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Winner Announced! - 5000th Post Giveaway!
MrEureka
Posts: 24,016 ✭✭✭✭✭
First, the prize: An unbelievably gorgeous (and great-smelling!) copy of United States Gold Patterns by David W. Akers, published in 1975. Leatherbound and FULL of amazing color photographs of all the coins in the Wilkison collection of gold patterns.
This is an essay contest. In one thousand words or less, write a summary of the 2020 ANA Convention. Post the essay here. Although they don't know it yet, Rick Kay and Mark Hagen will help me judge the contest. (They must already have copies of the book, so they don't need to win. Doesn't mean they can't throw in an essay for the fun of it!)
The deadline for posting essays is Thanksgiving day, midnight. Have fun!
This is an essay contest. In one thousand words or less, write a summary of the 2020 ANA Convention. Post the essay here. Although they don't know it yet, Rick Kay and Mark Hagen will help me judge the contest. (They must already have copies of the book, so they don't need to win. Doesn't mean they can't throw in an essay for the fun of it!)
The deadline for posting essays is Thanksgiving day, midnight. Have fun!
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
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Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Specializing in 1854 and 1855 large FE patterns
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With gold at levels previously unheard of, currently US25.75 credits/gram, bullion such as the Democratic Cuba Tobacco Credit commemorative of 2018 is now trading at record levels. Spot prices like these haven't been noted since the record was initially set in 2007 of $781 per ounce (current pricing US17.25 credits/gram). 100 year-old U.S. gold coins are also at all-time highs. 1927 double eagles are now trading at levels above US4000 credits.
Lincoln cents are still doing well, and are expected to climb in full sets, with memorial sets (1959-2009) leading the pack. Individual coins from earlier years are also expected to sell at record levels at the upcoming Heritage/Stacks conglomerate signature sale. Recent reports of over US1000 credits have been noted for those cents from 1909 through 1932 in 1.5red - 2.0red MS62.5 or better grades.
ANAICPCIG (formerly ANACS, ICG, and PCI) have been the talk of the bourse floor with their new scratch-n-sniff coin cache, where one can see the state flower on the nickel and smell its bouquet at the same time. They have also ingeniously brought coin grading to a new level with decmial grading to the thousandth place. While many consider this to be absurd, we must remember back to 2007 when it was believed that grading to the tenth would be the demise of the market. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.
We eagerly await the Autumn convention in Des Moines, where we expect the mint to release more news on the upcoming George Bush US20 credit piece. Perhaps specimens will be available for viewing by the Winter convention in Toledo.
Edited to add this breaking news: The ANA has just announced that the Summer 2021 convention will be in San Padre on Fault Island (formerly known as San Diego). Ferry service from the channel communities of Bakersfield or Barstow to San Bernadino will be available through Moving Earth Investment Corporation for US27.5 credits per person with pre-paid vouchers. Call 46-800-447-5114 to purchase your vouchers early - service will be limited. Maps to the convention will be available through either the AAAA or the ANA for US5.5 credits each.
The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
Patterns are doing well to. Because the small dollar coin was replaced in 2012 by a dollar coin of the old size, there had to be a lot of new "old style" patterns. These are very popular with collectors, and prices are more than 5 Million $ for a common piece. (more than 100 struck). Older patterns are being studied now even more.
The newest method made it possible to get the place were the coin was at a given time. So when you have a nice J-73, you can type in 11-20-2004 at 6.10 AM, you can see that it was in the airplane between two owners.
Dennis
Like VOC Numismatics on facebook
Herb
Jeremy Katz of Katz Rare Coins has anounced it's purchase of the floundering Legend Numismatics, a deal to include all of it's remaining inventory, and a contract for Laura Sperber to continue working with Katz Rare Coins for 3 years. Legend Numismatics was rocked last year in the big crash, that led to almost every major rarity from the early 19th century dropping to all-time lows! Ms. Sperber had a melt down, and soon began to trade solely in Eisenhower Dollars, Franklin Halves, and MadMarty Pedigreed Dong Dollars! This has been blamed on the collapse of her company, though Jeremy Katz hopes to salvage some of it's remaining inventory and prestige to his own benefit.
