Most Overrated/Underrated US individual coins or coin series

^^^

So, what do you think?

I think the 1909-S VDB cent is overrated. PCGS survival estimates suggest that 50000 exist in all grades from a relatively high original mintage of 484000, which is low only by LC standards. Despite this, they sell for prices that suggest only a few thousand exist.

I think every half dime out there is vastly underrated. Take the 1852-O half dime. 260000 minted, which is lower than the 1916-D mercury dime, about 200 survivors in all grades today, and RB has $30 in Good-4 and $75 in Fine-12.

Then there's the 1838-O half dime that also has ~200 survivors today. The original mintage was 70000. There's one on the bay right now for $74.49 plus shipping. Pretty beat up and worn down, but still a '38-O! http://www.ebay.com/itm/1838-O-Seat...990514?hash=item51d9c61d72:g:hicAAOSwo0JWJwCs

If the series was more popular these coins would go for hundreds of dollars but they don't.

 

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Many people would say Morgans are up there in the overrated category. I agree with your examples as well.

Here are some thoughts from a similar thread:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/overrated-underrated-series.266453/#post-2198565

 

I think most U.S coins are over rated, over graded, and over priced. If I had to pick something that I believe to be under rated it would be classic commemoratives. They are a series but with different designs. I could never even stand the thought of looking at the same design over and over in a series. And classic commemoratives also have low mintage figures.

 

@longnine009 I agree with you. I got bored of my Franklins and Peace dollars for that reason.

 

I wouldn't say any Lincoln cent is overrated. It is by far the most collected series of any US coin. If you compare actual numbers of available for sale coins to the number of collectors, some issues, including this one, become quite rare.
The opposite happens with commemorative half. One could argue the point that they are underrated. There are many varieties of these that have very small populations but the population of collectors of these coins is relatively small so they aren't quite as rare in the market place.

 

Over Morgan Dollars.....under Shield Nickels

 

overrated vs. underrated = supply and demand

 

Over Morgans all modern stuff s- vdb 16-d merc and many others. underrated. Trade dollars seated dollars half dimes. Shield nickels and much of the Liberty gold coins where you can pick up a very tough low mintage coin for nearly the same price as a common one. If you can find them.

 

Underrated: Proof Seated Liberty Coins, they sometimes only make a few hundred coin but they still can sell for less than $1000

Overrated: MS-70 Silver Eagles

 

Though I will say trade dollars and seated dollars are starting to catch on. But compared to morgans. Compare prices on proofs. And a 78-cc is 10x rarer then a 93-s

 

Yup!! And I so love those 19th c proofs. As we all know!!

 

To me it's more of a trend then over rated or under rated .
Like anything else supply and demand . Coins such as type coins are getting harder to find in Xf. Or better condition . Many dealers I know personally tell me all the time that finding type coins as such is getting harder each year. Most rely on having people come to them at shows who wish to sell off a family member collection whom has passed. As other family members have no interest in collecting.
As far as mintage and survival rates go the numbers to me just don't prove to be the demand factor.
You can have a coin with an extremely low mintage or survival rate and still sit on it for years to sell.
And even then.....you may not get the value you put into it or the book value.
I personally have discounted buying coins as such. New mint releases or modern limited editions.
I buy what I like and most 99% of the time to add to my collection more so then flip.

 

Well if you have an extra 1909 S VDB sitting around I'll buy it.

 

Thinking about the terms themselves. "Overrated" seems to me a way of saying, people are paying too much for "x" relative to availability. It also seems to imply that the people who pay up for "overrated" coins are showing poor judgement. (I am not suggesting that the author of this thread was implying this!). "Underrated" suggests that "y" is selling for a low price given its relative scarcity and that people not buying these are missing an opportunity, to their detriment. So, you can't really escape the value judgement about collectors that is inherent in the use of these terms. I would like to see these terms fall out of use. What would I use instead?
Maybe overpriced/overvalued and underpriced/undervalued? Maybe popular/unpopular? I think I am just going to abandon the whole issue and say that nice looking original old coins will always find a willing buyer who derives satisfaction from them, irrespective of the amount paid.

 

I would say Morgans tend to be the most overrated. There is just too many of them and the whole VAM thing is silly and just a way to make something so common worth something.

Underrated, most likely Half & Large cents & they're actually my favorite when I look as my u.s. coins.

 

I have them in VF35, XF40, AU55, and MS64 Red. Which one do you want and at what price? All PCGS graded.

 

Shhhhh....hush!

 

I don't know if it's underrated, but (imo) an affordable series with the greatest upside potential over the next (say 30 years) will be high grade Buffalo nickels.

 

The beauty of tokens is that there is no beauty to look at. The "beauty" is in the story, no two of which will ever be the same. The story of the USAF at Phan Rang will in no way sound like 1st MAW at Marble Mountain.

And how easy it is now to read those stories on the Internet. Tokens are the only thing that have never bored me.