Baltimore Expo and Powerful Stack's Bowers Auction Underway; Sandy Stymies Us All

What a tumultuous whirlwind of events climatically, emotionally, politically and financially we all have endured in the last few weeks. Super Storm Sandy, the monster hurricane, closed out October. Wreaking havoc and rearranging topography from New Jersey to New England the storm paralyzed much of the mid-Atlantic and dumped heavy snow through much of the Midwest too; tearing up hundreds of miles of Eastern coastline; the devastation, loss of life and personal property is of historic proportions. While FEMA, the Red Cross and scores of other local and private volunteers are doing an admirable job, many of the displaced are facing the elements as old man winter bears down. I had it relatively easy here, strong wind downed branches, and heavy rain; amazingly the power never went out. Certainly I was in the minority, one of lucky ones. Then less than a week after the super storm there was the exciting and expensive US Presidential election. The angst could be felt on both sides of the political aisle leading up to election day and with the reaffirmation of the President; after all is said and done both major parties realize they must work together to avoid permanent gridlock. With heightened fears for the European economy and the fast approaching so-called “fiscal cliff” here at home, world financial markets were also anxious to chart a course for the next four years. In the numismatic world there is much to digest. After the hurricane most of the major numismatic businesses in the northeast closed down and collectors along the heavily populated Eastern seaboard and points west also had more important things to do than check on a local bid board or internet auction. Without question Sandy has stymied all of us. For those of you that are in a position to do so, a great and appreciated gift would be one directed toward the relief efforts of the victims of this tragic storm.

Rare coins certainly took a back burner to these events. For the past few weeks numismatic business, although being conducted, was understandably at a slower pace. Ian Russell, President of Great Collections advised me “What a disaster! My wife and I were watching from Los Angeles airport and just couldn't believe it. We've had clients who lost their homes, could not go back to work, are still without power and so forth. We've had a few clients who needed money against consignments, which we've offered free cash advances and we obviously made processing the consignment a priority for them. Since the storm happened on a Monday, it did not have any effect on our auctions, which end on Sunday nights, and despite our servers being located in Washington DC, they had no issues throughout the storm at all. After the Presidential Election it is still felt that rare coins are in demand. Several quick sales of five and even six figure coins confirm the strength of the market, as well as the depth of our client base. We look forward to continuing to offer NGC-certified coins of this caliber in our weekly certified coin auctions,” advised Ian.

Brian Hodge of Lee Minshull Rare Coins concurred that it has been a difficult time for his contemporaries with Hurricane Sandy putting much of the northeast out of commission. “Obviously that’s a major population center for rare coin buyers and dealers and much of the industry seemed to be at a standstill because of it. Sales have still been good, though not as good as the immediate week after the ANA. That was one of best weeks ever for rare coin sales, as over $1 million worth of NGC-slabbed rarities left our offices.” Hodge confirmed the staying power of the rare coin arena stating: “We really like $3 gold right now, and actually placed a substantial multi six figure deal of it last week”. Right now the world’s attention is on digesting the Presidential election results, but this dealer and many others feel that rare coins will remain hot as we close 2012 on into 2013.

Lance Tchor, owner of Worldwide Numismatics said “It is a shame that it (Sandy) happened. It affected millions of people… and then one storm after another added insult to injury. I feel for those victims and their families.” As for ramifications in regards to the coin business per the Florida dealer, “It’s been very busy actually. The demand for quality numismatics properties has been superb and more investors are coming in--it’s just great.” Lance also reinforced his statement that the coin market remains quite robust especially for top shelf rarities. Within the last few weeks, through a private treaty sale, Tchor’s fabulous 1843-D Half Eagle graded NGC SP 65 traded hands for an undisclosed six figure sum A true prize, this ultimate Dahlonega gold coin is the highest graded 1843-D Half Eagle and the only Specimen striking recorded for the issue. “I bought it about ten years ago, then sold it and bought it again. I put in the in the Stack’s Bowers ANA sale and while there was much interest the coin didn’t meet reserve. However about a month ago the auction house approached me as they had a client and negotiated the sale. Yeah, I am happy," said Lance. Talk about market strength for NGC-certified rarities!

Despite his harrowing experience I was able to communicate with one collector from the north New Jersey shore by the name of Dave. He relayed to me his story. After the storm he was able to carefully navigate back to the street where his home was and it was in his words a “battle zone”. “My home was obliterated; just the foundation and a bit of the first floor remained. Hey, the house was lost but my family was ok.” This, of course, was Dave’s most important consideration that he and his family were safe. Dave then went about searching through the debris for any personal belongings that he might find that were salvageable. “I found a few family photos and personal records that were saved from the ravages of Sandy,” advised Dave as they had been stored in a small space bag. Also tucked inside: a set of Roosevelt Dimes that he had had since his youth. The Roosevelt Dime set was bought at a local coin show when the New Jersey native was 12 years old back in the summer of ‘66. “I remember the set was nothing special, but it was to me,” Dave said. Housed in a blue Whitman folder, Dave recalled each of the dimes were bit tarnished so after he purchased the set the young collector had taken each dime out and used a pencil eraser to rub away a little bit of the discoloration on all the coins. “I can remember sitting in front of the family’s first color television set on the floor while Walter Cronkite was reporting the news. This set was a part of my life… Amazingly it still is and the coins never looked better! With all that happened to me this Roosevelt set is like chicken soup for the soul.”

With the talk of capital gains possibly increasing in 2013, several of my astute colleagues said that they have been in close contact with many of their high-end customers and investors trying to shake some of the better NGC-certified coins loose before the first of the year. A prominent dealer stated “Just because there may be higher capital gains no one’s interested in letting go of their quality hard assets, especially their rare coin holdings, regardless of the tax ramifications. Nearly all have reported that they would much rather put more dollars into rare coins. These are really savvy people and they have already figured out the tax advantages and they have come to the conclusion there are decided benefits on the other end with quality and rare coins and either want to maintain or add to their portfolios.”

As this article posts, however, the rare coin market is still very warm as the majority of the numismatic community is meeting in Baltimore to attend the Whitman Expo and take part in what portends to be a tremendously exciting Stack’s Bowers host auction sale. Leading up to the Baltimore gala I spoke to Dave Wnuck, of Harry Laibstain Rare Coins. The always-enthusiastic Wnuck advised me that they had just picked up a pair of truly desirable and rare NGC coins. “We have two killer NGC coins. They are an 1833 Capped Bust Quarter in NGC PF 65 Cameo and 1833 Capped Head $5 in NGC PF 61. “They make a great start to an 1833 proof set! Both were purchased for inventory,” advised Wnuck. “Honestly, it was a coincidence that they are both the same date. When we realized it, we all said -- Cool! The 1833 Proof $5 is one of the "100 Greatest Coins" -- one of the coins in that book that is almost never offered. And the quarter -- well, it is just a neat coin!”

As 2012 winds down, although there is still a massive shortage of any fresh and original coins appearing in the marketplace, opportunity is awaiting in the Old Line State. Hope to see you there!

Until Next Time, happy collecting!

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.