A Prime Example Of Why I Think "Key Dates" Are Overrated.

@paralyse

Excellent post. That explained things a lot. I know that key dates have always been and always will be more valuable than the more-common issues, and rightly so.

But the emphasis on the importance of the key dates has really gone through the roof with the introduction of the TPG. And now people are asking, and paying (!), moon money for these coins. With this mindset, I am starting to get the vibe that your collection is junk if you cannot fill that key date hole with a nice example. For this reason, I have abandoned series collecting altogether. My collecting life is so much happier without having to worry about those pesky overrated key dates.

Also, who wants to fill a boring album of the design over and over where the only difference is a slight difference in how the metal was moved during the strike? Not me.

I am not saying you are wrong for collecting by series. Do whatever you want. I don't care. I just don't understand its appeal.

I agree Paralyse really did have a lot of good points.

The part about 1909 S vdb's being harder to find 30 years
ago really rings true with me. In the mid 1980's I had
two dealers looking for a problem free XF. They looked for a
couple months and did not find one for me. Now I see them
quite often.

I don't think you can compare different coins based on
just mintage. Neither can you compare similar coins but
different mints. For example in 1890"s I would bet there
were more collectors on the east coast than on the west.
Those collectors on the east coast could more easily get
"P" mint coins than "S" mint coins. So more were saved.
But I am sure there were many more factors involved.

And as some have posted, sometimes certain coins are just
perceived to be more valuable so collectors will pay more.

There are many examples. Like 1893 Morgan's, there were less
Morgan dollars minted in Philadelphia than in Carson City.
Can you guess which one sells for more money?

And when talking about Washington quarters, seems like I read
that it started out as a Commemorative coin for 1932.
It was so well liked/accepted that it was decided (somehow)
to keep making the Washington quarter and not go back to the
Standing Liberty. The mint normally kept a coin design for
at least 25 years. Starting out a commemorative coin, that
was well liked, many people would have kept one. For that
reason many more 1932 Washington quarters were saved.

This is getting to sound like a recent post of mine about why do we pay through the nose for a coin just because it has a tiny little letter on it.( MINT MARK ). Or a coin with no MM , Costing much more than it's branch mint counterparts .

One other thing to add: Those kids trying to fill their Wheat cent albums 30-40 years ago are grown ups now, some of whom are closing in on retirement, and most have much more disposable income than they did 30-40 years ago; but they haven't lost the collecting bug, so now they're buying all they stuff they couldn't afford as a kid, such as 1909 S-VDB Wheat cents. :)

The same phenomenon has resulted in substantial price increases in sports cards, classic / muscle cars, hi-fi audio gear, vinyl records, and anything else that kids and teenagers in the 60s wanted but couldn't afford. It outpaces inflation!

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in 1982 (per SCD): $75 to $350 in EX-MT condition (PSA 8)
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in 1992 (per SCD): $2500-$3500 in EX-MT condition (PSA 8)
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in 2015 (per Heritage): $486,100 (PSA 8)

1969 Camaro Z-28 in 1974: $1500 (#2 cond.)
1969 Camaro Z-28 in 1982: $4000-$4500 (#2 cond.)
1969 Camaro Z-28 in 2016: $40,000 to $75,000 depending on the car (#2 cond.)

1969 McIntosh MR-68 tube tuner new in 1969: $550
1969 McIntosh MR-68 tube tuner fully restored, 2016: $1,800

1961 McIntosh MC-275 tube amp new in 1961: $440
1961 McIntosh MC-275 tube amp fully restored, 2016: $4500
1993 McIntosh MC-275 tribute tube amp (modern re-issue), 1993: $3500, 2016: $5000+

I wonder if this will happen for today's teenagers 30 years from now with Pokemon cards...

I don't think prices will change dramatically unless there is a major social shift in what people like and enjoy.

You're already starting to see some stuff coming on the market -- from estates, mostly -- that hasn't seen the light of day. Barn find sports cars, coin sets, etc.

Prices might drop a bit, but interest is still high.

You all bring up very good points. I feel the same with toning, some put a crazy premium on toned coins, I just don't like the look. To each their own.

I agree and would add that I've met a number of people who, like me, were interested in collecting as a youngster and couldn't for any number of reasons but then rediscovered the hobby in their 50's and 60's.

Just to put this out there, I did try collecting by series. I pursued a LWC set and a Barber dime set, but it got old really quickly for me. The modern stuff I casually fill in holes in my albums as they are cheap to work on. I kept pursuing a type set as it retained my interest. I honestly tried collecting by series, but I just couldn't enjoy it, and I later saw folly in it.