Honest question - What exactly is gained by mentioning that you're an underbidder in a certain auction?
I also found it odd that most of the report is about their less than expected success in the auction, then there is a statement about how buying from them gets you better deals than buying at an auction, followed by a reminder that their own auction will be held soon.
Strong prices are dependent on strong underbidder. I think that's in part how Laura is judging the high end of the market. Its always nice to here she is a meer mortal in auctions at least once in a blue a moon.
I agree that there is enough crazy money out there chasing high grade rarities, that the usual rules may not apply. One mention of a coin did not add the grade: "$10 1908D Motto PCGS CAC".
@logger7 said:
I agree that there is enough crazy money out there chasing high grade rarities, that the usual rules may not apply. One mention of a coin did not add the grade: "$10 1908D Motto PCGS CAC".
since the highest CAC for that date is a single MS65---i am assuming the grade is 65
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
I appreciate it when a dealer does not always wear rose colored glasses and is open and upfront. My go to dealer(s) tell me honestly how things went. If it was great, then it was great, if it was horrible, then it was horrible. It doesn’t affect my buying, but it is always good to hear what is really going on from a specialists(no pun intended) point of view.
Top professionals like Laura have been through years of numismatic challenges, standing for ethics and quality standards, you have to admire all that. If I were as successful as she has been I would be hiring the best and brightest to make her numismatic company look really good, even having an image consultant writing the reports.
@logger7 said:
Top professionals like Laura have been through years of numismatic challenges, standing for ethics and quality standards, you have to admire all that. If I were as successful as she has been I would be hiring the best and brightest to make her numismatic company look really good, even having an image consultant writing the reports.
Or...you can get it straight from her heart. Warts and all.
I enjoy both. As they say "sometimes you have to agree to disagree" it's not all that important in the big scheme of things, been on both sides or could be. As they say in this song "people are crazy"🤣
I enjoyed reading the report. It sounded like they had a terrible show, in all respects, and said so. No use dwelling on the past; it's time to prepare for the week at the office, the next auction, and the next show.
Other dealers had different experiences. Doug Winter had a great show, apparently, buying and selling, the best in years. So did CRO. There is not one consensus "market". There are multiple mini-markets and niches. For me, because of what I have collected in the past and currently, er, collect, the experience of DWN and CRO is more meaningful.
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
I appreciate it when a dealer does not always wear rose colored glasses and is open and upfront. My go to dealer(s) tell me honestly how things went. If it was great, then it was great, if it was horrible, then it was horrible. It doesn’t affect my buying, but it is always good to hear what is really going on from a specialists(no pun intended) point of view.
Totally agree, I'm not even close to her primary upper-tier clientele base, but always appreciate her reports and raw feels. Her spelling makes it even more real imho.
The constant condescending comments by some of us here about her, is pretty off putting, is this jealousy or what? No need to knock her reports. They are for her clients. This was posted here off HER website for her clients.
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
I appreciate it when a dealer does not always wear rose colored glasses and is open and upfront. My go to dealer(s) tell me honestly how things went. If it was great, then it was great, if it was horrible, then it was horrible. It doesn’t affect my buying, but it is always good to hear what is really going on from a specialists(no pun intended) point of view.
Totally agree, I'm not even close to her primary upper-tier clientele base, but always appreciate her reports and raw feels. Her spelling makes it even more real imho.
The constant condescending comments by some of us here about her, is pretty off putting, is this jealousy or what? No need to knock her reports. They are for her clients. This was posted here off HER website for her clients.
If you could search the history of this forum, I would guess that more has been written about Legend Market Reports and Hot Topics (essentially Laura's blogs) than any other single topic.
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
it was putrid, I had to go home as well. my gout will be acting up for months now
Want me to lie? I HAD A BAD SHOW. I was honest. Geez, you guys hate me when I tell you I sold millions.
I made it clear the market seemed okay.
There were many things that got me very mad at the show. Too many to list (I did mention a few in my Hot Topics). So far we're having a decent week. I stand by what I wrote.
