Looking for advice on 1944 Lincoln cents 0

[Scott0949]

I'm totally confused! I have quite a few of the 1944, no mint mark, Lincoln copper cents. I'm seeing prices as low as $1 each, as high as $1700 and everything in between. If you take out the "error" coins, what are they worth in "fair" condition? Thanks in advance.

[RWB]

They are normal coins. Cents made in Philadelphia did not have a mintmark back then. Unlikely you have any errors of interest to coin collectors. Value is about 3-cents each, but that is largely for the copper. The coins have virtually no collector interest or premium. Try offering to sell some to the people asking high prices.

Edited April 25, 2022 by RWB

[RWB]

PS: Welcome. Members will try to help you with coin collecting. Don't hesitate to ask questions.

[Oldhoopster]

The US mint made over 1.4 BILLION in Philadelphia (no mint mark) during 1944. They generally retail for a few cents each in roll quantities for coins that have circulated

Edited April 25, 2022 by Oldhoopster

[Greenstang]

Sounds like you have been looking on Esty for values.

Don’t forget that a seller can ask whatever he wants and just hopes for that one sucker who will buy it although I have never seen any sold yet. 

[Scott0949]

Thanks for the replies. I saw some on ebay and they were asking for hundreds of dollars and it just baffled me. I didn't think they were special!

[Oldhoopster]

Sometimes the prices asked on ebay baffle a lot of collectors. Even most of the uncirculated coins that look like they just left the mint are available from dealers for only a few dollars, and you're not going to find those in circulation.

[Coinbuf]

On 4/25/2022 at 2:40 PM, Scott0949 said:

Thanks for the replies. I saw some on ebay and they were asking for hundreds of dollars and it just baffled me. I didn't think they were special!

Welcome to the forum, it would help us if you would link one or two of these auctions you have seen on ebay that you are baffled by.   However as the others have said there are tons of uninformed individuals today that have no idea what a coin is truly worth asking moon money.   They are  not coin dealers just people that "heard" on youtube or other disinformation sources about how to get rich quick from pocket change and are fishing for a sucker who knows less than they do.

 

[Scott0949]

I believe I saw them as sold items, but I'll try to find them again. I know some guy on Etsy was the one that wanted $1700. He's so full of it, his eyes are brown! 

[Greenstang]

Some of those sold on eBay may have been higher grade certified coins that would be worth the asking price.

Condition of a coin makes a big difference in the value.

 

[Scott0949]

These were not certified. But I appreciate the response.

[VKurtB]

On 4/25/2022 at 5:52 PM, Scott0949 said:

These were not certified. But I appreciate the response.

Con men trying to con men. 

[JKK]

On 4/25/2022 at 2:40 PM, Scott0949 said:

I didn't think they were special!

You were correct.

[RWB]

On 4/25/2022 at 6:46 PM, Greenstang said:

Some of those sold on eBay may have been higher grade certified coins that would be worth the asking price.

Most of those are not actually worth the asking price. The owner has sunk so much money into needless "grading" that the only way out is to sell for the coin's real value -- possibly a couple of dollars - plus the "grading" and postage spent. The result is you are being asked to pay $35 or $45 for a $3 or $4 coin.

This is a tremendous distortion of the coin collecting market and values of most ordinary coins including design type coins. It also excludes many who do not want to spend so much for a coin of which billions were made and many millions survive in uncirculated condition.

Edited April 26, 2022 by RWB
corrected spelling

[VKurtB]

On 4/25/2022 at 8:35 PM, RWB said:

Most of those are not actually worth the asking price. The owner has sunk so much money into needless "grading" that the only way out is to sell for the coin's real value -- possibly a couple of dollars - plus the "grading" and postage spent. The result is you are being asked to pay $35 or $45 for a $3 or $4 coin.

This is a tremendous distortion of the coin collecting market and values of most ordinary coins including design type coins. It also excluded many how do not want to spend so much for a coin of which billions were made and many millions survive in uncirculated condition.

There is wisdom here. The overuse of grading services has created MASSIVE distortions in the coin market. The better firms used to RESIST this overuse by not accepting mundane coins for grading, but have decided letting you do stupid stuff helps their bottom line. The fact that the most often slabbed coins are American Silver Eagles speaks to how utterly ridiculous the grading and slabbing market has become. 

[DWLange]

A lot of the low-value coins in NGC holders were submitted for variety or mint error service but turned out to be neither. The submitter was expecting that their imagined variety/mint error would have justified the fees and was certainly disappointed with the outcome. This is a daily occurrence, and these coins eventually come to market.

I suspect that many collectors who are introduced to the hobby via modern coins issued specifically for collectors come to expect the same degree of perfection in coins made for general circulation. Thus, almost every circulating coin they encounter has some deficiency that they interpret as noteworthy when it is simply typical of mass production.

[VKurtB]

On 4/26/2022 at 11:31 AM, DWLange said:

A lot of the low-value coins in NGC holders were submitted for variety or mint error service but turned out to be neither. The submitter was expecting that their imagined variety/mint error would have justified the fees and was certainly disappointed with the outcome. This is a daily occurrence, and these coins eventually come to market.

