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Best Known 1980-P Washington Quarter is up for sale
rooksmith
Posts: 972 ✭✭✭✭
Its kind of hard for me to imagine paying over $300 for it...
I had one once in change, I remember it well....Link to ebay auction
“When you don't know what you're talking about, it's hard to know when you're finished.” - Tommy Smothers
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I gave up looking for anything higher than MS5 for my Dansco album. I'm done with the modern slab game.
<< <i>Link does not work.
I gave up looking for anything higher than MS5 for my Dansco album. I'm done with the modern slab game. >>
I can't get it to work either.
I hate to slam a coin I can barely see but that does not look like a
very nice specimen. About 5% of mint set coins are at least better
struck and there are enough clean ones that bettering shouldn't
be difficult.
peacockcoins
<< <i><a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://cgi.ebay.com/1-of-2-FINEST-KNOWN-1980-P-Quarter-NGC-MS68-TOP-POP-2_W0QQitemZ260224227569QQihZ016QQcategoryZ39463QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target=blank>With only three minutes to go...</A> >>
Nothing to do with this thread and I know the auction is probably legit but I have seen auctions like this taken down because the entire slab is not pictured and that is a technical violation of e-bay rules.
Anyone think it would cross to PCGS?
I predict the next big collectible bubble will be "Coins-of-the-80's" - 1980's ...
<< <i><a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://cgi.ebay.com/1-of-2-FINEST-KNOWN-1980-P-Quarter-NGC-MS68-TOP-POP-2_W0QQitemZ260224227569QQihZ016QQcategoryZ39463QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target=blank>With only three minutes to go...</A> >>
The picture here isn't much better. There are planchet scratches and weakness through LIBERTY.
These aren't easy with full strikes but for MS-68 money I'd sure want a full strike. In fact, for MS-65 money I don't want to see planchet scratches.
Link to another finest-known auction - 1999-P New Jersey Quarter for $2700+
The bottom line to me is this: with the hoards of these things in virtual MS-70 that must exist somewhere, why would anyone in their right mind pay this much money for something that is so obviously not truly rare?
So, here again, bidders are simply pricing the NGC-MS68 coin as a PCGS-MS67 with a PCGS piece of similar grade worth about 10x the sum. Also, think of the easy profit one would receive if a coin would cross to PCGS!!
Wondercoin
It wasnt until 82-83 that they were scarce. (no mint sets those years).
Very easy explanation actually - the mint set coins look like road kill nearly all the time.
Wondercoin
<< <i>I should have called this thread : unbelievably high prices
The bottom line to me is this: with the hoards of these things in virtual MS-70 that must exist somewhere, why would anyone
in their right mind pay this much money for something that is so obviously not truly rare? >>
And what has led you to believe there are hoards of circulation issue coins
out there? This might be among the ten most common clad quarter roll and
you probably couldn't come up with more than a few rolls in a month.
I've seen a lot more '80-P quarter rolls than most have and I've never seen
a coin from one that's even a solid MS-65.
So how did someone accumulate a hoard and why is he keeping it secret?
Rooksmith - good thread, because threads like this educate collectors on just how scarce some coins from the 1980's and 1990's really are.
And, I have made offers like the one on this thread (i.e. 10x -20x the ebay sales level for a PCGS coin or 10x-20x for the next clad grade up, etc.) for 5+ years now on this board and NOT ONCE has anyone filled my buy order on a coin. I also do not expect to see either a PCGS-MS68 1980-P or D quarter any time soon.
Wodercoin.
<< <i>"I still dont get it."
Very easy explanation actually - the mint set coins look like road kill nearly all the time.
Wondercoin >>
Very very true. And this is coming from someone who knows a lot about 1980 mint set coins... I have searched tons of them and most of the coins are absolute garbage.
The 1980 P or D quarter in ms68 will be a very tough thing to find. I have one of the ms67's and it is awesome for a 67 but would never make it to 68 IMO. I would truely be suprised if a 68 of either actually does get made.
Check my ebay BIN or Make Offers!!
<< <i>
<< <i>"I still dont get it."
Very easy explanation actually - the mint set coins look like road kill nearly all the time.
Wondercoin >>
Very very true. And this is coming from someone who knows a lot about 1980 mint set coins... I have searched tons of them and most of the coins are absolute garbage.
The 1980 P or D quarter in ms68 will be a very tough thing to find. I have one of the ms67's and it is awesome for a 67 but would never make it to 68 IMO. I would truely be suprised if a 68 of either actually does get made.
