Would you pay over $200 for this one?

wybrit

I guess I still have to wonder about the rarity of the 1869 penny. 2.58 million were said to have been minted. Michael Gouby estimates that roughly 4 tons were minted, adding up to about 430,000 pieces. Another estimate says 576,000 pieces. Given that, what causes this date to be so rare?

The beaded border 1860 penny, may in fact be rarer, but valuations do not reflect it.

1869 penny auction.

wybrit

Well?

1jester

Well, what???

1jester

...Oh, the penny!!

I'd pay not only $200 for it, but the $305 current bid, IF you lend me the money, Mr. Moneybags! By the way, is the coin Good, or Fine???

The seller is impeccable, so how can you lose on this one?

Lloyd

Wybrit it's not the coin its the grade. This coin on ebay is nuttin'...... But in high grade they are rare. The recent Colin Adams sale had most pennies and pattern pennies in tip top grade but had an 1869 in GEF with no lustre. It looked quite shabby really. The sale was beautiful. Instead of collecting the modern pennies in BU he tried to get a proof of each one!! He had the 1933 Pattern.

As far as mintage goes.... well so what. The figures only show the amount of coins minted in a year. They don't say what dates were on them.

Look at the H and KN Pennies and the 26ME. There's loads around in F-VF. But when you go higher they become really difficult. Look at the 1874 no H halfpenny. I've seen one in GEF Toned which I sold, one in AU Lustre which I own, and one in UNC toned which I missed by a gnat's d*?k the other day.

I told you a while ago how much I could get for your 1869 penny on this forum.

Forgive these bidders for they know not what they do...

EDITED TO ADD: the beaded border penny turns up fairly frequently in unc lustre and BU. For rarity it is no comparison to the 1869 in high grade.

L

coinkat

I am nor will I ever be a British copper specialist but I will say that Lloyd hit this issue dead center... high grade coins are fetching the big bucks (pounds). Look at the new Spink and the biggest increases are in coins that grade VF for Hammered and EF for pre 1800 milled and unc for post 1800 milled. I was shocked to read that an 1860 1/2 (beaded border) in unc was 125 pounds... a big jump. I know that is for a red example... but even a brown example would probably list for 65-75 pounds which is still a big move over the past 5 years. The moral of the story... buy quality coins.

wybrit

Couldn't agree more about condition. Learned that lesson a long time ago. The price for that 1869 penny was absolutely insane as I see them for sale all the time.

Interesting that 1860 BB pennies are seen in red. I've never seen a nice one. Put it on my wish list, Lloyd (please).

Lloyd

Wybrit
The BB is seen in red regularly but the prices are becoming very uncomfortable. We might have all missed the boat. Wait for the bubble to burst

L

wybrit

Wait for the bubble to burst

Are you telling me that Brit coin prices are headed for a crash?

1jester

NOT. Wishful thinking.