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COIN MARKET INSIDER's REPORT takes the pulse of the numismatic marketplace and talks about the buys, the sells, and the trades that all collectors and investors are interested in.
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COIN MARKET INSIDER'S REPORT is the award-winning column that has run in COINage Magazine monthly since 1974. Its author is David L. Ganz, a New York City lawyer, who for more than 35 years has covered the numismatic marketplace. Besides practicing law, he is a past present of The American Numismatic Association, and served for a dozen years as general counsel to the Professional Numismatists Guild. Appointed by President Nixon to the 1974 Annual Assay Commission, he served (1993-1996) as a Clinton appointee on the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. His latest book, "The Official Guide to America's State Quarters" is a Random House mass market paperback, due out this fall.
The column began with a premise that it could report, telegraph style, about what was going on in the numismatic marketplace and talk about the buys, the sells, and the trades that investors and collectors are interested in. It now includes the internet, and http:// addresses you can hyperlink to, easily. This is an expanded version of the column as it appears in COINage Magazine. The author can be reached at: davidlganz@ganzhollinger.com.
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Insider's Report
January 2001
by David L. Ganz
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By all counts, the Florida FUN show right after the first of the year was a bell-weather, and a positive one for the coin market... Bourse was active and well attended... Heritage's auction brought top prices... www.heritagecoin.com.... Evidence everywhere of new collectors in the market (thanks no doubt to the 50-state quarter program)...
Heritage's 2001 FUN Signature Sale was conducted in six sessions from January 4-6 and realized more than $6.6 million. The single session FUN Currency Sale (offered as a separate catalog) accounted for a further $1 million in sales, and the FUN Bullet Auction brought in $276,000......"We offered a total of 5,895 lots in the three FUN sales combined," reported Bob Korver, Heritage's Director of Auctions, "our largest single-coin-show offering ever.... There were 1,852 distinct bidders in the sales, with 804 bidders successful at purchasing lots....
In Gregg Bingham's NFL Collection of Morgan Dollars, the 1880-CC MS 67 PCGS realized $20,700... The key date 1889-CC, which was graded MS 64 Deep Mirror Prooflike by PCGS, sold for a solid $60,950, and the conditionally rare 1901 MS 64 PCGS traded hands for $48,300....
The Glenn Church Collection of Barber Quarters included an 1892 that NGC graded MS 66. This coin broke all of previous auction records for this issue when it went to the successful bidder at $5,175.... Another, the 1913 MS 66 PCGS, realized an astounding $14,950....
New York State ceremonies Jan. 8th mark the release of the 11th quarter in the series... www.usmint.gov .... The "first strike" ceremonies were really ceremonial; advance copies were on display at the Mint's booth at FUN... The "Gateway to freedom" changed the way that "to" was centered is of note... The Erie Canal so evident in the design came as a result of a request from N.Y. Governor George Pataki.... www.state.ny.us
Take note from my talk at FUN on the state quarters: nearly 100 people crowded the educational forum room to hear the discussion about the state quarters, see error coins, and learn about values... About half had never collected coins before... Overwhelmingly, they prefer the quality designs of 2001 to those of 2000 and 1999... A favorite of 1999 was New Jersey's Washington crossing the Delaware... for 2000, they liked the Virginia colonial scene.... the anecdotal evidence is that historical, well-designed themes work...
Now in its 4th edition, "The Coin Collector's Survival Manual", by Scott Travers (Bonus Books, 267 pp., $18.95)... Chocked full of useful information, a must for your library, there's a section on Internet auctions, grading services, and a host of other issues... Worthy of a detour to read this from cover to cover... www.bonus-books.com
The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels, 2d ed. (By David W. Lange), DLRC Press, $37. The title says it all... There's everything you could possibly want to know about Buffalo nickels, in a completely revised edition (last published 1992)... Current prices, and past prices as well (offering good comparisons for future values)... A great choice for a library, or for the serious collector....
Standard Catalogue of U.S. Paper Money (19th ed., by Chester Krause & Robert F. Lemke), 229 pages, $29.95... www.krause.com .... Covering 5,500 currency items issued from 1812 to 2000, with more than 600 photos to ease identification... Including accurate values, a directory of signatories on paper currency, and a paper money grading guide... The book does it all... and is a must for libraries and the serious (and even amateur) collector...
"World Notgeld 1914-1047", by Courtney Coffing (Krause Publications, 398 pp., $29.95) covers in its second edition more than 13,000 entries in 80 countries including prisoner of war material, concentration camp notes, and some coin-like items... No one can collect it all, but this helps define parameters and is a worthy work,...
The grading services can't seem to agree on the Sacagawea dollars that the U.S. Mint paid Glenna Goodacre with (5,000 in all)... The issue is whether they were burnished before or after the strike... One service, ICG, has encapsulated them specially... They have added or enhanced value to collectors.... Debate IS now on hand as to how "curated" coins are graded... The treasure-ships coins that were salvaged, and "helped" to rid themselves of seawater consequences, are the issues...
Merged: Wall Street Rarities and Jefferson Coin & Bullion... Paul Montgomery heads up the newly joined company... Bill Anton III remains at the New York helm....
Heard in Florida: the type of horse on the Kentucky state coin is a "quarter horse"....
New Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill... www.treas.gov .... Jay Johnson says he intends to stay on at the Mint (he has a five year term approved by the Senate in May of last year)... Rep. Marge Roukema, R-NJ., was offered position of U.S. Treasurer (and turned it down).... New House Banking (Financial Services) chair is Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Oh....
Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Jan. 3-20 is Sen. Paul Sarbannes, D-Md., and from January 20, it reverts to Sen. Phil Gramm, r-Tx....
The Ft. Worth coin club meets on the 1st Thursday of the month.... http://thomas.loc.gov
RIP: Helen Carmody, 62, former ANA vice president and governor, who passed away in a tragic fire the first week of January...
Candidates for ANA vice president announced: Gary Lewis, Alan Herbert.... A forum is planned in Salt Lake City in March... John Wilson has announced for President... ANA's lawsuit with Superior and Stack's was settled as ANA announced it was paying over $900,000 to Stack's and Superior... Neither side appears to admit wrongdoing, and each appears to want to put the issues behind them.... www.money.org
Mint error out there for New Hampshire quarter: No mintmark appears to have been punched in... The error has a price of about $4 to $6 right from circulation.... The coin collection started by Wilbur Wright, co-inventor of the first successful airplane, has been donated to the American Numismatic Association (ANA) Money Museum.... "The collection includes a number of pieces from Europe, where Wilbur toured in 1908, demonstrating his flying machine," ANA museum curator Robert Hoge says.... About 100 pieces are in the collection...
Donations for the remodeling of the museum and library of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) have topped $100,000, as the "ANA Target 2001" pledge drive enters the new year.... "We are off to a great head start in our fund-raising efforts," says ANA Governor and fund-raising committee chairman Barry Stuppler. "Our committee is hard at work trying to raise the $3 million needed to complete this important project." ... Kathy & I (from our Endowment) have contributed $1,000... Scott Travers, former ANA vice president has likewise sent in $1,000...
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David L. Ganz
