The Reeded Edge Heads to St. Louis for The Greater American Coin Fair

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hilton-st-louis-airportIt’s that time of year again where we brave the unpredictable elements, and travel to an area where weather can always be a challenge in February, but the show always seems to pay dividends. We are referring to the active Greater American Coin Fair located at the Airport Hilton, literally across Highway I-70 from the St. Louis Airport. Convenience is the key to this coin show. The proximity to the airport makes it a no-brainer for dealers out of the area. The middle America location is alluring to dealers from all areas of the country. The small show feel creates intimacy. The large adjacent parking lot at The Hilton makes parking convenient and safe for the locals. Quite often, not all of these variables are considered when choosing a site for a coin show. Kudos to Mike Orlando for not only considering each of these important aspects, but packaging it all to create one of the most consistently viable shows on the circuit. Ordinarily, a show of this size would hardly be considered a national show. However, due largely to the make-up of the dealer roster, The Greater American Coin Fair is just that-perhaps the best little national show in the country. We should also mention that this show has been sold out for decades, which is why we always attend and never let our table lapse. Our understanding is that the wait list to get a table could be a decade or more. As usual, The Reeded Edge will be located in the center aisle of the main room on the left side. Both Rob and Robbie will be on-hand, although display area and mobility in the room are limited. That will not deter the guys from bringing an extensive certified inventory of U.S. coins, spanning copper to gold. Retail is just to strong to ignore at this venue, despite the logistical challenges. Please note: Our table is listed under Oklahoma Coin Exchange in the show guide, although we will have our Reeded Edge logo table cloth which should be plainly visible once you approach our location. Also, we will be not be set up on Sunday. As usual, buying will be a priority, and The Reeded Edge’s open checkbook policy will be in full effect. Please offer the guys any worthwhile United States material that you have for sale. We are really looking forward to this show, and hope that St. Louis may be in your plans for the upcoming weekend. If so, stop by The Airport Hilton, and say hello.

A Great Vienna Show Offers Promise for the Future

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We didn’t know what to expect in Vienna, VA last weekend. After all, it had been 3 years since we had last done this venue, and we we unsure of whether the redesign of the community center would help or hurt it. The other uncertainty was the Vienna mail list, as this was an aging demographic when we last attended this show.

We are happy to report that Vienna hit on all cylinders. It was almost as if there had been no absence. Darren Coker is the second generation of one of the original Vienna promoter’s, his father Dan. That pedigree was on full display, as he not only managed to fill the room with dealers, but more importantly, he attracted a large and diverse group of collectors. There were several anchor dealers absent from Vienna, replaced by part-time and vest pocket dealers. When we talked to a few of these firms, they indicated to us that they were in a wait-and-see mode, and were going to base their decision to set up at future Vienna shows on the success of last weekend. We hope that these companies are now on board for future shows, because this venue has nowhere to go but up. Furthermore, viable and credible rare coin dealers are imperative to the show’s success moving forward. Good dealers attract good customers!

For a small show, Vienna was very robust. We were encouraged by the quality of the customers through the door. Unlike Wilmington where getting a customer to spend a hundred dollars was like pulling teeth, these folks were spending four and five figures with some regularity. This was undoubtedly a reflection of the Fairfax and Montgomery County demographics, which are coincidentally, the first and second most affluent counties in the United States.

We had several folks comment on all of the holes in our cases on Sunday, spaces that had been occupied by certified coins when we set up the day before. For us, a measure of a coin show’s success is not only based on how much we sell, but what we buy. On the buying side, Vienna was outstanding. Perhaps it was our front and center location. Equally as likely, was that this is an area where we have been doing numismatic business for decades, and we have many customers who call Northern Virginia home. Whatever the formula, we feel fortunate that we were able to be part of the renaissance of this great little coin show. We are very optimistic about the prospects for the future.

The Reeded Edge Heads to Vienna, VA for the Resurrected Vienna Quarterly Coin Show

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We have been patiently waiting for this day, and this weekend, it is upon us. The Vienna, VA Community Center has completed its multi-year renovation, and the longstanding Vienna Quarterly Coin and Stamp Show is ready to resume its regular schedule. As many of you are aware, this was for many years one of the premier boutique coin shows in the country, capitalizing on a 50 year tradition in conjunction with one of the demographically best locations possible. Vienna, VA is right in the heart of affluent Fairfax County, and an area with plenty of money, and more importantly, plenty of collectors. Much of the success of the quintessential Baltimore Coin Show is based upon the multitudes of collectors and dealers emanating from in and around this area. The Reeded Edge has secured one of the premier tables at this all important show, located along the right wall at the front entrance. Our famous BUYING, BUYING, BUYING sign will be prominently displayed behind our three table booth. In other words, we will be hard to miss! Both Rob and Robbie will be manning the tables. They will have their usual extensive inventory of certified U.S. coins with new office purchases and PCGS grading returns included. The Reeded Edge remains committed to buying fresh coins, and few dealers are more aggressive in this area than the guys. Rob and Robbie’s open checkbook policy will be in full force, so please stop by and offer them anything worthwhile that you are considering selling. Their on-hand inventory is both diverse and addresses all price points, so please give them an opportunity to service your collector want list, as well. With a beautiful weather forecast for the upcoming weekend, we can think of no better place to spend it than the D.C. metropolitan area. Hopefully, that will be in your plans, as we would love you to join us at this active coin show.

