Weekly Market Report: It's 'Baltimore Week' as Market Continues its White-Hot Pace

It just came on the news that the winter of 2001-02 was the hottest in history and was a full seven degrees above normal. I thought at first that they were talking about the coin market, but it turned out to be much more mundane than that. They were only talking about the weather.

This is "Baltimore Week," as the Suburban Washington/Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention takes place March 21-24. This highly successful show has grown tremendously in recent years and now has the status to be called "Long Beach East" in some quarters. If the market's momentum continues due north as anticipated this will probably be the most favorable Baltimore show ever. Regardless of the outcome you can expect a full report in next week's column.

Meanwhile, here's what's happening this week.

Market is "booming" in Massachusetts for gold, early type.

"Since December 1st things have been booming," says Bret Leifer, a 25-year veteran of numismatics from Wayland, Massachusetts. "It's like someone turned on a switch. The past three months have been the busiest time that I have ever seen."

What is the boom attributable to? "People want gold," Leifer answered. "There are those that want it for diversification, of course, but there are lots of new collectors, too. The eight-piece gold type sets are selling extremely well in MS64. I sold about 80 of them during the Y2K scare of 1999, and now they're selling again, but at much friendlier prices."

What else? "The big difference is that these coins are selling to collectors. Yes, there's a lot of activity in MS62-64 Saints [$20 gold pieces designed by Augustus St. Gaudens] in bulk quantity, but I now have collectors buying such items as Mint State Charlotte and Dahlonega gold, No Motto $20 Liberty gold, Classic Head $2-1/2 and $5 gold pieces and even Draped Bust $2-1/2 gold by date."

Are silver coins as active for you as they are for most other dealers? "Yes, especially in two areas. One is early type, most notably 18th century coins. I recently found a great 1794 half dollar in AU for a customer, but it took two years to locate it. The second hot area is modern coinage such as Franklin half dollars and Washington quarters. There are some serious collectors for Franklin half dollars and I've gained a great deal of respect for that series."

PCGS Set Registry coins? Sizzle, sizzle.

"PCGS Set Registry coins passed the boiling point several weeks ago," says John Rothans of David Hall Rare Coins in Irvine, California. "They are now steaming. The activity and demand are both unprecedented. The collectors are having a wonderful time and the marketplace reflects it."

Is this demand restricted to the more affordable modern issues? "Yes and no," Rothans answered. "Most of the activity is in modern commemoratives and similar items, but full red Lincoln cents, Washington quarters, Walking Liberty half dollars, cameo Proof type coins, Standing Liberty quarters, and other issues are also selling remarkably well."

Do you believe that it will continue? "The Baltimore show will undoubtedly be a great one. Dealers that I've talked to can't wait to look at our inventory and I can't wait to look at theirs. The Bowers and Merena auction [The Wayne S. Rich Collection, March 21-23] is going to be a monster."

A monster? It's that good? "Of course," Rothans said. "A monster, as in a monstrous success!"

Bowers and Merena EXPRESS auction is a winner.

The first of the Bowers and Merena Galleries EXPRESS auctions was completed on March 15. "It was even better than we anticipated," said Cassi East, Director of Auctions for Collectors Universe. The sale was offered at the CU website, with bidding accepted by e-mail, telephone, FAX and over the Internet.

"The next EXPRESS sale will go online April 5th and close April 15th. Prospective consignors are welcome to contact me or Bowers and Merena directly," Ms. East concluded.