Gerry's Daily Blog Archives - August 2016

 

August 31, 2016

Greetings on the last day of August 2016. Thank you for stopping by at the Daily Blog.

External renovations on the Fortin homestead continued yesterday. The north and west facing sides are completed with priming of existing clapboard, by Travis, being today's primary task. The southern side of the house is a completely different story. Passive solar house builders will tout the benefits of solar heating and minimal energy consumption. The downside is the slow breakdown of the physical structure due to solar exposure. As a whole, the south facing clapboard is in marginal condition with much needing to be replaced. Tuesday's other finding was a huge red ant nest in the south wall. For years, I've been spraying the southern foundation with ant killer but the critters always returned the following year. Yesterday, the nest was uncovered in the lower daylight basement outer wall. Luckily the home construction is two 2x6 back to back framed walls (super insulation design) with the ant's nest only in the outer 2x6 wall. Doug, the contractor, and I removed about 10' of plywood sheathing to completely expose the nest and eradicate.

Today brings more red cedar clapboard priming if the weather holds. Otherwise, the day's focus shifts to CONA show preparations and a very early flight on Thursday morning.

LSCC News

The September E-Gobrecht arrived in my Inbox last evening and well ahead of schedule. Bill Bugert, LSCC Editor and Publishing Chairman, assembled another strong issue which can be downloaded by clicking here. The issue's primary focus is Anaheim ANA reporting. LSCC Regional Program Chair, Dennis Fortier, won the Kam Ahwash award for best Gobrecht Journal article. Dennis has been active on this topic with multiple presentations at major shows. The LSCC membership recognized the importance of sharing expert knowledge on individual Seated denominations. Craig Eberhart provides a comprehensive report on Seated coinage auction sales during the ANA convention and is a must read. The high end mint state market for Liberty Seated coinage is still recovering from Eugene Garner's aggressive set building project. Len Augsburger, LSCC Auction coordinator, reports that this year's annual auction raise $4169, an important contribution to the LSCC Treasury given that club dues and Gobrecht Journal advertising revenue do not completely cover publishing costs. Most people have no idea about the amount of work necessary to conduct a successful LSCC Annual auction including securing the services of none other than Bob Merrill to call the auction. Len and Craig Eberhart are recognized here! Greg Johnson provides a detailed study on CAC approval rates for Liberty Seated quarters that is also a must read for collectors of that denomination. Benny Haimovitz provides a detailed review of late die state 1843 Briggs 1-A variety; those images are great! Rich Hundertmark completes his tour of E-Gobrecht publishing duty with an article on originality. Thanks Rich for all the great columns! The issue closes with another historical research gem from Jim Laughlin.

GFRC Consignment News

Unfortunately, there are no Client Gallery images to post this morning. My apology to Jim Poston as I ran out of energy last evening and could not complete the image processing for his latest consignment. Priming clapboard under a hot sun followed by chasing down an ant's nest along with daily health walk consumed the day's energy.

I'm pleased to announce that more exciting consignments will arrive after the CONA show. Following are committed major consignments based on last evening conversations with Osprey, Poetic Candy and Upstate New York consignors. Then there are the Saw Mill Run Collection pieces, as listed in yesterday's Blog, that will be transferred at CONA.

Osprey - This individual just completed a 2000 mile drive through Georgia and Tennessee while attending the Dalton show and visiting coin shops. The result is a strong mix of United States gold and early type silver to be consigned.

Poetic Candy - This poetic individual will be shipping an 18 piece modern TPG certified gold lot is ultra high grades. I have a standing dinner invitation when visiting the San Francisco/San Jose area in the future.

Upstate New York - Beautifully toned silver coins have been the focus of this old time collector for decades. This individual is starting a divestment program and GFRC will be handling an increasing volume during the balance of 2016.

Global Financial News

Spot gold is being quoted at $1317 this morning while spot oil sits at $46/barrell. Nothing new here. The European Union remains stuck in low economic gear with no inflation and high unemployment. Of course, the ECB will run to the rescue with more bond buying but is reaching of point of not having suitable bonds to purchase (a separate Daily Blog topic in the near future). Then there is the ongoing United States rate increase drama. Regardless of the equity markets being at near record levels, the United States economy is not healthy and a strong U.S. dollar will continue to impact exports. The Federal Reserve logic of raising interest rates in advance of a recession in order to lower them during a recession seems plausible if the economy is growing at a crisp pace. That is not the case here.

Consumer price inflation in the eurozone was stuck at 0.2% in August, leaving the ECB no closer to its inflation target than when it launched the first of a series of stimulus measures more than two years ago. Other data released by Eurostat showed the bloc's unemployment rate unchanged at 10.1% (more than double the U.S.). The figures could push the ECB to launch additional stimulus at its next policy meeting on Sept. 8, like extending the duration of its bond-buying program by at least another six months.

U.S. Treasuries are set for their largest monthly loss since June 2015 after a slew of hawkish rhetoric from Fed officials almost doubled the probability of a September rate hike to 34% in the futures market. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Tuesday that any increase will be data dependent, having previously pointed to employment figures on Friday as being of key importance.

Featured Coins of the Day

August has been a super GFRC sales month. I've sold over 180 coins with nearly all sales being online. The constant flow of quality consignments is attracting a broad range of collectors across Bust, Seated, Barber and 20th Century designs along with United States gold. World coin sales remain an enigma. Below are several unsold coins that arrived in August that deserve a close look. A sincere thank you goes out to loyal GFRC customers for making August a super sales month.

  

  

  

There will not be a Daily Blog edition on Thursday morning as I will be in transit to Columbus, Ohio and afternoon dealer setup for the CONA show. A sincere thank you goes out to Stephen and Alexa Petty for hosting me during the show.

 

 

August 30, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog and thank you for visiting this morning. As usual, there is much to discuss.

The exterior renovation project for the Fortin home is underway. Doug, the contractor, spent Monday replacing old red cedar clapboard and trim pine. The cedar clapboard rot is more extensive than previously thought. Ten piece bundles of 12' length clapboards are arriving to the project on a regular basis and require priming before installation. On Monday, I primed twenty pieces and will probably do another twenty today to keep Doug supplied with replacement material. Travis, the painter, is also on site and continuing his prep work for painting job that starts after Labor Day. I have a feeling that September will be an intense renovation month as Whitney Tree and Landscaping service arrives mid month to replace a disintegrated pressure treated wood retaining wall with specially manufactured stone. Oh, did I mentioned that the front pressure treated wood deck will also be replaced with fresh wood?

For those who purchased Top 100 Variety dimes from the Fortin Collection, please be assured that your purchase is funding a good cause; the Fortin home renovation projects.

GFRC New Purchases

I worked until 11:00 pm on Monday and managed to post the Silicon Valley Collection consignment pieces to the price list along with a portion of the Westford new purchases. Following are the Westford gold pieces for your consideration.

Westford Show New Purchases - August 29, 2016

    

   

The above 1877 (raw AU58) and 1897 PCGS MS62 $20 double eagles are priced under $1500; let's see how long they last on the price list. As a reminder for GFRC customers, United States gold eagles and double eagles are not available for lay-a-way or credit card purchases.

1846-O WB-1 Seated Half Dollar with Rotated Reverse?

Last week, I quietly worked a trade with new customer. As part of the trade, I took in the following 1846-O Medium Date WB-1 Seated half with a nearly 90 degree left rotated reverse. This lovely half is freshly graded from an old collection and resides in PCGS AU55 holder.

GFRC Consignment News

As mentioned in yesterday's Blog, Tuesday brings the announcement of contents within the Saw Mill Run Collection consignment. The Saw Mill Run consignor is a true student of the Liberty Seated quarter series and has assembled an important advanced collection. To continue his upgrading process, a decision to start the sale of duplicates was made and GFRC was selected to handle his numismatic properties. The divestment of duplicates by advanced collectors is a most healthy process for new collectors entering the Liberty Seated coinage denominations. Let's face it, one stroll through a regional coin show will provide a quick education on the overall rarity of quality Liberty Seated coinage. Without advanced collectors sharing their duplicates, it is difficult for the collector base to expand as the survival rates are low, especially choice.

Following are the Saw Mill Run Collection offerings that will be transferred to GFRC at the CONA show.

Liberty Seated 25c: 1840 PCGS MS61 Untoned proof like; 1840-O with drapery Large O PCGS F12 conservative grading; 1842-O Small Date PCGS VG8; 1847-O PCGS AU50 important opportunity; 1849 PCGS AU55; 1849-O PCGS VF30; 1854-O Huge O PCGS F12 conservative grading; 1855-O PCGS EF45 so rare; 1856-O PCGS AU58 underrated at this grade level; 1856-S PCGS EF40; 1858-S PCGS EF40; 1860-O PCGS AU55

Liberty Seated 50c: 1840-O PCGS EF45 CAC Gem for grade; 1845 PCGS AU55 underrated

Ok, it is First Right of Refusal time for the Saw Mill Run Collection pieces.

The latest Jim Poston consignment also arrived on Monday. These have been photographed and will be featured in tomorrow's Blog (hopefully). There is just so much going on these days.....

Global Financial News

Spot gold sits at $1322 and essentially unchanged from yesterday. This morning's Seeking Alpha headlines have a European flavor. We start with Apple having tax issues with the Irish government. The massive internation trade agreement (TPP) is losing support with France and Germany while the United States is working toward maintaining momentum. Finally Eurozone economic confidence is falling with the White Knight Mario Draghi ready to increase stimulus as necessary.

EU antitrust regulators have ordered Apple to pay up to €13B ($14.5B) in taxes to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through the country was illegal state aid. "In fact, this selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1% on its European profits in 2003 down to 0.005% in 2014," Commissioner Margrethe Vestager declared. Apple and Ireland said they would appeal the decision.

French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl aims to end TTIP negotiations in September because the free trade agreement has "no political support," a message that echoes his German counterpart who said Sunday that the talks had "de facto failed." Not everyone agrees with their stance. European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas confirmed that "the ball was still rolling," while U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said the "negotiations were in fact making steady progress."

Eurozone confidence edged lower in August, as the European Commission's economic sentiment indicator fell to 103.5 from 104.5 in July, suggesting the Brexit vote has started to take its toll on the single currency bloc. With ECB President Mario Draghi leaving it largely to economic data to fine-tune policy expectations before next week's Governing Council meeting, the release provides a case for more stimulus to sustain the recovery and revive inflation.

Featured Coins of the Day

I failed to mention yesterday that the GFRC World Coin ad can be found in COIN WORLD's September 2016 monthly magazine on page 124; World Coins Marketplace. Breaking into the world coin market has been more challenging that anticipated but persistence is always important when attempting to develop a new product line. Following are some top quality offerings from the GFRC World Coin price list to consider this morning.

  

  

  

This concludes today's Blog. Doug, the contractor, arrives in a few minutes with more red cedar clapboard. Before I can even think about priming these, there is a massive amount of packing and shipping that must be done this morning in time to catch Doug, the mailman, arrival at 11:30am.

It was great to have you stopping by at the Daily Blog! See you tomorrow as I start preparation for Thursday flights to Columbus, Ohio and setup at the CONA show.

 

August 29, 2016

Greetings on the last Monday in August as we enter the tropical storm and hurricane segment of the annual calendar. The Florida west coast is in for a nasty week with 100% chance of rain forecasted continuously from Tuesday through Sunday. Grey Soldier and Osprey will need to get their life boats ready.

Westford Show Report

Sunday brought an early start as I was on the road by 5:15 am and arrived at the Westford Regency slightly after 7:00. Westford is quite similar to Nashua, NH in terms of fast paced dealer wholesale and a quick ramp in public attendance. Given its location closer to Connecticut, Westford attracts southern New England and New York dealers. The Westford bourse opens to early birds at 8:00 and to the public at 9:00 with a small admission charge. Security is also tight and well coordinated.

The GFRC debut at Westford brought an early surprise as Ernie Botte had an open corner table near the front door which I gladly settled into. By 7:45, GFRC was setup and ready for business. Walking the floor brought more new purchases along with walk up sales from the public. At 9:00am, the floor began to roar as the public filed in and the aisles became crowded. Westford attendees were serious about acquisitions with few tire kickers. I sold several gold pieces along with a super choice Capped Bust half from the Burchs Creek collection and closed a Seated dime purchase with the Massachusetts consignor along with insourcing another consignment. Business was fast paced. An old time Maine dealer walked up to the table with several PCGS blue boxes full of mint state Capped Bust quarters in old TPG holders. He was seeking advice on the CAC process. I also met a New England silver/gold bullion dealer and placed a 20 piece order for $5 modern commemoratives in NGC PF69 holders for the forthcoming Shanghai coin show.

GFRC closed shop at 2:00 pm and was back home by 4:30. More sales arrived via email and attention shifted to Silicon Valley Collection image processing for this morning's Blog. By 9:30pm, it was double scotch time along with a well deserved visit to the sound room. For the record, Ernie Botte is one of the best show promotors in the business and ranks with Whitman's Lori Kraft for attention to detail and understanding the needs of coin dealers.

Westford New Purchases

The new purchase list is short as most of the time was spent behind the GFRC table.

Capped Bust 5c: 1831 AU50 choice original gray

Seated 5c: 1860 EF40 choice original with rotated reverse left 60 degrees

$1 Gold: 1885 ANACS Photograde MS63/MS65

$2.5 Gold: 1904 NGC MS 62

$5 Gold: 1853 NGC AU58 choice: 1879 AU58 or better, choice

$20 Gold: 1877 AU58; 1897 PCGS MS62 with MS63+ luster

GFRC Consignment News

The Silicon Valley Collection consignment is ready to be posted to the price list. Below are some wonderful type coins along with an introduction of the collection by the consignor.

