2012 Lincoln Penny

[Davids5104]

I just bought an NGC 2012 MS68 First release. Cant find any real pricing info on it. should i have paid 1200 dollars for it? Just kidding. only 850. What is the going rate? I am trying to put together a birth year set for my daughter. I am sure she will love it when she is aged 12-17.

[World Colonial]

I couldn't find a price on Heritage for any 2012-P cents, only a PCGS 2012-D 67 for $188, The PCGS count at the time was 54 with 2 in 68.

 

Did you pay the right price? It depends upon why you bought it in this grade. If buying the highest grades possible is important enough to you for your daughter's set, then there isn't any correct answer.

 

On the other hand, if you will mind losing money on it, then in my opinion, you did regardless of what the current value is today.

 

The NGC count today is 63 with three in MS-69. The PCGS count is 12 with none higher

 

Even if the price you paid is reflective of its current value, given its a three year old coin and the current population distribution, I suspect there are thousands if not a lot more eligible for an NGC MS-68, though all of them won't end up in a holder. At $850, I expect this coin will ultimately lose most of its value, as in easily over 90%.

[BillJones]

With all due respect, sir, I have been a coin collector since 1959 and was a dealer for about 12 years from the mid '90s to circa 2007. I have over 55 years of experience, and you may review my type sets which are linked in my bottom line to see part of the type of material I have assembled and bought and sold.

 

I would not even consider paying $850 for a 2012 cent regardless of what the grade is. To me it's nothing but money down a rat hole. If you really want to get something for your daughter's birth date, buy a silver Proof set and keep it in safe place where the temperature and humidity is constant.

 

Here are my reasons why this coin is such a bad buy.

 

- Mintage for the 2012-P cent, 3,132,000,000 - That's 3 billion coins. Okay MS-68, Red is "rare." Let's say that 1 in 100,000 qualifies for that grade. If so that means there are a possible 31,320 candidates. If it's 1 in a million, that 3,132 coins .. still a big number when you compare it other coins in the American series.

 

- Quite often a one point reduction in grade results in a huge reduction in value. Many collectors are happy with the coin that is just one point of the best. That makes your coin harder to sell for the price paid.

 

- Storage and preservation issues. One spot and you are DEAD. These coins are made of zinc coated with copper. They are not stable.

 

- Changing collector tastes. The cent is not what it used to be. A lot of the new collectors started with State Quarters. Some go on the gold and silver, not back to cents.

 

- Market volatility - With many modern coins the attitude is "out of sight, out of mind." Many modern coins have a honeymoon period where their prices are high, but then the next new thing comes along and the collectors and buyers move on, and the prices never recover. This is especially true given the fact that U.S. Mint System keeps issuing more and more new stuff every year.

 

You can't a get a price for your MS-68 cent because the market for it is thin and speculative. Most of the people who such things are doing it for the registry. Many collectors, such have I, have learned to keeping up the registry rankings is like a dog chasing its tail. You can spend huge amounts of money and get nowhere. Bottom line: It's just not worth it.

 

Unless you are independently wealthy I'd think about another legacy for your daughter.

 

 

[Walkerfan]

I think that it is MUCH too early to value this coin. The population is enormous and there are FAR too many MS 68 candidates out there. $850 is WAY too much for this very modern (less than 3 year old) piece IMHO. Your investment is likely mostly tied to the 'first release' label, which has nothing much to do with the coin itself.

[Davids5104]

i apologize so much. i was also kidding about 850 dollars. I thought i was being humorous, my apologies. i paid 55 dollars for it. i was just interested in where the coins are in this grade and what the prices are...

 

here is what i bought

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271945128551?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Also population counts are in billions not trillions.... but your point is valid

[RWB]

$5.50 for a coin worth 1-cent? ......

[World Colonial]

I would still follow Bill's suggestion. You can buy a silver proof set for this price or near it. Even at $55, most of the "value" is in the plastic.

[BillJones]

i apologize so much. i was also kidding about 850 dollars. I thought i was being humorous, my apologies. i paid 55 dollars for it. i was just interested in where the coins are in this grade and what the prices are...

 

here is what i bought

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271945128551?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Also population counts are in billions not trillions.... but your point is valid

 

PCGS graded a modern cent MS-70, Red some years ago. I forget the date. Someone paid $15,000 for that coin.

 

That is why I believed your $850 number.

[BillJones]

Also population counts are in billions not trillions.... but your point is valid

 

 

Thanks for catching that. I have corrected my text.

 

Billions to trillions ... That kind of puts the national debt into perspective.

 

The mint would have hard time making enough cents to pay a penny on a dollar to liquidate it.

[Davids5104]

so a silver proof set from 2012 is better? I will look into that. Thanks guys for your help. I am dependently broke on my wife and 3yr old

[World Colonial]

i apologize so much. i was also kidding about 850 dollars. I thought i was being humorous, my apologies. i paid 55 dollars for it. i was just interested in where the coins are in this grade and what the prices are...

 

here is what i bought

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271945128551?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Also population counts are in billions not trillions.... but your point is valid

 

PCGS graded a modern cent MS-70, Red some years ago. I forget the date. Someone paid $15,000 for that coin.

 

That is why I believed your $850 number.

 

I thought the price was even higher. But in any event, I fell for it also. $850 for registry set competition is "cheap" by recent standards, absurd as it is.

[Davids5104]

i looked up my cert number which was coin 28 on the submission form. i went through all 27 others and they are all MS68, so he single handedly has the majority of the population count

[BillJones]

so a silver proof set from 2012 is better? I will look into that. Thanks guys for your help. I am dependently broke on my wife and 3yr old

 

It is only better because it has 90% silver coins in it. As a collector I like to maintain a run of Proof sets by date. I have a 1942, and there there is gap until 1950 when the mint started issuing them again. The mint stopped issuing sets during World War II for next several years after it ended.

 

I have all of the dates from 1950 to date, but I've stopped collecting the clad sets, which have no silver in them because most of them have been losers. I'm tired of throwing the money away. At least with a silver Proof set you have some silver.

 

You could buy a 2012 American Gold Eagle Proof set for you daughter. That's an expensive item, but could be good if you think that the price gold will up in the future. Who knows? But the gold coins are quite easy to sell if you need to do it. It's alot easier to sell than a cent in MS-68.

[cpm9ball]

i apologize so much. i was also kidding about 850 dollars. I thought i was being humorous, my apologies. i paid 55 dollars for it. i was just interested in where the coins are in this grade and what the prices are...

 

here is what i bought

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271945128551?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Also population counts are in billions not trillions.... but your point is valid

 

PCGS graded a modern cent MS-70, Red some years ago. I forget the date. Someone paid $15,000 for that coin.

 

That is why I believed your $850 number.

 

Wasn't it a 2003? Didn't PCGS buy that coin back?

 

I'm with Bill. I'd much rather buy my child the Silver Proof Set.

 

Chris

[Brol]

My son was born in 2012, so I bought 1912 $20 in 63 for him (big investment for my budget). It was 100 years old coin at the time.

I believe numismatics are about "old" coins, not "new" coins, so I even didn't consider buying anything from 2012..