Some Post-ANA Show Thoughts

You've no doubt read a dozen ANA Show Reports already and I swore I'd never write one again. But I did want to give some thoughts about the recently-concluded ANA show in Rosemont as I think a good understanding of what happened there is essential to understanding the market. I had a very good show. Not a "great" show or an "all-time" one as I've read a few people write. But I can summarize the show with two statements. First, I wrote so many invoices (from buying and selling) that I ran out of them on Thursday and had to creatively make new ones on a Xerox machine. I've only run out of invoices one other time in 30+ years of going to coin shows.

Secondly, I generally don't put my new purchases out in the case at shows and offer them for sale. I figure that they will sell on my website when I get back home and that giving everyone an equal "shot" ay my newps is the fair thing to do. I made the decision to put them all out in my cases on Wednesday because, quite frankly, they were selling so well. By Friday morning, I had sold so many new purchases at the show that I decided to quietly put many of them away in the safe so I could come home with good coins to sell on the site.

The show itself was an epic. I was there for eight days and I know some dealers were there for 10 or 11. By Thursday, most of the dealers were absolutely exhausted (I know I was) and it proved to me that, as a collector, if you come too late to an ANA show you might as well not come at all.

It was huge as well. I don't know if it was the biggest convention hall I've ever been in for a coin show but I know I walked an average of six or seven miles a day and that there were nooks and crannies of the room that, by Friday, I still had not made it to.

In fact, the room was so huge that it was difficult to figure how crowded the room actually was. My impression was that the show was "fantastic" from a wholesale standpoint but only "good" from a retail standpoint. I sold quite a few interesting gold coins to collectors at the show but it tended to be to pre-existing clients and mostly coins under $5,000.

I had a feeling that there would be good buying opportunities for dealers at the ANA and I was not disappointed. I spent the most at this show that I have at an ANA since 2006 and I loved what I was able to buy. As usual, I bought coins in small groups; one here and one there. Very few dealers had "deals" or collections to break up; the days of the ANA show being THE source for great coins is over. Today, many of the fresh coins find theirway to auction.

There were two massive auctions in conjunction with the show. The Heritage sale was held prior to the regular ANA and it was more interesting for non-gold than gold. That said, prices were extremely strong and most dealers I spoke to had the same success rate with their bids: they generally bought less than a quarter of the lots that they bid on and what they did buy was invariably at their absolute top bid.

I thought the Stack's-Bowers sale was going to be a better opportunity to buy in for a number of reasons. The sale was huge and I thought it was possible that some coins would fall through the cracks. There were a ton of fresh coins including many that had been off the market since the early to mid-1980's. Most importantly, Stack's-Bowers doesn't have the retail bidding that Heritage has (yet) and I figured that I might not have to compete with end users on every last coin.

Prices in the Stack's-Bowers sale ran the gamut. There were some good deals, some coins sold for the "right" price and a number of the really high end, really fresh coins brought a fortune. I do think that Stack's-Bowers made a real statement to Heritage regarding their viability as a competitor. The auction business needs competition and two strong companies is better, in the long run, than just one.

I've been a big supporter of CAC since it began (disclosure notice: I am a shareholder in the company) and I noticed more collectors asking for CAC approved coins than I can remember. Amongst dealers, CAC still has a mixed reaction. Honestly, it seems to me that the dealers who are real connoisseurs sell CAC coins and the dealers who don't have a good eye don't bother. I have the feeling that after a dealer has sent fifty coins to CAC for stickering and had a 15% or lower success rate, he or she probably just gives up. It takes a really good eye to have a 50% or 75% success rate.

One thing that disappointed me about the show was the lack of interesting fresh material from the public that I was offered. Perhaps all the great gold coins went somewhere else but this wasn't a show where I was able to buy Proof gold coins or cherry, original branch mint gold as I have in many of the past ANA events.

While I hated the fact that we were trapped in the suburbs for a week, Rosemont is clearly a good location given the fact that it is convenient to nearly every location (except Portland, of course...). It helped that the weather was gorgeous, and my hotel was lovely. However, I ate so often at Gibson's across from the convention that I was on a first-name basis with the waiters by Thursday.

I finished the show with a nice event: the bi-annual meeting of the 20th century Gold Coin collector's club. (Held, of course, at Gibson's...) I generally don't go for numismatic schmoozing but this is a great group of collectors and dealers and interacting with everyone there is a blast. The featured speaker was dealer Kevin Lipton who told his numismatic life-story, in progress, from the 1970's to the present. Kevin is exactly the same age as I am and grew up in the same part of the country, so it was fun listening to him tell stories about shows on the east coast back in the day.

If we had a chance to get together at the ANA show, thanks. I saw so many people and had so many conversations that its all a blur at this point. A quick note: I have posted many new purchases from the show on my website and invite you to take a look at what I bought; they can be found at www.raregoldcoins.com.

ANA Show Predictions: 2011

If you had asked me just last week how this year's ANA show was going to turn out, I'd have told you it was going to be an unqualified success. But with the recent topsy-turvy (to say the least...) state of the stock market and economic fears in general, I'm afraid I may have to temper my earlier views. Somewhat. I still think this year's ANA is going to be successful. No, I don't especially like the location (being so close yet so far to downtown Chicago is sort of heartbreaking for me) but it makes sense and I like the fact that O'Hare airport (and the show) is within a three hour plane ride from just about any location in the country. Unless I'm mistaken, I think the attendance at this show will be excellent.

