I know people collect the type B Washington reverses. Is there value, beyond the silver content, for a 1956 Washington with Type B reverse in Fine condition? This is supposed to be the rare one, but most collectors are looking for MS coins. Do coins that are far from MS bring a premium because of the rarity?
I collect them in uncirculated condition. At some point though, they will become more popular and folks will settle on circulated ones to have them in their collections. I would hang onto it if I were you.
At the current rate of melt, much to the chagrin of variety collectors, I'm sending off a FULL roll's worth of MS Type B's (picked up for basically melt from dealer's folders...before they were aware of the 'Type B' syndrome....now, I see dealer's folders with 'Type B' on the 2X2 for ALOT more than they are worth graded) to be melted tomorrow. Anything under MS65 for MOST all years (save for the '56, '61, and '62...and '64-D Type C) is not worth the grading fees. Hate me if ya want, but I have plenty of graded PCGS MS65, M66 (both NGC and PCGS, attributed and unattributed, as well as more in ICG and ANACS slabs). These are now worth 4-5 times what I originally paid for them, so, as the saying goes 'profit is never a bad thing'. Besides, 'thining out the herd' brings the surviving numbers down, so........ Yakpoo....these WERE popular, and HEAVILY sought after about 2 years ago maybe, and the '56's in MS64 fetched $175 or more on ebay (I know, I sold 3 of them for at LEAST $175 ea), but for the last year and a half, realized prices (for the higher pop years) have been nosediving, except the top pops, and the 'one grade lower' when there is only 1 or 2 finer. For example, in Jan of '08, the ENTIRE PCGS population of the 1958 Type B was 23. April 2011's population? 268....more than 10 times the pop in just over 3 years (that with a rise in grading fees). Couple that with NGC jumping on the bus and attributing them, not to mention ALL the unattributed ones left, well, unless you have a top pop (or the '56, '61, '62, '64-D Type C in MS64 MINIMUM), depending on how much you paid for it, as well as condition, it could very well be better off as melt, with silver being what it is. This is JMHO.
At this point in time, I know you're right...but times change. Hopefully, the Silver Washington collector base will eventually expand enough to give these poor orphans a home. I remember, as a young paperboy, hanging out at the Madison Coin Shop and asking Mr. Deittle what he planned to do with a big pot of circulated Mercury dimes he had. He said he was sending them to the smelter. Well! ...he might as well have told me he was sending my dog to a Korean restraunt!! I tried to save as many as I could, but had limited funds. If you have Unc Type-Bs you're selling for scrape, I might be interested in salting a few more away...PM me.