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
it was putrid, I had to go home as well. my gout will be acting up for months now
@zski123 said:
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
I appreciate it when a dealer does not always wear rose colored glasses and is open and upfront. My go to dealer(s) tell me honestly how things went. If it was great, then it was great, if it was horrible, then it was horrible. It doesn’t affect my buying, but it is always good to hear what is really going on from a specialists(no pun intended) point of view.
Totally agree, I'm not even close to her primary upper-tier clientele base, but always appreciate her reports and raw feels. Her spelling makes it even more real imho.
The constant condescending comments by some of us here about her, is pretty off putting, is this jealousy or what? No need to knock her reports. They are for her clients. This was posted here off HER website for her clients.
If you could search the history of this forum, I would guess that more has been written about Legend Market Reports and Hot Topics (essentially Laura's blogs) than any other single topic.
No way.... CAC threads and eBay threads eclipse Legend threads by many orders of magnitude.
@zski123 said:
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
Dreck is a Yiddish word for garbage, rubbish, etc. with a strongly negative connotation. That is all.
I buy from Legend occasionally, but am into mostly foreign now. I notice that a lot Canadian dreck is going for strong money in recent and current auctions, and quality pieces are going for retail plus.
@specialist said:
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
I appreciate it when a dealer does not always wear rose colored glasses and is open and upfront. My go to dealer(s) tell me honestly how things went. If it was great, then it was great, if it was horrible, then it was horrible. It doesn’t affect my buying, but it is always good to hear what is really going on from a specialists(no pun intended) point of view.
Totally agree, I'm not even close to her primary upper-tier clientele base, but always appreciate her reports and raw feels. Her spelling makes it even more real imho.
The constant condescending comments by some of us here about her, is pretty off putting, is this jealousy or what? No need to knock her reports. They are for her clients. This was posted here off HER website for her clients.
If you could search the history of this forum, I would guess that more has been written about Legend Market Reports and Hot Topics (essentially Laura's blogs) than any other single topic.
No way.... CAC threads and eBay threads eclipse Legend threads by many orders of magnitude.
As a category, eBay threads would win, but I do not consider them a distinct category as each seller has an individual reputation, storefront, etc.
As for the CAC category argument, Laura has been inspiring blockbuster threads long before the CAC existed. And for the first few years of operation, the CAC threads were summarily deleted (no matter how rich in content), so they never existed. While any individual CAC megathread might eclipse the longest Legend thread, I would have to still give Legend the crown for the body of (existing) work over time.
@zski123 said:
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
Dreck is a Yiddish word for garbage, rubbish, etc. with a strongly negative connotation. That is all.
Dreck in coin terminology is an overgraded or problem coin. If someone wants to go out of their way to collect those, more power to them
I was surprised by the high prices some coins realized at auction. Bourse activity seemed to be slow, with several dealers I spoke to complaining about same.
All my report said-I had a bad show (we expected to buy $6-8 million in the auction) and overall the market seemed okay, If you had that kind of buying disappear on you you'd be angry and unhappy too.
There really was nothing cool on the floor to buy (for us).
@zski123 said:
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
Dreck is a Yiddish word for garbage, rubbish, etc. with a strongly negative connotation. That is all.
Dreck in coin terminology is an overgraded or problem coin. If someone wants to go out of their way to collect those, more power to them
Let me start by saying that I have a great deal of respect for the talents, knowledge and buying power of @tradedollarnut and @specialist , along with even more respect for their willingness to share their coin conquests.
It is just that I have personally heard and read pejorative terms used for the "bottom tier" of coin collecting, such as "widget" and "dreck" - not necessarily only for problem coins, but seemingly even for coins which represent a collecting class well beneath the financial means and collecting interests of the upper echelon of the numismatic world. A lightly cleaned XF 1909 S VDB my uncle gave me when I was 12 lit me on fire for coins - no doubt dreck, but well-loved.