I've read in other blogs/newsletters about the show that Chicago is a "great coin town." While I can't argue with the long and glorious numismatic history of The Windy City (Hello Virgil Brand!), I've never had a great coin show in all of the major conventions that I've attended in Chicago. Frankly, I wish all ANA shows were in New York City as the two best ANA's that I've ever had, by a huge margin, were the last two held in The Big Apple. But I digress...

Back to the predictions.

Based on my sales so far this summer, which have been better than I would have expected, I think the coin market is reasonably healthy. But it is more two-tiered right now than at any time I can recall and it is clearly biased towards gold coins.

Which is good if you are a rare gold coin specialist.

There are some very odd dichotomies in the economy and the coin market right now. The first has to do with the spending habits of the very wealthy versus everyone else.

I read an article the other day in the New York Times that discussed spending on luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton versus spending at Wal-Mart and Costco. The luxury retailers have had amazing years so far and are raising prices. $1,250 shoes are flying out the door and there are waiting lists for trendy $8,000 coats. But at Wal-Mart, prices are being cut and already-stretched paychecks are having trouble buying essentials by the end of the month.

We are seeing a sort of microcosm of this in the coin market. Super high-end coins are very strong right now and I think you'll see some amazing prices in the pre-ANA and ANA sales for great coins. Expensive coins that are off-quality or not especially interesting have been weak sellers for the last few years and I expect this segment of the market to get hit hard at Chicago and beyond.

But the collector market remains very strong and, based on my personal experience, should continue as such for a while.

I'm not noticing the sense of fear that pervaded the economy in 2008. In September 2008, it was nearly impossible to sell any coin, no matter how great it was. This time around, I get the sense that in September 2011, collectors WILL be receptive to making purchases. But I think these purchases will be even more selective than in the past.

The run-up in gold prices isn't really fueling interest in the rare coin market the way I'd expect it to but I anticipate that this will change in the near-future. If even 1% of the new gold buyers become interested in rare gold coins, this surge of demand could have a real impact.

Will we feel this in Chicago? Probably not. I can't imagine that there will be packs of gold bugs roaming the aisles looking for Proof Liberty Head eagles. But I would be pretty surprised if there weren't a number of potentially serious newbies who've made the decision to go to ANA.

A few weeks ago I would have predicted that on the DWN-o-meter, this year's ANA would have been at least an A- show and it had the potential to be an A. Now, I'm thinking it will be a solid--if unspectacular--B show with the potential to maybe attain a B+ if the stars align properly.

Unlike other ANA shows in the recent past, I think there will be a decent supply of nice coins available for collectors and dealers to buy. The auctions are full of interesting, fresh material and I have the suspicion that some cool, fresh coins will appear on the floor as well. And I have the hunch that, in spite of economic fears, these good coins are going to bring very strong prices.

How Will $2000 Gold Impact Rare Gold Coin Prices?

A few years ago I had a hard time believing that gold would ever cross the $1000 threshold. Today, it exceeded $1700 per ounce before retreating, and it seems inevitable that it will break the $2000 mark sometime this year. What impact will this record-shattering price have on the rare gold coin market? I see the impact of high-priced gold in a number of ways. With gold increasing so rapidly, it has gained a tremendous amount of publicity around the world. I feel this locally as well. My neighbors--at least the ones who know what I do for a living--are frequently asking me about gold prices and just today a teller at the bank had a long list of gold-related questions as I made my deposits.

People are buying gold coins and it is inevitable that a small percentage of them will eventually wind up in the rare gold coin market. I'd say that for every 1000 people who buy an American Eagle or a gold Buffalo today, maybe one or two of them will transform into buyers of coins like Type One Liberty Head double eagles or Saints.

For many rare gold coins, gold could rise to well over $2000 per ounce and the intrinsic value of the coin itself will not really be affected. An 1860-D gold dollar in EF45 or a 1907 Wire Edge eagle is a collector-based coin whose value is impacted by demand; not the rise in gold prices. So, I think it's important to remember that skyrocketing gold's greatest impact is on potential demand; not by increasing existing value(s) based on intrinsic worth.

One subtle but dramatic impact on rare gold is dealer profits. Let me explain: when a large wholesale firm makes tons of money in the bullion market (as they should be now) it is likely that they will reinvest a percentage of their profits in the rare gold market. A coin that a firm might not have bought when they were not making profits from rising gold could enter their inventory when they are making lots of gold profits. And the same goes with dozens of other dealers; big and small.

One huge impact on the rare gold coin market is in entry level pricing. When gold was under $1,000 an ounce, coins like Liberty Head double eagles in EF and AU were relatively small purchases; items that collectors didn't think twice about at $1,250 a pop. But now with gold at close to $2,000 even a common date Type One double eagle will have an entry level price at $2,250-2,500. Suddenly this is a lot of money and it might not be considered an impulse purchase anymore for the middle-class collector.

I think this is an important point to consider. I read an interesting article the other day in the Los Angeles Times where downtown LA jewelers were complaining that the high price of gold was hurting their business. The typical jewellery store client was now a seller instead of a buyer and the low end/middle end lines of merchandise that they carried were not selling due to the high price of gold. Could this carry over to coins?

