Silver Commems from 1892-1954.

keets · May 16, 2007 7:36AM

I continually here that this series is cold or on the verge of death, that prices are stagnant, that only the highest graded or most striking coins sell, etc. etc. etc................ now this may be true in part or totally for everything mentioned, but it still provides a puzzler for a curios mind like mine. Why are they always listed with such abundance in major auctions?? Considered as a series unto itself, they are routinely surpassed only by the Morgan Bullion issue which, to my mind, suffers the same fate; this series is cold or on the verge of death, that prices are stagnant, that only the highest graded or most striking coins sell, etc. etc. etc.......................Well, maybe not on the verge of death or cold for the Morgans, but I tend to think that they've been rjuvenated lately because of VAM fever and PCGS deciding to attribute those nuances for us lazy collectors or afficianados. But you should catch my drift, to wit-----If Classic Commemoratives are soslow right now, why are they such an auction attraction???

Al H.

LeeG · May 16, 2007 9:06AM

<< <i>If Classic Commemoratives are so slow right now, why are they such an auction attraction??? >>

I'm a fan of the Classic Commem series. Coins rich in history with low mintage figures make them appealing to me. Good coins sell and the dipped out dreg's will move from auction to auction and never sell. Not just the classic commems but all series.

CDN April 27, 07
COMMEMORATIVES: A more rounded base of support is once again returning to the popular classic Silver Commems. Several in the line-up are needed as the Elgin carries a pair of higher offers in MS65-MS66 as does the proud Texas Type and Sets. This spring flurry is rounded out by Wisconsin and York's triumphant sortie in MS66 garnering $505 and $445 respectively. Unfortunately, much of the Classic Gold ensemble remains on the sellers' shelf with several more reduced hoping to entice bargain hunters.

U.S. Silver Commemorative Coins--Coins from the "Golden Age"
Bruce Amspacher

<< <i>United States commemorative silver coins from the "Golden Age" of commemoratives (1892-1954) are among the most popular, beautiful and highly collected of all U.S. coins. This set contains the lowest-mintage silver coin of the 20th century, the second-lowest, the third and so forth. For some reason, this great series was basically ignored in the 1990s, leading to a collapse in prices and loss of interest from many collectors. While modern issues are the number one sellers in all of American numismatics at the present time, silver commemoratives from 1892-1954 are not far behind. Suddenly, this wonderful series has a new life that hasn't been seen since the 1980s!

Commemoratives are collected in dozens of ways. The 50-piece type set includes the 50 major designs, covering 48 half dollars, one quarter and one silver dollar. The 144-piece set includes all of the dates and mintmarks. There is only one Elgin or New Rochelle or Iowa, but there are 13 different Texas commems and 14 different Oregon Trail commems (to name but two of the multi-coin sets).

For the most part commemorative coins did not circulate, and they are known as NCLT coins, for "non-circulating legal tender." They were sold for a premium over their face value, usually to raise money for the causes that they commemorate. A few issues circulated heavily, though, such as the 1892 and 1893 Columbian Exposition pieces. Other issues that are frequently seen in circulated condition include the pre-Depression era coins that were pulled out of the family heirlooms and spent on food and shelter during the 1930s. This list includes the two Alabama issues, the two Missouri issues, the Lincoln-Illinois, the Sesqui, the Stone Mountain and others.

The demand for top quality pieces is basically what this market is all about. A magnificently toned Texas commemorative in PCGS MS67, with a "suggested retail value" of under $1,000, recently realized nearly $9,000 at public auction. Examples that are the finest graded, or tied for the finest graded, may create a bidding war at auction or a "You want HOW MUCH for it?" look of incredulity on the bourse floor. Tremendous eye appeal in this series can equate to tremendous prices.

In addition to the 50-piece and 144-piece sets, collectors also build sets that are of interest to them personally, such as the Civil War commems, the coins with ships on them, the Oregon Trail issues, the Texas commems, the California commems, and many other options.

Not only is there a huge collector base for these coins, there is also a price aberration, as prices across-the-board average only 25% of their 1989 highs in MS65 or better. The old axiom that "If it sounds too good to be true then it usually is" doesn't apply to these coins. They really are beautiful, popular, scarce-to-rare, historic and CHEAP. >>

Rare Coin Market Update May 20, 2004

<< <i>COMMEMORATIVES : No NOT Modern Commems. I am referring to classic silver commems. Gold commems are overpriced. Sell and reposition your money as soon as you can. Silver Commems in gem are a bargain. Buy all you can. These coins are one of the greatest sleepers in Numismatics with some issues selling for only 25% of their highs of 1989! Choose upper end hand picked coins, toned or not, be prepared to pay a premium of 20 - 35% for them which still puts you into them at less than 30% of site unseen generic money back in 89. You can't go wrong. >>

That's the way we see it from here.
Cordially,
Thomas M. Pilitowski

Zoins · May 16, 2007 9:30AM

If CCHDs are weak now and sellers are willing to let them go, what are the possible scenarios?

