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Replies: 23 / Views: 3,156 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
I was in the market for those early S Seated quarters up until 10 years ago omegaraptor. Since then the prices have quadrupled. Oddly, this has made them more available than they used to be, but from the expensive specialist dealers. The less affordable they become, the easier they are to find. Though it's not a classic series, I see California gold fractionals as being overlooked right now. They have the same regional interest and are as scarce as the S quarters.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq 08/21/2017 2:59 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11892 Posts |
Quote: All of them. There is not a single classic series that has gotten easier to collect since I started collecting. I disagree. Morgan dollars are cheaper and more easily available now than in the late 80's when I started collecting just before slabs hit the scene. '89 was the peak of prices in the morgan series. Slabs changed the game and dropped the prices of most morgans. Nobody knew how many of these were really around. Amazing how cheap you can get really stunning coins.
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com
Edited by numismatic student 08/21/2017 7:41 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Seated Liberty Dollars; uncleaned Bust & Seated coinage of any type with original surfaces; mid-grade to Uncirculated Barber half dollars; better grade Flying Eagle cents. The prices on 19th c. gold from Charlotte, Dahlonega & Carson City seem to only go up and up... I also agree that Trades have gotten harder to collect due to the massive influx of fakes, which has pushed the market ahead on certified genuine examples. Easier to collect these days, in my opinion, than they used to be, would be the Two Cent and 3 cent (nickel) pieces, both of which seem to be suffering from a stagnant market and a surplus of coins available. There is also no shortage of common date Indian Head cents, V nickels, and Barber coins in circulated grades, and you can pretty much put together a partial set of those coins (minus the keys and semi-keys) in a single afternoon. If you ever step outside the realm of US coinage, both Spanish (pillar/columnario type) and Mexican federal issue (cap and rays) 8 Reales are on fire, and have been, especially certified problem-free coins. A combination of lots of problem coins and lots of Chinese fakes is combining to make the "real" reales climb in price nearly every month.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:I disagree. Morgan dollars are cheaper and more easily available now than in the late 80's when I started collecting I started collecting in 72, at that time Unc Morgans (MS didn't exist yet) could be had for under $10 (Roll price was around $72). A VF 1893 S was $400. You have any MS Morgans to sell cheaper than when I started collecting? Even in the mid to late 80's before the "Big market run up" of 88/89 common MS Morgans could be had for $22 - $25 dollars. I don't see MS Morgans that cheap now. December 1986 a VF 1893 S was $1,000. What does one go for today?
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
I was collecting in the 80's and Commems, Walkers, and Morgan dollars in ridiculous high grades were considered "investment grade coins" and it was hard to find them at less than ridiculous prices. Stuff like Draped Bust quarters, halves, dollars in VF/XF did not bring big money as these were not investment grade and only collectors cared about them. Well, flash forward to 2017. The Morgan dollars and Commems collapsed, some trading at 1/5 of their 1989 prices. Draped bust dollars in XF were around $750 and are now $3,500+.
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Moderator
 United States
188660 Posts |
I throw my vote to the Seated dollars. That goalpost has always been moving away from me seemingly just out of reach.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
887 Posts |
Conder1, if you inflation adjust your 1972 $10, it comes to $59, and the Dec 86 (I used '87) $1000 comes to $2,200. I can buy MS common Morgans for <$50, although the 93-S is way up there, as should be expected for a key date to surpass the rate of inflation. So from an average "Joe Collector" standpoint, I think it's easier now then it was for Morgans, until (like with every series) you hit the key dates.
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
In a sense, everything is easier, apart from cost. I was putting together a set of Proof Walkers in the 80's and they were more expensive than they are today. However, in 1989 there was no internet, no ebay, no website aggregators. There were only shows and a collector could only go to so many of them. It took me years to find a nice 1936. Now I can do it in 20 minutes. The opening up of the entire nation's coin dealers inventories as well as access to collectors and the things they want to sell creates a huge availability of scarce and rare coins. If you have trouble finding something now, it is truly rare.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
OK I'll give you that, adjusted for inflation Morgans are easier now. SO remember folks, don't collect Morgan dollars, they are so common they can't even keep up with the rate of inflation. 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
conder, especially don't collect those GSA morgans! According to PCGS there are 34,000 MS65 1883cc's. They are much more common than 1882P's in that grade. Sooner or later the market will reflect that, probably at the hands of the heirs trying to sell them.
I find that in the precious metals, any series between 1850 and 1880 has more stoppers than easy dates. Prices are starting to reflect that.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq 08/23/2017 3:12 pm
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Moderator
 United States
188660 Posts |
Quote:In a sense, everything is easier, apart from cost. I was putting together a set of Proof Walkers in the 80's and they were more expensive than they are today. However, in 1989 there was no internet, no ebay, no website aggregators. There were only shows and a collector could only go to so many of them. It took me years to find a nice 1936. Now I can do it in 20 minutes. The opening up of the entire nation's coin dealers inventories as well as access to collectors and the things they want to sell creates a huge availability of scarce and rare coins. If you have trouble finding something now, it is truly rare. Well said.  Quote:SO remember folks, don't collect Morgan dollars, they are so common they can't even keep up with the rate of inflation.  Preach! 
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
I'll defend the honor of my beloved Morgans!    Go out and put together an AU/BU set of any other coin series from the 1800s except perhaps Twenty Cent Pieces. Now figure out how much the same graded set but using Morgans will cost you, and you will still have spent 10 times that amount or much more to finish the other series. I know for a fact that I can sell off my Morgans at any time and have a ready market waiting to gobble them up. A set of proof Three Cent Nickel issues is a delicious and beautiful sight to behold, but if I need cash, it might take awhile to find a buyer. I also know that when I am ready to upgrade coins or fill holes, there will be plenty of examples to bid on and purchase, without me having to chase coins for weeks or months. If I have a couple rolls of circulated Morgans, I can go to any big coin show in the country and sell them all to a dealer within 5-10 minutes. Try that with your low grade type coins. Morgans are one of the great attractions of our numismatic hobby -- they draw in lots of new collectors for various reasons. They're one of a few things keeping our hobby alive so that we don't all end up as a bunch of greybeards sitting around at our C4/EAC/Fly-In/LSCC/JRCS/BHNC meetings and conventions, showing each other the same coins we've shown each other a thousand times before, and wishing we had someone else to appreciate them. Morgans serve as a gateway to get new collectors exposed to other types of coins and maybe spark their interest in Large Cents or Bust Halves as well.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1450 Posts |
I lack 6 dates for a set of Morgans. I want most in AU, but none for less than $1000 available, and most way over that figure. I lack one LSQ and you know which one. I think Peace dollars are much easier to collect especially 1928.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:Go out and put together an AU/BU set of any other coin series from the 1800s except perhaps Twenty Cent Pieces. Now figure out how much the same graded set but using Morgans will cost you, and you will still have spent 10 times that amount or much more to finish the other series. Quite true, because the other series are rare, Morgans aren't. Not to disparage the Morgans, the other things you say about them are true, they are more liquid and they are a good entry point for collectors that may then advance into the more esoteric series. But the reason they are liquid is because they are common. A common, but impressive coin, means a lot of collectors and more demand than for that set of proof Three Cent Nickels. It also means selling them is easier so dealers are more willing to purchase them than other potentially rarer but slower moving items. That is why the rarer specialized stuff tends to gravitate to a few specialist dealers, they have the stock in that material and the people interested in it go to them. Everyone has Morgans. Even the "rare" ones aren't hard to find, unless you are looking for top grade pieces.
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Moderator
 United States
188660 Posts |
A nice perspective, paralyse. 
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