Coins & Money

5 Affordable Key-Date Coins Every Collector Should Know

With collectibles having matured into an alternative asset class, coin collecting and numismatics has a feature role. Many coin (and paper money) collectors have also become numismatic investors at a time when other alternative asset investors may simply be looking for returns beyond investing in stocks and bonds.

Collectors Dashboard has taken note that many alternative asset investors may not understand the value that there are key-date coins that every numismatics collector and numismatics investor need to know. These key-date coins are of course not the only examples out there. And key-date coins frequently do not fit within many terms of being “affordable” nor “cheap.”

These 5 key-date coins should make any collector excited and every investor who purchases coins needs to understand these coins and their values for a benchmarking and comparison against any purchase.

The 1938 D Walking Liberty half dollar is counted by PCGS as the third lowest mintage of the entire Walking Liberty half dollar series — with 491,000 counted. Displayable circulated examples can be had for under $80 and the prices go up from there. Image provided by Heritage Auctions, and the top auctions from Heritage have seen prices ranging from a few hundred dollars up even over $100,000.

1938 D Walking Lberty Half Dollar

A 1914 D Lincoln cent was listed in PCGS G-4 for $160.00 and jumped to $235.00 in the next grade at the time of this publishing. Mint State examples are all under $10,000. That is getting up into the pricey category, but it still creates a moment of obtainable value for many collectors and investors alike.

The 1950 D Brilliant Uncirculated Jefferson Nickel can be found for under $20 each and with a mintage of 2,630,030 it stands out for years on either side of it. Mintages signal that there is value to be found and this one is a modern era must.

1921 silver dollars in Morgan terms are common, but the first year issue of the Peace Dollar series created an instant premium to the value. The website CoinTrackers.com makes this point — even its lowest grade brings $104 at sale. This is a contrast with the many silver dollar coins that become only worth silver content in the lower grades.

A 1955 doubled die example Lincoln cent were created by a defect that made a very clear doubling of the date and the word Liberty on the coin. Over 300 million 1955 Lincoln cent coins were made, but one die, which are regularly changed out, created these collectible examples that range in price from $1,000 to $4,000 according to CoinQuest.com.

As you can see, many of the key-date coins come at a premium to other coins. Some might be the equivalent of a “rookie” or “error” card in sports collectibles. That said, it is important for investors and collectors alike to understand that these key-date coins need to be used as a reference for other coins which might cost the same $100 or $1,000 when it comes to demand, scarcity and condition that all contribute to coin prices.

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