Whoosh!
That sound you just heard was the rare coin market entering Warp Five as the results from the 2004 F.U.N. show pour in. Like something out of a science fiction novel, every piece of news is greeted with an obligatory "Really?" or a sincere and enthusiastic "Holy cow!"
Prices in the Heritage Numismatic Auctions sales were nothing short of amazing, with over $30 million in sales realized. There are some staggering numbers to digest and a few of the highlights are listed below:
| 1856 Flying Eagle cent | PCGS MS66 | $172,500 |
| 1864-L Indian cent | PCGS PR64RD | $118,450 |
| 1927-S Lincoln cent | PCGS MS65RD | $24,725 |
| 1861-D Gold dollar | PCGS MS63 | $86,250 |
| 1804 13 Star $2˝ Gold | PCGS AU50 | $92,000 |
| 1854-D $3 Gold | PCGS MS61 | $92,000 |
| 1795 9 Leaves $10 | PCGS MS60 | $161,000 |
| 1798/7 $10, 7X6 Stars | PCGS MS62 | $218,500 |
| 1870-CC $20 Liberty | PCGS AU53 | $368,000 |
| 1883 $20 Liberty | PCGS PR65DCAM | $172,500 |
| 1900 Lafayette dollar | PCGS MS67 | $66,750 |
Gold was selling like... well, like GOLD!
"The prices and premiums for gold coins were the highest in ten years at the F.U.N. show, but there was absolutely zero price resistance," said Brad Rodgers of The Numismatic Emporium in Woodland Hills, California. "There were not enough coins to go around and everything was selling. You might think that with $425 gold that we would see a large supply of coins coming on the market due to profit taking, but that simply isn't the case."
What was in the greatest demand? "Anything that's a little better date or a slightly tougher type or a better grade is the first to go. There are so many people looking for coins and so many orders to fill that the supply of coins is dwindling rapidly, so I sold everything except the felt liners in the cases."
Why the demand for coins that are only slightly better? Isn't generic by any other name still generic? "You have to look at the historic results of an up market," Rodgers said. "The better coins get better results. This time, for instance, MS63 Saints are up 50% but MS64 $20 Libs have doubled in price during the same time period."
Type coins still offering great potential.
"The F.U.N. show was very lively," said Ron Iskowitz, a veteran dealer from Palm Harbor, Florida. "Rather than set up and sell coins I was just going around the show and buying coins in my area of special interest and sending them to customers."
What area is that? "I feel that high grade Mint State type coins offer the best growth potential," Iskowitz said. "Proof coins will undoubtedly do well, but the Mint State coins will be even better, in my opinion."
Any type coins in particular? "The sub-types are the best. That's the No Drapery coins, the No Stars coins and the Arrows at Date varieties. I also like the Capped Bust material and anything from the 18th century."
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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