The just-completed Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Exposition was just exactly what the market expected: active, strong, mind-boggling at times and more than just a little frustrating. It may be tiresome to read about the "lack of fresh material" again and again, but when every dealer brings it up it is an aspect of the market that needs to be reported.
"The show was really good, of course, but a lot of dealers threw up their hands in disgust because there was so little to spend their money on," said John Dannreuther of JDRC, Inc., in Cordova, Tennessee. "One direction of the market that was extremely positive was the end of the price compression in several series. There's now a $200 difference between Proof 65 and Proof 66 Three Cent Nickels and they're selling instantly. A few weeks ago the difference was $125 and no one seemed to care. The changes in Proof Barber and Seated type are even more dramatic."
How do things look for the future? "Coins have to go up," Dannreuther said, emphatically. "Something has to happen to bring more material into the marketplace and rising prices seem to be the only answer."
"I didn't leave the table for two days!"
"We sold a lot more at the show than we bought," said Dale Larsen of Spectrum Numismatics in Irvine, California. "I didn't leave the table for two days. We didn't make it to the Wednesday set-up at Long Beach, but dozens of dealers were waiting for us Thursday morning when we showed up."
Was the demand as great as ever for coins? "The demand was really broad-based," Larsen said. "A lot of people were looking for small gold. They wanted Proofs and Charlotte and Dahlonega pieces, especially. Other areas of great interest included DMPL dollars, better date dollars, Liberty Seated Proof dollars and Proof Trade dollars. We had a few pieces but they sold almost instantly."
Heritage auction sales surpass $6 million at Long Beach.
The United States section of Heritage Coin Auctions "Signature Sale" proved to be just as strong as every other facet of the Long Beach show. Here are some of the highlights:
- 1858/7 Flying Eagle cent (PCGS MS65) - $41,400
- 1912-S Lincoln cent (PCGS MS65RD) - $27,600
- 1864 Small Motto 2c (PCGS PR65BN) - $31,050
- 1917 Buffalo nickel (PCGS MS67) - $12,650
- 1874 Arrows dime (PCGS PR65 ) - $12,650
- 1889-CC Morgan dollar (PCGS MS63) - $23,575
- 1892-S Morgan dollar (PCGS MS62 ) - $48,300
- 1893-S Morgan dollar (PCGS MS61) - $69,000
- 1807 $2˝ gold (PCGS MS63) - $34,500
Kingswood "New Castle" sale is this week!
"The market is hot, hot, hot," says Cassi East, Director of Auctions for Collectors Universe. "We had a record number of collectors and dealers looking at lots at the Long Beach show and we're already covered up in bids for the 'New Castle' sale that ends Thursday [June 5]."
The 966-lot auction features PCGS and NGC-certified coins of high quality in all denominations and price ranges. To view the lots and/or to bid online, click here.
Bowers & Merena "Sanctuary Sale" is now online.
The "Sanctuary Sale" from Bowers & Merena Galleries is being held in conjunction with the upcoming Mid-America Coin Expo in Rosemont, Illinois June 26-27.
This huge and exciting sale is now online and Internet bids will be accepted through June 24. To view the lots and 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).
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