Aw!!!
I like the '80 mint set quarters and hate to see them get bashed like this.
Seriously it's a fun coin to cherry pick because the nice ones are just tough enough
to make them interesting and easy enough that you can find them. The '80-D comes
with a bunch of little problems and really looks fairly nice on average. The '80-P is a
lot tougher since it comes with a couple major problems. Primarily are strike issues and
marking.
MS-65's are actually fairly easy for both of these though most people would be astounded
to know how few are out there. What, there were 2.7 million mint sets with a good three
or four percent of the Phillys which would go gem so you'd think it's common, but like all the
mint sets the attrition on these is huge and the coins weren't saved.
In higher grades these do get pretty tough. They lie out in a fairly tight pattern skewed
heavily to MS-64/ 3 so it's just a matter of looking at a lot of sets.
But bad mint set quarters, to me, are the ones where even 64's aren't common.
Wondercoin
<< <i>
Aw!!!
I like the '80 mint set quarters and hate to see them get bashed like this.
Seriously it's a fun coin to cherry pick because the nice ones are just tough enough
to make them interesting and easy enough that you can find them. The '80-D comes
with a bunch of little problems and really looks fairly nice on average. The '80-P is a
lot tougher since it comes with a couple major problems. Primarily are strike issues and
marking.
MS-65's are actually fairly easy for both of these though most people would be astounded
to know how few are out there. What, there were 2.7 million mint sets with a good three
or four percent of the Phillys which would go gem so you'd think it's common, but like all the
mint sets the attrition on these is huge and the coins weren't saved.
In higher grades these do get pretty tough. They lie out in a fairly tight pattern skewed
heavily to MS-64/ 3 so it's just a matter of looking at a lot of sets.
But bad mint set quarters, to me, are the ones where even 64's aren't common. >>
I am not bashing the 1980 quarters... 1980 is my favorite set to collect. That is the reason I built my 1980 mint set. I would keep them all forever too but Some bills came up (the last $5-6k of my tuition) and I have had to sell it off.
I am just saying I haven't found any many worth submitting. For me to even get the grading fees back it pretty much has to come back ms66 or ms67. MS65 is just tough to make money or break even for that matter. The fact is the 1980 quarter are very very tough to make in 66 and especially tough in 67. In the last 3-5 years there has been one 1980 D quarter made in ms67. The pop has gone from a wonderfully low 15 to 16 and not from a lack of looking for them. I firmly believe the 1980 D is a semi-key to the washington set.
Check my ebay BIN or Make Offers!!
<< <i>As usual, no one stepped forward to sell me a PCGS coin at the $3,000 - $6,000 price I offered a couple months back in this thread. Isn't it strange how no one ever steps forward to pluck off the "low hanging fruit" cash on these modern coins worth "pocket change". Surely. someone out there could use $3,000 - $6,000 spending money to use to buy their next classic coin in exhange for a quarter found in pocket change plus a successful grading fee??
Wondercoin >>
I know you're offering a good price based on current market but, frankly, I believe
the current market price is just insanely low on most coins like this. Maybe in a few
years if the prices improve I'll try taking you up on one of these offers.
A lot of people still seem to think that coins save themselves. -they don't.
There are nice 19th century coins only because people saved them. Attrition reduces
their number every year but the point is people saved them.
People didn't save most of the moderns and the mechanisms that used to exist to
assure a few coins escaped heavy wear simply no longer exist. The FED rotates their
inventory on a First In First Out basis and nobody hoards coins for their metal any
longer. There aren't bags of '80 quarters to look through because they weren't saved
and if there were any bags you still wouldn't find any nice coins in them probably.
Clad coins aren't in European safety deposit boxes and there might never be a ship
raised from the sea floor with lots of nice clad on it but they'll still be bringing up gold
and silver in a thousand years.
<< <i>
<< <i>As usual, no one stepped forward to sell me a PCGS coin at the $3,000 - $6,000 price I offered a couple months back in this thread. Isn't it strange how no one ever steps forward to pluck off the "low hanging fruit" cash on these modern coins worth "pocket change". Surely. someone out there could use $3,000 - $6,000 spending money to use to buy their next classic coin in exhange for a quarter found in pocket change plus a successful grading fee??
Wondercoin >>
I know you're offering a good price based on current market but, frankly, I believe
the current market price is just insanely low on most coins like this. Maybe in a few
years if the prices improve I'll try taking you up on one of these offers.
