Why do most dealers think modern commemoratives are junk?

I seem to be missing their point. I like modern commemoratives. what am I missing?

 

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They are simply wrong. Some of those are beauitful and the series has it relative rarities.

 

well...
some people (dealers included) thought that the commemoratives back in the 30's where "junk"
Keep the faith brother

 

I suspect dealers think they are "junk" since they tend to be less expensive than other coins.

 

thats me
I collect other things besides coins and nothing beats an original!

 

There are a lot of reasons they think all moderns are junk but the biggest reason is that everyone lost interest in brand new coins when silver was removed from them. This happened world-wide one country at a time starting right after WW II. In almost every single instance collectors stopped collecting the new coins because they considered them junk. This was largely caused by the sky high mintages necessary to replace all the silver coins in circulation. Usually inflation and exuberance by the issuing authority that they could make coins at a very low cost assured that mintages then stayed high. If this weren't sufficient then there was often a lowering of minting standards since cu/ ni is a harder metal and wears dies more quickly and increased coinage demand meant cutting corners in production. This further reinforced collector sentiment that the coins were junk.

This has resulted in numerous scarcities of coins made in the tens and hundreds of millions. Many moderns are far scarcer than the older coins.

Dealers also see what "walks into the shop". They don't see many gem seated liberty quarters and they do see boxes of "modern junk". Since like most collectors they consider all moderns to be junk, they simply don't take a closer look to see what isn't in the boxes or even what is. There are lots of moderns that are common but this doesn't make them junk. There are lots of moderns that are quite scarce and this is making them quite valuable.

Everyone should try to just collect what they enjoy and not worry about what other collectors think. Collectors usually do better than sheep anyway.

 

I am going to agree with Danr on this some of the modern issues are quite lovely.

De Orc :kewl:

 

That "JUNK" sure brings in some nice profits for those dealers. But on the other hand, I'm sure that dealers don't take advantage of the feeding frenzies we see recently in the secondary market for "junk" mint products. LOL

 

one must remember some of the modern coins are far more scarse that the traditional old time collectables plus there is something about having a really high grade coin at affordable prices

 

commemoratives come and go

Howdy,

Commemoratives seem to come and go in fads. The early commemoratives were quite popular and that led the mint and congress to overproduce them to the point of silliness. That's why they finally stopped them completely for quite a few years.

They finally got around to starting them again with the moderns, but it's getting to the point of too many for too many things again and one of these days, it wouldn't surprise me to see them stop them again - for a while.

Bowers has a great book out - the experts guide to collecting and investing in coins that talks in depth about cycles in coin collecting - times when some things are hot and others are not. He is of the camp that says to buy things when they are NOT hot.

For example, there is something of a fad about super graded slabbed new coins - PF and MS 70's - geez, do you really want to pay the premium on these when you can get a great PF 67-67 or MS 65-66 for pennies?

just some ramblings,

rono

 

I like coins that were designed for circulation as money and not just stamped out of base metal to sell at a profit like a souvenier spoon from a resort giftshop. If a modern commemorative contains gold or silver, I think of it as a bullion coin substitute, and I would be interested on that basis.

 

The metal isn't junk, but to me most of the designs certainly are.

 

It seems to me that regardless of mintage, there are just so many different commemoratives being produced worldwide that there appears to be a glut. The USA is way behind in the number of different commems being done in comparison to other countries, for example Canada.

This isn't to place judgement on the aesthetic value of any particular coin, just the total number of different issues there have been. Although I can't help but think that if there are Pokemon commemoratives (and I am not making this up!) we must be reaching the bottom of the barrel to some extent.

The net of it is that it's darn near impossible to keep up with "everything" (however you may define it). I think that leads to a lower interest in them and thus they are viewed as, well, "junk." I'm not sure that is entirely fair.

Throwing in the law of supply and demand, many (but not all) modern commemoratives seem to be struggling to stay within range of their issue price, much less the "handsome profit" zone. Some mints have really cut down mintage numbers (the Royal Canadian Mint comes to mind) to restrict supply.

If I'm a dealer (well, if I'm anyone), lower prices mean lower absolute profit for the next marginal coin. For example, I can fill a slot with an Oregon Trail half for a couple hundred dollars or a 1986 Liberty half for maybe ten dollars, if I get a choice I take the Oregon Trail, all else being equal.

I haven't brought in visual appeal until now; but I'm like everyone else in that I have my opinions as to that subject. I think some are desirable and some are, well, not so desirable. That's true for me regardless of the date stamped on the coin.

As for Thalia Elizabeth, well, you all know who she likes to see on coins . Some of the Queen Elizabeth II commemoratives are among the lowest priced out there (using a somewhat broader definition of "commemoratives").

 

The US needs to look at some other countries and their commems. Get creative and try something new. Holograms, 3D designs, tons of details, etc. Our commems look bland compared to others.

 

I can see it now:

2015 Mint Holiday Catalog Featuring the City Quarters Program.

Order your Platinum Clad, New York City, Red Hologram, Octagonal, High Relief, Matte Proof Quarter today for only $22.99!
Pre-order your San Diego Silver rimmed, gold plated, hectagonal, roman finish obverse, reverse reverse proof, blue hologram, First Strike Quarter today!

Can you collect all 20,982 Quarters?

 

speaking of canada, It would be difficult to collect even a type set of all of the stuff they produce!
It would take a couple thousand bucks just to get one of every coin they made THIS YEAR alone!

 

The Royal Canadian Mint's CN Tower 30th Anniversary coin is a beauty in my opinion. It's got a holographic image.

Here's Thalia Elizabeth with a very large copy (on the left) of one at the CNA Convention over the summer:



But... I've been watching it on that Internet Auction Community, and it frequently doesn't sell when offered at its RCM issue price for $69.95, and just sold for somewhat under issue price in the last auction I noted.

This despite a low mintage of 15,000...

 

Somehow adding all of the halloween stuff to a coin just doesn't improve the appearance in my opinion. I'd rather own a Morgan or Peace dollar.

 

I'm with you, give me my silver, gold, copper etc. straight up.
If I want something that looks like that, I'll buy some paintings to put on the wall. JMO though, to each his own.