"Welcome to the Silicon Valley Collection, ever since I discovered the perfect amalgamation of history and classical art in the form of coins I've been hopelessly hooked. The coins in this collection reflect my strong interest in the era that spans the California Gold Rush through the Jazz Age, a colorful period of American Experience that left strong influences and relics in what is now Silicon Valley. Admiring these coins leave me with a sense of envy for the folks of past, often wondering how can anyone bring themselves to spend these little gems?"

Silicon Valley Collection Consignment - August 29, 2016

    

    

  

Jim Poston's new consignment arrived on Saturday at local post office and will be delivered today. Contents will be announced in Tuesday's Blog along with that of the Saw Mill Run Collection consignment of semi key date Liberty Seated quarters. Please make sure to check back tomorrow.

Global Financial News

Spot gold sits at $1323 and appears to be buying time before the next financial event to propel it higher. Seeking Alpha headlines are wide ranging this morning and following are some news items worth paying attention to. For all the talk that Saudi Arabia was rapidly eroding its foreign reserves due to low oil prices, the net foreign reserves remain at $555 billion, or equilavent to the current annual deficit spending of the United States. China takes an important step in building its own aircraft engine industry. This is disturbing news as once China can manufacture aircraft engines, the military will accelerate the development of advanced fighter jets and bombers. We must understand that Xi JinPing is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Red Army.

Net foreign assets at Saudi Arabia's central bank fell to $555B in July, down $6B from the previous month, as the government drew on reserves to cover a budget deficit caused by low oil prices. Assets shrank by 16% from a year earlier to their lowest level since February 2012. They reached a record high of $737B in August 2014 before starting to fall.

China is launching its first aircraft-engine manufacturer in an attempt to wean itself off Western suppliers, like GE and United Technologies' (NYSE:UTX) Pratt & Whitney. The state-owned Aero Engine Corp. of China was created by combining a group of existing aircraft-engine companies, according to local media reports. It has about 50B yuan ($7.5B) in registered capital and will develop both military and commercial engines.

Free trade talks between EU and US are going no where and please pay attention to the last headline on Obamacare. Higher service costs, low insurer participants will lead to higher prices. You mean, insurance premiums are not high enough already?

Free trade talks between the EU and the U.S. have failed "even though nobody is really admitting it," Germany's economy minister said Sunday, citing a lack of progress on any of the major sections of the long-running negotiations over TTIP. Sigmar Gabriel also added that Turkey was unlikely to join the EU during his political career, saying the bloc was not in the position to take in Ankara even if it met all the entry requirements tomorrow.

According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly a third of U.S. counties will likely be served by only one insurer that participates in an Affordable Care Act marketplace in 2017, representing an increase from 7% this year. The data underscores the degree to which industry retrenchment from low enrollment and high service costs is curtailing options within the marketplaces. Insurer departures will likely lead to higher prices, analysts have warned.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's visit the Draped Bust half dollar price list this morning for quality offerings.

  

  

This concludes today's Daily Blog. Another busy day awaits me include unpacking from the Westford show, loading the Silicon Valley consignment pieces on price list, insourcing the Jim Poston United States gold consignment, priming red cedar siding and attempting a health walk. Luckily, the shipping department queue is light this morning. Wednesday brings packing for Columbus, Ohio journey and the CONA show.

Enjoy the last few days of August as September is right around the corner. I'll see you bright and early on Tuesday morning. Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

August 27, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on the last weekend in August. Thank you for stopping by once again.

Time passes so quickly when fully engaged on multiple projects. The initial power washing and cedar scrapping on 60% of the Fortin home is done and the mobile lift is back at the rental agency. Cedar siding rot was more widespread than anticipated but not surprising given the house was built in 1985. A second ten piece cedar siding bundle has been ordered and should arrive this weekend. I'm going to get a break from coins and spend this afternoon priming the first bundle at a minimum.

Doug, the building contractor and not to be confused with mailman Doug, arrives on Monday to start removing old trim pine boards and rotten cedar siding. The Fortin home is three stories high when counting the daylight basement along with a substantial roof peak. My days of working on a ladder are long gone with expert contractors handling all repairs. On a postive note, living in rural Maine is so different that say, living in Tampa Florida. In a small Maine town, everyone knows everyone and the contractors that perform top quality work are well known and always in demand. Travis, the painter, and Doug, the building contractor, are two of the best in the area and are self employed.

GFRC Consignment Update

The Colorado Collection consignment is already posted on the price lists as of 7:00am Saturday morning.

What an amazing selection of top quality coins for GFRC customers to consider during the weekend. Below in the Colorado Collection Client Gallery. We start with three awesome Seated half dimes all graded MS65. The 1857 is already on hold via FRoR program and we can understand why when viewing the images. Please pay special attention to the 1871 half dime as this is a filled obverse die error; note the partial definition of Liberty's upper left arm and face. The 1872-S BW is another pretty gem piece in NGC MS65 holder. I would suggest that GFRC customers pay special attention to the 1890 Seated dime graded NGC MS65 CAC. This dime offers huge flashy luster and is undergraded. Yes, the 1916-D Mercury is decent and CAC approved. The 1945-S Micro S Mercury resides in old NGC MS66 Fatty holder and has superb toning; this one will not last long. Next to the 1945-S Mercury is a really sweet 1878 PCGS MS63 Seated quarter that deserved serious attention. In the next row is a monster toned 1911 Proof Barber half and graded PCGS PR65. The reverse is mounted forward due to the fiery red patina that simply melts under bright light to expose light rose/gold center and sky blue surrounding the legend. The 1880-S Gold CAC Morgan resides in PCGS MS63 Rattler holder and is a VAM Top 100 offering. Finally, the 1883-S $10 piece is graded PCGS AU50 with rich antique gold patina; already on hold via FRoR program.

Colorado Collection Consignment - August 27, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

The Silicon Valley Collection consignment arrived yesterday and is already photographed. A Client Gallery should be available at some point this weekend but remember that I have cedar clapboard to prime and the Westford MA show on Sunday.

Let's end the Daily Blog early today as price list updates need to get done along with morning packing and shipping. Look for some pricing reductions, per consignors, on selected items this weekend. GFRC is within spitting distance (can I say spitting distance or is this a political correctness issue?) of 2015 August sales results without attending the Anaheim ANA and would love to match those numbers with a last minute surge in orders.

Thank you for visiting. There will be no Daily Blog on Sunday as the day starts early with a 5:30am drive to Westford show. Next Daily Blog edition will be on Monday morning.

 

August 26, 2016

Greetings on a Friday morning and welcome to yet more numismatic and GFRC ramblings at the Daily Blog.

Home power washing is off to a good start. The ground is hard from little rain enabling the mobile lift to easily move around the property. I must share a funny story concerning those with minimal or no comprehension of numismatics or the tools employed within a coin business.

The painting contractor, Travis, brought his father, Earl, on the job to tow the mobile lift on a flatbed trailer and to help with odds and ends tasks. This is an older gentleman and a lovely person. Earl sees me in the driveway photographing the Colorado Collection consignment that had just arrived via Doug, the mailman. I'm working on a portable table with the Nikon Coolpix995 coupled to a photodome and a blue PCGS box of coins. Table and camera are perfectly angled to the sun to secure maximum image contrast. Earl walks over and says, "What are you building?" and probably thinking that the Nikon setup was some type of router saw. Once he reached the table, he was perplexed with the appartus and a spontaneous numismatic photography class was at hand. Travis came over to retrieve his father after a few minutes of class time. Doubtful that Earl will become a new LSCC member.......

GFRC Coin Show News

I'm pleased to announce that GFRC will make its debut at the Westford, MA coin show this coming Sunday, August 28. An 8' table along the back wall (near the coffee maker) will be the new GFRC location. Three cases will be loaded with a broad range of GFRC inventory. If attending the Westford show and wishing to see certain pieces in inventory, then please email requests in the next 36 hours.

Similar to Westford, if you are planning to attend the CONA (Dublin, Ohio show) and wish to view select pieces from GFRC inventory, then please email your requests. Even with six cases at the CONA show, I am unable to bring and display all offerings as seen online.

GFRC Consignment News

Following is the status of upcoming GFRC consignments. Writing the Daily Blog allows me to build a tactical plan for handling the growing number of consignnments.

Colorado Collection Consignment - This is a fabulous lot with 16 pieces. Several are on FRoR. All coins are imaged and will be processed today. Asking prices are finalized. I should be contacting FRoR individuals with images and offer prices by end of day and will post the Colorado consignment as a Client Gallery in Saturday's Blog.

Small Seated Dime Varieties Consignment - An individual, who purchased my Top 100 Collection 1842 F-103a PCGS MS63 CAC, sent along his duplicate (ANACS MS63 Old White Holder) along with an 1851 F-104 reverse rim cud in VF30 and 1877-CC Type I Reverse F-110 Lightning Bolt reverse grading EF45. The latter two varieties are R5 rarities with the Lightning Bolt being only the second seen. These three coins are imaged, priced and will added to price list today. Look in the 30 Day New Purchase price list for these.

Silicon Valley Collection Consignment - This consignment may arrive today or worst case on Saturday.

Jim Poston Consignment - Yes, Jim is Express shipping yet another consignment that is mostly United States gold pieces. These will arrive on Saturday.

West Texas Collection Consignment - This is a substantial lot of early type coins that are mostly raw and ideal for Whitman and Dansco album collectors. These coins have been off the market for several decades with the owner deciding it was time to start a divestment process and selected GFRC to conduct the sale. Following are the contents as supplied by the consignor. This lot is being transferred by Registered Mail due to value and will arrive early next week.

3 Cent Silvers: 1851-O VF, 1855 original VF35/EF40

Flowing/Draped Bust 5c: 1794, LM-4, V-4, R4, ANACS AU details; 1795, LM-9, V-6, R4, ANACS AU details; 1800 VF35 details, lightly cleaned;
1801, LM-2, R4, ANACS EF40 details; 1803, LM-1, V-3, ANACS EF40 details; 1805, uncertified, EF details.

Seated 5c: 1857-O AU58 lustrous, dipped; 1858 Repunched High Date, rare and choice VF35/EF40; 1859-O AU50

Bust 10c: 1823/2  VG10 cameo look; 1823/2 VF; 1825 F15; 1828 Small Date AU55

Seated 10c: 1875-CC BW VF35; 1877 heavy rim crumbling over UNITED STATES OF, AU58 details; 1878-CC  VG10, choice original; 1888 choice original AU55

Bust 25c: 1819 B-3, AU+ light gray; 1819 B-4, VG8 late die state with heavy rim breaks through the date; 1820 Sm 0 VG08; 1824/2 F15 details, 1835 VF

Seated 25c: 1842 F12; 1842-O VF35; 1844 F12, 1845 EF40; 1852-O VG08; 1854 AU50+ details dipped; 1857-S F15 dipped; 1862-S MS60; 1868 PCGS PR60 OGH; 1872, VF35; 1887 PCGS PR60 OGH; 1891-S EF45

Bust 50c: 1807 50/20C VG10

Seated 50c: 1840(0) Rev 1838 VG08; 1844 EF40; 1846 Tall Date, XF45; 1846-O Tall Date, VG8; 1856-S VF25 details; 1858-S VF35; 1859-S AU55; 1859-O EF40; 1868 VF20; 1868-S VF20; 1870 VF30

Seated $1: 1847 EF40

Saw Mill Run Collection Consignment - The contents of this consignment will be announced this weekend. As mentioned in yesterday's Blog, this is a lot of key and semi-key date Liberty Seated Quarters in EF/AU grades and all PCGS certified. Physical transfer will take place at the CONA show due to value.

Global Financial News

The financial world will be on the edge of its seats today as Janet Yellen speaks at 10:00am at Jackson Hole, WY conference. Following is more drama from today's Seeking Alpha headlines. I don't know which is worst....trying to read contractual legal language or financial world drama headlines......

"We see Jackson Hole as the ‘ready’ warning and look for Chair Yellen to err on looking at the optimistic side” of the outlook, says UBS's Drew Matus, though he doesn't expect an actual move on rates by the Fed until December. Barclays' Michael Gapen says a solid August employment report (due Sept. 2) means a September rate hike. If Yellen signals as such, it would be a surprise, as markets currently price in just about a 20% chance of a higher policy rate in September. The subject of Yellen's talk is "The Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Toolkit," and it's due to start at 10:00 am ET.

Featured Coins of the Day

Today, we shift attention to Liberty Seated halves as GFRC has a huge inventory of quality offerings to consider. Following are a few recommended halves from the early to mid 1840s timeframe. Please note how uniform the coloring is on nice original silver coins.

  

  

  

OK, time to immediately move into the packaging and shipping department. Travis and Earl will also be arriving in a few minutes to continue power washing and scrapping the old stain off cedar clapboard. Thank you for your ongoing support and orders. I will be back bright and early on Saturday morning. There will be no Daily Blog on Sunday due to the Westford show. Have a great day!

 

 

August 25, 2016

Greetings on the last Thursday of August!

Yes, September is right around the corner with GFRC preparing for the Central Ohio Numismatic Association sponsored coin show scheduled for next week. I'm flying to Columbus, Ohio next Thursday for dealer setup that starts at 3:00pm. The Ohio State Coin Show takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin with all 125 tables sold out. Below is a bourse map of the main room. One must turn left at the entrance and walk down an aisle to visit the main bourse room.

GFRC will be at Table 323 with 6 cases of top quality inventory including 170+ CAC coins, United Stated Gold, World Coins and of course, a multitude of consignments for your consideration. Below is the bourse floor plan and GFRC location.

Ohio State Coin Show Bourse - September 1 - 4, 2016

Gerry Fortin Rare Coins - Table 323

 

GFRC Consignment News

August has been an incredible month in terms of new consignment proposals. The Colorado Collection consignment arrives today and looking forward to immediately photographing these wonderful offerings.

The Silicon Valley Collection consignment ships an eclectic lot today that will arrive during the weekend. This individual is know for collecting high end 1865 dated mint state and proof coinage. He sells duplicates via GFRC consignment program. This shipment expands consignments into other collecting areas. Following are new Silicon Valley offerings for potential FRoR. Note the Buffalo nickels in old time PCGS and NGC holders.