It is my assertion and belief that this (possibly inadvertent) condescension is not really good for the hobby in general. I will defend to my dying breath anybody's right to free speech, I just pray for a bit of forbearance in considering how such language may impact a new or up and coming collector - who may one day be in the very position to help sustain trading in the upper echelons of the business.
@zski123 said:
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
Dreck is a Yiddish word for garbage, rubbish, etc. with a strongly negative connotation. That is all.
Dreck in coin terminology is an overgraded or problem coin. If someone wants to go out of their way to collect those, more power to them
Let me start by saying that I have a great deal of respect for the talents, knowledge and buying power of @tradedollarnut and @specialist , along with even more respect for their willingness to share their coin conquests.
It is just that I have personally heard and read pejorative terms used for the "bottom tier" of coin collecting, such as "widget" and "dreck" - not necessarily only for problem coins, but seemingly even for coins which represent a collecting class well beneath the financial means and collecting interests of the upper echelon of the numismatic world. A lightly cleaned XF 1909 S VDB my uncle gave me when I was 12 lit me on fire for coins - no doubt dreck, but well-loved.
It is my assertion and belief that this (possibly inadvertent) condescension is not really good for the hobby in general. I will defend to my dying breath anybody's right to free speech, I just pray for a bit of forbearance in considering how such language may impact a new or up and coming collector - who may one day be in the very position to help sustain trading in the upper echelons of the business.
I think in Laura's case dreck can be a 500,000 or 1.5 million coin. I bet you a nickel she loves inexpensive coins that are properly graded, good looking, and cool. But that is not her thing. She uses it in a generic way for her category of buying. And I do think new collectors should be aware of what it means. The sooner the better.
@zski123 said:
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
Dreck is a Yiddish word for garbage, rubbish, etc. with a strongly negative connotation. That is all.
Dreck in coin terminology is an overgraded or problem coin. If someone wants to go out of their way to collect those, more power to them
Nobody goes out of their way to collect overgraded coins. They collect them because they don't know what they're doing.
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
My takeaway is that if one knows better, one will do better, and again, this is supported by what Laura is saying and teaching. I stand by my previous post, but I really want to re-emphasize that it wasn't a knock on anyone, only an expression of my observations.
It appears from the comments above that the meaning of the report would be much clearer if dreck was described with some examples. Dreck obviously means different things to different people.
I think TDN tried to [re]define the meaning, essentially overgrazed coins in their plastic. However, I think the term has been used more broadly, and intimation that it really was lower valued coins & "average" coins that were beneath either of the two principals mentioned.
Love that Milled British (1830-1960) Well, just Love coins, period.
@7Jaguars said:
I think TDN tried to [re]define the meaning, essentially overgrazed coins in their plastic. However, I think the term has been used more broadly, and intimation that it really was lower valued coins & "average" coins that were beneath either of the two principals mentioned.
If it has been used more broadly, it has not used in this broad context, in the past, by TDN or Laura. In fact, I challenge you (or anyone else who thinks so) to demonstrate otherwise, Both TDN and Laura have been writing about coins on the internet for many years, so if this is the case, it should be easy to prove.
Dreck coins are those that are lousy for the grade, overgraded, cleaned, etc. Nobody would consider a lovely original Barber half in an AU-50 holder that is more realistically an XF-45 to be dreck. But a cleaned, ugly Barber half that is net graded AU-50...dude, that’s dreck.
While realizing her target market for coins and collectors is much different that most dealers, it is very interesting that some dealers wrote of great shows with a list of “barn burner” NEWPS. Laura’s show almost sent her to the emergency room because it was so bad.
Hmmm...
Yorkshireman,Obsessed collector of round, metallic pieces of history.Hunting for Latin American colonial portraits plus cool US & British coins.
While I did comment that it was an unusual show report for Laura, I wholeheartedly appreciate her candor. Business in the real world will not survive without honest assessments of the market and performance. Cheers, RickO
@7Jaguars said:
I think TDN tried to [re]define the meaning, essentially overgrazed coins in their plastic. However, I think the term has been used more broadly, and intimation that it really was lower valued coins & "average" coins that were beneath either of the two principals mentioned.
