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Thursday at Long Beach
Elcontador
Posts: 7,417 ✭✭✭✭✭
Cliff Notes Version - I didn't buy anything, but I'm happy I went.
The show didn't have quite the buzz it had in February. Based on what I saw, most dealers stocked material that they could move quickly. Lots of gold, Morgans, and Walkers. Commems were also popular.
Interestingly, I saw a large number of high grade 2 Cent Pieces, both business strikes and proofs. I also saw fifteen or twenty Large Eagle Bust $s in various grades of AU (I'd say half of them had the Hesselgesser pedigree). A number of these coins looked attractive for the grade. VF to AU Capped Bust $s were plentiful, as were Unc. IHCs, and Unc. as well as PF Barber coinage in MS / PF 63 - 65.
I saw very few Liberty Nickels in MS 66; those I saw I already had in my collection. David Hall Rare Coins had an 1831 Capped Bust Half in PC 6. I didn't see any in 5, and only a few in 3 and 4.
MS 66 SLQs weren't as plentiful as normal. The one coin I almost bought was a 29 S in PC 6 FH. It was flashy enough & had a CAC sticker. The 3 sprigs were nicely defined and while it wasn't an ultimate FH, it was a no-questions-asked FH. The pricing was reasonable. The rt. thigh / knee was better defined than most of these coins & had average shield and rivulet detail for the grade. What stopped me from buying it were two minor contact marks and one hit on Miss Liberty's shin, knee, and higher on the body. Maybe I'm being overly picky, but I could deal with the two minor contact marks, or the one hit for the grade, but not both.
I did something very important at the show. I sold all coins I brought to sell. Mark Feld says that you need to sell a coin every so often, and he's right. Wednesday night, I went on Coin Corner and Heritage Auctions, and looked at the pricing for the coins I would bring the next day. I then got the current gray and blue sheets at the Show, and jotted down those prices as well. I also honestly assessed the coins I would be selling re where they were on the the continuum of their assigned grades. I also made sure I knew what I paid for them, and set up what was an optimistic, realistic, and minimum acceptable price for each coin ahead of time.
At dealer tables where I saw inventory similar / in the same price range of my coins, I asked whether they would interested in my material. When they asked what I wanted for each of them, I gave them the price range these coins brought in the last year; ie., I did their work for them.
When I was quoted the lowest end of the price range, I knew the coin they referred to, reminded them that said was an ugly coin, and that mine could not be purchased for that price. I sold most coins for mid-range of what recent Heritage Auctions brought for them. Only one dealer tried playing games with me and he didn't get any of my coins; the others who looked at them were fair and reasonable.
I saw very little material which interested me. Yet, I came away with the impression that some people are paying strong money for so-so coins which are relatively expensive to me (high four figure, low five figure coins) , because they have been looking for (fill in the amount of time), haven't found the right coin, are tired of looking and are buying something that "will do."
I also had the impression that if you want to buy a coin, it had better be "all there" for the grade, or you will have a hard time getting your money out of it, unless you can connect with some people in the preceding paragraph who are tired of looking. All coins I sold were solid for the grade, except for one which was so rare, that I knew there would be enough interest for me to get my money out of it.
I was near the PCGS table when David Hall came on the speaker and said he'd be at the table for the next hour as professional courtesy to review coins. I brought a few NGC coins to be looked at to cross at the same grade, so I headed over there. Mr. Hall for the most part liked what he saw, made some suggestions, which I followed. Three coins are being submitted for cross at same grade.
I want to thank Tom Reynolds for spending some time with me and pointing me in the right direction re selling a high end old Half Cent I brought to Long Beach.
The show didn't have quite the buzz it had in February. Based on what I saw, most dealers stocked material that they could move quickly. Lots of gold, Morgans, and Walkers. Commems were also popular.
