20th Century Coin Index?

OneCent

What happend around 1990 to cause the tremendous surge in prices and soon thereafter a precipitous decline? Also, does this index represent key dates or common issues?

I was more interested in girls and beer as opposed to coins during this period.



Thanks!

roadrunner

The decline in 1990 affected most all US Coins. There were certainly exceptions but the higher grades of MS/PF got hammered. As recession hit the US the money left coins. Wall Street funds were toying with the market in 1988-1989 and then pulled out. Dealers were leveraged to the hilt with loans to try and make every buck they could. Coins did indeed trade sight-unseen over the phone based on the slabbed grade. It was a wild time. It lit off when PCGS and NGC started slabbing coins in 1986-87. There were too few slabbed coins and lots of demand for the new product. But as the supply increased, and dollars exited, the invetable happened. When most everyone ran for the exits in early 1990, the balloon went bust. The market took another 6-7 years to bottom. In most cases the very highest quality coins got hammered the most.

Out of the ashes of this market came the tidal wave of modern coin collecting, registry sets, and good old value coins like quality circs and key dates. Bust coinage saw a renaissance.

roadrunner