World Colonial

There is a difference between scarce and hard to buy. No, none of the early US gold coins (1834 and earlier) are common, but a noticeable percentage aren't hard to buy as a date, only in a specific quality or as a die variety. Some of the early silver I'd consider common, where it's a Judd scale R-1 with 1250+ available. "Hard to buy" isn't absolute, but no coin that can be bought at any time can be described as hard to buy or really scarce. Both "scarce" and "common" are relative. The primary reason most US coins aren't that hard to buy is the price and second, it's advertised more prominently versus non-US coinage where anyone who is interested in finding it can do so. With a series like Seated quarters, I'm not aware it's scarcer versus any early gold coin-for-coin, but the much lower prices mean the lower quality coins aren't as well publicized. I've looked at the survival estimates in Coin Facts, and some given the mintages seem too low. That's also almost certainly a factor for the non-US series I primarily collect, where I have used equivalent Liberty Seated denominations as a basis of comparison. What I am describing is part (not all) of the reason for the discrepancy with your personal experience. Personal experience is only partly representative.

I think several are interpreting the OP different than I am. "But, what are the coins that have the most scarcity as a series (this is to say that even the "common dates" are scarce)? Using the verbiage in bold above, that's why I chose the Capped Head half eagle. There are one-year types and short year series (like the 1796-1797) that are somewhat scarce or somewhat hard to buy, but from all other series, only a low proportion or very few of the dates are actually hard to buy, unless the criteria is defined by quality or some specialization such as a die variety where there is nothing unusual about it. Only a low proportion of US coins are hard to buy primarily due to the price, but also the communication network advertising available inventory: eBay, auctions like Heritage, Certified Coin Exchange, etc. The proportion which isn't available right now and all the time is probably below 5% of all Federal circulation strikes and proofs since 1793. Noticeably lower within six months or one year. I look at a variety of US coins intermittently. That's how I know most are available. As one example, on one occasion, I found all Liberty Seated dime proofs from 1856 to 1891 on eBay the same day though I did have to go to Collector's Corner for a graded 1862. That's typically thought of as a (somewhat) difficult series, but it isn't except for the earliest dates. It's not really that much different for most others. The Capped Head half eagle is the only series (of any length) to my knowledge where the majority of date/MM are both scarce and hard to buy. Without looking, I'd only expect to find the 1813 and possibly 1814, 1818 and 1820, though I might have one of those dates wrong.

There is no significance to that, especially since gold coinage exists in above average quality most of the time. Using this criterion, a noticeable proportion of non-US coinage is scarce or rare. I use "collectible" quality as a middle ground, meaning above dreck in the quality most collectors of the series will accept but below the narrow quality used by US collectors.

Hardest US series to complete is the Capped Head half eagle (1813-1834). All but the 1813 are at least legitimately scarce. Capped Head quarter eagle only has a few dates but also scarce. As a series in US coinage, that's it meeting your definition, unless we are getting into condition scarcity which mostly isn't an actual scarcity. What most US collectors consider scarce or hard to buy isn't. Outside of Saints and Indian Head eagles which have a low proportion of scarce/rare/"key" dates, every series from the Barber coinage forward either can or likely can be bought in one day in "high" quality. A very few dates (like the 1895-O dime) might not be available today, but that's all. Those that aren't available now almost certainly will be tomorrow, next week, or in a few months. Same for Morgan dollars, capped bust halves, and capped bust half dimes. Same for the proofs, excluding capped bust. Draped Bust/SE half isn't hard to buy. One of the two dates (1797 I think) seems to be a harder than the other, but it's always been available as a type in at least XF when I have checked.

Neither the pct. or number are low, not even on the non-proof at NGC. 70's are really common. Lower on the earliest dates but still not a low number. My understanding is that most volume is from bulk submitters who make their money on the lower proportion of 70's and either lose money or not much profit on the 69's. But the key is bulk submitter to allocate shipping and get the discounted fee.

Above my budget, but no interest in it anyway.

Low priced coins, a few that should have been mid-priced. Proofs did ok, but not the circulation strikes. I didn't want to bother with eBay. I should have just kept the scarcer ones for a better day. Price crash and increased shipping costs make it uneconomical to sell most of these to a SA buyer. Catch-22

You know this but the consigner needs to know the market for what they are selling. This thread is about widely collected US coins, so I wouldn't worry about it selling noticeably (proportionately) below "market", though it can still be a wide range. The two times I sold through them was mostly South Africa Union, Bolivia, and a few pillars I no longer wanted. The South African coinage did poorly while I was mostly satisfied with the other results. However, I don't know or necessarily believe it was the venue for the SA coinage, probably mostly that there are virtually no buyers "at market" outside of SA. I didn't set a reserve on any of it.

The difference between you and most other collectors is that by your own posts, the ANA and coin clubs are an important part of your social life. That's only true for a very low minority of collectors, less than the number of ANA members. Maybe a lot less. I've discussed this with you before and I consider my perception of this subject to be more or less the norm. My coin budget is for coins, not to pay to travel and spend time with people I don't even want to be with or aren't important to me. Same thing for my vacation time. I can't go anywhere now due to personal reasons but when I could, I used all my vacation time to visit family in other countries. I'd consider going to coin shows including the ANA, but the only one which is relatively convenient to me is FUN which I will eventually go to, probably once. There isn't much point for me to go to any coin show because of the very low probability I will find anything I really want to buy. For most collectors, there is no need to travel any distance because the coins they collect are common. As for ANA membership, doesn't really have anything to do with what I have collected since 1998 and won't in the future either. I was a member for a few years, but it I don't see a reason to be one now. It's more expensive, but if I was going to support a numismatic organization, it will probably be the ANS. I do intend to go to NYC to view the parts of the collection of interest to me, firstly pillar subsidiary mints. Hopefully during the NYINC.