Lackluster Wilmington Coin Show Demonstrates Ongoing Struggles of Club Shows

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Last weekend’s Wilmington Coin Show demonstrated a trend of many smaller club shows. Although there were bodies in the room, serious customers purchasing any numismatic coins of consequence were absent. Dealers with raw coins, modern coins and bullion reported activity, albeit at mostly lower price-points. One dealer who we talked to said that he had a great show. Upon further elaboration, his “great show” was largely due to a wholesale transaction for 400 cull Morgan Dollars. If selling raw Morgans to make 50 cents to a dollar per coin is the benchmark for success at coin shows moving forward, then we will probably resign ourselves to office business. Aside from several outside sales conducted during dormant periods at the show (of which there were MANY), this show was one of the least productive coin shows for The Reeded Edge in years. Unfortunately, a trend is emerging at this venue with each of the previous three shows a little weaker than the one before it. Rob and Robbie will be giving this show one more opportunity in 2019, and if this pattern fails to reverse itself, The Wilmington Coin Show will unfortunately become, in sports terms, a healthy scratch.

FUN STARTS 2018 OFF WITH A BANG-THIS WEEK, IT’S BACK ON THE ROAD FOR THE WILMINGTON COIN SHOW

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There always is a little bit of uncertainty when coming into a major coin show off of a long hiatus. This holds especially true when the market has been rather tentative. The annual Florida United Numismatists Show (FUN) proved that the coin market was more starved for material than it was concerned about past performance. With the renewed sense of optimism of both a new year and a new coin market, thousands of dealers and collectors flocked to Tampa with a sense of purpose. Activity was brisk with two-way trading taking place throughout. Unlike most coin shows, which tend to ebb and flow, there were no slow periods. Even Saturday, which ordinarily is reserved for Boy Scouts and browsers, was busy, with almost six figures of combined business transacted at our booth! Between the unseasonably cold temperatures and non-Orlando location, we did not have a lot of reason to expect such a good show, but maybe this is a sign for the rest of this year moving forward. FUN provided us with a very positive outlook for 2018, and the good health of the numismatic hobby in general. We will see if the stability lacking last year, also follows.

This weekend, The Reeded Edge will be heading to New Castle, Delaware for the Wilmington Coin Show. This is a well-supported and usually active venue, and we urge all of our friends from the Philadelphia to Baltimore area to check it out. It’s less than an hour drive, and there is a nice mix of local and regional dealers in attendance. Held, as always, at The NUR-Shrine Temple, 198 S. Dupont Highway in New Castle, DE, this free-standing venue has easy access to I-95  and plentiful parking. Having just returned from FUN, The Reeded Edge will have hundreds of new certified coins being showcased for the first time. We will also have an open checkbook, so if you have any interesting, fresh United States coins, please consider offering them to us. Rob and Robbie will both be on hand, and they would love to see you this weekend at the show, and perhaps, do a little business in the process.

Happy New Year from The Reeded Edge!

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It’s that time of year again when we reflect back on the previous year and all that went with it. In retrospect, this has been a challenging year, as the coin market at times, struggled to maintain its footing. There were some areas, such as silver dollars, that were largely stable throughout the year. Other areas were more volatile. Coin shows were hit and miss, with most of the larger shows performing well. Another important distinction was that most of the market challenges emanated from the wholesale sector. Cash flow was a major concern for dealers either with too much debt, stagnant inventory or both. This created a trickle-down effect that had an impact on the more solvent dealers. The one constant throughout the year was collector demand. Most collectors were either oblivious or unconcerned by the nuances of the wholesale sector. Overall, our business in this sector actually was up from 2016. We anticipate continued resilience from collectors, as most economic and financial indicators are up, pointing to more disposable income available for their numismatic needs.

A more troubling issue, one which we hope to see corrected in the upcoming year, concerned information and how it was disseminated. As most of you are aware, Coin Dealer Newsletter (CDN) also known under the acronym Greysheet, adjusted reported levels of U.S. coin values (mostly downward) throughout the year. Although there were some areas in need of this adjustment, there were others that were not. Their across-the-board interpretation of the coin market was at times erred and flawed. Since so many operatives in our business derive their information and valuations from CDN, there was quite a bit of negativity and reluctance to do business on their parts. This was especially true of the smaller dealers and storefront shops, that may not have had access to the additional pricing indexes and information available to the larger dealer contingent. This created a dichotomy, and one that in our opinion, was TOTALLY avoidable. We hope that CDN takes a more diligent and responsible approach to reporting in 2018, and realizes that their actions do have consequences.

