Weekly Market Report: Certified Gold Soars as Economic and Political Unrest Unsettle America

By Bruce Amspacher - September 25, 2001

$20 gold pieces such as this 1913-S Saint Gaudens are in great demand

Certified gold coins are soaring in price as the rare coin market responds to the economic and political uncertainty that has escalated since the tragic events of September 11. "We are selling PCGS-certified gold coins by the boxcar," says Richard Schwary of California Numismatic Investments, Inc., in Inglewood, California.

"Nice quality $20 gold pieces in MS63 through MS66 are in great demand," Schwary continued. "In addition, any gold coins in MS64 are flying out the door. That includes any and all of the coins that make up the 12-piece gold type set, including the Type Two gold dollar.

"Overall, the prices for most popular certified gold coins are up about 20% in the past two weeks. That’s understandable, as we sold over 500 coins within a few days and we were totally out of coins after a week. It was necessary to go into a strong sellers’ market to replenish inventory."

What about bullion coins such a Krugerrands, Maple Leafs and American Eagles? "The bullion market hasn’t moved upwards as strongly as the certified coin market, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t active. We had a $250,000 order and another for $500,000. Those are major trades in this market area for us, as the largest sales are usually in the $50,000 range."

New York City is humming, market is quiet.

Anthony Terranova is a veteran rare coin dealer from New York City. We checked in with him to find out what is happening in this great, vibrant and wounded metropolis. "The city is humming again," Terranova said. "Everyone is back to work. Two of the major arteries into the city are closed, so traffic is impossibly bad, but overall it’s New York again, even with all of the sadness."

How is the market there? "New York itself is kind of quiet, but coins continue to trade around the country. I sold a $90,000 coin only two days after the disaster. The customer said he wasn’t going to let the terrorists alter his life. Other people feel the same way."

Kingswood "Franklin" Sale online October 1

The Kingswood Coin Auctions "Franklin" Sale is going online October 1st. This Internet/phone/fax/e-mail/snail mail sale was originally scheduled for October 11, but the sale date has been moved back to October 18.

"We will be showing auction lots for both the Kingswood sale and the Bowers & Merena Galleries 'Tree Many Feathers' sale at Long Beach," said Cassi East, auction representative. "We will have representatives available on set-up day [Wednesday, October 3] and on Thursday through Saturday as well [October 4-6]."

"Tree Many Feathers" sale is online now!

The sensational "Tree Many Feathers" collection is back online! This high quality auction was originally scheduled in New York City in mid-September, but the tragic events of that week led to a postponement to November 28. To peruse the lots and/or to enter bids, just 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).