Coin Collecting News

Cents of 1794-1795 Reflect Changes
Numismaster
Those collectors who specialize in the early copper cents often have a soft place in their hearts for coins dated 1794 and, to a lesser extent, 1795. The cents of 1794 in particular have been studied with great care by researchers for 150 years yet new information still comes our way from time to time. The years 1794 and 1795 were an era of great change in the copper coinage, perhaps more so than at any other time in the history of the old large cents.
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‘One of world’s largest gold coins’ estimated at $600,000 at Heritage
Paul Fraser Collectibles
It was struck for the first Olympic Games in China with ancient stone carving techniques. Heritage Auctions’ World & Ancient Coins sale on January 3-4 is billed as being its “largest” World Coin auction to date – and one of the most hotly anticipated lots in the auction is also one of the largest gold coins in the world.
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2011 Platinum Eagle Design Candidates Reviewed by CFA
Coin Update News
The Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) has recently reviewed the design candidates for the 2011 Proof Platinum Eagle. This coin will feature the concept “To Insure Domestic Tranquility.” The collector version of the American Platinum Eagle is in the middle of a six year design series exploring the core concepts of American Democracy. Each concept is presented on the reverse design of the coin, while the obverse of each coin features an image of the Statue of Liberty designed by John Mercanti.
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Counterfeit Detection: 1914-D Buffalo Nickel
NGC
Unscrupulous people have made counterfeit and altered coins to fool collectors since time immemorial. These fakes were almost always key or semi-key dates, and collectors knew to exercise additional caution with coins such as the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent or the 1916-D Mercury Dime. Common date gold coins were also copied, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, because of their intrinsic value. Coins with little collector value were generally ignored by counterfeiters because there was not a lot to gain.
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2011 Annual Sets Release Dates
Mint News Blog
The release dates are now available for the United States Mint’s 2011 Proof Set, 2011 Mint Set, and 2011 Silver Proof Set. The Mint had previously announced that these products would be available earlier in the year due to collector feedback. The 2011 Proof Set containing 14 different proof coins struck at the San Francisco Mint will be released on January 11, 2011. The 2011 Silver Proof Set, containing 90% silver versions of the proof dime, quarters, and half dollar, along with the remaining coins in standard compositions will be released on January 25, 2011.
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Public waits for 5 oz coins
Numismatic News
People who want to buy the new 5-ounce America the Beautiful silver bullion coin are caught up in a circle of supply and demand. The demand is there, but the supply of coins is limited and the normal distribution channels are clogged. Only 33,000 of each of the five designs were minted, far short of the 100,000 mintage originally planned. “That’s really a big problem,” said Lee Crane of L&C Coins. “I think the Mint didn’t read the market really well. They are creating rarity by the number they are minting. If they wanted everyone to get one, they should have minted more.”
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Hot Topics by Laura Sperber – Legend Numismatics

Consolidation in reverse! I expected a few firms to fold and smaller dealers to shut. Out of the blue comes the mega merger of Stacks and Bowers and Merena. I was not so shocked because for the last 3 years it had been no secret I tried to talk the owners into selling Stacks to Legend. The apparent loss would have been too great and doing a deal this way, they get a shot at some stock that could go up. Regardless, I feel it was a tragic end to once powerful and glamorus dealership.

It is my strong opinion, in this mergers case, bigger is NOT better for the coin market. Why? We already have one mega monster firm who obviously has reached their limits-Heritage. They know they can’t expand any more with in coins, so they did the smartest thing, branched out into other areas. I give them tons of credit for that because it seems as they grow, they do not forget their roots and promote coins to this new crowd.

To satisfy two large auction companies with huge staffs, where are all the coins going to come from? These firms need expensive coins to generate large fees. If these firms on their own were not getting much prior, where are the coins going to come from after the merger? Think about how big each firms overheads are. Will fees rise? Will coin values artifically inflate because of excessive tiny demand with each auction?

This new mega merger concerns me. My goal in going after Stacks was not to make it bigger-just better. In my opinion, the potential of Stacks combining with Legend was huge. I believe it would have greatly benefited collectors. I do admit, I was nervous about where the consignments would come from, but Legend has sold OVER $600,000,000.00 RETAIL so we have some contacts. I have always viewed owning an auction company as a natural extension for us and our customers. Unfortunately, I do not have the time or energy to try again to enter the auction field from scratch. I saw the demise of Stacks as inevitable. I would have loved to have fixed it. It is frustrating to me ownership decided to end the misery this way. When I was told about it I was angry for one second and have moved on. Now I just wonder if bigger is really better? And how will it effect the marketplace?

I do wish The B+M team good luck in their merger. Greg Roberts, CEO of Spectrum is one of the sharpest executives in this business.

FUN

My prediction is that FUN will be a good show. Out of the clear blue, collectors were buying strong in December-a time when they normally fade away. Yet again, only supply was the problem. So if nothing else, dealers will need to replenish at FUN.

Gold coins are still screaming crazy hot. Prices are NOT moving up, but collectors do want them. We think 2011 will be the tell tale year for gold. It will be interesting to say the least. Continued

Bozarth Rare Coin Market Report

During the holiday season I often reflect on the many blessings I have in my life. One of those blessings is the joy I receive from handling and looking at rare coins. In fact, I love my job. I get to look at coins virtually every day as a coin dealer. I enjoy looking at most coins, but some coins are better than others. The coins I really get a ‘charge’ out of handling usually have a couple of factors that make them ‘special’.

What makes a coin ‘special’? Scarcity or outright rarity can make a coin special because you don’t often see them. Incredible eye appeal is always a big factor in making a coin special. Indeed, eye appeal can make a relatively common coin ‘special’. A strong or full strike, glowing luster, originality, and especially a high state of preservation (grade) are all factors that can make a coin ‘special’. When buying coins, I am always looking at the grade, but these other factors (strike, eye appeal, luster, and originality) all contribute to whether or not I find the coin ‘speciaI’ and write the check.

In last month’s RCMR-Rare Coin Market Report I discussed three sets of U.S. Coins that are always in demand. This month I am going to discuss three additional sets that are loved by collectors. First let me explain the difference between collecting a set of coins by DATE versus collecting a set of coins by TYPE.

In most cases, a date set of coins is every date and mint of a particular denomination and design of U.S. coin. For example, last month I explained DATE collections of a short set of Walking Liberty Half Dollars (from 1941 to 1947), Peace Dollars (from 1921 to 1935), and $2.5 Indian Gold coins (from 1908 to 1929). All three of these sets contain all the dates and mints of their particulate design type of that denomination.

There are a few variations with some DATE sets. Often times a collector will collect a single coin of each year of coins for a particular design type of coins. Budget and availability often contribute to a collector starting with a single coin of each year versus all the different mint examples of each date. I have often seen a Year DATE set of Morgan Dollars assembled. In other words, the collector collects one coin from each year that Morgan Dollars were made, which would include one coin from 1878, 1879, 1880 etcetera through 1904 and including a coin from the last year of issue in 1921.

A TYPE coin collection is different from a DATE coin collection, because the collector is trying to collect ONE coin of each design type for a particular area of U.S. Coins. For example, the classic U.S. Commemorative Coins were produced from 1892 through 1954. There are 144 different issues in the complete DATE set. This includes ALL the different mint issues from the multiple mint issues like Arkansas, Boone, Columbia, SC, and Oregon Halves among others. Most often classic U.S. Commemoratives are collected by design TYPE. This collection contains 50 different design types so a collector has one example of the Arkansas, Boone, and Oregon halves. Not only is this easier to complete, but collecting by type is more affordable. Continued