Laura Sperber – Legend Numismatics

There is no magic wand or crystal ball that can tell you when the coin market will turn red hot again or when prices will finally rise across the board. Until then, there are many areas you can explore that we feel have awesome potential-and are actually completable.

GOLD BUGS READ THIS:

Its very interesting that we see the masses buying Saints in MS64 and higher. People have always enjoyed the feel of bigger gold. Because of this, many Gold Type coins have been drifting and actually have come down in value. WE SUGGEST YOU BUILD AN MS64 AND HIGHER GOLD TYPE SET. You can put in it whatever you want. So buy a slight better Gold Dollar for very little premium or buy an MS65 $3 Gold piece-of which we have seen so few around recently. All Indian Gold in GEM has actually fallen recently-and they are NOT easy coins to find.

ALL PROOF BARBERS

HELLO! We KNOW these are incredible values. For years we preached about PR64’s. They have since gone up and are ok, but you can do better in the higher grades. BUY PR 65-67 coins. You can build a COMPLETE 24 coin PR Barber 10C set in 66 for UNDER $60,000.00. Or how about a PR barber Quarter set in PR65? That about $50,000.00. The beauty is the coins look great and MOST have mintage’s of UNDER 1,000 pieces. We only own maybe one or two PR Barbers total-so do NOT accuse us of manipulating pr hyping a market to our benefit!

PROOF LIBERTY NICKELS

Do a PR65/66 Set. Even a semi mixed set of them should cost SUBSTANTIALLY UNDER $25,000.00! These are beautiful coins! You can’t go to a major show and finish the set in day, but you can build a set over a few months.

PROOF TWENTY CENT SET

There are ONLY 4 coins in this set-two of which are Proof ONLY! This set supplies it all: rarity, obsolete, beauty,and affordability. A set in PR64 can be built for UNDER $25,000.00. Or, go for the BEST and do a PR66 set: $50,000.00. Its all up to your tastes and budget.

WALKERS

We have learned from our McClaren Collection that the short set of Walkers (1941 PDS-1947 PD) in MS65/66 is probably one of the most popular collected areas in all of coins. Stunning GEM MS66 Walkers can be purchased for around $225-$275.00. Even the rare 1941S PCGS MS66 will only cost you $2,250.00 or so.

OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE RECOMMENDATION:

Build a Type set. A Type set is a representative of a series. It can contain the 50C 1905 PCGS MS68 we recently bought and sold for over $135,000.00, or it can contain an MS66 PL Morgan for $225.00. You simply pick the BEST examples you can afford and like. By building a Type set, opportunity does NOT pass by you. (more…)

News and Analysis regarding scarce coins, coin markets, and the coin collecting community #15

A Weekly Column by Greg Reynolds

Today’s topic relates to the number of people who collect rare or scarce U.S. coins, and, at least once in a while, spend more than $1000 on a single coin. The number of such collectors has grown tremendously since around 1998.

At various times since Sept. or Oct. 2008, a substantial number of collectors have stopped buying, not because of lack of interest, but rather because of their own personal financial circumstances. After all, in the middle of 2008, a rather severe recession began that negatively affected almost everyone. Further evidence of my point regarding the increase in numbers and in interest of coin collectors is found in the fact that rare U.S. coins went down in value to a much lesser extent than almost all other categories of assets.

There has only been a modest amount of attrition since coin markets peaked during the first seven to eight months of 2008. (Please see my remarks about coin markets in the following articles: O’Neal’s Eagles – Part1, Part 2; Queller’s Patterns; August 2009 Market Report – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3; and my Review of the Jan. 2010 Platinum Night event.)

Why is there is a reason to put forth such points now? After all, I could, and had planned to, write more about the terrific coins that I saw at the ANA Convention in Boston. (Please click to read last week’s column.) Unfortunately, very recently, in a print publication (CW), a widely recognized commentator (QDB) has put forth a theory that most “serious” collectors are well over fifty years old and that the number of coin collectors has not been increasing. This poorly reasoned theory needs to be addressed.

