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Short sets (“miniature” date-and-mintmark coin collections for a given series) are highly popular for coin collectors on a shoestring budget.
A short set of coins is less expensive because it contains fewer coins than a typical complete date-and-mintmark run of coins for a series. Short sets usually avoid the expensive key date coins, as well.
These budget coin collecting sets are a smart way to start collecting coins — because they provide you with a springboard to finish the rest of that series should your finances later permit.
What follows below are the typical guidelines for collecting 4 of the most popular coin short sets. These can be completed for well under $150! (Plus a fun bonus short set idea for newbies at the very end.)
Indian Head Pennies From 1900 To 1909
Indian Head pennies are among the most popular 19th-century United States coin series for collectors.
What makes this short set so unique is that it’s one of the few series that span so far back in time (to 1859), yet it’s also reasonably affordable for many numismatists.
Key dates such as the 1877 cent, 1908-S cent, and 1909-S Indian Head cent pose tremendous financial obstacles for most coin collectors — and these are avoided when assembling an Indian Head penny short set.
Securing a final-decade Indian Head penny short set from 1900 to 1909 is remarkably accessible, given that typical circulated dates trade for an easy $3 to $9 each. Putting together the core 10-coin Philadelphia run will only set you back roughly $30 to $60 total. That’s a mere drop in the bucket compared to the staggering $2,000 to $9,000+ investment required to hunt down every single rare key date in the complete 19th and 20th-century series!
A short set of Indian Head cents includes these 10 coins:
- 1900 penny
- 1901 penny
- 1902 penny
- 1903 penny
- 1904 penny
- 1905 penny
- 1906 penny
- 1907 penny
- 1908 penny
- 1909 penny
You may notice the exclusion of the mintmarked 1908 and 1909 Indian Head pennies. Given that those are the only two years in the series during which branch Mints struck Indian Head cents, it’s generally accepted to exclude those expensive mintmarked coins from a short set.
Buffalo Nickels From 1934 To 1938
Buffalo nickels represent something of a romantic era in United States coinage — when designs depicted our nation’s Native Americans.
Several Buffalo nickels (like the $10 Indian Head eagle and the aforementioned Indian Head penny) evoke scenes from 19th-century Native American culture.
The Buffalo nickel goes one step further by depicting an American bison – an animal commonly seen across the Midwest and Great Plains states when that part of the United States was still mainly populated by Native Americans.
Buffalo nickels were made from 1913 to 1938. However, they were actively produced in only 23 of those years — because the U.S. Mint skipped making them in 1922, 1932, and 1933 due to low demand during economic downturns.
Putting together a late-date Buffalo nickel short set from 1934 to 1938 is highly affordable, as everyday circulated pieces trade for roughly $2 to $5 each. For an investment of only $25 to $60, you can complete the entire 12-coin run — bypassing the brutal $1,200 to $3,000+ price tag needed to hunt down every single key-date and mintmark from the earlier years of this iconic western series!
A short set of Buffalo nickels includes these 13 coins:
- 1934 nickel
- 1934-D nickel
- 1935 nickel
- 1935-D nickel
- 1935-S nickel
- 1936 nickel
- 1936-D nickel
- 1936-S nickel
- 1937 nickel
- 1937-D nickel
- 1937-S nickel
- 1938-D nickel
- 1938-S nickel
Buffalo nickels include a few key dates (the 1913-S Type II, 1921-S, and 1926-S nickels), but this short set circumvents having to buy those rare coins. Also note that the 1937 3-legged nickel is left out of the short set. The good news is that since it’s not regarded as a regular-issue coin, it can be safely avoided — even if you’re collecting a complete date-and-mintmark set of Buffalo nickels!
Wartime Jefferson Nickels From 1942 To 1945
While it’s not a series that’s known for having many expensive key dates, Jefferson nickels have been in existence since 1938 and include hundreds of issues.
For that reason, many coin collectors choose to pursue a short set of Jefferson nickels — concentrating on owning just a few issues of this large (and still growing) coin series.
By far, one of the most popular short sets of nickels is that which consists of the 11 so-called Wartime nickels. These 5-cent Jefferson nickels were struck from 1942 to 1945 to conserve nickel for the war effort. They were made from an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese.
