What truly rare coin can be had for a hundred bucks?

Billet7

Use your own definition for "truly rare."

STONE

A cherrypicked one!

Unknown

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DeliaBug

You could always use a loophole and pay with a $100 plat. That'll put more coins into play.

braddick

Finding a 1970-S Small Date out of rolls and/or circulation is a fun treat.

But to answer your question exactly, they can also be had in dealers inventory, raw- for about $100. or less.
Graded with PCGS, some would holder out at MS65 or MS66 and can yield a tidy profit.

SmEagle1795

Every single coin, provided you bought it when it was first released (time machines are permitted).

Matrix1980

A few in the Buffalo nickel series (example a 1915-S, the 1917 D&S, the 1918 D&S or the 1919 D&S plus a few others) or a lower grade Barber quarter like say a 1901-O or a 1909-O in about VG. None truly rare do.

LindeDad

None by what I think of as rare and collectible.

MICHAELDIXON

None by way of the definition I use as rare.

commoncents05

<< <i>A few in the Buffalo nickel series (example a 1915-S, the 1917 D&S, the 1918 D&S or the 1919 D&S plus a few others) or a lower grade Barber quarter like say a 1901-O or a 1909-O in about VG. >>



I wouldn't call any of those rare. Not even scarce really.

-Paul

CoinRaritiesOnline

You might be able to find an R-6 Connecticut Copper for $100. But it will be ugly.

Unknown

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RYK

Probably some Vams and other magnification varieties. Nothing that you can appreciate with the naked eye.

BaseballAbs

I think there are few supper rare coins that are so warn down that you can no longer make out the details. These type of coins you could pick up for well under a $100, problem is you can't tell what is really is. If I could find a truly rare coin for a hundred bucks I would be making a business out of it.

Walkerguy21D

I'm thinking it would likely be something along the lines of tokens, if you are talking US issues (Hard Times, Civil War), unless you are venturing over to the Darkside. And to clarify, I'm talking issue rare, not grade rare, so I'm eliminating ultragrade modern issues.

keyman64

<< <i>A cherrypicked one! >>

This!

Jcarney

The 1952 proof Washington FS-902 comes to mind.

Edit: cherrypicked, that is.

noow

<< <i>A cherrypicked one! >>





Also worn late date trimes which have mintages under 1k.

Overdate

<< What truly rare coin can be had for a hundred bucks? >>

A lightly toned Morgan dollar (using the scale Rare --> Medium --> Well Done).

howards

I'll sell you a rare shield nickel DDO (large spread) for a hundred bucks happily (rare in this case being a small number known). Of course, the condition will be fairly low.

In fact, I'd sell it for a lot less than $100.

cladking

Cherry picking is a great way to get very rare coins on the cheap.

I think there are some other ways as well but US coins are too much of a known quantity
to find truly underpriced rarities. There are probably still thousands of world coins that aren't
available and people don't know it because they've never been collected.

Most world coins have primarily been "collected" in the US and coins made since WW II have
been mostly ignored. There's a strong tendency for them to either be excessively common or
quite scarce. Most of them are cu/ ni because aluminum coins and copper were low denomina-
tion so a few people could save large quantities but there is even rare aluminum out there as
attested by early E German coinage. China also has some very hard to aluminum.

It's really hard to distinguish the common from the rare until the price goes up a few hundred
fold but if you can then there are still some incredible bargains out there. Even many major
countries like Great Britain where you'd expect all the moderns to be easy have a few surprises.
Forget a hundred bucks; some of these coins are three for a dollar (if you can find them at all).

CoinRaritiesOnline

Here is as close as I could come for a genuinely rare item sold in a public auction. Not a cherry pick, or a lucky find, or requiring any special knowledge. Just show up and bid.

zap1111

Here's one that's very close to your parameters:

1812 single leaf CBH
R.6 VG10net
$127 off of ebay, includes shipping
August, 2007

zap

coindeuce

Ya mean something like the 1942 J-2060 Pattern Cent that was purchased out of a junk box in Buffalo, N.Y. for 25 cents and resold for a thousand times that?

JCMhouston

I can't think of any that would meet my definition of rare, less than 50 known in all grades. And I don't count different die states.

DIMEMAN

No such thing.........and varieties aren't rare.....just not discovered yet.

EagleEye

How about this ebay auction!

crypto79

<< <i>How about this ebay auction! >>




Holely bat poop batman. A VF 88/7 with a bold rim cud

MrHalfDime

In 1993 I bought an 1801 Draped Bust half dime, in raw VG-F condition but with considerable schmutz on both obverse and reverse, for the ridiculously low price of $100. It was an example of the V3, only recently discovered by Eric Gutscher at that time, the second known and confirming specimen, now designated as LM-1. It remains an R7, with just three examples reported. Probably my best cherry pick.

Unknown

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rec78

Unattributed Ancients can sometimes yield good finds. There are many many rare foreign coins that have not come to light yet. I collect some foreign series and some dates are never seen.

Unknown

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coachbedford

Chances are good you can find a scarce to rare late Roman bronze in a box of loose worn ancient Roman Bronzes for $5 and under...and with a bit of research, said piece could be identified as a rare coin (though not necessarily a coin worth four figures).

WingedLiberty1957

How about a lower grade PCGS-slabbed BN Proof Indian Cent?

This 100+ year old copper PCGS PR63BN has a Guide Book price of $175 with a total mintage of 1,985. And the total population of PCGS slabbed BN Proof Indians for this year was only 32. That's a very high rarity factor for a very low $$$ outlay.

bronco2078

It happens for melt sometimes too , you don't have to spend $100. Although I have to say I haven't sent it in yet to be positive.




not a US coin but still

DorkGirl

You can find quite a few if you go Darkside......

seanq

<< <i>

<< <i>How about this ebay auction! >>




Holely bat poop batman. A VF 88/7 with a bold rim cud >>




Sheesh... you know I cherrypick a lot of Indian cent varieties from eBay, but that is one I have very rarely looked for. The linked auction is the sort of thing I dream about.

To answer the OP's question, many of the late date (2001 and later) zinc cents in my clipped date set are extremely rare, with known populations you can count on one hand with fingers to spare, yet they can be had for well under $100. It is a simple function of supply vs demand, it doesn't matter if only four pieces of a thing are known if only three guys are interested in buying them.


Sean Reynolds

EagleEye

Yes, and only $47 (free shipping). I sold it at the Dallas show for nearly $10,000

RichieURich

<< <i>How about this ebay auction! >>



Great pick, Rick! Congratulations and congratulations to the new owner!

SullivanNumismatics

A double-incomplete clipped coin. I've only see a couple, and they only see for several hundred dollars (when they come on the market, which is very rarely.)

SullivanNumismatics

Rick, I think I recognize the 1888 1c as being an 8/7 S-1, but what are the other three? Great cherrypick!

EagleEye

The other three are junk.

johnny9434

<< <i>A cherrypicked one! >>

crypto79

<< <i>The other three are junk. >>



I have to know how high was your nuke bid?

DRUNNER

A circulated 1950-D Jefferson -- say, a fine 12 ???

Drunner

rec78

<< <i>A circulated 1950-D Jefferson -- say, a fine 12 ???

Drunner >>



Excellant !

Billet7

I wasn't necessarily thinking of a coin when I posted this, but here are a few that I own that I think fit the parameters, all purchased for around a hundred bucks or less:

Tough reverse CUD



This is the S/s Variety

shorecoll

I have a unique CWT that I paid less than $100 for...but compared to Rick's cherrypick, it's minor league.

coinkat

Go beyond the US borders and you might be shocked