I. Young Adults and Coin Conventions

Without research, it can be logically deduced that most young adult collectors do not have the time to attend many first tier coin conventions or expos. Further, because of the growth of the Internet and other advances in technology, there is less to be gained, than before, by attending major conventions, though I still recommend attending them. If a majority of the collector-buyers at major events, like the ANA and FUN Conventions, are over the age of fifty, this does NOT prove that a majority of collectors who are seriously interested in expensive U.S. coins are over the age of fifty.

It should be obvious that most collectors between the ages of seventeen and fifty just do not have the time to attend ANA or FUN Conventions, or Long Beach Expos. Surely, many young adults in their twenties, thirties and forties, are busy with their careers and/or busy running their own businesses. A lot of people work ten hours a day to further their business or occupational pursuits, especially many of those collectors who spend more than $1000 per coin. It is also true that collectors in their twenties or thirties may be focused on their respective families.

In general, it is unrealistic to expect a thirty-three year old entrepreneur to be staying up at night thinking about locating a Draped Bust, Small Eagle half dollar, completing a set of Three Cent Nickels, or assembling a type set of Proof Liberty Head gold coins. Of course, there is an occasional thirty-three year old, very affluent collector who devotes ten to twenty hours a week to studying coin related materials and to building his coin collection. Clearly, though, few thirty-something collectors will have the time to attend ANA or FUN Conventions. Therefore, QDB and also Doug Winter are correct in that collectors in the fifty to eighty year old range are more likely to engage in BOTH spending on rarities and extensive travel to coin events. It is indisputable, however, that there are many unseen coin collectors in their twenties, thirties and forties. (more…)

William Shamhart, Jr. – Numismatic Americana

After months of anticipation and preparation, the ANA’s annual World’s Fair of Money in Boston is over. And while there are always little details that could use a little more attention, I must say that the staff of the ANA produced a convention that blew me away. Many show reports have been written about this year’s ANA, and I sure many more are to come, so let me get to the “meat” of this one:

Bourse floor:

Held on the second floor, actually third if you count the street level, it was set up into two rooms. I have never been a fan of spitting up the bourse floor of a show for many reasons; yet this year’s show seemed to work. Christine’s and my table was in the “main” room, centrally located. We picked this table for a reason. And it worked. Most collectors had no problem finding us (especially if they use the great program the ANA put together). It didn’t hurt that it was on a major thorough-fair into the next room either. Many collectors/dealers stopped at our table, and it was great to see many familiar faces and finally meet so many of our customers in person. The aisles were wide enough so that there weren’t any major traffic jams. This is great, especially in a room where most if not all the attendees had briefcases or rolling carts in tow. I’m sure that the ANA took this into consideration when they decided to use two rooms. I personally think it was a smart move. The only downside to this that I saw was that many of the collectors/dealers never made it into the other room! Seriously! There was more than enough quality material in either room to have a stand alone show in itself.

Bourse floor sales:

Collectors
After 30+ years of attending ANA summer shows, I can say without a doubt that this was our (my) best one to date for collector sales. I can attribute this to many factors, but one stands at the top. Christine Monk. She has been in the business for nearly twenty years and has met many, many collectors during that time. Collectors I knew by sight, but had never met in person. They came up and congratulated her on her new position, chatted like old friends, sat down, looked at coins, talked coins, and walked away with many new purchases. That was what drew me to this hobby as a child, and has kept me in it throughout my adult life. In Boston, Christine reminded me of this. Thanks Chris!

At the top of the list of what was selling was U.S. Commemoratives. I always knew that this series had a great following, and in Boston I saw it in person. Don’t be fooled though. Not all commems, or any coin for that matter, are equal (no matter what the label in the holders says). The coins we sold had that little something special that I always talk about going for them. Abundant luster, wild color, or outstanding eye appeal is and was needed. This doesn’t apply only to Commems though. Every coin we sold had to have it. (more…)