Bust 5c: 1836 PCGS AU55 "Small 5c"

Indian 5c: 1913 PCGS MS65 Type I Rattler Holder; 1916-D NGC MS63 CAC Fatty Holder

Barber 10c: 1916 NGC MS64

Barber 25c: 1900 PCGS AU58

Standing Liberty 25c: 1917-D NGC AU55 Type I

Early 50c Commems: 1923-S Monroe NGC MS63

Morgan $1: 1901-S PCGS MS64

There is lots more consignment news! Two new consignors will be working with GFRC. First is the West Texas Collection that ships a large 50 piece lot on Friday. Include in the lot is a run of Flowing Hair and Draped Bust half dimes along with other early type across all denominations. Just yesterday, I spoke with another new consignor concerning a shipment of semi-key date Liberty Seated quarters in PCGS EF and AU grades. This consignor will be known as the Saw Mill Run Collection. More to come once we settle the consignment contents.

Finally, I worked late in Wednesday evening to prepare more offerings from the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties Collection. Below is a large lot of scarce varieties for your review. Some of these pieces may already be spoken for via the FRoR program. Hopefully, uncommitted pieces will post to the price list later today.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties - August 24, 2016

    

    

    

   

Global Financial News

Spot gold is down this morning to $1323 while spot oil sits at $46.88/bbl. I'm not worried about spot gold price movement based on several readings. These will be shared in a subsequent Blog.

What is disturbing is this Seeking Alpha headline. If made law, then Federal and State governments will have found an approach to kill off small online business owners. Large online retails like Amazon will have comprehensive tracking and reporting software that will easily pass individual state tax official audits. Can you imagine tracking and filing sale tax reports for up to 49 states on a quarterly or semi annual basis? Then there are the individual states that must hire staff to track and audit the massive amount of online retailers. This is another case of the super sized businesses and revenue hungry governments killing off smaller entrepreneurs.

A leading House Republican plans to introduce a proposal over how to tax inter-state Internet transactions, the WSJ reports. Bob Goodlatte wants the rules affecting a transaction to be based on where the retailer is located but the tax rate to be set by the consumer's state. For example, an Ohio company selling a pair of trousers to a buyer in Maryland would use Ohio's regulations for taxing clothing and Maryland's tax rate. This contrasts with the current rules in which a sale is taxed only if the seller has a physical presence in the shopper's state.

Featured Coins of the Day

How about some lovely Liberty Seated half dimes as today's Featured Coins? GFRC stocks quality Seated coinage across all denominations. I have two wonderful 1837 No Stars half dimes (PCGS MS63 CAC and PCGS MS65) that would be ideal for a type set. The 1839 PCGS AU53 CAC piece is a new addition along with the 1840-O NGC AU53 Medium O V-10 that is so scarce. The group closes out with lovely 1845 NGC MS63 CAC and 1847 NGC AU58 examples. Enjoy!

  

  

  

Ok, that is a wrap for today's Blog. Today brings the start of the Fortin home painting project. The mobile lift is set to arrive at 8:00am with a comprehensive power washing and scrapping planned during the next two days. Fresh 12' cedar clapboard arrived yesterday and needs to be primed. It is going to be a busy day!

Please, please interrupt my day with a new purchase! See you tomorrow at the Daily Blog.

 

 

August 24, 2016

Wednesday arrives and time for yet another Daily Blog. Thank you for taking time out of your day to visit the GFRC website.

Over the past few days, I've not spent time in the basement sound room due to being physically tired by 9pm. What is going on you might ask? The primary reason is a significant change in Maine weather and the ability to spend time outdoors. I'm playing catch-up on two important items; first is trimming the landscaping surrounding the Fortin home. Second is taking long health walks in an attempt to lose some weight or at minimum, build up more stamina.

The Fortin home painting project starts tomorrow with the arrival of a driveable mobile lift. The first step, in a large painting project, is the power washing of the areas to be painted. Since there are numerous bushes around the home, each one must be cut back to allow access. This has been a priority during the past 48 hours and I still have several bushes/small trees to deal with this afternoon.

Being an online coin dealer requires substantial time sitting at a laptop computer. Let's face it, the primary tasks are evaluating coins, processing images, writing descriptions, kitting/packing orders and corrresponding with customers and consignors via email. These tasks take place in the same chair and at the same work station. The amount of physical activity is limited therefore the health walks are paramount for maintaining muscle tone and stamina. In terms of age and improving medical care, many now say that 60 is the new 50 or even 45. My goal is to prove this point correct with self accountability for staying active, thinking young and staying off perscription drugs that are omnipresent in today's modern society. Controlling weight and blood pressure is part of staying true to physical well being.

Enough on house painting preparations and health! Let's focus on coins......

GFRC Consignment News

Tuesday brought the posting of the remainder of the newest West Coast Collection consignment. Below are the Liberty Seated dimes from this individual. All are strictly original pieces including the 1876-CC F-131 Pimpled Obverse. PCGS has a difficult time with properly grading the 1876-CC Double Die Obverse F-107/F-107b and the F-131 Pimpled Obverse due to heavy die rust and surfaces that appear to have "environment damage". Even Breen did not understand the F-107 Double Die Obverse well and stated in his Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins that "Usually in low grades, deceptive cast counterfeits exist; authentication recommended." Yes, the 1876-CC F-131 resides in a PCGS Genuine holder which I disagree with.

West Coast Consignment - August 23, 2016

Liberty Seated Dimes

    

    

    

Now that I'm caught up with the West Coast, Kansas consignments and Nashua new purchases, Wednesday's primary focus is adding more Gerry Fortin Top 100 Variety Seated dime to the price list. Thursday brings the arrival of the new Colorado consignment followed by the West Texas and Silcon Valley Collection shipments by weekend.

Featured Topic - Digital Currencies

Seeking Alpha headlines were without merit this morning as the financial media is focused on whether Janet Yellen's will raise or not raise interest rates. Rather, let's focus on a topic that reguires attention; Digital Currencies. Major banks are partnering towards building proprietary digital currency systems and the public should be staying abreast of these developments. Scandinavia countries are moving to a cashless society and the United States could be just 5 years away from a similar conversion.

Digital Currencies? Let's visit Wikipedia for a definition.

Digital currency can be defined as an Internet-based form of currency or medium of exchange distinct from physical (such as banknotes and coins) that exhibits properties similar to physical currencies, but allows for instantaneous transactions and borderless transfer-of-ownership. Both virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies are types of digital currencies.

What then is a Virtual Currency?

A virtual currency has been defined in 2012 by the European Central Bank as "a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community". The US Department of Treasury in 2013 defined it more tersely as "a medium of exchange that operates like a currency in some environments, but does not have all the attributes of real currency". The key attribute a virtual currency does not have according to these definitions, is the status as legal tender.

So what is the difference between Physical, Digital and Virtual Currencies?

Most of today's traditional money supply is bank money held on computers. This is also considered digital currency. The growing number of cashless businesses/societies means that all currencies are becoming digital (often referred as “electronic money”).

Virtual currencies are those which are not intended for use in "real life," or for expenditures on real assets. Consequently, most virtual currencies can be found in online gaming and are subject to centralized authority, with the control of the money supply resting in the hands of the virtual world's developers. An example of a purely virtual currency is Amazon Coins.

Digital Currencies - Bottomline Summary

Legal Tender status is the primary attribute of Physical and non virtual Digital Currencies. The medium of exchange for Legal Tender can be physical species or electronic transfer (Paypal as an example).

Virtual Currencies do not have legal tender status. Why are entities trying to create Virtual Currencies? Probably to avoid government oversight, regulations and taxation.

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Featured Coins of the Day

The Colorado Collection consignor placed a strong group of lovely Walking Liberty halves with GFRC; many are earlier dates with others being CAC approved. Following are featured CAC approved Walkers. When purchasing Walking Liberty halves, full strikes are important. Look for a fully defined thumb on the lower hand and the presence of all vertical gown lines. The presence of these attributes enhances the eye appeal.

Have you ever considered building a set of Walking Liberty halves in MS65 CAC for the "common" short set dates and AU58/MS63 for the more difficult earlier dates? That would be really impressive! Here is a group of quality CAC approved Walker halves to consider from the Colorado, Florida and Osprey consignors.

  

  

  

Thank you for stopping by and visiting this morning. I'm moving immediately into the shipping department, followed by adding more Top 100 Varieties and then time outdoors for wrapping up bush trimming. It will be another busy day and probably another early bed time. Have a great day!

 

 

August 23, 2016

Greetings on a wonderful Tuesday morning. Southern Maine is shifting to cooler seasonal temperatures with low humidity. Finally, the day time temperatures are ideal for working outdoors and catching up on landscaping maintenane. Last evening, temperatures dropped to 50F and windows in the GFRC office had to be closed. Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year in Maine!

Wasps are a constant issue with rural living. Below is an example of what happens when Maine weather has been too hot and humid and not performing regular property maintenance. Nest has been neutralized and will be pulled down today.

Monday was a hectic day as there was double and triple FRoR demand for certain Nashua new purchases. I was able to post the Nashua new purchases throughout afternoon and sales are moving forward. There were three individuals who requested the 1860-S Seated half dollar, based on Daily Blog images, but once I shared my evaluation and basis for purchasing the piece, everyone passed. The 1860-S will find a home as it offers considerable eye appeal, is an important historical piece, but not judged to be strictly original.

GFRC Consignment News

Another wave of consignments will be arriving by end of week to ensure that I don't become bored in the GFRC office. The Colorado consignor ships an exciting and varied selection of quality coins today. Following are the contents of this ecletic lot. I'm really excited to take receipt and start the photography and listing process and have these online immediately before the Central Ohio Numismatic Association show on Labor Day weekend.

Liberty 5c: 1886 PCGS AG3

Seated 5c: 1871 PCGS MS65 peripheral toning; 1872-S Below PCGS MS65 dual side blue toner

Seated 10c: 1890 NGS MS65 CAC dual sided toning

Mercury 10c: 1916-D PCGS AG3 CAC; 1936 PCGS MS67FB; 1945-S PCGS MS66 Micro S CAC dual side toner

Seated 25c: 1878 PCGS MS63

Bust 50c: 1817/3 PCGS G4

Seated 50c: 1871-S PCGS VF35 CAC

Barber 50c: 1911 PCGS PR65 low mintage and monster toning

Morgan $1: 1880-CC PCGS MS63 GOLD CAC Rattler

Gold $2.5: 1911 NGC MS62+; 1925-D NGC MS61

Gold $10: 1883-S PCGS AU50

Two more consignments will be shipping through the balance of this week.

++++ GFRC is requesting incremental consignments throughout September! ++++

The COIN system has dramatically improved the speed at which consignments can be evaluated and loaded onto price lists. GFRC is now the numismatic industry leader in quick turn consignment handling and marketing. Who else provides personal service including Daily Blog pre-annoucements and individual Client Galleries before consignments reach the price lists? GFRC customers and friends are commenting about the rate at which coins sell and the need to visit the Daily Blog several times per day to stay on top of the latest offerings!.

Global Financial News

Spot gold is little changed and being quoted at $1343 this morning. The financial media have little to write about so the focus shifts to the Federal Reserve drama at Jackson Hole and will Janet raise or not raise......

Global markets are slightly higher in a week largely dominated by the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A speech on Friday by Fed Chair Janet Yellen could settle the matter on if a September rate hike should be priced in. South Korea, Australia and the main China index showed gains, while the Nikkei 225 fell slightly after Japanese flash PMI for August came in weak at 49.6. European markets are in positive territory after August PMI readings didn't show significant Brexit blowback, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.84% in midday trading.

Of interest is this Seeking Alpha headline. There is a new activist group called Fed Up that wants the Federal Reserve to solve income inequality. They are also pushing an agenda of transitioning the Fed into government entities. Who will buy Treasury bonds during the next round of QE if the Federal Reserve is no longer an independent entity? The liberals in this country continue to push their agenda and attempt to consolidate power.

The Federal Reserve is feeling more heat on its lack of diversity ahead of the central bank's annual gathering in Jackson Hole later this week. Four Fed presidents plan to meet with activist group Fed Up to discuss the issues of income inequality and reform requests. Fed Up is also pushing a proposal to make the regional Fed banks government entities, an issue the Fed policymakers are likely to push back hard on. Also on the radar for the Fed meeting at the Tetons is a new paper questioning how much firepower the central bank has under current conditions to combat a recession in the U.S.

Finally, oil pricing remain on a roller coaster and moving back down in its trading range. Did you know that China is now an oil exporter?

Oil prices are lower again as the market digests reports indicating that Iraq is preparing to ramp up its export levels. Iraq oil production rose sharply in July to hit 3.71M barrels a day. Strong oil output out of China and a new ceasefire with militants in Nigeria are also being eyed by traders. WTI crude oil futures -0.80% to $47.03/bbl. Brent crude -1.14% to $48.60/bbl.

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC's core product line continues to be Liberty Seated dimes. How about a showcase of some grade rarities and quality pieces to wrap up this morning's Daily Blog? The 1844 dime, from the Florida Collection, is one of the finest known and grades PCGS MS63 with CAC approval! Then there is a high end 1845-O PCGS AU50 dime followed by PCGS MS62 1852-O dime, again from the Florida Collection. We close with a gem 1865 PCGS PF66 dime from the Silicon Valley Collection. Talk about eye candy this morning to close out the Blog!

  

  

  

As always, thank you for stopping by and reading these daily ramblings. Feedback and guest articles would be appreciated towards improving content diversity. Have a great day and please do consider a GFRC purchase! I'll be back bright and early tomorrow.

 

August 22, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog and the last full week of August. Time marches on as September and Labor Day weekend are quickly approaching.

