Low mintage undervalued

PutTogether · February 20, 2005 7:34AM

Reading the thread about the 67000 dollar shield nickel with a mintage of 25 brought a question to mind.

What are some low mintage US coins that can be had in decent condition for reasonable prices?
I'm sure there is no such thing as a coin that has a mintage of 20 that can be bought for a hundred bucks- but its an extreme example of what I'm asking.

What is the best bang for your buck out there for mintage vs price? Let's hear some ideas.

DNADave · February 20, 2005 7:36AM

Look at the seated liberty half dollars 1879 to 1890

CUEBALL · February 20, 2005 9:17AM

Quarters also.1879 to 1889,Try finding a nice attractive 1886 quarter in circ. or unc.They are tuff in my opinion and they only cost a few hundred dollars even in unc. and they are much much rarer than 1916 Quarter.

coinguy1 · February 20, 2005 9:29AM

Patterns quickly come to mind. While they are not "cheap", many of them have known popualtions of 30 or less and are also quite impressive in their designs and beauty.

Regarding price levels for all coins - it really comes down to supply and demand. If there is no demand (whatever the reason), the rarity of the coin doesn't matter much. For example, if there are only 10 known of a given coin, but only 5 people care, the coin wont sell for nearly as much as one might think.

Conversely, if a coin is popular, it usually comes with a high price tag, even if it's not truly "rare". Just look at High Relief's, 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cents, etc. as prime examples.

roadrunner · February 20, 2005 9:34AM

The only downside with those low mintage quarters and halves from 1879-1890 is that hundreds of proofs and uncs are around, putting a ceiling on the price of the circs that that has been in effect for decades.

I like the branch mint seated quarters of the 1840's through 1870's. While some of the S/O mints are incredibly tough, they cost quite a bit too. For a bargain approach, many of the "O" mint quarters are undervalued considering how few are left, especially in XF/AU. Favorites: 1847-0, 1858-0, 1859-0. And those are nice values even in lower grades...as well as being many times rarer than any comparable quarter "RARITY" from the 20th century (such as 1901-s and 1916 where thousands of pieces remain). Remaining pops for these "O" mints may range from 300-600 pieces.
And any "O" mint seated quarter in strong XF/AU is a very nice find, esp on the 43-0, 47-0, 53-0, 58-0, 59-0 while not breaking the bank.

While original mintages are several hundred thousand, the survival rate is what counts. These coins didn't survive very well. And if you toss in undamaged with attractive original toning, you could probably find a choice AU-55 piece that would be 1 out of 20.

roadrunner

PutTogether · February 20, 2005 9:34AM

<< <i>

Regarding price levels for all coins - it really comes down to supply and demand. If there is no demand (whatever the reason), the rarity of the coin doesn't matter much. For example, if there are only 10 known of a given coin, but only 5 people care, the coin wont sell for nearly as much as one might think.

. >>

This is exactly my point. I wanna hunt after something with a low low mintage that maybe everyone else (or almost everyone else) has overlooked so I can not spend an arm and a leg doing it. Hell with supply and demand, the favorite coins I own are the ones i know are just flat out rare - not just conditionally rare, or even common but in high demand.

PutTogether · February 20, 2005 9:35AM

<< <i>The only downside with those low mintage quarters and halves from 1879-1890 is that hundreds of proofs and uncs are around, putting a ceiling on the price of the circs that that has been in effect for decades.

I like the branch mint seated quarters of the 1840's through 1870's. While some of the S mints are incredibly tough, they cost quite a bit too. For a bargain approach, many of the "O" mint quarters are undervalued considering how few are left, especially in XF/AU. Favorites: 1847-0, 1858-0, 1859-0. And those are nice values even in lower grades...as well as being many times rarer than any comparable quarter "RARITY" from the 20th century (such as 1901-s and 1916 where thousands of pieces remain). Remaining pops for these "O" mints may range from 300-600 pieces.
Any any "O" mint seated quarter in strong XF/AU is a very nice find.

roadrunner >>

very insightful, thank you.

