Price difference between high relief coins and regular coins

Y2K

Let's say I am interested in a $100 coin (lets just say its a koala 2014 silver coin). From experience that you had, how much would it be if it was high relief?

jmlanzaf

Depends on the Mint's cost structure.

1 oz silver in high relief, I'm going to say $100 to $150 depending on the mintage.

Jimnight

I'm with it all depends.

scooter25

What does “high relief” mean exactly?

ricko

@Y2K.... Welcome aboard. When you say 'high relief', do you mean intentional minting process (i.e gold 2009 St. Gaudens) or coins that have exceptional relief due perhaps to first few off the dies? Cheers, RickO

Catbert

Y2K

@ricko I mean "intentional mint process"

Y2K

@jmlanzaf Thank you. I was looking into a coin that cost double the price that the average one would cost. Wanted to know if it was worth it.

ricko

@Y2K.... In that case, be prepared to pay a high premium - there is no standard, but depending on condition (appearance, grade etc.), it will be significant. Just look at the records for High Relief Saints.... Cheers, RickO

jmlanzaf

@Y2K said:
@jmlanzaf Thank you. I was looking into a coin that cost double the price that the average one would cost. Wanted to know if it was worth it.

I'm not sure what you are calling a "high relief". A high relief coin would be a completely different product. If the Mint made 300,000 regular ones and sold them for $100 each but made only 10 high relief, the high relief could be worth $10,000

"High relief" is generally not a property of a certain coin but a completely separate coin.

If the U.S. Mint struck 10 high relief $20 gold pieces in 1924, those could well be $100k coins. There is no formula for "high relief" vs. "regular relief". You need to know the relative mintage and the relative demand for each.

Y2K

@jmlanzaf What I am getting at is that the price would vary depending on the rarity. Is that kind of what you were saying? Here's a coin from apmex to get you an idea. Hope this helps. apmex.com/product/193965/2-oz-silver-high-relief-round-molon-labe-type-4

Y2K

@jmlanzaf The coin I was looking for was just about 80 bucks, so I can guess the coin is really that rare. If you want, I can give you a link to it.

Y2K

I was wanting a 2018 Australian year of the dog coin which was high relief, It cost about 80 US dollars as I stated earlier. I saw a coin that I was pretty sure it wasn't high relief and was around 40 dollars. So if I were to get the regular coin, it would be half the price apmex is asking for. If you were a collector who simply wanted a cool coin for a good price, what would you do? Buy the high relief coin, regular coin, or just hold back all together? In other words, is it necessarily worth the extra 40 dollars.

Here's a link to the coin I am wanting from apmex so you may could get an idea of what I want. https://www.apmex.com/product/157288/2018-australia-1-oz-silver-lunar-dog-proof-hr-box-coa?fbclid=IwAR3uZEZiwZhms-YVmnLTKoOxx3ILdY5RGW_qTWZKD2M3nv8SaUPmZDLYPuk

Y2K

Whoops, I mean its called 2018 Australia 1 oz Silver Lunar Dog Proof (HR, Box & COA)

jmlanzaf

@Y2K said:
I was wanting a 2018 Australian year of the dog coin which was high relief, I cost about 80 US dollars as I stated earlier. I saw a coin that I was pretty sure it wasn't high relief and was around 40 dollars. So if I were to get the regular coin, it would be half the price apmex is asking for. If you were a collector who simply wanted a cool coin for a good price, what would you do? Buy the high relief coin, regular coin, or just hold back all together? In other words, is it necessarily worth the extra 40 dollars.

Here's a link to the coin I am wanting from apmex so you may could get an idea of what I want. https://www.apmex.com/product/157288/2018-australia-1-oz-silver-lunar-dog-proof-hr-box-coa?fbclid=IwAR3uZEZiwZhms-YVmnLTKoOxx3ILdY5RGW_qTWZKD2M3nv8SaUPmZDLYPuk

You are comparing apples and oranges. If you want the high relief, $80 for a coin with a mintage of 7500 is pretty normal. If you don't care about the high relief, go for $40. They will likely look very different in hand, so you need to know what you want.

You can buy a regular St. Gauden's $20 gold in MS63 for little more than melt ($1900 ish). If you want a high relief St. Gauden's in MS63, it'll cost you $10,000+ But if you want a high relief St. Gauden's $20, you don't buy the low relief because it is cheaper.

Y2K

@jmlanzaf Ok thanks.

IkesT

@scooter25 said:
What does “high relief” mean exactly?

The relief on a coin is analogous to topographic relief. Topographic relief is the difference in elevation between the high and low points on a land area. On a coin, the relief is the difference in elevation between the high and low points on the design.

If you make a high relief version of a coin, that means the high points of the design are higher than on the normal relief coin. The only way to accomplish that is by making different dies where the design is carved deeper into the die (in other words, the design details on the high relief die are more concave than on the normal relief die).

scooter25

@IkesT said:

@scooter25 said:
What does “high relief” mean exactly?

The relief on a coin is analogous to topographic relief. Topographic relief is the difference in elevation between the high and low points on a land area. On a coin, the relief is the difference in elevation between the high and low points on the design.

If you make a high relief version of a coin, that means the high points of the design are higher than on the normal relief coin. The only way to accomplish that is by making different dies where the design is carved deeper into the die (in other words, the design details on the high relief die are more concave than on the normal relief die).

Awesome. Thanks for the knowledge drop

Namvet69

I agree with the above, with the caveat that it is hopefully as perfect as possible with no contact marks, rim hits, etc. It is my understanding that a high relief coin is also handled with more care to get it from the press to packaging. Peace Roy

oih82w8

I would say that it is up to "supply and demand". There are some beautiful "high relief" coins out there that requires some deep pockets to acquire. I am sure there some on the opposite side of the spectrum. If you want it bad enough...you will find a way to obtain it.