Collectors, Start Your Boxes! 

by Dave Provost

If you are a regular reader of Coin World, you have probably noticed a full-page advertisement from a coin company called The Mint. This firm is owned by one of our hobby’s more outspoken personalities - Jay Parrino. Jay promotes some of the finest coins known, at some of the highest prices known! (He was the first person to pay over $1 million for a coin in a public transaction - he bought the Eliasberg specimen of the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel last year for nearly $1.5 million!) 

One of Jay’s promotions involves his "Box of 20." The basic premise behind this idea is that a small collection of just 20 high grade, highly sought after coins is a far better investment than even a large collection of lower grade or common date pieces. While the foundation of this argument is easy to agree with, I left out two pieces of information that makes Jay’s "Box of 20" concept pure fantasy for most collectors: 1) Jay considers most coins in grades as high as MS-63 or 64 to be low grade coins, and 2) Jay specializes in coins that have price tags with five, six, and seven digits before the decimal point! Thus, Jay’s box could easily run a collector (read investor) a million dollars or more! 

Personally, I don’t have a million or so dollars that I’m ready to invest in my coin collection (or anything else for that matter!). However, the "Box of 20" concept is an interesting one, and could be used to frame any number of fascinating type collections. For example, how about a "Box of 20" of the following: 

     

-

U.S. Copper Coinage

     

-

U.S. Half Dollars

     

-

U.S. Gold Coins

     

-

Crowns of the British Commonwealth

     

-

Civil War Tokens

     

-

Commemorative Coins of 1936

     

-

Medals of the U.S. Bicentennial

     

-

Trade Coins Used in the Orient

Those are just a few ideas, but each would be make an interesting and historical collection (and a terrific topic for a club presentation!).  

If I was asked to put together a "Box of 20" for a time capsule that would capture the stylistic variety and character of our nation’s coinage from the first days of the U.S. Mint through today, without spending more than $25,000, I think I would assemble the following (in descending denomination order):

     

 1.

St. Gaudens Double Eagle (1907-1933)

     

 2.

Indian Head Eagle (1907-1933)

     

 3.

Morgan Silver Dollar (1878-1921)

     

 4.

Trade Dollar (1873-1885)

     

 5.

Flowing Hair Silver Dollar (1794-1795)

     

 6.

Bicentennial Kennedy Half Dollar (1976)

     

 7.

Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916-1947)

     

 8.

Bust Half Dollar (1807-1839)

     

 9.

Standing Liberty Quarter (1916-1930)

     

10.

Barber Quarter (1892-1916)

     

11.

Mercury Dime (1916-1945)

     

12.

Liberty Seated Dime (1837-1874)

     

13.

Draped Bust Dime (1796-1807)

     

14.

Buffalo Nickel (1913-1938)

     

15.

Liberty Head Nickel (1883-1912)

     

16.

Two Cent Piece (1864-1873)

     

17.

Lincoln Cent (1909-1997)

     

18.

Indian Head Cent (1859-1909)

     

19.

Coronet Large Cent (1816-1857)

     

20.

Classic Head Half Cent (1809-1835)

I think this set hits the highlights of our nation’s coinage in terms of beauty, historical importance, and/or collector interest, and I’m prepared to defend each of my choices!

Obviously, however, there are plenty of classics and favorites that I’ve left off this list. In fact, I’ve probably left off a few that have you questioning my sanity. But this is my time capsule list, and it works for me!  

ã Copyright Raleigh Coin Club   -  1997, 1998, 1999,2000,2001,2002

The RCC grants permission to reprint any articles not copyrighted by the author for non-profit educational purposes only, provided the Raleigh Coin Club and the author are cited as the original source.