1936 D Washingtons?

[Bruceswar]

Why is there such a price increase on these coins for the higher grades AU-50 and up? Mintage numbers look to be good.... Did alot of these get melted? None saved? Whats the story behind this one.

[James_OldeTowne]

Interesting that you would ask about this coin, as I just purchased one this past weekend. Here are my thoughts.

 

This coin is common in grades up to and including EF-45. Between AU-50 and AU-58, it is difficult, but by no means impossible, and frankly, "trends" reflects too high a price of $250 in AU-50. It is more like a $125 coin in AU.

 

Here's where things get a little weird though. The 1936-D can be found in grades of AU and below, and in grades of (say) MS-64 and above, it can also be found, but if you want to save money and buy on in MS-60 - MS-63, it is actually rarer in these lower-uncirculated grades than in higher-uncirculated grades!

 

I do not know the reason for this, other than to speculate that it was such a poorly produced coin that new examples tended to show wear very quickly, and the slightest circulation friction would take the typical coin from MS-65 to AU-55 in an instant. Likewise, the poor production quality means there simply are not all that many super high-grade coins, though again, I don't consider it extremely rare in MS-64+. However, I DO think trends is reasonably accurate in MS-64 ($1000) and MS-65 ($1800).

 

Another factor is the sad fact that since so few choice UNC coins are around, there is an abnormally high number of this issue that have been "enhanced", typically by cleaning or polishing. I first began noticing this fact at least ten years ago, when I began collecting Washington quarters. The percentage of the 1936-D that have been cleaned is, in my opinion, higher than even that of the two key dates (1932-D and 1932-S), because the first two keys tended to be well produced, without any perceived need to "enhance" them.

 

Back to the coin I just bought: I grade it MS-60, and it cost me $600 (already sold though - $630, I truly don't make much). I will be posting the image in another thread soon. I had been looking for this coin literally for a couple of years, because the client was very stringent on not wanting to pay the big bump in cost for an MS-63 or better, yet the coin must be UNC to work in his album. The coin I bought is your typical MS-60 - flatly struck, pale white color, and luster that is somewhat less than booming. However, it is a bonafide UNC, and for the money, is about as well as you can do for a 1936-D.

 

When I get my images uploaded, I'll post a link.

 

James

[James_OldeTowne]

Quoted from another thread I just posted:

 

I grade it MS-60. It displays the kinds of "shiny spots" that frequently plague this issue. This coin was likely overdipped as well, thus the luster isn't that great. But my customer wanted the least-expensive UNC coin possible, and here it is.

 

James

[TomB]

The 1936-D Washington has always been a tough coin in MS. This stems from its release during a depression coupled with the fact that the then major national coin dealers, such as Wayte Raymond and others, could not find roll quantities of the coin at the time of issue. Apparently, distribution of this issue was quite widespread and efficient, and this meant that there was no realiable source for MS coins. Consequently, it is the most difficult Washington save for the 1932-D in anything above MS62.

 

Forget guidesheets and concentrate on finding accurately graded MS coins for this date and you will see what I mean. I have collected this series heavily since 1994 and the 1936-D has been undervalued above MS62 the entire time. This includes the current values, which I believe to be somewhat conservative for the issue.

 

I own two PCGS MS65 coins, one with a PL obverse, and they were tough to find.

[Oldtrader3]

James: That MS60, '36-D Washington image is a nice clean MS coin that the customer must have been glad to buy. Nice work!