QUARTERLY REVIEW: SMALL COLLECTOR COINS SHOW STRENGTH

BY JOHN FEIGENBAUM, PUBLISHER & PATRICK IAN PEREZ, EDITOR

The October Quarterly I issue marks the beginning of the final pricing cycle for the 2017 calendar year. In this issue we evaluate Colonials through quarters, and Hawaiian issues. The one aspect of the rare coin market that is becoming most apparent is the lack of truly fresh material. Yes, there are large public auctions every month with lots of material, but collectors and dealers alike are starved for items that have been off the market a decade or longer. It is amazing to us to see old green-label PCGS holders and early NGC “fatties” sell well over our indications when they come to market.

It’s not easy for us to evaluate accurate coin pricing in this environment either. Is the Greysheet value for a first-generation holder coin, or one that was certified a year ago? Frankly, we apply every ounce of experience that we have when reviewing these prices. Most of the coin series evaluated in this issue, we haven’t seen compelling evidence of price movement, up or down. This has more to do with supply (or the lack thereof) than consistency of market realities.

It is also no secret that the coins priced in the Quarterly are more esoteric than our Weekly Greysheet issues (Morgan dollars, Commems) or the Monthly Supplement. Collectors for early copper and Seated material are the true backbone of the collecting hobby and, by their very nature, set-builders. Completing a set of choice bust quarters, in any grade, can take years and collectors must wait for the right coin to appear. Usually when it does, they are experienced enough to focus on the coin first, and the price second.

CDN SMARTPHONE APP COMING SOON 

We are really excited to be testing a recent beta release of the new CDN pricing tool, which will be available for Android and iOS devices very soon! The app is simple to use and allows users to look up any coin or bank note that we report values for. This includes the many thousands of split grades that we have priced but do not appear on the printed sheets (for space reasons). The app also includes tons of other information like APR (auction prices realized), CPG value, historical price charts, catalog data, current spot pricing and more. All of the information is available FREE to existing CDN subscribers. Check our web site for availability.