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.

The Heritage Sale will be insane-espcially the RARE PROOF GOLD. The best way to determine how the market is-watch what the really FRESH material does. The B+M Sale has the Malibu Collection. I predict strong prices for that too. The demand is clearly bigger than the supply of great coins right now. Thats why I am so perplexed at how TWO HUGE auction houses can survive and thrive. Maybe I just do not know economics.

LEGEND AND THE MARKET

2010 was a surprisngly good year for us. Legend was profitable. We sold $45,000,000.00 worth of coins to collectors. That figures does NOT include our auction representation. I am also extemely proud to say we sold over 10,000 INDIVIDUAL McClaren coins (that is a ton of coins!). Those ranged from $100.00 to $2,000.00 each. Our market is really the highest graded rarities, but with McClaren, we sold as many smaller coins as anyone. We are NOT just a dealer who sells expensive coins! Legend definately was a market leader in most catagories.

In 2011, I can promise Legend will NOT look to get bigger. I have turned down requests to grow. Our formula is perfect or close to it. We will probably add a person, but our plans are to be BETTER, not bigger. I really do not see the room to grow. I had trouble supplying coins to collectors in 2010, so I have no idea where I would find additional coins to cover a larger overhead.

Financially, we are as big as anyone. Maybe thats why we buy tens of millions of dollars from the public each year quickly and quietly. If any size deal comes up (try us on a $100 million), Legend can easily buy it. We are one of the biggest market makers of CAC coins. We are no nonsense when it comes to how we deal. We are also loyal as heck to people who are the same to us (we have MANY customers who date back to the late 80’s still active with us). Unlike other firms, George and I have been partners since 1986, and Bruce since 1997. If you notice, most other firms are revolving doors trying to act stable. There is something to be said for longevity of a partnership in the coin field. The only thing we lack, the ablitity to make up good stories to fool people. Sorry, thats just not our style. Also, you can find a copy of our Mission Statement on our web site.

My point, the beginning of 2011 you will see many changes with dealers. Currently, there are a few bigger retail dealers who are operating pretty much dead broke. You WILL see them fail, so do NOT be surprised. There will be a consolidation-which will be healthy. I was just stunned that an expansion (Stacks and B+M) could try and happen in this enviornment.

Back to looking out the window. Since I started writing this over 4 inches of snow have piled up (an hour and half) ! The winds are now easily 40 MPH plus. Can’t see the beach. Nothing like a good blizzard to stimulate me to write a Hot Topics!

Everything said in this article is the sole opinion of the author and not any other member of Legend Numismatics.

Any comments or questions please feel free to email me at: lsperber1@hotmail.com.

Related posts:

1. Ruling Allows Odyssey Shipwreck Cases to Move Forward
2. United States Mint Moves Forward to Create a Modern Ultra-High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin
3. Malibu Collection Part II Anchors Bowers and Merena’s January 2011 Rarities Sale

2010

What a year it was. We saw gold hit a new record and the stock market made a semi come back. The coin market had what I would call a turbulent but productive year. Prices did not go up as much as good coins weren’t being drowned by dreck anymore. There actually has been a small influx of new collectors.

It was also great year in the sense of we dragged certain taboo subjects (like gradeflation, coin doctoring, etc) through the mud and brought them out in the publics eye in the nick of time. While the bad guys all have been pissed off, it unquestionably has given the collecting public a better feeling and renewed sense we can self police ourselves and that some of the “leadership” of the hobby does indeed care. Consumer confidence is critical to having coins rise in value and maintaining a healthy marketplace.

I do NOT regret saying or doing what I did to help make coins and the coin market a better place.

COIN DOCTORING

Exposing how bad the coin doctoring issue had become, was by far the MOST important POSITIVE thing to have happened. Had everyone just kept their heads turned and let these criminals rape coins and the coin market, it would have killed the hobbies future.

PCGS took a heroic lead in firing off a lawsuit with absolute hard evidence against a small crew. Other coin small to mid size docs took notice and are running scared. Now, PCGS is coming out with even more sophisticated technology to catch these guys and hopefully make them stop forever. I knew this was a critical problem when the Kutasi Collection of $10’s and $20’s was sold a few years ago and the putty was so thick on many coins sometimes you could not see all the details! I do not regret standing up and speaking out about this subject when it was really taboo to do so. Just passing on a coin certainly was not stopping the doctors fromtheir reign of destruction. In my opinion, destroying a coin should be considered a full criminal act. These low lifes are taking away the few pieces of original history we have and are slowly ruining our enjoyment of collecting. They deserve to be harshly punished and shamed.

