Why did this coin valued at $56 sell for $1,155?

This 1987 American Eagle silver bullion dollar coin is housed in the third of 23 different holders Professional Coin Grading Service has employed since inaugurating certification services early in 1986.

Collectors are willing to pay premiums over the stated value of some United States coins simply because of the plastic grading service holder in which the coin is encapsulated.

An anonymous purchaser bid nearly $1,000 above the published value for a Mint State 69 1987 American Eagle silver bullion coin encased in an early version of the Professional Coin Grading Service’s plastic holders.

The collector was one of 11 unique bidders who placed a combined total of 52 bids in the GreatCollections online auction that closed March 26.

The winning bid was $1,050, and with the 10 percent buyer’s fee added, the total price realized is $1,155.

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The coin itself is one of 14,175 1987 American Eagle silver bullion coins graded and encapsulated by MS-69 by PCGS. The grading service values the coin in the PCGS Price Guide at $56 in that grade.

The coin offered in the GreatCollections auction is encapsulated in an early holder.

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The Generation 1.2 holder is of the third kind PCGS used during its inaugural year in 1986, and among 23 overall different versions the grading service has employed during its more than 30 years of operation.

The Generation 1.2 holder, referred to in the hobby as a two-piece “Rattler,” was used to encapsulate coins between February 1986 and September 1989. It is also referred to by its acronym OGH for Old Green Holder, because of the color of the grading label inside the encapsulation.

Some collectors prize the early holders of PCGS and Numismatic Guaranty Corp. and for many of these holders, the numbers that survive are small. Fans of the holder are willing to pay for the holder, not the coin, in mnay cases.