Are Classic Commems starting to move again?

[RGT]

Since I've got a couple of these on ebay now I was checking to see what they were typically selling for in the Heritage archives. Specifically, I was checking the Lexington in MS64. Often Heritage will quote Greysheet bid in their auction description. I noticed bid on this coin was $135 in January, $138 in March and now at $145 in May.

 

I haven't checked other types or grades because I don't get the Greysheet. But I have been looking for some for my set over the past year or two and I have noticed the selling prices seem to be higher now than they were a year or two ago. It seems like a slow creep that is sneaking up on me. I know many areas of the market have moved quite a bit but I though Classic Commems had been pretty much left out.

 

Is any one else seeing this? So far I've just been selling a few duplicates, but lately my interest is moving back to 19th century types more and more. I've been thinking of selling more of my set and just keeping the handful that I am really attached to, but I would hate to sell right before a big move.

 

Any opinions?

[truthteller]

The best unkept secret in the coin business. Promoters have been buying lower graded commems for about 8 months now. Those pluses you see on the grey sheet are for slabbed sightseen coins. Mostly dealers are buying up the undergraded coins and cracking for upgrades, or subjecting them to "processes" hoping for big scores. Raw coins are not following this trend, nor are ugly coins. At a couple of shows, I offered some raw and ugly holdered commems with no buyers. Be careful.

 

 

TRUTH

[HaydenTubbs]

I'd like to bring to mention the 1924 Huguenot-Walloon half.XF bid was $75 in January and is $92 now.

We all know that superbly toned MS pieces bring substantial gains,but it appears that the white MS pieces and even circulated examples are becoming popular as collectors on lower budgets take a try at the series due to the popularity that the State 25c and L&C 5c have brought to commems.

-Hayden

[michael]

well i think there will be a coming promotion in early commems they are due for it and are terribly undervalued coins that are beautiful collectible make a neat 52 piece type set and are available to mostly everyone and the quanities are there to do this

 

if they are at least lightly skinned attractive and solid for the grade ms63 64 65 66 in pcgs/ngc holders or any holders

 

the other flip negative side is that yes they are off their huge highs of the early to middle 1990's but the pops have also exploded too

 

and there is so much [#@$%!!!] overgraded and/or ugly in holders this keeps the market down

 

and yes there is a two tier market for the technically high grade ms65 66 67 68 with wild monster color that is currently strong and likely to stay that way

 

but there are good values in nicely toned choice to gem commems and higher

 

i think rgt...........................

 

Is any one else seeing this? So far I've just been selling a few duplicates, but lately my interest is moving back to 19th century types more and more. I've been thinking of selling more of my set and just keeping the handful that I am really attached to, but I would hate to sell right before a big move.

 

Any opinions?

 

 

i would continue with acquiring the 19 century type and sell off the early commems that i think do not suit your fancy but BUT

 

i would keep the special coins the coins that are scarcer better colors more hard to find unusual OR AS YOU SAY KEEP THE ONES YOU ARE MORE ATTRACTED TO yes yes yes

 

now as to if they will bew worth lots more and you should have kept them welol i do not have answers to this question

 

if you keep what you like the few special coins that have meaning to you combined with potential and move the rest at what you paid or more and you never lose money taking a profit and then move into the 19 century coins well i think overall you cant lose and then you see what the future holds

 

it would be no fun if you knew dollar wise what to do

 

but say la vee

 

but overall this is what i would do personally myself and i think i am correct as i act on what i believe to be true hopefully it will be correct and turn into fact

 

sometimes yes most of the times no

 

but i learned lots and had fun along the way as for me it is a fun hobby collectible not a business for me

 

so i guess it also depends on your parameters

 

good luck and keep me informed

 

[Mozin]

I don't pay much attention to the more common Early Commems but the rarer ones in MS64 seem to be readily available, as long as you don't get too critical about how they look. What I am saying is it seems to be very difficult to find a PQ coin for a decent price compared to the greysheet but you can find lots of slabs for current greysheet.

[RGT]

Truth, I heard this a few months ago but I can't remember where. I never saw anything come of it so I pretty much forgot. I guess they are still acquiring and not quite ready to run the market yet.

 

I started collecting these almost three years ago because of the variety of designs and the relatively low mintages for the price. It wasn't long before I realized that though the mintages were low, most of them are still available. Finding really attractive ones is difficult sometimes, but there are plenty of coins to pick from. In a typical Heritage auction the number of commems is usually only exceeded by the number of Morgans. But I have become very picky and haven't picked up any new ones lately.

 

I've been leaning toward doing just what Michael suggested, selling off the ones that don't jump right out at me and hanging on to the real keepers. But I'm in no hurry so I may hold off a while and see if the market starts to move more. I can't afford the monster toned coins but I do have some I consider very attractive that I have no plans to sell.

[EZ_E]

RGT, I agree whole-heartedly what Truth and Michael said. I would hold off selling any early commems with great eye-appeal for a few months O/W you may be kicking yourself if the market does rise substantially.

 

p.s. You can't go wrong with nice 19th century type proofs!!!

[TomB]

Nice, original coins with positive eye appeal have been undervalued for a significant time. However, if you are going by sheets to price your coins, both buying and selling, then you can be in trouble as the TPGs have played fast-and-loose in grading this series for years and it has greatly affected the prices in a negative manner.

[RGT]

I couldn't go by the sheets if I wanted to because I don't subscribe. As I said, I saw the bid quoted in Heritage auctions and just noticed the trend. I generally guess at prices after seeing what they have been selling for on ebay and Heritage, and weighting those prices by the appearance of the coin. Of course my perception of the coin is skewed by the quality of the images, so it may not be so efficient a method and highly subjective, as most everything else in pricing coins.

 

I had to check my records to remember when I bought my last Commem. It was last December. I keep looking but not finding anything attractive for the prices I'm used to seeing. I'm either going to have to adjust my bids or wait it out and move on to something else. Since I'm loosing some interest I'll probably be waiting it out until I see something I just have to have.

[MastaHanky]

I know the Gettysburg has gone up for the last three greysheets in a row. I just picked up a decent one in 64.