Commemoratives (School me on them)

I'm seriously considering collecting commemoratives. I collect halves almost exclusively, so adding halves seems logical. I love the designs, detail, and the history they represent. My concerns are as follows - is there a decent market for these? Are they worth getting into rather than collecting standard US Halves (Barbers and Walkers). In interested to see what other peoples opinions are on these.

 

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Go here it lists a lot of commems all from 82-present. Also, I am biased, but the 1993's are the best. My birth year was 1993. And I can't comment on their popularity or not because I don't buy commems. Good luck

 

Are the commem's silver? I'm trying to do my due diligence without much luck.

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Do+commemorative+halves+contain+silver?&l=1

 

Classic commems are all 90%, there are loads of different designs from 1892-1954?, & generally aren't collected in grades less than AU since they were produced solely for collectors as opposed to commerce.

 

Did you know the Washington quarter is a circulating commemorative coin?

 

I really like the classic commemorative series (1892-1954). The series is typically collected as a 50 piece type set or as a complete 144 piece set. I've been thinking about working on a 50 piece type set for awhile now. Most of the designs are really cool and the stories about how some of these coins got made can be really interesting. Additionally, most of them are relatively affordable, even in higher grades, compared to Barber Halves and Walker Halves.

If you're interested in classic commemoratives, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the Swaitek and Breen book about them... I think it's just called The Encyclopedia of US Silver and Gold Commemorative Coins and even though it was issued in the early 1980s, it is still a great reference (just the pricing of the coins is a bit off!!).

As far as the classic commemorative market, it has its ups and downs, but generally it has been pretty soft since the mid-1980s (except for coins in the very highest of grades). In fact, most of the coins are still trading below their price peaks which occured in the 1980s. But the series is pretty popular as many people enjoy the series or at least the idea of a type set. Other collectors will at least pick up examples of their favorites types. Coins like the Illinois, PanPac, California, Oregon, Columbian, Stone Mountain and Bay Bridge are very popular even amongst those who will never try to collect the series.

But even with the popularity, I'd still say the market for these has been pretty soft for awhile, likely because there are just so many examples out there and most of them are in at least uncirculated grades. You can find nice certified examples of just about any classic commemorative at or below Greysheet prices in grades of MS63-MS65 or so. HLRC.com even advertises a list of commems that are for sale, all at Greysheet bid. CAC stickered coins they sell for Greysheet ask.

Of course, if you want a classic commem with nice rainbow toning from a dealer, then throw the price guides out the window and get ready to pay some moon money. But deals on those can also be had at auction.

Good luck!

 

The Peace Dollar was also meant to be a 1 year commemorative, and could have easily been a half dollar.

I think classic (pre-1954) commemoratives are very cool and interesting. Some of the designs are BEAUTIFUL. Just take a gander at the Texas, Oregon Trail, Norfolk, San Diego, Pan-Pacific, to name a few. The mintages on some of these coins are very low --- and most of these coins are well off their highs reached back in the 1980's in the commemorative frenzy. However guessing on whether they are a good investment for future gains is difficult at best. My suggestion would be if you want to make money, buy bullion silver (ASE's or bags of 90%) or gold (AGE's). But if you enjoy collecting coins, buy them because you love them, not because you want to make money on them in the future. (JMHO)

 

Additionally, Kevin Flynn authored a more recent book in 2008, The Authoritative Reference on Classic Commemoratives, 1892-1954 which is a very good reference.

Speaking of moon money, a few short years ago, Mark Feld of Mark Feld Rare Coins (a former grader at NGC) partnered with Pinnacle Rarities to purchase a 140-piece collection of real stunners for $1.3 million (I think). Their intent is to keep the collection intact as the former owner was planning to break it up to sell them.

You can see this collection here, http://pinnacle-rarities.com/Collections/HiddenLiberty/browse.html

Two of my favorites are the Oregon Trail and the Pan Pac. Every time I found a nicely toned OT listed at auction, it always sold for a lot more than I could afford, but I was lucky to be able to buy a nice specimen of the 1926-S from Mark for a good price. I got my Pan Pac for a really good price (less than half of CDN Bid) at auction simply because the photos were lousy and nobody seemed to be interested in the SEGS slab.

Chris

Photos courtesy of Mark Feld




I'm partial to the Stone Mountain because Stonewall Jackson is my great-great-great uncle.

 

Nice coins!

 

Touché good sir, Touché.

 

I adore the Stonewall Jackson commem, just because of the history behind that coin. Every time this coin sold, one more dollar was given to the government so they could carve Stone Mountain.

 

The memorial was the brainchild of Helen Plane who was a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument was funded through donations and work began in 1916. When the coin was minted in 1925, it did not sell well and contributed little to the financing. The state of Georgia didn't get involved until 1955 and did no work until 1963 when it finally began to send men up the mountain to begin carving again. The monument wasn't declared officially complete until 1972. So the government only got involved after all the private efforts ended due to poor funding or personal disputes.

 

Same with Lincoln cents

 

I only have 2 classic comm. I like them circulated
If you like the modern ones, go for it as a long (very) term investment.

 

I think the most interesting part of the Stone Mountain Half Dollar coin is that Congress wouldn't initially approve a commemorative coin which would basically honor the Confederacy and the soldiers of the South. In order to get Congress to pass the bill authorizing the coin, the bill had to be amended so that the coin would also honor the recently late President Harding who died in office in 1924. Since no one in Congress wanted to be against honoring the late President, the bill was passed.

The coin would now somehow have to honor both Harding and the soldiers of the South. Accordingly, the original designs of the coin were basically the same as the final design, but also had the inscription "and in memory of Warren G. Harding" on the reverse. When President Coolidge saw the design, he disapproved of the reference to Harding (even though the law mandated it) and the reference was removed before the design was finalized and struck. That itself is quite ironic since Coolidge himself was actually on the obverse of the Sesquicentennial commemorative coin which was released the following year (which was also illegal since it wasn't legal to portray a living person an a US coin at the time).

Here are pics of both my Stone Mountain and my Sesquicentennial coins:

 

that Sesquicentennial commem is simply amazing. maybe ill have to pick one up... nothing is as convincing as a picture

 

If you're aiming to profit from your collection, no, and no. *heh*

Consider the extremely low mintage of piles of German Shepherd dung minted by my 7 month old pup. Well less than 1,000, I assure you. Yet, despite this, high end undamaged examples are readily available in my back yard, and carry absolutely no premium.

Quite frankly...nobody's interested in collecting it.

Roughly the same situation exists with commem halves. The demand is low, so even low mintages don't help value much. Let's face it...the only folks out there looking for them are...well...us. The people who, for whatever strange reasons, have decided we want a set of coins that never circulated, and a majority of people have never heard of, nor care about. That, or the occasional person who has a special attachment to the subject/topic of one particular commem, and wishes to....well...commemorate it.

Now...on the flip side...if you're willing to forgo considering them an investment, instread treating them as a collection, then, imo, you can't find many better "sets" to work on.

First, high quality examples ARE available enough to not frustrate you, but "rare" enough to make the hunt for "just the right coin" rewarding and entertaining. The cost isn't prohibitive either, if you're on a budget, and you can wind up with a "unique" and interesting set of coins.

So hey...I encourage the idea! I just feel they are what they are...a collection with interest to those who appreciate "unique" coins, but not much investment potential.

Here's my latest.

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