the 2001 sacagawea proof... why so much?

[McKinley-migration]

there are over 3 million of em.. just like all the rest of the sac proofs for the most part. there were less 04's made.. and even less 07's. so why is the 01 so much more than the rest? i'm not seeing it..

[astrostu]

Could it be related to the price of the 2001 proof set in general?

[bsshog40]

This questioned has been asked before and I still don't think there's ever been a logical answer for it.

[Bruceswar]

Could it be related to the price of the 2001 proof set in general?

 

The set is only high because of that coin.

[astrostu]

Okay, so this actually got me wondering if this is a case of, "Someone says it's high so now people are willing to pay that and so the price stays high because that's what people think they're supposed to pay."

 

I've always wondered that, anyway, when it comes to coin prices ... especially for modern stuff where the mintage numbers don't seem to support the price.

 

Could it be a case like the mid-1990s ASE proofs? Where something went wonky in the minting process and it's hard to find a good specimen that doesn't have blemishes?

[WoodenJefferson]

2000 - P Sacagawea Dollar coin 767,150,000

2000 - D Sacagawea Dollar 518,920,000

2000- S (proof) Sacagawea Dollar 4,063,000*

2001 - P Sacagawea Dollar 62,470,000

2001 - D Sacagawea Dollar coin 70,940,000

2001 - S (proof) Sacagawea Dollar 3,184,750*

2002 - P Sacagawea Dollar 3,869,000

2002 - D Sacagawea $1 coin 3,733,000

2002 - S (proof) Sacagawea Dollar 3,212,000*

2003 - P Sacagawea Dollar 3,080,002

2003 - D Sacagawea $1 coin 3,080,002

2003 - S (proof) Sacagawea Dollar 3,300,000*

2004 - P Sacagawea Dollar 2,660,010

2004 - D Sacagawea Dollar coin 2,660,010

2004 - S (proof) Sacagawea $ 2,992,096*

2005-P Sacagawea Dollar 2,525,000

2005-D Sacagawea Dollar coin 2,525,000

2005-S (proof) Sacagawea Dollar 3,275,000*

 

As you can see in the mintage figures for the proof coins, the actual mintage numbers do not equate to the market values, so a low mintage number was not the driving force behind the increase in value of the 2001-S.

 

From what I know and have heard, and this may or may not be all true, sounds plausible anyway, that it had to do with the actual dispersal of the 2001 proofs sets themselves, mostly to the individual collectors and not widely distributed among the dealers.

 

Back in 2000 when the Sacagawea first appeared in proof sets, dealers bought vast amounts of proof sets to resell on the secondary market. They bought so many in fact that they were stuck with inventory once the market was saturated. Now, in 2001 the dealers backed off on the orders while the mint put restriction on the number any individual could purchase. So, now you have a situation that is somewhat artificially inflated because the large dealers do not have control over the market in that the individual collectors now posses the majority of the 2001 proof sets. With this market driver in place, the dealers have to pay a premium to get proof sets to resell on the secondary market, driving up the prices. The only coins in the proof sets worth their salt are the Kennedy half dollar and the Sacagawea dollar, which are often broken out and sold individually for profit. This factor also creates an increase in value of whole sets, because the numbers of proof sets for that year decrease in numbers exponentially.

 

Take it for what it's worth, if someone can come up with a conclusive answer I'd would like to hear it also.

 

Note: It is interesting that in 2003, 2004 and 2005 that there were more proof coins minted than the P & D business strikes.

[astrostu]

That explanation sounds just as plausible as any other, so we can go with it for now as far as I'm concerned.