I know there may be a lot of variables to this question, but I am going to ask anyway. If I were to start putting away rolls of bank rolled coins, how long would it take for them to become a valuable collectable? 10, 25, 50 100 years?
Current date coins are technically collectible already. Of course they are extremely widely available and the demand is usually quite small so they'll have no premium for some time. Historically New coin started getting attention after ten or twenty years. Of course demand tended to be relatively small and and supply was highly dependent on mintage so usually it would be the scarce and rare coins which recieved attention and these were the low mintage coins. A few things have come together to derail this. In 1934 the mint instituted a policy of not making any very small mintages. This has has the effect of making supply more dependent on factors other than mintage since now there are ample quantities made that everyone can set aside as many coins as he pleases. If mintages are low like the '50-D nickel it will simply result in virtually the entire mintage being set aside. Where mintage are huge like the '83-P quarter there may be almost none saved. Another complicating factor was the series of shocks to hit the hobby and the coinage in 1965. Coin collectors were being blamed for the coin shortage of that time and several steps were taken to dissuade them. This included a date freeze which was expected to last indefinitely, removal of mint marks, and discontinuance of both mint and proof sets. If this were insufficient then there was also the removal of silver from the coinage and the collapse of the speculative and high flying BU roll market of the time. There was even legislation pending in Congress which would have illegalized coin collecting. The net result of all this was that people simply quit saving current date coins. Even many of the older BU rolls were released to circulation. Collectors saw no reason to save 1965 coins if they would be made forever, and then saw no reason to collect them for generations because they were percieved to be worthless and hopelessly common. Even today some of the scarce clad rolls from the late 1960's wholesale for less than 20% over face value!!! Actually finding these rolls has always been difficult and finding them at wholesale prices is virtually impossible. Today there is great interest in the current coinage and it must be assumed that most of this is being set aside in significant quantities. Collectors are discovering that quality is a prime concern in the modern era since so many coins are so poorly made so numbers may not be so great as they appear at first blush. You'll see someone buy a few boxes of the newest state quarters but many are pulling out only the well made pieces and spending the rest. Cents can be set aside in huge quantity for very little expenditure and there are likely some individuals doing this. Nickels have a new design and are recieving lots of attention. Half dollars and dollars have always had a loyal following. It might be interesting to see how many dimes get set aside though. It should be noted that some of the scarce moderns have been discovered fairly early on like the '83-P first drew attention in '85 and got a large premium as early as 1989 while others like the '69 quarter have only recently started to become appreciated.
I like the roll collecting idea. This trend lost a lot of interest after the silver was removed. Look at the values of the 70's and 80's rolls. Many are many times face. The state quarters are another nice example with a handful bringing double face value. All coins can be bought and sold over face value. We dealers do this all the time. No matter what the market does in the future, rolls bought at face never lose value.
Okay. While the purchasing power may not hold the same, five cents is always five cents. It is still perfectly legal to spend a buffalo nickel or Liberty nickel.
I have been purchasing roll from the mint over the last couple years. They are charging quite a bit, but I like them. I find it amazing how much last years dollar roll is already getting. I plan on holding onto them for the next 15-20 years, then close to retirement, I would like to go to school, and start a coin antique shop. I have no intention on working at Orchard Supply... ;0) I just have not had much luck finding unc rolls at the bank....
