Varieties becoming mainstream?

[Robert]

Looking through my latest Coin World trends, it struck me that I'm seeing more and more varieties listed. Is this a "real" trend or just my imagination?

For example, I remember seeing prices in the Black Book etc for 1922 plain, 1955 DD, 1960 LD and SD, 1969S DD and 1972 DD for over 20 years now. I think I recall seeing 1917DD, 1944D/S, 1979S Ty 1 and Ty 2, the 1982 varieties, 83 DD, 84 DD and the 1995 DD in relatively recent listings.

BUT, I don't remember ever seeing the 09-S over horiz S, 36 satin proof and Brilliant proof, 46 S/D, or 69S DD previously in "main stream" publications like Trends. Is this a real "trend", pardon the pun, or just my imagination?

Similarly, I don't remember seeing IHC varieties such as 1867/7, 1873 Doubled Liberty or 1888/7 listed in Trends in years past. There were always many half cent/large cent varieties out there, but there seems to be more than the usual amount listed.

Same goes for 35 DD abd 36-D "3 and one half legs" Buffalo nickels; 45P DD, 42 D over horiz D and 49D/S Jeffersons; 1905-O Barber dimes, 1895 S/S and 1916 lg D over sm D Barber quarters, 43-S DD quarters, 1892 micro O and 1907 S/S Barber halves and 1942 D/S walkers. You get the point. These aren't "old school" varieties. Check out the valuations on some of these!

Interestingly, no "new" varieties are listed for Mercs and Franklins. I wonder why.

Comments?

[Bob P]

My personal take on this Robert is that more and more varieties are being published in books, but those seem to be the "biggies" on a lot of denominations. Many (if not all) have been identified before, but not many people know the specifics about them. With the advent of the Internet, this information is becoming more readily available, and those who want these coins are becoming known. We are seeing that more and more variety collectors are coming out of the woodwork and requesting info on these dies. This is good for the hobby, and some of the "mainstream" publications are trying to appease the collector by making mention of them as they are very collectable.
I think you will begin seeing the Franklins and Mercs in the future, but those issues don't have a lot of the higher value type varieties except those already listed (ex: 1942/1 Merc variety).
Once again, that is my personal opinion on the subject, but I honestly believe those that were previously mentioned but were dropped for one reason or another, will make a come-back in the publications.

Bob P