Observations from Long Beach
BryceM
Posts: 11,857 ✭✭✭✭✭
I just returned yesterday from the show in LB. I had a great time and got to meet some people in person that I've only known over the phone or through the Internet. The Heritage auction seemed a little thin in offerings this time for some reason (17.5%??????), and I didn't put strong bids in on anything. A Barber Half in PCGS MS66 CAC that I was mildly interested in went for strong money. Generic gold seemed to be moving around pretty well.
For some reason, dealers on Thursday and Friday weren't too intersted in buying as compared to earlier shows. I got flat-out "not buying" responses from a number of them and very, very weak offers from several others. Coins that I brought to sell could only be moved as part of trades without taking a huge bloodbath.
The thing that really struck me this time though is what was available in Peace Dollars. I stopped by the 4 or 5 largest Peace Dealers. Except for at Larry Shapiro's table, every single coin I saw had a "just-dipped" appearance. Larry had a nice mix of white and softly-toned original coins. It makes me wonder what the average lifespan of a subtly toned Peace Dollar is on the active market. I also don't think I saw a single Peace Dollar offered in an OGH or rattler - almost like these things are getting cracked, dipped, and re-submitted every time they hit the market. Many if not most of them are already in three-prong PCGS holders. I'll admit they often don't tone nicely, but even nice, subtle original surfaces seemed pretty hard to find. It's one more reason to ponder about the accuracy of the pop reports.
A desire for nicely toned coins might be riding high in other series, but these dollars can currently only be found with one look - WHITE! It seems a shame. Over time, the entire series might suffer from too many coins making too many trips to the dip bucket.
I picked up a nice Indian from Charmy. This is Todd's photo from Charmy's site:
I also was able to track down a $3 gold piece I've been looking at for a while. These are the seller's photos:
Fun over. Time to go back to reality!
For some reason, dealers on Thursday and Friday weren't too intersted in buying as compared to earlier shows. I got flat-out "not buying" responses from a number of them and very, very weak offers from several others. Coins that I brought to sell could only be moved as part of trades without taking a huge bloodbath.
The thing that really struck me this time though is what was available in Peace Dollars. I stopped by the 4 or 5 largest Peace Dealers. Except for at Larry Shapiro's table, every single coin I saw had a "just-dipped" appearance. Larry had a nice mix of white and softly-toned original coins. It makes me wonder what the average lifespan of a subtly toned Peace Dollar is on the active market. I also don't think I saw a single Peace Dollar offered in an OGH or rattler - almost like these things are getting cracked, dipped, and re-submitted every time they hit the market. Many if not most of them are already in three-prong PCGS holders. I'll admit they often don't tone nicely, but even nice, subtle original surfaces seemed pretty hard to find. It's one more reason to ponder about the accuracy of the pop reports.
A desire for nicely toned coins might be riding high in other series, but these dollars can currently only be found with one look - WHITE! It seems a shame. Over time, the entire series might suffer from too many coins making too many trips to the dip bucket.
I picked up a nice Indian from Charmy. This is Todd's photo from Charmy's site:
I also was able to track down a $3 gold piece I've been looking at for a while. These are the seller's photos:
Fun over. Time to go back to reality!
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Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
<< <i>For some reason, dealers on Thursday and Friday weren't too intersted in buying as compared to earlier shows. I got flat-out "not buying" responses from a number of them and very, very weak offers from several others. >>
This sounds a little disappointing; after the ANA reports I thought the market was getting stronger.....maybe bills coming due from the ANA have slowed things down?
AB
Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
Without wanting to step on any toes, and to be clear:
My comments about relatively weak "buy" offers pertain to a reasonably narrow selection of coins I was shopping around. The list included a circulated shield nickel, generic classic $5 Lib, Type I SLQ, Barber dime, Barber quarter, and Indian cent. These were all duplicates from upgrades to my type set. 3 of the 6 were CAC and the coins were generally in the $250-500 price range. I did eventually find homes for all of them at satisfactory prices, but the deals weren't as easy to make as in the past.
I was able to make one deal while I was at Long Beach that was very easy. Wondercoin was willing to pay my asking price for one of the few moderns in my collection. I didn't actually get to meet Mitch at the show, but we were able to work over the phone and broker the transaction through a third party. Kudos to him for sticking to what he says in his BST offer.
- Jim
That is a very nice looking $3 gold and that is a great looking Indian.
Mike