Why are old state commems so cheap despite rarity?

Your coin has no “wear.” Coins grading MS60 and above shouldn’t have any signs of wear, a coin would be AU if it has the slightest touch of wear. Mint state coins are judged based on bag marks. Your MS64 example would have more numerous and noticeable bag marks than a MS67 example.

I also own a 1925-S California, however mine is graded NGC MS62:




Here is a YouTube video of my entire Early Commemoratives collection:

 

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An MS60 has no wear, so you won't find any on an MS64. OTOH,

 

I really like the "classic commems" and have some I can afford, but am unwilling to put out much for others, no matter how beautiful...BTW @Gam3rBlake I like yours!

 

I guess instead of wear I should’ve said I don’t see any bag marks or anything on the surface that would differentiate it from one like this.




I think mine looks better than this.

Even Mr. Monkey’s MS62 looks better than this 65.

 

You really shouldn’t evaluate coins solely on pictures as the lighting and toning can hide marks. When I have my coin in hand, I do see the marks that earned it a MS62 designation.

 

Aw heck, if everyone is gonna post examples .........

 

60 is basically the ICU of coins

 

I have many commemoratives and none of them were cheap I love them all. Thanks for sharing yours.

 

As previously stated demand is a much more important factor than supply when establishing the price of a coin. And it translates to all other collectibles including comic books, baseball cards, stamps, autographs, etc.

There are many US coins that are scarce, less than 1000 minted, that are available for less than more popular coins. For example, most of the Proof Indian Head cents have mintages less than 4,000 which can be obtained in MS 64 for approx. $500 or less. A 1909-S VDB Lincoln, (mintage 484,000) in MS 64 is a $1500+ coin. That is because the demand for the 1909-S VDB is much greater than the demand for Proof Indian Cents.

And I am very confident in stating a stamped letter from one of your ancestors to their Mother or Father from the 1890s would only be worth a couple of dollars if that. However, if they received a signed letter from Theodore Roosevelt the letter would be worth $500- $1000. Both are unique, one of a kind, and exceedingly rare. However unfortunately your ancestor, (and mine unless they were well-known personalities), have negligible demand from collectors.

I am not saying you are wrong in your interest in collecting Classic Commemorative Half Dollars, rather keep an eye on the big picture. Collect what you love, and leave the speculating to others.

 

This is one I really wanted and traded for last month. I had been looking at several shows and this was the first I found. MS61, ANACS 4107309

 

Perhaps you should seek employment where you could make use of your talent

 

I don't want to list every coin that is "Patriotic". I had not thought of saving "Patriotic" coins or medals. Now that I have a taste of them, I am now in a position that I want to start my own collection. Now that I have made that decision, I now need to find out a complete list of "Patriotic" coins. How can I get a complete list of every coin that has been minted? Are there any books or articles that would be a complete listing and description of all of the "Patriotic" coins. I would like a complete list of the coins so that I can get my starting point and a description of each coin. I am not the smartest collector, but I am a determined one. My father left his coin collection to my brother and me.
When I got my coins, I began my long and tedious job of listing and cataloging each coin that my father had given me. I look forward to go down that long road and I am sure I will have many questions. As I look at coins from each year, I find that there are many coins I will need help. Please be patient with me. I have always hated to ask for help, but I know that there will be questions as I tred down the long and tedious job.
My prayers have been and will be as serious and tedious as can be. Hopefully, we will have a time of peace soon and then we can work together researching different Mints and coins. I am hopeful that after all the hate and was is over, we will find man friends that will be our friends and companions.
Thank you all again and may your source of love and friendship be there to help us. Hopefully, the expenses we will incur, will be there to help us in our search for coins, medals, and other items of interest.
PM me if you need some help with the cost you will incur. Again, thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we begin our new journey throughout the world.
edited

 

Now, that Oregon is...well.....ridiculous outstanding, and I think I detect the start of Tab Toning. Good job. Then again, I am prejudiced, because I consider this coin the best design of the commems, and my favorite design overall.
I am a lifelong Commancheria student, and it sings to me.

 

Supply is decent, as noted by several posters.

And the coins were in 2 bubble melt-ups in the last 45 years. It's been a slow, steady decline in the commmemorative index from 2010 to 2021 as GD and others have noted.

 

I think they would have much higher demand if it was what I thought it was.

If every state took turns a few per year and minted one half dollar commemorative coin that the people of that state chose I think it would be a much more collected series.

Like if it was a 50 coin set and each state had 1 commemorative 90% half dollar. Or however many states there were at the time.

Instead of the greedy money grabbers trying to make as many as possible with designs they chose themselves.

I mean imagine if it was like the State Quarters except it was way back then and all the coins were silver half dollars.

That would’ve been awesome!

 

A state by state series was not how it worked. Politics decided which coins were authorized. Sometimes a worthy anniversary, like the sesquicentennial was picked in 1926. Other times it was for a “celebration” of an event that never happened or never got off the ground.

 

I know it’s not how it worked I was saying IF they had done it the way I had believed the demand would likely be much higher.

They blew their chance for a great series.