I am not seeing a huge increase in demand on my website regarding gold coins right now. I'm assuming that's because I have the reputation as a dealer in rare gold coins and not in gold bullion or semi-numismatics. I'd be interested to know if the bullion-based gold traders have their phones ringing off the hook today. I'm assuming that they are very, very busy.

I will also be interested to see the impact of $1700+ gold on the ANA convention which begins in just a few days. I'm going to assume that there will be a lot of people at the show looking to buy gold coins. But will they be looking for American eagles or rare date Liberty Head eagles?

There are tons of interesting rare and high quality U.S. gold coins in the two auctions before and during the show. How will $1700+ gold impact them? This will be very interesting to monitor as well.

A Basic Guide to Detecting Doctored Gold Coins

There is no getting around the fact that doctoring of rare United States gold coins is a problem in the market. Doctoring is not new. I've heard stories of American collectors and dealers "messing" with coins as far back as a century ago, and I have no doubt that the problem dates back even further in Europe. But it is really only the last decade or two that we've seen increasingly sophisticated doctoring done in an attempt to fool the grading services. At first, I thought about using lots of photos to verify what I am going to discuss in this blog, but I don't want to taint specific coins that don't belong to me by pointing out obvious doctoring. So I am going to be as descriptive as I can be without using images. Hopefully, this will work.

For me, one of the most obvious ways to detect a doctored gold coin is by looking at its coloration. One of the reasons that I spend a significant amount of time describing the coloration of specific coins in my books and on the descriptions of coins in my inventory is so that collectors will become familiar with what natural color is supposed to look like.

Once a collector becomes familiar with the way a coin is supposed to appear, it becomes easier to detect coins that don't look the right way. For instance, the early date Dahlonega half eagles have a specific deep green-gold color that is easy to appreciate. Conversely, an issue from this era with the "wrong" color will not look right to a collector who is familiar with the series.

Many of the people who doctor gold coins aren't great numismatists, so they don't necessarily know the right color for an 1840-D half eagle or an 1878-S eagle. Becoming a knowledgeable numismatist within your field of collecting will put you in a far better position when it comes to determining whether or not a coin has been doctored.

There are a number of different types of artificial coloration that are found on gold coins. These depend on the specific chemical that is applied and how the process is undertaken.

Typically, chemicals placed on gold coins break down after they have been on the surface for a period of time. When you see a gold coin that has crazy color in a PCGS or NGC slab, this color didn't exist on the coin at the time it was graded; it changed within the slab.

One color that doesn't naturally exist on gold coins is deep orange or what I refer to as "Cheeto Orange." Think of that crunchy corn snack and the color it left your hands after you ate a few handfuls. I see many United States gold coins in holders that have this flaming orange hue. In 100% of the cases that this color is present, it is artificial,

Another color that indicates a coin that has been doctored is deep reddish-gold. There are many gold coins that have natural reddish-gold hues, but the hues that they possess are subtle and tend to deepen towards the borders. Coins with fake red color almost look like they've bled as the result of being stabbed. This deep red color doesn't exist on natural, original coins.

I see 20th century gold coins from time to time that have a bluish or purple tint and this is the result of the surfaces having been heated; probably in an attempt to remove spots. Back when copper spots were not considered a detriment, you never say any U.S. gold coins that had blue hues. Today, with copper spots being the numismatic equivalent of melanomas, you see fewer gold coins with these spots and more with funky heat-produced hues.

Many of the U.S. gold coins that have been doctored have had substances put on the surfaces in an attempt to hide hairlines or marks. Often times, substances such as auto body putty or dental wax are lightly coated on the surfaces.

Why are these substances not detected by the services when the coins are submitted? Some are, but on other coins, the application is light enough to not be easily detected. After a period of time, the putty begins to break down and it turns cloudy or even white.

Putty that has broken down is easy to spot. How can a collector spot fresh putty on a coin? It's not easy; it can fool both the services and savvy dealers, myself included. In this case, I think its as important to "buy the dealer" as it is to buy the coin.

Certain dealers have reputations as people who doctor coins. As you become more experienced in your area of specialization, try to learn what dealers have these bad reputations. If this isn't realistic, study the coins on their website. Do they show signs of having been puttied?

This very problem is a reason why coins in old holders have become so popular with collectors. The chances are good that a coin slabbed by NGC or PCGS in the early 1990's is not going to change dramatically in appearance if it hasn't already in two decades within a slab.

I'd suggest that whenever you do get the chance to study coins that are 100% fresh (from old collection, in old holders, etc) you pay careful attention to the quality of the surfaces. What is a gold coin that hasn't been doctored supposed to look like? Make mental notes of original surfaces and use this as a comparison for coins in your collection or those you are thinking of buying.

A less innocuous type of doctoring involves artificially brightening a coin by stripping its surface. The most common way to do this is by placing a coin in a solvent such as Jewelustre and "dipping" it.

While I am much more of a purist than most dealers, I do not have an issue with gold coins that have been carefully dipped. Of course I would rather see coins that are dark and crusty, but a lighter coin with mostly full "skin" is commercially acceptable. On certain coins, like Brilliant Proof gold, it has become the rule rather than the exception and many collectors of Proof gold have literally never even seen a truly original example.

There are other ways of brightening coins that I personally do not care for. At one time, it was common to see gold coins that had been "baking soda-ed" in a way to simulate mint luster by making them bright and shiny. Unfortunately, many gold coins with this sort of appearance were graded and encapuslated (and often "maxed out" from a grade perspective, in my opinion).