I suspect that many collectors who are introduced to the hobby via modern coins issued specifically for collectors come to expect the same degree of perfection in coins made for general circulation. Thus, almost every circulating coin they encounter has some deficiency that they interpret as noteworthy when it is simply typical of mass production.

Really? They’re “errors which are not”? I knew that was big, but not THAT big. 
 

So the rest are, “Ooh. Pretty big hunk of silver. Think I’ll imprison it”?

We already see on this board that lots of people mistakenly believe slabs are airtight and watertight. Maybe they don’t even understand the product. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by VKurtB

[RWB]

Popularization of US coins collecting began in the mid-1850s with replacement of large coppers with small-diameter cents. People saved and organized coins from circulation. That was the normal route to more "advanced" collecting until the promotion of "independent authentication and grading." Today we find a lot of inquiries about "Should I get it graded?" and few about collecting from circulation or the relative emotional and cultural values.

Sad situation, in my view.

[Alex in PA.]

On 4/26/2022 at 12:31 PM, DWLange said:

A lot of the low-value coins in NGC holders were submitted for variety or mint error service but turned out to be neither.

We have seen this on our host's forum.  Many posts 'revealing' to us this '1st of it's kind' error that turns out to be nothing more than PMD.  I have no idea whether the person(s) asking believe it to be true or a just trolling to rev up the excitement.  Same game different names.

See VKurtB's comment above.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Alex in PA.

[Woods020]

On 4/26/2022 at 11:31 AM, DWLange said:

A lot of the low-value coins in NGC holders were submitted for variety or mint error service but turned out to be neither. The submitter was expecting that their imagined variety/mint error would have justified the fees and was certainly disappointed with the outcome. This is a daily occurrence, and these coins eventually come to market.

I suspect that many collectors who are introduced to the hobby via modern coins issued specifically for collectors come to expect the same degree of perfection in coins made for general circulation. Thus, almost every circulating coin they encounter has some deficiency that they interpret as noteworthy when it is simply typical of mass production.

I wonder how many actually believe the news that’s it’s nothing special vs how many say a few four letter words about NGC and send it elsewhere. The fantasies are costing people a lot of money before they wise up. That crowd of folks is radical in their beliefs. 

[RWB]

On 4/26/2022 at 9:11 PM, Woods020 said:

I wonder how many actually believe the news that’s it’s nothing special vs how many say a few four letter words about NGC and send it elsewhere. The fantasies are costing people a lot of money before they wise up. That crowd of folks is radical in their beliefs. 

Sadly, much of the hype would be impossible without the presence of TPGs. Their reputation for rare coins extends to common stuff in the minds of many, so they assume that if it's in a slab it's "rare and valuable." Then there are those who encourage such behavior for their own selfish purposes.

[ldhair]

Many new collectors get caught up in building sets of Lincoln cents in slabs. Few ever recover the cost when they go to sell the collection. It's good if they understand that from the start but most new folks to the hobby don't. 

 

[Rummy13]

Coin collecting is a hobby, at least for me it is. I do not have many slabbed coins. The few I have are worth the extra protection or of great sentimental value it was worth the money to me. As with any hobby the money and time spent is nothing compared to the enjoyment, I get form it. The TPGs have their place in the hobby, as dose their slabbed coins. I for one do not make registry sets, I do like to see what others make. Over time I have spent more one fishing then on coins, as I enjoy both, but I don't have a fish on my wall either. As a hobby coin collecting if fun and something I will pass on. 

[JKK]

On 4/26/2022 at 6:40 PM, RWB said:

Sadly, much of the hype would be impossible without the presence of TPGs. Their reputation for rare coins extends to common stuff in the minds of many, so they assume that if it's in a slab it's "rare and valuable." Then there are those who encourage such behavior for their own selfish purposes.

I think there is also--speaking of why coins get sent for grading that make no objective sense--an idea that slabbing is "doing it right." Let's look at the general public. One can divide them into a couple of broad groupings: those who just wing everything, tend to overbook themselves and be late, cut corners, and tend to use "lol" as a comma and period. They just always figure everything will be okay, don't sweat the details, "im not doin all that stuf f** that noize." If they have yards, they never run the weedwacker. I'm not saying it's bad to be that way; I'm saying if that describes someone, they should own it. This mentality dominates the world of contractors, which is why we pay so much for such slapdash work unless we monitor them and don't let them get away with it.

Then there's the fussy grouping, the one that wants things done right. This group is in earnest. They tend to obey the four-way stop laws. They read things that say tl;dr. They proofread their writing as best they can, and probably balance their checkbooks. When this group shows up in numismatics, they see that they have Found Their Home (and I'm not mocking that--it described me long ago). Coins are a hobby that absolutely sweats the small stuff, as anyone who has ever agonized over the prominence of a contact mark on Liberty's cheek can attest. This group wants to do it right, and to them, the natural assumption is that this means having the coins graded and encapsulated. And not by a JGS, but by one who matters. They aren't correct, but we should at least see why they thought that, and have the patience to explain why it doesn't make sense to spend $50 to slab a nice MS common date Linc.

Far as I'm concerned, the best argument is all the coins they could buy for the $50. At least, that's the one that would have my attention listening real closely.