Anyone have insight into why $10 Indians that fall into mid-level rarity command such high prices? For example. There are dates with in MS63 with 120-190 graded PCGS coins with 30-50 higher graded selling for $3000-5000. There are $10 Libs with 70 MS63 graded and single digit numbers with higher grades selling for around $1000. Is it because low mintage means there is less of a chance of new ones coming to market? The Indians have far lower mintage numbers than Liberty's. Is it just because one is a more collectable coin? Obviously the $10 Indians are not a set the average person can go after so it can't be set collectors. It would take hundreds of thousands to collect the whole set.
I will say demand plays a roll in. $10 Indian is a very beautiful coin imo. It could just be a more collectible series then the Libs
All gold Indians are in short supply with a high demand. A beautiful coin with a beautiful design. The $2.50 is a set the average collector can afford.
True but the small 32 coin set would be over a $1 million in MS64 and over $1.2 million in MS64CAC coins. MS64 coins are not even top pop coins. In some cases there are 20-30 or more coins to pick from at that grade. I did notice that in November many of the $3000-5000 coins had their bids drop from October. Maybe they are falling out of favor or more are coming to market.
I've had this exact thought before. I owned a few $10 libs that were MS64s, one had 1 higher at 65 and the other I think 5 in MS65. Both cost less than my $10 Indian type example with a pop of 10k and 2k higher. The interest levels are just drastically different for the two series and it's a shame in my opinion because I feel the $10 lib is possibly one of the most beautiful US coins. Part might be that the $10 Indian is it's own design where the $10 lib has smaller denomination counterparts with the same design. I don't have a crystal ball and I also don't view collecting as a long term investment but I do feel the $10 lib series is a bit overlooked and sometimes the overlooked series are a good place to be looking.
I agree. I'm up to 6 of the $10 Libs in Type 3. Mostly MS63-64+ CAC. I hope to add a few of the other two types but will need to lower to AU58 most likely. In Indians I am only after about 5 or 6 of the mid level rarity coins (08D both types, 09D, 14S, 16S, maybe 08 no motto. Those with fewer than 200 MS63 graded and less then 50-60 graded higher (PCGS numbers only). I also buy $2.5, $5, and $20 on occasion. I am trying to build a few date sets of Liberty's. I could never see having a set of any of the denominatios.
It depends on the supply and the demand. The Indian is an attractive series that is popular to collect. The Liberty series is a long and challenging series, and only specialists attempt the full set. Thus, scarcer dates of Indians will be more popular than comparative Liberty coins. Think about it like this: I'll bet you can find some really rare 2 or 3 cent coins for really low prices. If you were to find a date/grade with a similar population of Mercury Dime, the price would be astronomical. In economics, the value of an item is the point at which it's supply meets its demand. If there are 100 pieces and only 20 people want them, you've got a huge surplus and lower prices. If there are 100 pieces and 500 people want them, the price is going to be significantly higher.
You should try to put together a set of $2.50 Indians. Only one date is expensive but affordable if you save for it, the 1911-D. It took me about 2 years but I did it. I even purchased the strong D. Still want a weak D but I'mnot in the hunt for one now.
That is the coin/set that got me into gold. I have 10 of the 15 in MS64 and MS64+ PCGS. Half are CAC. slowly working on the last 5 in between other purchases. I am surprised how hard it is to find a really nice, accurately graded 1929 MS64+ CAC. The 11D will probably be the last one for me. I keep getting distracted with other gold coins.
'29 is a tough year in that grade. As I said, I have the set in XF-AU. I only need 2 more PCGS MS-64 Peace Dollars to have my high grade set. Also tough but doable. The last two are hard to find in that grade and I'm not going to over pay to get them.
I own a Civil War Token with a lower surviving population than the 1804 dollar. It cost me $57. Even if only ten examples exist, there’s little competition if only ten people, maybe a little more, are interested in buying one. It’s still fun to say that the group of people who currently own one of these tokens is more exclusive than the group of people who have walked on the moon.
As you can see in the responses to this thread most refer to it as demand. But me, for coins like the $10 Indian, the Morgan, the Lincoln, I don't see demand as being the truly accurate term. With these coins it's more popularity than anything else. And yeah, some could argue that demand and popularity are the same thing, but they aren't really. There's lots of coins out there that have a high demand, but a very low popularity. And, the other side of the coin is also true, there's lots of coins out there that are very popular, but yet have a very low demand. And then there are also those that have both a high demand and are very popular. It may be a fine distinction but I believe it is an important one. Especially when one wishes to understand the market.
And that is off of a bid sheet. Who knows what actual sale prices would climb to. There are dates where bid is $6000 for an MS64 non CAC and $11000 for MS64 CAC. I will say CAC stickers show up on very few gold coins compared to others.
An example is rare ancient Chinese coins. There are not many of them, and lots of people shun them for fear of fakes. Thus they are unpopular. But the few that collect them bid aggressively to get them because they are in high demand.
I would agree with the observations above on popularity. There are many dates in the $10 Liberty series that are probably far scarcer than some of the more expensive dates in the Indian series (i.e. 1911-S, 1908-S, 1913-S, etc.), but I just don't think that a lot of people have the financial resources to try to collect the Liberties by date and mint. 1838-1907 is just too arduous a task. By contrast, with the notable exceptions of the 1920-S, 1930-S, and 1933, plus the high relief 1907 coin, I think that the Indian eagles are a relatively approachable series. Did I pay too much for my 1911-D and 1915-S? Probably. But it was still satisfying to (more or less) complete the set.
Thanks to everyone for the replies. Combined the MS63 11D and 15S are over $40,000 (current bid sheet) and over $50000 in CAC so those are probably out of my reach. There are about 6 mid-level dates that I will search out over time. Those 6 in MS63 total "only" about $25000 on the bid sheet and probably come in a little higher at auction time.