HomeShows & ConventionsRare Coin Road Warrior-Eye Appeal is Everything (well almost)

Rare Coin Road Warrior-Eye Appeal is Everything (well almost)

Dear Rare Coin Enthusiast,

Last week we visited Missouri for the Silver Dollar Show in St. Charles.  We took advantage of the proximity of the show to visit my hometown of Warrensburg, MO about an hour out of K.C.  My Mom and Stepdad Don live on their farm near Knob Noster, MO the home of Whiteman Air Force Base.  Knob Noster is a small farm community with an air force base next door.  Whiteman Air Force base is near Knob Noster because it is a small farm community-out in the middle of nowhere.  I am pretty sure the reason the B-2 Stealth Bomber calls Whiteman Air Force base home is because it is next to Knob Noster, MO.

During the drive back and forth across Missouri this week we have seen the early stages of a very pretty Autumn season.  Instead of taking the Interstate for the majority of the trip we decided to take state highways and spent a few hours driving West through the Missouri River Valley and Jefferson City, Missouri the state’s capital.  The Fall leaves are just starting to turn and every time I experience the ‘Fall’ color I can’t help but make the comparison to the eye appeal and therefore greater desirability of coins with pretty toned original surfaces.

Recently we have had the good fortune in buying some pretty coins.  Nice coins are always of interest, but coins with eye appeal either from outstanding luster or colorful toning are always in demand.  What we are finding is that we are able to buy some pretty coins, but as usual the selection is limited and the prices are higher than perceived wholesale levels.  For example while many pretty lustrous mostly brilliant coins are available at greysheet bid/ask levels, coins with pretty toning can range in price from these price levels at a minimum to double or even triple these prices.  Crazy?

When you have seen thousands of average coins sit in dealer’s showcases show after show, you might grasp the sale ability issue.  Average, albeit properly graded, coins carry average demand.  Recently I purchased a pretty toned early type coin for three times bid.  I have been offered small profits from four different dealers.  Yes, the coin is outrageously priced.  Yes, the bids prices don’t support the prices of this coin and although I didn’t want to pay three times bid, why would four dealers have already offered me a profit?  Because….THE COIN IS OUTRAGEOUS.  Time after time I have seen a fabulous coin bring too much money and immediately sell AGAIN.

Last month I talked about areas of the market that deserve more attention.  Frankly, there are very few areas of the rare coin market that aren’t a good deal at current market levels.  I mentioned three of the most popularly collected coin series (Walker, Morgan, and Commemorative Halves) last month.  This month I want to encourage you to buy individual rarities whether they are high-end better date coins where you don’t have to pay a big date premium or super eye appeal toned coins in ALL categories.  While I would certainly buy nice Walkers, Morgans, and Commemoratives especially now in the current market, I WILL ALWAYS buy high end better date and super eye appeal toned coins.

While we see stronger demand for pretty much any brilliant or white original rare coin, pretty toned and higher end coins are disappearing within the first few hours of show dealer set-up.  Generally the nicest coins we see are during dealer to dealer transactions in the hotel rooms(s) prior to the show.  Many dealers transact a large percentage of their total show business prior to show dealer set-up.  Most dealers have a handful of close associates that bring them coins on a consistent basis.  These ‘fresh to the market’ coins hardly ever see the showcase at the show.  They are going home.

Next week in Dallas we expect brisk dealer to dealer business.  Dealers are coming in earlier because nice coins are becoming more difficult to find.  Although we are optimistic about business at the Dallas Fall ANA Show, we believe it will be mostly wholesale oriented.  Personally we are seeing more buyer traffic at shows with a consistent location.  While moving the ANA Spring and Fall Shows allows more people to possibly attend a show, we find our most consistent buyers visit us at shows that don’t change locations.

Other shows of note scheduled for October, November,  and December include the Denver Show, Indiana State Show, The Bay State Show, the Baltimore Show, the Michigan State Show, the Houston Money Show, the Ontario, CA Show, and the PCGS Invitational .  Our show schedule for the remainder of 2012 includes the following Shows:

ANA Fall Show/Dallas, TX

Denver, CO

Whitman Coin Expo./Baltimore, MD

Houston Money Show

PCGS Invitational/Las Vegas, NV

Bozarth Numismatics Inc is a full service rare coin dealer.  We buy and sell PCGS, NGC, and CAC graded and approved high grade U.S. coins.  We sell coins at shows and on both our website bozarthcoins.com and in our Ebay store bozarthnumismaticsinc.  Because of our extensive show and buying travel schedule we can often locate those ‘hard to find’ items.  We offer free confidential want list services and will call or email you ‘first’ if we locate an item for you.  Thanks and Best Regards, Vic Bozarth/The Rare Coin Road Warrior.

Vic Bozarth
Vic Bozarth
Vic Bozarth is a member of the Professional Numismatics Guild (PNG), the ANA, the CSNS, FUN, and many other regional and state coin clubs and organizations. Vic has extensive experience buying and selling coins into the mid-six-figure range. Both Vic and his wife Sherri attend all major U.S. coin shows as well as most of the larger regional shows.

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