by David Goldsmith

     When workers at the US Mint mistakenly used 15 reverse dies from2007-W, instead of the newly-redesigned 2008 reverse dies, to produce2008-W Silver Eagles, the mistake was quickly resolved, and it was limited to a production period of 24 hours. The resulting mintage of approximately 47,000 “reverse of 2007” coins makes this one of the lowest mintage Silver Eagles ever produced, and prices of these newly-produced modern rarities quickly reached a value of over 20times the original sales price of$25.95. They have held this value for some time now. This is the most re-cent example of how a common coin becomes a modern rarity.
     With the advent of third-party grading and encapsulation, even more common date coins command a huge premium, for the highest graded examples. The proliferation of coins graded a perfect Proof 70or Mint State 70 have also made some much newer coins instant rarities. Here are the best examples of the more recent coins to become modern rarities, either because of their extremely low mintage, the “70” factor, or both.
    
MODERN COMMEMORATIVES
     Beginning in 1982, the US Mint began mass-producing new Commemorative coins. While wildly popular at first, by 1995, numerous is-sues were being produced, and by 1996 and 1997, many did not sell well, making the mintages very low, especially the Mint State examples. The1996 Olympics produced no less than 32 coins in two years, and, added to the other Commemoratives and regular issues produced those years, stretched the budget of the average investor. By 1997, investors tired of these issues, and one of the greatest modern rarities was born: the 1997Jackie Robinson Uncirculated $5 Gold coin, with a paltry mintage of 5,174 pieces. Longtime readers of this publication may remember my July1999 CDN Monthly Supplement article entitled, “Modern Commemoratives Offer Good Investment Potential” available, as are all past articles, on the greysheet.com website. Here are some of the coins I featured with their CDN Bids.
     Since 1999, there have been very few Modern Commemoratives that have become modern rarities, with a few exceptions. The 2001 Buffalo Silver Dollar Commemoratives were very popular, and traded in the $300range for several years before settling in the $150 to $200 range, where
    
SILVER EAGLES
     Silver Eagles have been produced in large quantities every year from1986 to date. In the last 23 years, over 175 million coins have been produced. Nevertheless, there are a number of Silver Eagles that have in-creased greatly in value, either because of low mintage or the “70” factor. The “king” of the Silver Eagles is the 1995-W, produced and sold only as an addition to the 1995-W 10th Anniversary Gold and Silver Proof Set. It contained the four different denominations of American Gold Eagles with 1.85 ounces of Gold, and the free Silver Eagle, for a total price of $999. Only 30,125 of these sets were sold, and you could only get the Silver Coin in the set. Trading at over $5,000 for sometime, the Silver Eagle now has a CDN Bid of $2,900. When certified by NGC as a Proof 70 UCam grade, the retail value rises to $13,000! Many Proof and Uncirculated Silver Eagles are highly desirable when they have been graded Mint State70 and Proof 70 UCam by NGC. Here are the retail values (compiled from recent actual sales in auctions and the internet) and NGC Pops (populations: number of coins certified not including first strikes/early releases) in those lofty grades:
     Complete sets of certified (NGC or PCGS) Mint State 69 and Proof 69Silver Eagles offer great value at only a 10-20percent premium over what the raw coins sell for, with the added protection of the “slab”, or encapsulation, and the guaranteed grade to protect your investment. In2006, The US Mint re-leased a series of three sets, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Gold and Silver Eagles, produced since1986. The first set consisted of three Silver Eagles using three distinct methods of manufacturing. The coins were made in Burnished Uncirculated with a W mintmark, Brilliant Proof with a W mintmark, and a Re-verse Proof with a P mintmark. The Reverse Proof differs from the standard Proof in that the fields are Satin, and the devices are Prooflike, the reverse of the standard Proof. Only 250,000 sets were made. Next, a two-piece, one-ounce Gold and Silver Eagle Set, both burnished, with the W mintmark. 20,000 sets were sold. The third set had the lowest mintage, only 10,000 sets. It consists of three one ounce Gold coins, with the same three surfaces as the three piece Silver Set. This set sold out in record time, of only a few days. Both grading services PCGS and NGC graded and encapsulated these three sets, but, to designate them as from the 20th Anniversary Sets, they must be submitted in the sealed shipping box from the Mint. The exception is the reverse Proof Silver and Gold Eagle, as they were only issued in these sets. These are the current values in MS70 and PR70when designated from the20th Anniversary Sets:
    
