By Doug Winter – RareGoldCoins.com

I’ve recently had a few collectors ask me a similar question; one that has given me some pause to think. Basically, these are people whose main collecting focus is an expensive, very challenging series. Due to lack of availability (of funds), their purchases may be very infrequent. But they still love coins and the thrill of the hunt. What, they’ve asked me, can they play with as their “back-up” set?

The parameters that they’ve given me for this back-up set have been pretty consistent. They want a group of coins that are fun to collect, reasonably affordable, interesting but not wildly esoteric and different enough that they won’t compete against their primary set(s). Most importantly, they don’t want their back-up set to grow so expensive that it depletes funds from their primary set.

My answer(s) has typically been based on the needs and wants of the collector. I’d like to share a few suggestions that I have given focusing on the ideas that appear to have been popular as opposed to ideas of mine that have gone over like the proverbial lead balloon.

1. Dahlonega half eagles in EF and lower AU grades.

With the exception of two dates (the 1842-D Large Date and the 1861-D), the Dahlonega half eagle set does not include any major rarities or extremely expensive coins. Every issue can be purchased in the EF-AU range for $5,000 or less and there are no “stoppers” that will prove frustrating for the collector. The series is reasonably short (just 26 coins) and the coins themselves are highly collectible. One of the best things about this series is that if a collector gets tired of these coins after buying just a few, he will have little downside risk. I’d say the key to collecting a set of Dahlonega half eagles is to be patient and to wait for choice, original coins.

2. No Motto Philadelphia Eagles.

This is a set that the collector might not want to actually form a date set but it is a great area to dabble in. There are lots of very interesting coins that are priced in the $1,000-3,000 and what’s important to remember is that, generically, just about any still-round ten dollar gold piece from this era is worth in the area of $700. If you become seriously interested in this series, you can pursue the rarities which include the 1844, 1858, 1863 and 1865. If you’d rather just dabble, buy coins like the nice AU50 1857 eagle I just sold off my website for less than $2,000 (it was a great value, in my opinion).
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Part One of a Three Part Series on the state of the Rare Coin Market. by Greg Reynolds

In early August, while attending the recent ANA Convention in Los Angeles, I spent considerable time interviewing dealers and checking out coins that were being offered. Coin markets are very healthy in that there are plenty of buyers for scarce and rare coins at the current price levels, and there were a substantial number of serious collectors buying at the Convention or being represented by dealers. Certainly, collectors are more active now than they were in March or April, or even in June. Quite a few dealers and collector-sellers refuse to sell many of their coins at the current levels.

Some categories of rare coins have maintained their values or fallen only slightly over the past year; other categories have fallen 20% to 45%. My impression is that markets for scarce and rare U.S. coins, on average, are down 18% to 25% over the last twelve months, though many great coins have held their value.

There has always been a gap between the prices for coins that are mid range to high end for their respective PCGS or NGC assigned grades and those that are low end or have substantial negative characteristics. As is analyzed in my companion article, the price gap between the high end and low end for coins of the same type, certified grade and date (or equivalent date) has widened over the past twelve months and was especially evident in trading at the ANA Convention.

John Feigenbaum, president of David Lawrence Rare Coins, declares that, at the ANA Convention, he “found the market to be a lot more vibrant than expected with many of [his] contemporaries ready to do deals. The key remains that one has to price coins at current market prices, which are generally down from six months ago. But the difference between [the ANA Convention] and say the Central States show was that people were looking to do business. The last nine months have been lethargic at the wholesale level.”
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