Been a few years since I stopped collecting, having sold off all my Morgans pre-silver boom to pay bills. I remember what must have been 20 years ago... magazines touting the undervalued nature of Morgans after a previous cash in values. How has the buillon price affected values on high and low mintage MS 65/66 Morgans? Has the recession caused prices to fall, or has the panic raised all boats in an attempt to find an alternative to stocks? I'm a big fan of nickels in general, particularly Buffalo Nickels, mint/proof set varieties, Morgans, and of course varities of all sorts fascinte me... If there was an undervalued series today, offering an interesting history and design chock full of varities to cherrypick and keep interest in the hunt... what would they be?
:welcome: brotherluv I think Buffalo Nickels (even thought they are not silver) are under-rated. Also i believe Circ & Unc Walking Liberty Halves are under-rated as collector sets.
I'm hoarding Eisenhowers. One of these days, Mercs will get the respect they deserve for being the most beautiful coin this country has ever created...
I agree with 19lyds and merc. The Eisenhower series is definitely undervalued. Try finding nice Ike dollars, I dare ya. They're nowhere near as plentiful as you would think and being clad dollars, they have been tossed about and basically forgotten as a collector series. I think I read your question as if you are asking what series will appreciate in value the most over the short term, not what series do people care about the least and the answer to that question is anybody's guess, nobody can say for sure. If I had to bet money on an under-collected series, I would agree with what merc and 19lyds have said, I'd put my money on Ikes as well.
I think high grade Jefferson's are a good series, though I do like them... Walkers are also a good bet..
I would say Eisenhower Dollars. It is an extremely difficult set to assemble in a nice high grade but it is not that expensive. Plus, there are a ton of varieties.
One thing that I've seen for Morgans is that the spread over bullion spot price has definitely shrunk for lower end MS coins. There are some bargains to be had on common dates in the MS62-64 range. There are also a lot of AU coins that can be had for close to melt. Buying these coins is a good way to shield yourself if silver ever drops below $30 for an extended period again, as many could retain their collector's numismatic premium. I agree that Walkers are undervalued as well.
I would say quite a few series. I am thinking classic commemoratives, half cents, half dimes, etc. TBH if a guy were to cash out of bullion and buy up some great, classic collectible coins I don't think he would regret it regardless of what happens to bullion. Rare coins are rare, and always in demand. I would be buying problem free, classic collector coins mainly from the 19th century in XF-AU as my value point, plus the classic commemoratives in AU58-MS65. If someone is looking for varieties, look at the SL series. Buy the referenecs and see all of the cool varieties there are available. Most dealers do not even check these coins for varieties. Chris
I do like the IKE silver issues as some look wonderful. I've just not cared for the look of the business strike coins... That's just me though..
I gotta go with IKEs. To me, that coin has the most amazing reverse in the history of coinage. An Eagle landing on the moon - top that!
I can see where you are coming from with the business strikes. But...they are interesting for what they are. When they were made, the mint had a hard time getting good full strikes because of the size and hardness of the planchet. As a result, well struck examples are scarce. Combine that with the fact that the vast majority of these coins are bag marked covered...and you find a very challenging set to assemble in high grade. They aren't the prettiest coin, but they are certainly a challenge and their scarcity is under appreciated IMHO. You may or may not know this...but the reverse of the Ike and SBA are almost direct copies of the Apollo 11 mission insignia.
Sorry, by referencing 19th century issues, I was meaning Seated liberty. There are tons of varieties in them that not many dealers check thoroughly since the series aren't know to the general public for them, unlike Bust coinage.
I have 2 candidate undervalued series: 1. Draped Bust Half Dollars The field population of the ENTIRE TYPE is only around 14,000 coins. They are a bargain in lower circulated grades. I picked this one up raw for $350 last Summer from 900fine. I since had it graded by PCGS, who summarily over-graded it, it should be F15 at best. 2. Early Half Cents I bought this a few weeks ago for $775. A bargain in my opinion.
I agree Winged. Nice coins. I think they are all good coins, I was going for a little less pricey and easier to afford. The thing is, US coins overall are still too expensive. If you look at mintages, US coins are stratoshperically priced compared to any other world coinage. Something to think about. It has only been US coin collectors demand for only US coinage that has priced them so high. If you really want to see some undervalued coins versus their rarity, look at many world coins. Its just an aside, but wanted to remind everyone how pricey US coins in general are overall, and always have been. Chris