Life in the Classic Commems market!
Zoins
Posts: 34,113 ✭✭✭✭✭
CAC published the following article yesterday.
Price Records Emerge for Finest CAC Commemorative Half Dollars
The following is an excerpt. The lead coin in the article sold last August, but there are many more coins mentioned so click through and read on.
While prices for many classic commemorative half dollars are at historic lows, some high-end commems are trading at record high prices. A great example is the sale of a 1936 York County, Maine Tercentenary half dollar that sold at last August’s Stack’s Bowers Galleries American Numismatic Association convention auction. With a mintage of 81,826, this coin issue certainly isn’t rare. In comparison, several other commemorative half dollars issued in 1936 had mintages of 20,000 to 25,000. Yet, the York that sold last August brought a record $102,000 USD.
Grade, eye appeal and the “registry collecting effect” pushed the price of this coin into new territory for a common issue commem. Graded MS 69 by PCGS, the coin also received a CAC sticker of approval, making this coin the only silver commemorative stickered by CAC in MS 69. As expected, coins at the highest grade levels possess extraordinary eye appeal, and with its rich multi-color toning, this “technically perfect” York half dollar is no exception.
This six-figure price is one more demonstration of strength in a particular segment of the early commemorative market
...
This coin is currently in the #1 ranked J&L Registry Set.
Comments
I think I own exactly one “finest known” coin. It’s an esoteric variety in a less-popular series. I doubt I’ll ever have any more. The market up there in the stratosphere is strange, but there always seems to be a market for über-high graded pretty commems.
nice commem to. I like the toning on that one
Coins with that eye appeal are so few and far between that they simply represent less than 1% of the number of coins in the commem market. What I cannot estimate with confidence is what fraction of the price of that coin is represented by the toning (vs. the grade, which could have received a bump because of the eye-appealing toning too).
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
The underbidder, if he is real, should be thankful there was someone willing to bid higher.
When one person will bid any price for the one and only "finest" then these price distortions appear, similar to the Hansen saga.
Commems and Early Type
That is an extremely nice example of a design that's never done much for me. Makes sense for the #1 Registry set, I suppose, but there are hundreds of coins I'd spend $102k on before that one.
Gorgeous example for sure. I’ve spent quite a while closely examining the TruView ..... it is indeed very difficult to find an imperfection ... most that I’ve found appear to be ‘as made’ .... then add the color on top ..... and the only 69 CAC commem of any series out there at the moment ... 100k doesn’t sound THAT crazy under all of those circumstances .... and with the mega-ultra-quality coins like this, they’re completely untethered from the ‘market’ .... it also makes me wonder if the set’s other 69’s were tried at CAC, I’m assuming yes ....
Not my cup of tea but that is a beautiful example.
The big fish will pay up in order to be #1....That will not likely change, as new records emerge.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/