Why are the PCGS PR70 $50 2006-W Eagle-20th Anniversary Rev Pro coins so expensive? There seems to be plenty of them (1,044 according to pcgs pop rpt). Just wondering. Don't know all of the nuances of pricing.
I think it is because there are so many that need it for their collections and 1000 is not many when compared to how many collect these coins.
I know it sounds crazy, but the 2006 regular proof ounce coins were sold in large amounts so people are buying. 12,000 singles, 25,000 in the four coin sets, and 10,000 in the three coin set. So 1000 RP is only 2% compared to regular proof. Then as a type it is different than regular proof, also some of the regular proof 70's sell for more than the reverse proof 70's. And the TV guys hype these up to, that probably adds some to the short-term value.
"And the TV guys hype these up to, that probably adds some to the short-term value." I thought that they were off the air? Has anyone seen they recently?
I know people are buying them, but how many of them are actually COLLECTING them. I think either a great many of them are buying for speculation and most of the people who DO actually collect them have already purchased them directly from the mint. I suspect there will be little long term market. Look at the mintages over the years, the premium the mint asked over spot for them when they sold them, and the premium over spot on the secondary market today. The early years had high mintages but the mintages fell steeply over the years because there just wasn't really that much of a real demand. The mint sold the proof for a significant premium over the gold value of the coins, but today most of them are selling for roughly the same small premium over the spot value no matter what the mintage was. Yes the RP has some potential but I don't think it is as great as many believe. Also in the fiures you quote you are comparing total sales of the regular proofs with just the number SLABBED in a particular grade. Look at your figures again. The 10,000 three coin set means there are 10,000 RP coins out there not 1,000. Or 25% of the total not 2%. Now how does the RP 70 pop compare to the regular 70 pop. That will give you a better feel for the actual percentage. And you will probably find that the earlier years regular coins have lower pops than the RP does. (I'm guessing, I don't follow the pops.)
The price is so high because only 10,000 were made and it's the first gold reverse proof ever made by the mint. The only way you could get this coin was to buy the 3 piece gold set that sold out within 24 hours. Many people were caught napping on this one and missed out. The demand is high and perfect only drives the price higher.
The closest comparison I could come up with is the 1907 $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle, High Relief, they made 11,200 of those. Now in MS64 there are 1100 graded, and those sell for over $34,000. That doesn't even take into account the higher grades, whereas with the reverse proof you can get a 70 and there will be no higher grade ever.