The Jefferson war nickels can be visually distinguished by the large “P,” “D,” and “S” mintmarks over the dome of Monticello on the reverse (tails side).
Average circulated Wartime Jefferson nickels usually sell for $4.50 to $6 apiece — which means building a short set of these war nickels will cost roughly $50 to $70 total. Compare that to the hundreds of dollars required to secure every standard date and mintmark in the early Jefferson series, and you can see how this makes a smart set!
A short set of Jefferson wartime nickels includes these 11 coins:
- 1942-P nickel
- 1942-S nickel
- 1943-P nickel
- 1943-D nickel
- 1943-S nickel
- 1944-P nickel
- 1944-D nickel
- 1944-S nickel
- 1945-P nickel
- 1945-D nickel
- 1945-S nickel
Note that Jefferson war nickel short sets exclude varieties such as the 1943/2 nickel.
Mercury Dimes From 1941 To 1945
Mercury dimes were made during the years 1916 to 1945, spanning two world wars and the Great Depression. During the 29-year run of the Mercury dime series, several key dates were issued — including the famous 1916-D Mercury dime.
Many coin collectors want to assemble a date-and-mintmark collection of the Mercury dime series, but get financially snagged when they have to fill a few expensive holes in their Mercury albums.
That’s why many coin collectors will restrict their Mercury dime collections to only the issues that were made during World War II – 1941 through 1945.
Compiling a 1941 to 1945 short set of Mercury dimes will cost between $75 to $150 total — as individual circulated pieces run a modest $5 to $10 each. This is a fantastic alternative to the wallet-draining $1,500 to $2,000 price tag required to hunt down every single date and mintmark in the entire 77-coin run!
A short set of Mercury dimes includes these 15 coins:
- 1941 dime
- 1941-D dime
- 1941-S dime
- 1942 dime
- 1942-D dime
- 1942-S dime
- 1943 dime
- 1943-D dime
- 1943-S dime
- 1944 dime
- 1944-D dime
- 1944-S dime
- 1945 dime
- 1945-D dime
- 1945-S dime
The Mercury dime short set listed above does not include varieties such as the 1942/1 Mercury dime and the 1945 micro S Mercury dime.
BONUS IDEA: Walking Liberty Half Dollars From 1941 To 1947
Last but definitely not least… This short set will cost more than $150 to complete, but lots of collectors are finding ways to work it into their coin collection goals over time. It’s the Walking Liberty half dollar short set.
Known as one of the most beautiful silver coins ever produced, the Walking Liberty half dollar was struck from 1916 through 1947 and is one of the most popular larger denomination coins among collectors.
As with many other coin series produced during the first half of the 20th century, Walking Liberty half dollars include several expensive key dates that are financially out of the reach of many coin collectors.
Many Walking Liberty half dollar enthusiasts get around the expensive coins by assembling short sets of Walking Liberty halves that only include the coins struck from 1941 through 1947. This collection of World War II-era Walking Liberty half dollars is ideal for coin collectors on tight budgets, as these coins can generally be bought for as little as their bullion value.
Each Walking Liberty half dollar from the 1940s costs around $25 to $30 apiece in circulated grades. So a 1941 to 1947 short set would cost around $500 to $750 total to complete. That’s a lot, but it’s far less than the $15,000 to $35,000 it would cost to buy each and every date and mintmark in the entire series!
A short set of Walking Liberty half dollars includes these 20 coins:
- 1941 half dollar
- 1941-D half dollar
- 1941-S half dollar
- 1942 half dollar
- 1942-D half dollar
- 1942-S half dollar
- 1943 half dollar
- 1943-D half dollar
- 1943-S half dollar
- 1944 half dollar
- 1944-D half dollar
- 1944-S half dollar
- 1945 half dollar
- 1945-D half dollar
- 1945-S half dollar
- 1946 half dollar
- 1946-D half dollar
- 1946-S half dollar
- 1947 half dollar
- 1947-D half dollar
This short set makes a beautiful desktop display! If you assemble a Walking Liberty half dollar short set, you might want to invest in a deluxe acrylic holder like the ones made by Capital Plastics.
READ NEXT: 10 More Short Set Ideas For Collectors On A Budget
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