A shrinking supply has driven up the price of some U.S. quarters.
The U.S. Mint is roughly three years into a decade-long program to distribute quarters with designs honoring individual states. The coins are being issued in the order the states entered the union.
People who keep an eye on their pocket change can expect to see the Rhode Island sailboat soon.
It seems the first two coins in the series, Delaware and Pennsylvania, are now in short supply, according to Michael McConnell, owner of San Diego Coin & Bullion on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. Compared to the other statehood coins, he said, the U.S. Mint made relatively few of these.
McConnell says he is buying these 1999 coins at about three times their face value.
However
Before people start rushing to sell coins from their pockets or purses, they should know McConnell is particular about what he buys.
He is buying only those coins in their original rolls or in their original bags. The latter are canvas bags holding 4,000 coins, sewn shut by the mint.
As of June 11, he was buying original, $10 rolls of Delaware coins for $28, and $10 rolls of Pennsylvania coins for $30.
He was selling Delaware rolls for $56, and selling Pennsylvania rolls for $60.
The markup on bags is a little less, he said.
One other variable collectors consider is whether the coins come from the Denver or Philadelphia mints.
McConnell says he sees renewed interest in coin collecting, which was at a low point during the mid-1990s.
While not the only motivator, he said, the statehood quarter series seems to have added to the interest.
He added that he sees more mothers and grandmothers in his shop, interested in what has traditionally been a “male hobby.”
Of course, stores such as McConnell’s not only make money by trading coins, but by selling supplies. These include coin albums , and in the case of the new quarters, U.S. maps capable of holding quarters.