If it has been used more broadly, it has not used in this broad context, in the past, by TDN or Laura. In fact, I challenge you (or anyone else who thinks so) to demonstrate otherwise, Both TDN and Laura have been writing about coins on the internet for many years, so if this is the case, it should be easy to prove.
Dreck coins are those that are lousy for the grade, overgraded, cleaned, etc. Nobody would consider a lovely original Barber half in an AU-50 holder that is more realistically an XF-45 to be dreck. But a cleaned, ugly Barber half that is net graded AU-50...dude, that’s dreck.
I have determined over the course of my life that almost everyone values honesty when asked if they do, and then very few value it when it is received. I am all for carefully chosen semantics and small white lies when my wife asks me how I like her outfit, but I have come to value people who say what they think when I have asked them what they think, even when I am not necessarily going to like the answer.
In money, business and life choices I do not mince words. I have managed to dead end my own career by speaking the truth when asked, and then having the audacity to have been correct when the dust settles. My superiors hate me for it, my peers love me for it because I will say what everyone else is thinking.
An honest perspective is always valuable in some manner, even when you disagree, or the perspective is actually wrong. You still walk away with more information.
The smart money is buying the highest graded PCGS/CAC items that it can afford. And while there isn't much of that material to start with, most that exists is already unavailable and this will only continue to get worse. Legend sells to that smart money and Laura's comments give a clear picture of the direction of her market.
What should you take from it? Buy the highest graded CAC/PCGS material in the area that you can afford. Buy quality over quantity, and hold the material. I really hope most folks disagree with me, because it is hard for me to find and afford what I think is worth buying and more competition isn't going to make my job easier going forward.
Comments
They’ve been “crippled” !
And the “Wannbes are sucking up dreck” !
Two coins separated was a “tradegy”. Ridiculous use of the term. People starving is a tradegy
Sounds like a realistic assessment. Thanks for posting.
No wine or food pics? It’s time to up her game to attract new sellers.
“even dreck firmed up slightly much to our surprise.”
Well, seems to me that might be a good thing for the overall market....
Honest question - What exactly is gained by mentioning that you're an underbidder in a certain auction?
I also found it odd that most of the report is about their less than expected success in the auction, then there is a statement about how buying from them gets you better deals than buying at an auction, followed by a reminder that their own auction will be held soon.
Proof Buffalo Registry Set
Capped Bust Quarters Registry Set
Proof Walking Liberty Halves Registry Set
Strong prices are dependent on strong underbidder. I think that's in part how Laura is judging the high end of the market. Its always nice to here she is a meer mortal in auctions at least once in a blue a moon.
I agree that there is enough crazy money out there chasing high grade rarities, that the usual rules may not apply. One mention of a coin did not add the grade: "$10 1908D Motto PCGS CAC".
since the highest CAC for that date is a single MS65---i am assuming the grade is 65
Interesting, and unusual report for Laura.....I do not recall such a 'down' report from her. Cheers, RickO
Legends "high end" is often just another mans widget. Congrats!
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
This damn show put me in the hospital. It was my worst FUN Show ever.
Oh, I went out and drank up nasty wine, while eating whatever, and saw the lights of the city. And look how pretty my coins are. Sorry, I don't say that stuff. My customers want to know how my show was and the market. I said it from my point of view,
No one is holding a gun to anyones head to read it
I appreciate it when a dealer does not always wear rose colored glasses and is open and upfront. My go to dealer(s) tell me honestly how things went. If it was great, then it was great, if it was horrible, then it was horrible. It doesn’t affect my buying, but it is always good to hear what is really going on from a specialists(no pun intended) point of view.
Interesting report. Impressive show sales volume. Super newps. High auction bidding at least shows interest out there.
I feel uneasy when I win all my auction bids. So if lose some at least feel market not dead.