1999-S SILVER STATE QUARTERS
     With very large mintages, you might be surprised to learn that there are a number of Proof State Quarters that are considered modern rarities in Proof 70 grade. The inaugural year of the State Quarter was 1999, and very few Silver Proofs were produced with flawless surfaces, especially the first state, Delaware. This issue is plagued by poor planchet quality that left imperfections in the struck coins, as well as handling by Mint employees resulting in marks and scratches in the finished coins. The NGC populations and retail values (using comparable auction and internet sales) in NGC PR70 UCam are as ollows:
    
MINT ERROR COINS
     The recent reverse error on the 2008-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle was the latest made by the US Mint in recent years which ultimately benefited the rare coin market. In 2000, a very small number of Sacagawea Dollars were produced with the George Washington State Quarter obverse paired with the Sacagawea reverse. Known as Mules, less than a dozen are known to exist. They are rumored to have been intentionally produced, and their cur-rent legal status is in question. They have sold in the$30,000 to $60,000 range on ebay and other auction sites.
     In 2007, the Presidential series began, with four president $1 coins made every year. The edge of the coin was inscribed with the Mottos “In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum” as well as the date and mintmark. The edge striking was done in a separate operation, and, when a bin of newly minted coins apparently skipped the edge striking, leaving a totally blank, un-struck edge, a new, major error was the result. Most were produced in Philadelphia, but a small quantity turned up from the Denver Mint in rolls. The Denver Mint examples have distinctive, sharp Prooflike surfaces and edges. Even though these distinctions are obvious, the grading services PCGS and NGC refuse to designate them from the Denver Mint. Known as the Godless (missing the Motto “In God We Trust”) or plain-edge Dollar, it did not have the Motto, date, or mintmark. About 80,000 were made that way, and, after selling for over $250 per, the prices have settled to about $65 for raw coins. Some unscrupulous individuals made their own plain-edge Dollars by shaving the edge of the coins, so certification is important. Most have now been certified. Certified specimens carry a significant premium, especially in the higher grades. MS65 examples trade in the $90 range; MS66specimens go for $250; and the very scarce MS67 pieces sell for around $1,250. These prices seem very low for such a major error, and great future appreciation seems probable, as most have been absorbed into the collector market through TV and inter-net sales. Even after promising more careful oversight on the production of these coins, two major errors were made in the second issue, the John Quincy Adams coin. Another blank-edge run was made, albeit a smaller number, as well as a run where the coins were run twice through the edge inscribing process, producing a doubled edge. The blank-edge coins sell for $250 for an MS64piece, $400 for one in MS65, and $1,000 for the MS66. The doubled edge coins, made in larger quantities, go for about $75 per, with graded MS65svalued at around $150. There were a very small number of the third is-sue, the Jefferson Dollars, produced with the blank, un-struck edge, and they are extremely rare. The US Mint has now incorporated the edge striking process into the regular production cycle, and, with the Motto being added to the obverse of the 2009 and later coins, these edge errors will become nearly extinct in the future, adding to the desirability of the2007 error coins.
    
FUTURE MODERN RARITIES
     2009 brings a bevy of new US Mint products, including the incredible 2009 Ultra High Relief $20 Gold coin, and the Lincoln Cent issues with 4 different reverses, commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s 200thbirthday. Will these be future modern rarities? Only time will tell. As long as increasing numbers of collectors appreciate and collect these coins, with their limited production, more modern rarities will invariably be made.

Reprinted from the March 13, 2009 issue #3 of the CDN Monthly Supplement
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