CoinPlex, an online trading network for dealers buying and selling certified U.S. coins, is now serving members of the Professional Numismatists Guild as the PNG’s official coin trading network.
The relationship brings together a relatively new but already successful online service with a highly respected dealer organization that has been a pillar of the numismatic community for more than half a century.
Since it was launched in January 2011, CoinPlex has built up a membership of more than 160 coin dealers. They have posted nearly 68,000 certified coins with a total declared value of more than $560 million. Membership is limited to dealers who meet strict requirements for experience and reputability.
The PNG, founded in 1955, is a non-profit organization with more than 250 full and associate members – among them many of the nation’s most prominent rare coin and paper money dealers. They must adhere to a stringent code of ethics in buying and selling numismatic material and submit to arbitration if a dispute arises.
“This is an ideal marriage,” said John Feigenbaum, a CoinPlex partner who also is a member and former vice president of the PNG. “CoinPlex is really a dealer-to-dealer community. We’re building a wholesale community of trusted dealers where everyone can do good business with each other. And the PNG, of course, is the highest-quality group of dealers in the industry.
“We feel that this relationship is mutually beneficial,” Feigenbaum said. “It adds a lot of credibility to our organization because we’re still a young operation. And as more PNG members learn what we have to offer, we’re confident that many will join CoinPlex and find our trading network extremely useful.”
As an added inducement for PNG members to join the trading network, CoinPlex will donate 25 percent of their membership dues to the PNG.
CoinPlex trading is limited to certified coins that have been authenticated, graded and encapsulated by either the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) or the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC), including coins that have been examined and stickered by the Certified Acceptance Corp. (CAC). Bullion-related coins, including rolls and bags, and sets of uncertified coins also are commonly traded on CoinPlex.
John Albanese, another CoinPlex partner, is founder and president of both CAC and the Numismatic Consumer Alliance, Inc. (NCA), a not-for-profit watchdog organization that has helped recover more than $5 million for unwitting buyers of overpriced coins.
PNG President Jeffery Bernberg said he welcomes the new relationship between the two organizations.
“The way I look at it,” he said, “we’re in the Information Age and this is an opportunity for people who deal in coins on a day-by-day basis to have even more information at their fingertips. Everybody needs and wants as much information as possible, and this is a great way for all of us to maximize our awareness of the marketplace.”
Albanese’s involvement with CoinPlex was another element that appealed to him, Bernberg said.
“I have great respect for John Albanese. John has always been on the cutting edge of new technology and has played a pivotal role in bringing about numerous improvements in the way coins are bought and sold.”
Albanese said his goal is to have 1,000 member dealers using CoinPlex within five years.
“We started with just a few dozen when we first became operational,” he said, “and we’ve had steady growth since then.”
Dues for full-service CoinPlex membership are $100 per month. Each additional membership from the same company costs $25 per month.
Further information about CoinPlex and details on how to join can be found at its website, www.coinplex.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
John Albanese
CoinPlex
Bedminster, New Jersey
1-908-781-9101
