Y'all, Much shorter question this time.....I see all the activity with the rolled coins, especially mint wrapped rolls. Besides mintage, what drives the demand for them? Is there value in keeping these rolls as they come from the mint or are folks digging into them trying to find errors/high grades? Or are the rolls just a nice way to collect as well? And, what about the proof and mint sets? Are folks just getting them to crack them out and send them to the graders or is there value in these as well, such as the sleeper years? Is this possibly a handy way for folks who are focused on the older coinage to keep a finger in the modern pool, still getting nice coins without spend as much time working on it? -- adrian
There are a lot of questions here and the answers can be complicated and interwoven. I'll try to provide a general overview of the mint state coins as are made for circulation and mint sets. I look at these from the perspective of the clad coins when not specifically stated otherwise. Mint state coins are struck a single time. They tend to be banged up and most strikes tend to be very poor on the earlier moderns. Dies are often highly eroded and exert little pressure. These coins were very poorly saved in most cases and much of the reason is that they are so poor quality. Mint set coins were struck to a much higher standard. They are struck by new dies and at lower speeds. Coins are usually a little more carefully handled. Mint sets, too, were generally ignored because people just never used to care anything about the new coins. It was not widely known that mint set coins were superior because people weren't looking and the mint has always simply called them uncirculated and said they are made by the same process as other coins. While technically true this can be misleading. Many of the mint and proof sets have been destroyed over the years and the coins placed in circulation. Mint set production is a small fraction of regular production. Even though mint set dies are swapped out frequently there are still very few of these dies compared to regular production dies. This means that there will be few varieties which appear in the sets. Indeed, most varieties do not appear in the sets at all and they can be rare in circulation due to attrition and degradation. Much of the demand for moderns is to seek varieties so collectors prefer rolls if they exist. Those seeking gems tend to prefer the mint sets if the coin exists in mint sets at all. It should be remembered that numerous moderns do not exist in mint sets such as all the '82 and '83 coinage. This applies to most varieties as well. Prices are set by supply and demand. Demand tends to be very paltry compared to demand for older coins. This demand shows up mostly in the very high grades because it is only here that supply is even smaller than the little demand. It also shows up to a more limited degree in the scarcer varieties. It's ironic that some of these rolls are excessively scarce but command very little price. A roll like a 1971 dime roll is virtually unavailable at any price but the price is tiny because of the lack of demand. These rolls, if you can find one, tend to be of horrendous quality. With most of these early rolls it's a safe bet that when you find one it was actually assembled from mint sets. Most of these coins go to build up sets of the various denominations. These sets tend to be good sellers but it can be difficult to locate all the coins needed for them so they aren't seen widely. Mint set quality is highly variable from year to year and from coin to coin. Finding nice issues to build sets can be challenging even for one set much less wholesale quan- tities. I'll try any more question if you can break them down a little. I'm sure this doesn't fully answer even one of your questions and there may be others with a different perspective.
I think cladking provded some very good answers. A lot depends on your perspective. Mint warpped coins are more highly valued than bank rolled coins. However, you pay a premium for the Mint rolls. I guess the thought is that they will be in better shape as they are fresh from the Mint. I have read a lot of posts where people purchase rolls to break them up and see what they can find. Sort of like s looking for the toy in the bottom of the cereal box. Others collect the rolls. Depending on the demand, rolls can be lucrative. If you want the best quality coin, then the proof sets are the way to go. They are beautiful coins and many of these sets are still relative cheap. So many are being cracked open that I think they will be a sleeper in the future. But, who knows.
True, that is the thought. However, it is not true. Your chances are just as good that you will high quality coins in bank rolls as they are that you will find them in mint rolls. There is absolutely no difference in the coins.
I search coin rolls and cherry pick the best out and return the rest. Get eem back into circulation. That is where the rest will be worn down to a smaller grade and increase my higher grades. Sorry but I have been on the wrong end of this for years. Ya gotta get them good ones outta circulation. And ya don't know till ya look. You are more likely too find a toy at the bottom of your toy box if ya searches it first. it would kill me if I gave away a one of a kind variety coin. The question is ~has these coins been searched? It has been my experience that any body that says unsearched coins ~~~~ and is a coin collector is probably cheating ya! But people find high grades all the time in change. And key dates ~~~so I hope this helps ya. Ok now too tell the truth I keep several rolls unopened ~~~ well just because that is the way I do it. Now you gotta find your way.
Another thought here when I keep a wrapped roll. I give emm a look at the end of the roll. This is a gauge of the rest of the roll and if it is weak or bag marked/slide marked then I search emm. But if they are a proof like or early release like coins, these are the ones I put in a storage box? Ok Now you should be confused. To touch on a old saying ~~~~( What ever blows yer dress up! )
Interestingly enough is the fact that the mint does not wrap coin. They may provide the wrappers for the coin but the mint does nothing more then mint large bags on coin. This is why I have decided not to pay the premium for the mint wrapper and get mine from the banks at cost. The roles that I have searched from the bank are as nice as any rolls with mint wrappers that I have seen. Also you can spend the less then perfect coins and not loose money doing so.
