by Louis Golino for CoinWeek

There has been some interesting discussion on this web site recently about the need for more accurate pricing information about U.S. coins. For example, Vic Bozarth recently wrote about the Coin Dealer Newsletter (CDN), commonly known as the Greysheet (www.greysheet.com), and said that its data is skewed by the inclusion of too many sales of lower quality coins.

Others, such as Mark Ferguson, Laura Sperber, and Doug Winter, have all suggested that the Greysheet, Coin World’s Coin Values Price Guide (www.coinworld.com), and other sources include information that is not accurate about coin values. Mr. Winter recently (http://www.coinweek.com/market-reports/first-quarter-2012-rare-coin-markets-a-quick-recap/) noted how he paid more than $30,000 for a coin which is valued at a fraction of that in Coin World Trends.

To be honest, I rarely refer to Coin World’s retail value information. I know that they say it is based on the value of coins that are solid for the grade and that it draws on multiple sources from auctions to retail sales, but in my view older coins are valued too high there, and the valuation data for many better modern coins is often too low based on my experience as a collector and market analyst.

I find similar problems with Numismatic News’ monthly Coin Market section (www.numismaticnews.net) that provides pricing information, but I do find it to be useful. I know it is hard to update so much information, and for older collector coins, I often agree with these values (which are prepared by Harry Miller). But many times I have found gold coin prices that were below current melt value and other errors.

Michael Zielinski, editor of Coin Update (www.coinupdate.com), recently published an article (http://news.coinupdate.com/a-few-errors-in-the-red-book-1317/) which points out multiple errors in the Red Book, or Guide Book of United States Coins, published by Whitman (www.whitman.com).

Last year I wrote a review of the 2012 Red Book for Coin Update (http://news.coinupdate.com/review-of-the-guide-book-of-united-states-coins-0748/) that made some constructive criticism, particularly on the need for more accurate mintage information on modern U.S. coins. The Red Book, even in the 2013 edition, continues to publish incorrect mintage data on the First Spouse $10 gold coin series that has been available for years from the Mint and various web sites.

One point to keep in mind about the Red Book, or coin bible, as many call it, is that it is only a starting point. To know more, one needs to consult other sources from web sites with modern mintage data to specialized books like Jeff Garrett’s excellent book on pre-1933 gold coins (The Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795-1933). And Whitman’s own professional edition of the Red Book (the third edition came out towards the end of 2011) includes a lot more information about the classics such as auction data, but it is geared towards higher end and higher grade coins.

There is no question that the Greysheet, Red Book, Coin World Trends, PCGS and NGC online prices, etc. are all useful resources, and I am certainly not suggesting that they have no value for coin collectors and market analysts. Each of them generally serves a different purpose, and one should check many different resources before reaching a conclusion.

But I believe that the coin market needs better, more accurate resources, especially on coin values and mintages.

And it is my contention that the coin market and the entire field of American numismatics is held back by the lack of such information. We try to compile it from multiple sources, as best we can, but with no readily available, accurate information that everyone can check, it is difficult to know much a coin is really worth, or many such coins actually exist.

That can suppress market values, lead buyers to overpay for coins, or result in them under or overvaluing their coins for insurance purposes.

Those two data points, value and mintage, are at the heart of coin collecting and investing, and without them one is in the dark.

To be sure, there are many different values to a coin, depending on whether it is a wholesale, retail, or auction price.

And mintage data is also quite complicated for older and more recent coins, and compiling it is an enormous undertaking.

For older coins, one needs to first know how many were made, and then attempt to factor in the number that have been melted over the years, especially when it comes to coins like Morgan dollars, which were melted in the millions under the Pittman Act and other laws. And a lot of pre-1933 gold coins were sent to Europe over the years when America was paying off debts, and many were also melted because of FDR’s executive order that made it illegal to own all but $100 face value of gold coins, or coins with significant numismatic value.

For modern coins, one starts with the Mint’s sales numbers, which are then adjusted to account for returns and other factors. The Mint generally issues a tentative number when sales end, and those numbers are often adjusted substantially at a later date.

This happened, for example, a couple of years ago when the mintage data for the low-mintage 2008 Buffalo gold coins and American gold and platinum eagles were revised significantly by the Mint in 2009. I think that the new, lower mintage numbers played a major role in the subsequent increase in values for those coins.

For many coins, like the spouse gold coins, there is a dearth of published, accurate pricing data. So for those coins I like to use e-Bay sale prices and retail prices at a company like John Maben’s Modern Coin Mart www.moderncoinmart.com to get a sense of what the coins are actually trading for.