Sunday was a busy GFRC day that started with 5:30am drive to Nashua. The ride, in the top down Miata, was memorable as dawn's transition to full day light took place. Since Maine has increased the I-95 speed limit to 70 mph, the fast lane traffic typically runs 75-80 mph and sometimes more. That wind blown feeling during early morning hours is downright pleasure. Once on New Hampshire's I-3, I ran with a tops down Shelby Mustang. The deep groans of a Shelby V-8 reminded me of young days when Dodge Challenger R/Ts, SS Novas and SS Chevelles ruled the Maine roads.

GFRC News - Nashua NH Show

Attending the Nashua show is always a special event. There is no other show like it in the country (or at least to my knowledge). Dealers start arriving between 7:00-7:30am and the bourse is in a full roar by 8:00am. There is no admission and the public simply walks in after 8:00am and jumps into the dealer to dealer wholesale. Most of the attendees are regulars, whether northern New England dealers or die hard collectors. Everyone comes to buy and sell. By noon, the show is done for the day. It is an intense four hours of numismatics and good friends.

At Nashua, I was on the hunt for strictly original quality coins for inventory. Of course, coins had to be priced right to allow a profit while appealing to GFRC customers. Below are the results of the buying event. The run of Seated half dimes were purchased from a collection acquired by CT dealer. The 1856 rotated reverse half dime is way cool and already on FRoR. Gold was carefully selected across the bourse for appropriate old time color and/or strong luster. Overall results are decent for a 45 dealer bourse. Numismatics is alive and well in northern New England.

By 11:00am, I was driving back to Maine and included a stop at the New Hampshire Liquor outlet. This outlet is a candy shop for adults with no alcohol state tax, no sales tax and no bottle returnable charge. The place was packed! The bargan of the day was 1.5L Australian Yellow Tail Shiraz for $8.99. The Fortin basement wine rack had grown empty so time to fill up. Upon arriving home, I immediately photographed new purchases and started image processing. Evening brought a video chat with Matt and Natsumi, in Beijing, followed by the completion of the new purchase gallery and handling sales orders. Matt is making good progress on his "secret" development project.

Here are the Nashua New Purchases......

Nashua, NH New Purchases - August 22, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

   

 

GFRC Consignment News

The weekend brought the commitment of two substantial consignments that total about 80 pieces. The consignments are broad based and include a run of mid grade circulated Flowing Hair and Draped Bust half dimes (1794 - 1805). Both consignments will arrive towards the end of this week! Starting with tomorrow's Daily Blog, I will showcase the individual coins in each of these consignments. So please check back for potential FRoR.

Jim Poston is also sending another consignment this week that is heavy in gold coins.

The Kansas consignment of Liberty Seated quarters is essentially gone. All that remains is the 1867 quarter.

Today brings the loading of the West Coast Seated quarters and Seated dimes to the price list. Maine is enjoying a rainy day and I won't feel guilty for staying indoors and spending the entire day loading coins to the price list.

How are GFRC sales, you might ask? If the current sales trend holds until end of month, then GFRC will have matched August 2015 revenues which included a week of sales at the Chicago ANA. Online sales are growing as quality consigments continue to pour in.

Global Financial News

Here we are again! Global markets are beginning to speculate on a potential United States interest rate increase in September. Spot gold is down slightly to $1339 based on the speculation. Would the Federal Reserve raise rates BEFORE the presidential election? This would be unprecedented and, as usual, the financial media is using drama to increase readership.

The EU is doing some soul searching after the UK Brexit vote. Merkel is being tough on compliance while France's Hollard wants more investments.....where will be monies come from?

Finally, the Bank of Japan is considering doubling down on negative interest rates. If an adequate response is not seen for a controversial economic policy, then just do more! What was Einstein's definition of insanity? Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

European shares and U.S. stock futures were lower at the time of writing following a broad drop in Asia overnight. A 0.3% decline in the euro versus the dollar amid speculation about when the Fed will raise interest rates had apparently boosted exporters earlier in Europe. Vice-Chairman Stanley Fischer did nothing to dispel the feeling in a speech yesterday that the Fed will increase rates sooner rather than later as he gave an upbeat assessment about the economy.

The leaders of Germany, France and Italy were due to meet on an island off the coast of Naples today to discuss how to keep the European project together in the second set of talks between the eurozone's three largest economies since Britain's vote to leave the EU. Merkel wants to cement "a better Europe" rather than forge ahead with "more Europe," Renzi wants Italy to have a strong voice in how the bloc's future is shaped post-Brexit, and Hollande wants an EU-wide investment plan to be doubled.

The Bank of Japan will not rule out deepening a cut to negative rates it introduced in February even though the controversial policy has failed to spur inflation or economic growth. "The degree of negative rates introduced by European central banks is bigger than Japan. Technically there definitely is room for a further cut," Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told the Sankei newspaper.

Featured Coins of the Day

Locating and stocking CAC approved United States gold is most challenging. The Nashua NH bourse did not have a single CAC approved gold piece available. My favorite wholesaler reported back that the Anaheim ANA was also weak in terms of CAC gold pieces in collector grades. Luckily, GFRC has been adding CAC approved gold to inventory. Many have been "made" through CAC submissions. Following are several quality CAC approved double eagles for your consideration. How can you go wrong owning physical gold that is TPG certified and CAC approved? Talk about the best buyer protection possible.....

  

  

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog and checking the GFRC 30 Day New Purchase price lists on a routine basis. The GFRC business model is proving to be popular as more consignors and customers enjoy the fast paced Trading Desk and constant inflow of quality coins. I'll be back on Tuesday morning with a consignment contents breakdown for one of the two consignments arriving later this week. Have a great week and enjoy what is left of summer 2016.

 

August 20, 2016

The weekend has arrived at the Daily Blog. Thank you for returning for another edition.

More emails arrived on Friday concerning "the music of our generation" and corresponding album art. We shall continue this topic in ernest starting on Monday as sharing our favorite 1970s recordings and memories is just plain fun.

GFRC Consignment News

The Kansas Collection consignment of Liberty Seated quarters arrived on Friday. This consignment was itemized in the August 17 Blog with several FRoR. I managed to complete the photography immediately upon arrival and below are images. Pricing is validated and time to move into the price list sales process. Look for these Seated quarters on the 30 Day New Purchase price list this morning after completing the Daily Blog. The 1840 No Drapery is graded PCGS EF40 and a near gem for the grade. The 1843 quarter resides in PCGS AU55 holder and is the Lightning Bolt variety. The 1878-S is also choice and grades PCGS VF35. These are top quality duplicates from an advanced collection and not marginal quality wholesale items that other volume dealers will tout as new purchases.

Kansas Collection Consignment - August 20, 2016

Liberty Seated Quarters

    

  

Featured Thought for the Day

My close friend, Greg Johnson, sent along some rather insightful commentary yesterday in reaction to a statement made in the Global Financial News section of the August 16 Blog. Below is my original commentary concerning a Seeking Alpha statement recorded from John Williams. John Williams is the San Francisco Federal Reserve President and said to be close to Janet Yellen in central bank operating philosophy.

Then there is John Williams, the proverbial interest rate hawk from San Francisco Federal Reserve providing profound thought..... My feeling is that central banks and governments need to get out of the way of businesses rather than conducting more economic policy experiments. I'm quite cynical this morning after reading Seeking Alpha headlines......who makes this stuff up?

Greg Johnson offers the following and please consider. Greg and I are absolutely aligned on this perspective.

Whether this came from you or from John Williams (or both) it is spot ON. As we’ve discussed I like to read and look for new ideas and one of the recurring themes I run into is the need for systems of all kinds to experience stresses and be challenged in order to strengthen them and make them more robust. This holds for human bodies, forests, financial markets and no doubt many other “systems.” If one can’t handle feeling hungry for a few minutes or hours and has to have a constant supply of calories, you trade the temporary and minor discomfort of hunger for the much larger problem of obesity and it’s consequences. If you cannot handle the pain and inconvenience of exercise then you trade avoiding it for the much bigger health problems brought on by a sedentary lifestyle. New research is even finding that an occasional three day fast has big health benefits and that short bursts of very high intensity exercise provide added benefits over long road runs/walks. There is compelling evidence that the forest fires in the west have been brought on by our forestry management policies. Specifically, by avoiding smaller, more frequent fires such as those that have occurred throughout the history of the planet as nature’s way of managing forests, we have set ourselves up for ever larger and more destructive fires.

Likewise, the financial system. Our continual management of a ever larger and more complex financial system seems aimed at avoiding short-term pain by storing up risk. The central bankers are pushing buttons they do not appear to understand (if in fact they even CAN be understood) in order to avoid looking bad or having short term economic pain. No one knows what will happen, but it seems very likely to be the equivalent of a heart attack following decades of overeating and lack of exercise, or a huge forest fire following years of suppressing smaller ones. It certainly makes me a fan of tangible assets as no single government can easily manipulate their value…

GFRC Consignment Program Update

The GFRC 30 Day New Purchase price list is a resounding success based on Google Analytics reporting. The Daily Blog, the For Sale page and the 30 Day New Purchase page are the three most popular links on the GFRC website....by far!

The last 30 days has seen over 170 new coins added to the price lists as consignment volume continues to grow. If one visits the GFRC Consignor Value Proposition page (just click on any Consignment Wanted button), the score board indicates 1733 consigned coins have been sold at a returned financial value of $1,071,814 to consignors. The majority of this volume occured in the past 1.5 years and continues to ramp.

Matt and I are most proud of this accomplishment but more is coming. Matt is secretly working on a major GFRC website enhancement while living in Beijing. If all goes to plan, the new functionality should be ready early in 2017.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's go back to the 30 Day New Purchase price list for some great coins that have yet to find new homes. Remember that GFRC is the place to locate top quality CAC approved Capped Bust, Liberty Seated and United States gold.

  

  

  

Sunday brings the Nashau, NH coin show requiring an early morning drive. There will be no Daily Blog tomorrow morning but GFRC friends can expect another edition on Monday. Thank you for the ongoing support, whether coin purchases or emails with commentary for the Daily Blog. Have a great weekend.

 

 

August 19, 2016

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning.

I'm up early at 4:00am and processing West Coast Seated quarter images followed by writing a fairly lengthy Daily Blog edition.

There was much going on Thursday including the arrival of the latest West Coast consignment, posting more selections from the Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Collection, sorting out an LSCC IRS reporting issue with club Secretary/Treasurer, Dale Miller and finally, trying to get some yard work done along with a health walk. The days are flying by and I was literally exhausted by 9:00pm and into bed early.

GFRC Sound Room - Vinyl Cover Art

Well it seems that I hit upon a topic that is near and dear to GFRC friends. After posting yesterday's Blog and one client's feedback, the emails just poured in. Following is more feedback and some favorite album cover art from a GFRC customer.

He shares his record shop and audiophile history....

Hello Gerry, think I mentioned before that I also worked in a record store when I was young to bring in some extra bucks. Always loved when the boxes of new albums would arrive. We would go through them and re-stock the bins....of course a couple were purchased and I would go home and queue them up on the turntable and have a listen, which usually ended up later than it should have on a school night. My parents were pretty lenient as long as I didn't crank the volume too much!

Never forget when I bought my first substantial audio system....a pair of AR14 two way speakers with a high powered technics receiver, and a belt drive turntable with ADC cartridge (which alone at the time cost close to $150). I had to put it on layaway and pay it off weekly. The day I brought it home was pure bliss! Believe it or not I still have it today, although it has been replaced with a more advanced systems over the years. More on that later. As much as I like the digital age, it doesn't hold up to well recorded vinyl. Plus, when a band went to cut an album it had to count as it was so expensive for the studio time etc....most of the time every song was good with only one or so lackluster songs. Another golden era passed, nice to see vinyl is making a comeback though.

Take care and keep the momentum going with the blog, it is well done.

Before we leave this subject, following is a favorite cover art piece from 1973; Blue Oyster Cult, Tyranny and Mutation and the actual Captain Beyond album cover that started this discussion.

 

GFRC Consignment News

Thursday brought a surprise shipment from the West Coast consignor. This individual is incredibly busy and somehow found the time to assemble and ship the follow Liberty Seated dimes and quarters. This is by far the best consignment to date from the West Coast Collection. Below are contents followed by a Client Gallery for the Seated quarters. Quality is very high with five of six pieces securing CAC approval. FRoR is in order once again as these will not last long. Pricing recommendation will be completed today for consignor approval during the weekend. I'll start working on the dimes later today or tomorrow.

Seated 10c: 1841 F-107 PCGS EF40 CAC; 1841-O F-115 PCGS VF25; 1842 PCGS F-102 EF45 CAC; 1875-CC BW PCGS VG10; 1876-CC F-131 Pimple Rust Die PCGS Genuine (AU50 - another rusty die that PCGS can't grade correctly); 1878 Type II F-102 RPD PCGS AU50; 1887-S F-101 PCGS AU50; 1888 F-118 PCGS EF45; 1890-S F-113 PCGS EF40

Seated 25c: 1844 PCGS VF30; 1857-S VG8 CAC perfect for grade; 1868 PCGS VF25 CAC nice and choice; 1876-S PCGS MS63 CAC so choice; 1884 PCGS AU53 CAC lots of eye appeal; 1888-S PCGS OGH VF30 Gold CAC

West Coast Consignment - August 19, 2016

Liberty Seated Quarters

    

    

 

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties Collection

I found time to post a few more selections from my Top 100 set on Thursday. Most important is the 1874 Polished Arrows dime, the finest example of four known pieces. Pricing this one is quite difficult but there is one reference as a guide post. The second finest, a dipped white AU sold for $10,000 about ten years ago.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties - August 20, 2016

    

Let's skip Global Financial News and GFRC Featured Coins this morning as already a long Daily Blog edition. Spot gold is trading in a tight $1345 - $1355 range for those following precious metal prices.

