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Does anyone collect commems?
Soldi
Posts: 2,177 ✭✭✭✭✭
Seems they are a redheaded step child. I personally started a 50 coin set, but find some of them insignificant to the theme and butt ugly. So, I buy what I like in them. Not to mention they're expensive inv65 and up , but 64s are noticeably inferior. Like they shouldn't be 64s. Thank you.
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Now's the time to try to pick some nice examples before this series starts getting pushed by market makers again.
And it will happen.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
Some do, I do not. Coin budget funds better utilized in other areas. Good luck.
End Systemic Elitism - It Takes All of Us
ANA LM, LSCC, EAC, FUN
Not one of the things that ever peaked my interests
theres classic commems im looking at as well, maybe turn a few over fwiw
Agreed, some of them are crap mixed in with some awesome themes and beautiful coins. Maybe do a box of 20, or a themes set like ships, or Civil War etc.
Working on a set now but I have miles to go before I sleep:
Tim
Wow! Are you going for the entire set in CAC Gold? That's going to be a real challenge. Beautiful collection.
To answer the OP, classic commems are one of the few US series that truly interest me, although I haven't started a collection yet. I should start, most of them are pretty affordable and readily available in high grades.
@abbyme24 - that is the goal but as you say, some such as the Spanish Trail, are almost impossible to find but I have nothing but time....
Tim
I filed the extra holes in my WLH dansco with commem halves. Only the ones I liked, don't care for all of them.
@pointfivezero what a way to high jack a thread😀. Absolutely great coins! The type of coin that I love . Old holders, stickers and commems.
I have loved the classic commemoratives
For ever , even the ugly ones. Very enjoyable series to collect. I really enjoyed collecting the 144 piece set back in my collecting days.
LOL, thanks @AZdavy and my apologies to the OP!
Tim
scratches toning start and holder very flashy coin.
What do you mean by HiJack a thread?
Ohhhhhhh now I get it you guys are making sport of me. lol ahhhhaaa tee hee hee
No. So many of them are just ugly.
Every year or so I start a set of certified classic commems, get tired and sell them. I like the toned ones, but they can be lofty in price. Currently, I do not have a set in the works.
I have a couple classic commems and a couple modern commems.
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I started collecting ones with Virginia connections/references about 15 years ago. Then expanded to include animals and plants (if interesting ones to me). That covers a bunch of them.
probably my favorite is this Monroe Doctrine:
I used to be. Was about 90% into a type set. Then started making babies. They didn’t circulate so there’s no shortage of pretty much any of them, barring some of the lower mintage coins. Therefore, unless demand spikes significantly, prices won’t rise. Demand continues to just barely meet supply.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Yes I do. PCGS graded lowball ones, raw circ ones and holed ones. I’m in it for the fun of collecting them and not to see how much money I can make. They are just so much fun to collect and they all have history behind them And you can check out my Lafayette grading set
Lafayette Grading Set
Lafayette Grading Set
I have a 50 coin set, and am still in the market for an occasional upgrade. (where upgrade may be "numerical" or it may simply be a coin with special originality or toning)
Also, thanks to inspiration from @braddick and @pocketpiececommems, I have about 30 or so well circulated examples. At some point, I'd like to complete this set, but many are quite hard to find with a natural circulated look!
I very much like the classics, for the most part. However, they did get carried away with the multi-year issues such as Texas, Daniel Boone, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, and others. I like some of the moderns, but not many.
And 20+ years ago when I lost a circ commem on eBay it was usually to Faraway57 and that was how us circ commem guys got go to know each other
Lafayette Grading Set
People have been saying this for many years.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
There has not been a push for most of them since the market collapsed after a contrived run up, circa 1989.
The fact is all the claims the hucksters make about low mintages compared to circulation strike coins are false. The survival rates for commemoratives are far higher than they are for made for circulation coins, and the grades of the surviving pieces are much higher. You can’t compare the two.
Working on a gold commem set in "rare" holders - stymied by Lewis and Clark currently.
Have only owned a small number of silver ones.
Including the slugs?
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
A thread like this makes me think I might start up again. I had 20 or so and got discouraged and sold all but two.
If I start again, it will be with no illusions. It’s a thin market with a deep and wide supply.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
Well, that was fun. I too buy only the ones I like with no illusion of building a 50 coin type set. Too many uglies . So I have maybe 10-15 coins. Thanks guys/gals
While there’s a large supply for most issues, I don’t consider the market to be thin, other than in the case of top-pop examples.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
One of my favorites.
