What is with the 1973 - S cent?
Bruce7789
Posts: 397 ✭✭✭✭
I have an unopened mint bag of 1973- San Francisco mint memorial cents and went into eBay to see what it was worth. Most 70's era unopened S wheat bags are selling for between $300 and $700, but the 73-S mint bags are listed at between $1000.00 and $2500.00.
Am I missing something? Are their DDO's or other errors that I can't find any reference too? Do I need to open the bag and search it for something? I can't figure out why they are asking such high prices for this mint bag. I know by comparison that this is a fairly low mintage, but it's still 317 Million coins. Are the sellers just hallucinating?
The Red book shows that MS 65 1973 S are worth .85 each when most 70's era cents are around .30. Why?
Can somebody enlighten me? Why is this particular year priced so high and has been for several years!
Bruce
Comments
Sounds like a selling opportunity to me.
That was a year noted for it's lack of errors both minor and major. As an error collector from that era who specialized in '73 Lincoln errors I can attest to the scarcity of material.
There's a decent DDO for 1973 Philly coins, but only a proof one for 1973-S. It could just be a supply and demand issue.
Well I actually have 2 unsearched mint bags, but one of them my grandson cut open with his new knife his dad had given him. Because of that, he got something that would now a days get me sent to jail for child abuse. I just put the whole bag in another mint bag, sealed it in plastic and it's been in the house with the other one ever since. Need some 73 S coins?
I bought them about 30 years ago from a friend who was retiring and closing his coin shop and they've been in the house ever since. Didn't know what I was going to do with them, just bought them to help him out, but the time has come to liquidate things so here I am.
Look for completed sales, not buy-it-now prices. If you want to sell list them at the price they are actually selling for and you might get a buyer.
How do you look for completed sales? Got to figure out how to list them, I don't have an eBay sellers account!...Will figure out something!
Thanks, everyone!
Greysheet bid is $4 per roll which does work out to $400 per bag.
1974-S unc roll bid is $7 which would be $700 per bag
5000 pennies divided by 50 per roll = 100 rolls x $4.00 = $400.00.
You've been hanging with my wife? Sounds like her kind of math!...ROFL. Don't sweat it, I do crap like that all the time! Remind me not to let you total my bills!.....
5000 pennies divided by 50 per roll = 100 rolls x $4.00 = $400.00.
That's Greysheet price and about what I expected. Can't figure out where these other guys are coming up with the atrocious prices. Oh well! Thanks again everybody that helped out.
Bruce
1974-S unc roll bid is $7 which would be $7000 per bag
Oops...never post while driving.
LOL
It's also a one year Type Coin. Look at the FG on the reverse. See how big it is?
The Mint scrapped the reverse (it was used for 1973 only) and made Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro issue a new one in 1974 due to the size.
True story.
Pete
That's what made collecting undated Lincoln errors that year fun. All you had to do was look for large initials and bingo! You got yourself a '73.
In order to look at one I'd have to either cut the new bag open or unwrap the bag my grandson cut open and not quite willing to do that yet.
BUT, I really appreciate the information everyone is giving me, am just going to have to find a way to liquidate these bags of coins, as like I said, i don't sell on eBay.
Am open to suggestions!
Bruce
Bags are all different. If you coins are baggy (not to be punny) they are worth less, if you can demonstrate they are high end - back in the day I would pay a premium for them. I am out of that game now but a single 67RD coin would pay for the bag,
Guess I'll have to look at the bag I resealed and see what they look like. They haven't been moved a lot so should be OK, but then again, who knows.
Attractive MS 1973-S cents are actually very hard to come by, despite the high mintage. Most are pretty lifeless with very little luster, you just don't see blazers for this date. Same goes for the '72-S and '74-S cents though they seem to be a bit easier to find.
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I have to agree with the above statement. I opened up the bag of 73 - S that I had put away after my Grandson cut it open and the coins were for the most part mediocre. The color was a Yellow-Red rather than the copper I expected and were definitely "Baggy". Out of about 25 coins I inspected, there was only one that I would say would even come close to a MS 63, with most in the MS 60 - 61 range. This may be normal because I have never opened a mint bag before but I wasn't impressed at all. There was no color loss from being stored, they were still as as lustrous at they had come from the mint, but the color wasn't vibrant.
One thing they all had though was "Full Steps" with very few cuts across them and the striations on the Lincoln memorial columns were all evident, but I would expect these to be crisp on a new bag of coins. What was most disappointing to me was the fields being so yuck with about 1 out of 10 having the black spots on them from what I've heard is improper mint washing.
Very disappointed with the results. Will post some pictures in a little bit, but being hounded to get to supper!
This is true.
Most 73-S are dull and lifeless.
Many have unc details but absolutely no luster and look like they have been in a rock tumbler with some acid in it.
Must have been something wrong with the planchets.
Very rarely you may find a flashy proof like coin that is completely out of character with the vast majority.
But these coins are rare and underappreciated in the marketplace.
The nicest 73-S I have seen was like this.
It graded 66+ and I have no idea why it didn't get the PL designation.
Ebay the bag with a rediculuos bin of $3500 and see what kind of offers you get. For an unopened bag you may get more then you thought possible.
Here, you can see what i mean!
@rec78 said:
I don't have a sellers permit on eBay! Have bought a lot of stuff, but never sold anything!
But thanks, good idea!
I never heard of needing a seller's permit, i just list stuff.
I thought you had to go in and sign all their agreements and agree to their percentages to sell stuff?
Just go on and sell.
They'll tell you what you have to do, if anything.
BHNC #203
Actually, those are way better than average for the date.
Really? I sure wouldn't have thought so, but like I said, I've never checked out a new mint bag before. Even when Nathan cut the bag open, I just put the whole bag in another mint bag and wrapped it in a neutral (non PVC) plastic bag, sucked as much air out with the vacuum cleaner as I could, and taped it up.
If they are actually better, it may be because they were acquired in Alameda, CA, right across from San Francisco and Joe bought them in early 1973 from a Bank in San Fran. along with mint bags of other coins. I acquired them in mid 1974 when he decided to retire and like I said, just bought them to help him clean out the store. I figured they'd work just fine in the candy machines, then in 1975 they changed the candy machines to a nickel.......
They may be from the early runs of coins.
They were just stored until I got fed up with the political attitude in California and moved to Washington State and then Arizona. Guess I can say that, being born and raised in California.
Little suckers are slippery as goose crap on ice when trying to hold them with cotton gloves on.
Bruce