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Seven Coins with Potential
 | By Mark Benvenuto, Coins Magazine
September 24, 2008 |
Gamblers always want to find that safe bet - a sure way to make some money. Some of them convince themselves a particular bet is a good one, even when a bit of reasoned logic would tell them they are throwing money down a toilet. But whatever they consider lucky - including that "lucky 7" in card and dice games - usually overrides any calm, reasonable judgment.
In a way, coin collectors can be like gamblers. They all want that safe bet, meaning a coin that has great eye appeal, lots of collector interest, and the potential to go up in value. But, unfortunately, collectors can be like gamblers in that they occasionally let their passion run away with them and end up buying a coin they later find to be worth far less than what they paid for it.
Sure, most of us will still keep such a piece in our collection, maybe waiting for the day when we can sell it and get our money back. But in between, we live with buyer's remorse. What would have been helpful is some kind of guide to which coins are worth it, which coins act like a personal "lucky 7," as it were.
What I've assembled here is a list of a "lucky 7" coins for any collector who is buying. In making such a list, I went for good-quality coins. So they won't be super cheap. But there won't be anything like the 1804 silver dollar or 1913 Liberty Head nickel on the list. All seven of these coins have good eye appeal, can be found with patience, have some solid value to them, and have the potential to go up if the market shifts favorably.
1. 1902 Liberty Head Gold $5.
This coin comes at the end of a long series of gold $5s, all bearing the engraving of the head of Liberty by Christian Gobrecht. Several years around the 1890s and the early 1900s saw mintages of more than 1 million gold $5s. The 1901-S alone had a tally of more than 3.6 million, making it one very common gold $5 piece. So, with a mintage of 172,562 (and only 162 in proof), the 1902 is a pretty scarce item.
It's also a coin with price tags that are far below what it seems they should be. For example, an Mint State-63 will cost $730. If that's a bit rich for your blood, the MS-60 only costs $235.
Want to go a bit lower? The 1902 in About Uncirculated-55 is only $225.
That's pretty impressive for a coin that is gold, more than 100 years old, and still in AU to mint state.
2. 1889 Gold $3 Piece.
If the prices for the gold $5s I've just mentioned are too high, you might want to skip this next one. On the other hand, as some wise man once said, "You have to spend money to make money."
One coin with truly tremendous potential for growth is the 1889 gold $3 piece. There were only 2,429 of them minted and 129 in proof.
One of these gold gems will cost about $3,100 in MS-60. Going down a bit to AU-50, the cost drops to $1,700. Going to Extremely Fine-40, the price drops to $1,300.
Admittedly, not many of us spend thousands on a single coin, or at least we don't do so very often. But look at what your money will get for a purchase like this.
The mintage for these gold pieces was very low. Buying at or around the mint-state grade is bound to get you an attractive coin with potential.
3. 1868 Seated Liberty Half Dime.
Not many collectors ever seem to sit down and decide to assemble a set of half dimes.
So, the 1868 Seated Liberty half dime, with a tally of only 89,200 pieces often qualifies as one more overlooked coin in an overlooked series. But this specific date of Gobrecht's very famous Seated Liberty design remains a coin that could go blasting through the roof if the market shifts in the right direction.
Let's do a quick comparison of a few of the Seated Liberty half dimes. The 1867 was minted to the tune of 8,625 coins, including a few hundred proofs. That's pretty scarce, and the prices prove it.
It runs about $550 in Good-4. A few years after the 1868 comes the 1871, which was pounded out by the Philadelphia Mint to the tune of 1.87 million pieces. There's a half dime that probably won't be too rare even when the next Ice Age arrives. It costs about $135 in MS-60.
As to 1868, in MS-60 one of them will run approximately $600. The 1868 also costs about $425 in AU-50, which isn't too bad either. Overall, this is a coin that could look very good in a collection and has some great potential.
4. 1952 Proof Franklin Half.
If the first three coins were either too expensive or too exotic for you, how about the 1952 Franklin half in proof? As with my previous three coins, its mintage isn't too high, with 81,980 in proof. Plus, we're now talking Franklins, coins that just about every collector has been able to get his or her mitts on. This one is a mainstream coin with some very good prices attached.
