I'm looking at the March 21st issue of Coin World and on the front page is a story about how $100 bags and 25 coin rolls of Rhode Island dollars have sold out. I don't get it. Each to their own, but why do folks purchase these sort of items. I understand these were produced for collectors only, but are they intent on cornering the market (is there one)? They own a do-it-yourself car wash and need change for the change machine? They have a money vault like Scrooge McDuck and are intent on filling it up? They have more money than they know what to do with? They collect these coins and are searching for that perfect example to submit to a third party grading service so they can have an MS70 example. They're looking for errors?
Quote: They have a money vault like Scrooge McDuck and are intent on filling it up?
I tried swimming in my coins like Scrooge McDuck, I learned a few things. I get rug burns as I don't have enough coins. You also get fingerprints everywhere. And a lot coins on top of you get heavy really quickly. My advice don't swim in your coins.
It's because they can be resold on sites like ebay for a decent premium. For example, a typical NIFC Kennedy half can go for usually around $2.50 + shipping. Also some people just like hoarding coins.
Yes, some slot machines still have arms. Very few take coins anymore. Usually the older machines. Like you'd find in a downtown Las Vegas casino.
And IF that is the reason they buy these rolls and bags, why not just go to a bank a buy a roll of plain old quarters for $10? You can buY two rolls of Sally Ride quarters for $36. Or, you can just walk into any bank in the country and say, "Can I have two rolls of quarters?" and they will give them to you for $20. THE SAME AS FACCE VALUE!
What strikes me as odd is how in 1964 the common wisdom was you would get rich setting aside bags of coins and tens of millions were saved. Now a few people are setting aside tens of thousands of coins for future collectors and they are seen as mercenaries.
The pendulum always swings from one extreme to the other.
My guess is that a lot of the buyers aren't even saving all of the coins and many of them will end up at the bank.
Well, I buy bags or rolls of things like the American Innovations dollars the same reason that Littleton Coins does. To find high grade examples for slabbing & future sales before they are searched by others. The rest I sell locally a bit over face or deposit into my bank if they are too marked up.
Quote: As the op stated ....... I don't get it ?!?!?
Let me try again then.
Silver coin used to be saved as specie or as backing for paper money. There was a time that if a bank issued a dollar then they had to have a dollar in silver to back it. Now days if the banker can prove he ever saw a dollar bill he can issue ten dollars. If he actually has one or can show a one dollar debt he can issue 50 of them.
Many bags of silver bust half dollars fresh from the mint sat in vaults for decades to back currency. This is why we have nice XF and BU bust half dollars today.
Today we live in a consumer society where everything just gets used up and thrown away except the stuff that starts out as an inferior product and goes straight to landfill.
The mint practices FIFO accounting which means coins in storage the longest are the first to be issued. There is no mechanism to save modern coins for future generations. It requires somebody to actually set them aside or there will be none.
All over the world modern coins issued in the hundreds of millions are being discovered to be rare in pristine condition and due to massive "consumption" they can be elusive even worn and beat up. Try finding nice attractive Soviet 15k from the '60's and '70's. These very common coins command high prices because nobody collected or saved them so now they are rare. Try finding a nice XF 1971 US nickel. a hundred million were made and placed in circulation. Now they are consumed. You might find a '71 but it will be heavily worn AND cull.
This is why a few people buy bags and some of those who do just save a few nice examples and spend the rest.
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Posted 03/16/2022 3:36 pm
