Labeled as the stupid investment of the week, this author labels those newspaper ads as fakers. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...382F5-DF5A-469A-AE27-0A5EADEACC7F}&dist=msr_2
I saw this too and had to laugh myself. Maybe I should have shaken my head instead? I remember watching several clowns on a couple of the TV coin shows 7-8 years ago trying to get $300-$400 for a roll of P and D Delaware quarters, making all of the usual arguments about them being the first in the series, estimated numbers of collectors, huge demand for them in the future, they'll never be minted again, etc.
What makes these a sucker bet isn't that they are modern, state quarters, or widely collected. What makes them a sucker bet is that they are sold at incredibly high prices (often it's the shipping and handling). Are the people who went to their banks for rolls of the WI variety quarters suckers? How about people buying slider Morgans on TV for $30 or $40 each? Are they suckers? The author is ill informed or a fool. He points out the folly of buying '50-D nickels like these were the last moderns made before the NY quarter. If you bought one of these for $30 (nearly $200 in today's money) in 1964 your loss is simply astounding but there have been much worse coins to buy over the years. How about '60-D sm dt cent rolls for $75 each that now wholesale at about 70c? What do most of these coins have in common? It's not that they are recent issues or moderns because this stuff has been going on forever. What they have in common is that they are all heavily saved coins. Many million bicentennial and New York state quarters were saved. It is this SAVING which makes them common. Once they are common it's unlikely any amount of investment demand will make their value soar and even if it does as in the case of the '50-D nickel it can't last. Eventually people will come to appreciate that more exist than can ever be in demand. Why so many people seem to think that all coins made after some arbitrary date must be common is beyond me. The amount of evidence that many modern coins are in very short supply is simply overwhelming. Many modern world coins made in huge numbers are worth over a $1000 now in unc. Gems bring even higher prices. There are even XF's going for more than $100. I used to love the Portuguese 50c and 1 E coins. These were listed in the catalog at less than $1. There was absolutely no interest in these coins or any other moderns but I knew they were scarce because I watched for them. They were common in poundage but they were invariably heavily worn with nice examples of the older coins approaching VF. It was obvious that no one saved any. I'd dream of stumbling on a roll of 1930 50c or 1952 1 E coins for a couple dollars but I never did. Indeed, I never stumbled on even a single example of these in unc. Today some of these list for over $1000 and this price has brought very few out of hiding because as I knew long ago, they aren't in hiding. They were consumed as coins always have been consumed by usage and loss. The difference is that in the 20th century very few collectors could be bothered with setting aside any coins for the future. When the silver was taken out of the coins collectors simply started ignoring them. Today we have the curious situation that the old silvers are often worth much less than the newer base metal coins even though there is VERY LITTLE DEMAND FOR THE NEWER BASE METAL COIN. As we go forward in time it's probable that the demand for modern coins will continually increase while the demand for the older coins will level off at some point. This is only natural for collectibles since people tend to want to collect coins that they are familiar with. With the supply of most moderns at a small fraction of the size of older coins pricing structures will have to change dramatically. It won't happen all at once but month by month and year by year it will change. I'm not all that certain that NY quarters are such an awful investment anyway. Sure, buying typical example at high prices is pretty foolish but what about those who set aside nice cherry picked rolls at face value? What happens if the states collectors decide they want a set of only nice attractive coins? The best bet in this hobby is to try to have fun. If you're learning about what you collect and avoiding investment (especially other peoples' idea of investment) then the chances are pretty good that you will have fun and will be able to sell your coins for more than you paid. In case anyone is interested there are still literally thousands of rare world moderns that list for less than $1.
What we really need for modern coin investing is a "market sensitive incentive" from the federal reserve. That's where we get to keep the profits but dump the losses on the backs of taxpayers. :hammer: But then again, inexpensive moderns may become a lot more attractive anyway thanks to counterfeit slabs. It would almost be too funny to see a big interest in something that has been slammed so much over the years and less interest in something that has practically been deified.
I've got 2 of them pcgs ms-65, consecutively numbered. One is a doublestrike that I only noticed after getting them back. On topic, no matter what else is going on, when state quarters are offered on HSN or Shop-NBC, I can't stop watching (If swearing at the TV for 30 minutes is watching). I only go after a few specific pure silver proofs.. they are the best for viewing the artwork.
Here are a few excerpts from another article about World Reserve Monetary Exchange and their "Ballistic Rolls" of Presidential Dollars: You won't make a mint buying coins this way And my favorite quote is from the coin dealer:
I am often approached by friends and co-workers about these slick ads in the newspaper or a magazine. I usually tell them that the products offered at those prices are way too expensive and show them how I can get the same coin from other coin dealers at a much less cost. Even the ads in Coin World are much cheaper than these special offers. And then they are uncertain about what's a good coin value and what's a ripoff. I'll tell them to do some research and maybe join a coin forum (such as CT)and ask questions. Bruce
