Archive for category: Market Reports News

In an interesting follow up to last week’s blog, the precious metals markets witnessed a major correction on Tuesday. Perhaps, it was profit taking triggering a sell-off. The next week should demonstrate whether or not this was the case. Irrespective, we still feel that metals are missing a critical underlying component for a sustained run. That’s not to say today’s level are not the new normal, at least for a while. But, we do have reservations whether the bull market is sustainable. As most of you are aware, we are not metals traders. We are numismatists, and our focus centers on the rare coin market. In the same breath, there is a symbiotic relationship between these two markets and many of our customers remain active in both. This last week saw no decline in the demand for rare coins. Conversely, many areas of the coin market continued to inch up, including the long overdue generic silver dollar sector. Generic gold coins, especially the larger formats ($10 & $20) saw very little price correction from Tuesday’s blood bath, as demand seems to be holding steady. It really is a pleasant departure witnessing such an active market in the historically soft summer season. It’s tough to explain what’s going on right now, but then it’s been tough to explain this entire year!

Next week marks a very special transition date for The Reeded Edge, as we will be traveling to our first coin show since March. Both Rob and Robbie will be heading to the Georgia-Tennessee border and attending The Blue Ridge Numismatic Association’s Convention, held at The Dalton Convention Center in Dalton, GA. Look for the guys at corner booth #619 in the center back of the hall. Although not quite the size or scope of a national coin show, this is still a large and well attended regional show with solid collector support. It is also by far the largest coin show to resume since the COVID moratorium, and its success should provide direction for other upcoming venues. Most of our associates are looking forward to Dalton, and anticipate an active, profitable and safe weekend of trading coins. We feel that this day is long overdue, and have been looking forward to it with great anticipation. The signaling of the return of some sense of normalcy is positive for all of us, both in and outside of the numismatic community. All eyes will be on Dalton next week, and we are confident that those in attendance will act both professionally and responsibly.

The temperatures have really heated up here in the mid-Atlantic, leaving no doubt what time of year it is. For those of you that take your indicators from sources other than the calendar, we point to the coin market, which seems to have gone into seasonal hibernation. To be perfectly clear, the market is not inactive, it’s just less active than it was. For the last several weeks, we have noted how the market had felt unusually robust, and that anomaly seems to have gone into a more predictable holding pattern. This week, we bought several collections of lower-priced collector coins, which are selling like snow cones at a little league game. Perhaps this is the type of material perfectly suited for present market conditions. More expensive coins have notably slowed down, and we would be surprised if that trend reversed before the fall. After over 3 decades in the coin business, these seasonal cycles have become fairly predictable. Consequently, we are not at all alarmed. Precious metals continue their strength, and we see no indication that will change anytime soon. At the very least, metals serve as an attention getter for the numismatic sector of the market. We remain aggressive about buying affordable collector coins. When it comes to acquiring fresh coins, especially at that sweet spot price-point, we are keeping our foot on the gas pedal (and pen on the checkbook) throughout the summer. The absence of national coin shows is still being felt. We have our reservation whether we will see anything in that regard until 2021 FUN. Once major shows are allowed to resume, demand may shift back to the higher end material. For the time being, we wait with baited breath and fingers crossed. We hope that everyone is enjoying their summer. Most importantly, stay healthy and safe.

Does anybody notice that none of the news lately seems good? COVID19 is allegedly going through a resurgence, racism and ensuing rioting is leading to widespread social discourse, and an unstable economy is being exasperated by record unemployment. Throughout all of this doom and gloom, we have been selling coins, and a LOT of them. This last week was one of our busiest first weeks of the summer in company history. This leads us to ask the question, are things really as bad as we are being told? Just yesterday, unemployment numbers for June came in at 11%, or about half of what had been forecasted. Outside of a few urban hotbeds across the country, social unrest seems to have subsided, and COVID deaths have thankfully shrunk to about half of their peaks back in April. The financial markets have responded to all of this latest news very well, offering further evidence that things are not always exactly what they seem to be. We are in an election year, so expect both sides to stay energized right up to the finish line. At this point, we are just hoping to see sustained strength for the rare coin market. It certainly has given us no signs to think anything otherwise. Gold and silver have both found comfortable homes at their present levels, and last week’s market on both, remains unchanged. Where will the next high watermark be for metals? That is the ten thousand dollar question, and time should provide the answer. Our observations are that the numismatic sector is experiencing a renaissance, which is even holding true for some of the historically slower areas in the market. We still see enormous opportunities in obsolete type coins such as half cents, two cents and three cents, classic commemoratives and dated small gold. All of these areas are moving in the right direction, if not yet in price, definitely in interest level. At current prices, upside for all of these series is very much still part of the equation. We would love to see a return of coin shows, and we are hoping that this happens sooner rather than later. Most in the dealer community are adept with the current COVID protocol and could function in a show scenario accordingly. The few smaller venues that took place in the last month went off without a hitch. Although their attendances were expectedly smaller, they were viable and active shows nonetheless. Perhaps, we are the eternal optimists, but we do believe things are on the mend. The next couple weeks will either substantiate or dispel that notion, so we shall see. Finally, we would like to give a shout-out to our entire customer base. Without your support, we would not be in our present good place. Thank you for seeing us through this national emergency. Thank you for your continued patronage, and perhaps most of all, thank you for believing in us. The feeling, we assure you, is 100% mutual!

