Baltimore Show Report November 2019
It was 10° when I headed to the airport at 5:30am, and very cold in Baltimore when I arrived. I figured I would get a gauge for the show by how long it took me to be approached on the street for money. One minute would be a good show, five minutes would be a typical show and 10 minutes would forecast a slow show. The five minutes it took to be approached was an accurate forecast as the show turned out to be typical for Baltimore.
There was a new release of a Proof Silver American Eagle by the mint. The last time I remember a mint coin release at a coin show was for the 2014 JFK three-quarter ounce gold coin. The newly released Silver Eagle unfolded the same way. Some dealers put out a casting call for any Joe public to stand in line, as the limit was one per person. The mintage is 30,000, so there is enough to promote! Joe public was paid $180-$200 for standing in line to get one coin. They would be issued a ticket by the mint and have to redeem the ticket for one coin which the mint sold for $65. The length of time to stand in line and wait to get the coin was six hours on the first day. Dealers were selling to other dealers that were promoting it for $900-$1000 per coin. I know of one dealer pre-selling Proof 70’s for almost $2,000 each. Some dealers at the show that had tables actually shut them down to stand in line. Dealers who had multiple employees stand in line made a tidy profit.
However, think about the end user. The collector that may buy one coin to put away for them self or their kids at an exorbitant premium, may not realize that the issue price was a paltry $65 each! This to me is wrong on many levels. I understand dealers buying them to sell into the promotion, but I feel awful for the poor folks that end up paying giant premiums for a ton of sizzle and no steak. The mint must stop selling these coins at shows. The greed and sly tactics employed by dealers to get rich is too over-whelming. The more people that are burned on these promotions, the worse the coin industry reputation gets.
Remember the Gold Kennedys? Now they can be acquired in Proof-70 for a modest premium over melt. I hope we’re not looking at a similar situation for these new Silver Eagle issues.
Alas, the dealers I normally acquire coins from had less and less top of the line coins available. I prefer CAC pieces to protect our clients, but not all CAC coins are the same. One well known dealer that only buys coins when he gets money from a customer, was peddling a lot of CAC coins that were very marginal. A dealer friend of mine was offered the box and he told me, “Warren, the coins were not nice, I passed on all of them.” He is also one of the remaining dinosaurs, like myself, that buys the coin regardless of grading certificate or sticker. He is also very outspoken about the grading services and was recently tossed out as a member of PCGS for being too critical of them.
Yes, I turned over many rocks and found some coins I liked, but it seems like I’m seeing less and less every show that are really top of the line. Many CAC coins that really do not deserve the sticker are also languishing at shows now. So be alert, not all CAC coins are worthy of the sticker. The old adage, buy the coin not the holder is and always will be true. Value also needs to be kept in mind.
I stopped at a dealer table and picked out a beautiful 1853 Arrows & Rays Half Dollar in AU-53 CAC, common as dirt, but a popular type issue. Since it is so common, it’s not a coin to get crazy on for price. I looked at it and the dealer quoted me $585, Greysheet in AU is $400. Before I buy a coin, I price it in my head as to what I would pay, I figured $550. He said I always counter when he quotes me a price. I didn’t want to argue with him because if a coin is offered to me at a number I am comfortable with, I never counter. If, however, I feel the value is marginal, I counter offer to the level I consider to be a fair value. He’s a good numismatist and a good guy and I felt bad to upset him, but I have an obligation to our clients. In this instance, I walked away.
You can never ever discount buying the coin and not the holder. There are plenty of rare date, high grade, certified coins in the market. There are numerous 1916 Standing Liberty Quarters and 1895 Proof Morgan Dollars, they are at all the big shows and graded by both PCGS and NGC. Most are dipped or altered to some degree, it’s a horrible sight. I have to let the salesman coin dealer sell these marginally altered coins to unknowledgeable buyers while making up some ridiculous story as to why they should not buy them CAC’d.
I have been blessed to work at my hobby, I love coins and I want to protect all of our clients. In our next newsletter I’ll tell you why strict grading is important. Here’s a quick example. Just before Baltimore, I looked at one of my older customers coins he acquired from us. One was an 1870 Seated Dollar in PCGS MS-64. I told the customer we should regrade it. While I was in Baltimore, I found out that it re-graded MS-65 again at PCGS. That’s why dealing with knowledgeable graders is important, anyone can read a label. If we ever go to a 100-point grading system and coins need to be re-graded, whoa to those folks that were talked into buying commercially graded junk, there will be blood in the streets.
Thanks,
Warren