Weekly Market Report: Yes, Market is Really as Good as They Say! DMPL Dollars are White-Hot!

Is the rare coin market really as good as everyone is saying? In the face of economic uncertainty, a floundering stock market and lower consumer confidence in many areas, the answer is still a resounding, "Yes!"

"The market is great all the way around," says Laura Sperber of Legend Numismatics in Lincroft, New Jersey. "There are no weaknesses to be found anywhere. There's an insatiable appetite for coins in all denominations and all price ranges."

All price ranges? How about the ultra-expensive coins? "Thirty days ago I had ten coins in the $50,000+ range. Today, I have one, and it's out on approval," Sperber said. "The ten coins were as diverse as they could be, including key dates, a Proof 68 gold coin and an MS67 Lafayette dollar."

DMPL dollars hit warp speed.

Well, Laura, everyone wants to know where you're advertising so that they can do what you're doing. "It's all coming from the website. People love the Internet and they love to surf and buy things. Right now they especially love DMPL dollars." Note: DMPL is an acronym for Deep Mirror Prooflike and refers to Morgan silver dollars struck from highly polished dies.

"Carson City DMPLs are especially hot, with New Orleans issues not far behind. I wish a bag of DMPL Carson City bucks would fall out of the sky…as long as it didn't hit me on the head, that is. I guarantee I could sell the whole bag, coin by coin, within a few days," Sperber said. "The demand is absolutely unprecedented, and I've seen hot dollar markets before."

Type market continues expansion.

It is well known that Proof type has been in heavy demand for over a year. Is Mint State type catching up? "High end type coins are red-hot in both Proof and Mint State," Sperber continued. "Gem Bust material is doing extremely well with both the date collectors and type collectors. People are looking at the Capped Bust half dimes and seeing that they can put together an entire date set in Gem quality."

Early U.S. coins are sizzling again.

"Early United States type coins are going up faster than the sheets can report it," says Harry Laibstain of Harry Laibstain Rare Coins in Newport News, Virginia. "Every time I attend a sale I find that the prices are three to six months ahead of what's being quoted as fair market prices."

Which early U.S. type coins in particular? "The most popular ones, such as 1796 quarters, 1796 dimes, 1797 half dimes and the other silver from the early 1800s. These areas are really strong. The early copper is doing just as well. Wreath cents, 1794 Large cents, scarce and rare Sheldon varieties -- they're all in tremendous demand."

Where are the customers coming from? "They visit the web site, come to coins shows or order through Coin World," Laibstain said. "There's also action in Bust half dollars by Overton variety and a lot of people are buying $2½ Indian gold by date."

What about commemoratives, a specialty of yours for many years? "Commems are steady, with what you might call better-than-average to strong demand. The prices on most commems have remained stable, though, while the early U.S. coins continue to soar."