I'M CONFUSED ABOUT AN UNC COIN, WHAT IS THIS WORTH .I'M GETTING DIFFERENT PRICES ,PLEASE HELP.:headbang:
Howdy Mike - Welcome to the Forum !! The value of any coin is largely dependent on its condition. The Krause catalog list the coin in Unc condition at $150. But that doesn't mean it's actually worth that much, it could be worth a fraction of that or a multiple of that since Krause is not always accurate.
These appear to be grossly overpriced in this case. They really are quite elusive but these don't enjoy enough demand to warrant such valuation. Bear in mind however I've not been paying close attention to thee markets for years and the above applies well to the conditions which obtained when Krause upped the price about 12 years ago. With the increased interest in old European coins it's not impossible the price could be close today. Keep in mind that with almost all modern base metal coins they have to be a very solid unc to bring the price listed. They don't have to be gemmy but if you look and wonder if there might be wear then it's out of the running. Most of the scarce and rare moderns are readily available in worn condition so collectors want unc. These stainless steel coins can sustain a lot of wear before it shows. Many of the coins seen are really AU.
I know you're right that they aren't easily found and should possibly have used other words. I've been collecting modern world coins almost as long as they've been made and have a different perspective than most collectors. Back in the mid-'70's these coins were widely availale and were dirt cheap. Of course one should look at the meaning of "widely available". Mostly this just meant that they were out there. There was no real and specific demand for them because they weren't really being collected in a formal way by more than a handfull of collectors. This meant that those on the market just sat in dealer inventory for years until they were purchased for poundage or by someone who just wanted "coins". Many would have been degraded after use for other purposes. What has changed isn't that the coins are so much scarcer now, what's changed is that there is a real and widespread demand for them. This is still a very small demand but if it can be met only by a solid unc 1957 100L from Italy then the odds are good it's already been sold so the collector is left to raise his bid price and look elsewhere. These didn't appear in mint sets and 100L was enough money and stainless steel so little value that very few people saw any point in saving new examples. Stainless wears forever in circulation so it would seem there was little need to save them since there would be nice specimens in circulation. No, there aren't vast quantities available. I made the mistake of trading mine off very early for far too little. I got them for next to nothing and didn't believe in them when the price went through the roof so traded them for nickels on the dollar. I had quite a few and really wish I'd had the foresight to retain a complete set of the 50 and 100L's. I don't have anything against these coins and understand there are far fewer than the number of collectors. There are many far far scarcer moderns though that still sell for next to nothing.
