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2005 Ocean In View First Day Covers - Crazy Prices
Have you noticed the leap in price of the 2005 Westward Journey Series First Day Coin Covers? The mint sold these for an outrageous $20 each -- and prior to January 1, the second hand market for these on Ebay was somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 - $12. I picked up a few of each type in this price range.
Now that mint has stopped selling these - and the published sales figures were released (pretty low numbers, given the quantity produced), the second hand market is going crazy for these WJ Nickel FDCs! In the past few days, the Ocean in View FDC has sold repeatedly for $45 to $60. The keelboat FDC is selling for near $30, too; and the other two FDCs are selling for double what they were a month ago. ARE PEOPLE CRAZY OR WHAT? Chances are good, that the mint will get authorization to sell the remaining stock. The language on their web site and recent articles in CW and NN magazines mention legislation to resume numismatic sales of WJ nickel products. The bottom will fall out of these puffed up FDC prices when sales resume. I think the phrase used to describle slabs really applies in this situation, too: 'Buy the coin, not the holder'. Would you pay $50+ for two Unc. business strike WJ nickels? I'm afraid some people are going to be mighty disappointed.
It doesn't help that some eBay sellers of these FDCs are falsely proclaiming things like "Only 23,000 Made" or "SOLD OUT AT THE MINT". What are their buyers going to think when the mint starts selling these again in a few months? I'll bet they'll wish they had not already left positive feedback.
Now that mint has stopped selling these - and the published sales figures were released (pretty low numbers, given the quantity produced), the second hand market is going crazy for these WJ Nickel FDCs! In the past few days, the Ocean in View FDC has sold repeatedly for $45 to $60. The keelboat FDC is selling for near $30, too; and the other two FDCs are selling for double what they were a month ago. ARE PEOPLE CRAZY OR WHAT? Chances are good, that the mint will get authorization to sell the remaining stock. The language on their web site and recent articles in CW and NN magazines mention legislation to resume numismatic sales of WJ nickel products. The bottom will fall out of these puffed up FDC prices when sales resume. I think the phrase used to describle slabs really applies in this situation, too: 'Buy the coin, not the holder'. Would you pay $50+ for two Unc. business strike WJ nickels? I'm afraid some people are going to be mighty disappointed.
It doesn't help that some eBay sellers of these FDCs are falsely proclaiming things like "Only 23,000 Made" or "SOLD OUT AT THE MINT". What are their buyers going to think when the mint starts selling these again in a few months? I'll bet they'll wish they had not already left positive feedback.
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