In 1999, the U.S. Mint struck gold when it released the first coin in their "50 State Quarters" coin series. After decades of the same old tired eagle on the back of the quarter, each of the 50 states would get its due with an image on the coin. Collectors and the public alike couldn't get enough of them — so much so the Mint offered an encore with the "America the Beautiful" quarters.

Americans clearly have a taste for nostalgia as well. That was evident with the recent release of the Kennedy Half Dollar restrike in gold — virtually identical to the original 1964 half dollar. A few weeks ago, that was the buzz of the collecting world. Collectors were excited at the prospect of just 40,000 being produced. They smelled a scarcity with the potential for a quick profit.

As I mentioned here last week, the tables turned when the Mint upped the mintage to produce as many as needed to meet demand. That entirely changed the model causing dealers to change their strategies. Now, it was a matter of who could buy the first Kennedy gold half dollar sold at the American Numismatic Association coin show in Chicago.

At the show was a grading service ready and waiting to certify, authenticate and sonically seal the coins in a special slabbed holder. The person to buy the first coin was quickly offered a $5,000 premium and a replacement gold coin. That first coin was, in turn, certified and resold to an unnamed person for (this is not a misprint) $100,000. The ridiculousness of this exists on many levels but here are just two.

First, the coins sold at the ANA coin show were not the only ones sold that day or at that moment. In fact, at the exact same time that one coin was sold at the ANA show, other "first" coins were sold at the Mints in Denver, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. One sold at any of those Mints might even have been sold a few seconds earlier than in Chicago.

Second, WHO CARES?!?! The first coin sold doesn't mean it was the first coin struck. And, even if it was, so what? The quality of the minting equipment today makes all 70,000+ of the coins produced virtually identical insofar as condition. To find one coin visibly better than another would require either a scanning electron microscope or a person with very intuitive/capricious judgment.

The bottom line is this — for a select few people the focus for them is no longer on the coin but on the holder and the little slip of paper sealed inside claiming it is a "first" of some sort. As for a viable secondary market for such coins, I've spoken to many dealers. Not one of them know of a customer that would be interested in purchasing any such item and definitely have no clue as to a collector who would pay a substantial a premium for it.

Naturally, I can't speak to the person who paid $100,000 for a coin the Mint was selling for $1,240. If married, I'd be curious as to their spouse's reaction to the purchase. But, wait! There were five more "first sale" coins duly marked at the ANA show that day, slabbed and sold for hefty premiums as well.

I also can't speak to the future value of these coins except to say that such "modern rarities" created purely by someone claiming they are "first" haven't fared well. I haven't seen them at auction and the dealers with whom I spoke underscore their disinterest.

So, call it a word to the wise. Collecting has always been and should continue to be about the coin, not the container. One last thing ... you can still purchase one of the gold Kennedy half-dollars at the U.S. Mint website. And, for the record, they look identical to the one that sold "first" in Chicago but cost tens of thousands of thousands of dollars less.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.