Top Pop Coins of the 1950's

How difficult are they really to attain?

My birth year is 1957. Most know that 1957 is a tough year for quality coins. The 1950's overall a tough decade for BS and PF coinage, as well as for the the U.S. Mint.

I'm actually really interested to see what the coin forum may actually OWN, not used to own, during this decade.

Here is a 1957 Lincoln Cent in NGC 67RB, POP 10/0:



NGC Census shows 96 in 66 and 3 in 66+.

I'm thinking the question is: What are you willing to spend to move up in the Registry?

I moved up one spot from #6 to #5 when I added this coin.

I was happy.

 

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That’s good!

 

$0, because I don't participate in "competitive collecting."

But, if you're asking me how much I'd pay for that cent... well, NGC price guide says $260. But, I happen to know your actual purchase price, which I think was very reasonable, and won't mention here so I don't spoil anyone else's fun. The market is thin, because there are only 10 coins, so I would expect the "street price" of this coin to be somewhat volatile. You basically need to get it in front of someone, and preferably two someones, wanting registry points before you'll realize maximum sale price.

I'd also add that this is a much tougher coin if you want it in a PCGS holder (only 4 available). Crossovers being as risky as they are, if you play in the PCGS pool, rather than NGC's, you probably want one of those 4 rather than this one.

 

Hey- What are you trying to pull here? This coin has been damaged!!

 

I'm just kidding!!

Nice coin!

 

The 1950’s are really interesting for grading. If you send in a coin and it grades top pop, the coin sells in a registry set marketplace and prices out accordingly. If you miss, generally you have a coin that sells at or less than the cost of grading.

This seems a poor prospect to most people,
but some folks must compute that sending in ten candidates to get one good result will still yield a profit.

The rest of us? I’m keeping my hopes alive that all of my raw 1950’s coins are actually top pop if I would just send them in. That’s more fun than actually sending them in, only to be certified forever as mediocre.

That’s why I’m fascinated by your thread. I am seriously curious about how these coins are selected for submission and what they look like. Bring ‘em on!

 

There's another possibility: the coin has nice toning and sells for a premium because of it.

 

Good point. I forgot that insane Franklin sale recently - admittedly an extreme case. The OP’s coin has some toning I really like on a Lincoln, and that would be worth paying for.

 

Another more down to earht example here: http://kittlecoins.com/3173894001.htm
Guide price: $9, asking price $200 (which I think is a little steep, but I could totally see this coin at like $80-90).

 

This is actually a really interesting question. I play on the Registry (NGC), but I'm not really shooting for top spots. I do enjoy watching my rank go up as I add new coins, but that's more because my set is becoming more complete than because I'm upgrading. My goal on the Registry is more for a great presentation than for a top set.

That being said, if I see an upgrade for a coin I already have, and its at a fair price, I'll upgrade it. I'm not going to pay moon money for a top pop to jump in the Registry, but I can totally understand why someone would.

 

Thanks all for contributing!


NGC 67* RB, POP 10/0

 

Can't argue with that.

 

+1

 

I went to PCGS CoinFacts where they show photos of some of the 67RD 1957 cents. I don’t feel the OP’s coin is out of line with them. https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1957-1c-rd/2842

Worse yet, it makes me brave enough to post a raw example without feeling like an idiot. This is to emphasize a point about top pop coins with a thin population.

I bought this in a Dansco set from my LCS - say $1.80 per coin. Are there enough of these still ungraded to make a difference? If condition rarity drove the price high enough to flush these out of old sets, how many could the market absorb before crashing the price for that grade? What would a coin one grade higher do to the market?




By the way, does anyone other than @leeg actually have a top pop coin to post?

 

If I had a Proof set available for my birth year, that would my choice. I have no interest in paying a fortune for a high grade business strike coin from the 1950s or even the 1940s.

 

I have a collection of 1957 coins. I have four of the ten required for the year set. Three of these are MS66 or 67. One is a 65, but I hope to replace that with a higher grade. This set is in memory of my brother, who was born that year. If he was alive, I think he would enjoy it, because as a kid he had a coin collection and he liked Morgan dollars, too.

This is a pic of the quarter I have (pop 263/13 for this one). It is not my top pop of all my coins, but still pretty good this way. I have a couple coins that are 0 pop higher and a few which range from 1-9 (single digits).

 

I have many, many top pop coins. I didn't want to distract from the post however. I also have tons of top pop PL coins for their series. Here's an example that is graded 68, a full 2 points over its next higher example.

 

thanks all for the comments.