Ike price slide starts

If you own a Dwight D. Eisenhower Coin and Chronicles set where the dollar can grade PF-70 and the medal MS-70, you can make a huge profit on it – just not quite as much as the first set or two that were sold.

The market for ungraded sets is moving down from the highs at a faster rate.

On Aug. 31, an eBay “buy it now” sale for a Professional Coin Grading Service graded First Strike PR-70 Eisenhower reverse proof Presidential dollar and MS-70 Eisenhower silver Presidential medal concluded with the set going for $1,900, almost 33 times issue price.

The price follows a trend seen on the auction site as two Numismatic Guaranty Corporation Early Release PF-70 and MS-70 sets were purchased, one at auction for $2,001 and the other in a “buy it now” sale for $1,896 on Aug. 30. These prices are many multiples of the sets original Aug. 11 Mint sales price of $57.95.

While still a high premium, the set was earning even more when they first appeared on eBay. The first PCGS graded PF- and MS-70 set was won at auction on Aug. 26 for $2,800.

ANACS-graded sets also bring in high premiums for perfectly graded coins. Six ANACS PF- and MS-70 sets were sold for around $1,300 each between Aug. 20 and Aug. 30.

Compared to the past release of the Truman Coin and Chronicles set, the Ike set prices are stronger. Graded PF- and MS-70 sets of the Truman reverse proof dollar and Presidential medal currently are around $1,250 to $1,350.

This is mostly due to grading totals, as PCGS reports as of Sept. 2 grading a total of 1,583 Truman reverse proof dollars compared to 239 Ike reverse proofs. Grading totals for Ike reverse proofs at NGC and ANACS were not available at press time.

Grading totals also explain the price difference from PF- and MS-69 to -70 graded sets. PCGS and NGC graded -69 sets are going for $200 to $250 on eBay.

PCGS reports grading 3 PF-68, 225 PF-69 and 11 PF-70 Ike reverse proof dollars. Of the 239 coins graded, just 4.8 percent made PF-70. This is similar to the 5.1 percent of a total of 1,583 Truman reverse proof dollars being graded by PCGS as PF-70.

Ungraded Ike sets are a different story as premiums since their release dropped from $250 on Aug. 11 to around $150 as of Sept. 2. The large quantity of ungraded sets entering the market continues to drive the price downwards.

The same trend likely will happen for graded sets as more come back from the grading companies. Until then, a small number of perfectly graded Ike sets are seeing very high premiums.

More Collecting Resources
• Subscribe to our monthly Coins magazine - a great resource for any collector!
• If you enjoy reading about what inspires coin designs, you'll want to check out Fascinating Facts, Mysteries & Myths about U.S. Coins.