What Are The Criteria For A "key Date?"

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stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 08:22 am What are the criteria for a "Key Date?" Is it merely a "low mintage" that makes a specific coin a key date? ... or are there other factors involved? Curious => is there an actual list of "Canadian Key date Coins" ... if there is, can somebody please point me in its direction? I guess my true question is => what are the Canadian 25 cent key dates? (1875H and 1889 certainly seem to be obvious key dates, right? ... but how low does the mintage have to be in order for a coin to become a key date?) ... does anybody have an answer? thanks Report this Post to the Staff

Libertad Pillar of the Community Canada 3692 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 08:26 am I think it's safe to say that the demand drives the price either way. If the piece has one single copy in existence, it would be unique and not quite as the same as if there were 2 copies floating around. There has to be a collectors' interest in the piece, not just a low mintage. It must be desirable but not to the point where your collection will never have a "complete" set. It has to be viable for your collection and not so rare that no one else can have it. I think that the prestige comes from not simply having a piece, but having the best possible specimen of the bunch, one of prestige and pride. That's my opinion on that. Edited by Libertad 10/29/2011 08:28 am Report this Post to the Staff
glenzy1 Pillar of the Community Canada 1554 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 08:40 am Get a copy of the 2011 I.C.C.S. Population Report, you'll soon know what the Key dates are! Glenn Report this Post to the Staff
david mackenzie Valued Member Canada 183 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 09:12 am Key dates are being copied by china so buyer beware and yes glenzy1 is right on the $$$$$$ Report this Post to the Staff
SPP-Ottawa Moderator Canada 10458 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 09:55 am The primary criteria is not supply (i.e., low mintages), otherwise almost all NFLD coins would be key dates. Also, the ICCS Report argument is flawed, it is skewed to scarcer dates, just look at how many 1948 dollars have been certified. Then compare how many 1859 brass - very different populations. I would argue that demand for a particular coin would make it a key date. The 1948 dollar is arguably a key date, there are tons available to buy, but demand keeps the price high. "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US My eBay store Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 10:20 am Thanks for responding, gang ... Thanks glenzy1 => I already have the 2011 I.C.C.S. Population Report and while "yes" it tells me which coins are rare (and tells me which are rare in specific conditions), I was merely wondering if there was an actual definition, or set of rules for a coin to be considered a key-date, ya know? Some possible examples: => less 100,000 minted ... or maybe => it merely has to be "the lowest minted-year within a group or series"? Anyway ... apparently there doesn't seem to be a strict "definition" ... but ummm, is there perhaps a list of canadian key date coins? (quarters, in my case) ... or is "key date" merely a term that means "it's rare and it's gonna be hard to find and you're gonna pay through the teeth for it!" Edited by stevex6 10/29/2011 10:22 am Report this Post to the Staff
1945V Valued Member Canada 386 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 3:28 pm Key dates are relative to the period and are not defined by actual mintage numbers. The 1925 nickel has a mintage of 200,000 when the typical mintage at the time was 2.5 to 5 million coins per year in the George V era. Similarly, 1948 nickel has a 1.8 million mintage when the typical mintage was 7 to 24 million per year in the George VI era. And the 1970 nickel has a 5 million mintage when the typical mintage was 25 to 140 million per year in the Elizabeth II era. Report this Post to the Staff
Darth Anarchus Pillar of the Community United States 1388 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 3:31 pm Key dates aren't just mintage figures like many said above, it's also about how much of that mintage actually circulated, which in part creates conditional rarities... With silver coins, some are melted, there are so many factors that go into what makes a key date... Report this Post to the Staff
Lobby Pillar of the Community United States 548 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 3:56 pm Why not just look at the price guides? Those that sell for significantly higher prices for that coin are key dates? Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 4:40 pm Again => thanks for responding .... However, again => apparently there are no strict guidelines defining a key-date coin ... and honestly, I understand that they are the hard coins to collect compared to other coins in their "series or categories", etc ... I was merely wondering if there was more of a written/understood/more-formal set of guidelines or thinga-ma-bobs associated with key-dates (but apparently the answer is "no, not really") ... so I am going to write the first official guideline/description: KEY-DATE COINS: => they're merely the coins that are hard to find because they're from comparatively low mintages, war-time hardships, melting-n-smelting of coins, etc => oh, and they're also the coins that you probably don't have in your collection, but if you do have 'em, they must have cost you an arm and a leg" ... end of quote Thanks again for responding Report this Post to the Staff
