Archive for category: Market Reports News

The upcoming spring Central States 80th Annual Numismatic Convention should be robust. By all accounts, the coin market is healthy and has found an equilibrium trading range that most dealers seem comfortable with. The metals markets also seem to have stabilized. With the reemergence of on-site, third party grading, all the necessary components for a good coin show are in place; thankfully, after a one year hiatus, PCGS has made the decision to put this major event back on it’s calendar. Rob and Robbie will be manning The Reeded Edge’s booth at Central States at their usual, front-of-the-hall location, Booth #1401. From the opening bell on Wednesday, until things wind down on Saturday afternoon, the guys are projecting a healthy and active show. It is worth mentioning that they will have MANY new, certified coins in tow, the results of a major east coast collection that they had been working on for several months. Our advice is to take advantage of this venue to get an early shot at these fresh coins, as full page ads in Numismatic News and Coin World will be also featuring them. Given the diversity and farm-fresh nature of this numismatic cache, we are expecting an enthusiastic response. Hopefully, the Chicago area will be in your plans next week, and you will be able to join the guys at this important spring coin show.

We can only hope that this week’s Battlefield Coin Show in Gettysburg, PA is anywhere near as active as last week’s surprise in Pittsburgh. To say that the ANA’s National Money Show over-performed is probably an  understatement. We went into this venue with tempered expectations, expecting something similar to the regional PAN Show, also held in the same overall locale. What we got however, was a national coin show that was on a par with many of the other major coin shows. Dealers from all over the country converged on downtown Pittsburgh, along with a contingent of collectors that reached outside of the usual parameters of the PAN Show. Although the room lacked the buzz of a Baltimore or FUN Show, there were still a significant number of people in attendance. More importantly, the attendees were for the most part serious, and until Saturday (when the show lifted their cover charge), there were literally no tire kickers to be found. Needless to say, Rob and Robbie were very encouraged by business at the ANA show, and hope the success of that show carries over to this week’s Gettysburg venue. Mike Dixon runs a first-rate show, and he and his crew put a lot of work to insuring Gettysburg’s success, so we know that the effort definitely won’t be lacking. As usual, The Reeded Edge can be found at their prominent booth, located to the right of the show’s front entrance. After being the recipients of the show’s Dealer of Integrity award in 2017, and The Dealer’s Choice award in 2018, we feel responsible in doing our part to promote this show’s success. Consequently, we will be debuting a large, fresh collection that has been in the works for months. Included will be everything from copper to gold, so expect to see plenty of new certified coins, as you peruse our inventory. Additionally, we will have some of our older friends marked down, and priced to sell. When Rob and Robbie step onto a bourse floor, they are committed to doing business, and this week’s Battlefield Coin Show in Gettysburg will be no exception.

Aside from FUN and the summer ANA’s World’s Fair of Money, there is not a better coin show in the country than Baltimore. This played out once again for us last week, as we had a steady and profitable five days of trading. The robust pace of Baltimore is a pleasant exception to coin shows of late. We have noticed a trend where trading has moved online. For whatever reason, this trend does not seem to affect Baltimore. Although attendance in general may have been lighter than last year’s winter show, the people who did show up proved to be serious customers. In all, The Reeded Edge traded near half a million dollars worth of rare coins, not too shabby for less than a week’s work. It should also be noted that gold had a sharp fall, as March came in like a lamb. This could have adversely affected the show, but retails sales actually increased on Saturday. Some things defy logic and conventional thinking, and the consistency of The Whitman Baltimore Coin Show is one. Hats off to the folks at Whitman who work so hard to insure that this show is a perennial success. Once again, we applaud a job well done!

We have said on many occasions that we prefer coin shows that are collector-oriented. The St. Louis Airport Hilton’s Greater American Coin Fair is just that. This is an old fashioned coin show in its truest sense. The venue is undersized for the number of tabled dealers, and the aisles between the rows of bourse tables are narrow. Attendees pack the room for the show’s duration to the extent that walking from one point to another becomes difficult. The room will buzz with activity for the show’s duration, as collectors show up in droves. There are only a few shows in the country that still have long waiting lists for a bourse table, and this is one. It is only by virtue of inheriting a table from a dealer who gave up exhibiting at shows over a decade ago, that The Reeded Edge is able to continually set up at this show. Consequently, this is one of our can’t-miss coin shows, and this year’s venue is no exception. As usual, The Reeded Edge’s table will be located smack in the middle of the main bourse hall. Both Rob and Robbie will be on-hand From Thursday set-up through Saturday afternoon with hundreds of new certified coins in tow. Of course, the guys will be aggressively buying coins, as well. Whether you have one great coin or an entire collection for sale, The Reeded Edge want to be your go-to guys. Yes, trades are also welcomed. You will never hear us say that we aren’t buying today or can’t do that type of deal. We realize that every collector’s needs are different and we are up for each of their challenges. We sincerely hope that the St. Louis area is in your plans for this coming weekend, as Rob and Robbie would love to see you at the show.

There was some trepidation going into 2019 Florida United Numismatists (or FUN) show. The dealer sector of the coin market had experienced its highs and lows in 2018, and struggled to maintain any sense of consistency. However, retail was the one constant, as collectors remained active throughout the year. The challenge with coin shows is that they are wholesale-driven. How then would the FUN show respond to this dichotomy?

The answer was provided last week, as FUN returned to its Orlando home base, and the public responded in force. It has been said over and over that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Case in point would be the Orange County Convention Center vs alternative locations such as Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa. Although the other two locations were logistically fine, the public just didn’t respond to either like they did last week in Orlando. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. “Best FUN show ever”, “I sold $100K in 10 minutes”, “We had them lined up 4 deep at our booth”, were just a few of the comments that we heard from tabled dealers.

Our personal experience of FUN was similar. It certainly was one of our most active shows in quite some time, with almost 1/2 a million dollars of business transacted. Everything numismatic was selling from coins under a couple hundred of dollars to five-figure rarities. Yes, the market has adjusted downward, and most dealers have resigned themselves to this fact. But, for those willing to play within these defined parameters, business could be transacted. Collectors are really responding to these new lower prices, and appears that the numismatic market has finally hit the sweet spot.

PCGS was conducting on-site grading throughout the show. We noted that the coins that seemed to get the best grades were those that were fresh and flashy. Coins with unoriginal or indifferent surfaces did not fare as well. It is plainly obvious to us that PCGS is taking the leadership role of improving the quality of certified coins in the marketplace. With the coin market getting off to the strong start that FUN was indicative of, we applaud PCGS’s efforts.

We believe that most people who attended FUN, whether a dealer, collector or passive observer, left the show with a very favorable impression. The room was buzzing all the way up to mid-afternoon on Saturday. We are not sure of the attendance figures, and how they rated against past FUN shows. But, if coin shows moving forward look and feel anything like FUN, we could be in for a very good year indeed!