I'm in the market for a 1996 ASE... I know I'll pay a premium due to the low mintage. What's the "going rate" for one of these? I've seen them for $80 on APMEX (BU condition). Also, 1994 and 1997 are the other low mintage years, correct? They're a lower premium IIRC. Maybe around $50? Thanks for any input. I hope to make a purchase this weekend. Just trying to get an idea on what I'll be spending. I'll call ahead to my two local dealers and go to the one who has the best price. They're usually lower than the online sites.
Look for a partial or complete set in a Dansco...you pay a premium for the tough dates but less for the common ones...they could all be hand picked coins without issues. They might average out to just a little over spot! 96s are a poor year for quality, so viewing the coin in hand is a must. Most of this date has been cherrypicked several times. Even original monster boxes of these were of very poor quality.
Both of the dealers I called today are selling a 1996 for $65. I was hoping for a little less but I understand the significance of this year. The one dealer also has a 1997 for $27 and a 1994 for $35. Not sure if those are decent prices or not. Nothing slabbed. I'll have to save up for a partial set..... Why would the 10-year anniversary of these beautiful coins be such poor quality? Is that why they minted the fewest this year, because of the poor quality?
Don,t know, but in 1996 we were at the worst year of recession in many years so much mint production was limited. Budget cuts were probably also a factor at the mint. Coin collecting was also at a bottom.
Hmmm, that's interesting. If the recession was a factor, yet they already had all of the equipment (other than the dies?), I'm not sure how quality would have been affected that significantly. Were the planchets of lower quality? Not as pure silver possibly? I can see not producing as many due to budget cuts, but those that were produced shouldn't have suffered in quality. I don't know. I admit I've never seen a coin being produced so I don't know the process. I guess budget issues show up in the quality somehow.
I'm also building up an ASE set. But I'm trying to buy them in 3 or 5 years together. It makes it a little bit cheaper when I can.
I,ve heard that in whole monster boxes of 96s only a handfull of ms69s and even fewer ms70s were graded...most were ms67s and many didn,t grade at all. Milk spots, blemishes, etc. Added to lowest mintage, the 96s are the scarcest in high grade. Look hard and nice coins are out there, but at a premium, thats why album coins deserve a better look.
I'd believe that. It has the highest population of 64-67s for any date at PCGS. 94 seems to be a pretty poor date by ASE standards as well
I managed to get my 1996 ms69 certified by ICG for $60 off eBay, nice coin too. I had to wait about three months or so though to snag it.
These coins were not minted as coins or as collectibles, but as a bullion vehicle. The recession plays a part in the demand for bullion coins and a recession would lower the demand as such. The fact that the government was buying the blanks from an outside supplier could affect the quality of the coins, but one would not be safe in that assumption
Patience is virtue. I started an ASE collection but kinda put it on the back burner. I add when I see one I need. Quality as well as price are always an issue, I want quality but like anyone else I don't want to pay top dollar. 1996 is a year I'm in need of, but I do have the patience to wait for the one I want at the price I'm willing to pay.
What I'm a little worried about is that the longer I wait to get a 1996, 1997, or 1994 the higher the price will be in the future. I never saw one of those price sheet booklets that the dealers grab when asking about ASE prices, nor have I been keeping track of pricing over a year's time to get an idea of fluctuations. My dealer is asking $65 for a 1996 right now. I'd rather pay that tomorrow than $70 in a month if his price goes up. Of course I'd rather pay $60 or less instead. But I have no way of knowing for sure if his price will remain constant or go up next week, next month, or next year. Or if it'll come down next week. *sigh* To buy or wait, that's the big question..... What to do?
that's ALWAYS the question... LOL I think that you might be able to find one for less, but that's just me
$65 isn't bad. Costs reflect buy & demand, who's to say next year there will be more buyers willing to pay $65 or more? That also works the other way around were nobody is buying so nobody is selling. It's hard to say when it's a good time to pull the trigger or not. Collecting is so much fun isn't it
JMO But they are all low mintages from 1986-1998 except 1987. I wouldn't pay such premium for 1996 as you can find some other years with only slightly higher mintages for $20-$22. In the future there will be appreciation in value for these other years where the 1996 price already reflects the lower mintage. 1996 was 3.6 million where 1988 was 5 million and I know I have seen 1988's in uncirculated go for $22-$25. I think your best bet is to go for the other low mintage years where you can get them in the low to mid 20 range.
There are several 1988 ASE graded NGC 69 on EBAY buy it now for $28-$31 with free shipping right now. That's probably a money maker if someone held them a while.
