Type Sets Offer Flexibility, Variety
By Patrick Montrose Looking for something new and different to collect? Try putting together a type coin Set. Type sets offer flexibility and variety. A local coin shop had a…
By Patrick Montrose
Looking for something new and different to collect? Try putting together a type coin Set. Type sets offer flexibility and variety. A local coin shop had a rack of used albums at great prices. I was looking over the titles and saw “U.S. Type Coin Collection 20th and 21st Centuries.” It has spaces for every coin in circulation from 1900 to the present day. I liked that it was a collection that could be put together in a variety of ways and from low to moderate cost. I made the decision to put the best coins I could find at a moderate price, and to my surprise, most of the coins ranged from AU to BU.
Type sets offer flexibility because you can complete the set in many different ways. You can just put a coin with any date or mintmark in the hole. For example, if the hole says “Indian Head Cent,” that is what you put there. Another way is to put the nicest coin your budget will allow for in the set. I tried something different. I went by dates and the nicest eye-appeal.
The first hole was for Indian Head cents so I put in the last year, 1909, in a nice BU. Next to that was a Lincoln Wheat Ears, so I put in a surprisingly affordable BU 1909 VDB. The next hole was a Wartime Lincoln, so I put in a BU zinc-coated steel cent from 1943. Next up was the Lincoln Memorial cent, so I put in a BU 1959 first year cent. The next hole was for a Lincoln Memorial copper-plated zinc cent; in went a 1982, the first year they were made, in BU. Eventually, I finished the cent holes.
The first nickel is the Liberty Head in AU, dated the first year, 1883. For the Buffalo nickel, I put in an AU first year, 1913. The 1938 Jefferson nickel, in BU is next, followed by the 1942 first year wartime 35 percent Jefferson nickel. The 2004 Westward Journey in BU is next, and that is followed by the 2006 first-year “Return to Monticello” nickel.
The first dime is the last year, 1916, of the Liberty Head dime in AU, followed by a nicely toned 1916 BU Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) dime. The first year 1946 toned BU Roosevelt dime is followed by a clad 1965 toned BU Roosevelt dime.
A first-year 1892 Barber quarter in AU is next, then a 1930 AU last year Standing quarter. A BU 1932 Washington quarter is next to a 1976 Bicentennial quarter in BU. A nicely toned 1965 Washington clad quarter, a 2008 New Mexico Silver quarter, a 2009 Silver District of Columbia, and a 2010 Silver Washington National Park, all in BU, round off the quarter holes. I did this for the half dollars and dollars also.
It was an album that could be completed without breaking the bank and, the way I did it, in a relatively short period of time. It added a variety of coins to my collection and I actually had fun looking for just the right dates to fill the holes.
This “Viewpoint” was written by Patrick Montrose, a collector from New Mexico.
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