NO SPRING BREAK HERE
Every so often a group of 4-6 of the most successful and powerful dealers gathers for dinner. Everyone in attendance has at least 40 years of experience dealing at the highest levels. The dinner we just had was special because it honored our late dinner club member and friend Steve Gerhinger. Besides that, it was also significant in that we had a major market discussion (usually, we just tease each other and enjoy dinner).
One dealer has a huge eBay presence. He was just shaking his head at how much business he is doing. While he is used to the biz coming in spurts, now it is just flat-out collectors buying every day. We watched him gobble up white GEM CC Morgans, including an 89CC for $50,000.00. He didn’t flinch as his pile of coins grew. He too said he cannot get enough coins. He also said he was swamped with bullion and at one point was owed $5,000,000.00! Another dealer, probably one of the biggest wholesalers in existence, was adamant that this is the best coin market ever—especially for coins UNDER $10,000.00. We had never seen his resolve so intense. He kept saying coin values WILL explode. At that point we all agreed; however, we know the biggest hurdle is the price guides. That led to another discussion. Rarely is everyone on the same page about the market. We left the dinner feeling even more bullish about where the coin market is heading.
Price guides are a definite problem. NONE of the price guides we know of today actually have a reporter on the bourse floor to check prices. The CDN relies on auction records and wholesale dealer bids. Many dealers won’t make bids today because the coins will sell even higher then, and they can’t buy them. So dealers like us and collectors of better coins are screwed. What guide can anyone use when you have not seen or heard of a coin being traded in the last 5 years—especially a gold coin? This may be a reason why coins are not coming onto the market, as we all surmised. We advise people to work with a dealer and follow the realized prices from the two major auction houses. Those are not perfect, but they are current. Legend absolutely takes the stance that a huge “black hole” is accumulating the better coins, which are now amassed more than ever. We fully agree, PRICES HAVE TO GO UP!
Last, everyone at the dinner agreed the apps and the dealers using them are crushing it. eBay used to be the biggest entry point in the market. Now it’s these apps. Although the rare coin market seems large, it is actually quite small in the grand scheme of things. We think it’s safe to say there are at least 50,000 collectors of BETTER rare coins (not including Moderns or US Mint items). That’s only four sections of an NFL stadium. So when the rest of the world starts buying, and you’re dealing with pops of less than 20, the coins cannot be found anywhere. That is why we are trying to help people build boxes of 20 (see below each coin in our listings; if a coin belongs, it will say “box of 20”). You can make money in rare coins if you follow our advice!
OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN
I know I am healthy. Earlier this year I was placed in the PCGS Dealer Hall of Fame. Quite an honor.
Now I am told I won the Harry Forman ANA Dealer of the Year award. I am honored and humbled.
I never started Legend with the intention of winning awards. My goal was always to build one of the very best retail dealerships, which I feel I have done. I was always gut-punched watching bigger collectors acquire items from unscrupulous dealers who had the best stories. I never did that and actually lost business. Now my fortunes are slowly turning. I did not change how I do anything. I think people are realizing how poor many “name” dealers really are or that you can’t just go off and buy from auctions on your own. I hate to be the one to clean them up (be the bearer of bad news), but it is necessary. However, once cleaned up, they all prospered and are now building some great sets and will make money on their coins.
I thank everyone who stood with me over the years and trusted me to work with them. I’ll be around for many more years!
WHAT OUR RANKING TERMS MEAN
HIGH END: An above-average coin. Better eye appeal than most. We won’t buy slop!
VERY HIGH END: Close to the next grade up. A coin you just look at and smile.
SUPER HIGH END: Why isn’t it in the next grade? A coin will be the ultimate in quality and eye appeal. You want to own this coin!
Legend strives to buy coins graded in the top 5%. Our HIGH END coin is far better than what most other dealers claim to offer. We are extremely finicky about our coins! We have been on the bourse floor for 40+ years. We know our coins!
NEWPS
The Colorado Collection has finally arrived. Included are many SUPERB GEM and vividly toned coins. The pieces range from Proof 1/2 10C to GEM Proof Barber 25C. The Colorado collector has been buying coins for over 50 years. We’d say next to the late Stewart Blay, no other collector has an eye anywhere near as good. So when he told us he wanted to sell some of his coins, we were ready with our checkbook open. This group of coins represents the largest amount we have purchased since 2023—when we bought the Simpson $10 Indian set. That is weak! Our well has been that dry.
We will post selections from the Colorado Collection in two rounds. So stay tuned! Warning: We expect to sell many coins at CSNS, so do not think too long.
TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE CSNS SHOW. Have coins to sell or memo to us? We need them by Wednesday of next week (April 15th). Please call or email to discuss.
OUR OFFICES ARE CLOSED FRIDAYS. WE CHECK OUR EMAILS DAILY SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. WE DO NOT CHECK FOR PHONE MESSAGES UNTIL 9AM MONDAYS.
