Collecting Coin Sets vs. Individual Coins

There has long been a debate within numismatics about whether it is better to focus on building complete coin sets or seeking out individual coins. Each side in this discussion has lots of merit to its view since collecting coin sets and collecting individual coins both have benefits for the collector.

Complete coin sets

For example, sometimes complete sets of a coin series are worth more than the value of the individual coins within a set at about the same grade level.

This is typically the case for older, classic coin series that are more difficult to complete because they ran for a long period of time with many coins issued and/or because they include key dates and other rare issues that are more expensive than the other coins in the set and more difficult to track down.

There are many other reasons to collect coins in sets or by series. It is more satisfying to the collector after decades of collecting if their collections include at least one coin set that is complete or almost complete, especially if the set is one that is popular and widely collected.

Some series are not very difficult to complete if one is mainly interested in one example of each coin that does not have to be a high-grade example.

Some of those sets include: the Eisenhower dollars that were issued between 1971 and 1978 including proof and uncirculated coins; sets of each of the the 90% silver Washington quarters that circulated between 1932 and 1964; oran uncirculated set of the World War II-era silver Mercury dimes struck from 1941 to 1945.

A basic set without errors of the State quarters or the Presidential $1 coin series are other examples.

American Silver Eagles

The American Silver Eagle series that has been issued since 1986 is a good case to consider when it comes to the various sets of these coins that exist or that could be assembled compared to the experience of collecting individual coins within the series.

Some Silver Eagle sets can be acquired in one purchase from coin dealers like Bullion Shark such as a complete set of these coins in uncirculated condition in a Dansco album or a graded set of the same coins graded NGC MS69.

There are also many special sets of Silver Eagles including the various anniversary sets that have been issued and other sets.

A Silver Eagle set that is not as easy to find in the marketplace is a complete set of all the proof coins issued in this series. Even better is a set of all the proof coins which has been graded Proof 70 by PCGS.

The hardest sets of Silver Eagles to complete and the most valuable part of the series would be a complete set of all the mint state coins in MS70. The reason is that during the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. Mint’s production standards were good but were not at the level they are today. That’s why so many more examples of a particular year of issue exist in that top grade for coins of recent years as opposed to earlier coins.

And lots of collectors of this extremely popular silver coin series are collecting complete sets of every coin issued whether it was a Proof, an uncirculated coin, or one of the special issues of this series such as the coins issue with special finishes (Reverse Proof, Enhanced Uncirculated and Enhanced Reverse Proof coins) and the one major die variety of this series (the 2008-W with Reverse of 2007 coin).

When it comes to both of the last two categories – the MS70 coins and the complete sets of all issues in the series –collectors are seeking to build complete sets that can’t be purchased off the shelf from dealers and must instead be acquired one coin at a time in most cases.

And that is the competition for these coins that drives market prices for specific issues, especially if many collectors are seeking the same coins, which they usually are in the case of Silver Eagles.

Individual coins

Because coins like MS70 Silver Eagles from the 1980s are expensive and hard to locate in the top grade, collectors looking for these rarer issues will spend a lot of time and effort seeking to acquire individual coins that can cost thousands of dollars.

And the desire to track down the specific coin a collector needs, especially to fill a gap in their collection, and the pride of ownership when they acquire an attractive example of a coin that is hard to find will often drive the prices of individual coins very high, especially in auctions.

If a coin is especially rare and desirable, when it goes on sale in an auction, collectors competing against each other will sometimes drive the price way beyond the current market value for that piece. And that doesn’t just happen on eBay either.

Popular individual coins that are in demand include key date coins and condition rarities. Within the Walking Liberty half dollar series, this includes a couple of coins especially the scarce 1921-D coin plus the1921-S and 1938-D coins.

There are many others within each series from 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters that almost any collector could acquire at some point and others like the famous 1895 proof only Morgan dollar and the 1893-S Morgan that are so rare and valuable in any grade they are beyond the budgets of most collectors.

In addition, certain coins within a particular are always popular and in demand even if they are not key date coins. A good example would the 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent. It’s not the lowest mintage issue, but even people who don’t collect Lincoln pennies as a series want this coin because of its fame.

Another popular individual coin is the 1921 Peace dollar. It is not as low mintage a coin as the two key dates of the series – 1928 and 1934-S.

But it is always sought by not just by Peace dollar enthusiasts but also by type collectors as the one and only high-relief classic silver coin the U.S. Mint issued.