I have noticed an increase new collectors coming into the shop filling want lists. What are people coin collecting these days? It seems all coin sets are in play, including Morgan Dollars, Franklin Half Dollars, Lincoln Cents, Mercury Dimes, and even Proof Sets.
Most are looking to simply fill holes in their coin albums by skipping high quality coins and rare dates. For the Morgan Dollar series, 1878-1904, 1921, this means collecting one coin from each year, therefore skipping, rare mintmarks and any coin dating 1893 and 1895.
Lincoln Cents, it goes without saying most collectors are missing four coins, the 1909-S VDB, 1909-S, 1914-D, and 1931-S. For those serious collectors the 1922 Plain is also missing. For the advanced collector the matte proof cents from 1909 to 1916 are a continuous challenge. High-end 1955 and 1972 double die cents remain elusive.
Mercury or winged Liberty dimes are becoming popular because most can be collected at a bargain price. Only three coins stop the, any condition, collection from being quickly completed. The semi keys include the two coins minted in 1921. The key is the 1916-D which can cost hundreds for a worn out example and over a thousand for a fine or better example. An extremely fine or better set could take years to complete and will cost thousands.
Franklin Half dollars have always been popular for the discerning collector. This set is not difficult to complete in low grade, but most collector look for uncirculated example and some want gem coins with full bell lines, which can cost a pretty penny. And yes, I know that the U.S. does not mint pennies, only cents. Does that make sense even though they cost around two cents to make?
Proof Sets are special sets produced by the U.S. Mint every year and represent a high quality example of each business strike coin. They come in special packaging and clad sets have sold in the $30 range for the last few years. Many proof sets are currently valued at bargain prices and some are four dollars in the shop! A 2006 proof set is only $10 and had an original issue of price of around $20.
Please remember to NEVER clean your coins! Also please be aware of cheap Chinese counterfeits flooding the market. These fakes contain no silver and are underweight.
For more information on collector or selling your coins please come by the shop at our Turlock location. By Troy Thoreson