There really is light at the end of the tunnel. With the reemergence of smaller coin shows around the country, it is only a matter of time before a national show breaks the ice on a larger scale. We were hoping that show would be the Summer Pittsburgh ANA, but it is now apparent that will not happen. Why the ANA has not made the formal announcement is perplexing. We know the tremendous investment that a coin show represents. Many larger venues, like ANA, are planned years in advance. There are significant financial obligations including, but not limited to, booking convention centers, marketing costs, forging partnerships with hotels and restaurants, and the list goes on. To walk away from tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in deposits and financial commitments is no easy proposition. Unfortunately, coin shows are not alone in this sacrifice. Shutting down the U.S.economy was extremely costly, and we are just beginning to feel the effects of the hangover. Although we sympathize with the ANA’s position, they really have no alternatives at this juncture. They are a strong organization with good new leadership that will recover from this blow. We can attest that collector activity throughout the pandemic has been nothing short of astounding. This support level will also translate to our parent organization who represent the lifeblood of our precious hobby. This, we are certain of.

Gold and silver continue their strength. Demand for both metals remains high, although the supply shortages in the marketplace seem to be resolving themselves. Perhaps this is partially responsible for the fervor of numismatic activity that we and other dealers have been experiencing. On the other hand, the numismatic fire may simply be a byproduct of stay-at-home orders and self quarantines. A possibility nobody has really discussed is that numismatics are experiencing a renaissance. If the latter is the case, the timing is highly unusual. There is an old saying, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. We accept the numismatic business with open arms, and remain extremely thankful and humbled by the resilience and dedication of our collector base.

To repeat our rallying call from months of coin show moratoriums, we still need to buy your fresh coins. Whether you have a single marquis coin for sale, or perhaps an entire collection, our firm is aggressively buying. We hate losing out, so please give The Reeded Edge an opportunity to put our best foot forward.

In closing, we want to reiterate that there are better days ahead, a fact many of you already know. A sense of normalcy is returning to the numismatic community, and we remain extremely encouraged by the feedback we receive daily. Dealers are reopening their shops and offices, both PCGS and NGC are now open for business, and coin shows are systematically returning to the circuit. We are certain that at the end of the day, the numismatic community will be bigger and stronger, in both numbers and support, than it has been in many years. Thank you for standing with us and by us, and most importantly, please continue to stay safe.

An associate of ours was commenting on how good his sales were, and attributed this to his diverse and extensive inventory. “Nobody has coins right now, so if they need them, they have to come to me”, he stated emphatically. There is definitely some truth to that remark. Those who thought they were inventory heavy going into the COVID19 crisis, quickly came to the realization that excess inventory was a newfound asset and not a liability, as had historically been the case. For those of us that run inventory based operations, we know only too well the challenges of keeping the shelves stocked with the absence of our feeder networks. It is no secret that The Reeded Edge are show hounds. On average, we set up at 20 or more coin shows annually. These shows have been responsible for turning up large quantities of fresh material. To a lesser degree, we would say the same for the local shops. Without either, sourcing coins has proven challenging. We keep hoping that normalcy is just around the corner. Despite much of the press telling us to the contrary, there really are some promising signs on the horizon. We are quite certain that the icebreaker coin show will be a barnburner. For every one dealer or collector hesitant to attend, there are two more in the starting blocks just waiting for the signal. Will that show be Summer ANA in Pittsburgh? Obviously, we hope so, but in the midst of what still is a very fluid situation, it’s still too early to tell. Coin auctions have continued without interruption, switching to a virtual platform. Surprisingly, in most cases the prices realized have been very strong. Irrespective of economic and social distractions, the collectors seems firmly entrenched, focused and committed-all very good signs. Strong precious metals prices have added wind to the numismatic sails, and allowed many coin shop owners, that were forced to close their physical locations, stay relevant. We are fortunate to live in the information age, as much of the business, just like the auctions, has also migrated to a virtual platform. There is an old saying that necessity breeds creativity. We sense that will need to be the case moving forward in the coin market, at least for the immediate future.  More about this evolving transition next week…For now, we urge everybody to stay safe.