The bottom line for me is that the market and collectors spend so much time trying to track down all this data, and a lot of it changes quickly. We could all therefore use an online resource that covers retail, wholesale, auction, and slabbed coin values as well as the known information about mintages.

The closest source that exists to this ideal would be the data that is available at Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), or perhaps PCGS Coin Facts (www.pcgs.com), and NGC’s Coin Explorer (www.ngccoin.com).

Louis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

by Louis Golino for CoinWeek

April 15th marks the 100th anniversary of one of the world’s greatest maritime disasters, the sinking off the coast of Canada of the then largest and most luxurious ship in the world, the RMS Titanic. 1,517of the 2,229 passengers perished in the tragedy. RMS stands for Royal Mail Steamer. None of the ship’s mail survived the disaster, but mail that was sent on stops during the ship’s maiden voyage is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s postal museum.

The ship left Southhampton, England on April 10, 1912 heading for New York City. Four days later the ship hit an iceberg 300 nautical miles southeast of Newfoundland, and three hours later it sank. The survivors were rescued by Canadian ships, and many of those who died are buried in Halifax. Survivors say that even as the ship was sinking into the water, the band kept playing.

The Titanic tragedy has haunted and fascinated the world for a century, and coins with maritime themes have always been popular with coin collectors.

It is therefore not surprising that many coins have been issued marking this important event, particularly by countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States since it was an English ship that sank near Canada (both commonwealth countries). In earlier years various coins and medals were also issued, and some survivors had medals made to honor those who rescued them, such as for the captain and crew of the RMS Carpathia, which played the key role in rescuing passengers.

Canada played a major role in the Titanic story, and it is rolling out a wide range of commemorative coins and stamps to mark this important event. The Royal Canadian Mint (www.mint.ca) has issued three commemorative coins marking the event plus a special reverse proof silver Maple Leaf with a Titanic privy mark and a mintage limited to 25,000 coins.

In 1998 another Titanic privy mark coin limited to 26,000 pieces was issued by Canada. Interestingly, the entire mintage was apparently purchased by one distributor.

History has repeated itself as the entire run 2012 Titanic privy mark coins was purchased by the American Precious Metal Exchange in Oklahoma (www.apmex.com), one of the largest bullion and coin dealers in the world and U.S. Mint Authorized Purchaser. The coin is currently available for what I think is a reasonable price of about $11 above melt value. The coins are selling fast, and once they are sold out of the entire mintage, I expect prices to move higher. The 1998 Titanic privy mark coin retails for about $80 from coin dealers.

Canada’s main Titanic 2012 coins are: a colored quarter in a special folder, a silver-plated half-dollar that uses color only on the ocean, and a half ounce $10 coin. The half dollar sold out in about a day of its 15,000 mintage. Originally priced at $35, the coin is now hard to find and the few coins that have been sold on e-Bay have sold for $170-200 recently. The $10 coin also sold out of its 20,000 mintage, but not as quickly. It typically sells for about $70.

The silver-plated half dollar sold out so quickly of its mintage not just because Titanic-themed items are very popular in Canada but also because 10,000 of the 15,000 coin mintage is reserved for sale in a special collectors set sold by the Canadian Post Office. The set includes both the silver-plated half dollar now going for $200 and the color quarter plus the Titanic stamps issued by Canada, a real White Star Line stock certificate, and some other materials in a leather folder. The sets are still available and cost $140.

Smaller countries often have the mints of larger countries produce coins for them.

APMEX initially priced the coins at $80, but some buyers who bought coins from APMEX sold them on e-Bay for prices in the $120-150 range. APMEX later raised the price to $100 a couple weeks ago, and now it is charging $120, which is about the average current e-Bay price.

The country of Fiji issued an impressive limited edition five-ounce silver coin with a mother of color pearl insert that shows the ship. That coins is bring $1,000 and more now.

The British Royal Mint (www.royalmint.com)) issued a silver coin for the commonwealth country of Alderney marking the anniversary of the tragedy that shows the ship and a statue of Thane from the Titanic memorial in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Perth Mint in Western Australia (www.perthmint.com.au) issued my personal overall favorite, a one ounce silver coin with a color insert showing the ship as depicted on the original poster for the White Star Line. That coin has a mintage of 5,000 and sells for $110-130. It was made by Perth for the country of Tuvalu.

