What is Rare U.S. coin and why contest???

Let's have a group chat/study/contest about what's a rare U.S.coin???
I mean what's really a rare coin, your 10 top picks and why you think they are rare.

Guildlines:
1. No varieites, period.
2. All coins between 1840 and 1940, (there are too many before 1840 and not one after 1940!).
3. No gold, (it's value is over-influenced).
4. No "TOP POPs or grade rarities, (that's a made up market!).
5. No overdates, underdates, around dates, DDO's, MDD's, OMMS, possitivily no varieties at all!.
6. The coins picked have to be the ones less often seen at shops and shows, (example a 1916-D dime is common at any show, so is 1932-D&S Quarters, there common as the day is long, availible in any grade.) - What we are looking for is Rare U.S. Coins.
7. The coin must have mintage above 15,000, we are looking for rare but possible to obtain. not a mintage of 3 pieces.
7. You may only select 1 coin from each series, for instance: only 1 Barber dime, you can have many dimes but only one Barber Dime, you can have a Barber Quarter but only 1 - get it?
8. You must support your list with facts researched by you.
9. I do not care about Third Party Grading at all - this is about rare coins not plastic.
10. If something happens to my computer (it has went down 5 times this year) as soon as I get it working I will award the prize.
11. I decide based on originality and original thought expressed who wins - if you copy the Red Book I will know, you will not win.
12. The contest goes from now Sat. 3 pm. 10-10-09 to 10-16-09 3m.
The prize is a very nice note, see below, hint, hint, (but it ain't rare)!!!

You may already know where I'm going with this and what I'd like to see if not here it is: Most rare coins (coins we regularly think of as rare) are not rare at all - they maybe expensive but they are not really rare. It takes, (it did for me anyway) to learn that you can "pass" on 99% of all coins and get them cheaper at some point down the road, ie: (there aint no rush to get em!.) But mostly: to help the CoinTalk members really learn what U.S. coins with these parameters are truly rare and why - it may shock some of you to even be able to complete the list if you follow the rules to the letter - at the very worst this will force some to study the series keys.

The prize for the best, most thought out and researched list and responce IMO will get a gem crisp 2003 $2 "J" Star Note with the serial number 00003824*!!!.
Go,,,

 

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I"ll start with the 1909 S VDB Lincoln Cent. It's the first of the series and has a great background story as well as being the most sought after (IMO) coin for Lincoln collectors, such as myself. A mintage of 484,000 a hundred years ago makes it attainable, but for most it's a process that entails finding the right one, for the right price and most importantly, not a counterfeit. I personally love the coin and if the day ever comes that I trip over an extra $6000 :goof: i'd like to upgrade to a MS Red one.

 

I don't know. Those are some extremely narrow parameters. (sp?)

 

I am just a novice at coins, so my answer will probably not make the cut, In my short time collecting, I have seen not one 1916 standing liberty quarter, even on the various websites selling coins I have not seen one. I have seen a lot of the 1917's but not one of the 1916's. The reason I even looked for them is that I thought the design was better before they changed Liberty to wearing a chain mail blouse.

Maybe I should reread the rules, alright, done, I checked the redbook and it says that 52 thousand were minted, so it should be out there, like I said, I have only been really interested in coins for about the last 5 or 6 months. So I wont be surprised if ten people pop up and say hey you can find them all day long, I just have not seen any, maybe if I cruised heritage or ebay I would find some but for some reason I cannot trust myself around auctions, and it seems there is something about me when I go to an auction that makes someone adamant about buying something that makes the same effect in me, outbid me will they, lets see who can deplete their bank account more fully!

 

I was gonna say 1945-S Mercury Dime with Full Split Bands, but its 5 years past the qualifying year. 1840-1940. I've gotta do a rethink...

 

1921 Standing liberty quarter

 

What do you maen by NO varitys???? i dont understand

 

Like a 1918/7-S STL quarter or 1942/1 Mercury Dime or the 16-D

 

do proofs count??

 

Top 10 folks, top 10, and I would not consider the 1909-S VDB in this list.

Top 10 folks, top 10, and I would not consider the 1909-S VDB in this list. It's availible at every show, every dealer has 2 or 3, it's always availible never hard to find and never has been.

 

That's why you get a very nice prize! along with challeging all

That's why you get a very nice prize, along with challenging all of our educations!

 

This is one of your 10, that's a rare coin, now 9 more and why.

This is one of your 10, that's a rare coin, now 9 more and why.

 

Not really, they are made to be perfect and none would qualify for the

Not really they were meant to be saved and preserved plus before 1920 their mintages would rarely exceed 15,000 but if you want to make a case for them it may help us all learn - hint, hint I was not thinking of proofs at all but I should have clarified that. If you feel froggy, leap!

 

Top 10 folks, top 10, and I would not consider that issue out of that series

Top 10 folks, top 10, and that one would qualify (1921-P Std. Lib. quarter) but with 2 other regular issues rarer, 1 slightly and one greatly it would not be my first choice but it's a reasonable choice, not a bad choice. You did not give us any research either but 9-to go with reasons please - that's what this is all about.

