As we go to press this week dealers are traveling home from the Whitman Baltimore Expo. With over 360 registered booth holders the Spring Baltimore Expo is one of the most important numismatic events of the year and a must-attend for many of the bigger national dealers. Public attendance was a bit light on Thursday but picked up on Friday, and we spoke to numerous collectors who came in from surrounding areas including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey. Stacks-Bowers held a huge sale in conjunction with the show with many exciting coins highlighted by the Part 2 of the Twin Leaf Collecton of U.S. Large Cents. In total over 3,000 lots were offered over the week highlighted by a gorgeous 1799 $10 Draped Bust gold piece graded PCGS MS66 with CAC approval (lot #13198). Described as the finest known 1799 eagle, the coin was exceptional for the issue with a provenence that eluded the catalogers. It realized a very healthy $493,500 – a strong result considering that the Pogue PCGS MS65+ sold in September 2015 for $352,500. Three additional online-only sessions of the auction took place in the week following the show.
This week’s Greysheet reflects some early results from the show and auction and generally the results are mixed to positive. High grade Classic commems are still soft with bargains for gem material not seen in decades. One exception was a montrous Grant with Star half dollar graded PCGS/CAC MS67 (lot #13242) which realized $37,600 against a previous Greysheet bid of $33,000. Collector coins at the show remained active and in demand as dealers continue to shop for want lists and mail order inventory.
METALS MOVE UP, THEN BACK DOWN
Precious metals posted gains early in the week erased only to be erased later on when the strong payroll report came in Friday. Overall, it would appear that there is strength at current levels, which should be considered a positive sign for the commodities market.
THIS WEEK’S MARKET
Early Commemoratives: Results from recent auction activity are reflected this week in this series.
BU Half Dollar Rolls & Sacagawea Dollars: We reflect a number of new bids based on CoinPlex activity.
Mercury Dimes: The key overdate issues see price gains this week in high grade.
Walking Liberty Half Dollars: Early issues see mostly gains in recent market acitvity. One area that never seems to stop improving is AU–MS62 examples of the early issues (1916-1933-S). It is not uncommon for PCGS and NGC-graded AU58 examples to bring MS62-63
money in auction.
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