Silver and gold coins have also been issued by the Cook Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, and other countries. The Cook Islands proof silver coin with color is notable because it includes a piece of coal salvaged from the wreck. The mintage of that one is 2,012. Cook Islands also issued a $1 gold coin that has a mintage of 15,000 pieces.
Louis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

By Mark Ferguson – MFRareCoins.com
CoinWeek Columnist

The prices that coins have sold for at auction contain very valuable market information. This information is used in a variety of ways. Increasingly, these values are used by buyers of coins who want to know how much like-kind coins have been bringing on the open market so that they don’t overpay for coins they are buying. This use has been greatly enhanced by the Internet.

For example, Heritage Auctions provides a very efficient Internet resource for searching their auction sales, by coin issue, for values that coins have sold for. The PCGS website also has a search function that lists auction prices realized from several different auction firms – all by coin issue. Most auction companies list their prices realized from each sale on their websites. These are usually displayed as a list comprised of auction lot numbers and the prices the coins sold for. You’ll need an auction catalog, either a printed copy or an online listing, that provides descriptions of the coins for each lot; then you can look on the list to find the prices those coins sold for.

Price guide writers use prices realized from coin auctions as the basis for establishing the values they publish, especially for higher end coins. Prices for common modern coins or other circulated coins not normally found in auction sales are derived from other sources. Coin appraisers also use auction prices realized for performing appraisals, for estate purposes, for example.

Importantly, the interpretation of what is represented by the prices coins have realized at auction is of key importance to using these values. For example, one auction price for a coin issue does not make a market trend. That coin may be a high end example which sells for a much higher price than average coins for the issue typically sell for; or prices can go to the other extreme on the low side. Therefore, a trend must be established. A market trend should also be large enough to represent what’s going on in the market. Just two or three sales of a coin issue may not be enough to really give a good picture of the true market value trend of a particular coin issue.

This brings us to the point of this article. Rare coins sold at auction are purchased by both dealers and collector/investors. On the very high end of the market – let’s say for an 1804 silver dollar or a 1913 nickel, examples of both which have realized $3,737,500 at auction in recent years – prices don’t matter whether these coins have sold to collectors or dealers – it’s “the market.” At the other extreme, a common MS 67 1879-S silver dollar, graded by either NGC or PCGS, may have sold for anywhere between $575 and $862.50, which has been the recent trend.

Obviously each of these coins is unique and has different characteristics, but the average of these two points (not the whole) is $718.75. Does this mean this is the price a “retail” collector is paying for this coin issue? Or do auction prices represent dealer “wholesale” prices that get marked up and then sold to collectors at a higher price? Many coins purchased from auctions by dealers also get re-sold to other dealers who then sell them to collector customers, or even again to other dealers.

One belief is that auctions are “wholesale” venues and collector/investors can reward themselves by buying at the “wholesale” price level by going through the work of buying this way. Others believe auctions are “the market” and there is no “retail” or “wholesale.” Many dealers represent collector clients at auctions and help them by viewing the coins and offering advice and then bidding on those coins in the auctions, services for which they receive a commission. I have also done this for clients on a flat fee basis so that if a coin sells for a high price my client doesn’t have to pay me a higher commission, and I also get paid for my time and expertise either way, whether we win the coin or not.

Similarly, collectors who buy at auctions must take the time to do their homework by looking at the coins, either in person or online, researching and figuring out the prices they will pay for the coins and then travelling to the auction venue or taking the time to place bids online. In essence, they’re doing the same work a dealer does, so does that mean they are buying at “wholesale” from auctions? So maybe coins sold at auction deserve “retail” price markups to find their true market values.

There may be no clear cut answer to the question posed by the title of this article – just opinions. If you have “the answer” or want to share your opinion about whether coins sold at auction represent “retail” or “wholesale” values – please submit your comments to CoinWeek. Thank you.

Mark Ferguson has been dealing in high-end rare coins and precious metals since 1969. He has graded coins professionally for PCGS and was the Market Analyst for Coin World’s Coin Values magazine between 2002 and 2009. He has written feature articles and regular columns for Coin World, Coin Values magazine, The Coin Dealer Newsletter, Numismatic News, The Numismatist, ANA Journal, Coin News – a British publication, and currently writes a weekly column for CoinWeek. He is a recognized authority in appraising rare coins and a recognized expert on the 1804 silver dollar, which is known as “The King of American Coins.” Mark can be reached at Mark Ferguson Rare Coins, LLC (www.MFRareCoins.com).

by Louis Golino for CoinWeek

In the past couple of weeks the U.S. Mint has finally started to put some bones on its upcoming product release schedule after a couple of months of leaving collectors largely in the dark about its plans for this year’s coins, as discussed recently in this column .

