Thread: "Big Sky" Ikes for sale by Littleton

Originally Posted by Fall Guy

Collecting Ike's is serious business

Originally Posted by kookoox10

You're absolutely right, when a thread like this becomes created, the ike fans come out of the woodwork. My bad, I guess once the bullets are out of that gun, there's no sucking them back in. The only thing I will dispute is Littleton's pricing structure. So many collectors get taken to the cleaners on a weekly basis, my dad was one of them. Just a little bitter...

I fully agree. The pricing is, IMO, out of line with reality.

BUT, pricing is directly related to supply and demand and Littlelton is doing their best to "promote" this hoard. Promotion creates interest and interest creates demand.

As was stated earlier, the series is still wide open for discovery. It simply needs folks to start discovering.

Ever buy an original uncirculated roll of coins with the hopes of finding that high grade coin which would make the purchase worth while? I have.

And Ive been disappointed countless times.

I've also been rewarded on numerous occasions!

Thats what coin collecting is all about.

Littleton coin lives on suckers! Lucky none of us are gonna buy their lollipops!

Originally Posted by Fall Guy

Collecting Ike's is serious business

I have a set of certified Ikes I put together to not-too-much money.
Beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder and I have always thought the Ike dollar an attractive coin, especially the reverse (I like the bicentennial reverse too).

Originally Posted by TheCoinGeezer

Littleton got 220,000 coins from that hoard.
IIRC they paid around a million bucks for it, or less than $5 coin.
I'm sure they made a deal with NGC and got a low price for the grading.
MS65 Ikes are common as rain and certified examples of such routinely sell for $15 or less on eBay.
Granted many of Littleton hoard my not grade as high as MS65 but I'm sure they got many that graded higher too.
$69 for an MS65 example is simply ludicrous.

I'm not sure I believe they really paid that much. It's not impossible but it's far above wholesale and Littleton usually pays only about 25 to 50% above wholesale.

True gem Ikes are actually quite scarce. What any given grader is calling "MS-65" at this time I don't know but if you're looking for a nice attractive wellmade coin with a minimum of marking, a gem, then you'll be looking for a while. I was watching the mint sets and never saw my first gem Ike until late in 1978; it was a '77. 1977-P is the most common or second most common ('78-D is about tied) of all the Ikes in gem but only about 1.5% of mint set coins are Gems. Of the '76 type I's fewer than .2% are Gem. One can argu4e this makes them "common" due to huge mintage of mint sets but the fact is that these coins have suffered tremendous abuse and attrition over the decades because they are considered common. Many mint sets are just cut up and put in coin dealers' cash registers. Mint set packaging is not stable and every year more of the survivors are corroded or damaged.

These percentages will seem exceedingly low when the mint sets are tough to locate and collectors start wanting these coins. I wouldn't pay $69 for a common date gem Ike but there are only three common dates. Some MS-65's are special because they'll be PL or have booming luster or razor sharp strikes. As always collectors should buy the coin and not the story or the label.

Originally Posted by medoraman

Two words: Mint sets. Okay, a third word: fugly.

I think there is more than enough uncirculated coins around at least for the years in which mint sets were made to satisfy the tiny demand. Sorry, just how I feel about these coins. I do not think they are attractive, and even when I collected US coins I refused to collect them.

Just my feelings sir, I know you disagree.

Unfornutately I agree with all your points (except that I like Ike).

The supply of uncirculated Ikes is substantial for every date. Even the '73 probably still has close to 1.1 million so they aren't going to run short at any point in the near future. But if you want a nice attractive specimen of almost every date it will require patience or money. Right now a nice near gem set can be put together from mint sets for under $1000 pretty easily if you have the sets to check. But this only exists because so few people are doing it and many of those doing it aren't highly motivated to complete their sets. Once just a little competition developes there simply won't be any supply available and you'll have to compete against other collectors for what does survive.

I do not believe this demand will be insignificant forever. We are seeing this process in other countries where the tiny demand of a growing middle class has just wiped out the supply of moderns. In Russia there are more and more coins fromthe '70's selling for 500 to $1000 for typical coins. Even circs are bringing high prices because the Soviet era coins were melted in 1991/ 2. It's hard for me to believe an economy the size of the US can't generate a demand for the few Ikes that exist in nice condition.

'
I'm mainly a post-silver collector, so I'm glad that this clad series is getting better attention. Due to a fellow Ike collector/expert and former member at Northside I have renewed my interest. In the last couple of years I have expanded my circulated only series of Ike's to include some types and will eventually get all issues into a new album. I remain a low budget opportunist, so the "hoard" is interesting but, thanks I'll pass.

