LONG BEACH REPORT

THIS REPORT CONTAINS OBSERVATIONS AND FACTS FROM LEGEND NUMISMATICS AND LEGEND AUCTIONS BUSINESS AND OBSERVATIONS AT THE SHOW. OTHERS (ESPECIALLY NOT IN OUR AREAS) WILL HAVE DIFFERENT REPORTS

LEGEND WILL HAVE REGULAR OFFICE HOURS MONDAY

A STRONG START

We arrived Friday before the show to start our activities. Lot viewing at both auctions as our goal. Much to our surprise, we did not beat the crowd. The Goldberg Copper Sale was the first up for us. The Haig Koskarian Collection was something we set our sights on (Haig is along time friend of Legend and a wonderful person).

The sale took place Sunday. The room was packed with players. We weren’t worried as we knew our bids were going to be winners. After the sale was done, we limped out of the room badly beaten buying barely half off what we expected too. Unexpectedly the collector who thinks he is the next Louis Eliasberg showed up himself and of course had to have coins. Our real foil was was another pure early copper collector who pretty much did a Statue of Liberty on us with the rarer pieces we needed. Of course with 3 intense buyers and a packed room, the sale yielded MANY record prices. Yet again, it shows what TRUE quality can do in a complete collection.

THE LONG BEACH SHOW

On Tuesday our normal crew arrived. Our “super secret”  buyer was ready for us-more ready then we ever thought. He did not just make a pile, he built Mount Everest! Our sales to him were well into six figures-an amount we typically do all of pre show. He obviously needed coins as the prices he paid were very strong.

Sensing selling would not be hard, we spent the rest of Tuesday and Pre show looking to buy. We spent a whopping $50,000.00 after seeing probably 25 dealers. There was zilch for PCGS CAC gold. In fact, we saw almost NO PCGS CAC coins other then widgets for sale. This affects and concerned us very much.

When the show began, we immediately sold a few five figure coins. Half way through Wednesday we stopped selling and concentrated on buying. We walked the floor 2x in full-and found zilch again. Yes, we have high standards, but we were focusing on cool coins $1,000.00-$10,000.00 (we know no great big coins would be on the floor). Demand is starting to really take its toll. Because of so much misinformation (PCGS actually approached us about the CU price assistance)  and poor quality lesser coins trading for so little, your not seeing prices rise on the top end-yet (at some point they MUST as there is NO supply). In the end, up through closing of set up (6 PM Wed) we had done enough selling we could have gone home from the show!

Interestingly, we did not see a big crowd attend. Yet again many of the known bigger collectors did not show up. In fact, we can also count 5 major dealers who were MIA. We believe the PCGS Invitationals in Las Vegas actually canniblize Long Beach. We do far more retail in Vegas. So this show (on the bourse floor only) in our opinion is not really a snap shot for how our market is performing. However, we did retail several five figure items to collectors including placing the monster 5C 1913 TY wild toned MS67+/68 set. Coins below $10,000.00 actually did NOT sell well for us. The Heritage Auction did really well and had very strong prices. Plus, after a dead week via the internet, our sales came roaring back so strong, we had to pull coins while a few dealers had them in their piles! We expect the strong buying to continue this week vis the web. Last, a sorry shout out to every one, found NO Want List coins.

From our perch at the show and in the market, we see good coins (save for MS Seated and Barber Type) being strong. Early copper is very strong, while we are thrilled that Proof 3CN’s seem to be enjoying strong demand again (they are still so cheap). Of course ALL PCGS CAC better CAC gold is strong in demand. In fact, we walked the floor multiple times just looking to see if there were any PCGS CAC MS65 or better High Reliefs. Found NADA. Only a year ago you could take your choice.

With the market being good (as we said it would be for awhile), do not try and out smart it. We have a saying, “cheap is not cheap enough”. Don’t think that skimming though auctions and finding NON beaned coins that are cents on the dollar make smart buys. Every major shark dealer looks for stuff like that in major sales. Maybe once in a few years you can beat them and find a rip, but normally no. In our world, we always buy the BEST quality we can afford-you need to do the same. Quality DOES reward you (just like Haig Koshkarians Large Cents just did for him).

LEGEND NUMISMATICS WISHES TO THANK PCGS

On behalf of Legend and our partner Bruce Morelan, we thank PCGS for creating such an amazing display of his Bust Dollars including the worlds most valuable coin-the $1 1794 SP66 CAC.

We actually had to wait inline to get our pics taken with the coin! The display was beyond any we have ever seen anywhere.

This set was a real time capsule history on display. To have the unquestionably finest Bust Dollar from every year  ( 200+ years ago) is something we never thought could happen. We’re thrilled the public had a chance to enjoy the coins. If you missed them, we’re sure down the road they will be displayed again.

NEWPS

As we mentioned before, selling was far easier then buying. We did buy a few things-just a few.

One of our highlight coins was in a small box of really neat coins. We saw it, but passed it by thinking it was something else. The dealers asked us why we passed? When we looked again and saw what it was-our jaws dropped. It is the 1C 1910 PCGS PR67+ RD CAC. WOW! We thought it was a regular MS in GEM RED. WOW, WOW,WOW!

Other highlights include:

1C 1872 PCGS MS65RD CAC  An original GEM RD!

G $1  1851O PCGS MS65+ CAC  Superb colors!

$2.5  1805 PCGS AU53 CAC Awesome!

$1  J- 397 1864 PCGS PR65 RB CAC  WOW!

Do not forget to check out or regular inventory as well. Not only is every coin PCGS CAC, every coin is really handpicked for the very best quality and eye appeal!

ALL ROUND I LONG BEACH NEWPS ARE NOW POSTED

LEGEND RARE COIN AUCTIONS

www.legendauctions.com

BID NOW! Our Premier Sessions Internet Only sale is now live. It closes Thursday the 23rd at 10 PM EST.

We also wish to thank the many people who came to view the sale too. Does not look like there will be any coins falling through the cracks!  For a while it was like lot viewing at a Regency Sale.

March is right around the corner and our May Regency Sale is not as far off as you might think. We picked up well over $1,000,000.00 (total) worth of incredible consignments for both this week. Both sales are filling up fast (the March sale could close early). Call or email Julie Abrams: julie@legendauctions or call greg cohen: greg@legendauctions.com. They will work with you from start to finish. GENEROUS cash advances no problem.

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