Is the 1874-CC dime an undervalued rarity?

Barry

Cardinal's discussion brought this ttopic to mind. I'm sure there are other rarities that could be used as examples, but I'm very familiar with this series, so thought I'd use it.

There are probably 15-20 1874-CC dimes in existence. I've owned 4 of them at one time or another, varying in grade from G to AU. As I recall, the G cost me about $2K and the AU about $18K, all purchased between 2 and 6 years ago.

Per Cardinal there are 100+ 1794 dollars, and even in VF goes for over $100K. There are a dozen or so 1804 dollars, each going for megabucks. There are 5 1913 nickels, etc.

The 1794 is a first year issue. The 1804 has been hyped to death, etc. This dime is an extreme rarity, yet sells for close to a Chain Cent. While Chain Cents aren't common, they aren't rare either, and sell in almost every major auction. Why does this key date rarity sell for such a "reasonable" amount? Comments?

Gonfunko

I'd say that seated coinage in general sells for many times less than it should. The example you cite is a perfect case in point. Unfortunately, as long as seated coinage is swept aside by the mainstream numismatic community, the 1874-CC will probably never reach it's proper value and will always be undervalued. Why not try to accquire all of them and control the market? Maybe we need to taker a closer look at some of the forgotten series and maybe even start collecting them. Afterall, when you look at the mintages of Seated material as compared to the prices, it seems absurd, and there are many bargains to be had!

roadrunner

If the total pops on the 74cc were really 15-20 it would be worth many times more than it currently is. I'm sure there are some pretty good estimates on the number surviving....more like on lower side of the 50-100 range. 50-75?

As the key collectible date in a long and expensive series to collect, the demand for the 74-cc is far less than for similar key coins like a 1916-d dime. The price is certainly affected. The 74-cc dime showed up less often than the fabled 1878-s half dollar. It might be rarer than the 78-s half but it has many decades of misinformation to get through.

The 74-cc was vastly underrated price-wise in decades past. One could buy a F-VF or possibly XF example (if available) for under $1000 in the early 1970's. IMO this was the most underrated seated coin at that time and was priced as less than the 73cc WA in most price guides. But enough people knew about the date so that there was a minor-frenzy to latch on to any one that showed up. Whether it is still underpriced today is anyone's guess. The coin has multiplied in price 20 fold or so since the mid-1970's. Based on the demand to complete a set I doubt the price of this will be going down in the next 10-20 years. I wouldn't be surprised to see the price double once again.

I concur with the comparison to the 1804 dime as I had recorded 8 diff specimens of the 1804 before I found a 74c listed. Part of that was due to the fact that the 74cc's listed price was too low and was not drawing specimens out for sale. The 1804 listed for more money but is probably only half as rare. But it also happens to be the key date in a much shorter and completeable series. If the 74-cc were in a 20 or 30 coin set, things would be much much different. Comparison-wise, I ran across 2 1870-cc quarters and 3 1872-s quarters compared to the one 74-cc dime. The 60-0 dime was very high priced (and overrated) at the time and 23 specimens of that date showed up. 15-20 specimens each of the 71-cc, 72-cc, and 73-cc dimes also appeared, indicating there prices were more in line with their availability. Only the 1842-0 SD quarter equalled the rating of the 74-cc dime with one appearance.

The 74cc has been catching up for 30 years. It still has some to go.

roadrunner

roadrunner

I'm sure that in the 1970's that there were more 74cc dimes in existence than there were set collectors. Today, the situation has reversed. Too many people are chasing too few coins. Today, there might be a hundred or several hundred dime set collectors needing a 74cc.

roadrunner

291fifth

The market says "NO". And when it comes to pricing the market is all that matters.

EVillageProwler

The market says "NO". And when it comes to pricing the market is all that matters.

This is a bit simplistic. Oftentimes, what one considers undervalued is based on conventional price guides like Trends and Greysheet. Unfortunately, these price guides necessarily lag the market -- sometimes by a lot. And, what is the market in this case? For most true rarities in pristine condition (either circ or unc), these coins tend to trade privately. The numbers fetched for these coins will never reach Trends or Greysheet, and those numbers never get adjusted. And, a lot of inexperienced buyers who look to these price guides for price guidance will be missing out.

If you look at the real market for these key date Seated coins, the veteran collector of these series will have no problem valuing them based on the frustration level of too many years of not finding an acceptable specimen.

EVP

roadrunner

The "market" has been saying "NO" to the 74cc dimefor the past 30 years, yet the price has gone up 20-30x. I guess that would be a good example of the "market" being CONSISTENTLY WRONG. While many think the market is the CDN, blue sheet, or even CW Trends, it is in fact the collectors looking to buy these coins. And those collectors have been consistently RIGHT on many underrated seated rarities. It's the price guides that have been wrong for so many years and continue to be when it comes to liberty seated material.

roadrunner

roadrunner

EVP, you make a good point about the fallacy of price lists. That very thing kept me from purchasing many key coins over the years because prices were just too much higher than published prices. In fact, I passed on several 74-cc dimes in the 1970's because the ask price was often twice that of listed sheets. The ask price was right, it was the published ones that were dead wrong.

That same price fallacy freezes many people in their steps from procuring the right coins at the right time. It has happened to me dozens of times.

roadrunner