Originally Posted by cladking

I'm not sure I believe they really paid that much. It's not impossible but it's far above wholesale and Littleton usually pays only about 25 to ...

My mistake, the Numismatist squib on this said Littleton expects to SELL for a million, not that they paid that much.
Irrespective of what they paid, $69 for a MS65 coin is really ludicrously high.
Having searched through about a gazillion Ikes in putting together a set, I'd have to say that nice examples for the assigned grade are the exception rather than the rule. But there are still more nice Ikes out there than there are collectors of them, IMO.
At any rate, putting almost a quarter of a million 1978D Ikes on the market is bound to depress the price, Littleton's asking price notwithstanding.

Originally Posted by medoraman

I went to a show a month ago and a dealer was selling "slab protectors" to protect your slabs and keep them pretty.

Next stop - slab protector protectors.

Littleton, overpriced?

Say it ain't so.

Originally Posted by fretboard

Littleton coin lives on suckers! Lucky none of us are gonna buy their lollipops!

Fortunately for me they ripped me off when I was a kid. I never ever bought from them again. In fact mail order coins are usually too good to be true and too expensive.

Originally Posted by cladking

Unfornutately I agree with all your points (except that I like Ike).

The supply of uncirculated Ikes is substantial for every date. Even the '73 probably still has close to 1.1 million so they aren't going to run short at any point in the near future. But if you want a nice attractive specimen of almost every date it will require patience or money. Right now a nice near gem set can be put together from mint sets for under $1000 pretty easily if you have the sets to check. But this only exists because so few people are doing it and many of those doing it aren't highly motivated to complete their sets. Once just a little competition developes there simply won't be any supply available and you'll have to compete against other collectors for what does survive.

I do not believe this demand will be insignificant forever. We are seeing this process in other countries where the tiny demand of a growing middle class has just wiped out the supply of moderns. In Russia there are more and more coins fromthe '70's selling for 500 to $1000 for typical coins. Even circs are bringing high prices because the Soviet era coins were melted in 1991/ 2. It's hard for me to believe an economy the size of the US can't generate a demand for the few Ikes that exist in nice condition.

I respect your position and your collecting goals. I also think you are right someday there probably will be more demand. I just don't like the look of the coins, just like I don't collect on purpose any modern base metal coins. Too low a relief for me to find them attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though, sir, and I would gladly defend your right to collect all you want. I am sure 95% of the people here would hate the ugly little things I collect, so fair is fair.

Chris

Originally Posted by medoraman

I respect your position and your collecting goals. I also think you are right someday there probably will be more demand. I just don't like the look of the coins, just like I don't collect on purpose any modern base metal coins. Too low a relief for me to find them attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though, sir, and I would gladly defend your right to collect all you want. I am sure 95% of the people here would hate the ugly little things I collect, so fair is fair.

Chris

I am SO glad you admitted that. I was having a hard time with you calling an Ike ugly when looking at your avatar. LOL.

What IS that thing? .........a Polish/Chinese sprite-gnome?

Originally Posted by Irish2Ice

I am SO glad you admitted that. I was having a hard time with you calling an Ike ugly when looking at your avatar. LOL.

What IS that thing? .........a Polish/Chinese sprite-gnome?

Its a Roman Republican coin minted 77 BC. I don't normally collect them, I just bought this one because the lady looks like my mother, and the reverse has a greyhound which she used to adopt from race tracks. She passed away a few months ago.

I know you meant no disrespect, I didn't take it that way at all Irish2ice. Trust me, my normal coins I collect you would most likely find uglier than this one. Byzantines/Sogdians/Hepthalites aren't winners of any beauty pageants.

Chris

Originally Posted by medoraman

Its a Roman Republican coin minted 77 BC. I don't normally collect them, I just bought this one because the lady looks like my mother, and the reverse has a greyhound which she used to adopt from race tracks. She passed away a few months ago.

I know you meant no disrespect, I didn't take it that way at all Irish2ice. Trust me, my normal coins I collect you would most likely find uglier than this one. Byzantines/Sogdians/Hepthalites aren't winners of any beauty pageants.

Chris

Well don't I feel like a jack***. Glad you knew I meant no disrespect. Oddly enough, the Eisenhower reminds me of my grandfather...........especially the old military pics of him.

I like Ike.

I might consider one of these if they were MS66's but not 65's over priced IMO.