Weekly Market Report: Bowers & Merena “Rarities Sale” and 2002 F.U.N. Show are Ready to Dictate Market Tempo

By Bruce Amspacher - January 3, 2002

1871 Two Cent Piece PCGS PR67 Red at auction in the Bowers and Merena Rarities Sale.

Happy New Year! Everyone at Collectors Universe sends you his or her best for the upcoming year and many more years to come.

The rare coin market is like time itself; it waits for no man. Just as you thought it was time for a breather from the hectic pace of 2001, it’s time for the 2002 F.U.N. show in Orlando, Florida. This is one of the five MAJOR shows of the year, along with the ANA summer convention and the three Long Beach extravaganzas. There is always an important auction, lots of bourse activity, and a tempo-setting trend to follow in the months ahead. “It’s definitely one of the most important shows every year,” says David Hall, founder of David Hall Rare Coins in Newport Beach, California.

Bowers & Merena sale on auction agenda.

The “Rarities Sale” by Bowers and Merena Galleries is an auction delight scheduled for January 8, 2002, also in Orlando, Florida. The entire 875-lot sale will be held in a single day, so bring your bidding paddles or get ready to bid online. Here are some of the highlights:

1776 Continental Dollar	PCGS VF25
1844 Original Half Cent	PCGS PR63 Red
1856 Flying Eagle Cent	PCGS PR64
1864-L Indian Cent	PCGS MS65 Red
1865 Two Cent Piece	PCGS MS67 Red
1871 Two Cent Piece	PCGS PR67 Red
1792 Half Disme	PCGS AU58
1794 Half Dime	PCGS MS64
1896-O Barber Dime	PCGS MS66
1796 Quarter	PCGS MS63
1846 Liberty Seated Quarter	PCGS PR64
1853 Arrows & Rays Half Dollar	PCGS MS65
1893-S Barber Half Dollar	PCGS MS65
1795 Flowing Hair Dollar	PCGS AU58
1873 Liberty Seated Dollar	PCGS PR66
1895 Morgan Dollar	PCGS PR66 Cameo
1843-C Small Date Quarter Eagle	PCGS AU55
1806 "Round Top" 6 Half Eagle	PCGS MS64
1859-S Liberty Half Eagle	PCGS MS62
1890 Liberty Half Eagle	PCGS PR66
1801 $10 Gold	PCGS MS64
1876 $20 Liberty	PCGS MS64
1855 Kellogg $20	PCGS Proof 62

Remarkably, this long list of numismatic delectables is merely a sampling. To peruse the entire smorgasbord and/or to bid online, click here.

Market is “strong and ready” for next phase.

“Nothing has happened to change the optimism that’s in place for the upcoming F.U.N. show,” says John Dannreuther of JDRC, Inc, in Memphis, Tennessee. “We have talked to lots of dealers and several important collectors in the past few weeks, and everyone feels that the market is strong and ready for 2002 and beyond.”

Where is the main focus of the market? “The primary interests of the market haven’t changed. That’s early Americana, 20th century coins and modern issues. The expansion has come in a renewed Morgan dollar market, a hot silver commemorative market and the fact that Proof gold coins and some other $10,000+ coins are selling well, too.”

What’s going to happen? We’ll keep you posted in next week’s column!

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).