The Reeded Edge Looks Ahead to FUN; Reflecting on 2018

orange-county-convention-center-arialWe hope everybody is enjoying their holiday season. No matter what holiday you observe, this is a time for us to reflect and be thankful for all that the previous year has afforded us. From a numismatic perspective, there certainly were a lot of twists and turns, making this an unpredictable year, at the very least. From a personal perspective, The Reeded Edge had a very good year. We noticed a definite uptick of collector business, as we reacquainted ourselves with some old friends as well as forging relationships with some new ones. Irrespective of the amount of business that we transacted with each of you, we want to take this moment to thank all of you collectively. Without your patronage and support, we could not sustain servicing this hobby that  means so much to each of us here.

As we eluded to earlier, the market had its share of unpredictability, and nowhere was this felt more than in the wholesale sector. Dealers who predicated their business on reselling to other dealers and/or using auction companies to sell their wares, had a much more difficult time than their counterparts. Cash flow seemed to be a concern for most of this group throughout the year. To make matters more difficult, auction companies factored into liquidating coins for dealers whose business had slowed elsewhere. Consequently, the auction companies were inundated with ordinary coins, which many times were ignored by their buyers and sold at discounts. As these prices were summarily reported, the impression was that the market as a whole was going down, and the wholesale dealer’s job became exponentially more difficult. This situation did manifest itself throughout the year, but fortunately, was limited to the wholesale side of the coin market. Conversely, collectors were more starved than ever for fresh and nice coins. They reveled in the perception that the market was declining, as it allowed them to buy coins at new lower levels. What hindered one side of the coin market, was a positive to the other. The collector was the critical component in keeping the coin market healthy in 2018, and for those of us who serviced these folks, a good year could be had.

The ten million dollar question is what does 2019 hold? The answer depends who you ask. For the dealer contingent servicing the end user, the outlook remains positive. The wholesale sector’s optimism would probably be a bit more measured. For these dealers, the status quo is not an option. If things don’t change for them, we will see an inevitable thinning of the herd (which may not be a bad thing, but that’s a discussion for another day). Looking into our crystal ball, we predict another solid year for numismatics, as collectors seem firmly entrenched in the hobby. Obviously factors such as the economy, financial markets and political perceptions all will come into play. But that aside, there are plenty of new collectors coming on board, and a good number of older ones rekindling their interest in coins. Both are good signs, and give us reason for hope looking forward.

Amazingly, it’s almost that time again to talk about FUN. Yes, the Florida United Numismatists Annual Convention is quickly approaching. What we love about this show….well, is EVERYTHING! As always, it kicks off the new year, and with the new year comes new promise and opportunities. Florida is warm in January, especially for us mid-Atlantic snow birds, and that psychological element comes into play, as well. Equally as important is that FUN breaks a month-long hiatus without a major coin show. For these reasons and others, the dealer community comes together to support this show like no other. Some dealers even make this their sole major coin show of the year. We have contended that if you put 1000 dealers together in a convention room that want to do business, we will figure the rest out. This always seems to be the case at FUN. This show is equally as well supported by the general public for many of the same reasons. It seems that most attendees intent is to get the coin market off on the right foot, and FUN serves as the springboard to do just that. Thankfully, after a couple of stints in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, FUN is returning home to the quintessential Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Rob, Robbie and Miguel will all be on-hand at The Reeded Edge’s booth #716 with a full array of certified coins for your consideration. Equally as important, the guys will be aggressively buying looking to supplement their 2019 inventory. We will have much more about this show in the upcoming week, but this is one event that we are all enthusiastically looking forward to.

Finally, we wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and yours the happiest of holidays and a happy and safe New Year. Thank you from all of us at The Reeded Edge for making 2018 a truly great year.