Sample Slab Expert and ANA President, Cameron Kiefer, had a big surprise today as an extremely rare Sample Slab walked in off the streets. This Sample Slab was one of the very first test slabs made, and was also signed by the Late David Hall himself. This is one of only 4 now known, though Mr. Kiefer's research has shown that there may be several more out there, this is the first to be found that was signed by David Hall. On a side note, the downfall of PCGS is largely blamed on the passing of David Hall and the squandering of money by his replacement.
The Newly Revived ACG is flourishing in this market. Extremely consistant grading, as well as low costs, and fast turn around times are responsible for their rise. Though ACG has not confirmed this, rumors are that ACG picked up most of the NGC and PCGS grading staffs when both companies went under, though ACG hasn't even come close to touching ANACS' popularity, following the demise of the two big companies. Though this is expected to change, as ACG is in talks with the remnants of PCGS for the trademark "Registry Set." ACG hopes that the revival of the Registry Sets that hasn't been around since 2006 will help to propell it past ANACS.
42/92
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>Sample Slab Expert and ANA President, Cameron Kiefer, had a big surprise today as an extremely rare Sample Slab walked in off the streets. This Sample Slab was one of the very first test slabs made, and was also signed by the Late David Hall himself. This is one of only 4 now known, though Mr. Kiefer's research has shown that there may be several more out there, this is the first to be found that was signed by David Hall. On a side note, the downfall of PCGS is largely blamed on the passing of David Hall and the squandering of money by his replacement. >>
Cameron Kiefer
The main topic during the ANA closed door agenda was regarding the ANA money-market/Education director Greg The Great. With his leadership, the ANA is making record progress with our YN scholarship and building funds. We have seen record donations for PVC flips, and we will be passing them out to all YN's that attend future ANA conventions. Rest assured, our organization is in good hands and we now have a solid foundation to build upon.
The show was a great success and I look forward to seeing eveyone at the next ANA convention!
Cameron Kiefer
ANA President
<< <i>The main topic during the ANA closed door agenda was regarding the ANA money-market/Education director Greg The Great. With his leadership, the ANA is making record progress with our YN scholarship and building funds. We have seen record donations for PVC flips, and we will be passing them out to all YN's that attend future ANA conventions. Rest assured, our organization is in good hands and we now have a solid foundation to build upon.
The show was a great success and I look forward to seeing eveyone at the next ANA convention!
Cameron Kiefer
ANA President >>
Herb
Cameron Kiefer
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Oh, and BTW agentjim, nice to see that you enjoy yourself here.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Of course it wouldn't have been the same anyway since the big meltdown shortly after the 'changeover', and since it was now mostly Euro coins on display along with a few green Lincoln Cents, State Quarters, corroded 'previously AT'd coins, and other nickel and clad coins. She had wanted to take her grandchildren to see the silver and gold display - something they would never see in person otherwise. Oh well - to the task at hand. The newest storm had blown away everyone's tents. She tried to gather he wits about her.
There were a lot of tent cities now since the pole shift and weather pattern change. They would get by - they always did. The U.N. would eventually put up some fresh tents for them. Ahhhhhhh to be back in 2004 when you could still collect real coins. She secretly wondered to herself - 'now where did I bury those Indians'? I will have to remember so I can tell my grandchildren before I get sent to the detention center.
The sun was just starting to come up and she could see the white trucks coming over the horizon. She sighed and gathered up the few plastic food tokens that she had left and then layed back down on the cool ground to await the future. She would save the ANA convention brochure to read to the kids later if it wasn't confiscated and dream sweet dreams of the great freedom of days past. She tucked it into her white uniform pocket. She slept and dreamed that she was at the ANA Convention and that life was as it used to be.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
The exhibits are great. Never saw so many of them before. My exhibit of california fractionals was unfortunately put all the way in the back corner and took me 20 minutes just to find the exhibit. Thank goodness they did attach my 10 magnifying glasses so that anyone looking at my exhibit can find the fractionals!
