Superior Galleries a division of Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange (DGSE) abruptly announced that they were suspending all auction activities effective immediately. This includes the scheduled Santa Clara Auction that was to have started yesterday.

The following notice was posted on the Superior Galleries web site by Superior President and CEO Don Ketterling:

“Dear Friends and Clients of Superior,

We are all facing challenging economic times which require resourcefulness and creativity. Although these decisions re in the long term best interest of all concerned, they are often not easy. Such is the case with our recent decision to suspend all our auction activities beginning with the April 2 Santa Clara Sale.

The current market conditions have forced us to reassess where our strengths lie both in terms of our business model and also for our client’s best interests. Every auction company is experiencing reduced revenue and declining consignments which coupled with reduced buyer activity spells unacceptable results for auction prices and. most importantly our client/consignors.

Our immediate goals are to focus on our rare coin. precious metals and jewelry departments, all of which are vital, growing and profitable. We continue to seek talented and experienced individuals for all these activities and forecast a vibrant and exciting second half of 2009. On a personal note, I would like everyone to know that Superior stands ready as a valuable resource for all our clients and colleagues.

Sincerely,
Don Ketterling
President & CEO
Superior Galleries, Inc.”

DGSE Companies, Inc. , announces that Superior Galleries’ is offering  “The Just Having Fun Collection” of Roosevelt dimes for their January 2009 Elite Rare Coin Auction immediately preceding the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention. This is believed to be the finest collection of silver Roosevelt dimes ever assembled, and will include the 48 coins currently in the #1 PCGS silver Roosevelt dime Registry set of “Justhavingfun” (“JHF”) as well as more than 60 additional PCGS and NGC superlative silver Roosevelt dimes also part of the JHF collection.

The JHF collection of silver Roosevelt dimes which will be auctioned off in January has a rich history behind them. When the PCGS Set Registry was in its infancy stage in 1999 (literally consisting of a paperback book prepared once a year with nothing online), Mitchell Spivack registered the #1 set of silver Roosevelt dimes. That same year, Steven Heller registered the #3 set of dimes. The dimes that were part of Spivack’s #1 finest registry set of 1999 were collected by him throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, Spivack’s silver Roosevelt dime collection was consolidated with Heller’s set and he agreed to continue to assist Heller with improving the collection from there. After a few years of improving the set even further, the entire collection was then sold to the current owner of the JHF collection, who has been registering the set as the #1 collection at PCGS for the past four years. In addition, during the past 10 years, another avid Roosevelt dime collector, Nick Cascio, assembled a top quality set of silver Roosevelt dimes, which was eventually purchased and also became part of the JHF collection. The JHF collection represents what is now the finest collection of silver Roosies ever – a collection which spans 3 decades of pursuing the most beautifully toned and fully struck silver examples available.

Paul Song, Senior Vice President of Auctions is working closely with Mitchell Spivack JHF’s agent regarding this landmark sale. Spivack had this to say on behalf of himself and the JHF collection:

“We are delighted to have Superior handling this auction consignment for us. Many coins in this collection range from nicely toned to some of the most amazingly toned silver Roosevelt dimes (or frankly any 20th century silver toned coins) out there. Superior’s outstanding photographic techniques have the ability to capture and reproduce the colors of these great coins. They have agreed to prepare a special separate full color auction catalog to showcase this great collection. It should be a great event and the special catalog Superior is preparing will contain relevant pedigree information for future generations of Roosevelt dime collectors to enjoy.” (more…)

By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

In September, the Southern California rare coin auctions and the Long Beach Expo were lively and demand for rare coins was strong. There are three Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expos each year, and Heritage conducts the official auctions. Prior to each Expo, Superior Galleries, the Goldbergs, and sometimes B&M, separately conduct coin auctions in the Beverly Hills area.

On the bourse floor, one leading wholesale firm had almost exactly the same total revenue for rare coins, along with almost the same profit margin, at the Sept. 2008 Long Beach Expo as at the Sept. 2007 event. The year 2007 was very good for the coin business, and the year 2008 is as well.

While the overall U.S. economy seems to be slowing, and is plagued by problems in financial sectors, coin markets were very healthy in September, and probably still are in October. External factors did not heavily influence the auction results. Prices realized and bidder enthusiasm was, for the most part, a function of the quality, importance and pedigrees of the coins being offered.

While I have, in so many reviews, focused on the details of coin auctions and the coins included, I am here putting forth a few broad analytical points regarding notions of collector-consignments, pedigrees and fresh material. Of course, there are other factors that that play roles in the prices realized in coin auctions. I discus the other factors in other articles.

For a coin to be ‘fresh,’ it needs to have been ‘off the market’ for at least five years. In some cases, ten years or more are required for material to be viewed as ‘fresh’ by potential, leading bidders.

A real exciting lot in the Superior auction was an 1839 ‘Type 1′ $10 gold coin, in large part because it was clearly part of a consignment of fresh material. I am not certain that a collector consigned it, though it is clear that it was not consigned by one of the leading dealers on the auction circuit. It could have been consigned by an estate, an investor, or someone who just bought this coin ‘on a whim’ a long time ago. (more…)