By Doug Winter - RareGoldCoins.com

Coin dealers are an “interesting” (yes, this is an ironic use of quotes) group. If you were to take the top fifty professionals in this field and examine their personalities, I believe that a number of the same traits would be seen in a majority of these individuals. What are some of these traits? And do you have what it takes to be a successful coin dealer?

With very few exceptions, most of the top coin dealers have been involved in coins since they were very young. I can’t think of more than one or two coin dealers who I regard as being at the top level of the industry who were not buying and selling coins by the time they were in their early teens (or in some case, before this). Many people have asked me why this is the case. I think that being a good coin dealer is something that is almost genetic in its origin. You can’t really teach an adult the skills to be a truly good dealer. It’s almost as if the top dealers were born with a “coin dealing gene.” If you are a 42 year old insurance salesman with a passing interest in coins, it’s pretty unlikely that, within a few years, you are going to be a force on the bourse floor.

And speaking of genes, I think that every good coin dealer has what I call the “collecting gene.” Even though I don’t really collect coins anymore, there are a number of other areas that I avidly collect. Virtually every great dealer I know is also a serious collector of something; and many have multiple non-numismatic collections. These range from paper money to vintage photographs to globes to muscle cars. If you do not have a passion for collecting, you probably aren’t going to amount to much when it comes to dealing.

Coin dealers have exceptional memories when it comes to coins. I think I qualify pretty highly in this regard but my memory is very selective. As an example, it usually takes me a number of times meeting a collector until I remember his name. But I can generally remember this collector’s coins that he showed me in 1984 and, more distressingly, in great detail. I find the same to be true with many other of the dealers who I respect. They have an absolutely uncanny ability to remember coins they have handled, deals they have done, auctions they have attended, etc. If you have a poor memory when it comes to details, you are not likely to become a good dealer, let alone a great one. (more…)

(Fallbrook, California) — The Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of many of the top rare coin and paper money dealers, has extended for another two years the contract of its veteran Executive Director, Robert Brueggeman.

“Bob has continued to manage a dynamic organization with zeal and dedication. His efforts have kept the Professional Numismatists Guild on a steady pace,” said PNG President Gary Adkins.

“Most of the disputes that come to the PNG office are quickly and fairly settled through Bob’s tenacious determination. Legal and financial matters are handled with professional, caring detail. Promotion and education continue to be keys to PNG’s success with Bob’s guidance, and the PNG is proud to have Bob as its Executive Director.”

Brueggeman has served as PNG Executive Director for the past 14 years.

“In 1994, when I first took over as Executive Director, the PNG was struggling in both membership and finances. I’m happy to say that today the organization has 275 members and is exceptionally sound financially,” Brueggeman said.

“We’ve also changed the perception of PNG from an elitist, ‘good ol’ boys club’ to that of an organization that is open to embracing all who meet the high standards of membership.”

All PNG members must adhere to strict Code of Ethics in the buying and selling of numismatic merchandise.

In the coming months Brueggeman will be working on plans for a series of small to medium-sized numismatic dealer-to-dealer conventions named the PNG Dealer’s Deal. Specific details about those conventions, including dates and locations, will be announced soon.

For additional information about the Professional Numismatists Guild, call (760) 728-1300 or e-mail info@PNGdealers.com. Online: www.PNGdealers.com.

Who: Gainesville Coins, Inc. and Jeff & Carmella Garcia
What: “Collect For a Cause” Charity Program
When: 2008 Football Season
Where: GCIGOLD.COM/Charity, Coin shows around the country, Avant Gold Jewelers
Benefits: Proceeds from the sale of designated coins will be given to charity

Gone are the days when collecting coins was just a passive hobby reserved only for serious students of coin facts and characteristics. The modern day collector has expanded to include those accumulating coins for personal satisfaction to using them as a hedge against inflation and a source of ready money in difficult times. All it takes is three young entrepreneurs, 100,000 coins from their inventory, and a Tampa Bay Bucs partnership to ultimately extend the collectors’ central use of coins.

Gainesville Coins, Inc. owners Michael Yaffe, 21, Joseph Yaffe, 23, and Corey Maita, 23, have come to show that young professionals can give back to the community through the simple purchase of a coin. After starting the company in college at the University of Florida, they have grown to be one of the largest modern coin dealers in the United States. In an effort to share their recent success, they have partnered with Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Jeff Garcia and started the “Collect for a Cause” program. Proceeds from the sale of selected coins benefit the Garcia Pass It On Foundation, and America’s Second harvest of Tampa Bay and their network of over 200 affiliate food banks nationwide.