Have a great Friday! I will be back on Saturday morning with more coins and 1970s vinyl album art!

 

 

August 18, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog and ramblings from southern Maine!

I'll admits it..... I'm no longer 40 years old nor in great physical shape. This fact rings true as the morning blog is written with a sore back. With the upcoming external house restoration project, it is necessary to start cutting back bushes and trimming trees. Work started Wednesday afternoon after a USPS drop off. Decent progress was made and then foolish me decided to cut a tree stump close to the ground. I was not worried about dulling the chain saw blade with ground contact....the chain was already fairly dull and a good time to tackle the stump. To make a long story short, the unsightly stump is gone and my back reminds me that health walks are great for weight control but not for maintaining mid to upper body muscle tone. Sitting in front of a laptop and working with coins all day is great stimulation for the brain but a balance with physical work must be maintained. We all know this....the challenge is making time to stay physically active.

GFRC Sound Room Feedback

There was no sound room visit last evening; rather an early bed time to recover. But, I did receive feedback yesterday on the Captain Beyond cover art posting. One GFRC customer wrote the following;

I vaguely remember "Captain Beyond" but do remember the album cover; I used to go to a record store in Tenafly, NJ (always a contact high!) and just stare at the cover, which appeared to psychedelically move, along with Yessongs, Wake of the Flood (Dead), Panama Red, Tarkus, ad nauseum. I still hear "In a Gadda da Vida" on satellite radio once in a while, and my car speakers then get set to rattle. Remember "Blodwyn Pig"? A Tull-like group with that flute and great background. I think they're British (?). They also cause the speaker rattling from time to time.

Yes, many of us are from the "vinyl generation" where album cover art could be just as important as the recordings. Since working at a downtown record shop for most of my high school years, a substantial vinyl collection and album cover art was assembled and resides in the sound room. There are some gem album covers in the specially built "album rack". One that comes to mind is Jefferson Airplane's Long John Silver released in 1972 with an album cover that folded up into a replica of a cigar box. The record sleeve bore an image of cigars and the inside bottom of the box was covered with a photograph of marijuana. How about Grand Funk Railroad's We're an American Band with gold vinyl? Anyone else have some cool early album art?

GFRC Consignment News

Response to yesterday's Kansas Seated quarter consignment preview was strong. Three of the five pieces are already on FRoR.

This morning's emails brought a substantial consignment proposal ranging from 3 cent silvers through Seated dollars. The consignment proposal totals nearly 40 pieces, all raw, with a heavy concentration in Capped Bust quarters, Seated quarters and Seated halves. This proposal is from a current GFRC consignor who is taking steps to start the divestment process. More will be forthcoming on this topic as the news just arrived into my Inbox.

Global Financial News

Spot gold continues to be rock solid and is quoted at $1354/oz. The memories of sub $1100 gold are fading quickly.

Seeking Alpha headlines offer some interesting topics this morning that are worth posting. For once, there is positive economic news. U.K. retails sales are up as tourism is flourishing. With the ongoing terrorist attacks on the European continent, then the UK may benefit with a shifting of tourism to these island countries. Nothing new concerning Japan as the exports continue to tumble. China is experiencing increased housing prices again. One must remember that the Chinese people do not have many investment options as those of us in the West. Housing is the primary investment vehicle for most Chinese families.

Retail sales in the U.K. posted a larger increase than expected in July, as hot weather bolstered sales of clothing and a drop in the pound encouraged tourists to open their wallets. The volume of goods sold in stores and online jumped 1.4% M/M and 5.9% Y/Y. The figures suggest the economy started Q3 on strong footing, despite Brexit prompting the Bank of England to revise down its growth forecasts. Sterling +1% to $1.3171.

Japan's exports tumbled in July at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, weighed down by a strong yen and sluggish global demand. Exports slid 14% on-year, marking their tenth straight month of decline, while imports sank 24.7%, resulting in a trade balance of $5.15B. The figures are bad news for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose government has been struggling to reinvigorate the faltering domestic economy.

In contrast, Chinese housing prices rose 7.9% year on year in July, recording the fastest increase since February 2014. Home prices in Shenzhen and Xiamen soared the most, up around 40% each. Separately, Moody's raised its forecasts for China's economic growth in the wake of "significant" fiscal and monetary stimulus policies, cautioning that the "slowdown and rebalancing of China's economy is likely to be gradual."

Featured Coins of the Day

For the Liberty Seated half dollar denomination, GFRC's inventory focus has been mostly at the VF through AU grade levels. But the time has come to start adding selected mint state examples to inventory. I'm sure that the number of mint state grade collectors is much smaller than those searching out nice EF and AU pieces. GFRC strives to be a full service dealer and stocking/handling mint state consignments is a key part of the landscape. This morning, let's feature eight TPG graded mint state Liberty Seated halves within GFRC's inventory. The 1866 Motto images were redone yesterday and improved to new 1200x600 resolution. I will be doing the same for other offerings in the coming week. Enjoy!

  

  

  

  

That is a wrap for today's Blog. Lots to do with early morning shipping, then working on closing the 30 piece Top 100 deal and finally, more brush trimming later in the day. Sunday brings an early drive to Nashua, NH and a chance to walk a small bourse floor.

Thank you for stopping in and checking out the Daily Blog.

 

 

August 17, 2016

Greetings on a lovely southern Maine morning. Skies are blue and morning air has that "crisp feeling" consistent with the second half of August.

The home repair and painting projects have been pulled in and start early next week while the stone retaining wall kicks off in mid September. When quality local contractors indicate a window of opportunity for work, then one must immediately sieze the moment. Why? A portion of Raymond sits on Sebago Lake. Most of the lake front property homes are seasonal and owned by out of state business people with substantial means. Contractors will gravitate to these individuals since the jobs are large and owners are less price sensitive.

On a positive note, the tax base on Sebago Lake is substantial and helps maintain top quality services including road restoration and winter plowing throughout the town. Once October arrives, the lakefront population moves back south and Raymond returns to a sleepy Maine town.

GFRC Sound Room

I worked until 10:00pm Tuesday followed by an hour in the sound room to close out the day. Does anyone remember Captain Beyond? Below is an image of the CD artwork. Those with a vinyl copy will remember the two dimensional reflective artwork on the original album cover.

Since being a fan of Iron Butterfly's In-a Gadda-Da-Vida and Metamorphosis during teenage years, it was logical to move towards Captain Beyond and their first 1972 release. A Los Angeles rock band with important members including Rod Evans, (lead vocalist for Deep Purple before Ian Gillain arrived), Rhino and Lee Dorman from Iron Butterfly and Bobby Caldwell on drums. Captain Beyond offered a combination of hard driving rock and quieter psychedelic moments. Times passes but even 45 years later, great recordings from this rock era remains pertinent in the GFRC sound room.

GFRC Consignment News

Tuesday brought an email from the Kansas consignor concerning a small Liberty Seated quarter consignment. Though small in size, offerings from this individual are of high quality. Most pieces were purchased from GFRC and returning via consignment program once upgraded. Following are the quarters with FRoR being in order. Please note the 1878-S PCGS VF35 example as this is such a difficult date! These quarters will arrive on Friday.

Seated 25c: 1840-O ND PCGS EF40 CAC; 1843 PCGS AU55 ex Virginia Collection; 1858 PCGS EF45 CAC; 1867 PCGS VF25; 1878-S PCGS VF35

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties Sale

This divestment has been moving along nicely during the past two weeks. I'm pleased to report that an LSCC member has made a proposal to purchase 30 pieces from the set as a single transaction. His proposal arrived last evening and will take a few days to digest as some of the requested coins are raw while others are still in the bank vault. Any Top 100 dimes that are already posted on GFRC price list, and contained within this proposal, will therefore be marked as being on Hold.

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines offer little this morning. A sign of times is the opening headline which has two Federal Reserve branch presidents talking up an interest rate increase during the balance of the year. I don't know which is worst; ongoing Federal Reserve banter or presidential politics reporting by major media outlets?

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC Barber coinage inventory is currently at a modest level. I continue to add choice examples, when offered, to inventory. With few exceptions, all of the Barber inventory is owned by GFRC and not consigned. A large consignment to expand this product line would be appreciated. Following are several quality offerings for your consideration.

  

  

That is the extent of my Wednesday morning ramblings. Time to move into the packaging and shipping department, followed by posting the last of the Jim Poston consignment and new pieces from Monday's coin shop visit. Afternoon brings yard work as several bushes must be trimmed back for external house repairs and painting. Beware of wasps as nest building is active at this time. Thanks for stopping by at the Blog!

 

 

August 16, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a peaceful Tuesday morning.

Maine temperatures have peaked for the summer and the balance of August should bring evening lows in the 60s. Childhood memories of late August are of a rapid transition to cooler weather. However, climate change has added a full month (or more) to Maine summers.

My unrelenting attention to the GFRC business will probably slow in the upcoming weeks. A contractor has been located to replace what is left of a pressure treated wood retaining wall with new interlocking stone system. The house painting project starts after Labor Day with a mobile lift already reserved for two weeks. A local contractor/building inspector arrives within an hour to review replacement of cedar clapboard that has disintegrated due to the constant southern exposure. Even the 27 year old driveway will need to be resurfaced next year as winter frost heaves have taken their toll. The time has arrived for a substantial facelift for the Fortin home and property.

GFRC News

After publishing Monday's blog, I drove into Portland to visit my favorite coin shop on a quick buying trip. A substantial order for EF/AU $2.5 Indians arrived from a Shanghai customer and the hunt immediately started. While at the coin shop, I bought a nice original gray 1800 Draped Bust 12 Arrows dollar grading VG8 and two $2.5 Indians. Usually this shop has a decent supply of raw United States gold but not the case yesterday.

After returning home, the majority of Jim Poston's consignment moved online and can be easily viewed on the 30 Day New Purchase link. Below is a lovely selection of dual sided toner Morgan dollars that will be posted throughout the day. .

Jim Poston Consignment Highlights - August 16, 2016

    

    

Global Financial News

Spot gold sits at $1357 and remains in a tight trading range. What will cause the next upward movement is unknown though the IMF will be announcing its revised global currency allocations for its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency on September 4th. The Chinese Yuan will make its debut as an SDR currency and the impact to the US Dollar should be mininal.

This morning's first Seeking Alpha headline required a double take. The spokesperson for the Royal Bank of Australia should receive an award for best "lipstick on a pig" communication.

Australia's central bank saw room for faster economic growth when it cut interest rates to record lows earlier this month, predicting inflation would remain below target for another two years or more. "While prospects were positive, there was room for stronger growth, which could be assisted by lower interest rates," the RBA said in minutes of its Aug. 2 meeting, when it reduced the benchmark rate to 1.5%.

Then there is John Williams, the proverbial interest rate hawk from San Francisco Federal Reserve providing profound thought..... My feeling is that central banks and governments need to get out of the way of businesses rather than conducting more economic policy experiments. I'm quite cynical this morning after reading Seeking Alpha headlines......who makes this stuff up?

Central bankers and governments must come up with new policies to buffer their economies against persistently low interest rates that threaten to make future recessions more difficult to avoid, according to San Francisco Fed President John Williams. Possible suggestions? Setting higher inflation targets, tying monetary policy directly to economic output, instituting government spending programs that automatically kick in during economic downturns and boosting investment in education and research.

Featured Coins of the Day

How about featuring more of Jim Poston's new consignments here? Let's open with a gem original 1858 Inverted Date half dime. This one will easily TPG grade and also should win CAC approval. Next is a perfectly original 1891-S quarter graded PCGS EF45. This one has obviously not visited CAC. The second row opens with crusty ebony/gray 1869 half graded PCGS EF40 followed by an 1860 Type 3 $1 piece graded NGC MS62 with CAC approval.

  

  

That is a wrap for today's Blog. Today brings a substantial amount of shipping, a run to the local grocery store and mowing the lawn. I promise to be back tomorrow morning with more ramblings. My ramblings can't be any worst than this morning's Seeking Alpha headlines or the current United States presidential campaign. Have a great day!

 

 

August 15, 2016

Greetings as another work week arrives! Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog.

Maine weather is known for being erratic. We have a local saying for the out of staters....if you don't like current weather, then just wait a few hours as it will change! Sunday started off cool and cloudy with clearing during the morning hours. By noon, I was in the yard photography Jim Poston's consignment and one could feel the rapid climb in humidity. The GFRC office fan was on for the balance of the day as temps soared back to 90F.

GFRC News

The Dublin, Ohio coin show (CONA) is just ten days away and looking forward to the forthcoming GFRC debut. GFRC will have a corner table in the main room with six cases. If all goes well, this venue will be added to the annual GFRC show schedule. Bourse floor map will be posted later this week. I can't thank Stephen and Alexa Petty for hosting me at their home while at this event. Stephen will be chairing an LSCC regional meeting and educational session on Friday morning at 9:00am

GFRC will also be walking the floor at this Sunday's Nashua, NH show seeking out numismatic treasures. If Ernie Botte has a last minute cancellation, then I will take a table with three cases of top quality offerings.

Jim Poston Consignment

I'm ahead of schedule concerning the Jim Poston consignment and pleased to share the following highlights. Look for these wonderful offerings, and more to be posted to the price lists later today.

Jim Poston Consignment Highlights - August 15, 2016

    

    

Consignment Wanted!

The Jim Poston consignment is the last major consignment in queue other than the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties. As Daily Blog readers are seeing, the new COIN system has made a dramatic improvement in consignment processing and posting. I believe that GFRC is now competitive with the "major" players in this market space so please give me an opportunity to win your trust!

Global Financial News

Spot gold starts the week within its recent trading range and is quoted at $1346. Spot oil has quickly climbed back to $45/bbl but this is most likely trading induced. Attention shifts back to Japan and its massive negative interest experiment. Exports are falling due to the strong Yen and the economy has once again stalled. Negative interest rates are impacting banking sector profits as large commercial banks must pay a fee for parking monies at the Bank of Japan. Japan is caught in a terrible situation; shrinking economy due to aging demographics, weak export market, massive debt overhang and negative interest rates.

