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Some crazy prices: are these coins THAT rare?

MadMuffinMadMuffin Posts: 468 ✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum
I collect coins from the Isle of Man and Gibraltar as some of you might know. Recently I have been following some auctions that ended with... let's just say very high prices. I know that these coins are not among the most common types, but if people are willing to pay that much these coins must be very scarce or much sought after. Or is it just the bidders going bananas?

Gibraltar 1988 50 pence Christmas: 64 pounds! Link

Gibraltar 1998 50 pence Christmas: 21 pounds Link

Isle of Man 1979 50 pence "Odin's Raven" edge lettering: 58 pounds! Link

Isle of Man 2002 50 pence Christmas: 33 pounds Link

If these prices are typical I will need to find a better job before I can finish my collection image

Marcel
Ebay user name: 00MadMuffin00

Comments

  • NJMark1NJMark1 Posts: 479 ✭
    And to think I turned both the Isle of man coins down at $ 2.00 a pop.

    Mark
  • secondrepublicsecondrepublic Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭
    Seems like high prices for some very modern issues.

    But I would love to buy the coins I still need for my collection at those kinds of prices image
    "Men who had never shown any ability to make or increase fortunes for themselves abounded in brilliant plans for creating and increasing wealth for the country at large." Fiat Money Inflation in France, Andrew Dickson White (1912)
  • shirohniichanshirohniichan Posts: 4,992 ✭✭✭
    I find a similar phenomenon with modern Canadian "rarities" like the Queen Mum dollar. The mintage is low and the prices are high, but every dealer has them in stock for sale. It looks like dealers and speculators bought most of them. If they were already in collector hands (i.e. those who wanted them for their collections), they would not be so readily available.
    image
    Obscurum per obscurius
  • LynchLynch Posts: 299


    << <i>I find a similar phenomenon with modern Canadian "rarities" like the Queen Mum dollar. The mintage is low and the prices are high, but every dealer has them in stock for sale. It looks like dealers and speculators bought most of them. If they were already in collector hands (i.e. those who wanted them for their collections), they would not be so readily available. >>



    That's an astute observation, Shiroh.
    "Think of the Press as a great keyboard on which the Government can play" – Joseph Goebbels

    "The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media" - William Colby, former CIA director
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,701 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There are growing numbers of "theme" collectors. Perhaps they are driving some of these prices.

    It's true that there are so many "rarities" now days that they can be found everywhere, but if you're
    looking for something specific it can still be hard to find.
    Tempus fugit.
  • MadMuffinMadMuffin Posts: 468 ✭
    I have been told that the "Odin's Raven" edge lettering 50 pence coin is supposed to be "rare". They don't seem to get offered very often. The others, however, do show up from time to time.

    One would think that the highest prices would be obtained if British collectors buy from British sellers. In these four auctions two of the coins actually went to US buyers although all sellers are British. That surprises me.

    As far as I know the Christmas coins have been made with a mintage of around 30,000 pieces every year for a long time. That doesn't make them "rare", but there is a strange pattern: those from the early 80's up to around 1988 are fairly common and cheap while the rest are expensive. Does anyone know if the annual mintage of these coins was lowered around 1988?

    Marcel
    Ebay user name: 00MadMuffin00
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