- 12/10/2024
- Warren Mills
- Winter 2024 BaltimoreEdition
Welcome to the latest Rare Coin Enthusiast. This issue will start with my thoughts regarding the November 14-16 Baltimore Coin Expo. Chris and I left for the show on November 12th. It’s nice to get in early to the major shows just to set up a plan for buying and selling. In the coin business, the earlier the better. All it takes is one meeting with a dealer that has a fresh deal to sell or needs to buy to replenish his inventory that can make a show. Timing isn’t everything but with a little luck it can help. We arrived late in the afternoon and we each saw dealers to get us off on the right foot. Wednesday, the 13th, was the start of the real opening salvo for the show. The show itself doesn’t open to the public until Thursday the 14th but the preshow, if you will, on the 13th is where most of the dealer-to-dealer business is transacted. My objective at any show is to find the most original strictly graded coins that exhibit nice eye-appeal. I also have to be concerned about value. It’s hard to find nice coins that hit all of my criteria. The one thing I am sure of, is that I will see a lot of coins and some great ones too! I’m a soup to nuts buyer. I like all attractive collector coins and will also step up to buy nice five figure pieces but my wheel house is three to four figure coins. I did not spend nearly as much as I hoped too. There were the handful of coins that were truly superb but to purchase some pieces at three to four times the normal market value makes it hard to resell. I can’t in good conscious present a coin to a client that may not be a good value. It’s a delicate balancing act and there are coins I just have to pass on because of price. I’d say about 75% of my business is conducted at the early dealer trading rooms. Activity and interest was good but there was a noted absence of some of the largest dealers. The show at this point is probably down to only about two-thirds of its heyday. I attribute a lot of that due to criminal activity in the area. Many dealers I spoke to are concerned or afraid of potential harm. Some did not attend due to end of the year tax considerations, but a great show is losing it’s must attend stature. Over-all, I’d say it was a “C” on the old grammar school grading scale, a decent show but a disappointment in comparison to past fall Baltimore shows.
There was a nice buzz in the room and quite a bit of retail traffic but I believe that was attributable to a new gold coin release by the U.S. Mint. The 2024 one-ounce gold proof Flowing Hair is a beautiful piece! The mintage is limited to 17,000 coins. The issue price was $3640. This was well above the bullion value however; the classic design of this piece could appeal to collectors in the future. There was a limit of one coin purchase per person but you could get in line as many times as you wished. Some collectors were selling them at the show for an immediate few hundred-dollar profit. Others were marching over to the grading services to have them certified as first day of issue. This was difficult for the retail dealers that set up at the show hoping to do business with the walk-in attendees.
A very well-known and highly respected Type coin buyer was selling some duplicates. I bumped into him and I was able to purchase a nice piece from his collection. I made a couple of offers on a few others but we couldn’t come to an agreement. He had a rare date Seated Quarter and he asked me what I thought. Just to see the date was nice but my assessment was that it’s a decent coin with an appeal that most people will like. He was puzzled by my response and asked me why I said that and to elaborate. Now this collector is true old school. I knew where he was going. I really did have to qualify my remark to him. It’s a date that most collectors need. However, it’s not a coin I would recommend that a client of mine buy or that I would put in my collection. It’s was a commercially acceptable coin but with no trace of originality to the surfaces. In this case, the rarity will always sell this coin.
CAC and CACG Coins
I am always excited to go to a major show to see a larger selection of CAC and CACG coins. I absolutely support the product. They are trying to deliver the most solid coins for the grade and be as strict and consistent as they can be. The 800-pound gorilla in the room is still registry buyer acceptance. Many dealers are not looking at CACG coins for their clients due to the dominance of PCGS registry sets. There’s also the potential backlash that if someone buys a CACG coin for their set, will PCGS cross it? PCGS is not going to have an open arms policy toward CACG. As long as collectors focus is on the PCGS registry, CACG will have work to gain acceptance. I also noticed some red copper at the show in CACG holders that were not original. Some toned nickel coinage in CACG holders was also questionable. They appear to be tightening up on Circulated type which is good but the old adage of buy the coin not the holder whether they make a foray into the registry set market or not, is advisable for all coins graded by any grading service.