It was nice to see New Jersey Governor Laura Sperber today at the Legend table visiting her old friends. Of course, she has not lost any of her spunk as I heard her say "******in your ear" to someone. Since she was elected Governor in 2018, she has been unsuccessful in convincing the ANA to try a summer convention in her home state. In other interesting news, I found out that the ANA and ANS are one step closer to the long expected merger when they announced a joint committee to discuss the possible sale of both the New York City and Colorado Springs location to build a new headquarters at a site to be determined. In other news, Heritage Rare Coin Galleries President, Andy Lustig announced the acqusition of Superior Galleries of Greg Manning Auctions Inc. (GMAI). In a joint press release Andy Lustig and Greg the Great, President of GMAI, expressed optimism that this was a good deal for both companies. Greg the Great explained that the sale was a wise move for GMAI to pay down their debt since their acquisition of Whitman Coin Products last year. (Well, he certainly has lots of flips now!)
I attended a standing room only meeting in which the venerable Dave Bowers and David Hall squared off on the topic of vacuuming sealing your coins. David Hall, a huge proponent of vacuuming sealing coins argued for the preservation of the coins "as is." while Bowers argued that coins should show their beauty after the passage of time in the old style slabs. I happened to find this debate interesting since David Hall, President of PCGS was formerly a fan of the old style slabs without any special sealing or chemical inhibitors. But ever since PCGS patented their vacuum packed slabs in 2011, PCGS suddenly turned the TPG industry on its ear and along with the similar patent in all other collectibles have set the whole collectibles preservation market in a boom cycle.
It has been rumored that Jason Stevens (jbstevens) with his group is rumored to be interested in buying out Ebay which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
ANA President, John Maben promises to visit our board after the ANA convention. I was surprised to see Jay Parrino accept the Vice Presidency of the ANA after a long period of absence from the ANA.
But what about coins? Oh yes, almost forgot about that! Well what the heck, hard to remember that since we no longer use coins in daily commerce. Ever since the terrible Flu epidemic of 2011, coins and paper money were abolished by the United Nations in agreement with all countries. I noticed that the bourse tables were quite busy and prices were quite firm. Although it is hard to keep track of the equivalent values of prices since we are now on the euro, it still amazes me to see that silver prices are still running at 600 euros an ounce while gold is stagnant at 450 euros an ounce. What ever happened to the old 17-1, 35-1 or 50-1 or 70-1 silver to gold ratios? I am getting too old trying to figure this out. Aw, what the heck, airplanenut (Katz) is getting too old too!
Coins? Those patterns have been quiet. They have indeed been in strong hands. No sales of any patterns noted in any of the autions by Heritage, ANR, Superior or Katz-Kiefer. Only unslabbed damaged patterns on the floor, something is going on, is Stew Blay or PatternDollarNut (formerly tradedollarnut) trying to accumulate them all?
I still haven't mentioned coins since for you young folks, patterns are Not officially coins. Hmmm, this is terrible. With all that is going on, I forgot to find what specific coins sold for at the auctions and what dealers are saying about that. It is so hard to remember about coins since no one ever wants to touch them anymore with the flu worries. Who would ever thought that slabbing literally "saved" the hobby in more ways than one.
Sorry for leaving you all in a vacuum. I will be back at the show tomorrow and will report on coin prices and more specific stuff about whats happening in coins.
I plan on attending the FUN show in Havana, Florida (formerly Cuba) in January!
A rare 2012 pattern coin honoring President Theodore Roosevelt was the talk of the numismatic community. This rare $20 denomination coin that was anticipated for circulation was recalled by Secretary of the Treasury and destroyed, however, the sole surviving example, was graded by NCGS, and sold for $6,000,000.
There were other rarities that surfaced and caught the interest of several prominant collectors, including a previously unknown 1964 Peace Dollar that was given to Prime Minister Winston Churchill years ago. This coin was confirmed to be authentic by US Mint Officals even though they could not explain how and when the coin was presented to Churchill. There is speculation that the coin was given to Churchill at the time of his 90th Birthday from President Lyndon Johnson. This coin, also graded NGCS, was the subject of bidding controversy, especially when the leading floor bidder was silenced by a technological glitch whereby a $52,250,001 bid was accepted.
