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Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:57 pm
by JerrySpringer
Indian Head cents generally have price ranges 10 to 20x that of the later date wheat cents. How much would that ratio change if the ones in circulation get melted down -ie- come the day that the melt ban is lifted, how much more rare will IH cents get? If I throw out a figure of, say, there is 1 IH cent for every $1000 in cents in circulation, where would that put them if a complete melt happens and all copper cents get melted?

Re: Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 11:16 pm
by galenrog
Buy below market and flip asap for me. Common dates have not changed much in several years. Rare dates sell individually. Not much of a buy and hold for me.

Re: Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 4:25 am
by Cu Later
not "all copper cents" will get melted. i can personally guarantee that.

Re: Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:57 am
by barrytrot
The Indian heads that are in circulation have nothing to do with the price of Indian Heads.

They are "unknown" and in a sense do not exist.

The price of Indian Heads is based on the number that are known and the number of people that want one or 50.

If you are concerned in the slightest about profit I would sell all Indian heads immediately, at a fair price, as the price has been roughly the same for 10 years.

I'm referring only to circulated common Indian Heads. Certified coins have their own rules and some of those have gone up.

Re: Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:45 pm
by maoguinn
Cu Later wrote:not "all copper cents" will get melted. i can personally guarantee that.


Same here. I won't be melting. I think if there is a huge melting of coppers, the average copper cent will be worth alot more. ;)

Re: Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:26 pm
by Robarons
Yeah its a good point to say that if at a point copper cents will be melted then only only cents with copper junk value will be. So as of now thats 2.5 to 3 cents each. So only memorials and maybe common wheats will be melted. Wheats with values of 5 cents or more will not be melted. Indians will most likely never be melted if there are memorials to melt.

You gotta keep in mind that in order to get copper from circulation they be sorted- wheats and indians will automatically be sorted out by hand and small time sorters, hence not be destroyed.

Large sorters like Brinks wont give a damn and will melt everything, which brings us to rule #2- the amount of indians in circulation is so minuscule that any destruction of cents wont effect Indian cent populations on the market (or wheats possibly as well)

Just my opinion

Re: Indian Head cents as a long-term hold?

PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:18 am
by exbingoaddict
JerrySpringer wrote:Indian Head cents generally have price ranges 10 to 20x that of the later date wheat cents. How much would that ratio change if the ones in circulation get melted down -ie- come the day that the melt ban is lifted, how much more rare will IH cents get? If I throw out a figure of, say, there is 1 IH cent for every $1000 in cents in circulation, where would that put them if a complete melt happens and all copper cents get melted?


My bold prediction is that you'd still find a ton of junk IHCs in flea markets, coin shops, and collectors (or accumulators) hands. If you can sell them for $.50 cents to a $1.00 why melt for a couple cents in copper? I'm happy to sell IHC I find roll seaching and put the money towards coin(s) that A) have far better opportunity to appreciate or (B) coin(s) I appreciate myself. Remember, an investement is intended to appreciate, a collection is meant to be appreciated. And sometimes, you hit the sweet spot with both.