@Zoins said:
There have been a number posts, including mine, discussing what popular means.
From Mike Garofalo's article, "popular once again" may mean reattaining it's level of being the most in-demand coins:
The health of the commemorative coin market was stronger than any time in its prior history. They were THE most wanted coins on every dealer’s and collector’s want lists and selling them was incredibly easy. Life was GOOD!
Collectors seem to comingle "popular" with preferred without always being fully aware of it. That's what I read in the above quote. My definition of preferred is collectors choosing a coin or series over others given sufficient budget at roughly equivalent price points. This isn't absolute but seems to apply generally.
To my knowledge, classic commemoratives never had the preference implied by 1989 bubble prices with hobbyist collectors. as to my knowledge the quote you included predominantly applied to financially motivated buyers. It was a mini-bubble and nothing else.
Looked at impartially and going by relative prices and availability, I'd rank the series in the bottom quartile among US classics, both now and since inception. Some within the series have a higher preference (like the Hawaii and Pan Pac) but most do not.
In other words, it's predominantly "popular" with a relatively large collector base because those who like it can afford it and it's easy to buy. Concurrently, my inference is that it's losing "share of wallet" to silver (world) NCLT where the design variety and appeal are more competitive at equivalent or lower price points.
Please keep an eye out on the ANA website. In about a month, there will be a section on the ANA website devoted to the entire classic commemorative silver coin series. You will be able to blow up the images of each coin to view the minutest details. Historical information will be included for each coin along with links for more information. The ANA Education Department has been working on this for several months. You won't be disappointed.
Comments
Collectors seem to comingle "popular" with preferred without always being fully aware of it. That's what I read in the above quote. My definition of preferred is collectors choosing a coin or series over others given sufficient budget at roughly equivalent price points. This isn't absolute but seems to apply generally.
To my knowledge, classic commemoratives never had the preference implied by 1989 bubble prices with hobbyist collectors. as to my knowledge the quote you included predominantly applied to financially motivated buyers. It was a mini-bubble and nothing else.
Looked at impartially and going by relative prices and availability, I'd rank the series in the bottom quartile among US classics, both now and since inception. Some within the series have a higher preference (like the Hawaii and Pan Pac) but most do not.
In other words, it's predominantly "popular" with a relatively large collector base because those who like it can afford it and it's easy to buy. Concurrently, my inference is that it's losing "share of wallet" to silver (world) NCLT where the design variety and appeal are more competitive at equivalent or lower price points.
Brent Pogue and Bill Fivaz liked them.
Here are two of mine from their collections.
Will PCGS ever feature my classic commems and others from Pogue and Fivaz?
1920 Pilgrim Half Dollar - PCGS FR02 CAC - Ex-Brent Pogue
1924 Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary - PCGS PO01 POP 0/4/4,581 - Ex-Bill-Fivaz
I remain a little skeptical but think slabbed Classic Commems MS64-66 under $300 can’t go wrong.
The new frontier is graded world currency. Super article about this in current PCGS market report.
Players are shifting away from areas they can’t afford or feel fully priced.
Please keep an eye out on the ANA website. In about a month, there will be a section on the ANA website devoted to the entire classic commemorative silver coin series. You will be able to blow up the images of each coin to view the minutest details. Historical information will be included for each coin along with links for more information. The ANA Education Department has been working on this for several months. You won't be disappointed.