How To Build A 20th Century Coin Set Filled With 1900s Coins

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When I began collecting coins, one of the first goals I set for myself was to construct a 20th century coin set. So, I set out building a 20th century coin set filled with coins from the 1900s.

What is that?

Quite simply, a 20th century type coin set is a collection of coins which includes one of each design from each denomination the United States produced between 1900 and 1999.

Among the many alluring elements of building a 20th century coin set is that the collection includes a diverse array of beautiful and historic designs, including some of the most popular coins the United States ever produced.

Building a 20th century type set is a goal whose amount of investment — in time and money — can vary.

My Experience Building 20th Century Type Sets

I have built a few 20th century type coin sets over my time as a collector.

Each successive 20th century set involved incrementally more time and money — as my standards of quality in coinage changed over the years. As each set got more and more costly and time-consuming to build, I pursued coins in increasingly higher levels of preservation. Thus, as my involvement in the hobby grew, I shifted my focus from quantity to quality.

One element in completing a 20th century type coin set which becomes a bit of a challenge for some collectors is being able to obtain some of the older coins required for completing the set. As you can imagine, most of the coins needed to finish the set are obsolete — they’re no longer in circulation.

Here’s a list of U.S. coins currently in circulation by denomination.

Where To Find Coins For Your Set

What do you do if the coins you need can’t be found in pocket change?

Some people receive older (and rarer) coins through estate sales, personal inheritance, or they just happen upon them in treasure finds.

But one of the most common and efficient ways to acquire obsolete coins (as well as modern coins) is by purchasing them from a coin dealer.

Coin dealers can be found in most towns and cities. There are many who are also selling old coins online and through advertisements in coin publications.

A number of major coin dealers offer vast lists of coin-collecting supplies and coins.

Any coins needed to complete your 20th century type coin set can be found on just about any coin dealer’s website.

The Coins You’ll Need

The list of coins required to complete a 20th century type coin set will vary from person to person — depending on the extent to which you want to include varieties.

For example:

• Some collectors like to include one example of every single design as well as minor varieties.
• Other collectors stick to major design variations only.

The following list of coins required to complete a 20th century type set includes only the major design variations and does not include gold coins. (Relatively few collectors can afford to include gold coins in their 20th century type coin sets.)

Here are 5 cheap gold coins for collectors on a budget.

NOTE: “Reverse,” a term you will see below, simply refers to the back (or “tails” side) of the coin. The year ranges refer to the years during which the respective designs were produced.

Don’t let the age of some of these coins fool you!

While some of them are indeed very old (with some designs dating back into the 1800s) and there are some silver coins included, all of these coins can be had inexpensively.

In fact, not one of these coins will cost you more than $25 apiece in moderately to heavily worn condition.

Furthermore, the vast majority of these coins cost between $1 and $10 in circulated condition.

Ready To Start Building Your 20th Century Type Coin Set?

When I built my first 20th century type coin set, the coins were not in “the best” — yet it was still a joy to find the coins and add them one-by-one to my collection!

Here’s what I mean:

• I wound up purchasing nearly all the coins for the set in worn condition — virtually all but the most recent designs were well worn.

• Also, I had to purchase coins with common dates (those years during which millions of a single design were produced).

• My collection contained no scarce or rare dates.

Still, I ended up with a beautiful set that I displayed on my wall in a framed coin holder!

In fact, for those wanting to organize or display a 20th century type coin set, there are several coin albums and folders designed for that very purpose:

• Whitman 3-Panel 20th Century Coin Folder (holds 37 coins)

• Harris 3-Panel 20th Century Coin Folder (holds 30 coins)

• Littleton 20th Century Type Set 3-Ring Binder (holds 29 coins)

For More Information…

If you would like more information about any of the coins listed above, one of the best general coin books to check out is A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman and Kenneth Bressett. It is popularly called “The Red Book” and has been a favorite among coin collectors for over 80 years! The book is published annually by Whitman Publications.

The U.S. Mint’s website, also has much information about all of the coins the United States has produced over the course of its history.

And, if you want an appraisal of the coins in your 20th century type set, drop me a line here in the comments or stop by your local coin dealer.