Has anyone been through a price breakdown of early commemoratives.

Rikey

I was around when sliver was $50 bucks an oz. My memory is vague but weren't comms selling higher then?

Sales on eBay have been off for the last month. I am charting all sales of 65 and 66's. Big dealers are selling a few. Most do not sell. That's all I know. Can you share some of your ideas on the future of this series.


Tnx Rick

JCMhouston

I think just about everything commonly available is slowing down. The actual rare coins still seems to sell well. I collect early commems and had slowed down my buying of them earlier this year as the prices seemed to be getting a little out of hand. If they get back to levels I'm comfortable with then I'll start picking up the rest of the set. And I don't mean common like modern slabbed stuff, but name an early commem you want and in you week you can find 5-10 of them available in all but the highest known grade.

No matter what some of the dealers would have you believe the coin market is not immune from the general economy.

Rikey

Agree


Today was unbelievable in the stock market. 130 Billion of lost equity in the big 5 USA banks in the last week or so.

messydesk

The Laibstain book "Investing, Collecting & Trading Certified COmmemoratives" has pricing from 1980, 82, 89, and 94. A quick thumb-through indicates prices dropped from 1980 to 1982 by between 10 and 50% on most stuff. Comparing 1980 to today is difficult, since the grading paradigm was quite different then, and nothing was known of pop reports. Here are some sample prices from 1980, all in MS65, followed by current PCGS guide prices:

Delaware 535, 495
Elgin 460, 330
Grant 325, 800
Hawaii 3000, 6750
Oregon (1928) 440, 390
Lexington 150, 690
Long Island 130, 425
Monroe 175, 2500
San Diego 175, 195
Sesquicentennial 150, 3500

So to answer your question, I guess it depends what you were looking at. Obviously, for issues like the Sesqui and Monroe, it wasn't clear just how hard there were to find in really high grades, and/or there wasn't the degree of hair-splitting that there is today.

abitofthisabitofthat

Commems are dead, and seem to have been that way a long time. I'm sure that they will come back some day. Now would be a great time to put a set together.

Bayard1908

<< <i>Commems are dead, and seem to have been that way a long time. I'm sure that they will come back some day. Now would be a great time to put a set together. >>



The main problem with them in my mind is that they largely commemorate completely unimportant events. Back in the late 1930s, they'd create a commemorative on the slightest pretext.

Rikey

I love the series.

That damn Monroe will drive you nuts. Weak strike and no gems.

Why is Hani even putting Comms on eBay?

I just looked at the registry Bay Bridge. That is as strong a strike as there is on the Bear.

You have a bit of everything in the early comms. Gold, common gems, etc. I have the book by Iacovo written in 1979. You should see his prices.

Columbian 1970 = 5.50 1979 42.50 both in "gem" condition.

Rikey

Bayard: Well not all.

Some are crappy "events" like the music coin. Others are real history.

Broadstruck

I have the book by Iacovo written in 1979

That's a great book on the Commem series that many do not know about... highly recommended.

orie

An old timer told me the commems are the first to go in a bear market. It was that way in the seventies and the eighties. The most rare coins will drop like a rock before this is over.

Rikey

About James Iacovo book...I was smart enough to buy it but not to do what he said. A newbie in those days was dead meat. No protection from TPG and everything was unc/--

Nice book, I keep it beside me here.

Yes comms will drop like flies when the public understands what is happening. I think a good measure is to follow MS65/66 comms on ebay. That is what is called an Unobtrusive measure.

Rikey

Last night, a 1984 Canadian nickel dollar went for $1.04. With 2 dollar shipping.

We will see declines in Canadian first, IMO.

Being a coin dealer is hard work.

Broadstruck

Rikey, IMHO I don't think EBay prices realized can be used as a proper guide to judge the coin market.

Rikey

PCGS slabs are the same. It is called an unobtrusive measure in social psychology.

That's my field by occupation.