MID JULY REPORT

NOTHING SPECIAL TO REPORT

Even though we did do very well at the Baltimore Show, that activity did not carry over. In fact, it was a very slow week (hey we are being brutally honest). Even gold kinda sunk on us (as you know we are forever gold bugs, we do believe it will be back and go even higher). We were kind of surprised none of the 2C pieces we posted sold-those have always been fast sellers. However, we were happy to have had 5 serious inquiries on the 1802/1 PCGS AU55+ CAC Dollar. We did still place a few neat coins not on our web site. The highlights were a 50C 1839 RE PCGS MS65 CAC (a Want List coin) and a killer $20 1907 Saint PCGS MS66+ CAC.  During the summer doldrums collectors are few and those still around are even more selective. That actually makes it a great time to buy as your not in competition. We hope this week breaks the doldrums and collectors are back and are preparing for the ANA show in 2 weeks.

A TRIBUTE

As many of you already know, Gene Gardner has passed away at the age of 80. He was diagnosed with cancer back in 2010. It was a long hard fought struggle. At least he was able to over see the distribution of his massive and great collection-to fellow collectors.

We had dealt with gene for many years, selling him millions of dollars worth of great coins. Not because of the value he bought, Gene was a wonderful person and true gentleman to deal with. He loved coins so much he’d remind us “I have never met a coin I did not like that has toning”.  He would call after every package we would send him to share his joys about the coins. We will also miss him wandering the isles of the Baltimore Show Wall Street Journal in hand.

Gene was the last of a breed. When he finished a set-he simply kept on trying to improve it-never selling any of his dupes. His coins clearly were an extension of him. He did not run out to sell his sets the next week after completion. being #1 on any Registry was not his main collecting goal. Gene also spent countless hours attending coin club meetings and speaking directly with any collector who contacted him. He definately was an ambassador to the hobby he cherished so much.

Many people sneer and think the ultra wealthy collectors do not care about their coins. We can tell you for a fact Gene Gardner did care. He did look at his coins often. He studied them and published books on them. he was forever a true student of the hobby. His collection was about passion-not trophies.

Our greatest memory about Gene: When we started Legend Morphy Auctions, our very first sale was out in the sticks of PA. Gene actually lived about 15 miles away. That very first sale, there were 3 people in attendance. Gene was one. He sat through the whole sale and was the last person in the room-and he bought the very last coin-a cheaper Commem because he wanted to show us his support. We forever get a tear in our eye about that.

Legend Numismatics is terribly saddened by Genes passing and we can only hope he has access to a big bourse floor up in heaven! RIP Gene.

ANA SHOW PREP TIME

The ANA Show is less then 3 weeks away.

Do you have coins to sell or consign for straight sale? Do have updates to your Want lists? Do you need auction representation (done on a first come first serve basis)? Do not wait until the last minute! Call or email us now (legend@legendcoin.com) and lets get you prepared for the show.

BUYING 

We are always buying. We will buy entire collections to get to a single coin. Right now we are looking for GEM DMPL Morgans in quantity. They MUST be PCGS CAC and MUST have a minimum full 8″ CLEAR mirrors. Let the wannbes handle the hazed up dinged dreck. We will even buy 80S in MS65 and higher (we really could use 3-4 MS67 DMPL’s). Sorry, we do NOT want PL’s and can only use limited NGC coins (MUST be sightseen and CAC). Our buy prices are strictly predicated to the coins quality.

Also, we need quantities of AU58-MS65 Bust halves. EYE appeal is critical. All MUST be PCGS CAC. If its a recent purchase, chances are we have seen the coin on the floor and passed. Yes, we do pass on some CAC coins.

We need $20 million plus more too for our Want Lists. Offer us what you have. Do know for average coins we pay what we can replace them at. if a coin is really special, NO ONE WILL PAY MORE THAN US!

Last, need a $5 1911S PCGS CAC MS64 or higher and TWO $10 1795 PCGS CAC AU 50-58. Will pay VERY strong for these!

Contact George Haung (legend@legendcoin.com) with what you have. We do NOT buy coins sightUNSEEN unless they are specifically at our bids (mostly on generics).

NEWPS

As promised we have an amazing group of NEWPS. EVERY coin not only is PCGS/CAC, but was handpicked for its outstanding quality and eye appeal. We do everything possible to make sure our customers get the very best coins!

This weeks highlights are off the charts.

Legend is proud to offer the extremely rare $1 1841 PCGS PR63 CAC. Ex Floyd Starr. This coin is so rare, PCGS has only graded one other (long placed by us in a major a collection). THIS IS THE ONLY PCGS CAC PIECE THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FOR DECADES! 

