Just two or three months ago there was at least a couple hundred listings for mint state quarter rolls. About 30% of them were advertised to be in the original unopened box and the balance were unopened loose rolls. Today you will find very little left and almost none in the unopened box. When you do find them in a box they are either Michigan, Texas, or Iowa. Just curious! Are they now being opened, cherry picked and slabbed by dealers? BWJR
I would guess that either the prices are low enough and the demand low enough that they aren't worth the trouble of selling or more likely it's caused by the boomerrang effect. Things get saved in huge numbers until people come to believe there are too many of them and they cut back on them. Concurrently demand slacks off waiting for lower prices until it suddenly tries to get filled and there is less supply than believed. I suspect the latter because they are making only about 225 million of each now days. There are an awful lot in circulation and one has to believe most of the recent ones are still at the fed in the pipeline. This barely leaves enough for each collector to have one and obviously there are many hordes. If this is the case then watch for higher prices temporarily as the supply gets evened out a little. Those which don't exist at the fed may have permanent price increases. I'm not suggesting anyone go out and buy the recent states issues. If anything, I'd suggest a selling opportunity may be approaching. The CA quarter will be released late in January and should cause a flurry of excitement. While no regular issue state quarter will be scarce or rare in unc, don't assume they'll all be distressingly common or that demand won't outstrip the supply. Remember that these are approaching the point of representing half the coins in circulation, and all these coins are no longer BU. Note that the earlier issues are starting to look pretty ratty quite often and that nice pieces are not so often seen anymore.
