The coins are worth more out of the set. The sets are the best, and often the only, source of coins from the last half century and their quality is far superior to any other source. Indeed, most of the BU clad you see in singles and rolls all originated in mint sets. Of course this doesn't apply to all dates like 1976 or 2004 quarters. I break them to get Gems and varieties but these sets get chopped up in huge numbers because they just flow from estates to wholesalers for decades. The wholesalers can't move mint sets and they can move singles so the sets are destroyed enmass. You could once go to a coin show and there were far too many sets to get in a truck. Now days you can carry them in one arm usually and the dealers no longer have storage rooms full of them back at the shop. When their inventory builds up they ship them off or cut them up and put them in the cash register.
I used to drive around checking out banks for Gem examples of the current coins and checking dealer stocks of mint sets for older Gems. Sometimes I'd find dozens and dozens of Gems on one of my jaunts. What wasn't too unusual was to walk into a coin shop and see the dealer sitting at a table cutting up mint sets for the cash register. Usually they were being cut up indiscriminately with every coin going to make change oin the shop. Of course some coins and some dates were set aside to be sent to the wholesalers but most of them were too cheap to pay for the postage. I'd also look at my change when I left and amoung the cents from the teens there would be shiny new 1977 quarters. I'd ask and they almost always told me they were cutting mint sets. The most remarkable find I ever made in a dealers change were a couple brand new very gemmy 1969 quarters that were obviously not from minrt sets!!! I was just astounded because I had never seen a BU roll of '69 quarters despite starting looking before 1969. I asked and he told me he had just bought four rolls from a customers and was salting the cash register with them. This was in the '90's and even then these wholesaled for about 75c each. He allowed me to buy all the remaining coins and I got almost four entire rolls plus what was already in the cash register for face value. These coins are simply remarkable because '69 quarters were extremely poorly made and almost none were saved in rolls. I've spoken to the big wholesalers who tell me they rarely or never see this date. There were only a few suppliers in those days and they returned most of the single bag they set aside to the bank because of aenemic demand. But these coins were all well struck, relatively mark free, and obviously not mint set issues!!! In the '90's I even used to hear dealers tell customers to just spend BU rolls of clad quarters like the '83-P. Even today there are dealers who are far behind the times. It's not only a huge attrition o the coins issued for ciculation but there is a huge attrition on the very few coins set aside by collectors. There are very few collections of clads and they often get destroyed by being spent if they come into a coin shop. Far more than 95% of coin collections of things like Washingtons, Jeffersons, Roosevelts, and Lincolns that come into coin shops end at 1964.
Woah thats crazy!!!, i great find with teh 1969 quarters, i wonder why they did nt sell the coins for more than face value, Woudl customers not pay more than face value for a mint set that was partally broken down?. I noticed how you discussed wholesalers, what wholesalers do you recommend the most?
The dealer simply didn't think of checking the Greysheet for the price since rolls at that time were so cheap. Even if he had checked finding a buyer was tough and the coins weren't worth all that much. Coins from 1977 mint sets were worth a substantial premium then as they are today. But getting this premium required tying up capital in acquiring large numbers of sets and building BU rolls. Then you had to find a buyer. It just isn't worth most dealer's time so they cut them up. People don't walk into a coin shop asking for 1977 quarters. Pick 20 coin shops at random and not one has ever had a buyer walk in for these. If they card one up for stock it will sell for 50c after a few years to someone who walked in for somnething else. Wholesalers will buy single rolls of coins from mint sets but when they advertise they're really looking for ten or twenty rolls or more. This is the main reason that miunt sets are so cheap; the lack of demand. There is a perception that the coins are all common and the mistaken belief that the sets are picked over. This and the fact most dealers just spend them causes the sets to be very cheap. I've talked to the wholesalers in the eastern part of the country. All of them are fine to do business with buying and selling. However it should be noted that some of these wholesalers do a huge amount of retail business and most collectors would be well advised to shop around before buying. If they do they won't be buying from them. If someone wants to collect moderns the best way is still to check the local dealer's stock of mint sets. Plan to pay a little extra to check them. Out of the money slabs is another good way to go now days. These are coins sent in or high grades that missed. These can often be acquired for less than the cost of slabbing and can be great values. I think a lot of the reason for the lack of demand for moderns is that most collectors feel they have forever to upgrade. Some bought complete sets at low prices and would like to get nicer specimens and BU's for every date but shopping for them is tough. It's not easy to find something like an attractive '82-P BU for sale and then they are surprised by the price so they wait itead of acting.
I just checked eBay for '82-P quarters. There were more than usual and I saw four decent coins but they were going for $30 or more which is far above what the price guides suggest. None of these was very gemmy but they were choice. There was lots of junk and much of it was vastly overpriced and included many AU coins. There was one '82-D for sale at over $600 but it was junk as well in an MS-67 slab. If this piece of junk is MS-67 then I've got an entire roll of MS-72's. It's a common chBU not a superb Gem. I did see one interesting thing. A whole roll of decent looking BU's with a current bid under $30. None of these coins is even what I'd call chBU but they're really Uncs and they aren't ugly. Collectors look in the Krause price guides or Redbook and see the coin lists for only $3 in chBU so they think they can get a nice choice coin for $3. They can't. This is one of the big things in moderns; the price guides are just pathetic. The services overgrade many coins and then the price guides drive people away from buying anything. Then they'll list an old coin for that same $3 price that you can get by the bag for 25c each. Apparently the real price of chBU '82-P is around $30. Imagine what it would be if everyone who wanted one at the $3 price listed by Krause actually went out and tried to buy one. There would be hundreds of buyers for every specimen on the market. Krause, Redbook, etc are doing the market a horrible disservice by listing unrealistic prices. Even the PCGS priceguide does the same thing. Coins below MS-65 are listed for a song. As bad as Krause is for US coins they seem to be far worse for world moderns.
Thanks. Sometimes I think the only way that moderns will ever get attention is to shame the price guides into listing accurate prices. I think as eBay and other such venues develop this will take care of itself as people will just learn to ignore the guides. What beginner collector is going to buy a coin for $30 on eBay that the guides say is only worth $3. Why does the Redbook overstate the value of most old coins and understate the value of moderns? Where would the modern market be today if it weren't being suppressed by Krause et al?
