Why did this 1979 Penny sell for $2800?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by agrace97, Oct 15, 2019.

  1. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    Hello! I was watching some videos and stumbled upon this one on YouTube:

    He didn’t necessarily explain why the coin sold for so much money besides the grade. Anyone know why?

    Also, I have a very shiny 1979 coin with an interesting color (can anyone tell me what this color is called?) Is it anything special or just another spender?
    D49DC0D5-56FD-4D51-A667-05B542B133B7.jpeg 37A9B324-1486-432E-BAE2-112B3055C073.jpeg C49DA382-DE94-43CF-A01E-A487DD6B7CCD.jpeg 76EEB018-CB4D-4DED-A6B3-6F90AE6DF7C5.jpeg
     
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  3. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

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  4. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    What is "sold for so much money"??
    $1, $10, $50, $90???

    Sometimes it is best to go to ebay and search for COMPLETED and SOLD items to see selling prices.

    But some ms67 red PCGS slabbed have sold for $67
     
  5. Mike185

    Mike185 Well-Known Member

    Idk.. why. It has been graded and someone really really wanted it!!!! But it don’t mean all 79p that is in ms conditions will bring that kinda money!!!
    You do have a well stuck Lincoln. Put it a 2x2 and save it until you get a better one..

    Over 6 billion minted!

    This is from red book... BCBB6E73-4C9C-427A-BC50-ECA365516E7F.jpeg
     
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  6. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    It just seemed like quite a lot ($2800) for a penny that doesn’t seem to be very unique to me. Definitely need to try looking on EBay that way. Thank you!
     
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  7. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    Thank you for the info! I thought my coin looked quite nice for the date. Need to get that red book!
     
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  8. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    A couple things.... Did YouTube state the cent sold for $2800.00? I would question the source.

    Don’t mistake shiny with high grade. This is something you will come to learn in time. Shiny and high grade are two very different conditions.

    Last thing I’ll touch on is what is referred to as population reports. The grading companies issue these population reports. The absolute highest graded coins are very highly sought after. The 1979 cent is minted in the billions. A mere handful will achieve the status of top of the population report. And yes, often those do trade for crazy money.
     
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  9. Evan Saltis

    Evan Saltis Helpful? Click *Best Answer*! Supporter

    Youtube is the worst place for this stuff. Has so much potential, however most of the people making the videos are just the "top 10" type... Just find a terrible (and most likely false) list and just narrate it. Not worth it at all. Reading the comments proves that youtube has a lack of coin knowledge. Heres a trashy meme I jsut made to commemorate how smart we are here :)
     

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  10. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    I wish that YouTube had credible coin collectors because I like hearing the explanation of why each coin is unique.

    That meme cracked me up because that’s exactly how I see it lol
     
  11. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    The YouTube video stated that it was sold at Heritage Long Beach Auction for that amount.

    How do you know the grade?

    That makes sense about the population reports, thank you for letting me know!
     
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  12. Kevin Mader

    Kevin Mader Fellow Coin Enthusiast Supporter

    I think about all I've ever used youtube for with regards coin collecting is to see the occasional videos created by fellow enthusiasts who lurk about sites like this one. A CRH enthusiast might create a video of them doing a CRH event, or perhaps a technique to conserve a coin. As for any other use of youtube for collectors...you might need to qualify the source before considering a video sanctioned.
     
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  13. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    I definitely need to do more research on credible sources.. luckily I received some great links in some of the forums.
     
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  14. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    Youtube does have some credible collectors. It's just that they're not making videos like "Don't Think Modern Coins Are Worth Anything?? Take a Look at This 1979 Penny That Sold for $2800!"

    FYI, you could have gotten a 1979 cent in NGC MS68 RD for $264 a year ago, or $1320 if you must have it in PCGS plastic 5 months ago (though I think that one is overgraded).

    The real answer to "why did this coin sell for $2800" is "competitive coin collecting," i.e. registry fever, specifically the PCGS registry in this case.
     
  15. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    Sometimes they will tell you a coin sold for a ridiculous amount of money,
    and not show you the actual coin, but another coin of the same date and lower
    grade. So every single person who has seen that, and has a worthless coin comes
    here and wants to know what their coin is worth.
    I don't care what the 1979 cent graded it's not worth anything. A dollar maybe. My reasoning it's a modern mass produced coin. So it has a very high grade. That doesn't make it worth $2800 to me. Buy 2 St Gauden's instead.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2019
  16. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    That’s why I was so curious, because it doesn’t seem unique and looks like an ordinary coin.
     
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  17. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    An unholdered coin going for ridiculous money?......one would have to have their head examined if they were to buy such a thing.
     
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  18. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    YouTube is my go-to source...















    ...for music videos.
     
  19. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    I appreciate you trying to increase your knowledge on coins. I'll tell you a couple things:
    - As an error collector, I've found tons of errors: doubled dies, die cracks, cuds, rotated dies, etc. None of them have made me rich. Few ever strike it rich with coins. It's a hobby for most of us, not an investment.
    - Most youtube videos hype something to get views. They get paid by having people watch it. Sadly, few videos are worth watching.
    - We don't get paid anything for our advice.

    If you want a few sites to help you learn about coin errors and prices, here are some easy ones:

    erros:
    http://www.error-ref.com/
    http://www.doubleddie.com/

    Price guides:
    http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml
    http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/

    Grading:
    https://www.pcgs.com/Photograde/

    Keep in mind, you need to know how to grade before you can understand prices. Also, prices are inflated, consider looking at the sold listings for a coin on both the PCGS website and eBay to get a realistic understanding.

    The more you know about coins, the more valuable your coins can become, because knowing what you have and what a coin is worth is important. Most importantly, however, is that you have to find a buyer who wants your coin at that price in order to have it be worth anything. Supply/demand sets these conditions and it's much harder to find the right buyer than people assume.
     
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  20. agrace97

    agrace97 Member

    Thank you so much for the information! Definitely going to check out those links!
     
  21. Mike185

    Mike185 Well-Known Member

    Get the pcgs coin fact!! You will love it! I fail to use it often....
     
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