The Union Case and the Hobby Protection Act

[BillJones]

Have you ever wondered what is on the other side of the simulated $10 gold piece that is on both sides of the 1995 Civil War commemorative coin case? Probably not, but recently on of the discs fell out of my case, and on the other side there was the word "replica" as required by the Hobby Protection Act. I have since glued it back on the case.

 

This case, which was a reproduction of the ambrotype cases that protected photographs during the Civil War period. It's by far the neatest of all the packaging that the mint has used to house the modern commemorative sets IMO.

[mark]

Bill:

 

I have one of these cases. I NEVER wondered what was on the back of the replica coin. Now I know and so will not wonder in the future. Indeed, thanks to you, I will go through my entire life never wondering what is on the back of the replica!

 

More seriously, I concur with your assessment that the case is truly neat. I have wondered why a bigger deal hasn't been made about the case. So, given that you put my mind to rest about what's on the back of the replica, perhaps you can ease my wondering by offering some conjectures why this case isn't more heavily sought and publicized?

 

Mark

[BillJones]

I have wondered why a bigger deal hasn't been made about the case. So, given that you put my mind to rest about what's on the back of the replica, perhaps you can ease my wondering by offering some conjectures why this case isn't more heavily sought and publicized?

 

I think that the answer to your question lies in the fact that most all of the action for modern commemorative coins is for slabbed pieces with very high MS or PR number on them. Most of the pieces that are still in the mint packages don't seem to generate much collector interest.

 

As a dealer I have found the modern commemoratives to be a hard sell at the shows. Most of the time I end up wholesaling the coins to dealers who wholesale them again to places like Home Shopping Club. I think that's shame because as a collector I really like some of these coins, especially the gold pieces. Sadly it seems few other collectors agree with me.

 

Needless to say the prices I get when I wholesale these coins are less than Gray Sheet "bid." I've noted that higher bids for modern commemorative coins in specific packaging, but I don't know if those numbers are real or not. I know that getting collectors to pay "bid" for modern commemoratives is harder than pulling teeth.

[Please Delete-migration]

I have never wondered either but it is interesting to know. I do not own one of those cases but have seen them and they are very neat looking.

[GDJMSP]

Well I like 'em Bill so I'll tell ya what. The next time you run across a nice original set - contact me privately. I'm sure we can work out a deal

[BillJones]

The 1995 Civil War set in the Union case is one of the few modern commemorative sets that sell for more than the issue. They are around, but you won't buy them for less than $100 the way you can buy the Statue of Liberty or Constitution sets.

 

BTW when I sell these sets to the Home Shopping Club suppliers, they don't care about the papers or the cases. They just want the coins, which is a shame.

[291fifth]

As someone who has just completed a modern commem type set I may be able to shed some light on the issues of cases and interest.

 

The mint cases are, in my opinion, holding back demand for the modern commems. The cases are too bulky and make the coins difficult to display. I also believe that something in the chemical makeup of the cases is damaging the coins over time. It is no accident that a large number of the modern commems that are over 10 years old and still in their government packaging have a haze problem.

 

Collectors today want their coins slabbed. I personally would like to see the mint sell them already slabbed.

 

Modern commems have never really recovered from the Olympic coin fiasco of 1995 and 1996. That event, which nearly killed the modern commem programs, will also prove to be what saved the program from a collector's standpoint. In 1995 and especially in 1996 &7 mintages of the modern commems plunged as collector after collector ended their collections because of the excessive number of issues and cost of aquiring them. The issues of this period actually have some type scarcity. Most of the gold issues of this period are bringing more, sometimes much more, than gray sheet ask. These issues are not so rare that they will discourage collectors from starting the set but they do mean that not everything is common junk.

 

I went to a show last weekend that featured 40-45 dealer tables. I recall seeing a grand total of four modern gold commems (1 Statue of Liberty, 2 Constitution and 1 1988 Olympic). Those issues, along with the 1984-W $10 Olympic are the only really common issues. With the mint pricing the new issues high, demand will stay low. As long as demand stays low the coins will have some desireability in the aftermarket.

 

My own feeling is that modern commems will have their day. I believe that day is going to be very, very soon. The first signs of building demand are already visible. Have you tried to buy a Smithsonian or Jackie Robinson gold commem lately?

[Beijim]

Have you tried to buy a Smithsonian or Jackie Robinson gold commem lately?

 

You make some good points. A Jackie in NGC MS70 sold on Teletrade this week for $3,300 including buyer's fee.

 

Beijim

[C.Urch]

Raw Jackie Robinson 5$ MS pieces are getting 2,000. Smithsonians are 600 to 700

[BillJones]

It's amazing how we see the same buying pattern. Collectors seem to prefer the Proof versions of these coins to the Uncirculated so a great many more Proofs are sold. Then in the after market the "rare" Uncs. bring these runaway prices.

 

Why don't the speculators buy more of these Uncirculated coins from the mint? I guess they want somebody else to take the fall if it turns out like the Constitution sets which were "dead on arrival" financially in all coins surface forms.

 

As a collector, I don't care the Unc. versions at all. The gold and silver pieces are usually passible; the clad coins look no better and sometimes worse than pocket change if the design is really bad. I've never seen a Capital Visitor Center half dollar in Unc., but it must be dullest coin on the planet. The Proofs certainly have a corner on the ugly award.