Seated Dollars still undervalued?

[Tradedollarnut]

A Study on price trends in Seated Dollars:

 

I was comparing prices in Bowers 1992 Silver Dollar Encyclopedia, his 1997 Buyers Guide to Silver Dollars, Trends and Auction Prices realized. It became apparent to me that the price guides in certain instances have created a false level for coins that rarely trade. It isn’t until an auction comes along and sets things straight that the price guides (hopefully) are corrected.

 

Many people were shocked by the prices realized in the Rudolf Collection recently sold by Stacks. I decided to go back and take a look at a few coins value and price realized history in order to try to make sense of the results. Here’s a few:

 

 

1840 PCGS MS63:

 

Bowers/Trends in MS63 for 1992, 1997 and 2003

MS63: $4750, 4200, $8250.

Auction price realized: $46,000

 

Apparently this coin was graded as a lock MS64 by at least two bidders. The only certified MS64 last sold at auction in 1990 for $17,600. Based on the 1990 realized price and the Rudolf sale, $46,000 is approximately the current value for a believed MS64 coin. If a pop 2 tied finest known MS64 is worth that much - aren't other rare MS64's worth more than current list values?

 

 

1845 NGC MS64:

 

Bowers 1992 value is listed at $34,500. This same coin sold in 1996 at $33,000. Coin is unlisted in all price guides currently and fetched $80,500 at the sale. Based upon the 1992 price and the two prices realized, $80,000 is the appropriate current value for this grade. This is supported by the CW Trends value of $35k in MS63.

 

1846/1847 PCGS MS65:

 

Bowers/Graysheet in MS65 for 1992, 1997 and 2003

MS65: $31000, 27500, 20000.

Auction price realized $51,750

 

Here’s the problem with the current price guides – coins that rarely trade are often totally undervalued. Bowers price in 1992 of $31,000 would equate to a good bit more than $50,000 today – apparently the price guides slowly eroded the apparent value of the coin – it wasn’t until one actually came on the market that the false erosion became apparent. If graysheet had shown a more appropriate bid of, say, $40k for these coins, I expect they might have fetched even more than the $50k that they did!

 

[PQSeated]

I think it tends to be an overlooked series, mainly because the other dollar series are more popular and can be had for a lot less money.

[keithdagen]

The coins are horrendously overvalued, especially in the high AU to low MS grades. Sickeningly really. Horrifying.

 

And I don't expect that to change until very soon after I acquire a pair for my Type set. Then I expect them to mysteriously become undervalued by the market.