Hey its been a while, and Im looking at two nice PR64RD Indian pennies, one is 1883, the other 1884, but the 1883 is about $100+ more than the 1884 BUT what doesn't add up to me is the mintage of the 1883: Mintage: 6,609 1884: Mintage: 3,942 Any thoughts? I couldn't find the population so if anyone knows please tell me.
As stated, don't let mintage numbers mislead you. It's how many are extant today that matters - not how many were minted. By the same token, don't be misled too much by conditional rarity either, especially with copper. Copper changes all the time and a coin can change from red to brown before ya know it, and yes, even in the slab. Judging conditional rarity, true rarity, and how many survive is a fine line to walk. And you absolutely have to know when to shift to the right and when to shift to the left in order to stay on that line. One misstep can cost you a lot. As always, this is where knowledge comes into play.