glenzy1 Pillar of the Community Canada 1554 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 6:01 pm If you have any doubt's about which dates are the "KEY", as a safe guard just consider all Canadian Decimal between the years 1858-1936 as Key's. Anything outside of that is debatable? Glenn Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 7:03 pm Thanks glenzy1 ... hey, if I was to randomly state what "I" feel are the key-date Canadian 25 cents pieces (quarters), do you think you dudes could "justify/agree/disagree" with my choices? (I'm sure I'll, get a couple o' bites from this nasty pool of sting-rays!) ; ) Oh, and although I "love" collecting Newfie 20's, I'm not going to mention them in my list, okay? (but they're "all" key-dates in my mind!) stevex6's Canadian Key-Date "Quarters": 1858 20 cent => 730,000 mint (sure, not a quarter, but definitely the first key-date) 1870 25 cent => 900,000 mint (yah, the "first" Canadian quarter has got to make the list, right?) 1871 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... yes 1871H 25 cent => 750,000 mint ... hmmm? 1875H 25 cent => screwed it up with the 1874+1875 count! => but "definitely" key-date! 1880H 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... yes 1881H 25 cent => 820,000 mint .... maybe not? 1882H 25 cent => 600,000 mint ... hmmm? 1883H 25 cent => 960,000 mint .... maybe not? 1885 25 cent => 190,000 mint (yummmy) 1886 25 cent => 540,000 mint ... hmmm? 1887 25 cent => 100,000 mint => yeeeeehhaaaaaaa! 1888 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... probably 1889 25 cent => 70,000 mint =======> my personal favorite! 1890H 25 cent => 200,000 mint ... sure 1891 25 cent => 120,000 mint ... yup 1892 25 cent => 510,000 mint ..... hmmmm? 1893 25 cent => 100,000 mint ... yup 1894 25 cent => 220,000 mint ... sure 1899 25 cent => 420,000 mint .... hmmm? 1902 25 cent => 460,000 mint .... hmmm? 1904 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... hmmm? 1906LC 25 cent => 240,000 mint ... sure 1906 SC 25 cent => yah, if you've got one of these, then you win the game, hands-down! 1908 25 cent => 500,000 mint ... hmmm? 1915 25 cent => 240,000 mint ... probably 1921 25 cent => 600,000 mint ... hmmm? 1927 25 cent => 470,000 mint ... hmmm? 1931 25 cent => 540,000 mint ... hmmm? 1932 25 cent => 540,000 mint ... hmmm? 1933 25 cent => 420,000 mint ... hmmm? 1934 25 cent => 380,00 mint ... hmmm? 1935 25 cent => 540,000 mint ... hmmm? 1936 Bar and/or Dot => but that's because they're error/interest coins ... not exactly "key-dates" 1951 Low Relief 25 cent => again, that's more of a error/interest, isn't it, or is that a key-date? 1970 25 cent => 10M ? => but is that considered a key-date, because it's lower "comparatively"? 1983 25 cent => 13M ? => is that considered a key-date because it is so much lower than its friends? 1991 25 cent => 460,000 mint ... definitely a "comparative" key-date, right? ... etc, etc ... Edited by stevex6 10/29/2011 7:07 pm Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 7:17 pm sorry ... I had way too much time on my hands, but just the right amount of wine to type-up that list SUMMARY: 1858 20 cent => 730,000 mint (sure, not a quarter, but definitely the first key-date) 1870 25 cent => 900,000 mint (yah, the "first" Canadian quarter has got to make the list, right?) 1871 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... yes 1875H 25 cent => screwed it up with the 1874+1875 count! => but "definitely" key-date! 1880H 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... yes 1885 25 cent => 190,000 mint (yummmy) 1887 25 cent => 100,000 mint => yeeeeehhaaaaaaa! 1888 25 cent => 400,000 mint ... probably 1889 25 cent => 70,000 mint =======> my personal favorite! 1890H 25 cent => 200,000 mint ... sure 1891 25 cent => 120,000 mint ... yup 1893 25 cent => 100,000 mint ... yup 1894 25 cent => 220,000 mint ... sure 1906LC 25 cent => 240,000 mint ... sure 1906 SC 25 cent => yah, if you've got one of these, then you win the game, hands-down 1915 25 cent => 240,000 mint ... probably 1936 Bar and/or Dot => but that's because they're error/interest coins ... not exactly "key-dates" 1951 Low Relief 25 cent => again, that's more of a error/interest, isn't it, or is that a key-date? 1970 25 cent => 10M ? => but is that considered a key-date, because it's lower "comparatively"? 1983 25 cent => 13M ? => is that considered a key-date because it is so much lower than its friends? 1991 25 cent => 460,000 mint ... definitely a "comparative" key-date, right? Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 7:29 pm Ive honed it down to my final answer (better known as my 3rd glass o' wine summary) FINAL SUMMARY: 1858 20 cent => 730,000 mint (sure, not a quarter, but definitely the first key-date) 1875H 25 cent => screwed it up with the 1874+1875 count! => but "definitely" key-date! 1885 25 cent => 190,000 mint (yummmy) 1887 25 cent => 100,000 mint => yeeeeehhaaaaaaa! 1889 25 cent => 70,000 mint =======> my personal favorite! 1906 SC 25 cent => yah, if you've got one of these, then you win the game, hands-down 1915 25 cent => 240,000 mint ... probably 1936 Bar and/or Dot => but that's because they're error/interest coins ... not exactly "key-dates" 1951 Low Relief 25 cent => again, that's more of a error/interest, isn't it, or is that a key-date? 1991 25 cent => 460,000 mint ... definitely a "comparative" key-date, right? Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/29/2011 7:41 pm wow ... yah, I'm sorry => but man, after fighting with myself and honing it down to those sole survivors, PLEASE let "somebody" give me a hmmphhf, or at least a point of view ... thanks Well, I've gotta go take-off to a costume party ... I'm going as a Brazillian Beaver (don't ask, but it is a funny costume, with an actual Beaver Fur jacket and a Brazillian hat ... sure, maybe not quite what you were originally visualizing, but a funny enough costume) anyway => happy Halloween => cheers! Steve Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 10/30/2011 08:08 am Wow, nobody out there knows enough about Canadian quarters to give me their point of view on my list of Key Dates? Given my original list of 40 coins that I listed above, I chopped that list down to my 10 finalists ... does anybody agree, or disagree with my final choices? (was I too harsh, or not harsh enough?) ... did I come-up with the correct list of key date quarters? anybody? ... anybody? ... Bueller? Report this Post to the Staff
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What Are The Criteria For A "Key Date?"