Does an absense of market makers mean more fundamentally sound prices?
robertpr
Posts: 6,862 ✭✭✭
A lot of fuss has been made lately about there being "no market makers" for modern coins. Yet, many issues routinely sell on eBay and at other venues for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. If there are no so-called "market makers" setting these prices, clearly the prices are being set and sustained buy buyers, or "the market" as you will. Otherwise you would see no sales.
If the market is setting these prices, I would say they are more fundamentally sound than prices that are set buy a few individuals and/or firms buying and selling with a set spread. I also would contend that the price levels are less prone to manipulation.
On a final note, I would also submit that those who cry the loudest about "but there are no market makers, so those coins are dangerous!" feel the most threatened by the so-called "dangerous" moderns. After all, if no "big fish" dealers are needed to sustain the market for these coins, then those very dealers are heading the way of the dinosaur. Heck, if you can sell a DCAM JFK on eBay for over a thousand bucks by starting it at 99¢ with no reserve, it's only a matter of time before that craziness spreads to the classic coins too!
If the market is setting these prices, I would say they are more fundamentally sound than prices that are set buy a few individuals and/or firms buying and selling with a set spread. I also would contend that the price levels are less prone to manipulation.
On a final note, I would also submit that those who cry the loudest about "but there are no market makers, so those coins are dangerous!" feel the most threatened by the so-called "dangerous" moderns. After all, if no "big fish" dealers are needed to sustain the market for these coins, then those very dealers are heading the way of the dinosaur. Heck, if you can sell a DCAM JFK on eBay for over a thousand bucks by starting it at 99¢ with no reserve, it's only a matter of time before that craziness spreads to the classic coins too!
0
Comments
I was wondering why lack of market makers means things are dangerous? Not only with moderns, but with rare early Lincolns, Legend's market report made them sound cold because all of the action was in auctions only, no dealers had them (well, maybe besides Angel Dees and Robert Hughes). Why is that true? Doesn't seem totally right to me.