Renewed Collector Interest Evident at ANA Convention

By Bruce Amspacher - August 15, 2000

PCGS onsite grading at the ANA included a quantity of $20 Saint-Gaudens High Reliefs.

The 2000 Convention of the American Numismatic Association is in the books, and those in attendance are regarding it as the best show in many years. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, proved to be the perfect host as the convention was jammed with collectors, dealers and those "just taking a look." Local TV stations gave the show excellent coverage, and the bourse floor and auctions were filled with frenzied activity.

"Rare coins were selling extremely well," reported John Dannreuther of JDRC, Inc., of Memphis, Tennessee. "The active price range has been expanded from a $10,000 top to around $50,000. I was selling proof gold, mint state gold, early gold [pre-1834], and high quality silver Bust coinage. I must have traded 20 or so coins in the $10,000+ range, so the lid is definitely off in some areas of the market.

"There are other market segments that haven't taken off, though," Dannreuther continued. "Generic gold is even cheaper than it was last week, and the $100,000+ coins are still meeting with resistance. The enthusiasm in the market is excellent, though, and almost everyone is optimistic about the overall strength of rare coins."

Sacagawea dollar errors receive tremendous attention at the Convention

One of the most heavily publicized coins in history is the Sacagawea dollar/Washington quarter mule error that was recently discovered. There were two of them in auctions at the ANA, and Marc Crane of Marc One Numismatics in Newport Beach, California, purchased one. "It was definitely the coin that everyone wanted to see," Crane said. "I purchased it for a client who thought it was about the coolest thing he'd ever seen. He was nice enough to let me display it throughout the show. I must've pulled it out of the case a thousand times for interested onlookers.

"I had the coin on display along with a blank planchet for a Sacagawea dollar, so that people could see how the error was made. The holder for the blank planchet stated that the coin had no date, but I met a young collector at the show who made a quite astute observation about the 'no date' factor. He pointed out that this is one time when we actually do know the date of a blank planchet, since it had to be made for a 2000 coin. Beginning next year we'll be unable to tell the 2000 blanks from the 2001 blanks, but it would be great if the 2000 blanks could be certified as such for historical purposes."

The young collector Crane was referring to is Ryan Mastrangelo, a 12-year old numismatist from West Chester, Pennsylvania. Ryan was in attendance along with his parents. "My dad collects coins and got me interested," Ryan said in an interview with Weekly Market Report. "I collect error coins myself, along with statehood quarters and just about anything else."

"One of the great joys of coin shows is to meet a polite young person with such a quick mind," Crane said. "It lets me know that the future is in good hands."

"Sale of the Millennium" Soars

The "Sale of the Millennium" auction by Bowers and Merena Galleries was extraordinarily well attended and active, and when the final lot fell under the hammer the sale total was well in excess of $6 million. "The early copper coins in the sale went extremely well,' noted Gordon Wrubel, vice-president of acquisitions for the Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, rare coin company. "We found all areas of the market to be good in this sale, from rare gold to 18th and 19th century classics to 20th century coins. It was a well-received and strong auction."

PCGS Reports "One of the Most Active Shows Ever"

The ten days in greater Philadelphia proved to be "a great success," according to Richard S. Montgomery, president of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). "We graded thousands of coins on-site at the show," Montgomery said, "and it was definitely one of the most active shows ever. There were several spectacular Colonial issues that came in for certification, and, as always, lots of $20 High Relief pieces. That coin is amazingly popular in all grades, and we can count on seeing them in quantity at a major show."

The 2000 ANA Convention is history, but it looks as though it is one that will be fondly remembered for many years to come.

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).