$49k Hammer for a 1955 cent! Another incredible auction result for an extremely common coin, no CAC
renomedphys
Posts: 3,721 ✭✭✭✭✭
I’m not complaining. Love it when stuff like this happens. A few weeks ago this coin’s 1958 twin sold for $55k hammer. And let’s pray the underbidder never loses interest 😂
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1728034/1955-Lincoln-Cent-PCGS-Proof-69-DCAM
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Comments
I can’t relate to these prices for very common coins in very high grade. The other problem is that coins like this are quite fragile. One spot, and your investment is dead for many collectors.
I will be giving a presentation at Summer FUN about forming a one a year set of cents from 1793 to 2025. The 1955 should be a date you would find in a roll of wheat cents. It’s great opportunity for YNs.
Good point, other than it is already in an older (no barcode) PCGS slab and hasn't changed yet. Chances are the new owner suspects it isn't likely to start turning now.
peacockcoins
Not to throw shade here. It just looks to me like the photo could have used perhaps a little less 🤷🏻♂️?? Where’s the eye-watering frost?
Empty Nest Collection
Matt’s Mattes
I’m sorry, but I have too much respect for money and how hard 99% of the people in the world have to work to get it to consider spending $50k on something like this. I’m sure I’m guilty of excess on occasion, but one has to draw the line somewhere regardless of their resources.
Even though it might have been good for 20+ years in the holder, improper storage can change that very quickly. NGC has now refused to guarantee copper coins in their holders after 10 years. I don’t like that, but it does show that storage conditions are a concern.
Here is optimistically believing anyone with 49K to spend on a somewhat modern proof Lincoln cent will know how to store this coin.
peacockcoins
Dead in line with our numbers which were already at $50,000 (Greysheet) / $60,000 (CPG). Great job GreatCollections! The market for these top registry coins is showing good strength.
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
$49K? I would rather purchase a decent 1955 TBird. And I suspect after alittle negotiating, I might have enough left to buy a coin here or there.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I guarantee the buyer is not married
I strongly disagree.
The strength and love of a spouse is a strong motivator for achievment and success.
What I would believe is the buyer is probably not divorced.
peacockcoins
Pass, that's way more then I care to spend on a coin 👎
If I were a low level billionaire, worth only 1 billion, I could buy one of those every day for the next 50 years.
For some people, it's not much money - and it might be a special birth year coin!
I will never be able to comprehend other than ego, why anyone would pay ridiculous money for a coin in which over 100,000(!!) are estimated to exist in gem condition and better.
Perhaps the buyer is having fun with coins? All are welcome imho.
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
Sorry but waste is waste.
Coin had sold at Stacks if I am not mistaken in 2023 for roughly the same money with the same pop. So, pricing was pretty easy on the coin - it had already been auctioned. The surprise would have been $25k or $75k. GC delivered last night. Stacks delivered in 2023.
Just my 2 cents.
Wondercoin
Edited to add- same money that bought the same coin at Stacks in mid-2023, would be worth around $63,000 if the funds were put into bullion gold. So, this registry coin (basically not moving at all) truly did not perform all that well over past couple years.
Someone with very deep pockets is having fun.
Hard pass for me.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I paid somewhere in that neighborhood for an 1848 CAL. $2.50 in AU some years ago. Which coin is more interesting?
Exactly. It would be a consideration for me, if it was a more appealing coin, such as a key date or classic rarity….Not something so plain and esoteric…
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Deep pockets for you and me.
Shallow pockets for well-heeled collectors.
peacockcoins
I have to wonder why some members get so annoyed by what others buy, collect, or do with their money.
A competent psychiatrist would have a field day here. 😂😂
I'd imagine even an incompetent one would have a good time.
peacockcoins
When I see something like this, I'm reminded of the guy who paid a fortune for a 1953 S MS 66 Full Bell Franklin Half, which was the finest known of it's date and mint at the time, only to have another one made a year or 18 months later. He wound up selling it for half of what he paid for it. I hope the auction houses involved with this coin sent him a Christmas card.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I guess good ole registry fever is still alive and well.
