What's the collective wisdom of CoinTalk on buying key dates? If you see it in a G-4, do you pick it up? Or do you hold off until you can find a higher grade specimen?
It depends on a few things (to me at least)--will I be able to afford a higher grade one? Will I be able to find one later? How bad do I need it? I'm going to sell off all of my rolls of SQ and such to buy some key coins and other dates I need to finish a few sets....they will not be hard dates and I should be able to get some nice grade coins.. But again...it is up to you---If there are a lot around I would hold off. Speedy
You buy the best coin in the best condition that you can afford. It is easy to walk into a show and buy a number of commons that fill up as many holes as possible. You feel good as slot after slot gets filled. But...if you took that money and bought one great coin versus 50 commons, you would have been better off. For instance, I almost pulled the trigger years back for a PCGS graded Lincoln 1922 Plain, Strong Reverse in EF45 condition. The dealer was asking $1,150 for it. I couldn't stomach paying $1,150 for ONE coin so I spent the weekend buying commons. What does that coin go for now?...Over double!! The commons I bought are pretty much the same price because they are COMMON. Look at the article in this week's Coin World about the 1995-W SAE Proof. These coins have doubled in prices realized over the last couple of years. Many predict they will hit $10,000 for a PR69DCAM in a couple of years! Buy quality because quality coins will always maintain their value and desire. Quality is hard to find. Keys are hard to find. When I look back at coins I should have bought instead of the "bulk" of coins that made me feel better because of "slots filled", if I had to do it again, I would have bought my keys first...relaxed...then looked for nice eye appealing commons to fill in the "holes". Would of, could of, should of!! Ask any collector and those that been around would 99% agree. Grab the key...the commons will always be around.
Ok I admit I'm a newbie, but is a 'key date' coin just a certain year & mint of a series that had low mintage numbers? I see coins all the time advertised a 'key date' coins and I'm not sure what to make of them. And Midas I think you're right about the price thing for certain coins over 'filler' coins, but I think it really depends on what you are collecting for. I collect mainly because I'm fascinated with the different kinds of coins found all over the world, and its interesting to note how coins reflect changing political attitudes in a country. I also collect so that when one of my grand kids become interested in coins (hopefully ONE of them at least will), I can pass on some cool stuff, same as my grandpa did for me. If I can make money in the process I won't shy from it, but I know in the long run I'll be (monetarily) poorer in the coin buying hobby.
You are right. It does depend what you collect. If you collect all Merc Dimes, then a 1916-D is not easy to get...cheap! If you want it, it is going to cost you. If you collect any set of a given coin, some coins will be harder than others to obtain...to complete the set. The coins that are difficult to find, or obtain (without breaking your bank account) are called commonly called keys. Now, you are right. There are many boneheads out there that represent their coin as a "key", so take this into consideration... A key date coin could be a coin with low mintage numbers and/or low survival rates. For instance, there were more 1914-D Lincoln cents produced (1,193,000) compared to the 1931-S Lincoln (866,000). Word never got out to the public that the 1914-D was in short supply so people spent them, lost them, and many were extremely circulated and worn before collectors realized that the 1914-D was going to be a "key" date coin. Finding a 1914-D in EF condition or above is very difficult and expensive. Using 2005 RED Book figures (as a general comparison), a MS63 1914-D goes for $2,200 whereas a MS63 1931-S goes for only $100. Word quickly spread in collector circles that the 1931-S was going to be the last "S" minted Lincoln for some time so people hoarded them...even in the middle of the Great Depression. So these coins had much better survival rates and it can be found in much higher grades versus the 1914-D. Also. as you move up the MS scale, these grades and the "best of the best" get harder and more expensive to find. Take that 1931-S Lincoln for an example...given the choice of a MS66 1931-S or a 1931-D MS66 Lincoln Cent, I'll take the 1931-D! Why? Well as everybody collected the 1931-S and kept them in sock drawers, the 1931-D was circulated because most never gave it a second thought. What happened?...survival rates for a 1931-D in MS66RD condition are way more difficult to obtain than the 1931-S even though 5 times more were minted than the 31-S. Take a 1971-P IKE. Millions were made. A bunch! They are everywhere!! Try finding a MS65 or higher grade of a 1971-P. Sure they made millions, but there are NOT many in decent MS65 or better grades. So, there is a fine line between mintage numbers (which most people look at first), survival rates, popularity, and condition that all dictate what are "keys" versus "semi-keys" versus commons. Read up on coins you like to collect as to what factors contribute to a coin's market price over the next coin and you will be better prepared to either buy or walk away from the next coin you see. Before somebody tells you it is a key...consider the above.
In this case, I'm working on Mercury dimes. I ended up grabbing a 1921-D that's a solid G-4 for $60. The shop also had a 1916-D slabbed G-4 for $750, but I don't have the cash to pull the trigger on it right now.
But remember that most of the key dates have fakes out there too. I have a fake 1931-S cent and had a fake 1914-P (yes it was a P and not a D) If I saw that my dealer had a coin I needed and I might not see it again I think I would start paying on it till it was payed off....but everyone it not like me!! Speedy
