Collector coins continue to rule in the world of numismatics as the market marches towards the much-anticipated Central States Numismatic Society convention at the beginning of May. Every dealer seems to have the words "collector coins" and "key dates" on his lips and on his want lists as demand remains extremely strong in many areas.
"From the grades of Fine to MS65 key coins are leading the list of requests," says Lee Crane of L&C Coins in Los Alamitos, California. "That includes such coins as 1893-S dollars, 1913-S quarters and every other rarity in the most popular series. It seems like I can sell ten for every one that I get."
Are there any other coins that are selling that well? "Yes, Proof 69DCAM and Proof 70DCAM [deep cameo] coins are seeing the same kind of popularity. When I put a coin on my list and receive a dozen orders for it it's obvious that this is a red-hot market.
"Other items that are selling extremely well are Indian cents and Lincoln cents in the $200 to $500 range. That goes for the Proof coins as well as the circulation strike pieces in 64, 65, and 66," Crane continued. "I'm also sure that you've heard about the great market in beautifully toned dollars. If they're really pretty with a lot of luster shining through the colors then the price can be anywhere from five to twenty times the norm for the date and grade."
What's happening in Dahlonega?
Historic Dahlonega, Georgia is the former home of a United States Mint, where gold coins were struck until Confederate forces seized it in 1861. I checked in with veteran gold specialist Al Adams, who operates the Gold Rush Gallery right on ye olde Public Square.
"Dahlonega gold coins are really firming up," Adams said. "There were a lot of coins in the $10,000 to $20,000 range that were on the market for a while, so they had to be discounted, sometimes deeply, in order to sell them. Those discounts are disappearing. The Charlotte gold market is also better, but prices are still a little soft.
"The greatest demand is for C and D gold in the $800 to $1,500 range, but those coins are really tough to find. The last Bowers and Merena Galleries sale [Baltimore] had about 100 pieces of C and D gold but I was only able to buy one coin. That sale brought moon money."
Collectors building complete sets.
What is happening in other areas? "Collectors are back in the market in a big way," Adams said, with the full knowledge that it was an obvious understatement. "I'm building complete sets of Liberty nickels, Indian cents, Lincoln cents, Buffaloes and Barber coinage for customers."
Is that in MS65 or better or Proof 65 or what? "That's in all grades from Good and better. The key dates in some of those series are proving to be a real challenge.
"The new book by Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett is also creating a lot of interest. It's entitled The 100 Greatest U. S. Coins and it's a wonderful coffee table book. I've already had a couple of customers say, 'Let's build it!'"
Seriously? "Well, the Brasher Doubloon and the 1804 dollar might be out of their price range, but they'd like to see how far they can go."
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.
