All the action of the FUN Show and its massive auction is over. A lot of collectors’ tummies are full. Now it’s time to pay the bills. There will not be another major offering of coins for at least 45 days. We expected things to start to quiet down because of those issues. However, the market has not totally slowed just yet. We did some serious sales this past week—all in the $50,000–$95,000 range! We just did not have enough smaller coins to offer, or we feel we could have done substantially more.
Hard to believe, we cannot find WHITE BETTER PCGS CAC Morgans, both MS and DMPL. We also need Standing Quarters, ALL BETTER DATES, AND FULL HEADS in GEM MS65 or better (Pre-1929). And you’d think we would find GEM MS $2.5 Indian Gold PCGS MS65 CAC or better (not including 1908 or 1925-D). Lastly, we badly need AU Bust Dollars PCGS CAC—no 1799’s. We simply are stuck in the mud now with our buying. We are back to groveling to our customers for help to find the coins we need. We’d also consider CACG coins. Our want lists are still huge. We suffer when we can’t find the right coins.
CONGRATS TO HALF DOME
Legend Numismatics is proud to announce we put the early finishing touches (we could add a few coins) on the ONLY COMPLETE PCGS CAC set of 20th Century Gold in top GEM condition. Not only is it complete, but it is also the all-time finest set ever. This effort took over 10 years to build. We scoured auctions, dealers, and collectors’ inventories and, in some cases, just got plain lucky. Half Dome strived to obtain the very best.
The crowning GEM of the entire set is the all-time finest $2.5 1911-D PCGS MS66+ CAC. This coin is the ONLY MS66 beaned by CAC. It is considered a super MONSTER unlike any other 1911-D. Even though we knew the owner loved the coin and probably would zzsell it, we chased this coin for several years. We finally purchased it for $312,000.00 at the FUN auction. The previous owner should be happy knowing it is now in the greatest 20th-century gold collection that will remain intact for a very long time.
HALF DOME is far from done. There are still a few holes we’d like to fill. On to the challenge!
Sorry, but we do not consider NON-CAC coins as equals to any CAC coin—even if they are higher grades.
By choosing to buy only PCGS CAC coins, Half Dome recognized the fact he was buying accurately graded coins that were NOT messed with. Yes, you have to pay more for CAC coins, but it is worth it in the end. We hope to get his sets corrected on the PCGS Registry and up on the CACG Registry to share them with the numismatic world. Plus, maybe then we can find another coin or two! Stay tuned—it’s going to take some work to get the coins posted.
FIGURING PRICES
Here we go. Published prices are NOT what we recommend you follow for most better coins. Commoner coins—like an 1880-S Morgan in MS67—are traded frequently, so there is more accurate information compared to an 1889-S in MS65 DMPL.
We fully advise you to take a serious look at auction prices. But you need to know how to interpret them. We strongly advise you to work with a dealer. A dealer will charge you 5% for representation only if you buy the coin. Most importantly, they will save you money and help figure out the correct value of a coin.
Example: We have a $1 1924 PCGS MS67+ CAC for sale for $23,500.00. The last sale for one was for $19,200.00. Collectors Universe is a staggering $33,500.00. Going back to the auction number, what the collector might not understand is that the last coin sold had somewhat unattractive toning. Our coin is a much more desirable white. Eye appeal is everything. That’s something that working with a dealer can explain to you, but you otherwise might not understand. There are other factors too, like seeing cleaned coins and the overall price histories.
One more: We had a $2.5 1913 PCGS MS65 CAC. We paid a ton for it—$9,600.00. That is $600.00 over CU. We were asking $10,250.00. No takers from our website. The coin had pretty toning, too. Boom! We WHOLESALED it at FUN for our asking price. Fact: dealers need coins. EVERYONE has to pay more for certain areas that are experiencing strong demand.
We were brought up in this hobby knowing you always have to pay more for quality. The vast majority of the time, this is true. Now that the hobby is expanding rapidly to young new buyers (a more massive black hole), coin prices in a few areas are rising faster than they can be published. So if you want to buy great coins, you have a lot to weigh. Do NOT try to navigate it alone. There are certain coins you need to pay a ton for that you might not think you should, and other coins that are just too much.
Also, AVOID buying commoner coins from any auctions—especially internet-only auctions. You can buy those coins cheaper from dealers. Do NOT be afraid of dealers. A good dealer (not someone who is just a marketer) is here to help you and guide you. And these days, few dealers make more than 10% per coin (at least that we know of).
The days of buying better coins cheaply are over. To buy them, you MUST step up.
NEWPS
We curated a great group of NEWPS. Over half our NEWPS are priced BELOW $10,000.00! If we could buy more of the lesser-priced coins, we would. Always remember, we will NEVER substitute quality and eye appeal just because a coin could be only AU.
We have some serious HIGHLIGHT coins this week:
1/2C 1848 ORIGINAL PCGS PR65 RB CAC Missouri Cabinet – Exceedingly rare
10C 1832 PCGS MS65 CAC – A RARE BIRD!
$1 1874-CC PCGS MS64+ CAC – A MONSTER BORDERLINE MS65!
$1 1893-CC PCGS MS64+ CAC – WOW!
$5 1905 PCGS MS67+ CAC – GODZILLA!
Of course, there are several other terrific coins now posted.
We do invite you to also check out our already posted coins. We ONLY offer PCGS CAC and CACG coins (that does not mean we do not handle NON CAC).
Let’s do some business and get these great coins placed in your great collection!
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WISH TO ORDER, EMAIL US: WE DO NOT CHECK OUR PHONE MESSAGES UNTIL 9 AM MONDAY.
OUR NEW OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY ARE 9-1 PM.
WANTED: We are looking for someone part-time to help set up and run our internet programs. Local area preferred—no telework. Younger numismatists desired. Please email Laura@legendcoin.com with a resume or a description of your abilities.