WS
I agree the price is insane, and probably not something I would purchase, even if I could spend that type of money and not worry about it. Then again, it is a 1955 Penny, in deep cameo, graded in PF-69. In many ways it's a one-of-a-kind coin, a historic artifact from a time when the Mint wasn't really capable of regularly making coins with that quality and cameo finish. Now the mint can spit out PF70-DCAM pennies all day, every day, but to paraphrase Doc Brown, "In 1955 they're a little hard to come by!"
I'm much more skeptical regarding the high value of for example, a 1995 W Silver Eagle Proof, or the 2019 S Silver Eagle enhanced reverse, simply because the only difference between those coins and their (far less) expensive identical twins from the same year is the mintmark or lack thereof. To me, there's nothing particularly special about those coins in that everything other than the mintmark is identical to the Philadelphia 1995 Silver Eagle proofs, or the West Point Pride of Two Nations Silver Eagle proofs. At least with this penny, the entire coin is distinctive because of the DCAM and the high grade for its time.
Now, if the complaint is that the coin is too modern, well, I have trouble seeing a coin minted 20 years before I was born as "modern" but that's of course a matter of perspective.
It wasn't too long ago Kennedy gold commems were going for crazy money. One mans trash is another mans treasure.
I collect in the mid 20th century proof SMS arena (1936-1970), primarily by looking for raw coins and submitting them for grading. For 1936-1964 I have made one 69CAM coin, this one:
but never have made a a 69DCAM coin. Making top pop DCAM coins in this niche area is titling at windmills.
In 2023 I submitted to our host four 1955 proof cents that I thought would possibly warrant a Cameo designation. None of them received a Cameo designation.
Here are true views of these four coins.
PF67RD (current Price Guide value is $55.00)
PF66RD (current Price Guide value is $30,00)
PF65 RD (current Price Guide value is $26.00)
PF66RD (current Price Guide value is $30.00)
In 2021 I submitted this 1955 proof cent. It also did not receive a Cameo designation
PF66RB (current value is not listed on Coin Facts but is likely not more than $10.00)
Does anyone think that the difference in quality, appearance and eye appeal between the 1955 PF69RDDCAM cent sold by Great Collections and the five 1955 proof cents I submitted supports the almost $49K hammer price of the 69DCAM over the
market values my cents?
In the point of view of some persons the answer is yes. In the point of view of others the answer is no.
Humans are indeed interesting creatures who can create great value out of thin air (or out of a plastic slab and an insert with precise numbers and letters on same).
Have fun with your coins
First of all @SanctionII I must say your coins are gorgeous. However, market value is not driven strictly by appearance or eye appeal, it's about competition for registry ranking and top pops along with other low pop high grades drive demand. High demand and low supply means money! Again, your coins are outstanding.
To follow up on my prior post, here is a photo of a 1959 PF67RDDCAM cent that I made in 2021. It has what I consider DCAM frost on the devices and mirrored fields.
Here is a photo of a 1959 PF66RD cent that I made in 2023. I think it should have received at least a CAM designation (due to the impaired reverse fields).
Your thoughts.
JW77.
Your reply is spot on (thanks for the props for my coins, I do enjoy them).
The competitive nature of humans is fascinating. Every day, across multiple areas of human endeavor it is on display (i.e. athletic competition, video games, poker, social media, politics, science, art, construction, photography, car racing, boat racing, sky diving, sports cards, coins, car collecting, wine making, fashion, etc.).
In collectibles the concept that a given item can be "graded" (via experts who opine about its condition by assigning a numerical grade plus alphabetic enhancers and place the item in a sealed plastic holder) in return for payment of a grading fee is (in hindsight) simple and appealing. However the creators of this concept took things further when Registry Sets were created, implemented and marketed to the collecting public.
Absolutely brilliant, as TPG grading coupled with Registry Set competition has allowed anyone (regardless of one's age, physical fitness, intellect, health, finances, etc.) to compete and strive to accomplish (who does not enjoy that?). The response of the collecting public has been and likely will continue to be beyond what the creators of the concepts envisioned.
Yes. And you might find some loose change in the seats.