Coins with this sort of appearance have fallen out of favor and the services have become much better about putting such coins in overgraded holders.

How do you tell a gold coin that has had this done? Often the appearance is grainy in texture and the color is drab and almost monochromatic in hue. Also, the surfaces will lack any cartwheel luster, although this may be difficult for a new collector to determine. The best thing is to, again, learn what original surfaces look like.

To me, the worst type of doctoring is the sort that involves moving metal on the surfaces. This is deceptive and dangerous to the hobby. Luckily, the grading services are extremely good at detecting coins that have had this done, and for most collectors this will never be a problem unless they move out of their comfort zone and purchase raw coins from non-reputable sources.

If you do purchase raw coins, there are a few things to check. Collectors often forget about a coin's rim and should remember that this is the third side of a coin. Some 18th and 19th century coins have been cleverly rim filed in an attempt to remove old bumps and bruises.

Other raw coins have had scratches or marks removed. Often, it is easy to detect this as they will show smoothed areas in the fields. The grading services are extremely good at detecting this and I can't recall having seen many gold coins in holders that had scratches or marks removed but missed.

Will the coin doctoring problem that we are facing go away any time soon? It is doubtful but as a consumer, you can do your share in eradicating the problem by becoming knowledgable. If coin doctors lose their audiance for doctored coins, they will stop (or at least cut back) on their work. This sounds naive, I know, but in this case an educated consumer is one solid way to begin eradicating this problem.

What are your thoughts on coin doctoring? Leave a comment after you've read this blog and let's begin a discussion.

"What Coins Have You Not Handled?"

It's time for another question, this one from reader D.J. of Santa Barbara. D.J. asked the following question: "I know you've handled a ton of coins in your career. What are some of the coins that you haven't handled?" Ahh...thanks, D.J. Make me look like a rookie and tell you what I haven't handled; not all the great coins I've handled! But it's a good question and one that I think will be informative for collectors trying to determine what's really rare. Not to mention the fact that it will prove impossible for me not to brag a bit and list some of what I have handled!

Looking back over the years, I've pretty much done it all, seen it all, and sold it all in the area of gold dollars. There are no business strike issues that I haven't owned, and I can't think of more than one or two dates that I haven't had multiple owned Proof examples.

The Big Kahuna amongst gold dollars is, of course, the 1849-C Open Wreath of which just four or five are known. I have owned two of these including the second finest and the worst. The most famous gold dollar is the 1861-D. I'd say that I've handled at least 20 (I once owned three at one time!), including a number in Uncirculated.

There are a few gold dollars that, as condition rarities, have proven to be elusive. I don't think I've owned more than two or three really nice 1854-S dollars, and the same holds true with the overlooked San Francisco issues from 1857, 1858, and 1859.

The highest-grade gold dollar that I've owned is MS68; I've seen a few MS69 pieces but have yet to own one and have never been lucky enough to "make" one when submitting coins to PCGS or NGC.

I've had the honor of working on a number of great quarter eagle sets over the years, so this is a denomination that I've handled every single issue.

There are some really rare early quarter eagles and the rarest is the 1804 13 star reverse. I bought what is among the finest known out of auction a few years ago and this was the first example of this variety that I had handled. Two other issues that I haven't owned more than a few of are the 1806/5 and the 1834. According to my records, I've owned just three of the former and two of the latter.

There are three great rarities in the Liberty Head quarter eagle series: the 1841, the 1854-S, and the 1863. I've been fortunate to own lots of these; more than just about any other coin dealer, in fact.

Of the 15 or so known 1841 quarter eagles, I have owned five or six different coins, including two of the rare Proofs. I have always loved the 1854-S and can think of at least five different examples that I've owned out of the 13 to 15 known. The Proof-only 1863 has a surviving population of maybe 20 or so pieces; I can remember five different pieces that I've owned ranging in grade from PR60 to PR66.

There are actually a few Liberty Head quarter eagles that I've never owned in Uncirculated. One is the 1840-D, another is the 1855-D. Surprisingly, I haven't had an 1862-S in Mint State either. However, I have owned two of the three known 1864's in Uncirculated, and two of the rare 1865's as well.

I have a few gaps in the Proof Liberty Head quarter eagles. Other than the 1841, the earliest Proof Liberty Head I've owned is an 1858. There are probably two or three dates from the 1860's and 1870's that have eluded me; not necessarily because they are extreme rarities but more out of circumstance. One of these is the 1861 and another is the 1872.

I've liked Three Dollar gold pieces for many years and between the Jewell Collection, Horseshoe Collection, and South Texas Collection, I've owned many Condition Census pieces.

There is one date that I've not owned: the 1870-S which is unique. Other than that, the date I've owned the fewest of is the Proof-only 1875; I can only recall owning two.

There are two Three Dollar gold pieces that I haven't owned in Uncirculated: the 1855-S and the 1860-S. Only three or four properly graded Uncirculated examples are known of each and, for whatever reason, I still haven't had the opportunity to buy one.

The highest graded Three Dollar gold piece I have owned is an MS67. I've owned oodles of MS65's and a decent number of MS66's but just a few MS67 examples.

I can think of just two Proofs of this design that I haven't owned: the 1855 and the 1856. With many of the low mintage dates from the 1860's and 1870's I don't think I've owned more than one or two in my career.