The Garcia Pass It On Foundation was established as a means to share resources with people in less fortunate circumstances. Through the foundation, Jeff and Carmella Garcia seek to give back in a tangible way to causes that are close to their hearts. Together we can make a difference by “passing on” our successes to enrich the lives of children and their families across the nation. (more…)

It’s a rainy Monday morning here in Portland and the sudden lack of sunshine is leaving me highly unmotivated. To try and shake out the cobwebs, I’m going to touch on a few miscellaneous topics of interest. If I were a syndicated folksy newspaper columnist, I’d call this Monday Mornin’ Musings. Lucky for you, I’m not.

Sales of the Wexford Collection of Dahlonega Coinage have been excellent with close to $500,000 placed within the first few weeks of being posted on my website. I have noted a few definite trends thus far.

I have been surprised (but not shocked) by the extreme popularity of the key dates in this collection. One of things that was especially nifty about the Wexford coins was that nearly all the key Dahlonega issues were present and, for the most part, they were extremely nice. I could have sold half a dozen examples of the 1861-D gold dollar in PCGS AU55 and probably even more examples of the 1838-D half eagle in PCGS EF45.

While many of the coins were bought by existing clients, I did sell coins to at least two brand new people including one who had never bought a Dahlonega piece.

Two other observations can be gleaned from the first few weeks of sales. The first is that the Dahlonega quarter eagle series is clearly alive and well. I sold a number of expensive, key issues to serious collectors. The second is that gold dollars are a little weaker than I would have expected. I did sell the three most expensive gold dollars in the set but other examples, including a few that I felt would sell quickly, have not yet found new homes.

One last thing. In my rush to get the coins cataloged and imaged and out on the web for a few days before I took them to the ANA show, I didn’t have time to fully research them. It turns out that the 1840-D quarter eagle is the ex: James Stack coin while the 1856-D quarter eagle was formerly in the Bass collection. The new owners of each coin were quickly able to deduce this and I congratulate them on these terrific new additions to their collections. (more…)

by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

From July 30 to Aug. 3, thousands of coin collectors flocked to Baltimore to attend the annual Summer ANA Convention. Among the most newsworthy of events at the Convention were the sales of two San Francisco Mint pennies. On July 30, a 1943-S copper cent sold on the bourse floor and, on July 31, a 1944-S steel cent sold at auction. The topic here is the copper cents of 1943, with emphasis upon this specific 1943-S copper cent. In part 2, steel cents of 1944 will be discussed, with the focus being upon the 1944-S that set an astounding record, along with additional reasons as to why 1943 coppers and 1944 steel cents are interesting and important.

Why are certain 1943 and 1944 pennies valuable? More than one billion Lincoln Cents were minted in 1943 and more than two billion in 1944!

From 1864 to 1942, and from 1944 to early 1982, U.S. one cent coins were typically 95% copper. Usually, the other 5% was a mixture of tin and zinc. For simplicity, it makes sense to refer to a coin that is 95% or more copper as being ‘copper’! From 1982 to the present, Lincoln Cents have been made of copper-plated zinc. Though the overall percentage of copper is very small, the copper plating of post-1982 cents causes them to appear to most people as if they consisted primarily of copper. So, people are accustomed to thinking of cents as being copper.

In 1943 only, in order to devote more copper for purposes relating to World War II, U.S. cents were made of zinc coated steel. In 1944, copper was employed again, and steel cents were not supposed to be minted.

Steel cents of 1943 have sort of a silvery-white look. It is readily apparent that these are not composed of copper. For unknown reasons, however, a few 1943 cents were minted in copper, and are extremely rare. It is generally believed that a few leftover copper planchets (prepared blanks) were stuck, for a while, in the mechanism that channeled the planchets to the coinage presses. As these copper planchets became unstuck eventually, due to the movements within the mechanisms, and joined the flow, they were struck into coins. Conversely, in 1944, a few steel cents were minted as a consequence of leftover steel planchets joining the flow of copper planchets.

So, 1943 copper cents and 1944 steel cents are off-metal strikings. These are the most famous of all mint errors. Moreover, as there are no extremely rare dates in the Lincoln Cent series, wealthy collectors often collect certain errors ‘as if’ these were regular issues and include them in sets of Lincoln Cents. (more…)