Two very well-known dealers questioned me at the ANA about the CAC sticker service and asked my thoughts on the service. They service the collector unlike crack out or surface altering dealers. Both were upset about what appears to be an overly tight standard. I agreed and when I told them I’ve had to resubmit or cross-over coins I thought should have a CAC sticker to get them to sticker. They agreed that was not right. Both of these valuable CAC services are trying to synchronize their grading. It’s tough right now to have to work within this system. Feedback is important and I am sure it will smooth out. A service that is trying to deliver the best and strictest graded coin in the business will always have my support.
Thank you Joe
I have known Joe Presti for over 40 years and he has been with RCNH for over 20 years. He is like me, an old school numismatist. Recently, a family contacted RCNH to evaluate a “collection” of coins they inherited from their mother. The family knew their mother had been taken advantage of by several boiler rooms and unethical coin dealers but there was nothing they could do about it because of how long ago the purchases had been made. Joe took the day and priced the collection and the family agreed to sell us the coins for $675,000. Great right? No. When Joe was inventorying the coins he noticed a small plastic bag that the family agreed to sell but Joe did not price. He called them and informed them that we owed the family another $30,000. Below is a quote from one of the family members via email,
“Wow - that’s honesty and integrity writ large. Please, when responding to Joe with an emphatic affirmative to send the check for the below-mentioned sum to my attention, to thank him for his honorable conduct and going above and beyond what anyone would expect in this cynical age and disreputable industry.” “Please also extend to him our sincere and heartfelt gratitude for being so forthright and candid in educating us all on a business replete with so many grifters and scammers.”
It is employees like Joe who help make RCNH one of the most respected coin companies in the country.
Maurice Rosen
Our good friend and numismatic luminary Maurice Rosen, has suspended his excellent newsletter, The Rosen Report. I believe he is retiring after years of stewardship and service to numismatic collectors and investors for decades. Numismatists like Maurice are a rare breed. He did not use his knowledge to try and make the last dollar out of everything he touched. He tried to educate and help others learn to get the best value from their numismatic purchases. His Crystal Ball Survey was always received with great anticipation and I was very humbled when I was asked to be a member of his expert panel. I am holding out hope that he considers bringing back his newsletter even on a limited basis. I’ve known him for over 40 years and I extend my best wishes and friendship to him always.
Coinage Magazine
Coinage, has been around for decades and I have always found it to be a good source of information for our hobby. I was very friendly with long-time editor Mike Gumpell, who passed away unexpectedly at a young age. The current editor is Scott Travers, a very knowledgeable and consumer protection-oriented numismatist that I have known for decades. Their publication put out a Book of Lists that recognize achievements for numismatists similar to Coin World’s 100 Most Influential. This year I have been named one of the expert graders in numismatics. I really appreciate the recognition and I am thankful for the honor. I’ve managed, by God’s grace, to work at my hobby for almost 50 years. All I try to do is the best I can finding coins I feel are technically nice examples for the grade with good eye-appeal. There are many collectors and dealers in the industry that are great graders and very accomplished at grading and better than me. I try to always approach any coin I look at as an opportunity to learn more about grading. As a whole, the coin industry has a lot of specialists that have knowledge well beyond anything I could ever accomplish. When Scott informed me of the recognition, I was shocked. I believe that the exposure that I received from CAC stickering coins was a big help. I had been placing what I considered to be nice coins with collectors and investors for 30 years before CAC started. The concept of selling accurately graded coins for a fair price seemed like a good business model to me and that is how I operated RCNH since 1990. That concept has proven true since we often go 20 for 20 with CAC and the odd gold CAC too when submitting client coins we sold years ago! Lately, it’s been a lot more difficult but I will always be a fan of strict grading. Thank you, Coinage and Scott Travers.
Consumer advocacy
Joe Presti is our in-house attorney and professional numismatist. We are proud to say that Joe along with another attorney was instrumental in recovering more than $8,000,000 for clients across the country who were scammed by unscrupulous coin dealers. In some cases the clients did not pay any legal fees, they were paid by the scam companies. If you know anyone who has been the victim of a dealers for $100,000 or more please do the right thing and have them call Joe for some free advice.
If you have any comments or questions I can address for the next Enthusiast, please let me know.
Thank you,
Warren