Dropping SAE prices

[Guest]

I have noticed that slabbed silver eagle prices are dropping. I just checked PCGS and saw that the MS69 1996 and 1994 prices have dropped by ~2-fold. I don't know if there has been a similar drop for NGC slabs. Any ideas for this trend? I am thinking that the market is being flooded by submissions of these years because the prices were so extremely inflated. I am glad that I never purchased any at the $300-$400 they were going for, but now that they are at $100-$130 on ebay, I wonder if now is the right time? Is there any chance that the prices will go back up over time or are they doomed?

[gmarguli]

The population of these coins has EXPLODED.

 

In PCGS MS69, the 1996 has the second highest pop for all pre-2000 SAEs. The 1994 which used to be the lowest is now the 5th lowest.

 

The insane prices being paid for these must have caused major submissions of them.

[Guest]

I think that this is a lesson in paying a price for grade population of a specific company versus overall coin population. Especially for something like a modern bullion coin that is never circulated. There are many hundreds of thousands of them in pristine condition and they are only worth getting certified in plastic if someone is willing to provide them with a great profit margin. Unfortunately, the person who purchased them is then left with a coin that will continue to drop in price as more people send them in for grading.

 

I like the SAE because they are readily available, are made of a somewhat precious metal and it is very easy to acquire a complete collection. I would like them even better if they had a unique obverse like the Platinum eagles. However, I always thought that paying $300+ for one was out of line. To tell you the truth, I like the fact that these prices have dropped so much due to increased submition because now I can finish the set. I'll bet the number of registry sets go throught the roof now. It will be interesting to see how much the key dates continue to drop in price. Now if I can see a proportional drop in the semi-key dates I will be all set. Finally something that I can afford to finish.