Weekly Market Report: Market Continues to Show Stability as Supply/Demand Ratio Swings to the Demand Side

"It is my opinion that we're about to move into a bull market in rare coins," says John Dannreuther of JDRC, Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee. "Things are steady at the moment, with activity even in what might be called the 'weak areas' of the market. There's definite firming throughout the different series, and the sellers have disappeared at so-called 'current levels.'"

Can you give us an example? "At the market bottom in 1994 MS65 Liberty Seated dimes hit $600 and I was actually buying some, cheap as they were. Today they're bid about 30% higher than the 1994 low and I'm not buying any. The same is true for MS65 Barber dimes and most of the type coins that sell for less than $2,000. As I've said before, the first signs of an impending bull market are when coins begin selling well at current levels."

Are there any hot areas of the market at the moment? "The hottest areas are just what you would expect. They include original BU rolls, Proof sets and Mint sets. Dealers and collectors alike are looking for the finest in BU and Proof singles for modern sets," Dannreuther continued. "While most of the other areas can't be considered hot, it's definitely true that there's no availability of underpriced coins."

"The new collectors that have entered the market because of the Washington quarters Statehood program are branching out," says Jason Carter of Carter Numismatics, Inc., in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Lincoln cents, Mercury dimes, Franklin half dollars and Washington quarters are all strong areas of the market right now.

"The classic key dates are also showing strength," Carter said, "including such coins as the 1893-S silver dollar, the 1916-D dime and similar rarities. Some new entrants into the areas of high interest are rare dates in the Liberty Seated and Barber series. All grades are good in those series, not just the MS65 or better material."

Is there anything that's NOT selling? "Some of the low population common dates are showing some resistance, such as an 1881-S dollar in MS68. An MS68 common date Franklin would be an easy sale, though, if such a coin came on the market. Aside from that, there's still some resistance on the $10,000+ coins."

Why are the 20th century coins doing so well? "The modern coins are the easiest to understand and relate to for the new collectors. As their collections progress, though, I'm certain that many of them will move into earlier coins."

If there's one coin that captures the imagination of the collecting public and the press alike it's the 1943 copper cent. This famed error coin from the days of World War II has received a plethora of publicity in the past year, even though genuine examples aren't worth in excess of $500,000 each despite media reports to the contrary. Last week PCGS certified an AU58 example that certainly qualifies as one of the top five (or so) specimens known to exist.

"It's really cool," said PCGS President Richard S. Montgomery, his voice filled with enthusiasm. Cool? "No other word seems quite right," he continued. "It's such a great and famous rarity. The first truly rare coin that I ever heard about was the 1943 copper cent, and I'm sure that that's true for many Americans, whether they're collectors or not."

The 1943 copper cent was struck in error when a copper blank was accidentally used instead of a steel blank. Cents were struck in steel in 1943 because copper was needed for the war effort.

Obverse and reverse view of the 1943 Copper Cent.