Q. David Bowers
The Commemorative Market
1951-1955
The market lassitude of the late 1940s ended by December 1950. In the early 1950s interest in numismatics was growing and prices were heading upward once again. Proof sets of regular coins (from the cent to the half dollar) were made in 1950 for the first time since wartime exigencies had forced their discontinuation in 1942. Proof sets became a popular investment and speculation, and by 1952 those who had bought Proof sets in 1950 could show a nice profit.
Investment interest in coins, at first centered on Proof sets, soon expanded to include bank-wrapped rolls of Uncirculated regular-issue coins and to commemoratives. Investors didn't know much about worn coins, and, although an Extremely Fine 1793 large cent might be the object of intense desire by the typical dedicated numismatist, the average investor wanted "new" coins. In particular, the low-mintage 1950-D Jefferson nickel led the way. A roll of 40 1950-D coins worth face value of $ 2 at the time of issue was selling for $6 in 1951, and that was just the beginning of a price rise that would cross the $1,200 per roll mark by the height of the market in 1964. Thus Uncirculated and Proof coins went by the thousands into the channels of coin investment. People who didn't know the difference between a coin and a manhole cover (and who weren't the slightest bit interested in becoming numismatists) shoved their way into the market and became prime buyers.
Prices of commemoratives (and other coins) rose, and by December 1955 the levels of1950 seemed to be absurdly cheap. Attracted by ever-escalating coin valuations, more people became attracted to the field, either as a hobby or as an investment, or, as often happened, a combination of both. Investment begat more investment, the old self-fulfilling prophecy idea.
The Commemorative Market
1956-1960
The years from 1956 through 1959 followed the old pattern. Coins were bought and sold, conventions were attended by dedicated collectors and dealers, and each month sellers listed their commemorative coins and other inventory for sale in the Numismatic Scrapbook, Numismatic News, and The Numismatist. Without anyone being fully aware of it at the time, the traditional coin market-the one that had been in effect ever since numismatics became popular in the 19th century-ended in 1959, and in 1960 the modern market began.
In 1960 the leisurely pace of the hobby changed. Early in the year collectors discovered that at the Philadelphia Mint some Lincoln cents were made with small numerals in the date and that these were considerably rarer than those with large numerals. In the scramble to locate 1960 Small Date cents the price rose to the point at which a $50 face value bag of such cents was worth $12,000, a sum equal to about twice the price of a hew Cadillac. Time magazine ran a feature story on several lucky people who suddenly found themselves rich, and nationwide television networks and newspapers carried their own versions of this modem day gold rush. Here was a fortune anyone could claim, for everyone from grade school kids to grandpas knew what Lincoln cents looked like and hoped to find some of the rare ones.
If 1960 Small Date cents were rare and valuable, there must be other coins out there with similar values, people reasoned, and hundreds of thousands of treasure seekers climbed on the numismatic bandwagon. Local coin clubs, which were doing well to have a couple dozen people attend their meetings, now found so many new faces that they had to move into larger quarters.
All of this might have faded into obscurity as just another American fad had not something else happened. In Sidney, Ohio, J. Oliver Amos, who owned the Sidney Printing and Publishing Company and who on contract printed Linn's Stamp Weekly, a tabloid newspaper about the stamp hobby, decided to diversify and print his own hobby publication. Staff meetings were held to find a subject for a new nationwide paper, and after due consideration the choice was narrowed down to antiques, bowling, and coins. Coin World was the result, the first numismatic periodical to be published on a weekly basis. As J. Oliver Amos wasn't a numismatist, he enlisted Dayton dealer James Kelly as an advisor (Kelly created the "Trends" column of market prices for the paper) and veteran collector D. Wayne Johnson as editor. Over a period of time other numismatists joined the staff.
Now prices and other market information were available on a weekly basis. In-vestment interest in coins increased, and, while 1960 Small Date cents soon faded, the slack was picked up by other series including Proof sets, bank-wrapped Uncirculated rolls, and commemoratives-the same categories which had spurred investment interest earlier, but not to the extent now seen. By the time that December 31, 1960 was crossed off the calendar the modem coin market was in full force. Investment-oriented dealers and investment advisors were plentiful, and well over 100,000 people subscribed to hobby publications.
Prices rose in just about every numismatic area. In the commemorative field typical varieties escalated from 50% to several hundred percent over the prices of just five years earlier. Recognized as the key issue in the commemorative half dollar series, the 1928 Hawaiian Sesquicentennial, which had been issued at $2 in 1928 and which had climbed in value to $95 by the end of 1955, now at the close of business in 1960 was priced at $480 if you could find one.
The Commemorative Market
1961-1965
The market for commemoratives and other coins continued to be fueled by in-vestment interest, and soon a nationwide network of Teletype exchanges was set up. While Coin World provided prices weekly and Numismatic News decided to publish every week as well, the Teletype gave instant prices. A dealer in Chicago could type out a message, and the letters would appear instantly one by one on paper spewing forth from machines in Philadelphia, Miami, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. At one time even the somewhat conservative Professional Numismatists Guild had its own private Teletype network.
The Coin Dealer Newsletter, a weekly quotation sheet listing "bid" and "ask" prices for popular coin series, was launched in 1963, by which time investment interest was at a fever pitch. Limited partnerships, investment groups, and other consortiums were in operation including one formed by a group of physicians in Houston (known as PACE), which announced that it had an unlimited amount of money available and could buy an infinite amount of rolls, Proof sets, and other investment items-a challenge not taken lightly by an Indiana group which boasted that it too could buy everything in sight.
Numismatics, formerly a relatively quiet hobby that attracted dedicated followers, had become a nationally recognized investment medium. Hobbyists were not overlooked, and, while investors were investing, collectors were collecting. Hundreds of coin shops opened across the land, and it became increasingly easy to buy, sell, or just learn about coins. A Guide Book of U.S. Coins, issued yearly since 1946 by the Whitman Publishing Company, achieved record sales, and texts on specialized series from large cents to silver dollars also did well.
Commemorative coins continued to attract a large following. Forgotten werethe scandals of the 1930s, and the typical buyer knew only that a given commemorative half dollar had a certain mintage or distribution quantity and a certain market price. The most popular way to collect was by building a type set of one each of the 48 different major half dollar designs produced during the 1892-1954 period, which with the addition of the 1893 Isabella quarter and 1900 Lafayette dollar came to a collection of 50 pieces. Relatively few opted to collect by mintmarks and other varieties; a complete collection of such amounted to 144 coins. Gold commemoratives were not as popular because of their higher cost, but still there was a ready market for them.
The old-style "National" albums distributed by Wayte Raymond and related albums made by Meghrig were being replaced in the market by the Library of Coins albums made by the Coin and Currency Institute, the Whitman "Bookshelf" albums, and, in particular, lucite holders made by Capital Plastics and other firms.
In December 1965 many commemorative coins were selling for multiples of their 1960 prices. However, all was not well, and the crystal ball portended a cloudy future. By the end of 1965 the market had the hiccups, then it developed a serious case of pneumonia, and all was set for another slump period. Time was needed to absorb the rapid price increases of the early 1960s. Investors, being a fickle lot without a basic numismatic interest to sustain their enthusiasm, began to cash in, only to find that there were not many new investors to take up the slack.