary to collect proofs? I Not really, but a set might feel incomplete without them. When I moved from folders to albums, I had no proofs, but bought albums with proof holes. Luckily I had a run of proof sets I could crack.  Quote:
and collecting all S proofs. I like both ideas, but having all S proofs I feel in a lot of regards makes me feel like I have a more complete assembled collection. I agree.  In the end, your mileage may vary, so collect what you like. 
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Valued Member
 United States
142 Posts |
Good advice! Thanks! Something else that bothers me is being able to assemble almost an entire collection of something, only to be hindered by one coin. Lol. This is why I opted not to collect all the older proofs of Jeffersons, due to price. There is no way I am paying upwards of 100 dollars or more for a 38 or 39 proof, unless I purchase like one a year. Lol. At least I can say I have/will have all the S proofs. Ironically, I think the older proofs personally, before 1971, actually look better than the proofs afterwards. I have one for 64, 68, 69 and 70 and they are quite beautiful. Not sure why they look different after 1970. I don't know if they have proof Buffalo nickels, but I'm sure they do. Definitely not going to bother with them or anything like that. My album doesn't include slots for them anyways. Edited by Humanist1287
10/31/2024 12:22 pm
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Moderator
United States
157722 Posts |
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Something else that bothers me is being able to assemble almost an entire collection of something, only to be hindered by one coin. Lol. Out of my nine "original" Dansco albums—the ones I had been working on long before the world wide web was a thing—there are two to complete. One has two holes. It is the Lincoln Cent album, which is missing the 1909-S-VDB and 1922 "plain" cents. The other album has one hole. It is my custom "Indian Head Cent, Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime" album—with blank cent, nickel, and dime pages in a blank binder. That one hole, as you may have already guessed, is the 1916-D dime.  I have the money budgeted for them, I just need to find my nice and affordable examples! These sets are not high end; I want lower grades, but still decent to look at. 
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Moderator
United States
64167 Posts |
I basically have 3 collections going 1. Dansco (with proofs) for all modern US coins2. Mint OGP uncirculated sets going back to 1949 and 3. Mine OGP Proof sets going back to 1950 It was my intention to have a comprehensive example of the coin produced by the mint. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
The "hole-filling mentality" is a foundation of our hobby.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6983 Posts |
What you collect is up to you, I personally like proofs and many times will put in a proof coin even though not asked for.  |
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Moderator
United States
157722 Posts |
Quote:
What you collect is up to you, I personally like proofs and many times will put in a proof coin even though not asked for. Looking good!  To be clear, Dansco refers to the 8xxxx series albums as "including proof-only issues" with emphasis on the only. In situations where there were both business strikes and proofs minted—the 1964 and earlier Philadelphia coins, the 1968-1970 San Francisco nickels, and the 1968 to 1974 San Francisco cents being prime examples—it is up to the album owner whether that hole is filled with the proof or business strike. There is no wrong answer here and extra blank pages allow one to accommodate both.
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Valued Member
United States
271 Posts |
I prefer to collect only business strikes. To me, proofs are coins made for collectors, and as such simply do not interest me as much. Collect only what you want to collect. There is no need to conform to any particular suggested collection strategy.
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Valued Member
United States
210 Posts |
I have collected a complete kennedy silver(no clad) set of proofs, working on the franklin proofs, the older ones are hard to find cheap. Already have a complete set of franklin bullion. Also working on a complete set of Walker halves, but several of the early years are hard to find  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6983 Posts |
My innovation dollars are proof only.   |
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Moderator
United States
157722 Posts |
Quote:
My innovation dollars are proof only. So are mine. Both kinds, regular and reverse.
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Valued Member
United States
142 Posts |
That looks fantastic. I think in most "sets" that I work on, I will not assemble proofs personally. I sort of like them with my Jefferson album, since they essentially make it look more complete. But I think outside of this, I am going to stick to collecting business strikes only. Certain smaller sets like Ike dollars and SBA dollars are kind of hard to assemble without adding the proofs IMO since the series of coins are pretty small. |
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
@hfjacinto - what company made your Innovation Dollar date book? 8 was hoping Dansco would make one as I will only collect the proofs for those.
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
Oh and is there an edit button? I hate making typos.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6983 Posts |
I got mine from Littleton. I keep looking for the Dansco date set for AI dollars but it says coming soon. I may move these coins to the Dansco as the Littleton album is bulky.
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Replies: 16 / Views: 1,041 |
Posted 10/31/2024 12:19 pm
