CAC Rare Coin Market Review Summer 2021 Publisher's Message

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past six months, I don’t have to tell you that the rare coin market is red-hot right now. I was careful not to say “on fire” because I don’t think we are quite there.... yet.

by John Feigenbaum | Published on May 5, 2021

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past six months, I don’t have to tell you that the rare coin market is red-hot right now. I was careful not to say “on fire” because I don’t think we are quite there.... yet. And that is a good thing. I was speaking with John Albanese last week to get his take on the current market, and we both agreed that the market is experiencing an enormous amount of overall strength, but it “feels good.” In other words, the demand across the board is much higher than a year ago, and prices are stronger but still rational and the coins you buy today are only modestly higher than they were last year.

As a collector of CAC-approved coins you are well aware that buying coins with the green bean is actually a more conservative approach to your investment in rare coins. That is, you will generally pay more for CAC-approved coins than those that are not stickered, however, your downside when selling is also lower. This mini economics lesson means CAC are less risky, assuming you don’t overpay. That, of course, is what the CPG® values are here for—to inform you of market values when buying coins.

Ironically, with all of that said, my perception is that the increase in market demand has actually been better for non-CAC approved coins in the current run-up. CAC coins have always enjoyed strong demand, and supply has also always been quite limited, so the recent increased market demand for coins has absorbed the available supply of “whatever is out there,” which has benefited non-stickered coins that were previously looking for a home.

In this market, it is increasingly difficult to even find material with CAC stickers. Albanese also told me that he finds it almost impossible to source material for CAC’s wholesale trading business. Owners of CAC coins tend to be quite happy with them, and are not showing signs of major sell-offs. Quite the opposite. Demand has never been better.

Getting back to my first point, the best news here is price levels are still only modestly higher than a year ago, and I expect that this may change soon. It’s still an excellent time to add to your collection and you can feel comfortable that our market isn’t experience the bubble-like mania of other collectibles like sports cards, Nintendo cartridges, and NFT’s.

Rare coins are beautiful, highly researched, collectible and mature. Thanks to CAC’s seal of approval, you can add “reliable” and “conservative” to those adjectives. Happy hunting!

Sincerely yours,
John Feigenbaum
CDN Publisher

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Author: John Feigenbaum

John Feigenbaum image The President, CEO and managing partner at CDN Publishing, John Feigenbaum, has been a professional numismatist since 1979. Formerly president of David Lawrence Rare Coins, John has taken on Publishing and executive responsibilities for CDN Publishing. John has written for numerous trade publications and published "The Complete Guide to Washington Quarters" in 1991. In 2014, John received the PNG Abe Kosoff Founders Award for "his steadfast dedication to the entire numismatic community".

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