The denomination that has the most coins that I've never owned is the half eagle. The area that I have a number of gaps in is the early, pre-1834 issues.

I've never owned a 1798 Small Eagle and, of course, neither the 1797 Heraldic Eagle with 15 or 16 stars (both are unique). I've also never owned an 1810 Large Date, Small 5 although I've had the chance to purchase at least three or four.

There are a number of Fat Head half eagles that have eluded me. These are the 1815, the 1822, the 1825/4, the 1828/7, 1829 Small Date, and 1832 Curved Base 2. All of these are extremely rare although I have had the chance over the last decade to purchase an 1815, an 1825/4, and an 1829 Small Date.

There is just a single Liberty Head half eagle that I've never owned. Care to venture a guess? The answer is the exceedingly rare 1854-S of which just three are known.

What dates in this series have I never owned in Uncirculated? While not complete, the list certainly includes the 1842 Large Letters, 1847-O, 1858-S, 1861-S, 1863, 1864-S, 1867-S, 1872-CC, 1875, 1877-CC, and 1878-CC.

The two available dates in this series that I have owned the least number of coins is probably the 1864-S and the 1875. Its been quite a few years since I've seen an 1875 business strike that I liked, and I can recall just two or three 1864-S half eagles that I've had in the last decade+.

There is one early eagle that I've never handled: the 1795 with nine leaves below the wing. Its not that I haven't had the chance; this variety has just never really appealed to me all that much.

I've owned multiple examples of every Liberty Head eagle with the exception of the 1875; I've owned just two and none since the Dallas Bank collection example that I bought in 2001.

There are a host of issues in this series that I haven't had in Uncirculated; mainly because there are a host of issues in this series that don't exist in Uncirculated. But I can think of numerous issues that I have only owned one or two " really nice" pieces: dates like the 1841-O, 1843, 1844, 1849-O, 1852-O, 1855-S, 1858, 1858-S, etc. And that's just up through 1858!

I'm proud to say that I've owned every regular issue business strike Liberty Head double eagle at one time or another. This includes multiple examples of all the rare Type One issues such as the 1854-O, 1856-O, 1861-S Paquet Reverse and the 1866-S No Motto.

I'd like to think that I've handled as many 1870-CC double eagles as any active dealer. Looking through my records, I see that I've sold at least eight of then in the last 12 years.

The three double eagles that I've handled the fewest of are probably the 1883, 1884, and 1887. These are all Proof-only issues and as someone who has traditionally been a stronger buyer of business strikes than Proofs it seems inevitable that I'd pass on opportunities to own these coin. I've only owned one 1884 and two 1883's

One of the things that's great about being a serious coin dealer is that you get to handle serious coins. I've been lucky over the last two+decades to handle many great 18th and 19th century United States gold coins, and I look forward to handling many more during the next two decades.

Ten Tips For Selling Your Coins

As someone who sells a lot of coins, I have some selling tips/tricks/thoughts that I'd like to share. 1. Don't Get Into a Forced Sale Situation. When it comes to buying coins, most people (dealers and collectors) are sharks. If they know that you are in a situation of desperation, it is likely that they'll take advantage of you. The worst thing that you can do as a seller is to tell someone--even someone that you have a "close" relationship with--that you have to sell a coin and that you need a fair offer. In my experience, a forced sale can cost you 20-30% or more.

Ideally, you want a sale of an individual coin (or collection) to take at least 45-60 days; possibly more for an in-depth specialized collection. That will give you enough time to prepare the coin for sale, market it, and give the buyer time to pay if this becomes a factor.

2. Pick the Right Time to Sell. Although the internet is blurring the traditional coin seasons, the two best times of the year to sell your coins are still around the FUN show in January and at the summer ANA in July or August.

This holds true for selling a coin yourself, on consignment, or through auction. You are likely to do better when people are in the mood to buy coins; not when they are preoccupied with summer vacation or preparing for the Winter holidays.

3. Send Your Coins to CAC. I don't subscribe to the theory that you "have to" buy CAC coins and nothing else. If you are a savvy, educated buyer you should be able to discern what is nice and what isn't within your specialty.

But when you are selling I think it does make a difference to have a CAC sticker on your coin(s). I think the best thing about CAC is that it instills confidence in buyers and makes a coin more liquid. I certainly notice that CAC coins at auction tend to sell for more money than non-CAC, and appear to sell to retail buyers/end-users more often than non-CAC coins.

4. Strike While the Iron is Hot. Let's say you read about an auction that contains some great Liberty Head eagles that bring very strong prices. You own similar coins. Should you turn around and sell as soon as possible?

Yes and no. Sometimes you get lucky and can find the underbidder who just missed out on a record-setting coin. But more often than not he was an underbidder who might not feel so good about the level he was at a second time. As a seller, replicating an all-time record price can prove difficult. But it might be worth an effort to at least experiment, no?

5. Clean Your Slabs. This sounds silly, but dirty, scratchy slabs can cost you money. Let me give you an example.

About a year ago I saw an interesting gold at an auction. Well I sort of saw it; the holder was so scratched up you literally couldn't see the surfaces of the coin. I took a chance and bought it, mainly because it sold so cheaply, then sent it to a grading service to be re-holdered. Lo and behold, it was actually very nice. It later got a CAC sticker and I sold it for a good profit; all because it looked great in its new holder.

