GREAT COINS STILL BRING GREAT PRICES!
We can never say this enough: if you have the chance and want to attend probably the most intimate show ever, come to a PCGS Invitational. Its the only show we know of where you can sit down and speak to the some of the leading market makers/graders in the biz. The dealers who attend are more enthusiastic too then you tend to see at major shows. Plus, PCGS provides a yummy breakfast, lunch, and treats!
Due to the market and low dealer attendence this time (there was a conflict with a St Louis show) our wholesale activities were weak. We did buy two really rare gold pieces though and got a few well deserved +, so that made our trip.
There is no question the coin market is “choppy” right now. Demand in certain areas can be as light as dead. However, we are pleased to report that the market for NICE, fresh, properly graded, and ORIGINAL coins is strong in MANY areas. Our Regency 14 Sale held at the show more then proved collector demand for those kinds of coins with some amazing prices realized.
Back in the office, our sales are still sluggish-however we do see an increase in interest. From our vantage point SUPPLY is a huge problem. Seems EVERY show we now attend, all we see is dreck and retreads. That certainly helps no ones sales. So with all the people out there saying Gardner and Pogue have flooded the market and sucked out huge money-we say not so. Especially Pogue. As predicted, we do not see ANY coins from Pogue in wholesale inventories. Gardner there are just a few coins lingering. The big buyers in both sales chances are they do not buy widgets like an 82CC $1 in MS65 or a PR Barber Dime in 65.
We can’t find the “right” coins (last time we said this we got offered every thing we did NOT need). Think about it, where are all the BETTER GEM $10 Indians and Saints? Any choice to GEM real early coinage is held in collectors hands. For years we warned many of the neatest GEM 65-66 CC DMPL’s were heading to Japan. Can’t say we have seen many over the past year that were really nice being offered. So whats mostly left on the marketplace are either the rejects or coins that are overpriced. Dealers really can’t sell them, thus hurting their liquidity creating market weakness. This log jam also shows off the worst the problems of gradeflation which compounds any negative effect on the market (which is why it is so choppy). Plus, the majority of pricing/published values are totally inaccurate. We think it will take a long time to clean this all out.
Right now we’d state with the exception of when major collections like Pogue are sold, overall it is a buyers market. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!
LEGEND REGENCY 14 SALE
First we wish to thank everyone again who participated. The results were nothing less then amazing! We realize the auctions are about collectors being happy which is why we say: “a happy buyer makes for a happy seller”. We know there were plenty of both this past sale!
We knew there would be some record numbers for the Coronet Morgan Dollar Collection, but WOW, there were multiple “beyond moon money” records set! The amazing $1 FINEST KNOWN 1894 PCGS MS66+ started the action with an intense bidding war that took it to $152,750.00. We had expected it to fetch just below $100,000.00. The coin was more then deserving of its lofty price. The record numbers just kept coming:
$1 1894S PCGS MS66+ CAC $31,725.00
$1 1897O PCGS MS66 CAC $108,875.00
$1 1898O PCGSMS68 DMPL CAC $49,937.50
$1 1899S PCGS MS67+ CAC $49,937.50
$1 1901 PCGS MS66 $587,500.00
$1 1901O PCGSMS68 $55,812.50
$1 1902 PCGS MS67+ CAC $28,200.00
$1 1902S PCGS MS67+ CAC $99,875.00
$1 1921 PCGS MS67 CAC $19,975.00
We’re even more proud of how the Coronet Morgans did since we helped build the set. We thank the Coronet Collector for his trust and friendship and we wish him well in his semi-retirement (he is building a few small sets of coins)!
It was not just Morgans that performed exceptionally. Here a few other highlights:
1C 1865 PCGS PR65+ RD CAMEO CAC $25,850.00
10C 1800 PCGS MS63 CAC $55,812.50
10C 1946S PCGS MS68 $10,575.00
25C 1821 PCGS AU50 CAC $2,820.00
50C 1919D PCGS MS65 $205,625.00
$50 PAN PAC ROUND PCGS MS65+ CAC $205,625.00
$5 1908 PCGS MS67 $49,937.50
$20 1909/8 PCGS MS66 $85,187.50
5C J-1695 1882 PCGS PR65 CA CAC $5,405.00
Of course there were hundreds of other coins that sold strong as well. The weakest areas of the sale were most surprisingly Proof Gold and many of the toned Morgans. Can’t explain why PR Gold was weaker, its certainly not the overall market on those coins. For toned Morgans the problem collectors do not realize, it takes a certain “special” type of look to bring “crazy” money. REAL WILD toners will forever bring crazy money. We think the offering we had was nice, with the not so wild coins bringing “market” prices.
Overall, the sale did exceptional given the markets “choppy” condition.
NEWPS
Can’t say we went on any buying spree. There simply were not many coins for us to buy. This weeks highlights include: A stone GEM ORIGINAL 25C 1932D PCGS MS65 CAC, the second highest graded 50C 1936 PCGS PR67+ CAC, a killer $3 1885 PCGS MS65 CAC, and a very hard to find $5 1909O PCGS MS62 CAC. We also picked up some really GEMMY PR Lincoln Cents. When pickings are slim, we don’t push it just to offer coins.
NOTE: We will be lot viewing the Gardner sale this week. If you seek representation, please contact Laura Sperber directly to discuss: lsperber1@hotmail.com
LEGEND RARE COIN AUCTIONS
With a successful Regency 14 now done, we’re moving on to our December 17th Sale. As usual, it is held in conjunction with the PCGS Las Vegas Invitational. Come on out and buy yourself an early Christmas gift! We are current accepting consignments for this sale.
As you can clearly see, our boutique size auctions that includes coins that were hand selected by us do better then the phone book or internet sales everyone else needs to have. In fact, for Auction 14, nearly 100 coins were rejected by us. We’re not going to change our ways as we grow as we are designed to be a better alternative to the auction experience. Plus, all coins are examined by the same world class numismatists directly involved in building some of today’s greatest collections (Coronet, Simpson, Law, Morelan, etc).
Clearly, the Legend Auctions customer base (which includes the powerful base of collectors from Legend Numismatics) helps you wield better money then the bigger guys who have hundreds of thousands of customers. We can tell you, on the two most expensive coins we sold (the 19D Walker and Pan Pac Round) BOTH coins were bought by long time Legend customers. We’re also proud to say 90% of the sale went to collectors, not dealers buying on spec for inventory. Our results are PROVEN!
If you have coins for our December sale-contact us NOW! Contact Julie Abrams at julie@legendauctions.com. Keep in mind, we are picky!
To see the auction results or to learn more about Legend Rare Coin Auctions go to : www.legendauctions.com
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WISH TO ORDER A COIN, PLEASE EMAIL US. legend@legendcoin.com. WE DO NOT CHECK OUR PHONE MESSAGES UNTIL MONDAY 9AM.
