Weekly Market Report: Happy New Year! F.U.N. Show Leads Off 2001

When Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey was first released the date of the story seemed almost impossibly futuristic. Would that year ever get here, or would we figure out some way to lock ourselves into the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s? The year 2001. Incredible!

This year is just like most others in one way, and that similarity is the Florida United Numismatists (F.U.N.) show that ushers in a fresh twelve months every January. Not only are dealers and collectors from around the country in attendance in the bourse room, but the auctions are always crowded as well. What's happening in the world of coins? The answer can always be found at F.U.N.

Rare coin market is ripe with opportunity

"I really like the rare coin market," says Marc Crane of Marc One Numismatics in Newport Beach, California. "I'm heading for the F.U.N. show in a few hours and I'm eager to buy and sell some coins. The impending recession is not going to hurt the rare coin business because we've already learned how to cope with a flat market. The past decade, in fact, has been pretty much of a recessionary period for coins while most people focused on the runaway stock market. Now coins are a great deal and the participation level is growing every day."

To what does he contribute this growth? "The new coin and collectibles programs are great," Crane continued. "In addition to the highly publicized statehood quarters program there are new modern rarities that are creating tremendous interest. The 3-piece coin and currency set, for instance, was issued for $39 and is already trading higher. Only 75,000 sets were issued if my information is correct, and each set has a 2000 Silver Eagle, a $1 bill with 2000 in the serial number, and a 'D' Mint Sacagawea dollar. The word is that the Sacagawea was actually minted at West Point, which adds mightily to its interest for collectors."

We’re living in a world of change

"I agree with the assessment of most other dealers that the market is 100% okay," says Gloria Peters of P & M Rare Coins in Irvine, California. "Even so, we're undergoing some changes. It has become so expensive to travel to a show that a number of the smaller dealers are going to be limited to local shows in the future. After you pay $1,225 for a corner table, $250 a day for a hotel, add in food and taxis and top it off with the airline tickets it can take over $30,000 in sales just to pay the expenses for the week. We're probably going to see a scenario where the major dealers become bigger. It takes a lot of money to deal in rare coins these days.

"This is the first F.U.N. show that I've missed in a while," Ms. Peters continued. "It's not because of expenses, at least in this case, but for medical reasons. The good news is that I'll be back on the road in February."

Can't the California shows satisfy most of your numismatic needs? "A dealer needs to cover the whole country whenever possible," Ms. Peters said. "There are a lot of coins on collectors' want lists that require the maximum amount of searching." What's the solution? "We’re going to be sharing table space and hotel rooms a lot in the future."

One, two three, bid!

There are three sales in conjunction with the F.U.N. show that are worthy of note (to say the least). We have been writing about the Bowers & Merena Rarities Sale for weeks, and it will take place on January 3. Heritage Numismatic Auctions' sale features the "NFL Set" of Morgan dollars that was assembled by former National Football League star Gregg Bingham. There's also a gargantuan sale of Texas National Bank notes being offered by Heritage that includes some spectacular rarities and condition pieces.