6. Leave Your Old Holder Coins in Old Holders (sometimes). OK, I'll be the first to get up in front of the group and admit that I'm an Old Holder-aholic. I get excited by coins in older PCGS and NGC slabs and tend to overpay for them; as do most dealers. But for a seller there's a catch to this, which is why I put the "sometimes" after the statement.

If you have a $2,000 old holder coin that has the potential to be a $4,000 coin if it upgrades, leave it alone, and price it accordingly. Let the buyer take the gamble. But if you have a $2,000 old coin coin that could be worth $10,000 if it has a good upgrade....hmmm, that might necessitate regrading the coin yourself.

7. Attribute Your Coin(s). Its probably not going to happen to you, but what if the lowly 1794 Cent you just sold to another collector across town turned out to be a $35,000 rare variety? That's going to make you feel just great, right?

Take a few minutes and attribute your coins. If you don't know how, send them to NGC's attribution service or have a trusted collector friend do it for you.

8. Have an Emergency Plan. Life is full of unexpected turns. Have you fully planned what would happen to your coins if you were to suddenly die or become incapacitated? You obviously don't want your wife walking into the local pawn shop and getting taken advantage of. Make it easy for her or your heirs and leave explicit instructions on how to dispose of your coins.

True story: a few years ago, a good client of mine passed away without a will and without leaving instructions on how to dispose of his coins. He was a secretive guy so I'm assuming the invoices for his coins weren't around and he peeled my inventory stickers off the back of the slabs which indicated what he paid. The coins were left to his sister who proceeded to take them to a "road buyer" at a local hotel. I would have paid close to a million dollars for the coins if she had called me. I'm told the road buyers paid her somewhat less than $200,000.

9. Do Your Due Diligence When it Comes to Pricing. Depending on the types of coins that you are selling, it should be possible to price your coins. But there are important things to consider.

In certain series, PCGS coins sell for premiums over NGC coins. Are your coins worth a premium? Is your coin approved by CAC and, if so, does this make a difference? Do you own a coin that's currently "hot?" Is your coin high end for the grade?

Common issues and generics are easy to price. Rare coins and very rare coins can be very difficult. Examine recent auction records. Are they consistent or all over the place? Has there been a comparable coin that has sold at auction in the last year?

If you have an extremely rare coin, it is probably best to put it in auction. But specialist dealers can be a great resource for selling rarities as well and they may be able to help you maximize the prices you get.

10. Leave a Little Bit on the Table for Everyone. Piggy sellers. Everyone knows them, and no one likes them. I'm talking about sellers who want to squeeze every last dime out of every transaction and make each sale an ordeal.

When I sell coins to other dealers I intentionally try to leave a little room so that they can make money on what they've just bought. This makes them happy and it makes them want to buy more coins from me in the future.

When I buy from collectors I try to be extra-fair and pay the most that I can while still leaving some room for myself to mark-up the coin up and resell it.

Do you have any tips for selling coins? If so, I'd love to know what they are and for you to share them with me. Please add them at the end of this blog or email them to me at dwn@ont.com.

"What Do You Collect?"

Reader F.N. of New York City recently asked me an interesting question: "Do you collect coins and if so what do you collect?" I'd like to take the chance to give you a brief history of what I have collected in the past and supplement this with some thoughts on collecting coins in general. I started early in numismatics. I was pretty much hooked by age seven, and was obsessed with coins by the time I was nine or ten. I was always attracted to cool, older coins and the first things I can remember buying included a few bust half dollars, a holed small size quarter (that I tried to plug with candle wax; an early foray into doctoring?) and a few odds and ends.

When I was ten or so, I started a set of Indian Cents. I got bored quickly with this and could never really "get" why I'd have to pay $100 for a decent 1877 when they seemed to be so easy to find.

I always had an interest in Colonial and Revolutionary War history and this was fueled by trips with my maternal grandfather to places like Boston, Lake George/Fort Ticonderoga, Valley Forge, etc. It was around this time that I got hooked on colonial coins; Connecticut coppers specifically.

For a kid in the 1970's with a small budget, collecting Connecticuts was ideal. They were cheap, reasonably easy to find, and very few people knew or cared about rare varieties. After some searching, I discovered the standard reference by Henry Miller and started to learn how to attribute the coins by variety. I was good at this, and within a year I was able to attribute many of the better varieties by memory.

Growing up in New York in the 1970's was a great environment for a kid who loved coins. There were shops everywhere and a major show seemed to take place at least once every two months (sadly, these shows are long gone. RIP to the GENA, AINA, Greater New York, etc.) There were also shows every Sunday at the long-gone Roger Smith and Hotel Manhattan where I would, from time to time, stumble on a really good colonial coin.

I stayed loyal to colonials until the time I was a mid-teenager and discovered Seated Liberty coinage; specifically seated quarters. I can still remember the epiphany I had about this series: one day I was skimming the Redbook and realized that there were really rare coins with mintages of 20,000 or so that had guidebook values of less than $200. These coins were so cheap that, if I could find them, I'd actually be able to buy nice looking, rare issues for $100-200 per coin; my budget at the time.

My Seated Liberty mentor when I was a kid was the late Kam Ahwash. Kam treated me really fairly and I fondly recall combing through boxes of his seated coins at his tables when he would come to a New York show. I'd generally select more than I could afford, but I'd sell a rare colonial or two that I had cherrypicked.