To give a little bit of perspective on Franklin halves in proof, there were none made at all before 1950. That first year, the Philadelphia Mint banged out 51,386 of them. You can see that is lower than the total for the 1952 proof, but both of those mintages end up being dwarfed as the listing of proofs continue.
They were made each year from 1950 until the end of the series in 1963. It was 1953 that saw the first six-figure proof mintage, with a total of 128,800. The half-million mark was topped in 1956, with 669,384 coins. The very next year brought the number of proof Franklins above 1 million coins. And each of the last three years of the series saw more than 3 million proofs coming out of Philadelphia.
The huge volume of proof Franklins at the latter part of the series makes the 1952 all that much less common. Yet the prices aren't too rough on the average collector's wallet.
The 1952 will cost around $300 in Proof-65. In Proof-65 Cameo it lists in Coin Prices at $775.
5. 1832 Half Cent.
Let's add another more exotic coin to this growing list - the 1832 Classic Head half cent. As with the half dimes we just looked at, there are not many collectors who set out to form a perfect collection of half cents. Yet there are some serious collectors who look at the denomination in some detail.
There were only 51,000 of these small coppers made in 1832. That doesn't make this the lowest mintage on this list but it's pretty close.
The price of an 1832 half cent in MS-60 is $350. Drop it down to an EF-40 and the price is now $130.
Clearly, there is a relatively small demand for the Classic Head half cents by date. One can imagine that they are a type coin for the collectors who have any interest at all.
6. 1927 Peace Dollar.
I would be remiss if I didn't add a silver dollar or two to this list of underpriced coins. The 1927 Peace dollar is not considered the key to the series. That title goes to the 1928, with its total of 360,649 coins.
At 848,000 coins, the 1927 Peace dollar might actually seem common. Yet it remains the second-lowest mintage in the series. That 848,000 coins is, however, only one way to total up a coin like the heavily collected Peace (and Morgan) dollars. Using population reports from the major grading services is another. And the 1927 Peace dollar isn't a particularly common coin.
Yet in MS-63 one of these costs $365. Go down to MS-60 and the price drops to $145. Even though the population reports indicate a somewhat higher number of these dollars in MS-60, you'll still be getting a great coin for your money.
7. 1899 Morgan Dollar.
The last coin on my list is the 1899 Morgan dollar, which comes in with a total of only 330,846 coins - not too far off the total of the lowest mintage Peace dollar, the 1928. The 1899 Morgan isn't really one of the key dates of the series. The 1895 probably claims that. No, it's the prices for this Morgan dollar, especially in lower mint-state grades, that make it so attractive.
A good comparison here might be the prices of the 1899 and 1899-S Morgan dollars. Keep in mind that the 1899-S has a mintage of 2.5 million.
In MS-63 the 1899 will cost $370, and the 1899-S will run $480. In MS-60 the 1899 drops to $320, while the 1899-S also costs $320.
What are we seeing here? Well, when it comes to Morgan dollars, it appears we are seeing that constant collector love of coins from San Francisco. It's a flame that burns only a little less brightly than that for the Carson City coins. But it also means there is at least one tremendous Morgan dollar waiting for the lucky collector. Who knows, with this series there's probably several more I haven't included as well? Feel free to do some looking on your own.
So there's my list. There were a couple of gold coins, which always means there is some value to be had. I have included three from series that are pretty actively collected at just about any time and in just about any market.
As well, I have tossed in a few coins that are so far out of the mainstream most of us never think of them. That last group includes the half dime, half cent, and might as well include the gold $3 piece. Because of that, do keep in mind that just because these three are undervalued doesn't mean they are going to jump up in price anytime soon. After all, they haven't really jumped up in demand in decades.
It is worth noting the mintages. In the first five, the mintages are lower than the 1916-D Mercury dime, a key coin with its total of 264,000 pieces. Likewise, the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent key has 484,000 to its name.
It's interesting that both of these rarities appear by mintages to be more common than the first five coins on this list, but both usually cost a great deal more. It's really a matter of supply and demand.
Remember also that even though a mintage may be low, large populations of it could have been saved. Therefore, you can't rely on mintages alone in judging how rare or how common a coin is.
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