The Fed announced today that overnight interest rates would remain at a 40-year low in an attempt to bolster an uncertain economy and stimulate growth. In the much-anticipated Federal Reserve Release there was basically no news to be found among the stuffily-worded sentences. Meanwhile, the rare coin market released a "State of the Market" report that contained but a single compound word that said it all: "Yee-haw!"
Soaring like a Catskill eagle, rare coins continue to dominate on the plus side, with interest remaining high in virtually every area. It is no longer news that the market is strong, but the expansion remains more than newsworthy as the focus broadens to encompass virtually every series in the Red Book.
Collector coins hot in all price ranges.
I checked in with Jason Carter of Carter Numismatics, Inc., in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to see if coins are doing as well in the Great Southwest as they are everywhere else. "Collector coins are selling in all price ranges," Carter reported. "Rare Liberty Seated coins are doing extremely well, and Bust coins are just as strong."
Which Bust coins? "Everything. Bust half dimes through Bust dollars. When prices started moving up on Bust dollars about three years ago quite a few pieces came on the market. Instead of forcing prices down the market absorbed the coins and they just kept going up. There's as much interest today as ever."
Is it true that all series are strong? "Just about," Carter said. "Rare date gold is moving quickly in the $5,000-10,000 range, but the $20,000-plus coins are still showing a little resistance. Another area that is a little slow is expensive Proof type. If it is deep cameo [DCAM] then it sells almost immediately; otherwise, the collectors are spending their money elsewhere. That leaves almost the entire market showing strength. The business on eBay is highly active."
What about generic gold? "I don't do much in that area," Carter said. "I do know that not much of it is coming in over the counter. The people who have the gold seem to want to hang on to it."
Kingswood "Jackson Sale" is another winner.
The "Jackson Sale" from Kingswood Coin Auctions was completed on August 8th and reflected the overall health and diversity of the market. Here are a few of the highlights:
- 1794 Half Cent, PCGS AU55 - $6,153
- 1964 Lincoln Cent SMS, PCGS MS64RD - $4,830
- 1794 Half Dollar, PCGS Fine-15 - $3,539
- 1897 Half Dollar, PCGS PR66DCAM - $4,831
- 1935-D Half Dollar, PCGS MS66 - $5,290
- 1836 Gobrecht Dollar, PCGS PR62 - $12,650
- 1859-O Seated Dollar, PCGS MS64 - $5,468
- 1885 Morgan Dollar, PCGS PR66 - $4,370
- 1889 $3 Gold, PCGS PR65DCAM - $17,825
- 1850 $10 Gold (Small Date), PCGS MS61 - $11,213
- 1853/2 $20 Liberty, PCGS AU58 - $14,375
"This turned out to be one of our most active and fun auctions ever," said Raeleen Endo, auction representative for Collectors Universe. "The addition of stamps and the larger offering of currency created a great deal of interest from a lot of new customers."
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).
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