Grading back then was far less exact than it is today and I would carefully check the surfaces of all the seated quarters that Kam had to avoid those that had been cleaned and retoned.

Given my budget and my sense of aesthetics, I developed a strict set of parameters for my quarter set that has stayed with me even today. I preferred coins in the VF-EF range as they showed good detail but were affordable. I loved coins that were original with warm gunmetal grey color. To me, the things that killed a coin were deep, unsightly scratches, rough surfaces, and rim problems.

I learned what dates were the most undervalued and wasn't worried about owning "too many" 1859-S or 1872-S quarters; I could always trade them for something else when the rest of the world learned how rare these coins were (they did; just 20 years later than I thought they would!)

Once I went to college and started my own coin business, the extra money I had went other places than coins. And when I finally did have some extra money, I either reinvested it into my business or bought real estate.

During the last two decades as a dealer specializing in rare U.S. gold coinage, I haven't really "collected" much in the way of what I sell; primarily because I don't want to have a conflict of interest with my clients.

About a decade ago, I worked on a set of MS66 Three Cent Nickels. I got to within two coins of being complete, but got bored and sold the set for a nice profit.

The most serious collecting I did was a year set of 18th century coinage (I specialized in a specific year that I won't mention here) that was complete from half cent to eagle, and which included a number of important varieties and sub-varieties. When prices for early type soared in 2006-2008, I decided that it was time to sell and broke the set up.

Today, I'm kind of a dabbler. I buy the occasional pretty, interesting coin and put it away. But I know I'll always be a seller of these coins, especially if I have a client who I like and who is looking for a coin of the sort that I have put away.

If I ever became a more serious collector again, there are a few parameters that I'd work within.

I love gem slider AU58 coins for the appearance and value that these coins provide. I'm talking about a choice, original coin that is a technical AU58, but which has the look and appeal of an MS64. These coins are far harder to find than you might imagine, but I do handle them from time to time. I could see having a random collection of 19th century gold coins with these attributes.

I love pedigreed coins. I find the coins that are hardest for me to part with as a dealer are ones that were owned by great past collectors like Harry Bass, Louis Eliasberg, James Stack, or the Norweb family. As a dealer, I tend to be more interested in the history of the coin business than the history of the coins themselves and there is something that excites me about being only the third owner of a specific gold coin since, say, the early 1900's.

I love gold coins with great eye appeal. If I buy a Dahlonega quarter eagle with really rich natural coloration, I sometimes think "I want to put this coin away." (I almost never do, though, because coins like this are so easy for me to sell.) Bright coins from the 1840's aren't appealing to me unless they are Choice or Gem quality and are naturally vibrant.

If I had to pick a specific era of numismatics from which the coins are most appealing to me, I'd have to say it would be from the late 1820's through the late 1840's/early 1850's. I think this is a great period of American history, but what I find most interesting are the designs of these coins, the richness of the naked-eye varieties, and the fact that there are coins from this period that can be found for less than $10,000 with superb eye appeal.

As someone who has been involved with coins for just about his whole life, I know I'll never totally stop collecting. I wouldn't be surprised if, within a few years, I find a series that I want to start a small collection in. I just worry that, given the amount of passion that I approach the other collectibles that I specialize in, I would get too consumed by this new area. Given how selective a buyer I am that probably won't happen, but you never know....

The Two Types of Coin Collectors

In my day-to-day dealings with collectors, I note at least two distinct typologies. First, there is the collector who has either been buying coins since he was a child, or who was a collector as a kid and has since rekindled his early romance with numismatics. And then there is the newcomer who is generally introduced to coins through precious metals/bullion/modern coins. The lifetime collector versus the precious metals advocate. Which is "better?"

My answer to this question is simple: neither is "better." And I think both schools can learn a little something about coins and the coin hobby from each other.

Whether you choose to admit it or not, financial considerations should enter into every transaction that you the collector makes. A true collector might not worry about paying an irrational amount of money for a much-coveted coin, but every purchase should be considered for its long-term implications. I've seen dealers write comments to the effect that "it doesn't matter what you pay for a great coin; the market always takes care of high-quality purchases." I think this is a self-serving comment and I think that price considerations are, in virtually all cases, important.

In other words, the dyed-in-the-wool collector sometimes needs to think more like an investor and consider what the upside and downside is for his purchases.

Since the 1980's and the era of coin telemarketing, many people have been introduced to numismatics by a simple three step process: 1) buy gold, usually in the form of bullion, 2) be converted or up-sold to semi-numismatics, usually in the form of St. Gaudens double eagles or, lately, Proof American eagles, and 3) become interested in rare coins and start a collection (or a random assortment) of numismatic coins.

Given their backgrounds as investors, these individuals need to think a bit more like collectors.

It's kind of a cliche, at this point, to write this but in my long years of experience in numismatics, the collectors that I see who are the most successful are a hybrid of collector and investor. And the ones that are the most unsuccessful are the ones who approach numismatics strictly as an investment.

Any sort of hobby, whether its crochet, yoga, or coin collecting, is made more enjoyable when it is approached with passion. In the case of numismatics, this means learning about coins, learning about the market, and becoming familiar with the buying and selling process. Coin buyers who see nothing more than market cycles and who study the CU3000 index more than the latest auction catalog and not going to get the fulfillment (emotionally or financially) that the old-school collector derives from his coins.

