Anyone remember $3000 Proof 3 Cent Nickels?

JohnButlerfromLV

Anyone remember $3000 Proof 3 Cent Nickels or $250 Uncirculated Common Date Walking Liberty Halves from the 1979-80 market.

I remember visiting with a young woman my age at the Towson, MD show that famous weekend in 1980. (Famous for what happened at Central States that year.)
That woman went on to become a "Legend" in the coin business.

Maybe some comparisons should be made to today's modern market with that go-go market of 1979-80.

I'm sure Julian and Andy from Eureka could help us with some of the great values of that market.
I was sure glad I sold my Gem 1934-S Peace dollar early Friday morning for $5000.

John Butler
Sahara Coins
Ex-PCGS Grader

stman

I do remember ms65 common date walkers pushing $500.00 in the late 80's I believe it was.

dorkkarl

that inflated market was 1 of the great contributions of slabs.

K S

Trime

John,
Fortunately that era was a time that I was busy with other things and not adding to my collection. When I returned to collecting in the mid 1990s coins were much more expensive than in my early collecting days but much of the bubble of the period you refer to was washed out. Where are we going (price wise)? "It is always difficult to predict, particularly about the future".

dbldie55

Many on this board say that that market and the current modern market have nothing in common. You are considered a "modern basher" if you even talk that way.

wondercoin

"Maybe some comparisons should be made to today's modern market with that go-go market of 1979-80."

John: Come over to the Registry Forum and join us in threads like the 1976(d) Quarter in MS68 thread. I truly doubt you will find much comparision there. But, IMHO, there are certainly segments of both the classic and modern market today where I feel comparisions are reasonable to make. Wondercoin

dwood

<< <i> "It is always difficult to predict, particularly about the future". >>



Is this a Yogiism? If it isn't, it should have been! Good one

Trime

dwood,
Sure was Yogi!

sinin1

Just think if PCGS was around - and you had a few thousand dollars of coins in on economy grading - the 2-3 months your coins were gone, could have cost you big bucks.

I wonder if people would have scrambled to get their coins back?

Conder101

<< <i>Just think if PCGS was around - and you had a few thousand dollars of coins in on economy grading - the 2-3 months your coins were gone, could have cost you big bucks. >>



There was no economy grading at that time. Just one tier, $30 a pop. Turn around time was typically three months or more. It was the collapse of the market that brought about the lower economy level price. When the market fell so did submissions. Economy was created to keep up volume.

And I'm not absolutely positive but I believe the top price for generic morgans like the 81-S in MS-65 was closer to $800 with predictions of $1000 coming shortly. Oops, sorry that was the 1989 market.

My rememerences of the 79-80 market are all of how the metals went crazy. My impression of the coin market was that it was dead because no one could take time away from the profits to be made in scrap metal.

MastaHanky

<< I remember visiting with a young woman my age at the Towson, MD show that famous weekend in 1980. (Famous for what happened at Central States that year.) >>

What DID happen at Central States that year? I was barely learning how to talk at the time, so I don't remember hearing about it.

MrEureka

In late 1979 and early 1980 there really seemed to be an inflation-driven PANIC to spend money. You could sell anything, and the prices were stupid. There were also a lot of amateur dealers helping amateur investors part with huge sums of fast depreciating dollars. PLUS, the booming metals market helped small coin shop owners make large fortunes. In that environment, it's no wonder things got out of hand.

The most amazing thing is that even in that market, there were great long term values to be found. Grab a set of Garrett catalogs and go through the prices realized. A surprising number of those coins are actually worth substantially more today. The lesson, of course, is that an educated buyer will always be able to spend his money wisely, even in the strongest markets.

gmarguli

There was no economy grading at that time. Just one tier, $30 a pop. Turn around time was typically three months or more.

$30? I remember $22 and then it went to $25 I thought during that time. I thought $30 came later?

MrEureka

What DID happen at Central States that year?

The bull market ended. The market crashed on the second day of the show, literally dropping 30-40% in an afternoon.

roadrunner

It was a good time to get rid of swill and unsaleable stuff during a several month window in late '79-'80. Most, but not all of my mistakes went out the door in a hurry. I stopped buying in late 1979 and didn't buy a coin again until mid-1982.

roadrunner