Nice Coins Remain In Short Supply  

We’ve just returned from one of the most active June Long Beach conventions in recent memory.  This is typically the slowest of the three shows held each year due to ‘summer doldrums’ and dealers / collectors taking vacations.  However, a strong gold market contributed to brisk wholesale activity and collector attendance was notably strong. 

 The bottom line remains unchanged:  there is enormous demand for interesting coins.  This applies to coins of just about any type which are exceptional in one way or another.  I’ve always said that good coins possess rarity or high technical grade – and great coins possess both.  Prices for great coins are reminiscent of the 2006 market or stronger in some cases, but there is simply not enough supply to fill demand.  Not as many coins are trading.  This is frustrating for collectors looking to add to their collections right now.  But, it’s good news in terms of demand outweighing supply; and I wouldn’t be surprised to see prices continue to climb in certain areas.  I also like the fact that more collectors seems to have a greater interest in their coins than cash right now.  Considering the overall economic state of affairs, it is no surprise that hard assets are in favor.

 We’re now about to head off to the summer Balitmore show and the heavy collector attendance that is associated with what has become the strongest tri-annual coin show in the country.  Gold seems to be developing a base above $1,200, collectors remain quite active on the floor and at auction at shows. We could be on our way to a very nice summer for the industry.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Carter Numismatics team is back from a week in Milwaukee where we attended the Central States Numismatic Societies’ annual megashow.  Overall the show had a great “buzz” and wholesale trading felt stronger compared to activity at the last month’s Midwinter ANA show in Ft Worth.  Both buying and selling were brisk; similar to previous shows “interesting” coins are still in demand while marginal or common material seems to languish in dealer inventories.  At major shows we typically sell the majority of the inventory we bring but there seemed to be an abnormally high demand for our coins at this show.  We were happy to oblige and sold a ton of great coins at strong prices while simultaneously purchasing new coins that we thought were exceptional for the grade.

When talking to dealers over the course of the week there seemed to be two hot-button issues on the bourse.  The first issue was CSNS’s decision to not allow the general public into the show until Friday morning.  Without a dealer badge, PNG invitation, or $75 earlybird pass one was not able to get into the show until Friday morning.  This rubbed a lot of dealers with a heavy retail focus the wrong way as it limited the number of show hours available to sell coins to the public.  At CNI we were rather indifferent by this change as we usually conduct a healthy mix of both wholesale and retail transactions at shows and found ample time to do both.

The other hot issue at the show stemmed from PCGS’s new SECURE PLUS service line.  A detailed explanation of this new service can be found at the PCGS website (http://www.pcgs.com/secureplus.html).  In short, this new service line purports to use a proprietary technology that scans a coin with a laser in a manner similar to a retinal scanner.  The effort is an attempt to combat gradeflation and coin doctoring.  This service was unveiled last month at the Ft. Worth show but it appears that a good amount of confusion still remains in the marketplace surrounding this service line.  Many dealers including ourselves are curious to see how this new service line affects the coin market as a whole, as well as existing PCGS certified coins.  At the moment, however, it appears that there is little demand from either collector or dealer for this new optional PCGS service line.  While the new SECURE PLUS service technology sounds impressive it will be interesting to see if PCGS’s new product will be able to gain substantial market share.

During our week in Milwaukee we also managed to find some time to take in the local sights and sounds of the “Brew City.”  We attended a Brewers game, a Bucks playoff basketball game AND even found time to sample some delicious fare at world famous Kopp’s Frozen Custard.  It can safely be said that you haven’t really lived until you’ve had a turtle fudge sundae at Kopp’s!

Carter Numismatics will be attending the PCGS invitational in Las Vegas from May 12th to the 14th and also the upcoming Whitman Nashville show from May 21st to 23nd.  We have a lot of catching up to do in the office but hopefully we’ll get some new show purchases posted on the website for sale this week!  In the meantime feel free to contact Lance Hipps at lance@carternumismatics.com to help fill your numismatic want lists.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

We have just returned from the ANA Mid-Winter Convention in Fort Worth, Texas. What a great city with a vibrant downtown! Dealer attendance was typical for a mid-winter show with moderate dealer participation, but the bourse was active for the most part.

The rare coin market is alive and well, and the first quarter of 2010 has ended essentially as it began – which isn’t a bad thing. ‘Interesting’ coins are incredibly saleable with demand from every angle. Dealers are in need of fresh material, and quality-minded collectors seem to be chasing the same coins. Nice coins in all price ranges seem to be staying off the market, creating even more demand when they do appear.