The grading services are definately doing their share to work on the problem, however I am disgusted with so many retail dealers who will not speak out. No, its not just the lame PNG (next topic), but the dealers who want to be your friends, the ones who can’t grade for crap, or have huge web sites. They are greedy cowards in my book, worth no more than the bad slabs they sell. There needs to be a shake out of these people.

I know there is still a long, long way to go in this fight. A few major firms who still employee doctors are still quietly practicing thinking they are just too big to tackle. I believe in 2011 they will be exposed and will fall. Its a matter of compiling more evidence. They certainly have been frustrasted at the very least in 2010. At least this issue is moving forward and not backwards. I hope this year to get more people speaking out. EVERY voice is important-no matter what size collector you are!

THE PNG

I am proud to have publically called the PNG WORTHLESS. Even thought they have accused me of “grandstanding for publicity” I will be on them until they either shut down or do something positive. They did invite me to a board meeting this year. All I heard was they had to be “reactive” and could not be “proactive”. I had told them about a very potentially disasterous event that could happen-and I know they have done nothing to change their by laws about how a certain field within coins operates. The excuses flowed and still do on all subjects of importance.

Six months or so after 3 of their members had coin doctoring lawsuits against them what have they done? NOTHING! They claim to have revamped their rules? Thats BS, There are still coin doctors who are members. Thats unquestionable PROOF they have taken no visible action on the subject.

My stance on the PNG will remain the same because they will remain the same. They choose NOT to do anything-there is NO excuse for thiem to be this way, period. They are a total disgrace for not fighting coin doctoring harder than anyone. I see no reason the PNG as a group means anything to coin collectors (I am NOT saying all individual members are bad). I promise that until I see movement in the right direction, I will point out every stupid thing they do (like having a PNG day at Houston with 5 tables). The PNG certainly does not represent me as a dealer and I am proud NOT to be a member.

In 2011 I am going to push for better leadership of the hobby. The ANA needs to step up too and do more to protect its collecting body.

CAC

Of course I am going to make a comment about CAC. CAC has survived and thrived from its start up period to become one of the most influential groups that helped stablize and create a huge positive for the coin market.

2010 was CAC’s year. Its acceptence is massive and is now fully ingrained in the marketplace. CAC coins are now traded on the major CCE dealer exhange. The naysayers have been silenced across the board. Unless you are selling major “fresh old time collection”, CAC coins by far bring the MOST money. Why? Coins with CAC stickers are trusted. Think about where the coin market would be without CAC. You’d have great coins fetching LESS, consumer confidence would be at an all time low, and we’d be losing even more collectors (more than just normal market attrition). CAC has been a critical step in helping the marketplace be self policed (for lack of a better term). I’m sure the chatroom weenies will have a field day with me on this, but facts are facts.

The ONLY people who still dislike CAC are the ones who CAC is costing money. Well isn’t that too bad?

Legend Numismatics and its three partners, Laura Sperber, George Huang, and Bruce Morlean are ALL proud shareholders in CAC.

LEGEND DID SOMETHING UNPRECIDENTED

The highlight of my year was placing the final piece in an impossible to finish puzzle-the 1C 1943D. Our good friend and customer Bob Simpson now has the ONLY possible complete set of 1943 Copper 1C. It will be on display at the PCGS table at FUN.

For those of you who have snickered about this transaction, your thoughts are wrong. This was not just a case of a rich person buying something at a crzy price to have it. Mr. Simpson has been a lifelong coin collector. In his teens he thought he had found a 43 copper 1C. He still has it to this day-not totally sure it is fake. His dream was to always own a real one, so when the chance came up to complete the set-he had to do it. This set was built from his heart. I was able to get him a 43S (which had been mine) and a 43 P early on. We knew where the 43D was. It took us 4 years to buy it! Do you really think he wanted to pay a ransom to get it (hence the 4 years of back and forth)? There had been other genuine $1 million dollar offers made on the coin. The key to the transaction was that all monies went to charity. No one seems to read that. Mr Simpson did not just buck up and spend $1.7 million on a copper 1C to be the only kid on the block with one, there always was more to it!

So in the end, we completed the impossible. After handling just about EVERY major classic rarity, completion of this set was something I never dreamed of and I rank it as the highlight of my career! I can’t imagine what I can do to top this.

2011

I will be here writing away at what I see is wrong with the market or the players in the market. I’m not going to stop and sugar coat things, that certainly will not make bad situations change. I’ll leave that for others. I will do what I can to make coins and the coin market a enjoyable and safe hobby.

I’ll continue to “call it like I see it” because I am person who deeply LOVEs coins. I have no appologies to those people who do not like what or how I say things. They do not have to come here and read what I write. Maybe instead of knocking me, why don’t some of you take a public stand or do something about the subjects I comment on, or on things you see are wrong?

Besides all the rough stuff, I do believe 2011 will be a great year for coins. Instead of the dreck still crashing (I do not know how much lower that stuff can go), good coins will finally be free of the dreck and will actually move up in price. People did not realize that what really happend in 2010 was dreck crashed and good coins really held firm, they did not really go up. Plus, I think the worst is over for the economy and we’ll see some people who sat on the sidelines start to buy again.

After a few years of misery, I do see a light at the end of the tunnel finally. I feel like we are only half way though through the tunnel, but our speed is picking up. Things really are getting better.

Now, if only some coins would come on the market!

You can always email me at lsperber1@hotmail.com. Due to upcoming heavy travel I might be be slow in responding.

Related posts:

1. Numismatic Landscape – Commentary by Laura Sperber
2. Laura Sperber Meets with PNG Board to Discuss Coin Doctoring
3. COIN PRICING GUIDES – Commentary by Laura Sperber

The unprecedented exhibit marks the first time the complete set has been included in the PCGS Set RegistrySM. It also marks the fulfillment of a boyhood dream of the collector who owns the coins, Texas business executive Bob R. Simpson, Co-Chairman of the Texas Rangers baseball club.

“A total of nine off-metal World War II-era Lincoln cents from Mr. Simpson’s collection will be displayed at the PCGS booth (#102) at the FUN convention,” said Don Willis, President of PCGS, a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ:). “There’s the unique set of three 1943 bronze-planchet cents, a set of three 1944 cents on zinc-coated steel planchets, and three wartime Lincoln cents erroneously struck on silver planchets apparently intended for the production of dimes.”

Simpson wanted to own a 1943 bronze cent error since he was a teenager, and now owns the only-known 1943-D bronze cent as well as other wrong-planchet, wartime cents. All will be exhibited at FUN.

Zinc-coated steel was used for producing cents in 1943 to conserve copper for other uses during World War II, but a small number of coins were mistakenly struck on bronze planchets left over from 1942. In 1944 the Mint resumed use of copper for cent production using recycled ammunition shell cases; however, a small number were mistakenly struck on zinc-coated steel planchets intended for use only on 1943-dated cents.

“Mr. Simpson is the first collector to ever assemble a complete P-D-S set of bronze-planchet 1943 Lincoln cents,” said Laura Sperber, President of Legend Numismatics. “When he recently saw all three coins together for the first time, he said, ‘This is incredible!’ Now, he’s graciously agreed to publicly display them.”

Sperber said that when he was a youngster, Simpson thought he’d actually found a 1943 copper cent in circulation. “But it was not authentic. He still has that in his desk drawer.”

The unique 1943-D bronze cent was purchased by Simpson in September for a record $1.7 million through Legend Numismatics after four years of negotiations with the coin’s anonymous former owner who donated all the proceeds to charity. It is the highest price ever paid for a United States cent.

“It was always special to buy each coin for this set, and until I had all the coins together I just did not realize how important and unreal this project really was! I’m as excited as any collector can be to see this amazing display,” Sperber said.

“Not only is Mr. Simpson’s Set of Off-Metal Cents the All-Time-Finest, it’s the absolute finest possible given the scarcity of the coins,” said BJ Searls, PCGS Set Registry Manager. “Photos of Mr. Simpson’s 1943 bronze and 1944 steel cents can be viewed online in the PCGS Set Registry for ‘Lincoln Cents Off-Metal Strikes, Circulation Strikes (1943-1944)’. The one-of-a-kind complete set has a weighted grade point average of 62.89.”