"We can only anticipate that the upcoming numismatic events for the Fall and Winter will be equally impressive" said the popular ANA President who is just commonly known to all as Coinkat.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
TPN
NGC has already secured rights to holder the already retrieved half dismes which will be clearly identified as "Time Warp Effect" specimens. The full number and their grades remain a closely guarded secret.
Timeline Numismatics will be marketing the coins under an exlcusive arrangement with MIT that assures a portion of the profits will be returned to the institution to insure that funds continue to be available for further research and development. This became important when the U.S. government threatened to pull funding for further research pending resolution of an ongoing legal dispute as to whether the anticipated 1933 Double Eagles can be legally sold. One government agent admitted off the record though that if the time retrieval can be made to select the coins just prior to President Roosevelt's April 1933 Executive Order 6102, that there will be little the government can do to stop public sale.
Speculation continues as to the identity of the mysterious MIT physics professor who developed the time retrieval device. This much has been learned to date. Back at the beginning of the century he was banished for a summer to the wilds of Arizona by his parents to some type of military youth camp. While there he reportedly discovered early American Indian time code symbols on desert rocks which he recognized could be the key to a time retrieval device if he could master the advanced physics upon which they were based. He apparently placed on hold his then active interest in numismatics to turn his attention to mastering physics. While he remains unidentified it is reported that his colleagues at MIT refer to him by the pseudonym of " Goldlover."
Cameron Kiefer sells rare sample slab from the 1990s for the record price of $5,000,000! This one of a kind slab was given away by VSGS (Very $h!tty Grading Service) at the 1993 Long beach show and was sold to Mr. Kiefer at an E-Bay auction in 2004. On a related note Cameron Kiefer and his spouse TwoTawl are celebrating five years together. When asked for comment Mr TwoTawl said "After a while we realized that neither of us were ever going to have sex with a girl, we tied the knot and have each other!"
It was a landmark ANA this year. The week started with a bang. Not with the usual coin auction action, but this year, the long-anticpated wedding between Tradedollarnut and Legend. A number of people suspected this might happen for quite some time, but Laura finally caved in when TDN did the undoable: the complete US coin regular issue set, a feat not accomplished since the great Louis Eliasberg.
The auction action was quite a bit different this year. In the middle of the decade, the complaint of two many auctions/too many auction companies was oft heard. Mr. Andrew Lustig, the debonair and mastermind collector-dealer (a little gratuitous sucking up
Up for auction were notable collections like Cam Kiefer's Sample Slabs. Cam, with a supermodel on each arm, was ecstatic with the interest and results for his collection. Buddy Jeremy Katz, flew in on his Cessna from Washington, D.C. to help his good friend--with one of the supermodels. After a brief visit with the Smithsonian Collection in 2004, Jeremy vowed to get back and after college became the youngest ever curator of the National Coin Collection. When I ran into Jeremy, he said to me, "Don't tell anyone, but I take home the 1849 $20 every night!"
The bourse was lively and as always, I enjoyed visiting my good friends. Board member "Dahlonega" was in the middle of the transaction that brought him the final of every known 1861-D gold dollar. EVP, owner of the consolidated Pinnacle-Legend coin firm was debating with newlywed TDN over which of the two of them had the finer Trade Dollar set. Since EVP passed TDN in CGS Registry last year, the two have debated the point back and forth ever since. CoinLieutenant's three year old Collector Grading Services (CGS) table was swamped with submissions once again, while the principals at NGC and PCGS, former TPG leaders were mostly sitting around and picking their noses. CL's novel idea of getting expert collectors involved in the grading process and proprietary imaging technology made his firm an instant success. Mr. Eureka, charming and looking about ten years younger than the last time I saw him (more sucking up), presided over his complete set of finest known patterns by Judd number at the Smythe table. The set will be up for auction at FUN 2111. When I came over to view the set, he sat me down and allowed me to pull the slabs out, hold them, and ask all the questions I wanted to. Not only is he immensely successful, but he is probably the nicest guy in coins (more sucking up).
