Commemorative Coins-
Steeped in History and Richly Rewarding
Collectors Love Commemorative Designs - Commemorative coins have a rich, historic flavor and collectors view them with a warm affection. The Modern Commemorative coin market has been driven recently by the popularity of the State Quarters program. The U.S. Mint reports that well over 100 million Americans are collecting coins today. Many people are just getting started. However, as the appeal of the coin collecting hobby widens, collectors continue to diversify into new areas. Modern Commemorative coins minted from 1892 to 1954 are a natural fit to collectors who’ve recently started collecting the State Quarters. Extremely Low Mintages - Most Commemoratives are distinguished by their low mintages. When original mintages are low, the result is that the number of survivors over the years continues to be low. This rarity further adds to their demand by serious coin collectors. In fact, a few mintages are extreme rarities like the Panama Pacific $50 Gold Round with only 453 ever issued. Those trade for well over $125,000 in gem mint condition– if you could ever find one. |
|||||||||||||
|
How Rare is Rare? - Although mintages varied widely, most Commemoratives
had low mintages under 30,000 pieces. That’s an amazingly low total for modern issues. To
appreciate their rarity, compare them to the 2001 New York State Quarter with a mintage of
1,275,040,000. Yes, they minted over one (B)Billion N.Y Quarters. Even the rarest 1999 to 2003
State Quarter had a mintage of over 453 million pieces. They were not rare, they are not rare,
and we can’t believe they will ever be rare in our lifetimes.
Truly Rare Coins - However, the older Commemorative coins are truly rare coins and especially hard to find in “Gem Mint” or higher grades. Their condition rarity adds to their popularity and demand. In turn, the rarity is reflected in their prices in the marketplace. For example, many Commemorative coins can trade for hundreds up to thousands of dollars each. While eliminating the kids and small collectors, Commemorative Coins are serious collectibles, still quite affordable as rare coins, and quite suitable for investment purposes. Commemoratives, A Reflection of American History - We also like that the commemorative coins have a rich historic flavor and broad appeal. Most are minted in silver and a few struck in gold. Collectors view them with a warm affection for their designs. Their heartfelt designs often reflect the creativity and originality of a diverse group of American artists outside the U.S. Mint, people who are not involved in designing circulating coins. Some Commemorative Coins are admired by collectors. Many are coveted. And a precious few are truly beloved and aggressively sought after generation after generation. Fun and Delightful Coins to Own - It is this unique appeal that makes the Commemorative Series of U.S. Coins so much fun to collect. They’re always in demand, often by regional collectors who live in the areas or states they honor. They have a secondary demand from collectors who build complete Commemorative Sets or Sub-Sets of Silver Commemoratives that share a common theme. For example, theme sets would include Civil War Issues, California Issues, Art Deco Issues, New York Issues and the list goes on. We personally enjoy the Old West themes while others love coins honoring the New England States or Midwestern States. Honoring Historic Events - Since the day they were released by the U.S. Mint, most Commemorative Coins traded at substantial premiums over their face value alone. Many were used as monetary souvenirs. They were originally honored events like the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, The Panda Pacific Exposition or the Louisiana Purchase. Many of these coins were originally sold as souvenirs and memorabilia at the events with the premiums going to financially support the event. For these reasons, many were put away by people who were not serious coin collectors. As a result, the majority of the Commemorative were not carefully preserved and many even ended up in regular circulation. Highly Prized for Generations - Those Commemorative Coins that survived in pristine, mint condition are hard to find. Many issues are so rare that they are seldom seen except in the most prized collections. For that reason, in the hot coin market of the late 1980's, the true rarity of many Commemorative Coins finally became apparent and we saw an unprecedented collector demand in this are. For a brief period, prices were bid up dramatically and many collectors sold their Commemorative Collections at a big profit. A Strong, Growing Market - Today, the Commemorative Coin market remains strong. Thanks to the Statehood Quarters Commemoratives and their affordable prices, the classic Commemorative Market has been hot in the past few years. Today you can buy some of the most prized Silver Commemorative Coins, in Gem Mint Condition, for less than half their all-time highs. In our opinion, these are some of the U.S. coins that offer our clients the best potential for long-term rewards. How to Collect Commemoratives - So what is the best way to approach this market? How can you get started? First of all, we’d like to talk with you personally and answer all the questions you may have. Feel free to call our team of Rare Coins Specialists at Austin Rare Coins from 9am to 9pm at 1-800-668-9419. We highly recommend that you be totally selfish about how you collect Commemorative Silver Coins. Buy exactly the coins that appeal to you the most. Collect Commems from the area you live in or hailed from. Take possession of the Commemorative coins that you feel have the most beautiful and original designs. Finally, acquire those that may honor your ancestors so that you can hand these special coins down to your children, grandchildren, and future generations.
| |||||||||||||
Gold Bullion |
Rare Coins Catalog |
Silver
Dollars | About
Us | Ask the Experts
|
Austin Report Library
