COIN MARKET BEGINS TO SHOW SIGNS OF STABILIZATION AFTER VOLATILE WEEK – WHAT’S AHEAD??

A good friend of our firm who we have always considered a proficient market forecaster, said three weeks ago that we were in for a roller coaster ride. This came a full two weeks ahead of the announcement of the upcoming coin show closures. He was paying close attention to the events in Asia and Europe and how the timeline was incrementally (and in retrospect, predictably) running its course. He predicted that we were several weeks out from feeling the full impact of the COVID-19 spread, and our coin business would not be exempt from the ensuing consequences. There was also a second part to his predictions, based upon his observations abroad. He said that we would go through an initial period of shock and awe, perhaps even more extreme than our neighbors across the ocean. His reasoning was that we were learning from their mistakes, hence our initial reaction to combating the virus would be more vigilant and extreme. Leaders across the country were very responsive to this evolving situation, heeding the warnings coming from agencies like The CDC and NIH; many did not initially win popularity contests for their actions, which at the time, seemed extreme. President Trump’s opponents quickly called his Asian travel ban racist, and accused him of being a Xenophile. But in retrospect, he and others’ swift actions not only were prudent, but probably saved American lives by slowing the spread of COVID-19 throughout our country. Measures such as curtailing public events, closing stores and restaurants, and social distancing put an enormous strain on our economy, shutting down businesses and putting many people out of work. The prospect of a prolonged event with no predictable end in sight sent the financial markets into a spiral. These far-reaching and fluid changes hit like a ton of bricks, seeming almost surreal and mind-numbing. The Average Joe could not process how quickly things were happening, and for a week, our country came to a virtual standstill. This was exactly the shock and awe that our friend had accurately predicted. Now, it appears that the anesthesia is beginning to wear off as we get a grip on reality. We are no longer numb. We understand the seriousness and enormity of the situation. Many of us have implemented contingency plans to help see us through this crisis. But most importantly, we are all beginning to get on with our lives again, albeit under very different circumstances. The healing has begun. We are not going to paint a rosy picture of current circumstances, any more than our friend did with his initial prognostication. But in the realm of things, stability is the absolute best thing that any of us could hope for, especially at this point in time. We are seeing that happen, and predict this element should continue to get better with time. We at The Reeded Edge pledge to continue our full range of services. If we become logistically limited in any way, we will keep you abreast of any developments. We are fortunate in that we don’t have a brick and mortar storefront operation, hence we can essentially do business from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection. These are challenging times, but the beat and our business WILL both go on. You have our word on it!