proof sets vs individual coins

The saying goes, 'the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Now that's a used car salesman I feel I could trust......(devil)

 

I had an interesting conversation with a local brick and mortar coin dealer a couple of days ago. He specializes in collector coins and proudly says that he is the only dealer in the area who has large numbers of lower prices coins available for collectors.

He was lamenting the price of the 2025 silver Proof set which is $150. There are collectors who maintain sets in holders, like Dansco albums, which include the Proof coins. He told me that at $150 for the Proof set, he has to get at least $80 for the half dollar to make the set work for his business. When most collectors are accustomed to obtaining the current year’s coins for somewhere around face value or melt, that is quite a shock.

 

Always in the past the prices of moderns came way down after 3 years. One day this will stop and the prices will go higher instead just as they should in a growing field. As mintages continue to fall and more accurately reflect actual demand this becomes increasingly likely. Wait three years and that half might be $8 or it might be $800.

 

If it goes to $800, it will do so for a short time, probably driven by speculators. At that price, it will have gone beyond the means of the raw coin, album collectors who make the market for it.