Recently, I read that Ike dollars could be a sleeper. Even though there are hundreds of millions issued, it turns out that they are difficult to find in high unc. grade. Could it be that certified 65+ Ike coins in the future will carry a significant premium over the lower mint state grades? Ike dollars have a plain wide open obverse and any sort of bag mark or nic will stick out like a sore thumb. These high grade coins are very available at reasonable prices,so do you think that this coin could be on its way up?
I just bought some...they were only made for ~7 years. You are right they are hard to find in high grades for business strikes.
I'll stick my neck out and say that anyone who wants a Type Coin would probably buy one of the cheap Proofs. My opinion, Ike was a great man, his commem was one of the most butt-ugly designs ever conceived. There's a reason this dog only lasted 7 years. Does anybody besides ME collect Type Coins??
Sleepers? Some people have been making this claim for 20 years or more. I guess they must have a huge stockpile they can't unload. 8 years, if you count the bicentennial for 1975 & 1976. Chris
If you wait long enough, everything is a sleeper. I'm sure a Roman citizen would be aghast at what I've paid for some of their common-as-dirt bronzes.
Heck, I remember these getting pimped as "sleepers" in the 80's. Almost as long as they have been around, dealers have been writing how they are majorly underpriced. Maybe they will be right, a broken clock is right twice a day, but so far they aren't. Buy coins you love, for the love of the hobby. let the economics work itself out. If you like the coin, it gives you pleasure, you are 100% guaranteed to get your money's worth.
That was sort of a rhetorical question, I just don't see much interest in Type Coins here. I still collect Indians and Lincolns by date.
I collect by Type many times, both US, World, and ancients. Most ancient collectors are in reality type collectors, its just that with tens of thousands of major types we cannot hope to even complete a type collection, let alone a "complete" collection. But, I agree, there are many Dansco 7070 collectors here from what I read.
I used to be one, many moons ago, but those Liberty Seated varieties undid my efforts - especially the dollars.
There is an niche type of collector within the Eisenhower series whereby they collect varieties and such. Those coins in high grade may be more valuable if the series ever catches fire.........
There are far too few Gem Ikes to supply a mass market. It was about 1978 before I even knew they existed they were so few and far between. I suppose they could get a little popular if most collectors were willing to settle for "gemmy" Ikes rather than true Gems. By "gemmy" I mean fully lustrous, well struck and very clean examples often with a minor fault (like a spot of corrosion or strike weakness on the reverse). In only chUnc most Ikes are not very attractive and are significantly marked. Gems are scarce but gemmy Ikes aren't nearly so difficult and account for some 2% of mint set production. Thousands were gleened from BU rolls as well and a few still sit in rolls and bags. ChBU Ikes once were exceedingly common but are much less so now days.
There's one thing that modern type coins will have going for them as long as there is almost no demand; rare high grade coins will be cheap. Indeed, there are no US coins where top grade coins can be bought for as little as $10. Even pop tops can cost as little as a few hundred dollars. In fact all you have to do is look through about "50" 1976 mint sets and you can get a a nice Gem '76 bicentennial type quarter for little more than face value. Few collectors are availing themselves of this opportunity. Even type collectors generally just don't collect type after 1965. If they ever decide they want something like a Gem 1976 type I ike you can look for the price to go up thousands of dollars because they aren't out there. They aren't cheap because they are common, they are cheap because collectors don't want them. Even gemmy type I's are quite uncommon and chUnc's aren't so common as people think. It's hard for me to believe this situation can persist indefinitely. Most coins will be flowing back onto the market over the next couple decades but there aren't any Gem Ikes in existing collections so these won't be coming on the market except in the tiniest numbers. Are collectors in the future going to ignore moderns as well?
I don't think that moderns will be ignored as much as they have been in the future. For me anyways, I'm getting more interested in coins that have circulated in my lifetime, so I find myself drifting towards more modern sets rather than the older ones. I can avoid PM prices for the most part here too You never know though. I'm hoping that I can get a good start on my collection before demand picks up (if it does that is, either one is fine with me!)
Either which way,I think I am gonna add a couple Ikes to my collection. Hopefully,I will be able to get a nice MS67 at a reasonable price. Also,I have taken in interest in collecting loose Ikes and singles. A little while back I was at a goodwill store looking at books and I happened across a nice size numismatic library. Including a signed copy of the error coin encyclopedia..(it was a wonderful day!) Anyways,one of the books I found was The Authoritative reference on Eisenhower Dollars. And this book goes into great detail about the coin and its various varieties. So with this reference,I hope to find some cool varieties and put together a folder with them.
