A Secret Between Us

Let me guess...you saw the title of this thread and your curiousity got the better of you.  You had to open it up and find out what it said, right?  If so, congrats.  I think your curiousity is going to pay off for you.  Read this all the way through and you'll see why.

Way back in the year 2009 (remember then?) we were in a deepest part of the great recession and people needed money.  At the same time, the company that produces coinstar machines was growing by leaps and bounds.  Coinstar machines make it so convenient to cash in your change...just pour it into a machine and they deduct a fee for "folding money".   This set up the perfect storm for recirculation of old coinage.  So many people on hard times brought in their old coins to cash them in that the banks were awash with coinage.  So the banks didn't order much new coinage, and mintages were abnormally low.

Now lets talk about one of my favorite coins, the Jefferson Nickel.  I love them as a collectible coin.  I've always thought they are under-rated as a coin.  They have overdates, repunched mintmarks, silver varieties, and unique toning that makes them very fun to collect.  Plus, unlike many coin series, they are inexpensive enough to collect by date and mintmark, which speaks volumes about the future potential of the series.

By now, you've probably figured out that this article is about the 2009 nickel.  Yes it is!  But here's the interesting part.  The 2009 Philadelphia ("P") mint nickel was the first to be found in pocket change in the middle of 2009.  39.8 million of these nickels were minted, making them the lowest mintage for a few decades.  Because of that, these nickels were well received in the aftermarket.  I watched prices of these nickels climb to about $80 a roll before they showed up in large numbers.  Then this glut of nickels, and competition to sell them drove the roll prices down to about the $18 level (that I witnessed) before supplies started to dry up.  Prices then began to climb and they are now at about $60 per roll (early 2012 prices).

Here's the cool part.  The Denver mint 2009 ("D") nickels seem to be following in the footsteps of the "P" mint nickels.  They have a slightly higher mintage of 46.8 million.  But interestingly, they weren't even released until a few months into 2010!  I did see a roll of these nickels that may, or may not have been a genuine ebay listing that surfaced in 2009 that sold for almost $200 a roll.  That doesn't matter.  My point is that these nickels were released almost a year later than their "P" mint cousins.  What happened then?  Well, I watched their per roll price fall from $60 per roll downward to a low of $8 each.  Yours truly, bought a few of them at $8 on speculation a few months ago.  Since that time, the price has steadily risen to about $15 per roll individually and it sure does seem like the prices are drying up.  I managed to buy some more on a bulk purchase that will cost me about $11 per roll delivered.

To recap, the "P" mint started at $80 per roll, suffered through a glut of sales on ebay that drove the price down to about $18 a roll before rebounding to about $60 per roll.  The "D" mint rolls were released a year later, and in part because they are almost as rare, appear to be following the same path.  Like every collectible that I mention in this blog, you need to make up your own mind on purchasing these, but it wouldn't surprise me to see these selling for $50 a roll within a year or so.

If you buy some 2009-D Nickels, you need to make sure that you are buying uncirculated "BU" rolls. Original bank rolls.  Focus on getting them as cheap as you can per roll after factoring in your shipping costs.  Once you get them, don't open the rolls.  Some of their value is tied to the fact that they are unsearched. 

Now remember, this is our secret...your reward for reading this blog.  Here's a link that sorts lowest prices first on ebay for your research:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=2009%20d%20nickel%20roll%20-p&_dmpt=Coins_US_Individual&_fln=1&_sc=1&_sop=15&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1539&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=4&_udhi=

Collector Steve

***Update:  When I wrote that article, I finished buying some rolls at $11 each.  Some I got as cheap as $8.  It appears they are now around $16 each for the best deal.  That's a 50% to 100% return so far in about 6 months or so.  You can make a killing in collectibles if you apply the right concepts.