What Is A Minor Doubled Die Really Worth?

That is a very good question that I'll be watching what the answer would be.

Well, it's complicated but I can try to boil it down. This relates to non FS varieties, as they are totally different. So, in a broad brush, a BU Lincoln Cent worth up to maybe twenty bucks can add around 50% to the value as long as it's not a totally trivial variety. A solid DDR for example well photographed so the buyer can see it would likely add that 50% to the coin value. But after that roughly $20 barrier the value of a variety on the coin quickly goes down, first to zero, and then to negative numbers. Top grade collectors generally want nothing strange on their coins, and will stay away from coins with varieties so you end up with the best buyers removing themselves from the sale/auction.

At a finer detail, things change slightly. This requires knowing the general rarity of things and popularity of varieties, but certain non FS varieties can do very well. These will get picked up by folks like myself who collect varieties and know when something is rare and top grade even though considered a minor. About 50% of the time when I sell something like this on ebay, I actually know the buyer, as it's not that big of a community.

As an example, on Wednesday night I sold a Lincoln Cent 1955-D/D/D FS-503 RAW at least MS64 and probably 65. It went for $11.50. Worth lots more than that, but not a popular variety and not registry grade so it just doesn't go high. On the other hand I sold a 1942 Lincoln Cent RAW that looked like solid 65 with little hope of reaching 66 with a DDR-005 for $48. One of those coins is unpopular and there are quite a few better examples out there, but it's a major. The other is a minor probably most folks on this board would have to look up to know what it looks like, but it's super rare in any MS grade let alone one in the 65 range. So the folks who know the coins know where to put their money, and which one would make a great addition to any collection.

So in general, if you are going to pick a nice BU coin with a minor variety on it, you have to pay what the coin is worth not some inflated Buy it Now price, and then any end profit is low and if you resell on ebay they get most of it with fees plus then there's shipping costs. Buy them to collect them, not to resell them. Great way to add quality coins to a variety collection. But with enough experience you learn which ones are the rare and popular ones, and can come out a bit ahead by being selective in which ones you go after.

Interesting for sure, Sounds like circuated exmples of the more common DD's don't carry much of a premium.

Good conversation. There are soooooo many variables in play--from the 'technical' aspects of numismatics, to the volatility of the marketplace (where human behavior has a field day).

I personally place very little value on circulated examples of varieties, even FS types. It is usually more difficult to attribute varieties on coins that have seen hits and wear from circulation. Minor varieties can be completely obliterated that way. Even BU coins can see hits that cause difficulty in attribution, but other critical markers such as die cracks and breaks are more easily seen on BU coins.

Good read - appreciate the sharing of knowledge.

Well, I learned a little here, so, thanks again.