Top professionals like Laura have been through years of numismatic challenges, standing for ethics and quality standards, you have to admire all that. If I were as successful as she has been I would be hiring the best and brightest to make her numismatic company look really good, even having an image consultant writing the reports.
Or...you can get it straight from her heart. Warts and all.
Billionaires dig that,,,
The other reports from this show I have read from forum members that were there are always more relevant to me than Laura's...
I enjoy both. As they say "sometimes you have to agree to disagree" it's not all that important in the big scheme of things, been on both sides or could be. As they say in this song "people are crazy"🤣
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PKpQRjj_WbU
I enjoyed reading the report. It sounded like they had a terrible show, in all respects, and said so. No use dwelling on the past; it's time to prepare for the week at the office, the next auction, and the next show.
Other dealers had different experiences. Doug Winter had a great show, apparently, buying and selling, the best in years. So did CRO. There is not one consensus "market". There are multiple mini-markets and niches. For me, because of what I have collected in the past and currently, er, collect, the experience of DWN and CRO is more meaningful.
I liked the report. I like the directness and candidness I’ve come to expect from Laura.
Seems like the market is very strong.
Totally agree, I'm not even close to her primary upper-tier clientele base, but always appreciate her reports and raw feels. Her spelling makes it even more real imho.
The constant condescending comments by some of us here about her, is pretty off putting, is this jealousy or what? No need to knock her reports. They are for her clients. This was posted here off HER website for her clients.
If you could search the history of this forum, I would guess that more has been written about Legend Market Reports and Hot Topics (essentially Laura's blogs) than any other single topic.
You can all say what you want, but Laura seems to get the most reactions out of almost anyone else that posts here.
Whatever publicity she makes, it still is PUBLICITY nonetheless.
Pete
it was putrid, I had to go home as well. my gout will be acting up for months now
I'm a huuuge fan of humility. Thanks for the link.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
Want me to lie? I HAD A BAD SHOW. I was honest. Geez, you guys hate me when I tell you I sold millions.
I made it clear the market seemed okay.
There were many things that got me very mad at the show. Too many to list (I did mention a few in my Hot Topics). So far we're having a decent week. I stand by what I wrote.
Wow, I had no idea that Laura was back in the forum!
I was turned off by the negative "dreck" comment echoed on this thread. The dreck is the underpinning of any hobby. If this hobby is to survive and flourish, we need a big tent. I love talking to the everyday guy/gal at the show but detest the extensive snobbery especially among those who criticize coins they could never afford.
I thought the show was great! It's my fourth FUN show and won't be my last. Rise up dreck!
Colchicine!!!
Do you know what dreck is? Based upon your comments, I think not
No way.... CAC threads and eBay threads eclipse Legend threads by many orders of magnitude.
Dreck is a Yiddish word for garbage, rubbish, etc. with a strongly negative connotation. That is all.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
Laura a good read on upper end of market
I buy from Legend occasionally, but am into mostly foreign now. I notice that a lot Canadian dreck is going for strong money in recent and current auctions, and quality pieces are going for retail plus.
As a category, eBay threads would win, but I do not consider them a distinct category as each seller has an individual reputation, storefront, etc.
As for the CAC category argument, Laura has been inspiring blockbuster threads long before the CAC existed. And for the first few years of operation, the CAC threads were summarily deleted (no matter how rich in content), so they never existed. While any individual CAC megathread might eclipse the longest Legend thread, I would have to still give Legend the crown for the body of (existing) work over time.
Dreck in coin terminology is an overgraded or problem coin. If someone wants to go out of their way to collect those, more power to them
I was surprised by the high prices some coins realized at auction. Bourse activity seemed to be slow, with several dealers I spoke to complaining about same.
All my report said-I had a bad show (we expected to buy $6-8 million in the auction) and overall the market seemed okay, If you had that kind of buying disappear on you you'd be angry and unhappy too.
There really was nothing cool on the floor to buy (for us).
