Will we find a 1981S SBA$ in MS67

DRG

I know this has been discussed a few times before but I recently made an observation and am looking for some input.
The 1979 mint sets did not include the SBA$ and yet the 1979S was the most common MS67 until the 99's came around. My guess is that this is because people searched alot of bags for these coins(also the quality of these coins was actually pretty good). In 1980 and 1981 all three SBA$ were included in the mint sets. I had not spent much time looking at 1980 mint sets until recently but what I have found is that the quality of the 1980S coins is even worse then the quality of the coins I recieved directly from the mint in $2,000 bags and also worse then the D and P coins in the same mint sets. Conversly the P and D coins are generally as good or better then the coins from the bags. We all know that the 1981S coins are the worst of their year and that in 1981 the coins were only available in mint sets. It occured to me that the extra transport of the S coins from SanFransisco to Denver, (the S coins are included in the Denver cello) probably added to their poor state of preservation. Does anyone know if the individual mint cellos were put togther at their respective mints or all put together at one mint? This info is obviously critical to this theory.

Maybe this should be on the other board, but it is about a potential Registry coin.

littlewicher

I'm still determined to get that MS67 graded. I just bought another 50 sets, and found all MS64 and lower coins! A ton of them had terrible strikes! I'm still sending in that one that I think could possibly get a 67.

littlewicher

If I do make the MS67, you have first shot at it.

cladking

How embarrassing that I don't know, but I think they are all assembled at Philly,
though they have been shipped from other locations.

When enough MS-66 81-S's are graded there should be an MS-67 though it's no
sure thing.

keithdagen

DRG,

That's a great theory. Wonder if Tad might know where the Mint Sets were assembled? That would definitely give some explanation as to why the quality of the S mints pales compared to the other 2 mints' coins for the year.

cladking

...if anyone would...

supercoin

Don't have a clue as to where the mint cello sets were assembled, but I've wondered the same thing. Obviously either the San Francisco SBA or Denver coins had to have been shipped "raw" to one place or another.

If I had to guess, I'd say all three mints were sealed at one place, seems like it would be far more efficient to ship bags of coins all to one place rather than trying to ship those floppy cello packets around. And only one set of assembly/sealing machines would be needed. Of course, this is the Gov't we're talking about.

If you assume that everything was sent to Denver, that could possibly explain some of the generally poor Philly quality too, though at least with SBAs the bigger problem with Philly coins seems to be poor strikes and/or overused dies.

Regarding 1979-S vs. 1980-S in MS67, the best luck I've had finding 1979-S has been in bank-wrapped rolls. Strangely, I don't believe I've ever come across a bank-wrapped 1980-S roll, and I was looking for a while. If those don't exist, that would help explain why they are much tougher.

DRG

Supercoin, my guess is that you are right that the cellos are put together at one place and Denver would be my guess as they tend to be the best looking out of the mint sets. There must be someone how knows for sure. Anybody out there?

As for the bank-wrapped rolls, I have found that the best coins come from the $2,000 bags. The $100 bags tend to have beat up coins. I got all of my $2,000 bags from the mint so they probably didn't get as much abuse as a bag that you might buy from a private party now. Rolls would preserve the coins much better oveer time then leaving them loose in a bag, so maybe we are both right. I made quite a few 79S MS67's back in the day and they all came from the $2,000 bags.

georgewashinton

I'm always looking at any 1981 mint set that comes my way for high-
grade SBA $1's. A couple of years ago when I began my modern coin
search, I thought the 81-P SBA would be nonexistent in MS-67 due
to the usual drab, unappealing luster. I think the Philadelphia mint
did something to its coinage after striking them (especially the mint
set coins.) All of the 'P'mint coins, cents through SBA's, have a dull,
UNNATURAL look to them. I don't try to slab any 81-P coins from
mint sets except for the "right-look" SBA$1. I'm surprised that PCGS
has actually slabbed a few 1981-P SBA's in MS-67.

As for the 1981-S SBA, the luster can come very nice, but surface
abrasions keep this coin from grading high. Needless to say, I'm
looking for the right coin and will continue to scan all the 1981 mint
sets I encounter. I still maintain that even MS-65 examples of 81-S
SBA $1's are very collectible and desirable. They represent much
better value at $50-75 than other modern coins currently trading
at these levels.