A lot of people still seem to think that coins save themselves. -they don't.
There are nice 19th century coins only because people saved them. Attrition reduces
their number every year but the point is people saved them.
People didn't save most of the moderns and the mechanisms that used to exist to
assure a few coins escaped heavy wear simply no longer exist. The FED rotates their
inventory on a First In First Out basis and nobody hoards coins for their metal any
longer. There aren't bags of '80 quarters to look through because they weren't saved
and if there were any bags you still wouldn't find any nice coins in them probably.
Clad coins aren't in European safety deposit boxes and there might never be a ship
raised from the sea floor with lots of nice clad on it but they'll still be bringing up gold
and silver in a thousand years. >>
Very very well said.
To tell you the truth Mitch... if either of those 1980 coins was made in a 68 by me, I don't think I could sell them. I just think that something that rare (yes Dimeman I used the word Rare for a modern coin) will have so much potential in the long run.
I mean how many 1980 ms68 quarter do you think PCGS will ever slab? Personally I just hope they slab at least one or two... but the odds aren't in our favor. As cladking already said these aren't easily available and most of the sources for them have been searched already... I mean it is not worth holding a 1980 mint set since they only sell for face so most of them have been searched.
Then the point that no one is saving and or hoarding these is spot on. The collectors like the current modern bashers will be wondering why there aren't many nice coins in higher grade when the time rolls around and these are no longer moderns. Sure that may be in 30 or 40 years. But it will happen and I will most likely still be here to look back and remember the attitudes of collectors who bashed the moderns!
Check my ebay BIN or Make Offers!!
<< <i>"I still dont get it."
Very easy explanation actually - the mint set coins look like road kill nearly all the time.
Wondercoin >>
You said it! Mint sets from the 70s, 80, and 81, really suck -- I think the mint simply plucked them out of bags that had been tossed around a few times.
<< <i>Iv never looked for an 1980 P quarter but I bet a 67or 68 is rare. >>
The 80 P in 67 is tough but easier to find... try finding a 1980 D ms67. In the last 4-5 years I have seen 3 and the reason it was 3 and not 2 is there was actually another one made which I suspect went to auction. The pop has been 16 or less for a very long time and I don't see it going up.
The only coin I am considering keeping from my 1980 set is the D quarter cause I don't think they will slab many more in the next decade.
Check my ebay BIN or Make Offers!!
examples (especially the clad 25c series, 1965-1998.) I agree with Cladking that current prices on these
coins are quite cheap compared to their respective availibilities, but then, I maintain that the entire U.S.
clad coinage (post-1964) remains in its infancy (and probably will for a few years.)
When I find a truly spectacular specimen (which is very, very few and very, very far in-between) I squirrel
it away and allow it to hibernate until its day of recognition arrives.
How many people would actually pay $10 for a raw, lovely toned 1974-P Washington Quarter? I did and the
coin now resides in a PCGS MS-67 holder. This is a coin that "speaks for itself" and I enjoy viewing it on
occasion. There are opportunities out there for far-sighted collectors who are actually providing the hobby
a service by hunting out and saving top-grade clad issues for future collectors. Remember, the post-1964
coinage IS a part of U.S. Numismatics; they represent the coinage struck (and continue to be) during this
time in our history.
P.S. Who'd have the gall to charge $10. for a circulation strike clad quarter????
<< <i>As usual, no one stepped forward to sell me a PCGS coin at the $3,000 - $6,000 price I offered a couple months back in this thread. Isn't it strange how no one ever steps forward to pluck off the "low hanging fruit" cash on these modern coins worth "pocket change". >>
Hehe. Is this sort of like "put up, or shut up"?
Russ, NCNE
Wondercoin
<< <i>I do enjoy reading topics on clad coinage that begin to discuss the subtleties and nuances of top grade
examples (especially the clad 25c series, 1965-1998.) I agree with Cladking that current prices on these
coins are quite cheap compared to their respective availibilities, but then, I maintain that the entire U.S.
clad coinage (post-1964) remains in its infancy (and probably will for a few years.)
When I find a truly spectacular specimen (which is very, very few and very, very far in-between) I squirrel
it away and allow it to hibernate until its day of recognition arrives.
