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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;NorthKorea, post: 2522407, member: 29643&quot;]I disagree that the Ike will ever truly rival Morgan dollar (or even Peace dollar -- which is possibly viewed as a Morgan little sister) popularity. The elements of a strong collectible simply aren&#039;t there.</p><p><br /></p><p>1) Long series: Morgan dollars ran for 17 consecutive years, then an additional year in 1921; even Peace Dollars ran for a total of 10 (albeit non-consecutive) years. By contrast, Ikes were &quot;sorta&quot; issued for eight years.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) Circulation: Silver (Morgan/Peace) dollars were circulated and underwent two or three periods of silver recovery. By contrast, Ike dollars were generally met with disdain in circulation, as they were viewed as inconvenient and heavy (the general view of change in modern America, but to a greater extent due to size and bulk).</p><p><br /></p><p>3) High Grade specimen availability: This is a weird one to explain, and if Jim happens to stumble upon this thread, he might be able to reinforce what I&#039;m saying. If a collectible is &quot;too rare,&quot; it won&#039;t have a marketplace. This is prevalent in the gem world, where ultra rare gems sell for significant discounts to what one would expect for their degree of quality, simply due to the lack of available supply, upon initial discovery. As jewelers decide that they are willing to incorporate or embrace the material in their work, demand picks up, and the gemstone eventually (rather quickly after someone makes a market for the specific stone) sees its price rise in accord with materials of similar color depth, durability and scarcity. I think the same would apply for Ikes. The market for truly high end Ikes will always be limited, as demand isn&#039;t there to pressure supply to increase. People don&#039;t actively search for MS-68/69 grade Ikes, as collectors simply assume they don&#039;t exist. The premium for MS-67 Ikes isn&#039;t enough to really submit Ikes in massive quantities (at the non-dealer level), as collectors would be highly disappointed to receive an MS-65 (or, yikes, lower) grade. This especially affects things like FEV or Peg legs, as series collectors will view those as specialty coins which aren&#039;t absolutely necessary to complete a set, similar to VAMs for Morgan/Peace.</p><p><br /></p><p>4) Lower Grade specimen availability: For non-elite collectors of the series, coins can be found by going to your local store, coin show, or even bank, without much struggle. You can regularly find MS-63 Ikes still in &quot;meant for circulation&quot; bank rolls or bags. Morgans (and I suppose, Peace, too) are highly collectible, as there are different marketplace entry points for different styles of collectors. By contrast, Ikes have basically two vastly distinct markets: mass and elite. The mass market is generally satisfied by CRH set filling or slight premium ($3 or less per coin) UNC collecting. The elite market is basically filled by the same plus super premium MS-67/68 coins. The market for MS-65/66 coins is thin, and the market for MS-64 and lower coins is virtually non-existent.</p><p><br /></p><p>5) Perceived scarcity: With the exception of 1973, 1975 and errors, production of each major coin type is eight or nine figures per mint per year for the CuNi business strike Ikes. People will believe there will never be a market for these until the Treasury orders all Ikes held by banks or Mints to be destroyed.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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