Greysheet: CUBS MOUNT HISTORIC WIN—FIRST SINCE 1908!

The Cubs’ World Series win in game 7 was legendary. You didn’t have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the gravity of the moment and, it felt, for a couple days at least, refreshing to see Americans galvanize over something other than the nasty political divide that the news channels continuously amplify to maintain their ratings during the presidential election.

While I was watching the series unfold, it occurred to me that coin collecting, like baseball, is truly an American pastime. Any big fan of professional baseball will tell you that much of the love for this sport is centered around its rich history and the statistics that followers lovingly research and cite to one another. How incredible that this year’s Series was played by two teams with the longest drought for the title. The statisticians were delirious with their revelations, and countless more to follow as people already proclaim this to be the most important game ever played.

Numismatists view U.S. coins with much the same fervor and historical interest. We pine for pedigree information, pricing data and historical relevance, in much the same way as baseball fans. We also share a fear of declining relevance for our hobby. We are worried that the slow, non-technical nature of our activity doesn’t suit the modern world and today’s youth won’t gravitate to our field (sorry, no pun intended).

This year’s World Series allays these fears for baseball fans, and should make you feel better as a coin dealer as well. The more smart phones and digital everything permeates our life, the more we naturally desire to slow everything down and enjoy a pastime that gives us time to breathe and enjoy ourselves in the physical world.
BY JOHN FEIGENBAUM, PUBLISHER

THIS WEEK’S MARKET

Gold Type & Eagles are benefitting from the spike in bullion prices.
Peace Dollars: We note more plus signs due to increased sight-seen bidding activity from market makers in this series.
Baltimore Whitman Expo: Early reports from dealers indicate healthy wholesale business overall. CAC coins are hard to find at reasonable market levels and nice, early gold coins almost nonexistent on the floor.