The cat is out of the bag now.

I noticed the registry set for the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins about two weeks ago, and was quietly building my set all alone as the only registered set in the category. I already owned a few of the coins on the list, as they intrigued me, so it was fun starting with a few slots already knocked out.

But two days ago, NGC announced the registry listing, and as I type this there are 17 sets, and I've been bumped from 1st to 7th place. No biggie, competition is good, and will drive me to find only the best examples of each coin on the list.

My only fear is that now that the set is being promoted, the prices on some of these coins will go up dramatically as sellers know we need them for the set, and other set builders drive up auction biddings.

Maybe there's enough to go around and I shouldn't be concerned. But usually, collecting what's "hot" at the moment is a sure fire way to lose money.

Perhaps I should pause on collecting the 100 Greatest Moderns and find a less active set where some steals might still be found. Either way, it's an exciting set.

The only aspect of the 100 Greatest Moderns list that bugs me is that at least four or five coins on the list are so rare, few, if anyone, will be able to complete this set. The 2000 Sacagawea/Washington mule is on the list. There are less than ten examples of this coin known, and one person owns the majority of them. Anyone want to give me a quarter million dollars so I can make him an offer? And one of the coins, the misdated Taylor dollar, there's only ONE known example of. Le sigh.

Anyway, it's a fun set, and some of the Collectors Society members have fantastic coins in it already. If you haven't yet, you should stop by and browse a few image galleries.

...oh, those were the days:

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.