Most undervalued coin, or "What's the best deal out there?"

First off, I'm a mintage guy. I look at mintages vs price, and figure out which ones are undervalued and buy those now, and which are overvalued and wait to buy those until (if) the price goes down.

A few years ago, 1914 halves were $30 in G. At 124k mintage. Now they're $140. That was my number one undervalued pick, and I'm glad I bought one. Before that it was 31-S Lincolns.

For the same reason, I just purchased a 27-S quarter in VG/F. At 396k mintage, $50-60 is a great deal. I expect these (and the 27-D, the only other sub-million SLQ other than the 16 and 27-S) will go up in value, say double to triple, in the next 2-3 years.

1913 quarters are also undervalued. At 484k mintage, you can find them in the $20 range G/VG, while the 14-S is $100 at 264k mintage. I expect 1913 quarters to be at $60-70 (in G) in two years, while the 14-S gets to $150 (in G).

What is your call for most undervalued coin? Unless it's modern, let's quote G/VG/F prices (as that's within reach for most collectors). Sure, I think 1881 seated quarters are also underpriced at AU/MS, but at $650, that's a bit more (my expectation is $1000-1250 for them in two-three years).

John

 

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I think the simple ASE is undervalued. I think it's one of the best coin designs ever produced, but aside from that, there are two important elements of value. First, the price of silver seems likely to rise since just about nobody can keep a silver mine open at $11 silver. Second, someday the US Mint will discontinue the series and all of the coins will immediately achieve some numismatic status rather than just be bullion coins, and the price will go up -- perhaps by a lot.

 

Offhand, without looking up mintage numbers but knowing prices, I'd say any of the 10's and 20's S-Mint Lincoln Cents. Although prices for the very top grades for most cents have fallen slightly, I still think the series as a whole will advance with the S-Mints leading the way.

 

Don't say that! They need to fall first, so I can complete the series.

 

I vote for 20 cent pieces.

 

I would have to agree. To me the semi-key date coins of the Lincoln Cents have really gone up lately like the 11-D and I think they will continue to rise.

 

ancients in the general

 

If you're a mintage guy, look at early proofs! You can often pick up a coin with only a few thousand, or few hundred, mintage for a couple of hundred bucks.

I purchased a proof Indian cent once, with a mintage of less than 3,000, for only $50!

 

2005 buffalo nickels. Wanna buy a roll?

 

Really though I love the no stars dimes.



2 year type and great looking.

 

Actually, Danr, quite a few of those seated dimes have very low mintage at what can be considered very reasonable prices. But will they go up?

Not that I'm obsessed with the values of my coins, but I do view my collection as both a hobby and an investment. I wouldn't want any to go down, at least.

Now, perhaps, what key or semi-key coins are undervalued, in your (collective, everyone, not just Danr) opinion?

John

 

You're spot on with those coins. I bought 2 or 3 27-s and 27-d SLQs when they could be had for $10 a piece. Before that I was buying 1899 Morgan dollars at $30 in F/VF, now look at one. Right now I think you're on to something with 13 and 14-s quarters, I have about 3 13's in VG and would like to get 5 or 6 more. Watch for low mintage barbers to do something in the next few years over all three series.

 

Trimes.

Many of the later dates have incredibly low mintages and yet can be bought for pocket change considering their rarity.

 

You got almost 25 of them for less than $200 bucks.

Ruben

 

I agree. the Lincoln Cenbt collection is one of the cornerstones of the US hobby. It is a gateway for many collectors, young and old. With the commem reverses this year, I think that the Lincoln Cent is going to get a lot of extra attention. When that happens, the scarce to key and semi-keys almost always increase.

 

I agree. The Lincoln Cent collection is one of the cornerstones of the US hobby. It is a gateway for many collectors, young and old. With the commem reverses this year, I think that the Lincoln Cent is going to get a lot of extra attention. When that happens, the scarce to key and semi-keys almost always increase.

 

As I've always said, (I know, here we go again..lol), Seated Half Dimes (1837-1873) are one of the most undervalued coins for their mintage there are. I've noticed though that demand for these are going up slightly, I'm losing more bids on these than ever...lol. I've included a list of the dates and mintages, check them out for yourself.

http://www.coinfacts.com/half_dimes/seated_liberty_half_dimes/half_dimes_seated_liberty.html

Then check out the Numismedia values.....

http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/prices/hlfdim/pricesgd.shtml

 

I am going to disagree and say that there are no undervalued coins or series of coins. Prices a driven by economics (supply vs. demand). Since the supply (mintage) is fixed and known, the only way for a coin to rise in price is to see an increase in demand. Using that reasoning, you should try and determine which series is most likely to attract new collectors and I am sure that it won't be trimes.

IMHO, fluctuations in market prices are actually artificially created by the marketing aspect of the hobby. The big dealers say a certain coin is hot which leads collectors to buy the coins which drives prices up. I don't know how many times I have heard that classic commemoratives are either hot or cold over the last 10 years.

My opinion is to collect coins with outstanding eye appeal and quality. They never go out of style.

 

I like the 1913 quarter too. I currently have 16 and my goal is to get a roll of 40.

 

Not to nitpick but the supply of a coin is not fixed at its mintage. Several issues were melted with only a handful of examples leaving the Mint. Other coins (notably Silver Dollars) were pulled from circulation and melted. This makes the supply of these coins less than mintage figures indicate.