PCGS Registry Sets That Are Cheap, Fun, & Convenient

BJ Searls always knocks our socks off with the greatest PCGS Registry Sets® of all time. But if you’re like me, creating that sort of coin collection is a dream that relies heavily on a quick-pick coming good.

And unfortunately for me, the lottery has not yet become a reliable source of income.

If you understand, let me share with you the many other virtues of using the PCGS Set Registry to your advantage, and more importantly – for fun.

First of all, there are plenty of accessible Registry Sets. You don’t have to collect the finest known. Nor do you have to collect everything known. Heck, you don’t have to collect much to rank in quite a few Set Registries. And, I’d venture that there’s a good chance you could compete in some as is – without doing hardly anything to your collection.

If you don’t want to compete, do it only for convenience.

1. You don’t have to ascribe your name to it.
   
   
2. You don’t have to make it public.

These are two big misconceptions we keep pounding on about. For some collectors, PCGS Set Registry is more about convenience than braggadocio.

First, a PCGS Set Registry Digital Album is just a beautiful way to keep all your coins together digitally. The PCGS Set Registry App (Apple/Android) is just handy. And, when you’re at shows thinking about upgrading one of your coins, you have them all neat and tidy on your mobile device for easy viewing.

Second: Of course every collector wants to have the Ultimate Cabinet – a museum for the world to enjoy, from which to display art and history. But if you’re not into museum quality, you’re not alone. And your collection surely has your own hallmarks and quirks that others will find interesting.

But if you still don’t want to share, you don’t have to. You can keep it all to yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that! A lot of coin collectors happen to be rather private people (like me.) So you can keep this convenience for yourself, or share it with the World to see. It’s often more practical to show your local coin club buddies a gaggle of TrueViews (after explaining the coins are locked away in a bank vault) than carry around a blue box.)

So what can you do with a limited budget, of say, $1000 (and maybe some time to accumulate that budget?)

It may surprise you to learn that you could have a #1 Registry Set for $200. Less even, if you already happen to have the right coins. It takes some research and digging through the PCGS Set Registry. But, if that’s the moment of glory you’re after, it is eminently possible.

BJ told us in our last eZine (and will tell us shortly in the RCMR) about Low Ball Sets. And those are great, fun sets to collect. For those of us who love history, "worn slick" coins are a unique challenge where the coin literally speaks to us through our palms (or fingertips.)

Let’s look at Everyman Sets. These coins must be circulated. As you know, there is a price plummet from finest-known to next-finest-known. There is a further precipitous drop in price between Mint State and Almost Mint State (Uncirculated.) Finding a truly choice PCGS AU58+ is a great challenge, great fun, and can yield eye appeal that will match any great collection. Satisfying, marketable, yet cavernous chasms less expensive.

But to compete, you don’t even have to have PCGS AU58s! The current top Everyman Complete U.S. Type Set is The Cumberland Valley Collection, and it is 98% complete. But the next ten are somewhere between 35% and 70% complete (interestingly, not in descending order.) That means out of 119 pieces required to complete the set, there’s a top-ten set right now with under 45 coins in it. More than one, actually. You might already have 45 circulated coins in your type collection. Why not check it out?

Let me show you some stats. There are over 90,000 registered sets on the PCGS Set Registry. Almost 80,000 of those are for U.S. coins. There are over 1000 Low Ball sets. There are fewer than 700 Everyman Sets at time of writing. There are over 600 Morgan Dollar Date sets. 46 Everyman Complete U.S. Type Sets. And 26 Low Ball Walking Liberty Half Sets.

When you play around on the PCGS Set Registry page, you might find some of your own gems that will lead you down a fun and fascinating coin collecting path.

Another option: World Coins propose a whole new area of fun. And, as you’ll see, collectors of World Coins might have an even easier time of it.

Check this out: Right now, there is one registered set of South Korean coins. ONE set. It’s 75% complete, and there are 12 required items. I’ll leave that math to you. These are modern coins, too – 1970-1982 – so not bank-breakers.

That’s not the only example of low hanging fruit in the world Registry Set area. Bermuda has two registered sets. Imagine the fun of collecting your Bermuda shorts off! Better yet, don’t imagine – get to it.

What’s really fun about these world sets is that the PCGS populations are quite low. You may not only be competing for PCGS Set Registry honors, you might have coins near the top of their populations! If you don’t, a discerning eye can help you pick raw coins at shows to submit with great success.

On the other side of the... coin... (yes, well, there you are) there are well over 2000 Canadian PCGS Registry Sets. Inside that, there are competitive areas and not-so-competitive areas. So if you want to compete, you can. Or, you can just put your Canadian coins in your Registry, so next time you’re cherry picking Maple Leaf silver at a show, you’ll quickly know what quality you’re after in every slot.

Last, here’s a completely different tact: What if you want to create a set that isn’t listed? You just ask. Don’t take me the wrong way – that’s all you can do. But if enough people get together, you might just get your very own set.

So, when you’re ready to get more joy and excitement from your coin collecting, there are plenty of opportunities for you in the PCGS Set Registry. It’s always more fun and convenient, lotto wins or not.