Interestingly, I saw a large number of high grade 2 Cent Pieces, both business strikes and proofs. I also saw fifteen or twenty Large Eagle Bust $s in various grades of AU (I'd say half of them had the Hesselgesser pedigree). A number of these coins looked attractive for the grade. VF to AU Capped Bust $s were plentiful, as were Unc. IHCs, and Unc. as well as PF Barber coinage in MS / PF 63 - 65.
I saw very few Liberty Nickels in MS 66; those I saw I already had in my collection. David Hall Rare Coins had an 1831 Capped Bust Half in PC 6. I didn't see any in 5, and only a few in 3 and 4.
MS 66 SLQs weren't as plentiful as normal. The one coin I almost bought was a 29 S in PC 6 FH. It was flashy enough & had a CAC sticker. The 3 sprigs were nicely defined and while it wasn't an ultimate FH, it was a no-questions-asked FH. The pricing was reasonable. The rt. thigh / knee was better defined than most of these coins & had average shield and rivulet detail for the grade. What stopped me from buying it were two minor contact marks and one hit on Miss Liberty's shin, knee, and higher on the body. Maybe I'm being overly picky, but I could deal with the two minor contact marks, or the one hit for the grade, but not both.
I did something very important at the show. I sold all coins I brought to sell. Mark Feld says that you need to sell a coin every so often, and he's right. Wednesday night, I went on Coin Corner and Heritage Auctions, and looked at the pricing for the coins I would bring the next day. I then got the current gray and blue sheets at the Show, and jotted down those prices as well. I also honestly assessed the coins I would be selling re where they were on the the continuum of their assigned grades. I also made sure I knew what I paid for them, and set up what was an optimistic, realistic, and minimum acceptable price for each coin ahead of time.
At dealer tables where I saw inventory similar / in the same price range of my coins, I asked whether they would interested in my material. When they asked what I wanted for each of them, I gave them the price range these coins brought in the last year; ie., I did their work for them.
When I was quoted the lowest end of the price range, I knew the coin they referred to, reminded them that said was an ugly coin, and that mine could not be purchased for that price. I sold most coins for mid-range of what recent Heritage Auctions brought for them. Only one dealer tried playing games with me and he didn't get any of my coins; the others who looked at them were fair and reasonable.
I saw very little material which interested me. Yet, I came away with the impression that some people are paying strong money for so-so coins which are relatively expensive to me (high four figure, low five figure coins) , because they have been looking for (fill in the amount of time), haven't found the right coin, are tired of looking and are buying something that "will do."
I also had the impression that if you want to buy a coin, it had better be "all there" for the grade, or you will have a hard time getting your money out of it, unless you can connect with some people in the preceding paragraph who are tired of looking. All coins I sold were solid for the grade, except for one which was so rare, that I knew there would be enough interest for me to get my money out of it.
I was near the PCGS table when David Hall came on the speaker and said he'd be at the table for the next hour as professional courtesy to review coins. I brought a few NGC coins to be looked at to cross at the same grade, so I headed over there. Mr. Hall for the most part liked what he saw, made some suggestions, which I followed. Three coins are being submitted for cross at same grade.
I want to thank Tom Reynolds for spending some time with me and pointing me in the right direction re selling a high end old Half Cent I brought to Long Beach.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste,
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
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Comments
EAC 6024
Cant comment too much on the U.S. coins, ended up selling some junk netherlands & mexico silver I didnt want anymore. I ended up buying a raw update to a 3 cent nickel I needed with a cool die clash on the reverse.
I ended up buying ancients with the rest of my show money I brought/got. I was happy to fill 2 slots on a roman empress I am building a set of in silver. Rest was some bronze greeks that were cheap but will need some cleaning and some other roman emperors I just liked for the price.
Couple have been added to my gallery in my sig already, rest will be over the weekend most likely.
Overall it was a good show for me. Usually I walk out with some low double figure world coins or a big 3 digit U.S. coin and thats it. So I am happy I went.
Would have liked to have met charmy but she was swapped and its the second time I have gone to the show and shes been busy.
Some day maybe, lol.