| Author |
 Replies: 12 / Views: 3,716 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
173 Posts |
One of the oddities in numismatics the past 15 years is how much the 2009 Jefferson nickels are considered a comparatively low mintage nickel and sought after while the 2010 - 2012 quarters have also comparatively low mintages. Now by "low" I do not mean they are scarce or rare but the mintages drop off considerably from 2010 - 2012 and then return to traditional levels for the quarters. For example, the 2012 New Mexico Philly and Denver each have a mintage of 22 million. The Main 2012 from Philly has a mintage less than 21 million. The mintages for each 2010 Philly and Denver quarter are around 33 million. With the Alaska and Hawaii 2012 quarters mintages increase again and with Nevada in 2013, mintages permanently stay in the 100's of millions (with the famous exception of the W quarters of 2019 and 2020). The drop in quarter mintages is similar to the drop in nickel mintages of 2009 where each respectively averages 40 million from each mint. Yet you see collectors hoard these while you have almost 3 years of the ATB Quarters wuth mintages for each coin from PHilly or Denver being under 40 million - closer on average to about 30 million. So why is this? AS for myself, I got the America The Beautiful brilliant uncirculated quarter set (P and D) from ebay - these were originally issued by the US Mint. Very happy with the quality and as one who does some coin roll searching, I know it is becoming extremely to find these quarters in uncirculated gem condition. PCGS and other grading companies may state otherwise in their price guide but I don't think they search for 2010 - 2012 ATB Quarters --- maybe they think it to inconsequential a coin to bother with. Anyway would like your thoughts on what seems to me a glaring inconsistency in how collectors think of the 2009 Jefferson nickels versus the 2010 - 2012 ATB Quarters. |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
584 Posts |
I've been holding on to 2009-2012 quarters for over a year now. Not that I really pick up quarter rolls that much lately, but I do have a couple rolls of 2009-2012 quarters.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
218 Posts |
I've known about the extremely low quarter mintages for these years ever since they came out, and it's puzzled me why these coins haven't been given more attention too. A lot of the 2010-2012 designs are among my favorites in the ATB series too (all the '10s especially Yellowstone and Yosemite, and '12 El Yunque and Hawaii Volcanoes in particular). The explanation I've sen for why these mintages were so low is that we were sitting on such a huge quarter surplus at that time. They made TONS of quarters throughout the late 90s and 2000s, especially the first few years of the state coins, which many people, even among those with no other numismatic interest, started collecting from circulation. When the economy took a dump in 2008, lots of these people with accumulations of State Quarters realized they would never be worth anything beyond face value, and dumped them at banks because they needed to pay their bills. We ended up with such a huge quarter surplus, due to all this flowback as well as reduced demand for new coins in circulation because of the poor economy, that quarter mintages didn't fully recover from recession-era lows until 2014. Not a lot of people have made note of this, but the scarcity of 2009-2012 coins definitely apparent if you go through quarter rolls and make note of the dates. |
|
Valued Member
United States
233 Posts |
I'm collecting a set of all coins I get from change. I call it my Littleton set because I'm putting them in the $4 Littleton folders  . I have found every quarter (year and mint mark) from 1965 - 2009 with the exception of a few "D"s (I live in Ohio). For the years 2010 - 2012 I have found about 3 total out of the 30 or so that were made those years. I also occasionally get rolls from the bank, not too often maybe once a month when I feel the urge to go do my second favorite hobby, play pinball, and I don't find any 2010-2012 dates in there either. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1484 Posts |
The mintages are low by modern standards, but not historically low, and not low enough to create a buzz like the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent or the 1916-D Mercury dime. Still, enough folks have taken note that "hoarding" of these 2010-2012 quarters has reduced the supply in pocket change. Edited by halfamind
01/10/2024 8:25 pm
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
173 Posts |
halfamind - I agree although I don't think the 2010 - 2012 ATB Quarters have been hoarded that much. The 2009 Jefferson nickels definitely have been but I can find those years in pocket change although not the ATB Quarters I find the most. I guess only time will tell if they ever get a significant premium. It may take 70 years as now the Jefferson nickels from the first few years in uncirculated condition are now being seen as collectible coins. |
|
Valued Member
United States
354 Posts |
Short story. I have the complete proof State Quarters and at some point decided to gather those in circulation. Within the last 6 months or so I questioned why I was not saving the ATB Quarters. So I began looking at mostly coin rolls with some pocket change. There are 180 coins in the ATB series. Thus far I've gathered 47 (more Philly's than others). And of that total, only 4 are in the 2010-2012 date range: 1 MS 2011P, 1 Puerto Rico 2012P, 1 Me 2012P and 1 AK 2012P. Is that indicative of collector hoarding? |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
36491 Posts |
30-40 million coins is still a lot. You are better off holding the S Mint coins of that series that started in 2012.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Agree. These so-called "scarce" quarters will be available by the roll for decades to come.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
173 Posts |
Coinfrog - rolls will be around for awhile but I think finding very nice BUs will become more and more difficult. Places where you may find them - Mint sets and the ATB Brilliant Unc set will be broken as dealers now offer only a small premium or refuse them. I think it is one of those coins you just have to hope it will be passed on and preserved or, if you are starting out colelcting at a young age, an ideal coin to get as by the time that group reaches old age there will be likely a decent premium for Choice BUs. |
|
New Member
United States
19 Posts |
Exciting find in change today: The 2012 Hawai'i Volcanoes quarter! This was the last ATB I was still looking for. I'd begun to give up hope for this last holdout after more than a decade of carefully checking any change I got in everyday transactions (and asking friends to do the same). Had a good feeling, paid for a small transaction in cash, got one quarter, and it was the one I needed! :) |
|
Moderator
 United States
94728 Posts |
|
|
Moderator
United States
187582 Posts |
Quote:Exciting find in change today: The 2012 Hawai'i Volcanoes quarter! This was the last ATB I was still looking for. Congratulations!  |
| |
Replies: 12 / Views: 3,716 |
|
Posted 01/10/2024 08:31 am