Keep the ideas rolling!!!!!!!!

carl · February 20, 2005 9:38AM

Just run through the Whitman Red Book for quantities and prices. Note for example due to hoarding the 31S Lincoln cent is very low mintage but the prices are very low due to hoarding of this coin when new. This is apparent as you look through the book for common denominations that people have had access to in recent years. On the other hand very soft coinage such as Standing Liberty Quarters that wore out fast have high prices regardles of the quantity minted. At least this is true around my area.

roadrunner · February 20, 2005 9:43AM

Circ Barbers in the Fine-XF range, especially branch mints, will probably have their price guides rewritten several times in the next decade. As many board members have mentioned, these are incredibly difficult to find, moreso than UNCs. Go out and try to find an 1898-0 or 1907-s 25c in nice VF.

Now if you have to have coins with orig mintages of only 25 in most cases those cost tens of thousands. The exceptions might be in colonials, patterns, errors, fractional gold, tokens, medals, and other areas of the market. And in some of these cases the demand may stay extremely low such that the price will never change by much.

roadrunner

Baley · February 20, 2005 9:50AM

R5 and better Draped and Capped Bust coins are going to explode someday, when Overton and Browing books are (finally) updated. You can buy a nice coin with a die marriage that has less than 100 survivors, sometimes for less than $500. As Mark points out, there may be less than 100 collectors who want one right now, but chances are, some of the state quarter collectors are going to get interested in older coins, and the scarce pre-civil war seateds all they way back to the 1796 are going to do well... hmm, maybe it's already starting to happen. I'm finding i have to bid higher and higher to win a decent DB or Lg. capped quarter lately..

edit: come to think of it, never mind, those old coins suck.. better to chase MS69 Rhode Islands and stuff.

DNADave · February 20, 2005 9:55AM

PutTogether · February 20, 2005 9:55AM

I hadn't thought about die marriages, thats an interesting idea. I was thinking more of total mintage.

michael · February 20, 2005 4:30PM

the below are totally undervalued classic sleeper value opportunity coins and can be found with some looking

proof 1914 barber quarter mintage 380 coins in choice proof with great eye appeal

proof 1865 two cent piece in choice brown and rb a sexy civil war date 500 minted and less than 60% do not exist anymore

1862 proof indian cent choice proof 550 minted sexy civil war date

1862 proof choice proof seated dime 550 minted ditto the civil war date

1913 choice proof barber dime 622 minted

1868 choice proof seated quarter 600 minted

1867 choice proof seated half 625 minted

1863 choice proof seated dollar 460 minted sexy civil war date

1881 choice proof trade dollar 960 minted and a radar date to boot and proof only no biz strikes made

proof quarter eagle 1862 35 minted

and a sexy civil war date and also choice to gem biz strike coins are non existant

and proof gold the ultimate of the ultimate

oh and george washington did not chop down that cherry tree either

Elcontador · February 20, 2005 5:23PM

Look at pop reports for various types of coins. Then talk to some people who know the series to get an idea of whether these reports are accurate. Then make your decision.

For a couple of hundred $, I'd say not a chance. While maybe 300 to 500 high end proof coins of some classic coins were minted, you always seem to find PF 66 & 67s available. OTOH, properly graded business strike coins in these grades are difficult to locate.

Steve · February 20, 2005 11:32PM

Lincoln cent Matte proofs 1909 thru 1916 (all except the 1909VDB version) are coins with mintages from 1,050 to 2,848 that sell today in PR63 for around $300. I doubt that even half of the original mintage still exists. If you like Lincoln cents one of these examples should definately be part of your collection. Problem will be trying to find one for sale. Steve

rhedden · February 20, 2005 11:39PM

1797, 1801, 1803, and 1805 half dimes are undervalued in price guides, but are not usually undervalued when offered for sale. I particularly like the 1803 small 8 with only 5 coins graded by PCGS in all grades combined, and the 1797 13 stars with only 8 pieces certified by PCGS.

kranky · February 21, 2005 12:31AM

I think a lot of classic commems seem to be cheap compared to the mintages.

michael · February 21, 2005 4:42PM

vega1 · February 22, 2005 4:57AM

In my opinion Half Cents are very reasonable and generally available given the mintages.

Low mintage undervalued

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