- 05/01/2026
- Warren Mills
- Central States
Central Stes Report and Other Tidbits
CENTRAL STATES CONVENTION
Chris and I jumped on the plane at 7:00 A.M. on a cold April morning and we were on our way to Chicago, thankfully, nonstop. It was a very uneventful experience at the airport with no T.S.A. problems. The price of the ticket was the only tough thing to take. We hit the hotel running with Chris having a multitude of appointments to show coins while I went to dealer rooms to try and buy coins. Right away, I noticed that the premiums for accurately graded coins were very high. It seems the highest prices for coins that dealers are taking shots by asking moon money and quoting astronomical prices are PCGS, CAC and then CACG coins in that order. More than one dealer said to me right away that “I am not taking any counteroffers!” The good news is that there is continuing strength from the January F.U.N. Show right through now to almost May. If there is a bit of a lull in pricing during the summer, grab the good deal while you can. Nice coins are bringing strong prices.
I noticed a real lack of nice wholesome early coinage in almost all denominations. If you happened upon a nice coin from 1793-1839, it was the rare exception. Then once you asked a price and shocked yourself back to reality, you either pushed your lower jaw up or said how much? Something has to give here. Prices are very strong but we are seeing no increases in the price guides. How does that work? Hardly anyone is placing bids on coins now either. One of the biggest supporters of CAC coins is running a magic trick with bid prices. One minute you see it and the next now you don’t. If Grey Sheet and the CDN Exchange don’t start raising price levels, collectors are going to think that a scam is being perpetrated. Start raising bids to reflect what the auctions and shows have been showing for months. This is a shame. A couple of months ago I tried to sell a coin to a CDN dealer at his bid and I got no response. Let’s get the house in order so we can say yes or no about a potential true bull market. Collectors will only take it so long, if the guides don’t reflect the strong prices they are being forced to pay now. The premiums I am seeing are as high as I have ever seen and that’s looking back 48 years!
Attendance by the public was good. Not real busy but fairly steady. That’s one of the nice things about a major show, you get a chance to reacquaint yourself with long time clients. There are a few I always enjoy seeing at this show. Not because I may sell them a coin but just to thank them for their trust.
What Not or is it What Not?
There are many dealers offering coins on What Not and getting stunning prices and activity. Now these aren’t high end top of the line numismatic coins that are being sold. I’ve been approached by dealers wanting to buy all of my cheap slabs or the junk that is laying around that no one wants. When I ask what are they doing with it the answer is almost always, “I’m selling it on What Not and making a fortune.” Now I guess any outlet is good. One dealer I know showed me that he has sold $238,000 in the last few months. He’s hired someone full-time just to cater to What Not. Now I don’t begrudge anyone making a fair buck but many of these buyers are buying items that they see ridiculous prices or values on various search engines when they research values. Example, I get a phone call from a non-collector that had a 1964 penny. He tells me he understands that the coin in circulated condition is worth $1000. His research told him so. I told him I have a bag of uncirculated 1964 pennies he can buy for two-cents each. I get a little concerned that when these What Not consumers get educated about coins, they will be very disappointed and feel these sellers may be contributing to future generations never wanting to buy coins.
Where the Rubber meets the Road on DMPL and PL Dollars
I’ve written a few articles over the years on Proof-like (PL) and Deep Mirror Proof-like (DMPL) dollars. A couple of collectors were referred to me about them at Central States. I do like PL and DMPL dollars a lot. They have an impressive look and some dates may not exist. These collectors started buying PL’s and DMPL’s with CAC approval and thought that they could now buy a non-CAC PL or DMPL, get them stickered and make money. They even thought that older holder coins would be the best ones to buy because the services were stricter with their grades in years past. They had examples to show me that did not CAC and wanted to know why. I know that many of you know the answer but for those that don’t, here it is. Toward the end of when PCGS used the old green holder they re-evaluated what coins qualified for PL and DMPL. The verdict was that any coins with noticeable striations on the surfaces of the fields would disqualify them as true PL or DMPL. Yes, they may exhibit mirror surfaces but the striations left will never allow them to qualify.
Here is a real-life example to contemplate. We had a customer years ago with either a 1900 P or O $1 in NGC MS-66 DMPL.The coin would not qualify under today’s stricter standards so we sent it into NGC to have them remove the designation under their grading guarantee. After quite a bit of back and forth they agreed to remove the DMPL and returned the coin as a MS-66. The coin was beautiful but was not DMPL. The result was NGC had to compensate the client approximately $5000 because that was what the coin was worth at the time if accurately graded. Without the DMPL designation, it was worth around $200. Bottom line, stick with CAC approved pieces and sell or trade the examples that did not sticker for true PL’s or DMPL’s. Both CAC and CACG know that to look for on true examples of these fantastic coins. Even the more common date examples for the Morgans are well worth owning.
F.B.I. Meeting
We are having a meeting with the F.B.I. regarding the scams that are now taking place with people representing themselves as government agents and getting clients to take their assets and convert them to gold. They then send a courier to pick up the gold for “safe keeping.” After this meeting, we will post the information that the F.B.I. gives us. This is something that needs to be stopped it it’s at all possible.