im looking in my whitman redbook, and in ms-65 condition, it says that coin is worth about $5, are your results different from that?
There were very few dimes or quarters from the mid-1980's that were saved by collectors. Many of these coins would be quite scarce if not for the existence of mint sets. The '86 mint set was made in very small numbers and has had a small set premium for most of its existence. This set premium evaporates when a set is dismantled and serves to reduce the number of sets being destroyed. This means both the '86 quarters (and dimes) have a higher price caused by the lack of availability in singles and rolls. Roll coins tend to be quite poor quality and even though the mint set quality is not good for these, there are lots of nice gems. You'll need about 50 sets to find a really nice Philly and the sets run about $20 each though.
cladking - I am fairly new to all of this, but when I was looking in the '05 Whitman Redbook, it said the 1986-p quarter was worth $5, comparable to Philly quarters from closer years. I can see that the mint set holds a high value, as well as the proof set, doubling it's issue price of $11, it now holds a value of about $22. But in reference to Lilburnjoe’s question, I don't believe that particular quarter, in ms-65 condition, holds much value at all, unless it was part of a mint or proof set, in which the combination of the coins, joined in either set, is truly what demands the value.
One shouldn't take the price guides very seriously for any of the moderns. The guides tend to be either too high or too low on almost everything. The 2005 Redbook is the first one to show any of the clads as being much more than face value and the listing for the '86's is ridiculously low. The '86-D wholesales at more than $5 in MS-60. Wholesalers want pretty nice coins so if you send them a bunch of only junk unc '86-D quarters they won't be interested but they will pay $210 for nice MS-60's if they look like an original roll. Generally you should figure all the coins should be MS-61 or better to get this price though. Gems are rarely seen in rolls and perhaps only about 5% of mint set coins can be called gems. This means there simply are no sellers of MS-65 coins at this price. Recently the set premium for the '86 mint set has been decreasing and is likely to turn negative. Usually this event will result in large numbers of the sets being destroyed for the coins and then the prices of the coins coming down due to increased availability. I'm predicting this won't be much of a factor in this particular case. The main reason is that there are simply no large hordes of this date. These have been cut up in ones and twos for years and there was a very small mintage to start with so you simply rarely see more than five or ten at a time. Also demand is probably growing nearly as quickly as these can be destroyed. There is likely to be some fall off in price but it should be nominal and spring back quickly.
clad- where would you recommend I research the values of coins? because i recently purchased a great deal of coins using the redbook as my price reference. where would you say is the best place to locate gems? proof sets only release proof coins, but are there any better sources for finding gems other than picking them out, and paying the premiums?
It depends. If your primary intent is to form a collection then the cheapest way is to search mint sets for the coins. This can be highly labor intensive since sets aren't as common as they once were and more and more have already been picked through. If you're making many trips to coin shops and shows for the sole purpose of looking through sets then it can also get quite expensive. The best bet may be to seek the coins on e-bay already slabbed. This is especially true if you're seeking coins that generally sell for $5 to $20. These will usually carry little or no premium for having been slabbed and you get the protection of grade and the security for the coin. Higher priced coins are very difficult to find raw but are available in some cases. Those attempting sets should probably follow all sources for the best deals and to learn what coins are typically like. Otherwise you might pass on great deals or buy some that are overpriced. It's unfortunate that rolls are so unavailable but these provide excellent knowledge on what was actually made for circulation and are in a very few cases an excellent source for gems. These rolls also constitute about the sole source for many really great varieties. Since you won't find the rolls be sure to look at your change to get an idea of what was available. There's one other way that's good for some individuals. Buy about ten of each of the 1965 to 1996 mint sets at market prices. Be sure to shop around and try to get nice original sets. You can then pull out the best coins from the sets to assemble date/ denomination sets. When the remaining sets and pieces are sold much of the $4000 cost will be recovered and you'll have nice sets with many gems. Be aware though that some coins are so scarce your example will fall well short of gem in all probability. The coins which didn't appear in mint sets can be more difficult. In quarters this will mean the '82-P. These are most easily found in the Numis News premium sets. It appears that nearly 5% of these are gem. The '83-P can be found gem in the mint souvenir set but is not common. The '82-D and '83-D are not quite as difficult and the '82-D can even be found in rolls. Also watch dealer stock. Many more dealers try to maintain inventories of these coins now days. Most try to keep the best coins possible so they are an excellent resource. Generally it is inadvisable to buy the BU sets and singles you see advertised with the intention of upgrading. These coins in the past would all require upgrading making the initial cost wasted. Good luck.
