I was casually reading through my 2007 60th Edition Red Book today and noticed something that deeply bothered me. Why is the Seated Liberty Half Dime from 1829 to 1873 being so much overlooked. I know all about the supply and demand thing but there are so many of these coins that have mintages under one million. For example, the 1840 0 had a mintage of 240,000, less than the 16-d Merc, yet it lists for only $410 in EF-40. There are many more similar to that in this series yet they are very inexpensive. Why hasnt anyone noticed these figures and prices and so called "cornered the market" on these coins. The design isnt all that bad and its a relatively short series so it shouldnt be difficult to complete a set at all. Id like to know everyones opinion on why you think this series hasnt skyrocketed in value. I'm thinking of starting an XF set of these.
I think part of the reason why coins like the 1916-D Merc. and 1909-S VDB cent are valued so much higher than the seated half dimes is because mercury dimes and wheat cents are very common coins compared to seated liberty coinage and MANY MANY (exponentially) more people collect sets of these coins as a result. I mean what collector didn't start with the old Whitman folder of lincoln cents????? As people complete their merc and wheatie sets and want that final key date, the price really rises for the keys. The demand for half dimes is in my opinion is much less than series of coins with the famous key dates. Maybe this can help explain part of the reason why the values of half dimes are "behind the times."
Too many people make the same mistake when thinking of mintage numbers and how they relate to whether or not a coin is valuable. Quite often mintage has very little to do with it. Take Morgan dollars for example - when it comes right down to it, they are one of the single most common coins there is. But yet people will pay outrageous prices for them. Why ? Because they like them. The same is true of Lincoln cents, Indian head cents, Mercury dimes, Jefferson nickels etc. All of these coins are easy to find, even the '16-D and '09-S VDB. They're not tough, not even close. But everybody wants one ! And to get one they have to pay thru the nose. There are lots and lots of coins out there that are tough to find. But yet they bring fractions of the prices the popular coins bring, they always have and they always will. Quite simply because most people just don't like them. But there is another thing as well, in order for a coin to be popular and bring high prices - there has to be a lot of them around, they have to be easy to find. Sound crazy ? It isn't, it's as true as the sun comin up in the mornin. Ya see, if there are only a few then everybody can't have one, and if everybody can't have one then they don't want them. It's called making a market. There has to be enough of a given coin around to make a market for that coin. If there isn't - then the market can't be made. And that's why some coins just sit and languish in the price cellar.
I think dermeister and GDJSMP have both made excellent points. I would also like to add that most people don't like the seated liberty design. Its not terrible. Its just not exciting.
The answers you guys have given makes sense to me. Apparently, these coins have sat unnoticed for as long as they've been minted, disliked by the public and the numismatic community together. I understand what you're saying GDJMSP when you stated that there's not enough to create a market because everybody cant have one and at the same time, you need demand to create the market. I still believe this series is full of sleepers ,if this series ever wakes up ,(maybe not in my lifetime), its gonna be worth some bucks. Wish I had a crystal ball...hmm...dont we all?
Half dimes are and were unpopular because of their size. Also, I have many pieces (mostly dimes but also quarters) that have very low mintages and have low value. Many series are very undervalued, consider the 1883 Seated quarter, total mintage is 15,439 (!). I have one in NGC F-12. A very nice looking coin, yet it only cost me $195 in 2003, and is currently valued at only $300. Or the 1869 S, total mintage of 76,000 my VG-8 cost $100 in October 2004, current value: $125. That seems to be VERY cheap to me, but I won't complain until I finish the set (not likely).
I just picked up an 1870 half dime in F-XF for just over $40 and the mintage 136 years ago was 500,000 +. It's funny becaure if the mint issued a circulating coin,let's say a nickel or dime,in this quantity,it would quickly go above $40. I feel they're undervalued too.
I always supposed that the seated liberty half dimes were primarily collected as part of a type set and not by date. Since one date is as good as another for a type set, the mintages can be combined for all dates to arrive at some sort of "scarcity" measure to compare to other coins.
It is a case of supply & demand.A coin that has only 500 pieces could be worth a few dollars,due to a lack of demand.That same coin could become popular a few years later & be worth a lot of money - $5 could become $500 or even $5,000 a few years later. Aidan.
Cloudsweeper's remark is exactly right. If people are only collecting a certain coin by type, then all of the different dates are homogeneous. Collectors view them as the same. Gold is often like this, as some years have largely different mintages and different survival rates, yet they are worth the same price on the marketplace. I, however, do feel that there are some undervalued coins in the 19th century type series, especially coins that are problem-free for their grade.
I think they minted that seated liberty design way too much as you have the half dime, the dime, the quarter, half dollar and dollar coins to contend with. That is a lot of supply, now if you just went after the proofs...
Why is the Seated Liberty Half Dime from 1829 to 1873 being so much overlooked. Because you are confusing a stronger relationship between rarity (supply) and value than really exists... In coins, the value of a coin is FAR more dependent on demand than it is on supply. While it is true that price is a function of supply and demand, it isn't always a direct relationship and your example is a perfect one that illustrates this point. Using terms I can only dimly recollect from economics lectures, the price elasticity of demand far outweighs the price elasticity of supply when talking about coins (and most collectibles for that matter). So then logic would follow that the answer to your question lies in what is it about the 1829 to 1873 half dimes that keeps their demand low. A few factors I believe contribute to this include: 1) Their size. Small coins suffer from a lack of demand simply because of their size. In coins, bigger is better. 2) There is no half-dime in circulation today, so collectors have a hard time "connecting" with the denomination. 3) Lack of by-date and by-variety collectors. Partially due to #1 and #2 above, this series just doesn't have a large number of collectors interested in it, like Morgan dollas, large cents, or even moderns. 4) My sense is much of the collector demand is driven by type collectors, and there are many dates/examples available for every type not leading to concentrated demand and thus higher price. All IMHO, and respectfully submitted...Mike
I don't know about that. I bet they were much more popular back around the turn of the 20th century. As a general rule, no generation really thinks the coins in current use are attractive but they do actively collect them because they are readily available. They tend to have much fonder feeling for a series that has been discontinued but which is still familiar because they or their parents used to use it. As time passes though there are fewer collectors for the older series, and new collectors do not have the everyday exposure to them that generates fond feelings and rememberences. So the number of collectors remains small.
Thanks alot guys for all of your input. This really clears up alot of my questions about this series and why it isnt more widely collected. Just because this isnt a series thats popularly collected by date/mintmark/variety, Im going to start a set because I do like them. I'll let you all know in a few months how its going. I know there will be a few thats totally unreachable but Im going to try my best. BTW....Im taking any unwanted half dimes if anyone here feels generous....
Noticing your username... all comments same for things such as the proof indian heads (and many of the other older proof coins). You can pick up proof indians (mintage of 2-3,000) for $150-$300 all day long. As I said in a previous thread, if the mint made these today, they'd sell out in 3 seconds on the mint's website and the secondary (ebay, etc.) auction market would be insane. I have a proof Barber, and a proof seated quarter (paid $400-ish for the Barber and $600-ish for the quarter, each mintages of around 700), and they may never rise in price for all I know.
I also like the low mintage coins.....such as PF Franklins....look at the mintage for the 1950 51k. But as it has already been pointed out--if people don't collect them you can have a coin with a mintage of 500 and it not be worth much. Speedy
The answer to your question can be stated in one word -- DEMAND. To wit, how many mercury dime collectors are there versus half dime collectors. Also, the size (or lack thereof) of the half dime also impacts the number of folks who collect/want them.
