Will todays coins be worth anything 100 yrs from now??

Coins used to get saved accidently. They were held as backing for
specie or were held against bad times. People were not as quick to
divest coinage with low interest rates and good metal in the coin. Now
days coins mostly have to be saved intentionally or they aren't saved
at all, and people haven't been saving the coins. The masses horded
large numbers of bicentennial quarters but weren't savvy enough to
recognize that nice examples were scarce and deserved to be saved
exclusively. Since few appeared in circulation high grade '76 quarters
are very scarce and command large premiums now. The same applies
almost across the board; the coins were made in large quantities and
they have been destroyed in circulation. There are still lots left but
they are in VG condition not unc. Those that survive are so common
they'll probably last in circulation until they are recalled and melted
down. since coins weren't saved the varieties can be almost impossible
to locate. High grades of most coins are also quite difficult. Most
collectors would be very surprised to learn how difficult it is to find
a coin like an attractive 1969 quarter in any grade above F, and even
VG's might surprise you.

Try finding a 1968 cent that has no carbon spotting. There are none in
mint sets and about 95% of these will be horrible. The zinc coins are
far worse. The '84-D cent is nearly impossible without spots in a nice
attractive MS-65 with smooth surfaces. Most of the early zinc Linclons
have plating flaws and are gradually eroding away.

A few of the modern BU coins already carry significant premiums even
though there is very little demand. Then there are the rarities and
special issues.

In 1985 I bought $20 worth of Cents at my then bank. 28 of the rolls
were uncirculated 1985(P) and at the time I was just re-newing my
interest in collecting ... I had actually bought the rolls to search
for older 'stuff'. But, I placed those 1400 Cents in square tubes and
there they've remained to this day.
In response to your post, tonight, I spot checked one roll. They
still look pristine! At least the one roll I checked. Not a scarce
issue, but I'm glad to report not seeing the problems you reported
specifically for 1984-D. Is there a reason you specified that issue?
Am I lucky that my 1985-Ps have fared so well for the past two
decades? From what I looked at tonight, most would proudly fill that
slot in any Cent collection.

The '83 and '84 issues are the worst. The '84-D is especially
noticeable because mint set coins are not very high quality on average
and nice gems are fairly scarce. There were also relatively few of
these rolls set adide and nice rolls can bring $20. The '85 coins are
much better but all the bugs hadn't been worked out yet. About 20% of
this date will have corrosion problems. Nice pristine coins of any of
the zinc Lincolns are probably worth holding but none of these is
scarce or rare except in high grades or those which are varieties. If
there were as much interest in the memorial cents as the wheaties then
the prices on many of them would be far higher.

On 9 May 2006 19:20:43 -0700, "cladking" wrote:

The '85 coins are
much better but all the bugs hadn't been worked out yet. About 20% of
this date will have corrosion problems. Nice pristine coins of any of
the zinc Lincolns are probably worth holding but none of these is
scarce or rare except in high grades or those which are varieties. If
there were as much interest in the memorial cents as the wheaties then
the prices on many of them would be far higher.

Seeing as how there isn't much money involved in those rolls I'll hold
on to them. Maybe when I'm gone some niece or nephew will get a time
or two face value for them. When I look at some of my nice Cents from
the 30s and 40s I'm glad that someone preserved them. Thanks for the
response.

"The Space Boss" wrote in message
oups.com...
Coins made 100 years ago are worth a lot today if they are in good
condition. This is understandable, because holding an old coin in your
hands conjures up images of a simpler time, a world that was much
different from the world in which we live in now. It can also be a
humbling experience to think that every person who ever held that coin
when it was first minted is probably no longer with us.

But those same coins 100 years ago were made of different stuff than
our current coins a Silver dollars were... SILVER! As were Dimes,
Half Dollars and Quarters..

Nickels were made of acual nickel.

Pennies were pure copper.

Today, pennies are made of ZINC, "electroplated" with copper. Who the
hell knows what nickels are made of anymore, probably ZINC as well...

Quarters are interesting.. they still look like they're copper filled
plated with steel. However some modern quarters are "thicker" than
others... I have a 1999 quarter here that is NOTICEABLY thicker and
contains more copper than the 2001 quarter.

ANYWAY... my question is, will these coins be worth anything 100 yrs in
the future?


100 years? Sad to say, but I don't think I really care.

Bruce