We want to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year. We hope that 2018 brings with it the fruit of each of your goals, aspirations and dreams. F.U.N. in Tampa next week will serve as the numismatic kick-off to 2018, and we are very optimistic that it will get things off to a great start. We will have more on this show later in the week. Until then, enjoy your holiday season, and thank you for all of your support throughout this year.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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We wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas. Our office will be closing early on Friday, December 22nd and will not reopen until Tuesday, December 26th. We hope that your holiday is memorable, and wish you all of the good tidings that go with this festive time of year.

ALL Coins & Collectibles Marked Down during our “Countdown to Christmas SALE”

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We want to first take this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year . Irrespective of the holiday that you celebrate, we hope that this season brings you joy and happiness.

For those of you that procrastinate with your holiday shopping, we have some good news. Many merchants use this last week before Christmas to mark up their prices and make hey while the sun shines.  They realize that availability for the last minute shopper, trumps saving money. We take a quite different approach. Everything on The Reeded Edge’s webstore is ON SALE between now and Christmas. For some really exceptional savings on coins and collectibles, please click on the Christmas Tree SALE! icon on our homepage. Otherwise, shop for exactly what you want or need. With over 10,000 unique items, we believe that you will find something to tickle your numismatic or collector fancy. And once again, everything (and YES, we mean everything) is on sale.

 

The Reeded Edge Heads to Northern Virginia for The Annandale Coin Show

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This weekend, The Reeded Edge will officially conclude our 2017 show schedule when we attend The Annandale Coin Show in Fairfax County, VA.  Both Rob and Robbie will be on hand Saturday and Sunday to meet and greet collectors at this always-popular holiday venue. The Reeded Edge will have their usual diverse selection of certified collector coins. With hundreds of new coins purchased in just the last week alone, there should be no shortage of material for our regular customers either. And for you price-conscious shoppers, be sure to look at The Reeded Edge’s NET priced selection. These are coins, that for one reason or another, have been in inventory just a little bit too long, and have been marked down DRASTICALLY! Our NET-priced coins are for this weekend show only, and similar mark-downs are not offered on our webstore or eBay, which should be reason enough to make the trip to Annandale. If there is one thing that we are really  conscientious about, it is turning our inventory frequently. Equally as important, the guys will be buying aggressively. If you have any fresh, U.S. collector coins for sale, please offer Rob and Robbie first. We think that you will find their offers VERY appealing. The Reeded Edge is especially interested in any PCGS, NGC or ANACS old holder deals. So round up all of those rattlers, old green holders, NGC Fatties and/or small, white ANACS-holdered coins, and bring them to Annandale this weekend. The guys are looking forward to seeing you!

The Coin Market Starts to Show Signs of Holiday Activity

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Through all of the uncertainty of the recent coin market, one constant seems to hold true. Holiday activity will jump start an unpredictable market and give it some sense of stability, albeit temporary. So far, this season seems to be following that pattern. Granted, we are only out of the starting blocks, but Black Friday weekend definitely translated into positive sales in our numismatic sector. And, that’s a good thing! For those of you that follow our posts on a regular basis, we have maintained that this market has been buoyed by the presence of collectors. It really wasn’t that surprising to us that they showed up in force over this traditional shopping weekend. Hopefully, they will stay with us for the balance of this holiday season. Going into the all-important 2018 FUN Show in Tampa, momentum is very good for the psyche of the coin dealer contingent.

We have been buying an inordinate number of coins lately. Of particular note are a large silver dollar collection, a registry Lincoln Cent set and a nice, certified U.S. gold deal. We are really appreciative of everything that we have been offered, and urge you all to keep the coins coming!

Next weekend, we will close out our 2017 coin show schedule with The Annandale Coin Show in northern Virginia. This is a really active little holiday show. With about 65 regional and national dealers in attendance, one never knows what coins might be bought or sold at this venue. This is usually a great show for us, and if you have never attended, we urge you to come check it out. Washington D.C. is only a 20 minute drive and it’s an absolutely beautiful city, particularly so during the holidays.

Speaking of the holidays, we at The Reeded Edge would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday season. The holidays can be special in a lot of different ways. For us, it is hosting a Christmas party for about 50 local children through the Cumberland branch of The Salvation Army. There is nothing greater than seeing the look on a child’s face as they open presents because Santa came early. We hope you too will find that special happiness which brings meaning and fulfillment to this festive time of year.