ANA National Money Show Wet & Wild! Heritage Sale Reels in Nearly $10 Million

The Spring ANA Money Show is in the books and while Mother Nature may not have cooperated with the stereotypical California weather that hobbyists, travelers and the public may have hoped for, it was a well-organized event held in the historic state capital of the Golden State. Although travel arrangements may have been a bit grueling for many of the non-dealer attendees making the trek, more than one confided that they wouldn’t have squandered a shot to see an ANA National Money Show for the world. “This is a great opportunity to get a show of this caliber in our neck of the woods, it is quite an honor and we weren’t about to miss it!” For most veteran dealers it was a welcome and enjoyable sojourn to check the pulse of the numismatic market after the Long Beach Expo and a good barometer to gauge the upcoming Whitman Baltimore show that rounds out the month of March. Certainly the wet and windy weather that greeted the convention goers for the duration was more indicative of a nor’easter, adhering to the old adage that March comes in like a lion, but will hopefully go out like a lamb for Baltimore.

Heritage’s feature U.S. coin auction realized an impressive $9.7 million. Quality NGC material was well represented in the sale. Once again many top echelon Registry-quality coins were bringing solid prices! A superb yet relatively common 1937-D Buffalo Nickel found a new home as a majestic NGC MS 68 example of this issue sold on St. Patrick’s Day for $16,100. This rainbow-toned beauty is one of only three MS 68 examples certified by NGC. In fact, only 56 Buffaloes within the entire series have been graded MS 68! Classic Commemoratives made some big noise too: the finest NGC-graded 1934 Texas Centennial, an MS 68, reeled in an amazing $16,100, which is believed to be a record price for that Lone Star State issue. The Eliasberg 1806 Draped Bust Quarter, graded MS 66 by NGC, realized an impressive $80,500. An 1864 Liberty Seated Quarter, graded MS 67 and tied with one other specimen for finest certified by NGC, sold for $13,800. Other notable highlights from the Heritage Sacramento ANA sale include:

• 1800 S-204 Draped Bust Large Cent NGC AU 58 $16,100
• 1866 Shield Nickel Rays NGC PF 67 Cameo $16,100
• 1796 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter NGC MS 64 $80,500
• 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter NGC MS 65 $34,500
• 1794 O-105 Flowing Hair Half NGC AU 53 $48,875
• 1839 Judd-104 Restrike Gobrecht NGC PF 58 $25,300
• 1881 Trade Dollar NGC PF 67 Cameo $20,700
• 1879-CC Morgan Dollar NGC MS 64 (GSA Holder) $13,800
• 1893-O Morgan Dollar NGC MS 64 $16,100
• 1854 Type II Gold Dollar NGC MS 66 $37,375
• 1829 Capped Bust Quarter Eagle NGC MS 61 $20,815
• 1906 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle NGC MS 68 $14,950
• 1908 Indian Quarter Eagle NGC PF 67 $34,500
• 1863 Indian Three Dollar NGC PF 66 Ultra Cameo $80,500
• 1808 Capped Bust Half Eagle NGC MS 63 $27,830
• 1859-S Liberty Head Eagle NGC AU 53 $16,100
• 1900-S Liberty Head Eagle NGC MS 64 $20,700
• 1910-D Indian Head Eagle NGC MS 66 $17,250
• 1862-S Liberty $20 NGC MS 63 $57,500
• 1920-S Saint-Gaudens $20 NGC MS 61 $46,000
• 1852/1 Augustus Humbert $20 NGC AU 58 $43,125
• 1850 Mormon Five Dollar NGC AU 55 $36,800
• 1852 Judd-145 Gold Dollar NGC PF 68 Cameo $47,438

All told over 1,400 NGC lots met the hammer in the Golden State, 56 lots capturing mid-to-high five figures. However, more affordably priced collector coins in the $2K to $5K range were responsible for the majority of the floor action.

Many bourse dealers expressed mixed results, some having a great retail show while others were strong in acquisitions, still many others described it as flat. A high profile Delaware company advised that sales picked up and on Saturday alone they sold over 150 Classic Silver Commemoratives, all to retail customers on the final day. A well-known Georgia dealer bucked the trend advising that he had a fairly balanced show, perhaps tipping the scale with a little bias towards new purchases. “It’s been a very good show, better than I expected.” A well-known copper specialist from Florida told me his sales were at best mediocre; however, he was able to purchase many top-tier early coppers for inclusion in a specialty set for one of his clients. He said, “I really didn’t expect to find this treasure trove of key early copper on the West Coast. I was able to pick up a handful of tougher Newcomb’s, this is more of an East Coast thing.”

The CEO of another Florida company advised that they had a very good show. “I guess we were lucky, having one of the better traffic flows. We bought quite a bit of material, much from new clients. Although the show concluded at 5:30 p.m., my associate volunteered to extend the business day on Friday, traveling out to West Sacramento with a new client whom we met at the show earlier that day to do an appraisal on an estate consisting of early type coins better date Morgan Dollars, etc. all housed in early NGC slabs. I guess I really owe him, not getting through with the appraisal until after 2 a.m. and still making it back for the final day of the show before 9 a.m.!”

Jim Bisognani has written extensively on US coin market trends and values and was the market analyst and writer for a major pricing guide for many years. He currently resides in Southern California and frequently attends major coin shows and auctions.