As always, the action at the JBStevens/RKKay Toned Coins & Patterns table was the most. People were practically in fistacuffs to get a look at their offerings and throwing $100 bills at them just to get a look. I did not get to see either of them, because by the time I made my way around the bourse, they had already left. Each one had to go to their real jobs the next day. Isn't it great when your hobby can make you $10 million a year?
As far as newps, I bought a single coin from Smythe, finally acquiring the 1909-S VDB Lincoln in CGS MS-65 that I had seeked for several years. In the mid-2000's, you could not swing a dead cat without hitting one, but for some reason, they have all dried up. $25,000 does not seem like a lot for that date, but heck, it costs nearly as much to buy a 15 year old used Toyota Prius! The coin was very nice for the grade--I have always said that Lustig has the best eye in the business (more of the same)!
Okay, here's one from me;
What a great show! The weather in Seattle was beautiful throughout the five-day 2020 ANA Convention, although many enthusiasts rarely left the comfort of the Hotel/Bourse to enjoy the city. For the first time in several years the action was phenomenal, and many old faces came out of the woodwork in record numbers to participate.
After several years of what this writer considers dull-drum showings, a sideways and sometimes downward market, and recycled offerings of the same conserved and enhanced pieces we have all come too used to seeing, the market finally saw a huge influx of fresh material!
The amount of original, un-conserved pieces at the highlight ANA Auction, conducted by Jeremy Katz and Associates, and featuring the first part of the Gates Collection, was astronomical. As many collectors know, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft World, built superb collections of original quality material during the 2009-11 Depression, when the collectables market was nearly destroyed by the bankruptcy proceedings of the U.S. Treasury. Many considered him (and others like him) overly opportunistic and ruthless in his buying practices when the U.S. economy was down and almost out, but others have since seen him more of a savior, as unlike many of the others, he has kept tens (hundreds?!) of thousands of coins from being conserved (or worse, melted during the 2012-13 metals boom).
The auction floor was packed to standing room only, and the on-line bidding featuring Katz’s patented 3-D Gigapixel Photo Technology drew spirited bidding from over 200,000 on-line bidders. Prices realized were equally impressive, with many of the more attractive, original pieces realizing 300 to 500% of the Baseline Quotes on the USRC Exchange Pricing. In a hurried discussion with Cameron Kiefer, President of the USRC, we have confirmation that a comprehensive update of the prices realized and confirmed at auction will be available electronically within the next two weeks.
In a private interview with Tyler Madison, Chief Technology Officer for Katz and Associates, which will be made available in complete detail in my next month’s column, the recently released Gigapixel Technology can now be imbedded into the Coin Chips Tracking System, which is currently used by all of the major grading services. This will allow the photographic and three-dimensional archives of each coin to be included with the grade and pedigree data loaded into the encapsulated chip, which then can be accessed by the current owner. This should greatly enhance over-the-wire transactions. Information on acquiring and imbedding Gigapixel Technology was readily available at the show, and can be directed to Adam Cooke, Chief Operations Officer for CCTS.
In addition to the auction, many original early 20th Century pieces emerged from strong hands in the months before the show in anticipation of record turnouts. Sellers of this type of material were not disappointed, as ready buyers fiercely outbid each other in open market sales. Many of these were freshly certified as “Original Quality” by POGS (Perfectly Original Grading Service) and NQC (Natural Quality Certification), which have become the leaders in encapsulations and determining the merits for the original-quality marketplace.
Coins still housed in the now defunct PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) and NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) holders from before the Depression also surfaced, and after close scrutiny to insure authenticity, these saw aggressive bidders. Advanced laser measurement and imaging technologies have made in much more difficult to pass alterations and complete forgeries of both coins and their holders, and it seems that the severe punishment for such crimes has finally quelled the counterfeiters over the last few years.
Although conserved and questionable pieces tended to fair poorly in comparison, there were a few up-ticks noted on the USRC for some of the more popular series, as the action carried over. Providing they are encapsulated by a rated grading organization, almost every pre-Bankruptcy U.S Series saw upbeat action.
