Traver divides coin collectors into four types of individuals – accumulator, collector, collector/investor, and investor.  The accumulator coin collector is one who throughout life saves a coin here and there when he finds a coin of interest.  These coin collectors tend to be the type that find an unusual coin in pocket change and then saves the coin.

The second type of coin collector that Traver specifies is collector.  Collectors collect coins solely for the aesthetic beauty of the coins with no regard for their economic value.

I will skip the third type and move right to the fourth coin collector type – the investor.  The investor coin collector is one who is focused solely on investing in coins and then selling it for a profit in the future.  This type of coin collector does not care about coin history or the design of coins.  They see coins as an investment vehicle no different than buying shares of stock in a company.

I skipped the fourth type of coin collector becuase it is a hybrid between the collector and the investor.  These coin collectors collect coins because they love coins and with the hope of turning a profit through their coin investments.  Traver believes that very few coin collectors fall solely into the collector category or the investor category.  Instead, most coin collectors love coins for their history, artistry and value.

I certainly fall into this collector/investor category.  I collect US coins because I love the way they look.  I love the history behind each coin.  And, I hope to accumulate an investment asset with my coin collection.

But, in some ways I disagree with the linear nature of Travers coin spectrum.  I don’t actually think that coin collectors fall on one point on this spectrum.  At times I am an accumulator.  At times I am an investor.  Other times I collect coins solely for their beauty with no hope that they will go up in value.

Here is an example that I think we all can relate to.  I love to collect Jefferson nickels.  But, deep down, my Jefferson nickel collection is not about investing in coins.  I don’t really think that this collection will go up in value that much.  Instead, I am collecting these Jefferson nickels because I love Thomas Jefferson and I love the look of these US coins.

So what type of coin collector are you?  I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

As I have been working on putting together a list of key date coins, I thought that the 1950-D Jefferson Nickel fit this bill.  If you look at the mintage numbers for this coin, it only has slightly over 2.6 million coins.  This is the lowest mintage for any Jefferson Nickel.

However, when I read Scott Travers’ Top 88 Coins to Buy and Sell: 44 Winners and 44 Losers, I was surprised to see him state that this coin is over priced.  Scott’s analysis has taught me an important lesson.  You can’t just look at mintage numbers when investing in coins.  You have to look at the history of the coin.  According to Scott Travers, when this coin was being struck, coin collectors realized that the mintage numbers were low.  Therefore, they started to hoard this coin.  So, while the mintage numbers are low for the 1950-D Jefferson nickel, the number of saved coins is higher than other Jefferson nickels.

This is an important lesson for coin collectors.  Don’t just make your buying decision based off of  mintage numbers.  Research more about your coins.  This research will help you to make good buying decisions and build a more valuable coin collection.  Additionally, this research is the fun part of coin collecting.

So is the 1950-D Jefferson Nickel a key date for this US nickel type?  Yes, and no.  I will list it as a key date because of its low mintage number, but you have to make sure that you don’t over pay for it.

If you would like to read my other articles about my U.S. Nickel type set collection, here are the other articles in this series.

• US Nickel Type Set Collection

• U.S. Nickel Type Set

1913 Buffalo Nickel Obverse

I thought that this would be a fun way to kick off this blog, but it took me a while to decide which type of coin to start collecting first.  But, after reading a ton of information about the different coin types, I decided that my first type set would be a nickel type set collection.

Why did I decide on collecting a U.S. nickel type set collection?

I have been reading a ton of books about coin collecting.  In doing my research, I have been drawn to James Earle Fraser’s buffalo nickel coin.   I don’t think that I am alone in my love of the Fraser buffalo nickel design.  It is a favorite among coin collectors.

Another factor in my choice of collecting a U.S. nickel type set is price.  I would love to be able to afford a U.S. gold coin or U.S. silver dollar type set collection, but unfortunately my budget won’t allow it.  On the other hand, a nickel type set collection is much more affordable.

So, I hope that you will enjoy my journey of collecting a nickel type set.  For those nusimatists out there that would like to provide me with some advice as I begin my collection, please leave your advice in the comments below.  Additionally, you can contact me on my contact form above.