A different tack on the case for moderns.

cladking

At the risk of being accused of hyping coins the thread about "nickels in the Heritage
auctions" generated some discussion about the '70-S nickel in full step gem. I averred
in the thread that about every 1,500 of these in mint sets is a nice gem and that this
made this coin fairly "common" by modern standards.

Disregarding it's current population or whatever anyone believes will be its ultimate
population, what is it worth simply on the basis of its scarcity? Few people collect mod-
erns and not all who do have much interest in varieties but still the very common var-
iety that is often contained in the exact same set sells for up about $50 !!!! This coin
is the '70-S sm date cent. While experienced collectors generally have no trouble spot-
ting this one it often proves difficult for newbies and less experienced collectors. While
it's a great variety it is not especially easy to spot. It tends to come with a lot of mark-
ing and gems have always been tough, and due to cherry picking and tarnish are near
impossible today. Yet the typical example wholesales at $25 !!

On the other hand is the '70-S 5c in gem which is the only regular issue for the year and
appears only once for every 150 times the small date appears!!! Everybody who de-
sires a high grade set of nickels will need one of these. This coin is very tough in any
nice grade. Nice well struck MS-64's and 65's are not very common.

If you were assembling a gem set of Jeffersons what would you expect to pay?

I don't intend to be proactive in making a case for moderns here but am interested in any
constructive input people have on topic because I believe this deserves a thread of its own.










typo, punctuation.

FC57Coins

There's no question that there are some modern issues where a high quality coin is highly desirable and highly illusive. However, in my mind you have two things playing against these issues - first, there's the perception that since they are modern issues, that there are thousands upon millions yet to be graded, so there is the perception that $150 for one of these gems is throwing money down the toilet. Until there is a distinct following of these coins where it can be determined with relative certainty that there isn't a hoard of gems sitting in someone's vault, you're going to face this kind of "poo-pooing" from certain sectors of the market. On the other hand, because of this - it might be possible to also pick up a nice piece for a song if you're in the right place at the right time

wingedliberty

Here is how I look at it:

The coin is 35 years old.(1970-s whatever denomination)
I started collecting in 1980.
back then a 1945 Merc was 35 years old.
So can this coin really be called a modern?
Time flies when you are having fun.

Tempus fugit!!!

majorbigtime

<< <i>Here is how I look at it:


I started collecting in 1980.

Time flies when you are having fun.

Tempus fugit!!! >>



I started collecting in 1955--and can't get excited about any coin that's younger than me. To each his (or her) own!!

Caveat Emptor!

cladking

<< <i>

I started collecting in 1955--and can't get excited about any coin that's younger than me. To each his (or her) own!!

Caveat Emptor! >>



You beat me by a couple years. Moderns are an acquired taste for most of we old timers,
and many will never acquire it. Most collectors have some date beyond which they will not
collect.

One of the most important considerations about later dated coins, at least in the long run,
is that most collectors now are not really "Emptors" at all since they are collecting these
coins from circulation rather than buying them.

It would be interesting to hear your opinion on the value if you were buying the coins. Ob-
viously the coins aren't widely appreciated but if the numbers are accurate, what do you be-
lieve would be a fair relative value of the gem nickel to the cent?

Sequitur

Hey cladking, you see the latest article in Coinage about "cheap" clads?