I bought this coin in 2010 from a good dealer who sold it to me at a fair price ($355):
Not sure I could get $355 for it today. That's what I mean by thin market although there may be a better term for it. The point is that supply outstrips demand and keeps prices depressed.
And yes, Mark, you were the one who sold it to me.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
I really like the look of that coin, even if I did sell it to you.😉
My reason for not considering the market to be thin is that I believe there are a large number of collectors and buyers of classic silver commemoratives. However, at the same time, for many issues, there’s also a fairly large supply - even in grades through MS67 - so not enough demand to drive prices noticeably higher.
I’ve always thought the series was very well suited for collectors, due to the large diversity in designs, general availability, and relative affordability. But, as price performance over a long period of time has shown, that’s not necessarily a recipe for a good investment.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
If there is one thing that could further interest in classic commemoratives, is the mint making modern versions of them. I think a modern Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar would be a hit, or Pan Pac restrikes, or a restrike of the Texas halves since the bicentennial of 2036 is approaching.
I started my Classic Commemoratives Set back in 2004 and prices have definitely gone down since then. Has the demand dropped off that significantly as new collectors have come on board since Covid? One wonders if the prices were supported by Market Makers who have since then moved on.
144 and even fifty slabs plus some golds take up a lot of room in the safe deposit box. The idea of a box of 20 makes a lot of sense. So I've been trying to think of which ones are keepers. So far I have come up with my TOP TWELVE COMMEMORATIVES
LEWIS &CLARK 1905 GOLD DOLLAR
GRANT NO STAR GOLD DOLLAR
HAWAIIAN
SPANISH TRAIL
PANAMA-PACIFIC
OREGON 1939-D
MISSOURI 2X4
VANCOUVER
HUDSON
ARKANSAS 1938-S
ISABELLA
BOONE 1938-S
Which are the other eight that should be added?
Cal Jubilee
San Diego
Antietam
Gettysburg
Connecticut
Bay Bridge
New Rochelle
Norfolk
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
I dabble in them a bit, but just in the designs I really love. Texas, Oregon Trail, Connecticut, for example. All of mine are original beautiful toned coins. Commems seem reasonably priced too, which is nice!
Dave
I have been infatuated with them for their diverse designs and for their toning since I was a little kid who couldn't afford $18 for a colorful Lincoln in my local dealer's showcase. Perhaps that was my Rosebud, but I went on to have the number one 144 piece set for 3 years (I advise against the registry game by the way), and still have trouble parting with coins from my collection
Commems and Early Type
I collect them as well. Everyone here is probably tired of my #1 Lincoln. Here's #2. I regret not adding him and a few others to yesterday's submissions to PCGS. I only had my pink Connecticut out of the bank when I put together the submissions. It's facing certification judgment day in the near future. I'm afraid it will come back as MS63 because the wing "wear" is likely rub based on the intense luster the coin has.
I forgot I also sent my toned ICG AU55 Hawaiian for crossover and a Trueview. Wish me luck with the Trueview.
Really like them picked up some offered me at recent show. Oregon Trail my fav.
I'm sure that Oregon is stunning in hand and a picture just doesn't do it. But, for me, I prefer them white with just a little bit of toning.
MS64
Thanks, but AU-58
Currently only have 1 in collection,
but might start chasing the mystical,
seldom spoken of, sometimes controversial 1984 Denver Proof issue. The St Charles show is this weekend, maybe, just maybe one will show up.
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I like the Vermont too. Mine has a fingerprint that I refer to as catamount in tall grass.
I don't collect them but one of these days I'd like to acquire an Albany (NY is my home state), an Oregon Trail (magnificent rendering of a Native American) and a Hawaiian half dollar. I also wouldn't mind owning any of the Pan-Pac commemoratives, in any denomination, but this is financially unfeasible.
Too many of dubious intent and bad art to ever consider a full set. Have a few as type, birth sets (e.g. mom 1918).
I have had a set since 2000 and once ranked number 2. They are much more inexpensive then when I acquired most of them so I have lost money, but I didn't collect them for the profit. Still, they have risen a little over the last two years.
One of my favorites and a key to the series.
Overland Trail Collection Showcase
Dahlonega Type Set-2008 PCGS Best Exhibited Set
I collect them and am close to finishing the type set, just need one more kiddo to graduate college. Some of the designs I have multiples of such as the Bay Bridge (I like bears), Cali Jubilee (the bear again and I was born in California) and Rhode Islands (went to URI). I don't think I'll ever do the 144 piece set, too much room needed. I do like most of the designs and they all have interesting history IMO even if the goal of an issuance was to fleece the public!
K