Then there is China which continues to develop its financial infrastructure and connecting Shenzhen stock market (mainland China) to Hong Kong (intenational market). Never under estimate the Chinese while they modernize systems as the second largest economy on the planet.

We close with Apple's Tim Cook reminding that the United States has one of the highest corperate tax rates that act as an incentive to move businesses outside the country.

Japan's economy nearly stalled in Q2 amid falling exports and weak corporate investment, adding pressure on Shinzo Abe to ramp up efforts to revive growth. The economy expanded at an annualized rate of 0.2% during the period, weaker than a 2% expansion in the first three months of the year. While the government announced a large stimulus package earlier this month in hopes of increasing GDP, many are still skeptical on whether the package will be effective.

Meanwhile, Japan's financial watchdog estimates that negative interest rates under the BOJ's monetary easing policy will reduce profits for the country's three big banks - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (NYSE:MTU), Sumitomo Mitsui (NYSE:SMFG) and Mizuho Financial (NYSE:MFG) - by at least $3B for the year through March 2017, the Nikkei reports. The BOJ implemented negative interest rates in February in a bid to boost the economy, under which it charges banks for parking some of their excess reserves at the central bank.

Chinese stocks climbed to a seven-month high today on hopes of a formal announcement regarding the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. "It has two positives: the first is it shows that this period of worry in Beijing about currency outflows has passed," said Erwin Sanft, a regional strategist at Macquarie. "But in a more practical way, it opens up increased access to the China market." The trading link could be announced as soon as this week and will be officially launched in December, according to the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

Tim Cook has struck back at critics of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) strategy to avoid paying U.S. taxes, saying he would not bring money back from abroad unless there was a "fair rate." "It is legal to do. It's not a matter of being patriotic or not patriotic. It doesn't go that the more you pay, the more patriotic you are," he told The Washington Post. The U.S. federal corporate tax rate, which stands at 35%, is among the highest in the developed world.

Featured Coins of the Day

One of GFRC's product line thrusts, other than Seated, Bust, Gold and World coins, is growing market presence for top quality toner Morgan dollars. Dual sided toner Morgans are nature's artwork and a pleasure to collect. There are no official price guides for toner Morgan so the trading process can be a bit subjective to the casual observer. However, GFRC is considering a price system approach. The forthcoming Jim Poston toner Morgan's (in new consignment) will be priced against that system.

Enjoy these wonderful silver pieces and do consider a purchase.

  

  

OK, that is a wrap for today's Blog. Thanks for stopping in. Wishing everyone a great week with lots of good fortune! I will be back bright and early tomorrow morning with the balance of the Jim Poston consignment as a regular Client Gallery.

 

 

August 14, 2016

Sunday arrives along with the middle of August. Greetings and welcome to another edition of the Daily Blog.

The Friday and Saturday rains are already having an impact on Maine's landscape. Lawns are quickly starting to transform back to a comforting green and the ground is softening as moisture is absorbed. Yesterday's health walk in light rain felt so refreshing. Saturday evening temperatures dropped into the low 60s and jeans were in order when heading into town for Chinese take out.

This morning's news from Milwaukee is disturbing. A new trend is becoming prevalent in American society, especially large urban centers with high unemployment and the ongoing breakdown in family structure. Social media has become a dangerous tool for those who wish to act as vigilantes. Online media reporting provides the vigilantes with immediate gratification. I'm reminded of the infamous Salem witch burnings when seeing news of buildings and police cars being torched. Social harmony is predicated on the rule of law and a family structure where children have role models. The police must enforce laws and provide social balance. Any system is not perfect but social media allows those with agendas to enflame the masses and start riots at will. Enough said on this topic.

Featured Article - The Transformation to Cashless Societies

On occasion, Greg Johnson will send along notable content from the Economist. An article entitled, Europe’s disappearing cash -
Emptying the tills
, provides an update on the transformation of northern Europe towards a cashless society. To read the entire article, one may need to register at the Economist website. The article opens with the following commentary and is supported by the inserted graph. At the article's close, a logical explanation is given for Germans remaining on a cash system.

ONLY tourists pay in cash, says the young barista in Espresso House, a Swedish coffee chain, on Vasagatan in Stockholm. “They don’t understand we don’t use that anymore,” she rolls her eyes, gesturing to the card machine. The contactless “taps” that locals use are much faster, and she frequently runs out of change when foreigners bring large-denomination notes, fresh from the ATM.

Swedes rarely handle cash; the volume of card payments has increased tenfold since 2000 and only one in five payments—5-7% if measured by value—are made in cash today. In much of northern Europe the situation is similar, with “no cash” signs increasingly popping up in shop windows. But travel south or east and a different picture arises; in Italy 83% of payments are still in cash. Whereas Norwegians made 456 electronic transactions per person last year, Italians made only 67 and Romanians 17, according to the Boston Consulting Group. Most surprising is Germany’s reluctance to dispense with “real money”. Over three-quarters of German payments are still made in cash and “cash only” signs are not that uncommon.

Culture plays a role, too. Digitally sophisticated Scandinavians may be comfortable buying groceries on their smartphones but a deep-rooted aversion to being tracked—a scar left by the Stasi—lies behind German distrust. A recent survey by PWC revealed that two in five Germans don’t use mobile payments because of concerns about data security (and nearly nine in ten worry about it). When the German finance ministry recently proposed capping cash payments at €5,000, as in some other countries, Bild, a daily newspaper, organised a reader protest.

A sincere thank-you goes out to Greg Johnson for sharing and keeping Daily Blog readers alert as to global changes enabled by fast paced digital technology. Note how trust in government is a key factor in the conversion to a cashless society.

GFRC Consignment News,

Suggested retail pricing for Jim Poston's consignment is done along with most descriptions. Once retail prices are agreed upon, another 30 coins will be reaching the price list. Images will be posted during Monday/Tuesday timeframe.

Featured Coins of the Day

One of yesterday's bucket list items was completing full descriptions for Capped Bust halves in the Burchs Creek Collection consignment. All descriptions are finalized. While revisiting the individual pieces under bright light, I was once again amazed at the consistent quality, eye appeal and color matching. There are six 1836 halves in the consignment ranging in grades from EF45 through AU55 with two pieces being the popular O-116 50/00 variety. None have sold at this point, probably due to the ANACS holders and the strong asking prices. So let's feature the six 1836 halves in this morning's blog, side by side, for an appreciation of the consistent quality. If there is potential interest on a single or several pieces, then please email me to discuss pricing. Otherwise, please enjoy these wonderful halves as much as I did yesterday afternoon.

By the way, the Overton varieties are 110, 101, 102, 110, 116, 116. I had an inquiry and thought to share with readers.

  

  

  

So ends another Daily Blog edition. Thank you for visiting and being part of my early Sunday morning commentary. Please consider a visit to the GFRC price lists and potential addition to your numismatic holdings. If considering pruning a collection, then please email me to discuss your holdings and approaches for marketing and conducting a sale.

Have a great Sunday.

 

August 13, 2016

Greetings from a cold and damp southern Maine!

I could not be more pleased to have several days of rain and temperatures in the mid 60s. Intermittent heavy rains started on Friday afternon and continued overnight. No floor standing fans will be needed today! A health walk is well overdue and will take place today regardless of the wet conditions.

Thoughts on Benchmarking

Creating and growing a new business can be daunting. One places substantial personal energy towards a vision. Developing a low cost business model that offers customer service exceeding expectations takes indepth reflection followed by some serious execution and attention to detail. Stamina is required for working long hours as the building blocks are assembled, debugged and consolidated. However, there is another key component for establishing and growing a business. That component is benchmarking.

Benchmarking in layman terms is essential asking the question, "How am I doing against the competition?" Is customer service consistent with or superior to the competition? Are the offered products distinguishable from the competition? Is the market place equating the brand name with the intended product quality and services levels? These questions are independent of most industries. I was well trained in the semiconductor industry to constantly have an eye towards the competition as innovations were the life blood for sustaining a healthy business.

Now that Matt and I are building the GFRC brand name and business, we use benchmarking to check on progress. Some approaches are discrete requiring offline research while others are overt. One of our favorite benchmarking tools is briefly mentioned in the GFRC Consignor Value Proposition page. This page is accessible by clicking on the Consignment Wanted buttons located on price list headers. You will immediately note the GFRC scorecard in the opening section. Yes, these numbers are updated daily whenever the COIN system refreshes the price lists with new offerings, descriptions or Hold status. Within that page is a mention of Alexa.com.

Alexa.com is an internet ranking portal. Since GFRC generates most of its sales via the internet, then global and United States website popularity rankings are an excellent indication of user traffic and behaviors. Yesterday, I performed a monthly check of the GFRC website status and did a happy dance...... GFRC is now ranked at 190,000 in the United States and slightly over 1,000,000 on a global basis. Remember that Alexa ranks every website in the world regardless of topic or function. These numbers represent substantial progress in building an active global online presence. Our primary benchmark target current sits at 106,000 in the United States so we still have much work to do......

GFRC Consignment News

The Jim Poston consignment arrived on schedule Friday afternoon and following are the contents. This is Jim's highest quality consignment to date. Just lots of great collector coins for GFRC customers to consider. Here comes the listing.

Today's primary task is to settle down the retail asking prices with Jim. Since rain is forecasted throughout the weekend, then photography will take place on Monday but that will not stop the posting of Jim's coin to the price list on Sunday and catching up the images early next week.

Capped Bust 5c: 1834 LM-2 NGC AU55 Choice Toning

Seated 5c: 1844 PCGS VF35 Original Gray; 1847 NGC AU58 Choice Original; 1858 VF30 Inverted Date Choice Gray; 1862 NGC MS63 Choice Toning

Seated 10c: 1866 PF60 Blast White

Mercury 10c: 1936 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC Rattler Holder, Satiny White, so close to FB

Seated 25c: 1857 PCGS EF45 CAC Choice Original Gray; 1891-S PCGS EF45 Choice Gray

Capped Bust 50c: 1814 O-102 F12 Original Ebony Gray

Seated 50c: 1839 WD PCGS VF30 Original Crusty Gray; 1840-O WB-10 PCGS EF40 Original, Cracked Reverse; 1847-O WB-13 PCGS EF40 Original Gray; 1854-O WB-10 R4 Big Foot N NGC MS61 VLDS Cracks; 1858-O PCGS EF45 Choice Bullseye Toning; 1864 NGC PF61 Undergraded!; 1869 PCGS EF40 Crusty Gray; 1869 PCGS VF35 Choice Gray; 1870 PCGS MS64 Choice with Bold Luster; 1886 NGC MS63 Choice, Proof Like Eye Appeal

Morgan $1: 1878-S PCGS MS64 CAC Choice Dual Sided Toner; 1879-S NGC MS66 CAC Cartwheel Luster Meet Superior Toning; 1881-S PCGS MS64 CAC Absolutely Gem Toning; 1886 PCGS MS65 Choice Toner; 1887 NGC MS64 Rainbow Rims; 1887 NGC MS62 Multi Color Reverse

Gold $1: 1860 NGC MS62 CAC Low Mintage

Gold $5: 1848 PCGS AU53 CAC Choice Original; 1873 Closed 3 PCGS AU50

Consignments Wanted!

Yes, GFRC is absorbing and processing consignments at a record pace. Sales are also very strong! There was a feeding frenzy for this week's Seal Beach Seated half dollar consignment; already 4 of the 6 pieces are on hold! Collectors seek quality coins and will pay fair prices consistent with the quality. Feedback from the ANA bourse floor and auctions is that quality 19th Century type coins are scarce with 20th Century pieces being dominate in dealer showcases.

There is one more promised consignment from the West Coast consignor (CAC Seated quarters) and then the queue is empty other than the listing of my Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime varieties. The busy Fall and Winter numismatic season is approaching and a perfect time to consider employing GFRC to market and sell your collection or duplicates. If I can part with my Top 100 Varieties set and rechannel monies into other pursuits, then pruning one's own collection for raising and rechanneling cash is possible.

Featured Coins of the Day

Saturday's packaging and shipping window is short. So let's close today's Blog with a recap of recent Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties listings over the past 48 hours. Sales for these lovely Seated dimes are increasing and will allow me to rechannel capital into growing certain GFRC product lines.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties - August 13, 2016

    

    

Wishing everyone a great weekend and looking forward to my health walk in the rain! As always, thank you for making the Daily Blog a part of the day's activities. I'll be back on Sunday morning with more rambling.

 

 

August 12, 2016

Friday arrives as we wrap up another busy week. Thank you for stopping by at the Daily Blog.

Southern Maine is a sauna. For those of us without air conditioned homes, life is essentially sitting or sleeping with a continuous floor standing fan. Thursday's high approached 100 degrees and night time brought slight relief back to ~75 degrees. This heat wave will abate later today with a significant temperature drop into the 70s during weekend along with rain. I can't wait for several days of steady or even occasional rains.

Regardless of the temperatures, the GFRC business continues to accelerate with rapid turn of new consignments. Case in point is the latest Seal Beach Liberty Seated halves. The lot was announced in Thursday's blog and immediately, I received two FRoRs. The halves landed at my doorstep at 10:30 am via Fedex delivery and were photographed by noon. During afternoon, each half was evaluated and loaded in the COIN database. By late afternoon, I issued a COIN report to Seal Beach and within an hour, retail prices were settled. Early evening brought image processing and the posting of the Client Gallery as shown below. Three customers are interested in four of the six pieces as of 5:00am Friday. This is the advantage when consigning with GFRC; a quick turn mindset based on years of manufacturing and testing semiconductor chips at speeds near theoritical equipment processing capacity. Adding in a keen sense of numismatic quality and a wide ranging customer base leads to rapid sales and accumulated Trading Desk credits.

