Bad US coin buys

I've seen a lot of discussion about good investments, like key dates, undervalued Classic commemoratives, etc. what about bad buys in your opinion? I was looking for affordable, early graded mercs and Washington quarters. I saw so many ms 64, 65, and even 66s, with FB designations etc and I think they are lousy buys. I'm talking mainly the coins in the 1940s and up (for silver quarters). All FdR dimes are lousy too, unless of course they are ms 67 and won at a good price. First off, there's too many for sale. Second, the mintages are relatively high. I wouldn't even pay 20 dollars for a ms 65 merc dime. I can only see prices falling for these coins. What about you?

 

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I think you should rethink collecting.........as obviously you don't do.

 

Get an MS-66 FB Merc in a PCGS/NGC slab for $40 and then tell me it's a bad buy.

Many coins have been melted over the years, worst years for silver coins being 1980 and 2011, and most are worn down. That leaves... not THAT many in very high grades.

 

Mercury dimes are one of the most popular coins. What are you talking about?

 

if you equate collecting with throwing money away, you're right, I don't do that. I'd much rather have a lower mintage 20s or 30s merc graded ms63 - coins you don't see so prevalently - than the countless ms 65/66 FB or not mercs in the 40s and late 30s, mintages in the tens of millions. Doesn't seem wise, if you've ever thought that deep about collecting

 

I'm not quite sure where you are going with this. Are you collecting because you like coins or because you want to resell them?

 

I'd actually skip that. I'd pay 20 though

 

Thanks for question. I don't have as much discretionary money to spend as others may have. I collect world coins too and buy what I like. I like US coins too, but i guess I'm more selective. There's a lot more out there with US coins and they're not cheap, so I'm commenting on coins that seem to flood the market. I love mercs, just older ones that seem like better buys to me.

 

Then buy some.

 

I will...thanks. I guess some are so offended by my opinion they can't add to the topic.

 

Buy what you like and what you can afford. And have fun doing it.

 

Buy what you like and what you can afford. And have fun doing it.

 

Agree!, buy the teen's & 20's with mint marks.

 

I think cents are good too, bn or better in lower 30s and especially 20s and below. The 1909 and 1909 vdb were saved in high numbers but I think they're a good value in unc 63. The 1883 w/out cents is another similar coin reasonably priced in unc. How else could you afford a ms 63 liberty head nickel with a lower budget? I got one and it's beautiful, it's a keeper

 

buy what you love. some say buy what you can afford. I say save up for a better grade. down the road you will be much happier with better grades. I collect merc's... mostly world coins. merc's have been put on the back burner for now. the teens, 20's, 30's get pricy but it's better to save up for a nicer grade.

 

I thought you were saying Mercury's in general were bad buys. My bad.

I agree that some dates may be more undervalued than others, but for the most part, price is a pretty good indication of market value. So while you might prefer a 1920's or 1930's merc more than a 1940 merc because you feel it has more potential, remember that current market price is already taking rarity into account. Especially with a coin as established as Mercury dimes. They have been collected for over 70 years now.

What you are doing is speculating on future popularity. Not saying that's a bad thing, but someone could make the case that the 1940 Merc's stand a better chance of appreciating (percentage-wise) because they are currently being overlooked. When it comes to speculating on future value it's a coin toss (pun intended).

 

Oh really? This one is mine. It's not MS67.
To actually answer your question, though, you're starting from the wrong premise when you start talking about good and bad investments. Obviously, a collector wants to get the best coin possible for his or her money, and it's great to be able to sell them later and get a large percentage (possibly over 100%) of that money back. But, I can't honestly think of any coins I can afford that I'd consider a "bad buy." I'm not hot on low grade key dates for my own collection though. You won't catch me buying a 1916-D dime or 1916 SLQ any time soon, just because I can't really afford them in what I'd consider a decent, collectible grade.

 

I do not know if this will help or not, but I use bing rewards and have my browser set up as this, which allows me to make a little more than $5 a month and I redeem for amazon gift cards. I know that this is not much money at all, but a few extra silver quarters every few months for not changing internet use habits has never hurt anyone, I have never had a problem with this service either.

 

Thanks, I agree. I usually go for quantity, and with world coins you can get some nice stuff that's affordable, even scarce stuff. With US coins though I think a better bet is with the scarcer stuff, as far as pop reports, mintages, and then condition rarities. More bang for ya buck I suppose

 

Thanks. I'm not familiar with that but that adds up and sounds like a good idea to me.