- 10/06/2026
- Warren Mills
- October 2026
The Rare Coin Enthusiast
The landscape of the old coin show business is changing. Chris and I are finding that most of the business that we transact is now done before the show even begins. This happened again during our stay in Chicago for the Great American Coin and Collectables Show which is run by Larry Shepard. Dealer set up was at 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday September 30. However, we came in on the morning of the 29th and did the lions share of our business for the trip during this time frame. There also was a dealer room that opened at 8:00 AM on Wednesday. Chris and I arrived at 8:30 and it was very active. Most collectors have no idea about the early dealer room business and you have to sign up and pay as an early bird dealer if you don’t have a table in order to enter and conduct business. Larry is an old school numismatist and he was present to be sure everything ran smoothly which it did. I stayed for the first full day of the show and bought a few nice coins. With the current dealer room set up, at most major shows, there is no need to stay for the full show. The exception is the F.U.N. Show in Florida. There is a huge collector presence on Thursday and Friday during F.U.N. so that makes staying mandatory. Saturday has a nice mix of collectors that comes to the show as well. However, most of the business there is done from Tuesday through Friday. The F.U.N. Show is a must attend show in January. You can see us there at our regular table #621 in January. One thing that surprised me about the Chicago show was the lack of public attendance. I don’t know why that was the case. Normally when I attend a show in Chicago, I see some very familiar die-hard retail clients. I’m not sure if Larry is doing what is necessary to draw in the public but I hope he formulates a plan to reach out to collectors. Over-all, it was a good show and one that I hope continues on in the future.
Show Strength
Since January, the coin show circuit has shown tremendous strength. It’s been a big surprise that this strength has continued all year. Right through the correction in bullion prices. The shows didn’t blink an eye. Sure, generic $5, $10 and $20 gold coins suffered as well as many lower grade silver issues and most common Morgan and Peace Dollars but the resiliency in the rest of the market has been shocking.
However, I am dismayed at the lack of price increases on the Grey Sheet and other pricing periodicals. Go to a coin show, look for original fresh Seated type coins, common to scarce dates but fresh coins. Look at the Grey Sheet, then ask dealers what they are quoting to sell these coins for. Then throw away the pricing sheets. I hardly ever see a knowledgeable dealer that looks at one anymore! If they are CAC coins, forget it. I was quoted up to three times Grey Sheet bid for common date Seated circulated type coins with a CAC sticker. Collectors aren’t aware of what is happening in the market and price sheets are completely dropping the ball. Without credible figures, we could lose a large part of the collector client base. They are not being educated about where most coins are actually trading. This could lead to distrust and abandoning the hobby they love. I hope the Grey Sheet and other price guides start talking with the market markers that are in the trenches. If so, be ready for a tremendous number of plus signs in these guides.
The New Collector Phenomenon
There are many areas to collect and many places to acquire virtually anything you are looking for. Unfortunately, many people have access to sites and zero knowledge. They fall for any promotion and never receive the education they need to find out what the value of the items they are buying really is. I heard about an offer today for original B.U. rolls of Morgan dollars. There could all be cleaned XF’s or scruffy BU’s at best. Most of these offers however turn out to be cleaned AU coins. They said the rolls are normally $7500 per roll but because it was someone’s lucky day, they could buy a roll for $3500. Sounds like a good opportunity, or is it? If this person had the opportunity to deal with a knowledgeable dealer, they could buy two nice MS-60-63 rolls for $1750 each. They would have a return policy and a brick-and-mortar business to go to for re-sale of concerns.
One collectable area that is pretty fascinating is Pokémon Cards. This is an area that has a fairly long history for collectors but what we are seeing at the shows are these collections of cards and memorabilia are starting to get educated and buy rare coins. Coins have been collected for centuries; you can buy many varied gold and silver coins in higher grades in some instances for about double melt and even less without CAC stickers. I believe that a new breed of collector is going to enter our market and exercise due diligence and become educated and see that coins offer tremendous opportunities. Keep your fingers crossed and acquire nice pieces now. The existing supply is all that there is and a sizable surge in demand could cause coins to soar.
If you have any questions, please let me know. We are always buying and if we look at a collection that has nice high-end coins, we will recommend that you allow us to send them to CAC for you. We did this for a client a few months ago and added $76,000 in value to his collection. Why not give it a try?
We also are looking for any coins to take on consignment for the F.U.N. Show. If you’d like to discuss the particulars, please call of email.