Is there a definitive source for knowing key dates or is it somewhat subjective? I have been buying books on coins to beef up my knowledge "The coin Collectors Survival Manual" by Scott Travers, a redbook, a bluebook, "making the grade" etc. and I have gone online and Googled "key dates for Mercury dimes" for example. I just want to make sure that when I buy a key date coin in the future, it is an actual KEY DATE. Is there a definitive list somewhere showing key dates in each series? As always, Thanks!
Key, semi-key and sleeper designations are somewhat subjective. But there are a few that everyone agrees on like the 1909 S-vdb cent. just for an example: here are a few and others can add to this: 1895 0 dime 1916 quarter 1932 s+d quarter I think those are indisputable keys. some may call coins like the 1909s / 1908 s Indian head cent a key or semi key, I'd say that one is disputable, but the 1877 IHC is an indisputable key.
Thanks. If you wanted to know more key dates for a series of coin, what source would you use? Sounds like it may be based simply on experience.
Actually, its pretty easy to figure out. Just look in your Redbook, or any other place where prices are listed. For example, take a look at Mercury dimes. The thousand dollar price listed for the 1916-D will make it pretty obvious that its the key. In other series it is sometimes more subjective. And depending on what grade you are collecting can change things too. An example of that I'll use is Walking Liberty Halves. The 1921-D has the lowest mintage and is the most expensive in grades of G or VG. But in mint state the 1919-D and 1921-S are more valuable.
Yes, that seems common sense. But what I've also read (I'm trying to read as much as I can as quickly as I can) that actual coins in existence can be close to 50% of the mintage number because many have been melted down. Thus, the key date may be based on something else. Thanks for your input. Actually , I think someone told me that on one of these threads.
It is true that the mintage doesn't neccessarily reflect how many coins actually survive, particularly with certain types such as Morgan dollars. However, generally the prices listed in these price guides will also reflect how many coins DO exist on the market. Or at least they try to.
The book "Profitable Coin Collecting" by David L. Ganz points out Americas best coins to buy along with key dates and grades. I like the book so far. It talks about the the original 20 coins that Wall Street investors bought to beat out the stock market. I am not too far into it, but they are talking about some of the same stuff I read in "The Experts Guide to coin collecting and investing in rare coins" by David Bowers. Don't know exactly what type of coins of what dates in what grades you like to buy, but the book by David L. Ganz should help you a little.
The thing is that even pretty common coins like the 1949 s dime are considered keys (for the series), and the lower mintage 1955 dime is not even a semi key. I can see how that could be confusing. An inexpensive key would be the 1970 d half (again pretty common though).
I believe that the term Key Date traces it's roots back to the coin that is the hardest to get to complete the year/mint collection. I have seen any dispute anywhere that for the Mercury dimes, 1916D is the Key. For Jefferson nickels, the 1950D is key. The mintages can give you an idea of key dates. The fewer there were produced, the harder they will be to find today. Like mentioned above though, for silver coins the number minted is less important to the number that have survived.
If you know the series at all, or even just glance at a price guide for that matter, it's not hard to figure out which is the key to the series.
I don't know that you could call the 50D a "key" with a mintage of over 2 million. It's not even the most expensive in high grades. The 1916-D has the smallest mintage, biggest price tag; that's a key IMO.
key dates are straight forward, just look at the red book for coins which have high value even in the lowest of grades. Then there are "grade rarities" which are those coins which may be common in low grades but are very difficult to find in Mint State. Examples of these would be the 1921-S WLH, 1919-D Mercury Dime with Full Bands, and 1934-S Peace Dollar.
My definition of a key date is a coin that is not readily available in any grade with eye appeal. For me this would be a coin that shows up less than 10-100 times a year at either dealer or auction that was not messed with (cleaned, dinged up, damaged etc...).
OK, I'm getting the gist here. It's not exactly rocket science to figure out the key dates, but it also seems to be true that there is no "definitive source" to know the dates - there is no book that states unequivocally what the dates are (i.e. the redbook etc.) As a newbie I think that is important to know. You kinda have to figure it out yourself (not that it's all that hard).
