Type Set Collecting

There are many ways to collect coins. Two common methods are series sets and type sets. A series set is where a collector aims to have an exemplar for every date and mint mark of a specific series, and a type set is where a collector aims to have an exemplar for major design variation for a series or a period. A series set is generally more difficult to assemble, as it requires coins for every date and mint mark in the series, including rarer key dates, whereas such rare coins can be included but are not required to be in a type set.

I began, as many coin collectors do, with a Lincoln Cent series set, seeking an exemplar for every date, mint mark, and finish. Initially, I viewed type sets as inappropriate for a “serious collector”, since they were “easier” to collect simply by avoiding rarer dates. However, in taking a course with the American Numismatic Association, I was required to put together an exhibit, which I completed using my nascent Lincoln Cent collection. The exhibit was not a presentation of rare coins, but of coins that represented significant events in the history of the Lincoln Cent. The exhibit included exemplars from 1909, with and without the designer’s initials, as well as an exemplar from 1918 – the year the designer’s initials were added to the obverse. The exhibit included an exemplar from 1943 representing the wartime steel cents, as well as one from 1982, the year the Lincoln Cent’s composition transitioned from bronze to copper-plated zinc. The exhibit included exemplars of the different designs of the Lincoln Cent – the Wheat Reverse, the Memorial Reverse, the Bicentennial Reverses, and the Union Shield. The exhibit also included exemplars of each mint mark, including the 2017-P and 2019-W Lincoln Cents. In hindsight, I realize that the exhibit was effectively a variation of a type set for the Lincoln Cent.

I have come to believe that a twentieth-century type set provides an opportunity to learn and appreciate the coins produced during a specific period in history. A type set should include exemplars representative of that history. The exemplars should tell a story. They need not include rarer coins, but should include more than simply “common coins.” They can include coins issued in the first year of a design or another date with historical significance. For example, a twentieth-century type set could include the following coins.

Until 1906, only the Philadelphia Mint was authorized to mint minor coins (i.e., base-metal coins of low denomination used for daily transactions). The other mints were originally established to process mined gold and silver into coins. The Act of 1906 authorized the New Orleans, Denver, and San Francisco Mints to mint minor coins. The San Francisco Mint struck its copper coin in 1908, the 1908-S Indian Cent depicted here, and the Denver Mint struck its first copper coin in 1911, the 1911-D Lincoln Cent. Both the San Francisco Mint and the Denver Mint struck their first nickel coin in 1912, the 1912-S Liberty Nickel and the 1912-D Liberty Nickel, respectively. The New Orleans Mint ceased operations in 1909 and never produced any minor coins.

Coins of the United States Depression Era are fascinating. The demand for new coins plummeted during the Great Depression as economic activity declined, with mintages reaching their lowest point of the twentieth century between 1931 and 1933. In 1931, the United States Mint only produced the Lincoln Cent, the Buffalo Nickel, and the Mercury Dime.

The 1931-S Lincoln Cent is the second-lowest minted Lincoln Cent. Only the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent had a lower mintage. However, most of these coins were not released until 1934 or later, and collectors, realizing their low mintage, purchased and hoarded them. As a result, although their mintage is low, many of these coins have survived in uncirculated condition.

The Buffalo Nickel was minted only at the San Francisco Mint in 1931, and only 194,000 were originally struck. The director of the United States Mint, concerned over the collector hoarding, instructed the San Francisco Mint to increase production, raising the total minted in 1931 to 1,200,000. As with the 1931-S Lincoln Cent, this was the second-lowest mintage of the Buffalo Nickel, but collectors again recognized the coin’s scarcity, and many were saved in uncirculated condition. The Buffalo Nickel was not minted again until 1934.

The Mercury Dime was minted at all three mints in 1931 but was not minted again until 1934.

Even a Modern Era Type Set can contain coins with a story to tell. The Philadelphia Mint was established as the first national mint under the Coinage Act of 1792. As it was the only United States Mint for over forty years, coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint contained no mint mark. Although Congress established other mints in 1835, the Philadelphia Mint maintained this tradition until 1980, when the Philadelphia mint mark was added to the obverse of all circulating coins struck in Philadelphia except for the Lincoln Cent. With two exceptions, coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint before 1980 did not bear a mint mark. The 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar is one of those two exceptions. The 2017-P Lincoln Cent was the first and only cent in United States history struck at the Philadelphia Mint to bear its mint mark.

The Coinage Act of 1965 removed mint marks from United States coinage to reduce the number of coins “hoarded” by collectors – it was believed that coin collectors exacerbated the nation’s coin shortage. All coins produced between 1965 and 1967 do not bear a mint mark, and it is therefore indeterminate as to where they were minted. The Coinage Act of 1965 also stopped the annual production of proof sets. The United States Mint did, however, release a Special Mint Set consisting of polished coins – a hybrid between uncirculated and proof finishes. The sets were produced at the San Francisco Mint, which had been on hiatus since 1955 before resuming production in 1964. Thus, although this 1965 SMS Lincoln Cent does not bear a mint mark, it is one of the few examples of a Lincoln Cent known to have been produced at the San Francisco Mint without a mint mark.

Selecting which exemplars to add to a type set provides an opportunity to learn and appreciate the history of that coin. From this perspective, a twentieth-century United States type set is likely the best way for aspiring numismatists to learn the history of United States coinage. The more modest collector could start with coins from the Modern Era minted in 1965 or later.

References

Bowers, David. (April 27, 2022). Coin Week. Brief Notes on Indian Head Cents. https://coinweek.com/q-david-bowers-brief-notes-on-indian-head-cents.

Morgan, Charles; Walker, Hubert. (November 7, 2024). CoinWeek Notes. 1907 Indian Head Cent: A Collector’s Guide. https://coinweek.com/1907-indian-head-cent-a-collectors-guide.

Morgan, Charles; Walker, Hubert. (March 5, 2025). CoinWeek Notes. 1931-S Lincoln Cent: A Collector’s Guide. https://coinweek.com/1931-s-lincoln-cent-a-collectors-guide.

Morgan, Charles; Walker, Hubert. (March 25, 2025). CoinWeek Notes. 2017-P Lincoln Cent: A Collector’s Guide. https://coinweek.com/2017-p-lincoln-shield-cent-a-collectors-guide.

Morgan, Charles; Walker, Hubert. (April 15, 2025). CoinWeek Notes. 1965 Lincoln Cent : A Collector’s Guide. https://coinweek.com/1965-lincoln-cent-history-value.

Morgan, Charles; Walker, Hubert. (June 5, 2025). Coin Week. 1931-S Buffalo Nickel: A Collector’s Guide. https://coinweek.com/1931-s-buffalo-nickel-a-collectors-guide.

National Guarantee Company (NGC). (n.d.) NGC Coin Explorer. https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/united-states. [1912-D Liberty Head Nickel]

Professional Coin Grading System (PCGS). (n.d.) PCGS Coin Facts. https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts.

United States Mint. (n.d.). Mint Marks. https://www.usmint.gov/learn/collecting-basics/mint-marks.