Archive for category: Market Reports News

As we have said in previous posts, we are full swing into coin show season. Last week’s Raleigh Coin Club Show kicked off June for us, while Baltimore continues the process next week. Unfortunately, this Raleigh show was nowhere near as good for us as last year’s venue. Perhaps, it was the June date (this show previously was held in July), or just as likely, it could have been the hot and cold coin market. Although we can only judge from visuals, the public through the  front door seemed light. Buyers were noticeably absent, and more importantly, so were sellers. We managed to keep ourselves busy for the weekend canvassing the floor for treasures, and conducting our usual  array of wholesale transactions wherever possible. But at the end of Sunday, we felt like we did only two days worth of business at a four day show. We have done Raleigh enough times in the past to know the potential that this show has. So we will  simply just attribute this anomaly as an off show, and not try to read into it any deeper. Next week, Rob and Robbie will head to Baltimore for The Whitman Coin and Collectibles Exposition. This is in our back yard, so consequently expectations run high. With the acquisition of two major collections, the guys will have no shortage of fresh, new material. Please visit The Reeded Edge at our usual front-and-center table #440 to view all of these new coins. Of course, the guys will be aggressively buying, so please offer them any or all worthwhile numismatic properties. Whether you have a single coin for sale or an entire collection, Rob and Robbie want to earn your business. Just look for the large BUYING BUYING BUYING sign, and chances are, the guys will not be far behind. We will have more particulars about this show, including our pre-show trading schedule on next week’s Market Report, so please stay tuned!

June is traditionally a travel month for us, and this year will be no exception. The Spring coin show schedule will conclude with two of our favorite venues, Raleigh, NC and Baltimore, MD. Rob and Robbie will head to The North Carolina State Fairgrounds next week for the annual Raleigh Coin Show. This  show is truly a collector favorite, always drawing a robust crowd. The mix of over 100 dealers is really diverse, spanning everything from small shop owners to prominent national rare coin firms.  This is one of the components that keeps the Raleigh show interesting. Historically, we have had some great coins show up at Raleigh, so we will see what this year’s venue yields. No sooner do we get home from Raleigh, and then 9 days later, the guys are back on the road to Baltimore, MD. for the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Collectibles Exposition. This is flat-out one of the finest coin shows in the country. Although Whitman’s June venue is the smallest of their 3 annual Baltimore shows, it still ranks very high on our list; after all, even an entry level Mercedes is still a Mercedes! We will have a more detailed preview of the upcoming Raleigh show on next week’s Market Report News, with Baltimore’s preview to follow a week later.

PAN, once again, managed to perform beyond expectations. This happened without seeing many of our collector regulars. Attendance for the show was still above average, with a fair number of serious collectors in the room with want lists in tow. We believe that all indicators are pointing towards a favorable summer coin show season. This is especially true if metals can find some stability. With all the worries in the middle-east region and North Korea, as well as rising fuel prices, we are frankly amazed that  the metals markets aren’t more bullish.

For the next three weeks, The Reeded Edge will be spending some overdue catch-up time in the home office. This will give us an opportunity to monitor the electronic exchanges, and trade a little outside of the coin show circuit. Quite honestly, this is where the majority of coin trades take place on a daily basis.

Please keep an eye out on The Reeded Edge webstore. With the addition of almost 500 new coins, there is no shortage of fine U.S. certified coins, and at all price-points.

We had a sense that the coin market had found stability. We sensed going into  last week’s Central States Numismatic Convention in Schaumburg, IL that the tentativeness prevalent at recent coin shows might even be absent. But never in our wildest expectations did we think that the show mood would be so uniformly bullish. It seemed that almost everyone approached this show with renewed optimism, and most importantly, came to do business. We have contended that if you put several hundred dealers in a room all intent on buying and selling coins, we can figure the rest out. In retrospect, it really proved to be a no-brainer. Both Rob and Robbie were basically glued to their table for the majority of the week, as the business literally came to us, alleviating the need to run the floor to make something happen.  In all, The Reeded Edge conducted almost one third of a million dollars worth of business, and this without selling a single five figure coin. This demonstrates clearly where the majority of the business is taking place in today’s coin market. The big takeaway from Central States is that if you’re willing to trade coins at today’s levels, the business is there.  One additional footnote about Central States, like all  other national coin venues, PCGS had always conducted on-site grading at this show. This additional component not only created a potential revenue stream for dealers in attendance, but also resulted in an influx of fresh coins available throughout the show. Due to  several unforeseen circumstances, PCGS had to pull out of this year’s show, leaving a strange and unaccustomed void. Hopefully, next year’s venue will include PCGS, as this missing link would have surely elevated an A grade show to an A+. This week we will find out whether the momentum of a successful coin show impacts the retail end of the sector. With hundreds of new certified collector coins being made available for sale, we should have a better handle on this by next week’s Market Report News.  Stay tuned. Speaking of next week, the guys will be heading to Pittsburgh for the P.A.N. Coin Show. Unlike Central States, this is a collector-driven regional show.  Although the numismatic theme is a common denominator, this  grass-roots show addresses a much different customer demographic. The million dollar question really is whether there is strength in the entire coin market or if Central States was a bi-product of national dealers starved for material. Although we suspect we know the answer, we will defer judgment for a couple of weeks.

This week, there really is nothing new to report. As of those of you who that follow the coin market with any regularity probably already realize, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, just sustaining a level of activity after a major coin show is a victory. Sales remain steady and so does buying. This is an equilibrium that we like to see. When it’s too much of one and and not enough of another, this creates an unhealthy imbalance in the marketplace. Of particular note on the store this week is a group of mid-priced, certified collector coins, as well as a large collection of common-date Morgan Dollars, including many less-than-common VAMS. At this writing, we have only begun to process the dollars, so it may be several more days before they start appearing for sale. It is also worth noting that we have several hundred coins at PCGS for grading, so there will be those coins filtering back into inventory over the next month, as well.  Several more exciting deals are still either in the works, or in the case of one, in a holding pattern. In all, The Reeded Edge has more than a few numismatic irons in the fire, as well as the constant influx of new coins that our customers have come to expect. The next major show on the horizon for us, which will be taking place in approximately three weeks, is The Central States Numismatic Convention in Schaumburg, IL. Both Rob and Robbie will be attending this venue for the better part of a week, so our expectations are high. We will have more details on both the show and our timeline in our upcoming Market Report.  For now, we will relish in the status quo. Happy collecting!