I've seen a few comments recently by people talking about the Capped Bust Half market, and how it has been cooling off recently. When did it peak, how high did it go, how far has it come down since then? Has the Capped Bust market generally been trending with the overall coin market, or has it been moving somewhat independently? Any thoughts you have on the Capped Bust market, where is, where its heading, how its performing, etc, would be appreciated!
I never knew it was hot, really. I mean, it's always been robust, and still is, but only within a small group of dedicated collectors, and not so much the mainstream. From what I see, prices have maintained and maybe even climbed a bit the last few years. It's a strong series if you're in the small group who pursue it. Guy~
CBH - nice ones are always popular. They're a staple of our hobby, as a little searching always turns up eye-appealing coins. We always ask only a small margin since they never hang around long.
This is purely anecdotal from my experiences at various coin shows and such, so there may be actual data out there that totally contradicts my experience. Anyway, I’m not sure about the higher grade/graded market, but for lower grades (G-XF) and raw coins there seemed to be a pretty big run-up from around 2006 to 2008. Prices had been increasing prior to this, but seemed to really take off in that time frame. Back in 2005 or so you could reasonably expect to pick up an F-15 raw coin for under $50 for common dates without a problem. By mid 2008 it was hard to find anything under $80 unless it had a hole in it or some other major issues. Prices seem to have come in a bit since, but not by a lot. More than anything I’d say the prices seem to have stabilized. So I’d say it probably peaked in mid/early 2008 (like many other things with the economy falling off a cliff and all), but hasn’t really come crashing down. As far as where it’s headed… I have no idea. On the lower end of the grading scale though, I personally think they are still reasonably attractive at current prices. One reason I started buying capped busts several years ago was that they were surprisingly affordable for a really beautiful series. That’s much less true today, but at the same time, they don’t really feel too overpriced either. Also, after lurking for months, my first post.
welcome to the forum forkless. I have only been collecting for about a year, but in that year I think that the prices for vf-ef have risen, but my buys on them have all been local, raw and uncertified.
In my opinion the market for capped bust halves peaked sometime in 2008, and has gradually decreased since then. I think the market in many areas has cooled off since then, however many areas have gotten much stronger. Rare coins that are solid for the grade, or merely unobtainable for the most part will also do well regardless of the economy. In 2008 generally speaking AU capped bust halves were going for very strong money even if they were improperly graded. It seems now that only nice examples are selling for strong money.
The particular coin which got me wondering about this was my recent purchase of the 1817 PCGS EF-40 Bust, in another thread. I paid $250 for it, but the seller said that "at the peak of the market" he paid $600 for it. Just trying to put that into perspective. Sounds like y'alls opinions have tracked fairly well with my experience.