1C  1840 PCGS MS66BN N-8 LG DT NAFTZGER

1C  1915 PCGS PR67RB CAC

3CS 1864 PCGS PR67 CAC

50C 1807 DRAPED BUST PCGS MS64 0-110a CAC

$1 1852 RESTRIKE PCGS PR64+

$5  1915 PCGS MS65+ CAC

These are just a few highlights. There are some very special coins being offered! Don’t forget to check out our regular inventory as well. We have several coins that simply have been overlooked and deserve great homes!

Next week we will be posting a small but AMAZING group of FINEST graded pop 1 MS Seated Halves. Have your Want Lists ready!

A word on our pricing, we buy at current market. We will pay premiums only if we feel the coin is worthy (meaning the quality has to be special). You should know, if we have purchased a coin out of auction, we’re not going to sell it for a 5% flip. There are many times when we will have had even higher to pay. Regardless, we do overall work very close on EVERY coin. When we say a coin is posted at its best price-we mean it. You could be Bob Simpson and we still would not discount the coin. On those coins in most cases we are making LESS then 10%. We say this so you can buy with confidence with how we price our coins. We’re not out for the last dollar, but we do deserve to make a fair %-we need too to stay in business. Of course we always give our best customers the BEST prices all the time if we find them coins on their Want Lists etc!

ALL NEWPS ARE NOW POSTED. CHECK THEM OUT! DO NOT FORGET OUR REGULAR INVENTORY TOO! 

LEGEND RARE COIN AUCTIONS 

www.legendauctions.com

Summer Sessions II was a huge success. We sold nearly $175,000.00 to over 100 active bidders from all over the world! In fact the Summer Sessions sales have been so successful we are now announcing we will be holding the Fall Sessions I+II October and November (dates to be announced). Those are in addition to our September Regency 18 and December Regency 19 sales held in Las Vegas.

Due to many consignments already in house, we will be closing the consignment deadline for Summer Session III at the end of this upcoming week. By July 29th all coins MUST be in our offices. Remember, we do reject lots we deem not worthy. So far for SSIII we have bounced 20+ coins. We accept coins valued between $1,000.00-$10,000.00 with a minimum of $5,000.00 per group.

A dealer said to us early this week, “your internet only auctions are no different then the others”. We took great offense to that. Our auctions are NOT the same. Here is why:

*NO other INTERNET ONLY sales are vetted by TWO world class bourse floor experienced numismatists. Some Internet ONLY firms have NO coin dealers on staff.

*We describe every lot. We don’t use stars or numbers, we write about the coin as we see them-no fluff either.

*We do reject coins. We do not want 500 lots of monstrosities. We want 100-125 crisp choice coin sales. We demand our buyers enjoy the quality that gives them the confidence to aggressively bid.

*Our sales are fresh and do NOT contain Modern junk. We strive to make our offerings “sexy”.

*We use only a 10% buyers fee. Seems to be appreciated by collectors and is working very well.

*When possible our sales are brought to major shows to lot view. Summer Session III in full will be at the ANA Show for viewing. 

After explaining all that to the dealer and him seeing the result of the few coins he had in Summer Sessions II, we now have a very nice consignment from him for Summer Sessions II and the words, “you guys are different, I love it”!

THE SUMMER SESSION III SALE OPENS AUGUST 8TH AND CLOSES AUGUST 18TH STARTING AT 10 PM EST. WE EXPECT TO HAVE A COMPLETE LIST OF LOTS LATER THIS WEEK. 

Lets not forget out Regency 18 Sale. We just got an amazing consignment worth $750,000.00 today of GEM Type. We will discuss highlights of it and another juicy consignment just in next week. The deals keep coming! Collectors love our smaller but powerful format. NOTE: We will be posting the Flannagan Toned Dollars and his 3 amazing 1795 coins on the Highlights page early this week!

We will be accepting consignments for Regency 18 until the last day of ANA for our September Regency Sale. Note: we are NOT accepting toner Morgans at this point. Full up on this one. Still, the earlier you can get us your coins, the more promo and work we can do (including bring and displaying them at ANA). Please contact Julie Abrams (julie@legendauctions) or Greg Cohen (greg@legendauctions.com). Our team will work with you from start to finish and create the best possible scenario for you.

If you attend the ANA show, you MUST visit our table. We will have all the highlights of the September Regency 18 Sale including ALL of the Northern Lights coins (to be sold over six sessions)!  Including the Type we just got in, we think people will be blown away by the quality and rarities in the sale.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WISH TO ORDER, PLEASE EMAIL US: legend@legendcoin.com. WE DO NOT CHECK OUR EMAILS UNTIL 9 AM MONDAY.