what are the best deals in numismatics today? (any price)

tell us your sleepers.

 

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Older keys and semi-keys.
By "older" I mean from sets no longer struck or metal composition no longer used (pre-'65).

Example:
I was after an 1877 IHC in MS-63.
When I first decided to get the coin (about a year or so ago) I knew about how much I'd have to pay.
By the time I got around to actually buying the coin (about 6 months later), the MS-63 would have cost me $1000-1500 more.
I settled for an XF-45.

 

Ikes, older paper money, older $2's and all the stuff I am buying at face at the bank.

 

3cn

 

Roosevelt Dime, Lincoln Memorial cents Silver 1964-1970 Kennedys Half's
there to cheap.
http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc290/amac44/?action=view&current=8ee79c0a.pbw

 

1982 Roosevelt - No Mintmark
Can be picked up in AU for under $100
Estimated release numbers are over 5k under 10k
I've heard rumors that Whitman is adding the coin to it's albums. If they do expect this to jump in price quickly. If they don't you're still getting one of the more interesting modern errors.
I've picked up 5 of these over the last year. All for under $150, all of them certified by one of the top 3 TPG, all in MS.

 

Smart idea. The no mm dime is probably another good investment coin.
Very best regards,
collect89

 

I like some of the older world coins in mint state condition. Some are true condition rarities. They are often quite beautiful and can have populations that compare to the US coins like the 1804 dollar or a 22 no D cent. If they were US coins with these specs, I certainly could not afford them in these high grades. I think that these are some of the best deals.

Very best regards,
collect89

 

Most all of the Seated Liberty Half Dimes have low mintages and are still quite affordable. The only thing holding back a huge surge in the values of these is demand, like most any sleeper. The 1927-D Standing Liberty Quarter with a mintage of 976,000 are still very inexpensive.

 

"what are the best deals in numismatics today?"

Assuming there's such a thing as a "deal" in numismatics, I'd say generic gold like Saint Gaudens or Liberty $20s in 62 or 63.

 

p.s. "sleeper" is another word for "lack of demand".

 

I like the idea. Can you give us some specifics on that.

 

exactly... As much as I enjoy collecting some of the older sets such as barbers and seated. These coins have been "sleepers" for a hundred years or more.

Going forward I don't see demand changing for these types of coins. Of course if the hobby grows then demand for these will grow, but so will demand across the board.

What we need to look for is demand that MIGHT be created for a SPECIFIC series OR a specific COIN.

Prior to the inclusion of the 55 double die to albums the demand for this coin wasn't nearly as great (relatively) as it is today. And as such the price was much more in line with being a semi-key vs THE KEY. This is an event that caused a specific coin to increase in value more than it's peers. The upcoming 100 year anniversary or the Lincoln cent has caused demand for the keys and semi-keys to skyrocket over the last few years. This is an example or an event that caused a specific series to increase in value at a faster rate than other series.

I think the real question here isn't what are good buys, but what EVENTS are getting ready to happen which might affect the hobby and which coins will be affected by this event on a greater scale.

I mentioned the 82 No Mintmark dime as an example of a specific coin which could see a good runup due to the POSSIBILITY that Whitman is going to begin including it in it's albums. If this happens this coin will become THE KEY to the series in much the same way as the 55 double die has to the Lincoln series.

I didn't mention that I think Jefferson nickels are a good series to be investing in as a whole, but I'll do that now. I suspect that in the near future the mint will change the composition of the nickel as the melt value has been hovering at or hitting double of it's face value for over a year now. There's a bill before congress now to discontinue production of the nickel and change over to the half dime. I doubt this passes, but the thought is there to such a point that the idiots in Congress are already begining to talk about it. When the nickel is discontinued or the planchett composition changes this series WILL see a runup in value at a faster pace than the other series. MS example of these coins will probably increase at a faster rate than the series as a whole.

So another suggestion that I have is to invest in High Grade Early Date Jeffersons... I'd focus in on the ones with mintages of under 10 million.

 

Truly rare coins (and I'm sorry, no Jefferson Nickels apply ), key date coins coins, and one-year-type coins (particularly if they are high on the eye-appeal scale) are better stores of value than even the best "sleeper", IMO.

 

In my mind there is a difference between coins that function as stores of value and "sleepers"

You're entirely correct in saying

All the coins you listed are Great ways to store value and maintain an index against inflation.

However to me the term sleeper refers to a coin which is poised to make a substantial run up in the fairly near future. Or a coin which is undervalued according to the price guides as compared to how easy it is to find.

Just as a for instance look at the state quarter series, are these sleepers? Obviously not, they've been hoarded and due to this won't be considered rare for quite some time. The demand (excessive) for them has already come. There was such demand that IMO they've reached their full potential from the profit side. If you like them then by all means collect them. It should be an easy set to put together in BU. Now and 100 years from now.

But there are coins in the current modern series which ARE incredibly undervalued as compared to their ease to find. I've already mentioned a couple but I have some more.

I have a hard time calling this one a modern, but some do: the 1910 P Lincoln. This coin is incredibly hard to find as a well struck MS63 RD or better. I was lucky enough to run across a MS 65 (maybe 66) 10 years ago and bought it for $12. This was before the run up on Lincolns. When it comes to finding one of these now though, you can throw all of the price guides out the window as they don't apply. An example in 64 is going to cost you in the neighborhood of $500. This was a sleeper which the price guides still have listed as such. I would say to buy any RD or RB MS examples of this coin.

Another group that is EXCEPTIONALLY hard to find are well struck Roosevelt's from 1982 and 1983. Price Guides already place premiums on these due to the inability to find them (there were no mint sets produced these years and because of this very few pristine example were kept because "Who collects clad Roosevelts?" I challenge you to find a mint state example of the 82 P with Full Torch Lines and pay RedBook for it. If you do find it buy it immediately and then take a good picture of it and sell it to me for twice RedBook. I'll do it every time and giggle about it. To a lesser extent the same holds true for the other denominations from these years, the Roosies were just not very well struck.

One of the things about our current modern coinage is that we have spent the last 30 years thinking there wasn't any reason to collect them because of their high mintage numbers. Don't get me wrong, it will ALWAYS be easy to put a modern set together in VF. But MS is a much differenet story. A personal example of this is my MS63+ Roosie set. I wanted all the silvers to be MS 63 and all the clads to be MS 65+. I completed the silver set fairly quickly, however I've spent nearly twice as long putting the clad side of the set together than I did putting my Barber dime set together. This hasn't been for a lack of funds either. The examples just aren't out there.

 

And with countries like India & China growing richer , the collector base in those countries will grow , and the prices will rise .
rzage:thumb:

 

1954 s full step?

 

what particular coins seem like sleepers to you?