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Hello-

 

I have been browsing here a bit as a guest and decided to sign up. I was an avid coin collector as a teenager, having books of Jefferson Nickels, Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) Dimes, and Washington Quarters. I eventually converted all of the bulk into a (non-gold) mint state 20th century type set, all housed in one of those old hard plastic holders about the size of a sheet of paper.

 

I wish I could say that I kept that set all these years, but I wanted a new bicycle or something and sold the set in 1971 for about $1000. My interests had changed and I thought I was done with coin collecting.

 

When the statehood quarters came out I thought it was a cool idea, but they did not hook me back into the hobby. I did save wheat cents and the occasional silver I got in change, and the one thing I did save from my early collecting years was my birth year proof set. Then one day about a year ago I got a wartime nickle in change and started thinking about re-acquiring that type set I had built so long ago.

 

So I formulated a plan. One nice MS or proof coin of each major type, and with my adult budget I could probably now afford to get those beautiful gold coin types also. Looking at the grades and prices, it seemed that MS63 would be my pain threshold. I wanted to get up to date/stay up to date on the modern types, so I bought the silver proof sets starting at 1999 and subscribed at the US Mint to keep them coming.

 

I soon discovered how much different collecting is today than it was in 1971. The internet brings nearly every available coin right to your computer, and certified coins take a lot of the financial risk out of the picture. No longer limited by the stock at the local coin shop, what fun it has been to browse through and purchase coins not only at coin shows, but at online dealers, auction houses, and eBay.

 

Being a bit obsessive, I have completed my 20th century type set just a year after starting. However, some of those earlier types really caught my eye and I have expanded my type set backward. For pre-20th century coins I will go as low as MS60, but I like seeing all of the detail in these works of art so much that I don't really want to get circulated coins. If the type is too expensive for me, I'll just do without and drool over the auction house catalogue pictures.

 

In addition, I have chosen particular dates for the examples I get to commemorate events in our family's history, like birth years of parents and grandparents. Hopefully this will make the collection meaningful enough so that my children will think a bit before rushing off to auction them when they inherit them. But if that is what happens, they are all PCGS or NGC certified to make the process simpler and more lucrative. I have registered the certified coins and will post the links here soon.

 

Well, that was a long winded intro. I look forward to sharing info and experiences with you all regarding this great hobby.

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