Still yet, great opportunity remains in the market when the right coins can be found. I love the value of the Barber series and gem uncirculated type coins right now. Although short in supply, collector issues such as three cent nickels, shield nickels, and liberty head nickels offer tremendous value. Also, original circulated examples of low mintage gold coins are undervalued in many instances. Collectors who buy quality over quantity always seem to be the winners. Originality is carrying more weight than ever before, and we certainly recommend that attribute to our clients as they assemble collections. This applies whether the collection is an XF set of Liberty Seated Quarters or gem silver type set.

-Jason

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Carter Numismatics is proud to announce the hiring of Brett Charville.  Beginning with the upcoming National Money Show in Fort Worth, Texas, Brett will be a full time buyer for us here at Carter Numismatics.  Jason, Daria, Lance and I are all very excited to have Brett on board.  Brett is a 2007 graduate of Miami University in Ohio and has spent the previous three years in Dallas, working as a buyer for Heritage.  For those of you who haven’t had the chance to meet Brett yet, make sure and swing by table 326 – 425 during next week’s ANA Convention.  Brett can be reached via e-mail at: brett@carternumismatics.com.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Carter Numismatics team just returned from the March edition of the tri-annual Baltimore Coin and Currency show and overall business at the show was brisk.  While we managed to sell a hearty chunk of the inventory we had offered for sale, we found that buying fresh material remains difficult.  In terms of buying this was one of our more disappointing shows in recent memory.  While we always manage to buy groups of nice coins from our “regulars” at these big shows, very few cool coins “came out of the woodwork” throughout the week.

Around this time a year ago the Dow was in a free-fall and popular thinking was that the world as we know it was coming to an end. Thankfully(!) the world never came to an end and both financial asset and collector coin prices have recovered and leveled-off considerably.  In hindsight, it appears that last year from the February Long Beach show through the April Central States show in Cincinnati the market experienced a trough or low-water mark of price levels on collector coins.  Thankfully, the current market inconsistency seems to be related more to a lack of fresh material in the market rather than exogenous economic effects.  Also, this time of year the industry normally experiences a slight lull from the fact that a lot of coin dealers and collectors alike are gearing up to pay their tax bills.

As indicated by the Baltimore show, the general state of the rare coin market seems to be a mixed bag.  Generic gold continues to trade at historically high premiums over melt but is no longer trading at the astronomical levels witnessed just a few short months ago.  Type coins and “stuff” still seem to lag rest of the general market.  But the push for quality spurred on by the creation of CAC more than two years ago is continuing; truly nice coins are hard to come by and a queue forms wherever nice coins are to be had.  It’s not survival of the fittest but survival of the finest as quality coins disappear from inventories instantaneously while low-end and unattractive coins languish in dealer inventories and often seem unsaleable at virtually any price.  This appeal for quality echoes the approach we’ve always taken here at Carter Numismatics.  Of the thousands of coins we buy and sell each year at CNI, we only offer a portion of our inventory on the website to our collector clients.  The coins we choose to offer on our website are always coins we’ve hand selected for quality and eye appeal.   Check out site periodically for new listings!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Although widely considered a part of the Seated Half Dime series, the fascinating 1860 ‘Transitional’ issue was actually a creation of United States Mint Director James Ross Snowden just before the onset of the Civil War.  Allegedly, he issued 100 pieces as ‘trade bait’ in order to lure new coins to the U.S. Mint cabinet.  To this day, the exact survival rate is unknown.  However, most pieces never entered circulation meaning they were most likely traded among coin collectors and dealers and given special care even in the earliest days of numismatics within Philadelphia and New York.  Circulated pieces are virtually unknown.  This is an interesting theme that crosses the border into certain other U.S. series as well.

This issue is most well-known for its highly unusual lack of “United States Of America” within the design.  Only a small handful of U.S. issues possess this attribute.  In this case, Snowden combined the unusual Paquet obverse design and new ‘cereal wreath’ reverse design intended for use on 1860 issues and onward.  Considering the historical significance, statistical rarity, and relative availability of high quality survivors – this issue seems to be a fantastic value.  It is a beautifully engraved Civil War-era pattern that fits into a high-end collection of Seated Half Dimes, Patterns, or general oddities!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »