What is our “ hobby of kings “ coming to ?
numis1652
Posts: 92 ✭✭✭
StacksBowers March Rarities Night catalogue devotes a FULL PAGE to a 1994 PCGS MS69 Red penny.
Headlined “ Top-Pop “ ! A coin that almost any person would spend in change
Now I’d think this coin, IF accepted AT ALL for auction, might merit a short blurb amongst regular catalogue listings.
But put it in plastic and headline it in a major sale and…
What’s that old saying used increasingly in current politics - “ the emperor has no clothes “ . Seems appropriate here.
Gad !
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Comments
It's not something that interests me either, but there are people it does. I'd just turn the page and move on, no need to disparage the coins other people collect.
I don't think you recognize how rare a 69 circulation strike is.
Just because it isn't for you doesn't mean you should simply dismiss it.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I really don't see a problem with the SB approach.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
……..it’s coming to being dependent on eBay
You seem to enjoy complaining. Is that any way to enjoy the hobby of kings?
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Photo courtesy PCGS
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
To a point, this is correct but I think we all need to keep in mind that the OP is just expressing HIS opinion. It's really very simple. Low ball collectors gonna collect lowballs and pretty penny collectors gonna collect pretty pennies and the twain will never meet. World be damned! Collect what you like!
"Great spirits have always been met with violent opposition by mediocre minds."
Albert Einstein
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But some people never see the other side of a coin...........(pun intended
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"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
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What will this cent be worth if it develops a few carbon spots? I've never trusted high grade red copper. What happens to this coin's value if a couple of similar 1994 cents are slabbed at the same grade in the future? To each his own. At least the new owner can go to his next coin club meeting and brag to all of his buddies that he owns the finest 1994 cent.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
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I'm sure the price will be way up there so I have to dismiss it
But will be interesting to see if it "turns" in the slab over the years. Wasn't there a previous Memorial cent that was the only graded 69 that had a problem in the holder and it was dropped to a 68? (or something like that)
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"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Was that the high grade Lincoln cent that developed a fingerprint that wasn't visible at the time the coin was graded?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Plastic & stickers for the 1%.
And I am just expressing mine- that you can collect what you like without making demeaning comments about what others collect.
There was an MS69 Indian cent 30+ years ago that PCGS put a fingerprint on and they had to do a buy back. They hung it on the wall in the grading room as a reminder.
Real estate in the auction catalog is dependent on (predicted) value.
I once consigned a numismatically-interesting French coin to Stacks. It didn’t even warrant a photo while all the 100 Franc semi-bullion gold coins got one. Really pissed me off.
Many of these new coins aren’t helping. This new quarter. I rest my case.
How is that an MS-69??
The hobby is going gangbusters as evidenced by auction company revenue and coin show participation. I'd say the hobby is coming into a growth spurt.
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
Because it's almost perfect for a '94.
High graded moderns 68/69 often bring more money than the kings classical AU58.
What are all of those marks below UNUM? In addition, over six billion of these were minted. To each their own, but why not buy a nice MS67 and call it a day.
Those aren't marks, it's the plating.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Thank you!
I would never buy one in any grade but I have fun making and selling them.
Though I've never made a 69 and my 68s came from circulated coins back when I was feverishly paying the coin Gods.
Now, I buy mint sets looking for grades but don't pay much attention to the Lincolns anymore...
@pruebas I don't know if laughing with me or at me but here is one example.
the one next to it only went 67...
My avatar, AU58 cost was 1,100.00
Then MS68 Kennedy I found in a mint set and sold just under 4K. Pop 4/0
The blue one on top left obviously
Not a coin I’d be interested in but certainly a condition rarity. If you collect modern Lincolns, I can see why someone would be interested in it. I don’t judge what other people collect. Yesterday‘s moderns are today’s classics.
When I started collecting walkers, the first walker was minted 78 years ago. Today it’s 110 years ago. The Market is dynamic. Time makes everything collectible, if given enough of it..
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
The origninal post could be seen as a bit misleading.
The 1994 1c is on one page by itself because of how Stack's Bowers chose to format the entire catalog rather than viewing the lot as a one page item because of its importance.
Throughout the catalog only 2 lots are shown per page at most. Looks like if the first lot goes any amount more than half a page or if the second lot doesn't also fit entirely on the page then it starts on a new page leaving the first lot on a page by itself even if it is less than half of a page. That can look like it implies more importance for some of those that are one lot to a page when it is just a result of how they chose to format it. The are a number of lots showing as one page lots because of this.
You could quibble with their format since it can create one page lots that normally would not be considered worthy of their own page. At least that is how it appears in its PDF format, linked below, which I assume is the same as the physical catalog.
This 1994 Cent lot description actually takes up what appears to be among the smallest amounts of space in the catalog, (about one third or less of the page) with the rest of the page just blank.
Also of note is that the PCGS price guide shows it at $13,000 with no previous sales and a population of 2. We will see what the market says soon.
Go to page 36 of the "View Catalog" for the "March 10, 2026 Stack's Bowers Galleries The Spring 2026 Showcase Auction - Rarities Night"
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https://stacksbowers.com/auctions/catalog-library/
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
There really is a seat at the Numismatic table for everyone- not just Kings, but those who chose to be prudent and recognize the value of buying a straw hat in January and avoiding the lump of coal in West Virginia. There is something to be said for finally reaching the title of Grumpy Old Numismatist. And instead of complaining about how coins are framed at Auction Houses or even collected, it seems there is more to be gained by just taking the road least traveled.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I will purchase graded ASEs in 69 for a little over bullion.
That's as far as I will go with MS69.
I took a look at the roll of 1994 cents I put away then….. none of those horrible black pool spots that are the bane of Zincolns. Maybe 94 was the year to pick 69s