The influence of historical fact on the market behavior of collectible goods.: Evidence through the case of “The Walking Liberty”

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the price movement of collectibles during the period 2000-2012; specifically we use the case of the U.S half-dollar coin known as “The Walking Liberty”, minted during the period 1916-1947 (including World War I and II, the Crash of 1929, and the Depression of the 1930s). The intention of this work is to check whether the historical fact linked to the minting phase of the currency is a determinant when there is an increase in demand for the currency, that is, whether the historical fact influences the price of the currency, and what is the type of effect it has on the price depending on the behaviour of the economic cycle that marks that historical fact.