Probably the only accurate way is to watch the prices realized on e-bay. These will show great variation due to individual differences in coins and bidders.
Howdy fenixfire077 - Welcome to the Forum !! I would agree with what Clad has said. And please don't use the Red Book as a price guide. The book is full of great information - but a price guide it's not.
i had gone to borders, the only book store i really know, but anyhow, i was looking for a beginner friendly, but detailed price guide for coins. this one really seemed the best, but there is no real formal price guide that i could pick up and it would tell me accurate values of coins? I don't know, i know it's smart to research things, especially as an investment, and maybe im too lazy, but i just wouldn't want to spend so much time researching, especially with the types of things i buy. granted i do have some stuff which, in accordance with the red book, is quite valuable, maybe some @ $75, one i believe at close to $375, but most of my things are worth just a few dollars, again according to the red book. if i may ask, slightly off topic, what would you say is the value of a 1981 proof set, with all the coins displaying a clear s? red book says $375, but thats just too good to be true, cause i paid about $7. maybe the seller just didn't know?
Sorry but it's true Price guides are just not realistic - they tend to list the highest price ever recorded for a coin in a given grade. And the Red Book I'm afraid is the worst of the lot. Their prices can be all over the board - too high or too low. Searching on ebay is actually easy and it only takes a few minutes for each coin - just place a check mark in the Completed Listings box and hit the enter key. That's all there is to it. You can of course use the Greysheets - Coin Dealer Newsletter - but they will only give you wholesale prices. But it is what most dealers use. If it really was an original '81 Proof set and every coin was a clear S - the price would be more like $1,200. Are you sure about the clear S ?
The CDN is excellent for moderns which usually trade at wholesale. Even where they're wrong it doesn't matter because most buyers and sellers use these prices anyway. For other moderns Coin Values magazine by Coin World is probably the best bet. Again though, take these prices with a grain of salt.
GDJ - i'm afraid im too inexperienced to make a positive evaluation, but im near 100%, as with my other post, i will list a picture of this set later tonight. the nickel in the set is slightly, tarnished, i believe. it's so hard to figure out whats what. i was trying to find out how to determine different contaminations to coins last night, but i couldn't find a good enough website, perhaps if anyone could forward me to another thread which discusses these matters, or perhaps provide me with a link to a resourceful website on the topic. also - i have a roll of 1960 pennies, but i cannot determine whether they are small or large dates. very confusing, the pictures don't help, if anyone could lend me a hand, and tell me the real way to distinguish the two, it would be greatly appreciated. And I do apologize for the lengthy and far off topic post, i am very new to using these forums, so please, let me know if it is necessary i post a new thread for these topics. thank you
The "clear s" designation is a little misleading for 1981 proofs. (It was accurate for the 1079 proofs) In 81 they are all "clear s's" but some of them have a more stylized "s" (the Type 2's) The best way to be certain of what you have (since the difference is so small) is to take the set to a reputable dealer for his opinion. The important coins are the SBA dollar and the Lincoln Cent (by the way, those 2 are the hardest to differentiate from their Type 1 counterparts). Look at the pictures of the T1 and T2 SBA pictures in your red book to see what I mean. Most dealers i know are aware of the value of the '81 T2's and wouldn't let a 1981 proof set go without first checking and being certain that it is properly attributed. The red book pictures for the 1960 LG & SM dates are pretty good, and unlike many die annomolies the difference on the actual coins is easily seen. The way that I differentiate them is by comparing where the curl of the 6 points. On the small date it points much "higher" up the stem of the 6 and on the large date the curl point to basically the middle of the stem of the 6. Good luck! CJD
