Another DWT™ (Doug Winter Thread)-- can Charlotte gold coins be promoted in the traditional way?

Longacre

Here is an excerpt from a recent article on the Doug Winter website about Charlotte gold:

"Charlotte Gold Lags Dahlonega In Popularity

Traditionally, Charlotte and Dahlonega coins have been close in popularity. But in the past decade, there is no question that Charlotte gold coins have become less popular than their Dahlonega counterparts. Why?

I am not sure that there is a single definitive answer for this. I have a few suggestions. The first is that Dahlonega coins are embraced by a cult-like following of collectors, mostly from Georgia. For whatever reason, there have never been as many collectors from North Carolina who have looked at Charlotte coins as artifacts of their history. The second is that my book on Charlotte gold coins is now out of print and fairly hard to find. When I release a third edition (hopefully in the next year or so) I would not be surprised if this isn’t a shot in the arm for this market. Thirdly, no one has really tried to promote Charlotte coins for a while; both on a national and a regional stage. In the past, there were a number of major collectors in the Charlotte area who specialized in collecting their “hometown” issues. Right now, I do not personally know of more than one or two who are. "

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I did not think that it was possible to promote Charlotte gold. Does anyone know whether the promotion works in the traditional sense, or is there a different method for these coins? Charlotte gold seems to be among the upper tier in the gold world, so I am not sure if seasoned collector will fall for the marketing tactics so easily. By promotion, does the author mean just that the coins will become more well known and recognized when a new book gets published, for instance?

RYK

In the past, an updated reference has been enough to energize specific areas of the numismatic marketplace. The Charlotte gold market is very thin compared to PCGS MS-69 AGEs or even Indian quarter eagles. I do not believe that one could realistically accumulate enough coins to put on a major promotion. However, if you could get a dozen or more new players to the table, you might be able to spur on demand and prices.

Longacre

<< <i>In the past, an updated reference has been enough to energize specific areas of the numismatic marketplace. The Charlotte gold market is very thin compared to PCGS MS-69 AGEs or even Indian quarter eagles. I do not believe that one could realistically accumulate enough coins to put on a major promotion. However, if you could get a dozen or more new players to the table, you might be able to spur on demand and prices. >>





That's what I was thinking. A Charlotte promotion would be spurred more through a general increase in collectors and knowledge about the coins, rather than buying up mass quantities and telemarketing them.