by Adam Crum
The week of July 19, 2004 will be one to rewrite the price guides.
Many coins set new highs, and it didn’t seem that there was any one denomination or variety that outshined another. The broad market strength is impressive, to say the least. In bull markets of the past there always seemed to be some outside factor that had most of the focus on a certain segment or variety, like gold, for example, in 1980.
Not true in this Bull Market! The only coins that seem to be getting the lion’s share of activity are the keys in any given series, whether it is State Quarters or Classic Rarities. Further confirming what I have been saying about this bull market all along, this market is being driven by the passionate collector, and not so much by speculators. This is very important for the underlying strength of the market to continue to grow. All the current trends point to the phenomenon of the Baby Boomer generational bubble making its way through our economy. The largest and the wealthiest generation in the history of the human race is beginning a trend most experts say will have lasting impacts for decades, and one which will swell demand for goods and services to unimaginable heights.
But that is not the story here. The auctions of the past week were both frustrating and exciting for me as a buyer. You see, I am one of the most aggressive buyers in the industry and we maintain and pursue an inventory of the items we feel are the most undervalued. These are the items which we encourage our customers to either collect as a series or hold as an asset. In other words, we FOCUS! After spending countless hours figuring values for hundreds of coins listed in the published catalogs, I then began to tender bids I believed to be on the high end the coins ranges, providing me the opportunity to buy the coins for our clients.
Well after spending all those hours, I had to sit back and watch all but five coins (yes, only FIVE coins!) go to other bidders, and many times, for new highs. One coin, an 1856-O $20 Liberty in AU50, which I originally figured for $200,000 (and did stay in bidding for up to $230K) sold for a new record when it went under the hammer at $276,000. Another coin, which I figured would sell for around $200K, was the 1854-O $20 Liberty in AU53. That coin sold for another new record of $304,750. Both of these coins are Type I Double Eagles and are key dates in a series that I published a “RED ALERT BUY” signal on, some two years ago. The Type I series continues to be a hot bed of activity, and with these two new records, should be considered a BUY on the other dates in the series. In fact, my book, An Insider’s Guide to Collecting Type I Double Eagles, is selling stronger today than at any time in the past two years.
Long story short: This market is HOT…and I believe it will stay this way for years into the future. To discuss current inventory selections, call your Monaco Financial Account Representative immediately! Levels on our existing inventory going into the week of July 19 will continue to be priced at pre-auction prices. In other words, there are some real values to choose from when compared to prices realized. I will, however, be adjusting levels before the ANA Convention, which begins on August 18.
The clock is running, folks…call now!