Which US series do you see price weakness in?

This is purely anecdotal, but I suspect that the following series have been experiencing considerable price weakness in recent years, especially in lower grades and including many semi-key dates:

Buffalo nickels
Mercury dimes
Walking Liberty Halves

Has anyone else noticed something similar?

 

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Not sure what you mean exactly, but those coins are VERY popular, collectors love their design and their history. So if you’re referring to a general price weakness, then I’d expect less popular types such as the Barber series to be more affected.

Look at the PCGS 3000 index:
https://www.pcgs.com/prices/coin-index/pcgs3000

It looks quite bad for collectors hoping to make money with coins :-|

 

Normal stuff for coins. Buy pretty coins when the price is low and enjoy the coin.

 

The general consensus has been that the last year has been generally weak overall (across most series) compared to the last few years.

 

The formula is simple: If coins aren't selling for what they were, then don't pay as much as you used to. Oh, and: people will always want high grade, beautiful coins.

For me, as a dealer in U.S. coins, the market crashed in 2015 and 2016. Boosted in 2017 and 2018, and is cooling again this year, yet it is still active over most U.S. coins.

Additionally, it is my opinion, that most collectors have turned into part time dealers. They don't simply buy for their collection anymore. They flip coins to make money to buy the coins they want to collect, and they use dealer pricing methods when buying. I know a lot of collectors doing this, and the "high" they get from making money flipping coins is addicting.

 

All of them

 

Active, but at what price levels? Near gem Saint Gaudens double eagles don't trade for much more than melt. Active? Yes, but I would call that a market crash. The pricing structure for generic gold has completely collapsed below gem and even higher graded coins are trending lower.

Bingo. The retail market largely no longer exists, and a number of flippers have saturated the market. Without permit homes, those coins will continue to sell at discounts as people liquidate to get their funds back. It is a sign of a very unhealthy market. When wholesale is the new retail, you need to buy at a lot lower than wholesale to make money. Wash, rinse, and repeat. It is a vicious cycle and a race to the bottom.

 

Commemorative series, both classic (with some exceptions) and nearly all moderns are better examples of weakened pricing.

 

I think all coins are dropping in price except what the Mint produces.

 

Although I question the useful of this metric for most things, since the composition should stay the same, I find it revealing. Since March of 2019, it has lost 4.27%.

 

Barbers have been taking a hit lately

 

Kennedy's and Walkers

 

People keep saying that prices are dropping. I sure don't see that much sign of it.

One can only hope. The less I pay the better I like it.

 

Franklins and classic commems...

 

I'm hoping for Bust $1/2's to drop

 

Same here but I'm sure dealers will be really slow in lowering the prices on really nice coins. I guess I would be slow as well if I were selling.

 

Bust halves are actually going up, not down. The book prices may not change--they might even drop slightly, but XF coins are now called (and priced as) AUs...VFs as XFs...right down the line.

From what I have read this isn't only limited to bust material...it is endemic. Since I don't buy a whole lot in other series I can't do more than repeat what others are saying.

 

I think there are multiple factors at play. First, the younger generations don't have the same passion for the hobby as some of us older people do. That segment may grow in time though, as they begin to have more disposable income and history becomes more relevant to them. For now, they have other options such as Pokeman cards, etc.

Second, the stock market charts would be inverse to the coin charts the past few years. Investors probably believe that stocks have more short term earning potential than bullion. I realize coins are not exactly bullion, but the two aren't mutually exclusive either. As that money exits the coin market, the supply and demand dynamics would necessitate a drop closer to bullion pricing.

Another factor in my opinion is the mint itself. All these new releases, finishes, tokens, commemoratives, there are so many new products in the market place that it effectively dilutes demand amongst specific issues. Not to mention the shear number of coins minted annually. No use in going through pocket change (W minted quarters aside) these days because for one, the material used to produce coins doesn't have the same intrinsic value as gold, silver or even copper, and two, there are so many minted that finding something of value is remote. And its been that way for years and years now. That diminishes interest in the hobby as well.

I do think the composition of coins over the past 50 years has hurt the hobby. It was fun for me when I was younger to know that quarters with a date prior to 1965 were worth more, and it wasn't unusual to find silver coins in circulation. What can be collected now a days in circulation? Even the Ikes were clad.

As the older generation grows older, it also grows smaller, creating less demand without an infusion of younger collectors. For those of us whose children don't show an interest in collecting, we are forced to liquidate some of our collection because if we leave it to them, for one thing they will see it as a burden, and for another, they may get taken advantage of in the market from their ignorance.

 

I agree that they are strong prices, I can hope, tho, can't I?