In addition some of the modern coins have seen a growing collector interest, most notably the Quarter and Half Ferret’s. Designed by the world-renowned U.S. sculptor known as Kami, the Quarter and Half Ferret’s are probably the most beloved of our great country’s new coins. The 2014 Triple Die Obverse Quarter Ferret, or “Triple-headed Ferret” as it is commonly called is still the key for all modern issues, as no other significant varieties or rarities have been found in the tightly controlled Mint production.
Many knowledgeable dealers and long-term collectors alike were heard to say that the market could make a sustained run based on the activity and prices realized, and we look forward to more original early material, and increased interest in some of our modern series.
Here’s to the start of a great new decade!
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Evil Coin Collector Killed in Freak Accident at A.N.A. Convention
This weekends 2020 A.N.A. Convention was cut short, in mood anyway, by the untimely death of well known and often despised collector Magikbilly. He was ironically killed by an airborn wooden sign which, incredibly, was advertising the now infamous 1895 Morgan "S"pace" dollar. Taken aloft by a freak gust of wind, the advert crushed him almost instantly as he stood in front of a Red Lobster, although reports now indicate he mumbled something about not wanting to be buried in a wooden casket - a long known pet peeve of his. To honor his passing, tributes ranged from parties, dipping and wiping Proof Benson dimes and now the expected realease next month of the PCGS Limited Edition Commemorative Wood Slab. His early agenda was marked by his assertions that storing coins in wood boxes would eventually damage even slabbed coins. PCGS is still conducting long term experiments, although the results are said to be inconclusive by unamed sources. The new commemorative slab design, like the L&C pouch of the past, is obviously designed for appearances and not meant to be actually used. In his 30's he brought attention to the 1895 dollar - subsequently proven to have been brought to earth by aliens seeking shellfish. He was known to fear sulfur and wood in almost any form and, in a famous incident, burnt down his own house to save it. In his later years he was often seen wandering the bourse floor alone, babbling incoherently to himself about outgassing.
Funeral arrangements were not made public at this writing, but it is expected they will be announced Fiday, after closer examination. Friends close to the family say he will be buried in an anodized aluminum casket. Despite a few vocal supporters, he is still maligned by many and his contributions to the hobby remain controversial to this day.
This article was written by Morgan Woodword
The new .5 PCGS slabs were accepted with mixed reaction but the new NGC galaxy slabs were a hit from day one. One collector I talked to said it was nice that PCGS finally agreed to split grades but who can beat NGC's best eye appeal in the galaxy label? ANACS continues to grade coins as they always have, with little fanfare and very short turn around times. Rumors of their demise were greatly exagerated.
Early results indicated over $150,000,000,000,000,000 (75,000,000 Euro dollars) worth of coins were sold during the eight hour show making it the most successful ANA ever. Dealers attributed much of their increased business to the new virtual 3-D imaging system which collectors claim enables them to view the coins just as if they were held in their hand. Especially beneficial to dealers is the fact that unlimited collectors can now view any coin at any time which has let to rather frenzied activity for prized coins.
As was the case last year, city plastic quarters were in high demand. Coins which had received the highly coveted grade of Plastic 100 (PL100) remained elusive and a newly released San Francisco quarter graded PL100 (pop 1) sold for $6.7 billion U.S.A., just slightly less than the New York plastic quarter, also in PL100 (now pop 27), which sold for $6.9 billion two months ago when at the time, it was a pop 1 coin.
Dealers remain impressed with the US Mint's encapsulation and grading service which will slab and grade a coin within seconds of leaving the mint's plastic coin presses. The mint has overcome the initial obstacle it had with the plastic coin and slab fusing together which had seriously upset the plastic quarter crack-out specialists.
Of note, the mint announced that Peoria, Illinois would be the 100,000 city to be honored on the quarter coin. The date has been set for September 3. The mint also announced that quarters for Tupelo, Cedar Rapids, Colleyville, Mount Prospect and Red Hook would also be released on that date.
Since the cent, nickel and dime have been discontinued in the last few years, many collectors expressed their concern to Mint Director, David Hall that the quarter would be next. Hall, who developed the Mint's encapsulation and grading service, said that collectors should not worry as the new quarters which will honor the nation's streets is on schedule and the first coins will be released this fall.
