2017 Lions Club International Silver Dollar

Beautiful; thanks for the photos, commems!

Have you ever gone into your storage/display methods here for your collection?

I just ordered mine. Looking forward to these. I really think this could have a shot at COTY. At least the obverse....

I am sure he meant reverse.

An honest mistake.

Mine are on their way and I'm looking forward to them!

Mine checked into the local post office at 7:30AM. Expecting them tomorrow...

update: Coincidentally, I just got a text from home saying there was a brown package with today's mail. Guess I get to open them tonight!

I'm going to be the contrarian who alas puts some rain on the parade ...

Not for this particular coin and certainly not for my friend commems ... but the general concept of purchasing these modern examples directly from the US Mint when offered for public sale.

I'll make the general statement that, with a very few exceptions, these coins are available within a year on the market in OGP at lower prices than are paid at original issue.

A review of the current CDN Greysheet 'bid' price for these coins indicates that dealers are trading these coins at substantial premiums below the US Mint cost ... and my experience walking the bourse shows many dealers offering these at 'Bid' price.

If you go to sell them ... then you can expect 'ask' prices at 15% to 20% below 'bid'.

My intentions in this post are to encourage all of us to understand the market and make wise choices in how we acquire the coins we pursue ...

My market pricing evidence leads me to the conclusion that a passionate collector of the modern US Commemorative series would save some money by resisting the need to buy them directly from the mint ... and purchase at lower cost on the after-market.

Contrary opinions welcomed.

David

@nickelsearcher: There's no disputing the market data and the logic of your argument, but let me offer my perspective.

There are two new commemorative programs released each year. A silver dollar seems to be the default coin for each release, some add a CuNi clad half dollar and some offer a gold half eagle.

Purchased within the first 30 days of release, all of the coins are offered by the Mint at a discounted price. For the silver dollars, it has generally been about a $5 discount. Using the discounted 2017 silver dollars for my pricing example, it will cost me about $95.00 to acquire an uncirculated example of each of the two new coins. If I wait a year, I may be able to purchase them for less - let's say 25% less (though that's not always the case). In such a scenario, I will save myself less than $25.00.

That works out to be about $2.00 per month that I have to pay to enjoy the coins throughout the first year after their release. It's a time during which I can bring them to my local coin clubs for show-and-tell, possibly incorporate them in an exhibit at a local coin show and maybe even include them in one of the numismatic talks I give during the year. To me, $2.00 a month is a negligible amount to pay to take each new release "on the road" for a year.

If there were 10 or 20 releases each year, my thoughts might be different. But, at the current pace allowed by Congress (two programs per year), I feel the slight premium required by direct-from-the-Mint purchases is well worth it (at least for me).

If push comes to shove, however, I'll buy one less bottle of Pepsi each month and break even!