The coins and their PCGS Secure Plus grades are:
1943-P bronze, graded PCGS MS62BN
1943-D bronze, PCGS MS64BN
1943-S bronze, PCGS AU58BN
1944-P steel, PCGS MS64
1944-D steel, PCGS MS62
1944-S steel, PCGS MS66
1943-P struck on a silver planchet, PCGS AU50
1943-S silver planchet, PCGS AU58
1944-P silver planchet, PCGS AU53

A free, full-color, illustrated PCGS brochure about the coins in the exhibit, “One of a Kind: The Simpson Off-Metal Lincoln Cent Collection,” will be available while the supply lasts at the PCGS booth during the FUN convention.

Established in 2001, the PCGS Set Registry now hosts over 53,000 sets. For additional information about PCGS and its services, visit www.PCGS.com, call PCGS Customer Service at (800) 447-8848, or email info@PCGS.com.

Related posts:

1. Unique Bronze 1943-D Lincoln Cent Sold for $1.7 Million by Legend
2. 1943-S Lincoln Cent Struck in Bronze sold by Heritage for $207K
3. Previously Unaccounted 1943-S Bronze Cent Acquired by Rare Coin Wholesalers

Hidden GEM at the show: there is a full time massage therapist in the lobby. With all the stress on the bourse, taking a break for 10 minutes and getting a massage was so relaxing and helpful.

LEGEND SPENDS $2,000,000.00

We did not realize how much we spent until we got home and added it up. This figure includes The Stacks and Bowers Sales, and the spending damage we did on the bourse floor. Keep in mind, this is real money. Legend would not put up its own money or endanger our customers monies if we felt the market was weak or had issues.

At the Stacks sale there was an interesting group of fresh proof coins. Legend by far did the most buying. We proudly purchased (and saved them from the coin doctors) the $10 1913 PCSG PR66 CAC ($80,500.00)+$20 1913 PCGS PR65 CAC ($103,500.00). One day we would LOVE to tell you where they went as it would PROVE the depth and reach of the US coin market all over the world! Other highlight purchases: the $10 1888 PCGS PR65 Cameo and the $20 1906 PCGS PR65 Cameo. All these went to different collectors.

Prices were very strong at the Stacks sale. The nicer the coins, the stronger the premiums went. We saw some coins sell for prices as much as 3 grades higher! The marketplace is starved for fresh coins.

The Bowers Sale was crazy. We had sold many of the MS Seated Half Dollars to the collector who formed the Malibu Collection. We figured there might be a little softness and we could get some good deals. NOT! We bought ONLY about 3 halves-and the 43O PCGS MS65 CAC we sold to a collector at lot pick up! The prices were “moon” money and beyond. You had two clear cut collectors competing, us (we were buying for collectors NOT building sets), another high end dealer representing a collector, and at least one party who LOVES rare CAC stickered coins and is not specifically a Seated Half Collector (we did confirm this individual was bidding). It is interesting to note that a NON Seated half Collector would pay such strong prices. This party thinks “outside the box”. His coin purchases from this sale over the years will be as astute just as if he were building one of the finest collections of Seated Halves. He understands, you can’t be scared to stretch when great coins with low to no pops are available.

Our highlight purchases from Bowers included the monster 1851 PCGS MS62 Slug (ex Amon carter) $316,250.00. Of all of our auction purchases, this was the ONLY coin we really stole. We had been prepared to pay up to $400,000.00 hammer! We also purchased the ultra rare and grossly undervalued $3 1877 PCGS PR65 DCameo CAC. We’re helping build a PR $3 collection that is now only 4 coins short of completion! We had to pay up, but we bought just about ALL the CAC MS 64 Seated Dollars for addition to a collection we are exclusively building. The gorgeous 25C 1916 PCGS MS67+ CAC was one we lost on. It sold for $195,500.00 in Bowers. The same coin at the 2010 ANA Boston auction (less than 3 months ago) brought $149,500.00. It was simply a coin that fell thought the cracks at ANA (everyone thought it would go for crazy money, so why bother bidding). At BOTH auctions, Legend was the under-bidder! We still regret not buying the coin-for inventory!