Let me start by saying that I have a great deal of respect for the talents, knowledge and buying power of @tradedollarnut and @specialist , along with even more respect for their willingness to share their coin conquests.
It is just that I have personally heard and read pejorative terms used for the "bottom tier" of coin collecting, such as "widget" and "dreck" - not necessarily only for problem coins, but seemingly even for coins which represent a collecting class well beneath the financial means and collecting interests of the upper echelon of the numismatic world. A lightly cleaned XF 1909 S VDB my uncle gave me when I was 12 lit me on fire for coins - no doubt dreck, but well-loved.
It is my assertion and belief that this (possibly inadvertent) condescension is not really good for the hobby in general. I will defend to my dying breath anybody's right to free speech, I just pray for a bit of forbearance in considering how such language may impact a new or up and coming collector - who may one day be in the very position to help sustain trading in the upper echelons of the business.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
I think in Laura's case dreck can be a 500,000 or 1.5 million coin. I bet you a nickel she loves inexpensive coins that are properly graded, good looking, and cool. But that is not her thing. She uses it in a generic way for her category of buying. And I do think new collectors should be aware of what it means. The sooner the better.
Nobody goes out of their way to collect overgraded coins. They collect them because they don't know what they're doing.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
My takeaway is that if one knows better, one will do better, and again, this is supported by what Laura is saying and teaching. I stand by my previous post, but I really want to re-emphasize that it wasn't a knock on anyone, only an expression of my observations.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
It appears from the comments above that the meaning of the report would be much clearer if dreck was described with some examples. Dreck obviously means different things to different people.
I think TDN tried to [re]define the meaning, essentially overgrazed coins in their plastic. However, I think the term has been used more broadly, and intimation that it really was lower valued coins & "average" coins that were beneath either of the two principals mentioned.
Well, just Love coins, period.
If it has been used more broadly, it has not used in this broad context, in the past, by TDN or Laura. In fact, I challenge you (or anyone else who thinks so) to demonstrate otherwise, Both TDN and Laura have been writing about coins on the internet for many years, so if this is the case, it should be easy to prove.
Dreck coins are those that are lousy for the grade, overgraded, cleaned, etc. Nobody would consider a lovely original Barber half in an AU-50 holder that is more realistically an XF-45 to be dreck. But a cleaned, ugly Barber half that is net graded AU-50...dude, that’s dreck.
While realizing her target market for coins and collectors is much different that most dealers, it is very interesting that some dealers wrote of great shows with a list of “barn burner” NEWPS. Laura’s show almost sent her to the emergency room because it was so bad.
Hmmm...
While I did comment that it was an unusual show report for Laura, I wholeheartedly appreciate her candor. Business in the real world will not survive without honest assessments of the market and performance. Cheers, RickO
Exactly. Well said
I sincerely wish that I had sources to explain dreck to me when I was starting out in collecting, it would have saved me a lot of money.
I have determined over the course of my life that almost everyone values honesty when asked if they do, and then very few value it when it is received. I am all for carefully chosen semantics and small white lies when my wife asks me how I like her outfit, but I have come to value people who say what they think when I have asked them what they think, even when I am not necessarily going to like the answer.
In money, business and life choices I do not mince words. I have managed to dead end my own career by speaking the truth when asked, and then having the audacity to have been correct when the dust settles. My superiors hate me for it, my peers love me for it because I will say what everyone else is thinking.
An honest perspective is always valuable in some manner, even when you disagree, or the perspective is actually wrong. You still walk away with more information.
The smart money is buying the highest graded PCGS/CAC items that it can afford. And while there isn't much of that material to start with, most that exists is already unavailable and this will only continue to get worse. Legend sells to that smart money and Laura's comments give a clear picture of the direction of her market.
What should you take from it? Buy the highest graded CAC/PCGS material in the area that you can afford. Buy quality over quantity, and hold the material. I really hope most folks disagree with me, because it is hard for me to find and afford what I think is worth buying and more competition isn't going to make my job easier going forward.