Are you the smartest or just want a prize?

What’s going to be hot in 2008? You can win a prize for your opinion. Do you think the recent First Spouse gold coin sellouts can continue? Will this year’s issues rise further in price?

What about “W” mintmarked uncirculated platinum American Eagles or their gold and silver counterparts?

These are just the new issues. What about regular collector coins that have been around for a while? We are getting ever closer to the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent. Can the key dates of the series, the 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 plain and 1931-S be next year’s rockets? Coin Market editor Harry Miller has already pointed out in his column that Lincoln prices are moving in response to demand related to the upcoming centennial.

Will Barber coins outperform the Seated Liberty versions on a percentage basis?

Will U.S. nickels be the place to be when a new composition is finally decided upon to replace an alloy that has been in use since 1866? Will Shield nickels and Liberty Heads race to the top, or will the ever popular Buffalo design beat them both?

I get to think about these questions as we prepare to produce the 55th anniversary issue of Numismatic News. Price performance and the speculative element have always had a place in the life of the paper. Chet Krause remarked from time to time that the closure of the San Francisco Mint in 1955 helped boost interest in S-mint issues generally and the cent and dime of that year specifically. That boosted circulation and ad volume. No one knew then that San Francisco would soon be back at work less than 10 years in the future.

I would like reader thoughts to be in the anniversary issue. Pick a coin and write a couple of sentences to explain why you think it will be hot in 2008. It couldn’t be easier. E-mail me your pick at david.harper@fwpubs.com. Identify yourself because there is a bonus. We are giving away a Liberty Head $20 gold piece and some current silver American Eagles for the best responses.

The best part of this is there is no wrong answer. Who knows? Gold $20s might themselves be the place to be in 2008. What do you think? Let me know.