 

No varieties is no varieties,

No varieties is no varieties, only regular issued U.S coins (plus now proofs) excluding gold from 1840 to 1940.

 

Very interesting challenge. What does not make a coin rare to me is price - I do not consider certain coins rare like 1909 anything, 1877 IHC's, etc. It seems like everybody has them - maybe not always, but they can be found. The coins I consider rare on the 1877 to 1881 shield nickels. In 1877 and 1878 only proof nickels were minted. I have read several reasons from the economic slump to older silver coins being used in circulation again. In either case only about 510 Proof Nickels were minted in 1877 and 2350 in 1878. While not exactly cheap both of these coins are available at reasonable prices - in my opinion - especially the 1878. In 1879,1880 and 1881 there were between 3 - 4000 proofs minted - you can see the red book for mintages. In 1880 there were only 16000 business strike nickels. Actually I read in one place the 1880 is the key date. I believe collectors conserved and kept the proof nickels for 1880 and these also can be found(in my opinion) at reasonable prices. I was lucky to find a 1879 business strike nickel and it had a mintage around 25k. To me mintage and availability make a coin rare - nothing to do with price which is driven by demand. I can find lots of other coins like 3 cent pieces with a low mintage that qualifies, but I have not really priced them so I do not know about prices. I think some people will not collect a series because of these low mintages, which keeps the demand and prices down. So to the original request I would say that 1879 and 1880 business strikes qualify as rare coins. I can't really think of anything past 1900, with the exception of the 1916 SLQ(something I currently can not afford), that I would consider rare(not without getting into varieties). Just my humble opinion.

 

This is a good tought out answer but we need top 10, top ten, top 10

This is a good thought out answer but we need your top 10, top ten, top 10 please - here an example.

1. 1896 whatever, reason for is, and research is, and IMO, then,
2.
and so on to 10.

 

I'm gonna say that the 1928 "P" Peace dollar is somewhere in the top ten, only 360,649 where minted, granted that there are plenty of lower mintages, but how often do we run across one of these?

 

A fair answer but you must (in order to win) make a Top 10 list.

A fair answer but you must (in order to win) make a Top 10 list.

 

Okay gotcha now - I thought we were voting and creating a top 10.

No cents qualified since I can not think of 1 date that I can not find - in the date range provided. So here is my top 10 list - look up the mintages in the red book.

1. 1916 SLQ - Why number 1 - just because I think more people collect this series, want this coin, but leave it out.
2. 1915 Barber Half Dollar - seems like everybody likes this series and wants one of these puppies. I just do not recall seeing very many at the local shop - I think the one time I asked they had one, but it was damaged.
3. 1894 Morgan Dollar - You say why this one? Several reasons - I seem to see it less in dealers inventory. You say why not the 1885CC - seems like everytime I look one is available(costly but available). Now why the morgan third - everyones mother, brother and son like these coins and collect them. Plus I could only pick one morgan - so this was it.
4. 1901-S Barber Quarter - Another popular series and something tough to find. I went with it versus the other two biggies since I seem to see(but don't always look) less of them.
5. 1872 two cent - another rare one that I do not see often. I usually look at all the copper, but seldom see this one. Matter of fact I do not recall ever seeing it at the local shop.
6. 1846 Seated Liberty Dime - undervalued and under appreciated since the 1844 seems to receive more notice. You might ask how I discovered this - I have an 1844 Liberty Seated Quarter polished to hell and back - thought lets get some nice looking coins and do a 1844 set. HAH - just try it while not spending an arm and a leg. Just finding the date was tough enough. Anyway along the way I discovered the 1846 was cheaper and a lower mintage. You will see two other 1844's below. Maybe one day I will re-visit this.
7. 1879 Business Struck Shield nickel - not a popular series, but difficult date to find.
8. 1863 Half dime - I picked this because of the mintage and a comment I overheard at the local coin shop. They had a partial collection of seated dimes and they mentioned how tough the 1863 was to find. The collection was mostly damaged coins. I just recall them talking about another 1860 coin, but it was not 1867, which is one I kind of knew about.
9. 1844 Seated Liberty Dollar - I do not recall seeing this date at the local shop. Only look on occasion at these big puppies.
10. 1844 Seated Liberty Quarter - Not really sure how rare this is, but tossed it since I have seen very few. It really makes me glad I bought that polished coin - while not truly rare like the 1879 nickel, still a tough date.

There are so many key dates that are readily available, but the rarity exists in the higher grades. The liberty nickels 1885 and 1886, while costly, I see them all the time in the local shop. The same with the 1909 SVDB, 1916D Mercury Dime, 1922 no d, and several others might get listed. I will readily admit I did not do a whole lot of research(basically I verified the dates I wanted) and what I could recall off the top of my head.

When I first saw it I thought I could spit 10 tough dates out, but then when I eliminated duplicates in a series, the common key dates and varieties it became much tougher. Just my humble opinion of top 10.