One of the great things about today's world is the accessibility to information that we all have. If I were writing this same blog ten years ago, it would be hard for me to tell an investor to go online and read a lot about rare coins to become a more confident buyer. Today, there is a tremendous amount of information available.

What can the investor do to orient himself more like a collector? Obviously, the first answer is to do as much due diligence as possible. Read. Learn about the market. Choose a reputable dealer. Become a specialist. Become as familiar as possible with the concept of eye appeal and comfortable with the basics of grading.

What can the collector do to think more like an investor? Learn not to make purchasing decisions based entirely on emotions and learn the concept of buying and holding. Study the ups and downs of the coin market and learn to buy at the bottom or middle of the cycle and not at the top. Become aware of who to buy the best coins from at the most reasonable prices.

I find that as the years pass, the pure collector becomes more of a collector-investor and the pure investor becomes more of an investor-collector. Ultimately, the "twain does meet" (sort of) and these two types have more common ground that you might actually believe.

Some Rare Coins That You (Almost) Never See Anymore

I was thinking the other day about the cycles of availability that run through the coin market. Around ten years ago, the market was flooded with rare date Proof gold; today you almost never see it. In the late 1990's, there were a number of wonderful collections of Charlotte and Dahlonega sold at auction; today you rarely see more than a few interesting pieces scattered here and there. What are some of the other rare, interesting coins that have gone from being formerly available to currently almost unavailable? 1. 1861-D Gold Dollars and Half Eagles: A quick check of my records shows that I handled four 1861-D gold dollars in 2008, three in 2009 and exactly one since then. After sighing in frustration, I couldn't bring myself to check the numbers on the 1861-D half eagle but I'm sure they are similar.

Neither of these issues are truly rare but they are immensely popular and have a collector base that extends out of the core group of Dahlonega cultists that you'd expect would want to own them. This means that once a collector buys a "dream coin" like an 1861-D gold dollar he isn't likely to sell it; even though values have risen appreciably on this coin (and the similarly dated half eagle) in the last three years.

2. Really Nice AU55 to AU58 Dahlonega Half Eagles. Where exactly have these all gone? In the not-so-distant past I might have three to five different crusty AU55 to AU58 Dahlonega half eagles in stock, especially after returning from a major show or big auction. Today, it seems like months can go by before I am able to buy one or two.

I have a few theories as to these coin's sudden disappearance. many of the formerly crusty AU55 and AU58 coins have been dipped-n-stripped and are now bright, unappealing MS60 to MS61 coins. Many of the very nice crusty pieces that I sold over the years are in tightly-held collections and aren't likely to be sold any time soon. Prices have been flat for a number of years on these coins and collectors who might have bought, say, an 1852-D half eagle in crusty AU58 back in 2004 have no real reason to sell from a financial standpoint. So, the supply of nice DWN-quality Dahlonega half eagles is currently at the lowest level I can remember in years.

3. Rare Date Fat Head Fives: I used to be an active buyer of the half eagles struck between 1813 and 1834, I still am except for the fact that nearly all of my activity in this area, of late, has been focused on a small group of dates: namely the 1813, 1814/3, 1818 and 1820. Virtually all the other dates of this type have become unavailable in recent years.

Not that they were ever flooding the market, but a decade ago you could count on one or two examples of dates like the 1824, 1826, or 1827 to become available every year. Now, they seem nearly unavailable. Four 1826 half eagles half eagles have appeared at auction since early 2006, only two 1826's since 2005 and no 1827 half eagles since the middle of 2008. That's frustrating for collectors and dealers alike!

4. Uncirculated No Motto New Orleans Eagles. If you discount the small groups of coins found on the S.S. Republic and S.S. New York shipwrecks, the number of nice Uncirculated No Motto New Orleans eagles available in the last five years or so has been very small.

Looking back at my records, I've handled no 1841-O or 1842-O in Uncirculated, two 1843-O, no 1844-O, one 1845-O, no 1846-O, three 1847-O, one 1848-O, no 1849-O and so forth and so on. Yes, these coins are all rare (with the exception of the 1847-O) but it seems like the pattern of availability has changed. I'd attribute this to the fact that the majority of the coins that did become available in the late 1990's and early 2000's (which I'm now beginning to realize was a once-in-a-generation period of rare date gold fertility) were generally snatched up by serious collectors who are not currently in a sell mode.

5. Major Rarities. If you own truly rare United States gold coins, pat yourself on the back. You own something that many new collectors and investors would give (almost) anything to add to their collections.

Let's look at a few examples. The rare 1854-S quarter eagle suddenly became reasonably available in 2005 and three examples (out of around 12-13 known) were sold at auction. But since then, only three other appearances at auction have occurred with the last of these being in July 2009.

Another rarity in the quarter eagle series is the 1841 with around fifteen or so known in total. In 2004, there were three auction appearances and another two sold in 2005. Since then, only two have been offered at auction with the last record in July 2009.

The list could go on and on and, by now, I'm assuming you get the point: really neat coins that we had become fairly accustomed to seeing during the late 1990's and up to the middle of the 2000's have become rarer than I would have imagined. With the demand for these really neat coins seemingly at its strongest point in a number of years, it will be interesting to see what, if any, important single coins or collections come to the market in the next year or two.