Collect Varieties or Not? That is the Question…

One of the biggest dilemmas for date-and-mintmark collectors is to decide whether or not to collect varieties – the coins that technically aren’t regular issues but nevertheless are widely collected by series enthusiasts. What exactly is a variety?

PCGS Lingo defines a variety as, “A coin of the same date and basic design as another but with slight differences. PCGS recognizes all major varieties while there are thousands of minor varieties, most of which have significance only to specialists of the particular series. After hubbed dies, introduced in the 1840s, varieties are mainly variations in date and mintmark size and placement.”

Some varieties are so entrenched in the culture of one series or another that they have become as important to the complete set as the acquisition of every date and mintmark.

Consider, for example, the 1922 No D Strong Reverse Lincoln Cent, which is a Denver-mint coin that for many years was thought by collectors to be a Philadelphia issue – until it was realized that Philly did not strike a single Lincoln Cent bearing the 1922 date. But, by then the 1922 No D had become so widely sought by collectors that it became a staple among Lincoln Cent collectors. The same can be said for the 1955 Doubled Die and 1972 Doubled Die Lincoln Cents, both of which ranked portals in coin albums even before PCGS came on the scene in 1986. Many would suggest that the 1937-D Three Legged Buffalo Nickel as well as 1942/1 and 1942/1-D Mercury Dimes are varieties that are equally essential to collectors of those series.

What to do? After all, you don’t really need any error varieties to truly complete a date-and-mintmark set of regular issues. But in some cases these varieties are just too prominent to ignore – especially in the eyes of collectors who consider themselves true enthusiasts of their favorite series.

Collectors on a budget may decide to forego the varieties, which usually add a considerable expense to completing a set, particularly for series that are already financially challenging even when counting only the basic regular issues. Then again, the varieties do add a degree of depth to the collection that a basic date-and-mintmark set may not capture. Further, the addition of a major variety or two can help elevate the collector’s game, setting their collections a notch above most others of the same series – after all, some collectors do have a competitive streak within them!

And that’s where the PCGS Set Registry enters the picture. The PCGS Set Registry provides a multitude of collecting avenues for the entire gamut of U.S. coin series, including regular-issue coins, varieties, proofs, and so much more. No matter what tack you feel is right for you, your collecting budget, and numismatic goals, the PCGS Set Registry has just the right collecting venture for you.