A note about Bowers, they have a new, young, and VERY aggressive staff. They attended to the smallest details for us and even tolerated our diva like behavior (we needed plenty of caffeine to last thru a 1600 lot session) and did what ever we needed to be comfortable. We do believe they will be true powerhouse in the next year (especially if they keep getting killer fresh collections like Malibu).

One thing we feel is extremely important to note about our auction purchases: all the coins mentioned went to different people. There were many more coins purchased buy us that will never make our web site. When FRESH material that’s nice come around, we are there. We only represent people who understand and are willing to do what it takes to secure these types of coins. Paying 10-20, even 30% too much today, is nothing as compared to seeing these items return 200-1000% in years to come! Plus, the like the 1877 $3, when will you ever see another true GEM that is also CAC’d? There still are plenty of buyers out there!

Dealers inventories were still drab and really full of dreck. Had you asked us before the show if we expected to buy well, we’d have told you no. The stars all aligned and we even had some absolute killer coins walk up to the table from collectors. We were very aggressive and ended up buying coins that ranged from a pop 1 fantastic Gold rarity to a six figure GEM! You will see the difference between what we will be offering this week and next vs the “stuff” other dealers have.

THE BALTIMORE SHOW-SELLING

Upfront and honest: we did extremely well WHOLESALE. We had our stealth team of 3 out on the floor and our associate Julie at the table and on the floor. Combined they sold well into six figures. Also, many of the coins sold brought strong money. However our sales to collectors at the show were weak. At no time did we have a crowd at the table. We know it was hit or miss for others too. If you had collector oriented coins, you did awesome. If you had high end rare coins like us, the results were the same according to others we spoke too. Can’t really explain it. The auctions certainly did not show any weakness. We do realize not every show will be a home-run.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

There seems to be a funny thing happening to the market. Consumer confidence is growing MUCH stronger. Its not just that collectors like hearing the coin doctors are on the run, gradeflation is being dealt with, or that CAC exists. What we are seeing all of the sudden are collectors (yes, real collectors) who are moving outside their typical areas and buying better coins. They are doing this because they do not want to be sitting on cash. They want tangible items. Not fully trusting stocks or even real estate, many are turning to buying more and better coins. Its a very important and interesting phenomena that we’ll have to monitor. No, it is NOT the return of the dreaded investors.

We were worried that Want Lists for collectors were so long and not being filled that they would get tired and walk away. NOT! In fact, its making more people switch to areas they can complete or at least build forever (like Type sets). Some people are finally doing what we have been suggesting forever, simply buying nice cool coins-without a theme.

In the upper tier or more expensive items (over $25,000.00), we can tell you consumer confidence and buying is strong as ever. No one we have encountered is thinking short term buying or looking for quick profits. We can not stress enough how important that is.

GOLD

Gold is still going up. Of course there are many geniuses who believe gold will hit $2-$5,000.00. Us, we do not know. If we did, we’d be writing this from our yacht off Hawaii! We do think gold will keep rising a bit more. The correction we predicted was short and small. We think there could be another, but now that the elections are over, people are not really liking what they see.

We still recommend MS66 Saints. They are the best “bang” if the price of gold really pops (meaning the premium will rise). The next thing we like-a simple gold Type set. The beauty of that-it can be loaded with common dates or rarities. MS 62 or MS67 coins. And if numismatic coins scare you, buy American Gold Eagles. There are plenty of ways to play the gold market.

Right now the premiums on generic gold are ridiculously low. There is a serious over supply of dreck, but at some point you expect it to be absorbed. Last November and December gold and the rare gold coin market were strong. We fully expect the price of gold to stay up and no question, the rare gold market WILL get even stronger this year!

WHATS HOT

HIGH GRADE Commems! Finally! The B+M sale has a collection of decent coins. MS Seated Halves and Dollars-just check the B+M Auction. ORIGINAL GEM PR Gold. ALL Bust coins. Walking Liberty Half Dollars. Patterns, we should know, every day we have been selling a decent amount (plus is you follow auctions, they prices are definitely firming).

WHATS NOT HOT

MS Indian cents in high grade. Morgan Dollars seem to be a bit quiet. dreck or average coins. To quote a major dealer ” if its not fresh and cool, nobody wants it”. 3C Nickels have quieted down too.