I have one coin listed on the BST ATS, but by now it's buried behind numerous other listings. Depending upon the quality you are trying to sell and how aggressively you price it, might be a good option. Mine is priced within the range of prior Stack's and Heritage auctions. Another factor is that if you don't post there, no one will know you. I've posted there for a few years but have bought only once from a member, someone I'd consider a vest pocket dealer. Sold once too to a "lurker" but no one else will know or care about that.

Brad Yonaka has written a reference covering die varieties for all the pillar coinage mints (all denominations) and Mexico portrait, all denominations. I own all three books. I don't collect any portrait coinage but would still like to have one for the other mints, if he ever writes it. The Mexico reference includes the Lion & Castle quarter real which I do collect. This is my avatar coin.

Fair enough, I've also heard these called specimens or something like it.

All circulating Morgan's are common, except by TPG grade. The Philadelphia proofs are moderately scarce. The branch mint proofs are legitimately rare.

Agree I don't own or collect FE cents or IHC, but at least Rick Snow might make an offer on one he stickered that reflects market. The only other two I've seen are Wings (for world coinage) and MAC who seem to sticker any series. Given the prices I've seen MAC ask on eBay, I can't imagine they would ever make a strong offer compared to their ask. I don't know if Wings stickers and sells their own coins. I've only seen others sell it.

This I don't believe more than a very low percentage care what others think about the coins they collect, except to the extent it impacts resale value. I've read posts in the past disputing this (in particular from one poster who will remain nameless) but collecting is too anonymous where we don't have to interact with dealers or other collectors if we choose. It's been that way for 20 years now, or more. Agree I don't collect US coins. The most relevant to me is probably counterfeit detection and second, grading somewhat. I don't see that anything else about the ANA really has anything to do with my collecting. I also don't see that the ANA is relevant to most collectors because of what they collect either and their coin budgets. It's presumably the equivalent to a recreational consumption expense to them.

For US coins but not otherwise. Most the coins in my primary collection are graded and most I bought graded, but I have a list I'd be interested in buying given the opportunity and the vast majority in it are not graded. These are from the few somewhat prominent collections which sold in 1988, 1991, and 1996. I also don't consider the risk of fakes that high with what I collect. It's not that I am so good at detecting it, it's that counterfeiters have a much higher incentive to fake something, practically anything else. The most profitable counterfeiting is either a relatively low number of valuable coins (like the HR Saint) or a large number of very common but still meaningfully valued coins, like US key dates, Morgan dollars, Spanish cobs, Sovereigns, and pillar dollars. It's not very profitable to fake a very small number of moderate to low priced coins, my series. With many of these coins, even one could be suspicious.

Authentication isn't much of an issue for most coins, and to the extent it's a bigger issue now, it's substantially due to the inflated price level associated with TPG. I know counterfeiting is more widespread and modern technology makes it easier, but counterfeiters don't randomly (mass) counterfeit anything. That's why US coins are more heavily counterfeited than others. The number on the label is marketing which does make the coins more liquid, but the inflated price level once again makes this a circular problem. Up to 2010, I'd sell coins intermittently on eBay, both graded and not. From what I can see, liquidity has collapsed in that venue, and it used to be the best option for most collectors. This is a secondary reason I won't spend any "noticeable" money on "side collections" or random coin purchases where I might have in the past.

To provide a little more context, what's the scale of his collection? Given who he is and how long he's been associated with coin collecting, I'm assuming it covers a wide range of US series and maybe world coinage too.

I went the last three times in Atlanta: 2006, 2013, and 2020. First coin show I went to was the Atlanta ANA in 1987. Guess I am not going back, unless I happen to be there for another reason. I was in NYC for the 2002 while on assignment for work.

CAC are market makers in the coins they sticker. Never heard MAC does that. I see plenty of MAC stickered coins on eBay for South Africa Union (1923-1960) and Republic of South Africa (RSA). Usually, the higher or highest graded Union proofs from the more common dates and same for RSA proofs and circulation strikes, with all of the latter common. I think they are the seller too which makes them a "self-slabber" or this case, a self-sticker-er. (Is that even a word?) They did sell a 1931 Union shilling (one of the two XF-45) and I think someone bought it. It's legitimately scarce overall and rare in this grade. Otherwise, the rest of these listings are either contributing to an on-line museum or will "bury" the buyer.

It was a big show of some kind, somewhere around 2010 to my recollection but might have been earlier. I lived there from late 2001 to mid-2011 with a gap over parts of 2004-2005.

I used to live in Phonex metro. I went to the ANA once but do not remember the year. ANA was also the last show I went to, 2020 in Atlanta. To the extent I am able to go in the future, I am going to make sure I attend the first day which in ATL I think was Thursday. Need to make sure I am there at the opening to have the best chance to find what I really want before anyone else.

Sorry. no. A page in one my reference books is coming out too. I'd like to fix it also if there is a way to do it. It's a soft cover.

No, now. $15K, $20K, $30K was a lot of money at the time. It's a lot more than indicated by the change in the CPI or cost of living because of asset inflation.

I don't have my 1963 or 1965 Red Books with me now. To my knowledge, the primary difference between now and then is the price inflation from TPG and specialization. There has been no preference change between US series, contrary to what I've read inferred numerous times.