Lowell NP Quarter - 2019-W vs. 2019-S

Overdate

Individual 2019-W Lowell quarters (mintage 2,000,000) are bringing $45 and up on eBay.
Meanwhile, bags of 100 2019-S Lowell quarters (likely mintage 1,000,000 or less) are available from the Mint for $34.95.

How crazy is that?

And, will the hype surrounding the "W" quarters spark interest in the lower-mintage "S" quarters?

BackroadJunkie

Do you go fishing, or do you buy your fish frozen from a freezer case at your supermarket?

One is about the hunt. The other is convenience.

Do you not recognize the difference? (The Mac-Brassbucks was a perfect example of going for the hunt. And I think if you go to eBay, they're still bringing a premium, but a Big Mac is still $5...)

spotthedog

Where did you see or hear there would be a million or fewer "s" quarters?

Overdate

@spotthedog said:
Where did you see or hear there would be a million or fewer "s" quarters?

Check the mintages for the "S" circulation-strike quarters for the past few years. Beginning in 2012, the mint has sold them only in rolls and bags, and they are not available in the annual mint sets. These days, the "S" circulation-strike mintage for each design is typically less than 1 million, and a few have mintages below 900,000.

illini420

Since the S mint business strike quarters are sold directly by the mint to collectors only, the entire mintage will likely be in mint state condition for the foreseeable future.

With these new W meant quarters going straight in the circulation, the surviving population in mint state a year from now, or a decade from now, or 50 years from now, may be well below that of the S mint quarters.

JBK

@illini420 said:
Since the S mint business strike quarters are sold directly by the mint to collectors only, the entire mintage will likely be in mint state condition for the foreseeable future.

With these new W meant quarters going straight in the circulation, the surviving population in mint state a year from now, or a decade from now, or 50 years from now, may be well below that of the S mint quarters.

Here is the answer.

But it is still a compelling question that will be asked many times over in the future.

ricko

I will find my own W quarter....I do not worry about value, my collection is not for sale. Cheers, RickO

Overdate

@illini420 said:
Since the S mint business strike quarters are sold directly by the mint to collectors only, the entire mintage will likely be in mint state condition for the foreseeable future.

With these new W meant quarters going straight in the circulation, the surviving population in mint state a year from now, or a decade from now, or 50 years from now, may be well below that of the S mint quarters.

The above may be true, but does it justify a price disparity of 128 to 1? This equates to a price of $1800 per roll for the 2019-W!

There are other significant differences too. Many (most?) of the 2019-S quarters will be saved by the original roll or $25 bag as received from the Mint. This will sharply reduce the number of singles available to collectors in the future. For the 2019-W quarters, there will be much lower demand for rolls or bags, since “original” rolls won’t even exist.

Also, while there is little public awareness of the “S” quarters, the publicity surrounding the release of the “W” quarters has set off a treasure hunt by collectors and non-collectors alike. Yesterday I overheard a bank customer requesting rolls of new quarters and asking the teller if she knew which other banks might have them. This scene is undoubtedly being repeated everywhere in the U.S. So it’s reasonable to project that half or more of the mintage might be captured before reaching general circulation. I’m old enough to remember this exact scenario happening with the 1950-D nickel and the 1960 small date cent.

Once the “W” frenzy dies down, I expect the prices of the 2019-W and the 2019-S quarters to be considerably closer to each other.

Tetromibi

Condition will be key. The raw coin premium will erode quickly. They're already down to ~$40-50 a coin with more being listed daily. There's a certain mania to it driving the prices on the W's.

Due to availability of coins to search, I think PCGS graded 67's and higher will be an extreme challenge and should command a hefty premium over the S's.

illini420

Don't forget that part of the crazy prices and the frenzy around the W mint quarters is caused by PCGS and NGC.

With the grading companies giving special labels to the very first coins, then to the coins submitted during the first week and then to the coins submitted in the first 45 days, that certainly inflates the market value of the coins that are found during those submission windows as some people (dealers) try to obtain quantity of the W quarters in time to submit for those special labels.

WAYNEAS

@ricko said:
I will find my own W quarter....I do not worry about value, my collection is not for sale. Cheers, RickO

you and me both