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1983 Quarters
Wdawg
Posts: 13
Why are 1983 quarters in MS worth so much? The mintage is not much lower than other similar dates. The 1983-P lists for more than $1000 a roll. It seems like such an arbitrary date. Am I missing something?
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There were numerous reasons for this but it mostly boiled down to the fact that few people collected modern coins. There were new gold "coins" being minted for the first time in decades and commems had recently been revived. Everything looked more interesting to save than clad quarters and this was doubly true since the quality was generally so poor that it seemed it would be a wonder if anyone ever wanted them. The coin market was chugging along after taking it on the chin a few years earlier. Prices weren't so much recovering as they were holding and the market was starting to cycle again into different coins. The overall economy had turned the corner and was starting to increase into what would become the roaring '80's and the decade of greed. (not that it had anything on the '90's in this regard).
Everyone knew that mint sets wouldn't be made and hadn't been made the year before as part of Reagan's cost cutting moves. This did spur people to set aside more BU rolls than was typical in that era but the numbers were just too small. Almost immediately the few companies assembling sets found these coins very difficult to acquire and started bidding up prices. Initially the problem was the '82-P and Numismatic News picked up on this by May of 1985. This roll was going for $19 at the time but wasn't really being traded because it didn't really exist. There were rumors of hordes but none ever appeared except a pallet of '82-D's located at the Kansas City fed according to lore. This is the only clad of these years which can be located in any quantity but it isn't cheap either since demand runs high for it.
By the early '90's the '82-P had climbed to around $40 per roll and the '83 was closing in on it. Still most of the demand was coming from the companies that made sets of moderns. The '83-P rose gradually throughout the '90's and the new decade until it reached $1,050 wholesale about six months ago and has been holding at this level since. While there is demand at this level it seems to lack much depth. If you had ten rolls for sale it would likely depress the price at least a little. These sets have not been advertised for sale recently and if you want this coin you'll probably have to buy it as a single. These start as low as $32 and go up to about $45.
These appeared in 15,000 Philly souvenir sets from this year. Quality is excellent compared to other sources but not many will be truly choice and gems are scarce.
As a result of the Numismatic News stories large numbers of the '82-P were pulled from circulation by its readers so this is the only older clad that is really common in AU. The '83-P and the denver mints were also set aside to a lesser degree and a few of the '83's were true uncs. Both these dates were dumped into circulation very quickly. In those days it usually took two years for 95% of the mintage to get into circulation but three of these were in by the middle of the succeeding year. This applied to the dimes also but to a lesser degree. After coins got into circulation it would require about three years for virtually all of them to be knocked out of uncirculated grade. This happens because a small percentage will go straight into storage in piggy banks or emergency change for retailers and the like.
Curiously three of these four coins appear with two different reverses which have never really been reported. Coin World observed that the two existed a few years back but didn't mention that both appeared on all 1977 to 1984 quarters except the '82-P. Only one of the scarcer type "d" reverse appears in mint sets. The 1981-P type 'd" appears in about .6% of the regular '81 mint sets. None of these is especially tough on the '82 and '83 issues though the '83-P is tougher and the '82-D is tough nice. Ironically the '84-P is quite common in circulation but nearly unobtainable in unc since even fewer of these rolls exist and it doesn't appear in any mint issued sets. Coincidentally it's not seen in the private sets either. Private mint set issuance collapsed quickly after the mint resumed producing sets in 1984 and are not seen after 1985.
I've never really seen an '83-P that would grade gem by mint set standards and have seen a single '82-P. These are given a little leeway by the grading companies so there are a few graded. The '82-D and '83-D are much easier but you could burn up some shoe leather even in 1983 looking for these.
Incredibly these can still be found in AU in circulation and they do bring large premiums. These were set aside and are still trickling back into circulation. A few are probably coming from the complete clad quarter sets seen advertised and often sold to newbies and collectors outside the mainstream. These coins still get little respect so when sellers are sent away from coin shops the coins can end up back in circulation. Most of these two dates are from those set aside in the '80's as AU's though. A really nice XF will look better than many of the MS-60's being offered.
I have, in Capital Plastic multi-coin holders, a complete set of 1965-1998 Washington quarters, PDSS, all handpicked from proof sets and mint sets. Sometimes I'd even buy two 1993 mint sets just because I didn't like the look of the D. The coins are all exactly what I wanted, and I don't have a single "eyesore" coin in the lot...
With the exception of the 1983 P and D quarters. There, I have two holes.
I told myself I'd rather have two holes than compromise to look of the MS66-MS67 set, but after years of searching, I think I'm going to have to. Holy COW those coins are hard to find in true premium gem condition!
<< <i>I thought I'd resurrect this topic from the dead 'cause of CladKing's excellent summary of the coins...
I have, in Capital Plastic mult-coin holders, a complete set of 1965-1998 Washington quarters, PDSS, all handpicked from proof sets and mint sets. Sometimes I'd even buy two 1993 mint sets just because I didn't like the look of the D. The coins are all exactly what I wanted, and I don't have a single "eyesore" coin in the lot...
With the exception of the 1983 P and D quarters. There, I have two holes.
I told myself I'd rather have two holes than compromise to look of the MS66-MS67 set, but after years of searching, I think I'm going to have to. Holy COW those coins are hard to find in true premium gem condition! >>
I think the '82-P will prove to be the toughest.
But this is because I expect the definitions to change and strike to become a larger component
of grading. The '83-P is much more often well struck but less often clean. The '83 has better and
flatter surfaces that highlight marking more than the '82 but the '82 is usually poorly made from
inferior, misaligned, or worn dies.
The '83 has the advantage of being tougher in MS-60 and this will be even more dramatic as collectors
seek the type "d" reverses. The '83-P has about 35% by mintage type "d" but only about 20% of Uncs
are type "d". As many collectors seek both it will increase demand for the date.
It's interesting that the year 1983 is one of the most common years for error coins for 1c-50c, and so I very frequently have BU 1983-P quarters which where struck off-center, broadstruck, etc. They would have been pulled from circulation (or more likely, mint-sewn bags), and so survive in mint state, unlike their "normal" counterparts. Some of the coins which have minor errors (such as partial collar strikes), are probably worth more as "normal" coins than as mint errors, since 1983-P 25c partial collar strikes are only worth $1 or $2 in mint state.