The Mint has also provided information on release dates and pricing for many forthcoming releases for this spring.

Earlier this month the Mint launched the Star Spangled Banner commemorative coins, which are selling well, and the 2012 $50 Buffalo proof gold coin. The Mint is still selling the 2011 Buffaloes as well. That coin has sold about 26,000 pieces so far, making it the second lowest mintage coin after the 2008 issue.

At last week’s Whitman Expo in Baltimore, Maryland, there was a display of Star-Spangled Banner coins. The coins celebrate the writing of our national anthem at the end of the War of 1812, which is also known as the Battle of Baltimore.

So far, 74,792 Star Spangled Banner proof silver dollars have been sold plus 26,739 uncirculated dollars. These coins have a maximum authorized mintage of 500,000 coins.

And the $5 commemorative has sold 11,400 units of the proof version but only 2,957 of the uncirculated. The uncirculated gold coin could end up being a low mintage coin, but it is far too soon to say since sales will continue until mid-December unless the coins sell out before then of their maximum authorized mintage of 100,000.

In addition, on April 12 the Mint will begin accepting orders for the American silver eagle proof dollar, which is one of the most popular Mint products of the past 25 years. Last year this coin sold 850,000 units.

Dollar coins coming

On April 5 the first Presidential dollar of the year, the Chester A. Arthur coin, which has been delayed since February, will be released. And on April 26 the 2012 Native American dollar, which for the first time features a male Indian in Native headdress. The design of this coin has received widespread acclaim, so much so in fact that many collectors would like to see it on a larger coin made of a precious metal.

Classic American coins, especially Buffalo nickels and the quarter and half eagle gold coins designed by Bela Lyon Pratt, feature some very popular and iconic images of Native Americans. I believe that those coins have made Americans more aware of Native Americans and their culture. The Buffalo design was also used on the 2001 Buffalo commemorative dollar.

Last year in what was billed as an effort to save $50 million, the White House and Treasury announced that dollar coins would no longer be minted for circulation, and that only a small quantity would be made for collectors and sold at a premium. Dollar coins have been the subject of extensive debate and controversy since last year, when the media began drawing attention to this issue.

The Mint estimates that it will sell about five million units of each presidential dollar in circulation-quality rolls and bags plus 1 million in mint sets and another 1.4 million in proof quality, according to what Mint spokesman Michael White recently told Coin World.

We now have some information about prices for these products, and some new products that include these coins.

Both new dollar coins will be sold in rolls of 25 coins for $32.95, which is $7 less than the previous cost. They will also be sold in bags of 100, 250, and 500 coins for a slightly smaller premium, and a new four-coin set of presidential dollars will be issued. The new bag options replace the previous Direct Ship program, in which buyers could purchase the coins at face value plus a fee for shipping.

The combination of lower prices and much lower mintages is likely to increase interest in these coins among collectors.

Several other long-standing products are slated for release this spring. Highlights include the April 19 launch of the American gold eagle proof coins, the uncirculated mint set on May 1, the regular proof set on May 7, and the silver proof set on June 4.

First Spouse and AtB programs

There is still no information on the 2012 First Spouse $10 gold coin program. Most years the first release of this program comes out in March, but last year it was pushed back to May. And unless final design selection by the Treasury Secretary is made soon, this year’s first coin may be released even later in the year. The first 2012 spouse coin will depict Alice Paul, the suffragist.

The same pattern holds for the 2012 numismatic America the Beautiful five-ounce silver coins with a special matte finish, except that the designs of the coins have already been released and also used on quarters. Many people feel the 2012 designs are very appealing, but the AtB silver coins have not been selling well since the frenzy for the 2010 bullion coins died down.

Some collectors have been concerned about the future of the First Spouse and America the Beautiful silver coin series in recent months. Those who collect these two series worry that the Mint could be getting ready to end them because of relatively weak interest among collectors and low sales numbers. Last week, for example, only a handful of each spouse coin was sold by the Mint.

Ending the First Spouse coins would require the approval of Congress, and new legislation, but the AtB numismatic silver program is not required under law, and it could be ended under the Mint’s own authority. Only the AtB silver bullion series is legally required.

A lot of people think the Congress simply enacts laws that tell the Mint what coins to make, but in reality there is a consultative process that involves the Mint, the Treasury department, and the Congress. There are also some other things the Mint can do on its own authority, such as change the design of the Buffalo proof gold coin.

