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Why did this 1950 Proof Set sell for so cheap?
stealer
Posts: 3,968 ✭✭✭✭
I'm not sure if I'm missing something here.
This set includes a half in NGC PR66 and sold for $470 with juice:
Which is less than a single NGC PR66 in the same auction.
What gives?
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Wow, someone got a great deal on the set. The half in the set, even though it's the same grade, is far superior than the singleton.
bob
A fluke is my best guess as well...I guess the world will never know!
Supply and shrinking demand.
I would hazard a guess that people were not interested in the set.... thinking it would be expensive, and focused on the single coin - thus letting someone walk away with a prize. Cheers, RickO
One thing I have learned about the older Proof coins that are toned is that you can't discern the true quality of these pieces without a personal inspection. Photos can be very useful for Mint State coins, but Proofs are a different matter. Perhaps the coin in the set is not as nice you think while the single coin is nicer. You can’t know for sure from a photo.
Having said that auctions are odd and fickle things. When a lot comes down. Where it is placed in the sale. Which buyers happen to spot it or are involved in the market all play a role in the final price. Maybe the person who bought the single didn’t want the whole set and skipped bidding on it thinking that it would sell for more.
What people are not realizing is that with thousands of coins in a given auction, and a very finite budget from 99% of people things are going to fall through the cracks.
It also only takes one added bidder to run up one lot relative to the others. So, if one person really liked that half dollar. Done.
I also think it is probably just a fluke.
YN Member of the ANA, ANS, NBS, EAC, C4, MCA, PNNA, CSNS, ILNA, TEC, and more!
Always buying numismatic literature and sample slabs.
Why did the 1950 Proof set sell for a cheap price? I wasn't bidding on it.
just sold an item that normally sells for 550+
mine went for 249. Buyer says he spiked at 450.
looks like funds are drying up in North America.
maybe there are some underlying political cautions?
people are hanging on to their spare cash?
I think they lead with a picture of the Lincoln and most people probably skimmed over it and didn't read that the Lincoln was just one coin out of a whole set being sold.
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Sometimes people make assumptions about sets too. They think that an older set has some sub par coins in it. In this case the set opened up with a cent in PR-64 which many people view as a low grade from a Proof coin in the 1950s.
auctions are like that - some things go too low and some go too high.
if I understand Heritage auctions, the set didn't sell or meet reserve. via the link provided it is now for sale via the owner.
The other typical answer here? I was selling it. (Thankfully, this was not the case.)
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
As shown in the Heritage photos of the proof set and of the separate half dollar, none of the six coins grabs my attention. Maybe in hand one or more of the coins has positive eye appeal, but I do not see that from the photos. Thus I would not be interested in any of the six coins.
If I saw the coins in hand I might change my mind.
For sure it is a ho-hum set at best.
For me, all my free cash has been in the stock market for the last year+ and I have enjoyed the wonderful ride up. Unless I can snag something real cheap, my funds are going to stay in the stock market - at least for now.
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