NGC Featured Registry Set: US Type Set 1792-1964

Life-long collector JTO is the 8th-ranked US coin collector and overall 11th-ranked collector in the NGC Registry with over 400 sets and nearly 1600 coins.

JTO has the unique claim of having the top-ranked US Type Set, 1792-1964, Circulated Coins only (79% complete) and also the 7th-ranked (but 98% complete) US Type Set, 1792-1964 which includes coins of all grades.

Type collecting is an extremely popular way to collect coins, and the NGC Registry features many type sets for US coinage as a whole — with and without gold — as well as by denomination and Mint. There are over 15,000 competing sets. The Registry also has alternative versions of the sets in which the maximum grade is AU 58+ and versions that allow any grade.

“Type sets are the best”

“To me, type sets are the best, most enjoyable way to collect the whole of United States coinage,” JTO wrote. He was introduced to coin collecting at age 8 with the gift of a birthyear proof set and by age 12 had completed a 20th century type set.

JTO’s circulated type set has an interesting twist revealed in its title — “John’s Circulated Key Dates.” The set contains as many key dates in circulated grades as possible. The set includes an AU 55 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent, an AU 58 1918/7-S Standing Liberty quarter, a 1916-D Mercury dime, a 1921 Peace dollar and an 1893-S Morgan dollar among many others.

“Buy the key dates first”

Throughout his more than 50 years of collecting, JTO has followed the dictum of “buy the key dates first” instead of focusing on better condition but common-date coins in AU 58 or mint state. JTO now of course has many key date coins in Mint state, and this set is comprised of many coins acquired earlier in his collecting.

While many of these coins are duplicates at this point, many hold sentimental value for JTO. For instance, though he has a 1955 doubled die Lincoln cent in MS 62 RB, he will never sell the AU 55 coin that’s been in his collection for more than 30 years.

“The 1955 doubled die is the most notable for me because the slot in my Whitman Lincoln cent album for the coin was empty for decades. I had never even seen one for the first 20 years of my collecting,” JTO said. “This AU 55 1955 doubled die is the first 1955 doubled die coin that I actually handled, so it is special to me.”

Given the choice of a circulated coin versus Mint state sample, JTO would often prefer the circulated coin anyway, particularly in early US coinage.

“Who might have handled it?”

“I prefer a coin that looks like it was put to use,” JTO said. “It evokes the question of who might have handled it; Washington or maybe Jefferson?”

The perfect example in JTO’s set of a circulated coin perhaps being more desirable than the blast white uncirculated sample is his stunning 1799 dollar in AU 50. The coin shows honest wear but retains a lot of detail and a warm, lustrous glow.

JTO’s two type sets are full of different examples. His circulated type set contains a reasonably obtainable 1875-S 20 cent piece in AU 50, while his other type set contains a more rarified 1877 PF graded 64 CA.

Left: 1875-S 20C, NGC AU 50; Right: 1877 20C Proof, NGC 64 Cameo Which one do you prefer?

While a type collector, JTO also has complete Mint state sets of Indian head cents, two-cent pieces, Liberty head nickels and Peace dollars. In the impressive Peace dollar set, all of the coins are at least MS 64. He also has a complete set of Standing Liberty quarters, the vast majority of which are MS FH with the lowest coin grading AU 58.

No matter how one chooses to collect, JTO encourages collectors to enjoy the hobby.

“What collecting has done for me is to give me a sense of peace and comfort in my down time. I spent 35 years as an academic trauma surgeon and seen and been responsible for the care of the worst of the worst,” JTO wrote. “Coming home to the aesthetics, artistry and political history of numismatics has been a psychological saving grace.”

Thank you, JTO for illuminating so many of the rewarding ways to collect coins.

The NGC Registry is a free online platform where collectors register and display their certified coins and can compete against other collectors around the world for recognition and prizes. The NGC Registry continues to be the world’s most comprehensive online coin collecting platform thanks to you, our valued collectors. This popular resource now boasts over 29,000 users, 273,000+ registered sets and over 1.5 million registered coins. In January of 2022, we awarded more than $30,000 in prizes — the highest prize value awarded yet! Get ready for the 2022 awards! To learn more about the prizes, click here.

Would you like your set to be featured in a future article? 100% completion in a set is not always feasible. Perhaps, we will choose someone whose set has a personal story behind it or some interesting historical facts. We are looking for those sets where someone has taken the time to make the set unique and a reflection of his/her personal collecting style. It may be your set! Stay tuned.

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