COINage magazine from 1969. You won't believe these values.

loanshark

While at my moms house last weekend I was looking for some of my old books for my son. I came across one of my old COINage magazines dated July 1969 that I had purchased in my early years of collecting coins.

Back then they just listed the values in Fine condition only. Check these out:

1909-S VDB $140
Barber Half 1897-O $50
Standing Lib Quarter 1919-S $55
Walking Lib Half 1916-S $40
Morgan 1879-CC $12
Morgan 1893-S $250
Morgan 1889-CC $75
Peace 1921-P $10

Where have the "good old days" gone?

Post your favorites and I will tell you what you could have bought them for in 1969.

Loan Shark

kieferscoins

It makes you shake your head in amazememnt but you also have to remember it was the same with alot of stuff. Homes were cheaper, cars were cheaper, everything was cheaper.

Cameron Kiefer

Peetie

How about the 1916-d Mercury?

loanshark

Mercury 1916-D $180

Why didn't you buy 20 of them?

Loan Shark

nwcs

Anyone want to do the calculation and adjust for inflation? Not using average inflation, but real inflation? I remember seeing prices from 1941. Wish I could get those now! XF bust dollars for like $50 or something like that.

MacCoin

I have a 1968 red book

ARCO

I am willing to bet that inflation adjusted most of those coins are at par with today's prices relative to what the same amount of money could have bought back then.

In fact I did a very cursory test of the values in Barber halves. I used the CPI index which starts in 1967 and just extrapolated an average to apply to earlier years and based my starting date on 1960.

For the barber halves at the 1960 redbook retail price guide you would have mostly broken even on the key date and common date coins in XF through MS60 grades. The coins that did the best were the sleeper and semi-keys of today that were all priced as common date coins in 1960 like the 1904-O and 1903 halves as one example. these coins usually doubled or tripled in value even inflation adjusted.

the winners were not the key date coins, nor the common dates but what are now considered the semi-key dates. I imagine this would be true of the semi-keys in many of the series.

Tyler

Chrysta

It gives me some comfort that not having been born yet in 1969, I could not possibly have bought key dates at these prices! I just hope that I get to marvel the same way at the low-low prices I am paying today some years down the line.

jom

<< <i>It makes you shake your head in amazememnt but you also have to remember it was the same with alot of stuff. Homes were cheaper, cars were cheaper, everything was cheaper. >>



So were salaries. Minimum wage was probably no more than a $1. I do know it was around $1.80 in 1978 so figure it somewhat less than that....

I don't believe these coins would have been any easier to buy then than they are now for someone with the same "relative" salary.

jom

barberlover

O.K., how about a 1901 barber quarter or a "type date bust dollar like say a 1799.

Les

tjkillian

In 1969 an engineer only made $8000.00 per YEAR! So in a sense, coins are often cheaper today than back then. Imagine buying 1950-D nickels or 1903-O Morgan dollars in 1964! Just think of how much money you would have lost! A 1903-O Morgan in the 1962 RED books was $600 in unc. The CPI has gone up 10x since then so for the coin to have kept up, it would be $6000.00 today!

Tom

Bear

The trouble is this, back then most of us did not have two nickels to rub together.

Homes were probably 40,000 dollars. It even happens to me, I see the old price levels

and yet I think of todays inflated currency and forget that now is now and then was then.

Shamika

" It makes you shake your head in amazememnt but you also have to remember it was the same with alot of stuff. Homes were cheaper, cars were cheaper, everything was cheaper."

Cameron is right. In 1970, my parents built a customer designed 3,500 square foot house in a reserved neighborhood on a cul-de-sac. My Mom told me she couldn't sleep wondering how on earth they were going to pay their $116 per month mortgage.

Russ

<< <i>It gives me some comfort that not having been born yet in 1969 >>



That fact may give you comfort, but it just makes me feel old.

Russ, NCNE

roadrunner

Here are some interesting prices from a 1974 Coin World. The prices
on the quarters were essentially insane. It was the wild west. If only you could go back!!

1804 dime VF- $575
1860-0 dime VF $1000
1865-s dime UNC - $250
1874-cc dime VF - $400 / XF $700
1842-0 SD 25c XF - $50 (what!!)
1852-0 25c XF - $65 (hard to believe)
1860-s 25c XF - $125
1864-s 25c XF - $175
1866-s 25c XF - $110
1867-s 25c XF - $85
1871-s 25c XF - $90
1870cc 25c XF - $800
1872-s 25c XF - $75 (keep dreaming...same price as an 1880!)
1855-0 25c XF - $300 (overrated back then just like the 55-s)
1904s half XF - $115
1796 half VF - $6500
1870cc half Fine - $125
1878-s half EF - $3000
1794 dollar VF - $7500

DominusDeus

From my 1966 red book, all prices are for fine:

1909-S VDB: $170
Barber Half 1897-O: $50
SLQ 1919-S: $60
Walker Half 1916-S: $33
Morgan 1879-CC: $10 (V-Fine)
Morgan 1893-S:$250 (V-Fine)
Morgan 1889-CC: $80 (V-Fine)
Peace 1921-P: $12.50 (V-Fine)

loanshark

1901-S Barber Quarter in fine condition was $425 in 1969.

nwcs

<< <i>

<< <i>It gives me some comfort that not having been born yet in 1969 >>



That fact may give you comfort, but it just makes me feel old.

Russ, NCNE >>

Even those of us born in the 70s are feeling that way these days. Where I work, we sometimes even deal with people born in 1989-1990! That just ain't right.

Mark

OK, here are some actual prices that I paid when I purchased coins during that era:

March 24, 1968 1913-P dime, BU $20.00 (PCGS graded AU58)
March 24, 1968 Elgin Half, BU $36.00 (PCGS graded MS64)
May 11, 1968 1904 $20 Gold coin, BU $72.50 (PCGS graded MS63)
August 7, 1968 J-894 Pattern quarter, Proof $89.00 (PCGS graded PR62)
January 27, 1969 $5 Gold coin, BU $47.50 (PCGS graded whizzed)
March 13, 1969 1934-P Texas Half, BU $19.75 (PCGS graded MS66)
March 25, 1969 J-235 Pattern Half, Proof $100.00 (PCGS graded PR62)

Of course, intermixed with these coins were a bunch of coins like a 1950-D nickel, BU $25.00 (not yet--ever--submitted to PCGS) and the like. But the 7 coins I listed above are coins that I purchased and the prices I paid back in the day...

Mark

roadrunner

I remember my folks plunking down approx $25 for a VF 1924-d Lincoln cent for me in 1964. I was so in love with the coin. And now, 40 years later, it is still worth $25! Imagine what that money could have bought at that time. Probably only the 50d nickel has been a worse performer.

roadrunner