ARIZONA COIN EXPO ATTRACTS "ROADIES"

Tuesday, May 5, 1998

        Sandy and John Gulde will do just about anything to entice dealers and collectors to attend their Expo in Phoenix. This past week found them doing what they do best, mixing buyers and sellers into one contented group. The bourse room was full of anxious dealers who knew that the advertising was in place (over 300 spots on cable TV and full-page ads in the local paper). When the show opened to the public on Thursday, "they" came. Hundreds of potential collectors attended the first day and Friday seemed just as busy. The extra effort toward advertising had worked. "The Roadshow" theme brought numerous sellers into the bourse room with lots of little treasures. The Gulde's would direct those inquiring to specific dealers who dealt in that area of the coin or paper money market, along with various collectibles. Many dealers we spoke with had a terrific buying show.

        The coin market continues to show solid strength in all areas. Dealers are very conscious of the fact that they cannot buy most collector coins at current levels. The active seller is in the driver's seat as they can name their own price. As long as their ask price is reasonable for the quality, the buyer is more than willing to accept the coin. Dollars and Gold remain on numerous want lists. It just seems like the collectors cannot get enough coins to satisfy their hungry appetites. The main problem here is that there are not enough coins available at current levels to attract potential sellers. If the potential sellers realized that they actually control the market at this time, maybe they would make more of their coins available to new higher buyers. As I have said a multitude of times over the last fifteen years, "when the market heats up, it turns around at least 30%". Dealers go from being non-buyers at 10%-20% under Bids, to being strong buyers at 10%-20% over Bids; this is another dealer's ask price.

        The only area that may be somewhat stagnant occurs for generic coins. However, many of these common issues are readily traded at current levels. The overall marketplace is gaining more and more buyers as each day passes. The economy is such that the middle to upper class has more money to spend on a variety of interests. Many of these people remember when they were kids and saw their grandparents' coins and they want to collect some of the same ones. As the Internet grows, many more potential collectors will be exposed to collecting coins. The future of numismatics looks as bright as it ever has.