As dealers descend into Baltimore this week for the Whitman Coin Expo, a major topic of discussion has been Greysheet and Bluesheet pricing of the Morgan dollar series-especially over the last month. Our phone lines have been burning up with dealers reacting to our lowering of coin prices on the October 7 and 14 issues. Complaints generally fall into two categories: 1) we lowered prices too much; 2) we lowered the prices correctly but should have done it more slowly.
For the latter, we are steadfast in our belief that when we feel a price should be lowered (or raised) on any coin, we should do so as quickly as possible. This is called “marking to market” and to gradually adjust prices would be manipulative in our opinion. If the Dow Jones index falls 200 points in a single day, would anyone argue that the Wall Street Journal should report a 50-point drop for four days in a row? Even if this made sense, what would you do if the market continued to drop in this time? Our readers may not agree with our prices, but we will not hold them back when we feel they should change-and this should increase confidence in our reporting.
As to whether we lowered the prices too much, we failed to find any specific evidence that we had done so. The reality is that wholesale pricing of coins has become very difficult because few dealers are willing to post active bids on market exchanges, like CDN Exchange (CDNX). The good news (yes, there is good news!) is that dealers have reacted positively to this discussion and posted hundreds of Morgan dollar bids since October 14 and we’ve been posting week-over-week of positive signs in this series. If you want to see the bidders, or become a market-maker yourself, please join CDNX and become a market maker.
THIS WEEK’S MARKET
GREYSHEET
Morgan Dollars: Another week of positive activity, as dealers continue to support this important series with sight seen bidding.
Gold Type: While gold spot has been mostly flat, bids are slightly higher for certain generic gold types as dealer demand is present.
MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT
20th Century Gold: Higher bids for multiple dates in the $20 Saint-Gaudens series. Also some proof types are higher this month.
Mercury Dimes: Higher prices for some of the later dates in Extra Fine and About Uncirculated based on dealer feedback.
Barber Halves: This series is seemingly one of the best values in the market at the moment. Accurately graded coins continue to be soft at auction, including some better dates.
QUARTERLY II
$1 & $3 Gold: Prices are down a touch in these series, and while the decreases are primarily for common dates, some of the better dates in the $3 series have been selling a bit soft.