Seal Beach Collection Consignment - August 12, 2016

    

    

 

LSCC Annual Meeting/Treasury Benefit Auction Report

Yesterday's feedback concerning the LSCC Annual Meeting was most positive. I attended the meeting opening via conference call to provide attendees with a review of the LSCC mission and also a recap of the past year's accomplishments. I'm pleased to report that the club auction brought a net $3800 to the treasury and wonder who won the GFRC gift certificate? Following are two reports concerning the meeting. The first is from Dale Miller, Secretary/Treasurer.

The Annual Meeting was very successful. There was a lot of comment that the Summer Seminar presentation was really well received. John Frost also said that in the last couple years we have attended many smaller and mid-sized shows where a lot of people are just learning that we exist.

My membership and treasurer's report was well received. I heard favorable comments on the model year analysis, which showed that our finances are structurally balanced, provided that we have a good auction, in addition to income from memberships and advertising.

Speaking of the auction, it raised $3800 for the club. The 1866 dollar brought $440, even in G4, and the Luther Beistle half dollar book brought $460.

Len Augsburger gave an interesting educational presentation on the impact of gold and silver policy on coinage.

We all agree with your statement about the need to bring Liberty Seated collecting to the next generation. We need collectors who love the coins and aren't just collecting for profit. We also need more that just white males in the collecting community.

The second from a southern California based GFRC customer who attended his first LSCC meeting.

Just returned from the ANA convention. Lots of fun, especially the LSCC meeting with the incomparable Bob Merrill as auctioneer and meeting everyone there. I even bought a couple of things. Very organized meeting and great education seminar by Len. When you see the group photo I'm the guy with white hair and glasses. That sure narrows it down! There were lots of coins as usual at the show and saw some people I know from NM, AZ and NJ there. You wouldn't need the bowling ball at this show; there was moderate floor traffic with an enormous amount of security. Of course you were missed there, but the logistics were awful and I don't blame you for not going.

Featured Topic - The 3-Letter Time Bomb in Your Portfolio

Yesterday brought the daily dose of Daily Reckoning commentary. On most days, I ignore or just try to capture the salient points from articles written by Jim Rickards, David Stockman, Byron King and Brian Maher. These writers are hyping physical gold ownership at the moment, but we know that, right? However, an article by David Stockman entitled, The 3-letter Time Bomb in Your Portfolio, caught my attention and definitely worth sharing this morning. David Stockman always writes with a certain amount of drama and flair. But his point is sound. The creation of Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) has brought more negative amplication risk in the event of a major Wall Street crisis. Once traders start selling ETF in a panic mode, the underlying stocks, in that ETF basket, must be immediately liquidated causing nearly instantaneous pricing gaps. Here are a few excerpts from the Stockman article to consider.

For the better part of three decades, the financial system in the U.S. has been expanding at nearly twice the rate of GDP. Even a basic familiarity with the laws of compound arithmetic reminds us that this ever-widening gap between economic output and the market value of stock and debt obligations can’t continue.

The weakening performance of the U.S. economy during the last two decades did not warrant the drastic increase in the capitalization rate.

In reality, equities and debt must ultimately be supported by interest and dividends extracted from national income (GDP). Historically, the stable U.S. financial capitalization rate — the combined value of debt and equity outstanding — had been about 2X national income. But beginning with Greenspan’s conversion to money printing after the financial meltdown of October 1987, the capitalization rate begin to steadily climb and never looked back.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are products of the financial casinos, not the free market.They offer traders and speculators the chance to “bet on black” for just hours, days or weeks at a time, based on little more than headlines and momentum. Not surprisingly, the XLE has now completed a round trip to nowhere during the last five years as the oil bubble re-erupted and then collapsed.

The implication is straightforward. The ETF boom functioned as a market accelerator on the way up. Speculative capital poured into these proliferating funds, and then was transformed by Wall Street market makers into demand for the thousands of individual stocks that comprise them.

This magnifying effect is important to understand because it highlights the artificiality and instability of today’s stock markets. Every time an ETF started trading above the net asset value of the underlying stocks due to speculator buying, fund providers issued new ETF shares to market makers. These market makers, in turn, bought up a basket of shares on the stock exchanges representing the asset mix of the fund. They then swapped them for the ETF shares.

I call this the Big Fat Bid that helped undermine the two-way market forces that ordinarily keep speculation in check. But now that the worldwide financial bubble is set to crack, I believe the dynamic will begin playing out in reverse. That is, ETFs will now become the Big Fat Offer that takes the market down at an accelerating pace.

The reason is straightforward. The $3 trillion world of ETFs is not an investor marketplace. It is a casino where the fast money moves in and out of short term rips, bubbles and flavors of the moment; and also a dangerous place where naïve retail investors have been lured to roll the dice on their home trading stations.

Featured Coins of the Day

For Blog readers who may not visit the 30 Day New Purchase price list, you've been missing the addition of some great CAC approved early type coins and United States gold. Following are just a few of the newly added pieces to inventory. When adding coins to one's collection, my advice continues to be....Buy the Best Quality Possible! Logically, quality coins will provide ownership pride and secondly, are always in demand when the time comes to sell.

  

  

This has been a long Blog and time to move into the shipping department. Thank you again for stopping by and please consider a GFRC quality coin purchase. Or please consider a trial consignment to test out GFRC service! Have a great Friday and be thankful that today is August 12 and not August 13...... I will be back tomorrow with more ramblings.

 

 

August 11, 2016

Greetings on LSCC Annual Meeting day and Treasury Benefit auction. Welcome to the Daily Blog!

Maine is going back into the sauna for the next two days and already the open windows are covered with morning dew from the high humidity. The seven day forecast indicates Monday will finally bring much needed rains.

A Blog topic escapes me this morning and decided to go back into the China image archives for something worth sharing. I believe this image will work just fine....a younger Gerry spending weekend downtime in Jilin, China back in 2003. One can never resist the urge to look at coins even knowing that most are cast counterfeits.

GFRC Consignment News

I'm pleased to announce the latest Seal Beach consignment and contents. Seal Beach offerings are a top GFRC attraction and sell quickly due to superior quality. Following are Liberty Seated halves that are expected to arrive either today or tomorrow. FRoR is in order. Please pay special attention to the 1845 and 1869 dates.

Seated 50c: 1845 PCGS AU55; 1847-O PCGS AU53; 1855-O PCGS AU55 OGH; 1858-O PCGS AU53; 1860 PCGS AU55; 1869 PCGS AU55 OGH

Jim Poston writes that his consignment ships today via USPS express and will arrive on Friday. I'm looking forward to this large group of quality coins.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection Consignment

In between writing blogs, packaging shipment and loading new purchases and consignor coins, offerings from the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection continue to reach the price list. Following is a summary of Seated dimes added in the past 48 hours. Some comments are in order;

- I don't believe in playing the crack out/upgrade game to secure the absolute highest price for my coins. Seated dimes purchased in TPG holders remain in the purchased holders. Instead, many went to CAC for review and green/gold beans are a testiment to overall quality. Old TPG holders are an important legacy item and validate the integrity of the actual coins. I'm always cautious when examing coins that are freshly graded, especially at the upper mint state grades.

- For raw coins, submitted to TPG, only one round was done. If the TPG results were unacceptable, then the coins still reside in "Genuine" holder. The 1891-O O/Horizontal O is an example. With today's dimishes grading standards, this scarce variety will straight grade.

- Pricing my Top 100 dimes is difficult. I'm attempting to be fair to the seller and the buyer. After searching out Top 100 varieties for several decades, there is a keen sense of rarity and available quality. Jim O'Donnell, an LSCC Hall of Fame member, would always say, "go find another one" when being challenged on asking prices for key date Seated coinage. In hindsight, Jim was accurate at the time and his prices were fair. I'm approaching Top 100 pricing in the same manner.

- The 1862 Montfort Johnson Die Gouge reverse dime and the 1876-CC Double Die Obverse with Reverse C have not been submitted to CAC for review.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties - August 11, 2016

    

    

    

   

Global Financial News

Gold remains in the spotlight this morning as the World Gold Council reports strong "investment demand" for physical gold. Record investment demand reached 1064 tons. To place that number in perspective, the total mine output (other than internal China mining) totals ~2000 tons. Gold mining continues to be more costly as ore quality (yield/ton mined) continues to degrade.

Global macroeconomic outlook is dimming and so is the demand for oil. Saudi Arabia continues to pump at record levels expect oil prices to remain under $50/bbl well into 2017. Finally, China continues to slow devalue its currency against the US dollar in response to Japanese currency devaluation efforts. No wonder physical gold is once again assuming its historical role as money and a store of wealth.

Appetite for gold is showing no signs of abating, as figures from the World Gold Council revealed record investment demand (1,064 tons) in the first half of 2016. The trend for ETFs to pile in to the precious metal sent the price of gold soaring by 25% in H1, the biggest price rise since 1980. And for the first time ever, investment, rather than jewelry, was the largest component of gold demand for two consecutive quarters.

The world will consume less oil next year than previously thought due to a "dimmer macroeconomic outlook," the IEA said in its monthly oil market report. The energy watchdog expects global oil demand to grow by 1.2M barrels per day in 2017, a decrease of 100K bpd compared with last month's forecast. Adding to the recent pressure on crude prices, EIA data on Wednesday showed a U.S. crude inventory build of 1.1M barrels last week, while Saudi Arabia said its output hit a record high in July.

Today marks the first anniversary of the so-called "one-off devaluation of the yuan". On this date last year, China's central bank cut its guiding rate for the national currency by around 2% against the dollar, a move that sent shockwaves through markets. The PBOC has since continued to incrementally weaken the yuan, with the currency depreciating by around 7% against the greenback over the past 12 months.

Let's wrap up the Daily Blog at this point so I can head into the shipping department early and then conduct a photography session for the CAC lot that reached the price list last evening. Please consider a purchase if you've not attended the Anaheim ANA. My favorite wholesaler reports spending over $2000 just to attend the show and walk the floor. When asked about the bourse floor traffic, he indicates the bourse appears similar to a laid back Whitman Baltimore show or consistent with Central States. Imagine being a dealer with ANA premium table fees and California retail sales tax liabilities?

Have a great day! I will be back again tomorrow with more ramblings.

 

 

August 10, 2016

Mid week arrives quickly at the Daily Blog. Maine weather is a constant and probably one of the nicest on record. Thank you for stopping by this morning.

We start this morning's Blog with a visit to Sethgodin.typepad.com. Seth Godin's blog is the most popular on the internet and in just a few visits, you will be hook if a believer in personal continuous improvment or just introspection. His blogs are short but incredibly insightful. Some days will bring two sentences and a thought provocating concept. Deeper exploration of topics will occur on other days.

As an entrepreneur, change agent and a bit of a fringe person, I take solace and motivation from Seth's writings. Decisions to run with the herd or forge one's own path in life bring different level of risks and perceived/actual happiness. Even the concept of happiness vs. being grumpy and demanding should be explored (click on this BBC article if interested in that topic). Following are two Seth Godin blogs that rings true for me since being disconnected from modern culture and trivia while conceptually digging deep in the evening sound room.

It happens around the edges

At any gathering of people, from a high school assembly to the General Assembly at the UN, from a conference to a rehearsal at the orchestra, the really interesting conversations and actions almost always happen around the edges.

If you could eavesdrop on the homecoming queen or the sitting prime minister, you'd hear very little of value. These folks think they have too much to lose to do something that feels risky, and everything that's interesting is risky.

Change almost always starts at the edges and moves toward the center.

Conservation and concentration of effort

The woman sitting next to me on the plane is successful by any measure--she's happy, engaged, making a difference.

And she confessed that she doesn't buy anything from Amazon, doesn't use Facebook, rarely connects online.

How is this possible?

I think it's because true effort multipliers are rare indeed. Without a doubt, a good tool helps us do a task better, but often, particularly online, there's so much effort and overhead and fear associated with the tools we use that sometimes they don't leverage our work as much as we give them credit for.

It might be that time spent knitting, reading, being introspective and digging deep is more productive than checking a Twitter feed just one more time.

There isn't a magic formula, the perfect combination of tools to use or to avoid. What matters more is the decision to matter.

GFRC Consignment News

More offerings from the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection were posted yesterday. Many more are forthcoming but please understand that certain dimes, even if posted, already have a FRoR. Working through the FRoR list takes time as I carefully honor each request.

The West Coast Seated dime consignment is online and selling quickly. Below is a Client Gallery with all pieces. Don't under estimate the scarcity of 1847 dimes in AU grade, especially with CAC approval. Just visit CoinFacts and you will catch my point.

West Coast Collection - Seated Dime Consignment - August 9, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

Global Financial News

Spot gold has rallied back to $1359 this morning. What happens when central banks launch another round of economic stimulus and no one comes to the party? The Bank of England is learning this fact due to poor bond yields. China bond yields continue to drop also. The global race to negative bond yields is unfolding in front of us. Finally, the proverbial stock market bear, Marc Faber, is sounding the alarm on current S&P rally into record territory. There is a place for pessimism as the herd charges forward.

The Bank of England's new bond-buying program ran into trouble on its second day of operations, as yield-hungry pension funds and insurers refused offers to sell gilts to the central bank. The BoE said it would make up for the £52M it didn't buy in the second half of its six-month purchase program, but others feel the auction shortfall underscores problems the bank may hit going forward.

Purchasing in China's onshore bond markets drove the yield on 10-year government bonds to historic lows overnight, falling below 2.7%. While that may come nowhere close to the negative yields of say, Japanese bonds, further easing now looks to be on the cards. More records are also being set with dropping U.K. gilt yields and eurozone bond benchmarks, as the race to zero expands across the globe.

