We've all heard about sleeper coins. I've just been looking though the mintage on lincolns. I think in time the 1968s lincoln will definately be in the top 5 for memorial cent. I only collect lincolns. What does everyone think will be the next?
Mintage has little to do with it. Supply (and demand) is the key. That is why the the most expensive Lincoln to date is the 1926-S, not the S-VDB. My guess is that being a San Francisco cent, the supply is relatively high.
My definition of a "sleeper" is a coin that the value of such a coin may not reflect the low mintage numbers. Mintage numbers have alot to do with it in my opinion. Look at this sleeper for instance, a 1927-s Standing Liberty Quarter, mintage 396,000 yet this coin starts out at $30 dollars in Good. Compare that to a "key" date 1928 Peace Dollar with a mintage of 360,649 that starts out at around $425 in Good. Look at the early 3 cent nickel pieces, mintages anywhere from 1,000 to 862,000 which can be had for around $100 dollars in MS60, thats what I call a sleeper. I really believe the 1927-s SLQ is a great sleeper that will someday wake up.
Therefor, my 1954- Lincoln should be worth as much as a 1909? (71 mil vs. 72 mil) Or worth much more that the 1968-S ever will be (271 mil). Or The 1933-D as valuable as the 1913-S? I could go on, but........
In the traditional sense a sleeper is a coin that is undervalued at the present time. Of course that assumes that at some point in the future that the coin will greatly appreciate in value. And the supposed reason for that rapid appreciation is that collectors will " discover " what a truly great deal it is. In plain English that translates into a coin that was never particularly popular suddenly becoming very popular. And because of the increased demand there is an increase in value. Of course no one ever bothers to tell you when that coin will be " discovered " - just that they are sure that it will be, sometime - maybe
1968 (P) cent in gem next year. Well struck examples of this without carbon spots are in grossly insufficient supply to even begin to complete the existing number of cent collections to 2009. The '68-S cent is far tougher in gem than most people can imagine but the number is probably large enough as to prevent a shortage.
You could go on but you're talking about coins that were minted in the millions that in no way could ever be considered a sleeper in any grade. A sleeper is one that could eventually be very desirable and maybe someday there will be more demand than supply. Your comparisons do not make any sense, you're comparing coins with similar mintages and similar values, how do you determine a sleeper that way?
OK. The PCGS price guide lists an MS-65 at $20. It doesn't get very valuable until MS-67 at $1800. A $20 price for a slabbed coin really means about $5 because of costs associated with slabbing but I think this will be multiples of even the $20 price by the end of 2009. The higher grade coins will not increase as much in this case since the demand will be pushed to the lower grades because of their high price. It's not the number of very high grade collectors increasing, it should be the number of collectors who desire a nice attractive gem. This coin isn't overly tough in MS-64 but again, most are spotted. Demand for this lower grade won't strain supplies greatly, probably. There are quite a few of the memorial cents that should do really well as demand comes into the later dates by collectors who ended their sets at 1964 and want to have the entire set of Lincoln cents.
I also have had a hard time understanding the relationship between mintage and prices. The answer that always come up though is supply and demand, also as CladKing writes what was saved. The 1968S has a low mintage but can be found in BU rolls quite ofton on E-Bay. In fact most rolls can be bought for a couple of bucks which only shows how many rolls were saved. I have mentioned my choice, for hard to find choice rolls, the 86D. I know of many people with hundreds of pounds of copper pennies just waiting for the melt ban to be lifted and with the coming of the 100 year annv. I think the dust will settle and we will find out how much and which ones will be the Lincoln sleeper from the Memorial era, if any.
I'd say any Lincoln minted between 1909 and 1958 with a mintage below 10 million is a good candidate to become a sleeper, especially in grades over XF. I say this because you just don't see many, say 1913s or 1931d cents in decent grades anywhere. Their mintages are low and examples in these grades are rarer than many think. I use this same principal in hunting down Morgans, and it's really paid off...quite well. Guy~
not yet! couldn't part with them even if I had an offer. Call me a pack rat, investing for retirement hopefully
I think that in a few years the Eisenhower Dollars in a slabbed high grade will wake up and be somewhat of a "Trade Dollar" as far as value is concerned - I did say SOMEWHAT - The Governmint will get tired of sitting on them and melt a few mil or so to make something else that nobody wants to carry around in their pockets and all of a sudden you can`t find them anymore.Glad that I have a handful of completed sets.
The government doesn't have any pupa. In fact the govt. doesn't have any older coins sitting around in vaults. They haven't in years.
I'm not sure there is any such thing as a "sleeper" anymore. The hobby is too advanced and efficient. The 1927 peace dollar might be one. S mint morgan dollars other than the most common dates might qualify. If tastes change a lot in the future, the 1984 $10 Olympic Gold Eagle might develop a following [I happen to like that coin, but I think I'm the only one who does].
