|
The rare coin market continues on the road to a full recovery. The just completed Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Exposition [February 22-25] proved to be a great success, with generic gold and so-called "collector coins" showing tremendous strength in the face of lower bullion prices and recessionary fears. "Generic gold has not only turned around, it's downright hot," reported John Dannreuther of JDRC, Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee.
A noted California dealer expressed similar sentiments about gold coins. "I can usually find almost everything I need at a Long Beach show," he said, "but this time I found one MS65 $20 Liberty, one MS65 $10 Indian, and two or three other coins and that was it. Gold got too cheap and it went into hiding."
PCGS coins sparkle in Long Beach auctions
Heritage Numismatic Auctions held a six-session Signature Sale in conjunction with the Long Beach Expo and garnered more than $4,000,000 in winning bids. Here are some of the highlights:
- 1944 Steel Lincoln cent, PCGS AU55 ... $11,500
- 1955/55 Doubled Die cent, PCGS MS65RD ... $59,225
- 1918/7-D Buffalo nickel, PCGS MS64 ... $83,950
- 1870-CC Seated quarter PCGS VF30 ... $10,925
- 1854-O $20 Liberty PCGS XF45 ... $87,400
- 1856-O $20 Liberty PCGS XF40 ... $94,875
- 1882 $20 Liberty PCGS AU53 ... $32,200
- 1915-S Pan-Pac $50 Round PCGS MS63 ... $35,650
- 1999 Susan B. Anthony $1 on a Sacagawea $1 planchet PCGS MS64 ... $10,638
Over 800 Internet bidders also participated in the Heritage Signature Sale, winning 567 lots valued in excess of $1 million. "Both the winning bidder and the under-bidder on the MS64 1918/7-D nickel came from the Internet," reported Heritage Numismatic Auctions Director Bob Korver.
PCGS certifies two spectacular Mint errors
 Two incredible Mint errors of the "see it to believe it" category have been certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service. One coin is a 2000-D Sacagawea dollar in MS67 struck on a Canadian bimetallic $2 ring planchet! Wow! "This sensational error had the entire grading room shaking its collective head in disbelief," said PCGS president Richard S. Montgomery.
 A second error of note (what an understatement!) is a 1937 Doubled Die Washington quarter in MS65. It is believed that this is the finest example known to exist by a wide margin. 'It's a totally original gem," Montgomery reported.
Kingswood "Bristol" sale ends March 1st
The "Bristol" sale from Kingswood Coin Auctions ends on Thursday, March 1st. The 550-lot auction is proving to be one of the most active in Kingswood's history. 'We were swamped with dealers and collectors looking at lots at Long Beach," said Cassi East, Collectors Universe Commerce Manager. "There are more Internet bids logged for this sale than for any other in our history, and that doesn't include the great rush that always comes in the last 24-48 hours."
The Kingswood "Bristol" sale includes the finest graded 1847-C $5 gold piece, the only MS65 example known to exist. The broad selection of coins, all PCGS certified, ranges from Colonial coins though US Patterns, with a focus on high quality collector-oriented coins. To view lots or to bid online, click here.
Bruce Amspacher has been a professional writer since the 1950s and a professional numismatist since the 1960s. He won the OIPA sportswriting award in 1958 and again in 1959, then spent eight years in college studying American Literature. This background somehow led him to become a professional numismatist in 1968. Since then he has published hundreds of articles on rare coins in dozens of publications as well as publishing his own newsletter, the “Bruce Amspacher Investment Report,” for more than a decade. His areas of expertise include Liberty Seated dollars, Morgan and Peace dollars, United States gold coins, sports trivia, Western history, modern literature and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. In 1986 he was a co-founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).
|
Click here to email this article to a friend.