Higher gold and silver prices have already made it difficult for most collectors to keep up their sets of AtB silver coins, and to keep collecting First Spouse coins. The compression of the release schedule for those coins in the past year has made that even more difficult because buyers who wanted to purchase before metal prices rose further had to purchase thousands of dollars of coins in a short period.

With all the problems collectors are having keeping up with these two series, it would really help if the Mint could provide buyers with more advance notice of forthcoming coins, and if the Mint could space them out more evenly during the year.

In the case of the AtB coins, issuing so many different ones in 2011 saturated the market and depressed secondary market values. But collectors who waited were rewarded with lower prices last year and earlier this year after the major decline in silver prices following last year’s run-up to almost $50 per ounce in April. In addition, they were able to buy all 2011 coins in one order, saving shipping fees and the hassle of multiple orders.

Louis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

The following Story appeared on GoldSeek

“What appears to be a tungsten filled gold bar has been found – this time in the UK. It is believed that a scrap dealer bought the Metalor 1 kilo gold bar of 99.98% purity from a member of the public.

Tungsten Filled Gold Bar

Metalor are a leading international gold refiner and bar manufacturer, headquartered in Zurich. The bar appears to have been tampered with and may have had holes drilled into it or melted out and then had tungsten rods inserted or tungsten poured into the holes.

Tungsten is a metal with a similar density to gold but which bullion dealers and experts in physical bullion can easily identify.

It follows an incident of a tungsten filled gold bar (500 gram) originating from an unnamed bank being found by Heraeus in Germany two years ago [See Video Below] and there have been rumours of tungsten filled gold bars in Asia, China and in Vietnam.

There was also an unverified report in 2009 that the Chinese received a fake shipment of gold that, in fact, was tungsten. The bars have led to much speculation regarding the possibility that some of the gold bars making up central bank gold reserves may not be investment grade gold bullion.

Presidential candidate, Ron Paul has raised the question as to whether the gold bars in Fort Knox are authentic and even asked whether some of the US gold reserves have been secretly sold off and asked questions regarding the authenticity of the US gold reserves gold bars.

In the UK, there have been doubts about the quality of Britain’s paltry remaining gold stock as some of the gold bars are reportedly cracked, have fissures and are ‘beginning to crumble’. The Bank of England have denied suggestions that the gold may have been ‘adulterated’, and insisted that most of the hoard is in ‘mint condition’.

The incident shows the importance of dealing with reputable and trusted experts in physical bullion coins and bars and with dealing with counter parties who take these issues seriously.”

By Steve Roach – www.steveroachonline.com
First published in the April 9 issue of Coin World

Buyer’s fees are a fact of life when buying at auction. While a seller typically pays a fee to an auctioneer for including a coin in an auction, increasingly auction houses are raising buyer’s fees as a way to increase revenue.

Stack’s Bowers Galleries announced on Feb. 27 that it would be updating its buyer’s fee schedule effective with its Baltimore Auction on June 25. The new buyer’s fee will be set at 17.5 percent of the hammer price — or the price that the auctioneer says before he or she says, “Sold!” For invoices totaling $50,000 or more of the hammer price, the buyer’s fee will be reduced to 15 percent. The firm will also charge a $15 minimum buyer’s fee per lot.

The accompanying press release stated that the increase was “in keeping with current industry trend” and allowed the firm to continue to provide buyers “with ever-increasing auction opportunities and outstanding service.”

For comparison, Heritage Auctions has a buyer’s fee of 15 percent for U.S. coin and paper money auctions with a minimum buyer’s fee of $14 per lot while Goldberg Auctioneers has a 15 percent buyer’s fee.

In the online auction arena, Teletrade typically imposes a flat 15 percent buyer’s fee with an $8 minimum per lot and GreatCollections has a buyer’s fee of 10 percent with a minimum of $5 per item.

Historically, major auction houses have followed one another when increasing premiums.

When buyer’s fees of 10 percent were first implemented by Christie’s in 1975, Sotheby’s followed shortly after.

The buyer’s fees at coin auctions still have room to rise if the premiums associated with fine art auctions provide any indication. For example, at Christie’s New York, the buyer’s fee is 25 percent for the first $50,000 and then drops to 20 percent up to $1 million, after which it is 12 percent.

Typically, post-auction prices realized released by auction houses include the buyer’s fee as this represents the price that a bidder ultimately paid for an item.

The end result of increased buyer’s fees is that bidders adjust their bids accordingly, planning for the higher buyer’s fee when deciding what to bid.

In a competitive auction market, higher buyer’s fees also give auctioneers greater flexibility to discount seller’s fees to attract consignments.