(a) CCHD sellers don't think the bottom has been reached yet and the coins may decline more
(b) CCHD sellers want to free up capital to invest in coins or other assets that may appreciate more during their time horizon

Are there other scenarios?

keets · May 16, 2007 10:03AM

are the prices weak or stagnant??? i don't know, but i'd look at them as static instead of stagnant. on first thought that may seem to be the same thing, but stagnant to me seems to indicate that there is a higher level that can be realistically arrived at. static, on the other hand, means that perhaps the pricing is at it's maximum level and is holding there. if that's true then the market strength would tend to be judged by whether or not the current levels can be sustained, with a drop in price meaning that demand is falling.

it may just be that demand for these lovely coins(some of the issues, at least) has reached a constant level of collectors and are really just moving back and forth or from an exiting collector to an entering collector. i think it's a wrong perception to believe that prices for an issue are always going to move forward. it may reach a level and hold there, fooling the masses who want to buy low-----hold for awhile-----and then sell for a profit.

secondrepublic · May 16, 2007 10:15AM

I personally think these coins are great, and I've slowly started collecting them. Not sure if they are a good value necessarily because in spite of the low mintages, many of them have high populations in gem unc.

Zoins · May 16, 2007 10:35AM

One issue with CCHDs and coins in general now is that there are so many series to choose from. This is being exacerbated by Congress and the Mint that is putting out the SHQs, PDs, GFSs, etc. now. In the past, you could probably assume a new collector would make their way from collecting modern series to CCHDs with reasonable probability in a reasonable amount of time. These days, with so many series to choose from, the only people collecting certain series may be because they really like it, not because they've run out of other stuff to collect. This is good because people have more choice in what to collect but it also means that there may be fewer collectors collecting certain series because they are prioritized lower.

As there become more and more series to collect, demand for individual less rare issues my decrease because demand is spread over more coins. Super rarities may continue to be strong because limited populations make it so only a small number of collectors can keep prices high.

sbeverly · May 16, 2007 11:52PM

For me this thread is very timely.

I have 4 common of the Commems. --Columbian, Booker, Stone Mountain, and Honest Abe.
and have been seriously considering collecting the series.

(1) I like the History, (story) that goes with each one.
(2) I like the fact that it is such a diverse series
(3) I like the fact that there are some fantastic looking coins in the series
(4) I like the fact that they are relatively low mintage.
(5) I like the fact that they seem to be underpriced relative to mintage.
(6) Conversersely I don't like the fact that they seem underpriced relative to mintage.

#5 Is the question in my mind that keeps me from pulling the trigger on some purchases because even though I love the series, I want
it to make some sense from an investment point of view also.

Tuesday, I was in a local coin shop here in Ft. Lauderdale and the Dealer had two of interest to me

(1) 1937 Antetiem NGC MS64 for $710
(2) 1925 California Jubilee NGC MS65 for $1050

Any, and all opinions are welcome.

regards

jmj3esq · May 17, 2007 12:21AM

I love the series. I currently have completed 60% of the 50 piece set (you can check my set out by clicking the link in my sig line) I love the series for all the reasons sbeverly listed. The market has had little effect on my attitude towrds the series. The only thing I dont like about the series is the few real undesiareble coins like the Monroe and the very high price of a few of the coins like the Hawaiian.

sbeverly, by the way, those prices for the Antietam and Cali commems seem awfully high. That is unless they are wonderfully toned. You can find real nice Antietam commems in MS65 for less than $700.

Outhaul · May 17, 2007 12:26AM

My gems...

sbeverly · May 17, 2007 12:32AM

sbeverly, by the way, those prices for the Antietam and Cali commems seem awfully high. That is unless they are wonderfully toned. You can find real nice Antietam commems in MS65 for less than $700

Hi jmj3esq,

Thanks for the response. Can you recommend a good dealer(s) for this series?

regards

mozin · May 17, 2007 6:06AM

I think most of the common Classic Commemoratives are priced about where they should be. The rarer issues are underpriced. If I had to start collecting the series over again, I would only collect the keys and semi-keys. I would buy every one I could find that I liked for the price.

I like: Alabama, Antietam, Gettysburg, Grant star, Hawaiian, Hudson, Missouri, and Panama-Pacific.

Silver Commems from 1892-1954.

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