On a negative note, an unidentified dealer from Pittsburgh was arrested for trying to sell an Artificially Toned 1936-D Washington quarter. This is the second such arrest in the past three years and the arrest was directly attributed to the work of the anonymous coin posse.
We've had coin auctions for a hundred years, and the liquidity they create makes the market. Oh sure, we might get a bit more efficient with the Internet technology (how many auctions from the big houses still have Internet glitches......"five minute break, folks!"), but the auctions stay.
The big shows stay too. We are a country of "big" things and we all like the super shows lately. What with the competition in air travel, a collector spending a few grand a year on their collection can easily afford a trip to the ANA, FUN, Baltimore, or other megashows. The shows are still the most efficient way to do business, to see the most coins in the shortest amount of time, and there is no substitute for meeting fellow collectors in person.
Coin information will continue its explosion. Expect to see much more specialized information published more widely in club journals, on the Internet, books, auction catalogs, whatever. 19th century and early 20th century resources will more freely available on the Internet. The ANA will get around to finally putting a searchable version of the Numismatist on the Internet. Expect other publications to follow as this technology gets cheaper. I think in twenty years we'll be able to enter the name of a 19th century numismatist into a search engine and get information which could only be extracted with great pain today.
Expect to see collecting areas tied to this knowledge explosion come to the fore - I expect more activity in patterns, medals, and numismatic literature. The items that convey stories, or present new stories, will always sell better than some new Lincoln variety which requires a 100x microscope to examine.
Coins that are dogs today will still be dogs. No one has cared much about two and three cent pieces, ever, and that won't change. Coins without eye appeal will still be dogs. Silver dollars will remain the coin of romance, the coin of most popularity, and the gazillions of Morgans will still be with us.
The public will get smarter about the crackout game. While the grading services provide obvious value, some of the emperor's clothes are going to come off - at some point the market is truly going to absorb what HRH has said himself - that world class graders agree only 75% of the time. The current trend towards favoring overall eye appeal in valuation is already making a lot of people use the services only as one expert opinion, or authenticator, and then thinking for themselves.
To sum up - there are things about collecting that are ingrained and won't change - it's about stories, eye appeal, and the fun of sharing that with other people. Everything is in place to make that engine go - the only difference is that it will move faster in this ever quicker world we live in.
Honorable mentions to OnlyBuffalos, NorthCoin and PursuitOfLiberty.
Thanks to all who played!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Thanks for a great contest/giveaway thing. Congrats to RYK for winning! Those brownie points paid off!! ... only kidding, I loved yours ...
Thanks to everyone who posted!! It made for some silliness around here with my kids and I, and we all certainly enjoyed.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
<< <i>The 2020 ANA Show is now past us and my wife Mary-Kate Olsen and myself would like to thank all those who attended. The Staff at the Visalia Convention Center and the local Fresno and Vislaia coin clubs did an excellent job preparing the show and helping our organization prior to the event.
The main topic during the ANA closed door agenda was regarding the ANA money-market/Education director Greg The Great. With his leadership, the ANA is making record progress with our YN scholarship and building funds. We have seen record donations for PVC flips, and we will be passing them out to all YN's that attend future ANA conventions. Rest assured, our organization is in good hands and we now have a solid foundation to build upon.
The show was a great success and I look forward to seeing eveyone at the next ANA convention!
Cameron Kiefer
ANA President >>
Oh, this is scary on so many levels!
Lane
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
siliconvalleycoins.com
My updare on the 2020 ANA show is that I just learned that the President of Heritage Coin Galleries, Andy Lustig, unexpectedly retired. Rumors has it that he was engaging in free giveaways which the Heritage Board of Directors did not agree with. Coinlieutenant and Neptune, co-chairs of the board, would not comment on this sudden turn of events.
Yesterday I ran into Oliver Stone. Had a nice lunch with him. Lots to talk about too! I did not realize he was a coin collector. He mentioned that he was thinking about writing a new book and movie. I said NO!
But very entertaining !