Modern coin collecting fun but useless for preserving wealth
November 29th, 2006 | by mbhunter |The state quarters series is in the final stretch. The South Dakota quarter was released at the beginning of the month. (Will this be the only US coin with George Washington on it twice?) Only ten more states to go.
There is a lot of educational value in the release of these quarters, and they’re fun to look at. The new Presidential $1 Coin Program will also be fun to see, and will be a great way to initiate learning about our country’s leaders.
These modern coins are also easy to collect. Hundreds of millions of each of the quarters were minted. Collecting them can be as easy as checking your change from the supermarket, and it’s certainly made coin collectors out of a lot of people. Filling up a map with $12.50 in quarters isn’t going to break too many banks.
If you take this collection to a coin dealer, though, they might give you $13.00 for it — map included. These coins lack most of the qualities that make coins valuable:
- Rarity. When there are half a billion of something floating around, people aren’t fighting over the available supply. (If it’s a Wisconsin “error” coin, then these are worth a few hundred dollars each because there were only about 12,000 minted.)
- Age. All other things equal, older is more desirable.
- Condition. If the quarters are MS65 (a relatively high uncirculated grade) then they might be worth 75 cents. Otherwise, they’re worth a quarter.
- Composition. A quarter melted down is worth about a nickel right now, as is a Sacajawea dollar; the same composition used in the Sacajawea will be used in the Presidential $1 coins. Its current value is an imputed one, based on the size of the American money supply.
So, even though these coins have neat designs, these aren’t really the kinds of coins that compose a collection you’ll want to pass on to your kids. They might be able to buy a Happy Meal with it in 25 years. A coin collection that stores value better has coins that are rare and in good shape, with precious metals like silver, gold, palladium, or platinum.
I hope that I’m way off on this one, but I suspect there are a lot of people who think that their state quarter maps filled with coins will be more valuable down the road. Given current monetary policy, it’s almost certain that these collections will be worth less down the road. It’s almost certainly better to pull the coins out, sell the map on eBay, and put the coins in a savings account or spend them.
If you want to a valuable collection of quarters, get some minted 1964 or before. The 90% silver composition makes the value of them about $2.50 each. The 1932D and 1932S are worth a lot more due to their rarity.
10 Responses to “Modern coin collecting fun but useless for preserving wealth”
By Matt on Nov 29, 2006 | Reply
I started off with a fun coin collection but I ended up with one that was worth considerably more than face value. It’s an open door to a viable way to preserve wealth.
By TH on Nov 30, 2006 | Reply
I think he is trying to convey that “Modern Coins” are useless for preserving wealth. Or he is trying to dissuade people from coin collecting so he can keep all that rich booty to himself. Arrggh Matey!
By Traveler on Dec 3, 2006 | Reply
Yup – the state quarter program has been fun.
Incidentally, I believe the South Dakota quarter is the first US coin to have four presidents on it. The New Jersey quarter is the other quarter that has Washington on the front and the back (crossing the Delaware). And the penny has had Lincoln on the front and the back since the Lincoln Memorial was put in on the tailside (yup, he’s actually a speck in the memorial!).
By The Sarcasticynic on Dec 3, 2006 | Reply
I think one of the worst scams today are the home shopping networks hocking those state quarters plated with gold, silver, and platinum. Have you seen them on TV? “$600 value, yours for only ninety-nine dollars!” Buyers will NEVER, (repeat, NEVER,) get their money’s worth back, and you may not even be able to spend them as loose change because some of them are a different color. $99 for less than 13 bucks worth of plated change.
I’ve been collecting coins since 1967 and am hoping for a resurgence in the hobby so I can perhaps stand some gains in my collection, which is mostly old silver coins.
http://1sttimeinvestor.blogspot.com
/2006/10/selling-precious-metals.html
By Mike on Apr 16, 2008 | Reply
Good article although I’m a bit late getting here! I echo the sentiment of your last paragraph.
By Wheat Penny on Aug 5, 2008 | Reply
I started off collecting wheat pennies as a kid. My collection has grown over the years and so has it’s value. I think you should start coin collecting for fun, not for profit but a collection can certainly become very valuable over the years.
By Wheat Pennies on Oct 25, 2008 | Reply
I thought you did a great job of hitting on the qualities that make a coin (or collection) valuable.
I hear what you’re saying about the state quarters. I respect your opinion, but I think it may be too early to tell just yet what the future value of these may be. I’m sure in 1909, when the new wheat penny design came out, no one thought that the 1909-S VDB wheat penny would be worth a mini-fortune years and years down the road. Who knows what the future holds years and years down the road from now. Things have a way of changing. I guess only time will tell, my friend.
Mike Smith
By Eddie on Aug 17, 2009 | Reply
The 1999 Delaware Silver Proof graded Ngc PF70 is already valued at over $6,000 and most earlier Silver State quarters will fetch hundreds. Also, the gold spouse proof coins graded PF70 by NGC and especially PCGS have increased in value substantially. The late 2008 and early 2009 versions are ending with production numbers in the 4,000 for MS and 7,000 for PF instead of the expected 20,000 limits. Making these modern coins very rare and desirable with the potential to dramatically increase in value within the next decade. Such as the silver eagles have, particularly the 1995 W NGC PF70 being valued at $20,000+ and it had a mintage of 35,000. So you are somewhat mistaken in stating that collecting modern coins is a waste of time if profit is what you seek!!!
By Trent on Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
Eddie is right. Modern coins with low mintages are fetching big bucks. Look at the 1997 W ms Jackie Robinson Gold $5 coin–easily 3k to 4k.
How about the 1996 D olympic silver dollars–paralympic, high jump, rowing, and tennis–all fetching $300-450. Any Silver dollar with mintage less than 16,000 and any gold coin with mintage of less than 6000 is a winner regardless of age.