Mother Of All Contests Framework

i forgot to mention earlier this round ends christmas day.

 

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Thanks Spock. I was wondering. I just went ahead and did research and answered to make sure.

Long days and pleasant nights!

 

I would say it failed because of rising gold prices and lack of interest of who is on the coins

#2 do research on high priced coins before you start collecting them or you might just be throwing money away and never make nothing off them if you decide to sell them

 

I think this series was not well planned from the start, and that later management decisions, along with rising gold prices did doom it. First it wants to feature 'first spouses' (which if the president was married will be all women, as no president has been female) so it featured a PC type term in there that is pretty much a sterile term to a lot of Americans. Secondly, the wives (or consorts, whatever) of presidents for the most part have never been prime fodder for collecting. For the most part, people really aren't interested in them. The only thing that at the start of this seemed prime was to have someone collect a somewhat small series over time that had the distinction of being valuable because it was a limited release and in Gold, and that the reverses might be interesting as they were different and were supposed to relate to that spouse, preferably during the president's term in office. But the mint has issues anyways with deciding on a reverse that will be interesting enough to have someone want to look at the coin and this presented problems later on when the design of some couldn't be finalized enough to release the coins in the right timeframe or cause production problems. Then, they did not account for a possible run-up in price of the gold to the levels it saw. Enough collectors might have purchased from the mint to have the program go strong enough for the mint but for the rise in gold price and production delays meant a number of the first interested collectors no longer could see continuing them. Lastly, without a strong collector base (which this series didn't have really to begin with) when gold soared, a number of the first coins supposedly were sent to the melting pot, with the assessment that there was no real premium over gold price for the coins. Lastly, with it tied to the release of presidential dollars (which are not really accepted in use, and which I think don't have a strong collector base) and which are now bogged down in releases, it means that the FS series will inevitably be bogged down or stopped. Who wants to collect a series like this? I don't. I think this could have been a nice little series for some, but I am not in that group. The concurrent releases or closely related in time releases of coins with different reverses (quarters, nickles, cents, Sacajawea dollars) is mind-boggling. The only lure in on this one would be one who wanted to see nice portraitures of ladies on coins (probably more than I would think) and who wanted to buy gold coins/could afford a gold coin series, as well as afford price changes up and to hold on to the coins they got at the lower prices when/if gold went up (hope for numismatic value).

 

For the first part, I believe there were several reasons that the series was not so popular. Yes as gold is much more expensive it does knock out many collectors but that is not the only reason. It must not be as there were the bronze medals that could have been collected at a fraction of the cost ($3.50). As these were commemorative, they should be attractive to collectors. Only problem is that the vast majority of commemorative coins produced had some sort of historical significance or to note a special event in time. Many of the the presidents wives lacked that significance. Also, this series mirrors the corresponding presidential dollars. Many people still do not like the "golden dollars" as for the same reasons of the earlier Susan B. Anthony. None of these coins are popular in circulation. (In contrast the quarter's have inspired new group of collectors and has driven up interest in the series.) The 2007 sales numbers were higher due to anticipation that the series would be a profitable venture and by the second year the sales dropped. Of course the housing and stock markets hit the fan causing the global economy to slump so that did not help matters. And lastly, I personally think the artistry on many of the wives coins could have been better.

As for the second part, as collectors we can learn that a coin (or anything else for that matter) is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. If the popularity and demand is not there it will not fetch a premium no matter why you think it should. There can be a variety of reasons why this happens too. So it makes it complex for a collector to speculate potential attractiveness. For those who have purchased any of the first spouses series, the question as to the outcome on pricing and value remains to be seen. Only time will tell if they join the ranks of the rare and highly sought after.

 

Hi Spock. Gee, I sort of missed this last question..well the last two actually. Sorry sir, I was tied up with Holiday things. I'll be paying attention now. Happy holidays!

Lucy

 

I don't think it can be called a failure yet for the long run. It could be a sleeper due to them not being picked up and the low mintage. It's just that kind of thing that creates a kind of following later due to them being unpopular now, thus the low mintages etc.. They will be possibly hard to find in the future, unlike some things like the reverse proof buffalo that is such a success right now but the collector world will be flooded with for a 100 years or so. The first spouses failure may be the best evidence of an actual collectible success for the future.

 

I hope all is well. This round ended 5 days ago.

 

yes you dont want to miss it mark the thread so that you get all responses straight to your inbox. Happy holidays!

 

Some really really good answers. I was amazed at the quality of the responses. here is the points table

xGAJx 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
mrweaseluv 1 3 0 0 0 0 4
rlm's cents 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
ck1of2 1 2 4 2 0 0 9
jensenbay 1 2 0 2 4 5 14
wiggam007 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
aronsamma 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
silentnviolent 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
ToughCOINS 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
desertgem 2 0 0 5 0 0 7
enochian 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
ken454 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Nuglet 1 2 2 0 0 0 5
jon12 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
Sean the Coin Collector 1 0 2 0 0 0 3
bigbruiser94 1 2 0 2 0 5 10
heuvy31 1 2 0 0 3 5 11
Cazkaboom 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
theSharpGun 2 2 0 0 0 0 4
Hallingood 2 2 4 0 5 5 18
jay4202472000 2 5 3 5 3 5 23
kbabyjohnson01 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
wheatydigger 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
Treashunt 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
lucyray 2 5 0 0 0 0 7
jester3681 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
TypicalCreepahx 2 5 2 0 0 0 9
ldhair 0 3 2 0 0 5 10
harris498 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
kasia 0 2 2 0 0 5 9
LOLephant 0 2 0 0 0 0 2

 

This round will have point from -5 to +5. The people on the leader board can decide if they want to play or play it safe and abstain The worlds best collection is useless if you cant present it well. Post a photo that YOU have taken of a coin that highlights your coin presentation skills better than anyone else. You may own or not own the coin but you must have taken the photo. The coin can be anything you want from any country for example a Morgan but it should be a photo that can showcase your morgan like no one else can. No juicing the photo and please include a writeup why your photo is superior.

Happy Holidays everyone have a smashing 2014!

 

When is the deadline for this new round?????

 

Jan 15th so you have enough time. Thanks

 

I say it would be fun if all of the contestants either describe how they got into coin collecting or describe their best coin show experience. It would be really interesting to hear everyone's story in my opinion.

 

See page 3

 

Spock1k is running this contest...

 

At the risk of losing points, I will explain. I would love to have the ability to display my coins in the best way possible. It will have to wait. All I can do now is take a picture of a box or two or a scattering of coins on the table. I plan to, someday, come up with a way to display the coins I got from my grandpa and father in law. I have other, more important, priorities at this time. I will forgo posting a photo. It would not be exciting.

 

My photograph of this coin is superior because it shows the full depth of the coin from the highest raised areas to the lowest part of the field, and brings those out as close to three-dimensionality as I can. I love the fact that you can see the wonderful edge toning as well as all the flaws in this coin that brings it to the MS64 it was graded. It is also difficult to get all the facets of the coin in full details, but this is very close. There are few perfect Franklins, and this a better representation than I have seen in numerous photos. I am happy to have this in my collection and this displays the coin I have to nearly the best representation I can get.

 

i am a little confused. You have till the 15th is that not enough time? It doesnt have to be a new picture it can be one you took before.

 

I will see if I can amend my entry for this round. Thanks.