Latest and Greatest
5 - 1997-W JACKIE ROBINSON $5 COMMEMMORATIVE


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Origin/Country: United States
Design Description: MODERN COMMEMORATIVES
Item Description: $5 1997 W JACKIE ROBINSON
Grade: NGC MS 70
Owner: Cellgazer
 
Winning Set: Latest and Greatest
Date Added: 12/7/2011
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

This coin is the best example of one of the many paths taken by coins in this book to earn their positions on the list of the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins: “What is not desirable initially can become coveted in time.” When the Jackie Robinson $5 gold commemorative went on sale on August 16, 1997, there was little interest. Congress had authorized that a maximum of 100,000 examples could be struck and that the sales period could extend for one year. By August 16, 1998, less than 30,000 had sold, divided between Proof and Mint State versions of the coin. Only 5,174 of them were of the Mint State, or Uncirculated, type, making it by far the lowest-mintage modern commemorative coin ever issued to that point. The coin’s poor sales record has survived, and it is still far and away the lowest-mintage modern commemorative, followed by the 2001-W Capitol Visitors Center $5 Uncirculated coin at 6,761 minted (see number 40). Although few were attracted to the coin at the time of issue, the Robinson commemorative’s low mintage makes it the key to the series and it is now among the most-desirable coins in the series; it commands the highest price of any gold commemorative, trading for more than $5,000. Thematically, this coin is interesting. Jackie Robinson’s head is shown on the obverse in three-quarters profile, and the reverse shows a baseball inscribed with the dates of his life, 1919–1972, and the phrase “Legacy of Courage.” It is a stark and modern design, if plain, but also singularly American. Robinson himself is an inspiring figure, the first black player in Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, and should have generated widespread appeal. So what accounted for the commemorative’s infamous unpopularity? Primarily, two things are to blame: the overabundance of commemorative issues and the falling price of gold. In 1995, the U.S. Mint had sold three $5 gold commemoratives: one commemorating the end of the Civil War and two Atlanta Olympic commemoratives. Two more Olympic commemorative $5 coins followed in 1996, along with the Smithsonian coin discussed later, at number 56 on this list. In 1997, there was a Franklin Delano Roosevelt $5 coin issued just a couple of months before the Robinson coin. This meant the avid collector had already purchased seven different gold commemorative issues in the last three years when the Robinson coin came to market. This high a number of gold coins had never been offered to the modern coin collector in such a short time period before. During that same time period, gold decreased in value by 25 percent. Throughout much of 1995, gold had teetered above the $400-per-ounce level, but then fell steadily, month after month, to $300 per ounce by mid-1998. Collectors were seeing commemorative coins trading at discounts to the original offering price in the secondary market, often by as much as $100 less than what they had paid. Frustrated by both the number of issues and the falling prices, collectors simply waited on the sidelines. Despite the atrocious sales record, no one ever doubted the merit of this coin or the quality of the Mint’s execution. Instead, it was acknowledged that too many coins had been issued in too short a time. Beginning in 1998, Congress limited the number of commemorative programs to two per year and also limited the number of coins that could be made under those programs. These steps have prevented a repeat of the poor sales performance of the 1997 Jackie Robinson $5 commemorative, and have cemented its place as the series key. What no one wanted in 1997 is now the most sought-after issue in the current market.

Garrett, Jeff; Schechter, Scott; Bressett, Kenneth; Bowers, Q. David (2011-03-04). 100 Greatest US Modern Coins (Kindle Locations 746-780). Whitman Publishing. Kindle Edition.

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