$55,125 with the BP, a serious Lincoln cent collector for sure!
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Back then the dies soaked in 95% alcohol and 5% nitric acid then the fields were polished leaving the devices frosty on the die. The problem was after a couple dozen or so strikes the frost would be gone so the OP coin with a DCAM designation is one of only a first few to come off that die. And then to be a PF69 makes that coin a conditional rarity. Possibly one of one.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
They bought the wrong Lincoln
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I’d say a business strike MS69 would be worth the money, but the well preserved proof strike….
After many hours spent viewing Stewart's collections I'm a little topped out on cents!
But as the saying goes, "collect what you like", so if the buyer is happy with the purchase then it's all good!
🇺🇸 Harlequin
harlequinnumismatic@gmail.com
True. But it helps to collect something more desirable, if/when it’s time to sell.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
..................or not yet divorced?
Pete
rumor has it jefferson nickles have been known to turn blue in a holder
In my reply of yesterday afternoon I asked:
Does anyone think that the difference in quality, appearance and eye appeal between the 1955 PF69RDDCAM cent sold by Great Collections and the five 1955 proof cents I submitted supports the almost $49K hammer price of the 69DCAM over the
market values my cents?
No one has yet answered this question.
Does anyone care to do so and start what may be an interesting discussion (about a coin's value in the market place)?
For me, I have mid 20th century proof Registry Sets that mostly consist of coins I have submitted raw for grading. Upgrading my sets at this point in time mostly requires that I purchase slabbed coins that have already been graded. These upgrade coins are more expensive (than the cost of raw coins that are graded, receiving top pop grades); and they are easier to find and acquire than making them yourself. I have paid up for some slabbed coins to upgrade my Registry Sets and I can envision myself paying,.............. even more up ............... in the future (there is a desire in me to climb higher on the set rankings ladder
).
I am interested in reading what other forum members have to say, ...................... so have a go at it
I think the coins you picked for grading were not 69. The 69 was a 69. Keep searching.
I think that neither you nor anyone else on the planet can determine from images that a Proof 69 coin deserves that grade.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
To hit the jackpot in lottery you need to match all six numbers. You don’t get half the jackpot for getting half the numbers right.
To answer your question @SanctionII , I don't think the difference in quality supports the almost $49K hammer price of the 69DCAM over the market values of your cents. However, at least a couple of buyers in the market disagree.
I think you already did a good job of answering this yourself in your March 24, 2025 7:56PM post referencing Registry Set competition.
If something like the Registry Set competition had never occurred to anyone, I don't think the prices would have anywhere near the gap in price vs quality that exists today. Just as it was much smaller before Registry Sets existed or when the same coins are raw.
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
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Exactly!
To think of all the truly rare gold coins that could be had in at least AU for 50k is mind boggling!
>
I mean even some super nice Early Eagles.
No way could I justify a ‘wheat cent’ to these types of coins.
Oh well, their money, their choice!😉
Someone is doing a happy dance, consignor and also the underbidder if he hasn’t realized it yet.
I’ve made my position clear. However I should apologize to the “to each his own” camp. It’s none of my business what the rich do with their money or how hobbyists choose to enjoy their hobby.
None.
In my defense it’s in my nature to comment when I see foolish and wasteful behavior, just one of my many faults.
I mean, unless you have your coins next to an open window and you reside near a toxic waste dump or an exotic restaurant
....what can possibly cause coins to change via atmospherics ?
I don't know anybody who stores their coins in a very cold or warm place....in direct sunlight...or anywhere near where anything other than breathable Oxygen/Nitrogen is common.
This almost seems random. I had a beautiful MSD PL coin turn and develop an ugly black smudge -- same storage container has dozens of other silver coins, and NONE of them (MSDs, Peace, Moderns) have done anything appearance-wise.
You would think that if a coin hasn't turned after 10 or 20 or 30 or 125 years....it should be safe, esp. now that it's in a holder the last 35 years or so.
Evidently, not so.
The museums might. The DeWitt collection of political tokens showed environmental damage from storage that was something less than environmentally controlled.
He will be and she will get the Registry Set.