How many people would actually pay $10 for a raw, lovely toned 1974-P Washington Quarter? I did and the
coin now resides in a PCGS MS-67 holder. This is a coin that "speaks for itself" and I enjoy viewing it on
occasion. There are opportunities out there for far-sighted collectors who are actually providing the hobby
a service by hunting out and saving top-grade clad issues for future collectors. Remember, the post-1964
coinage IS a part of U.S. Numismatics; they represent the coinage struck (and continue to be) during this
time in our history.
P.S. Who'd have the gall to charge $10. for a circulation strike clad quarter???? >>
What so many people are missing here is that these coins were scarce in
the year of issue in nice condition. This wouldn't have been so bad if many
examples survived but very few did; they went into circulation and are now
heavily worn. The primary reason any of these clad issues survived is the
existence of mint sets. Why so many were made kind of escapes me. They
were always pretty cheap compared to most things but why would so many
people order coins in which they had no interest? I suppose the answer is
that most bought them as investment. This is consistent with the fact that
so many which come out of estates are still sealed in the original carton.
But just large mintages of the coins and the mint sets still hasn't assured that
these coins are actually available. The mint setshave sold for such low prices
that there is no point in keeping them together. The Denver half in the '80 set
almost always has a wide shallow scratch on the reverse, obverse, or both. You
can't find gem sets of this date or any of the later issues so there's little justifi-
cation for keeping them intact. If a set has a nice Philly quarter or something in
it, why cram a safety deposit box with the whole set? How do you display the
nice coin in your album while still in the set? Why would a dealer ship a couple
hundred sets off for bid when he can get more by cutting them up for the cash
register?
The point is that even mint sets are a poor mechanism for assuring these coins
will be around in the future. Even with these sets it still requires people to care
enough to set them aside. Then there is the fact that choice specimens can be
elusive even in the mint set. If people did care enough to set aside coins like the
quarters then it just stands to reason that over time the mint sets would get "pick-
ed over"; the incidence of gems on a percentage basis would decrease. But this
hasn't happened so people just aren't setting aside coins.
There's another factor here that will come into play with quite a few of the clads,
even including the '80 issues. The mint sets don't contain a single example of most
varieties!! This wouldn't be an problem with older coins because older coins were
always saved, but the '80 clads were not. There are some great reverse varieties
on both of these quarters and they aren't in the mint set. The type "d" reverse is
fairly common accounting for a few percent of each mint but finding one of these in
Unc is pretty tough. It's an easy one to spot with a lower relief and a dramatic PUP
(pick-up point). The right side of the N in UNUM is farther from the eagle's head.
The spectacular coins are only seen in about .2% of mint sets but you can find a lot
of really nice and important stuff while you're looking. Some people may think mod-
ern collecting is about the tedious search of common coins or the greatest of all fools
but it's really coin collecting at its finest and most fun. Looking for that needle in a hay
stack would get tedious if it weren't for all the other treasures we find in the effort.
Really nice '80 quarters is one of those things you learn to watch for early on.
I really think the Philly issue '77 '78, and '79 quarters are all undervalued even comp-
ared to other moderns. There's just too much neat stuff out there to list.
I did not collect the clads thinking that they would ever be worth more than face value. I collected them because I was filling Whitman albums and wanted the holes in the albums filled with freshly minted examples of each year's coins. Of course since I was in Denver I was able to find multiple examples of nice, new, shiny Denver clad dimes and quarters (I hsave some halves also but for some reason never had great interest in clad halves). The Philly coins I pulled from circulation were usually not freshly minted and most of the time ended up with some wear. After pulling the clad coins from circulation, putting them into albums and later losing interest in the hobby, the albums were put in a safe deposit box around 1981 and stayed there until 2003 when I retreived my childhood collection from a bank in Denver and brought it to sunny California. Now that I am an adult collector and have devoted time to educate myself about the hobby (a really fun aspect of the hobby), I really enjoy looking at and appreciating the clad coins I pulled from circulation as a kid. Some of them are downright gorgeous, having developed very attractive toning during the decades they have been in Whitman albums.
I assume that there are at least a few other collectors in my age group who did the same and that as a result, our childhood collections will possibly yield a few high grade early clad coins with great eye appeal. Hopefully future generations of collectors who end up owning some of the clad coins I plucked from circulation as a kid will wonder who did so, why I did so and offer up a hearty "Thanks" in the same manner that I have said "Thanks" to the unknown collectors who, for whatever reason, set aside some of the pre 1960 mint state circulation strike coins that I own and enjoy today.
Great thread folks and great replies to the OP.