Related posts:

1. Legend Numismatics Baltimore Coin Show Market Report
2. Legend Numismatics Baltimore Spring Show 2008 Market Report
3. THE BOSTON ANA SHOW – Market Report by Legend Numismatics

GOLD

This is hard for us to believe that gold spot went up, yet ALL Generic $20’s came down! That is the most ridiculous thing we have ever seen. We have been told that the market makers here are flooded with coins. Plus, there seems to be a huge flood of gold coming from Europe. We have even heard some grumblings that the quality of these new arrivals have been poor (more gradeflation?). So no one wants to step out and make bids.

At one point last week, the LARGEST market maker in MS65 Saints quoted us $2,000.00 as his “buy” on a day when gold went up $20.00 (MS65 BID did end the week at $2,200.00). In the meantime, we know dealers who badly need CAC MS 65 Saints and have open BIDS of $2,300.00-$2,400.00 per coin and are buying very few.The demand for NON CAC generics is obviously thin.

The demand for CAC coins is huge with many MAJOR Funds or financial advisers selling the coins easily. We know they cannot get enough, because we supply them and we haven’t bought squat. We will still buy ALL the PCGS /NGC W/M MS66 CAC we can get at $3,475.00 sight UNSEEN. We will pay $2,675.00 for NON CAC PCGS coins only on a SIGHT seen basis. BTW, for anyone who wants to cat call, the CAC market is NOT artificial, its as real and powerful as you get.

The CAC coins sell by demand, not dealers creating phony bids and trying to pump the market. With gold (especially generics) right now for sure there is a two tier market, and quality is what people want.

You know there is something seriously wrong when graded MS61 $20 Libs are priced at $100.00 OVER melt!

With $20’s, it also seems to us that the market feels they are too high (along with the price of gold). We doubt at the lower grade levels quality is the issue. Something has to give in that market. We believe there will be a correction in the price of gold sometime soon. But, its really the hedges who control the price of gold and it seems they want to take it up a little further.

Its totally bewildering to us why there are not stronger premiums since gold is climbing daily into record territory. Something is just not right with this picture.

Right now the BEST buys are $10 Indians and $5 Indians (no 09D) in MS64 and higher. You can not find them emass, and the grading seems to be OK. If you insist on playing the $20 generic market we still believe MS66’s are too cheap or, you can buy NICE MS61/62 $20 (if you can find them) for little over melt and hope one day the premiums expand. We still recommend building a Gold Type set. You can include ANY coin you want then.

SILVER

People are finally waking up to the fact silver is at its all time high. Here too, things like MS65 Morgans and Walkers have come down. That’s insane! How can such a huge market as coins show little demand for simple $100-$200.00 items that actually were popular? Where are all the collectors?

We do not know if poor quality has driven them quiet or what. A GEM 1943 Walker at $105.00 is cheap-no matter how many were minted.

We say this not because we have the huge McClaren deal, but because we see these as just too cheap. We suggest you load up on TRUE MS 65-MS67 Morgans and TRUE MS65-MS67 Walkers. Build a Walker short set in GEM, buy the easy S Mint Morgans in 67, or just load up on really nice pieces. There is almost NO down side at today’s levels with these.

RARE COINS

The only real problem with this end of the market today-there are not enough rare coins around!

We’ve seen several people end their quests to build collections because they have not bought a coin in a year. A suggestion: be creative: one customer of ours is building the second finest MS Seated Dollar set. We added ONE coin over the past 3 years (an 1855 PCGS MS64 CAC) at the Boston ANA Show. So what he is doing now? He is filling in the dates he can’t find with Proofs! Thats not easy either, but we do find a coin here and there and it satisfies his need to have the holes filled in a timely manner. Of course if an MS piece of a date where a Proof has been substituted arrives, no problem, he will keep both!

When people ask us what to collect these days, we recommend Type sets. This way there are no barriers, its completable, and you put in the coins you want.

Today, we see the market as steady but building. Based upon our sales, we know things are far from dead. Who knows what gold is going to do or how it will effect the coin market. For now, everything is positive. Even if gold corrects, rare coins probably will not really feel its effects. Remember, the rare coin market is base on supply and demand.

Related posts:

1. The 2008 Rare Date Gold Market Report
2. Rare Coin Market Report: The June 2010 Long Beach Show
3. Legend Numismatics Mid October Rare Coin Market Report