Posted 01/19/2006 3:32 pm
Another factor to consider is the plain fact that in the beginning Eagles WERE NOT produced for coin collectors as the Mint had NO idea they would be going any where except into the hands of INVESTORS! Didn't take coin collectors long to catch on and start building sets as anything would be better than the same old dead Presidents. The big question on the 96's as explained to me by my dealer would be "Just who has all the 96 Eagles, collectors or investors?" He thinks silver investors got the bulk of the 96 issues which means they could be off the market for years and years or until silver really does explode! Thus the demand is far greater than supply so the prices remain elevated and will until someone, some where, dumps a bunch of 96s back into the open market? Sounds good to me as I fully understand that a serious collector, of just about anything, may keep an item most of his life, if finances allow it, which basically could pull most coins out of circulation, on average, of about 40 years. As long as the demand is there and the coins are not, prices will continue to rise regardless of total mintages. When prices finally rise enough to get me, you and the average collector/investor to put a few back on the market then prices will eventually reflect the new supply. Until then, we all must make up our minds to pay that extra for those 96s or wait? Don't we just love a good gamble?