The notoriously bearish Marc Faber is forecasting a 50% crash in the S&P that would reverse all gains from the past five years. He's unconvinced by the recent run-up in equities and warned central bank actions would increase volatility despite U.S. stock markets reaching fresh intraday highs and the Nasdaq just posting a new record close.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let return to GFRC gold offerings this morning. Regardless of the numismatic premium against bullion spot price, United States $20 double eagles are still priced at reasonable levels on a long term basis. Consider using the GFRC Trading Desk to sell less than cherished duplicates and shift the monies into gold coins.

Following are GFRC offerings that provide a good balance between numismatic quality and pricin. Sorry, there are no lay-a-ways on these pieces.

  

  

That is a rap for today's Daily Blog. Once again, I'm off to the shipping department and then loading another round of Gerry Fortin Top 100 offerings. Today brings the arrival of more new purchases and consignments. The balance of the week will be quite busy. I will be back bright and early on world wide trash pick up day!

 

 

August 9, 2016

Greetings on a beautiful Tuesday morning. Once again, the sky is light blue and cloudless. Temperatures have moderated but will be back near 90 degrees by the weekend with a chance for more thunderstorms. Rain remains elusive in the 7 day forecast however.

LSCC Annual Meeting and Treasury Benefit Auction

A reminder that the LSCC annual meeting is scheduled for 9:00am this Thursday at the ANA Anaheim convention center. Please check your program for the meeting room location.

GFRC Consignment News

The GFRC business model continues to gain traction as more advanced collectors use the Trading Desk option to swap out of current numismatic holdings and into exciting new quality coins. As I've said many times, the primary challenge of being a numismatic dealer is locating top quality coins for customers. Enabling collectors to divest their holdings in a simple and cost effective manner brings above average coins into the market place. The flow of quality consignments into GFRC continues at a strong pace based on emails received in the last 24 hours.

- West Coast consignor approved retail prices for his recent Liberty Seated dime consigment. With so many FRoR on his coins, I will try to get images done today.

- West Coast is sending another consignment, this time Liberty Seated quarters with the majority being CAC approved.

- Seal Beach will ship a lot of top quality duplicate Liberty Seated halves. I will itemize the lot in Wednesday's Blog so please make sure to check back.

- Jim Poston has wrapped up his consignment and will send in the next 48 hours. This lot will be heavy in Liberty Seated halves.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection Sale

The price list posting process has begun for my Top 100 Varieties collection. Is it difficult to say goodbye to coins that have been under my stewardship for over a decade or more? Absolutely yes! I find solace with the fact that many of these are heading directly into other LSCC member advanced collections rather than dealer showcases. My cherished Top 100 dimes are being placed with collectors rather than liquidated in an outright major auction sale. Just yesterday, three pieces were sold to collectors with FRoR; the 1842 F-103a (Rim Cud) PCGS MS63 CAC, 1887-S/S F-104 NGC MS63 CAC and 1890 F-106 Four Digit MPD PCGS MS65.

Key dates from the Top 100 Collection are starting to appear on the price list. Following is a small Client Gallery for Blog readers to enjoy the quality and rarity of these pieces.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties - August 9, 2016

    

    

More Top 100 offerings will be reaching the price list today so please check back during the evening hours.

Global Financial News

Spot gold is holding up nicely at $1340 this morning. Seeking Alpha headlines have a similar theme. Lower interest rates and more deficit spending as an economic panacea. Britain 10 year bond yields are approaching negative levels. Spain and Portugal just received a European Commission "get out of jail card" for their deficit spending. China's inflation is shrinking which immediately means more opportunity to ease money policy. Could we have imagined, just 20 years ago, that the world's major economies would be addicted to money stimulus for fear that their citizenry would have to face a negative economic cycle? Or is it that the elite class is working overtime to maintain control of political power? Something to think about......

British 10-year government yields have slid below 0.6% for the first time on record, while the pound dropped against the dollar, despite signs of post-referendum resilience in U.K. retail sales. Writing in an Op-Ed for The Times, Bank of England rate-setter Ian McCafferty said the central bank would cut rates further and boost bond purchases if the economic downturn in the U.K. deepens. Sterling -0.5% to $1.2986.

The European Commission has agreed to cancel budget fines for Spain and Portugal and set new deadlines for the countries to rein in their excess deficits despite them breaching EU limits in 2015. Spain will now have two more years to bring its deficit below 3%, while Portugal will have until the end of the year to reduce its shortfall to 2.5%.

Consumer inflation in China grew less rapidly in July as increases in food costs abated, giving authorities more room to ease monetary policy in the world's second-largest economy. China's Consumer Price Index slowed to an annual rate of 1.8%, putting it further below the government's 3% ceiling and marking the third consecutive month the key inflation measure lost speed. Producer prices, meanwhile, extended their decline, falling 1.7% from a year ago.

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC has built a substantial position in quality Draped and Capped Bust halves. This price list currently offers 119 halves. Following are some of my favorite offerings for your consideration.

  

  

Thank you for stopping in at the Daily Blog. Today will be most busy with a quick trip into the shipping department followed by more Top 100 photography, West Coast image processing and lots of price list posting. Have a great day everyone!

 

 

August 8, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on another lovely southern Maine morning.

This summer of 2016 has been incredible weather wise but the lack of rain is starting to take its toll for those with marginal wells. For readers living in urban areas, then water supply is never an issue but for those in rural America, rain is key towards having drinking water and flushing toilets.

GFRC Sound Room

I spent three hours in the sound room last evening after installing the Bowers & Wilkins rear speakers and debugging a grounding issue. Wow, what an incredible sound for classic recordings like Humble Pie's Smokin' and Black Sabbath's first recording entitled Black Sabbath.

  

Just like the GFRC website, the basement sound room has been an engineering work in progress for several years. I could have gone out to a leading audio shop and purchased a complete system as one package but that is not how Gerry Fortin operates. Rather, the audio system has slowly evolved with changing components and an ever improving sound field. For example, who would consider using an old Cerwin Vega bookshelf speaker as the center speaker firing from the floor at a 45 degree angle into the room? As the sound performance improves, it is a joy to listen to CDs that provide a broad and active sound field. Smokin' and Black Sabbath are early 1970s recordings with outstanding studio production. Instruments are distinct with shifting placements in the sound field. I was simply blown away with Humble Pie's Roadrunner/Roadrunner's G Jam as if hearing the performance for the first time. Believe me, I've listened to that recording on vinyl and in digital format since its release in 1972.

Another sound room session is planned for this evening with attention shifting to Santana's Caravanserai. Caravanserai is the fourth studio album released by Santana in October 1972. It was a dramatic shift away from Santana's salsa and rock fusion, found on Abraxas and Santana III, to pure jazz. Upon purchasing Caravanserai on vinyl as a teenager, I was so disappointed and ignore this recording for years. But with time, audio maturity took place and the genius of Santana was finally recognized. Today, this recording is one of my all time favorites from that era.

GFRC News

The majority of the Mountain View Seated quarter offerings are online along with other new selections. GFRC enjoyed another strong sales weekend that included several of my Top 100 Seated Dime varieties to those collectors with FRoR. Today will bring a combination of shipping, more West Coast consignment photography and the loading of some of the key date Top 100 Varieties pieces on the price list.

The GFRC World Coin ad campaign started in last evening's E-Sylum issue also. I'm looking forward to the first order for an Osprey consigned piece.

Most dealers are flying to Anaheim today or have already arrived during the weekend. I'm at peace with the decision to stay in Maine and continuing to roll out the Top 100 Varieties and also expanding GFRC online inventory. My goal is to move into the September/October timeframe with a substantial inventory of quality CAC type coins with an emphasis on expanding small denomination United States gold as Osprey has me covered on $20 double eagles.

Matt has settled in nicely in Beijing and is ramping up GFRC IT development. One of his priorities is developing a customer/consignor interface into the website for custom price list queries and other planned enhancements.

Global Financial News

Spot gold is taking a breather at $1337 this morning after being impacted by last week's 255,000 new jobs report. Frankly, I'm suspicious of the job report during a presidential election and not worried about the long term implications for gold prices. The first Seeking Alpha headline indicates that the US economy is trapped in a prolonged period of subdued growth. Yes, that means no interest rate increases and a weakening of the US Dollar as an imperative since major economic powers are in the middle of a currency war. This fact is bullish for gold prices.

The terrorist are winning in Europe on an economic basis. France's tourism industry is the victim. More bad news from China as global business continues to shrink. Spot oil has moved up slightly to $42.50/bbl with fresh talk to curtail Middle East production. Don't hold your breath here..... Finally Walmart has purchased online retailer Jet.com as a countermove to Amazon's growing online market dominance. I'm skeptical and believe it is already too late for Walmart in the online market space.

There is an increasing risk that the U.S. economy has become trapped in a prolonged period of subdued growth that requires lower official rates than were previously expected, according to Fed Governor Jerome Powell. "With inflation below target, I think we can be patient," he told the FT, arguing for a "very gradual" path for any rises as the U.S. outlook is still dogged by global risks.

Terrorist attacks are taking their toll on France's tourism industry, with Paris bearing the brunt of a drop in visits by holidaymakers from outside Europe. Overnight stays fell about 10% on average this year through July, and the country's tourist sector alone has lost an estimated €270M since late 2015. In the last few weeks, the U.S. State Department has also issued additional travel warnings for voyagers to Europe and Turkey.

China's exports and imports fell more than expected in July, making a rocky start for the third quarter and suggesting global demand remains weak in the aftermath of Britain's decision to leave the EU. Exports fell 4.4% on-year, while imports fell 12.5% in U.S. dollar terms, resulting in a trade surplus of $52.31B. The trade figures will again steer attention to China's economy, which slowed to a 25-year low in 2015.

Oil prices are getting a lift from fresh efforts to restrain crude output. "OPEC members including Venezuela, Ecuador and Kuwait are said to be behind this latest reincarnation. But just like previous endeavors, it seems doomed to fail, given key OPEC members (think: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran) persist in their battle for market share, ramping up exports apace," said ClipperData's Matt Smith. Russia's also ready to join the talks, according to Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who sees no prerequisites to freeze oil output.

Wal-Mart will reportedly announce its $3B purchase of online retailer Jet.com today in what appears to be the largest-ever acquisition of an e-commerce company. Under the terms of the deal, Jet co-founder and chief executive Marc Lore will remain at his post and run Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) U.S. e-commerce operations. Neil Ashe, the executive Lore is replacing, will eventually depart "after a transitional period."

Featured Coins of the Day

Following are new inventory items posted during the weekend. Please check the 30 Day Price List for details and descriptions.

  

  


That is all she wrote for this Monday morning and time to move into the shipping department. Wishing everyone a great ANA week. Please check back for more great GFRC offerings throughout the week including some awesome Top 100 Varieties reaching the market.



August 7, 2016

Greetings on a beautiful southern Maine morning. A cold front moved through the state on Saturday afternoon and cleared out the humidity. This morning's cool crisp air has a faint hint of the upcoming September weather.

Speaking of September, it will be a busy month for Maine property maintenance. The Fortin house will be power washed and much of the old paint stripped before a complete paint job. This means a self powered lift will be on the property for several weeks. The front yard stone retaining wall construction is also targeted for middle of September. It will indeed be a busy month with multiple contractors on site.

Daily Blog Feedback

The following email arrived from a GFRC customer in response to commentary made on August 5. The last sentence well states why the Daily Blog has become an important part of my life.

I share your view that the election is ugly and disgusting. You may recall my email last spring that the nomination of Trump or Sanders would be a disaster for the nominating party. It is now playing out.

When we moved to Oregon in 1969 we had Republican governor Mc Call and Republican Senators Hatfield and Packwood, all highly and widely respected nationally Republican statesman known for their vision, wisdom, bipartisanship, and reasonableness. Now , however, a Republican hasn't been elected to any statewide office or national position in Oregon for 20 years as the party is controlled by religious zealots or politicians who preach fear or tout their gun rights to the exclusion of other issues rather than discuss policy. All of the Oregon Democrat office holders are actually too liberal for me but there are no better options. Unfortunately, during the more recent years the Republican party catered to those groups in coalescing and the result is what we have. So I share your feelings.

So we can get release and relief enjoying our hobby and your commitment to it. Thank you for your daily blog. I get out of bed each day early just to read it (5:00 AM Pacific time).

GFRC Pre ANA News

Since not attending the Anaheim ANA, I've been on the phone with my favorite wholesaler prior to his Anaheim departure. This individual has a keen eye for quality early type and has a bright future in the numismatic business. We reviewed his inventory on Friday and worked a deal on a lovely CAC approved lot. I'm pleased to announce the arrival of the following new inventory on Tuesday. There are no rare dates, rather just top quality pieces to augment the GFRC CAC price list.

Bust 5c: 1834 NGC AU58 CAC

Seated 5c: 1845 PCGS MS63 CAC

Bust 10c: 1831 PCGS EF45 CAC

Seated 10c: 1882 NGC MS63 CAC Fatty holder, 1890 NGC MS62 CAC

Seated 50c: 1853 A&R PCGS EF45 CAC

Gold $5: 1847 PCGS AU58 CAC; 1915-S PCGS AU58 CAC

Then there is yesterday's posting of the new West Coast Liberty Seated dime consignment. Wow, what a response as many emails arrived during the day to request first shots. Nearly half of the new offerings are already on FRoR. These will be photographed, and hopefully priced today for consignor approval.

An finally, the Mountain View Liberty Seated quarter collection is priced and awaiting consignor approval. Photography is complete and below is the latest Mountain View client gallery. This is a better date lot in mid circulated grades. The stand out piece is the 1864-S PCGS F12 that is rated Choice and was previously handled at GFRC. The 1857 is the Top 25 Smoking Liberty variety graded PCGS VF25 with proper PCG labeling. Once pricing approval is received from the consignor, these will immediately head to the price lists. The 1878-S is under FRoR.

Mountain View Collection Consigment - August 7, 2016

Liberty Seated Quarters

    

    

    

    

    

GFRC COIN System Development

Today brings the first weekly video phone call with Matt, Chikae and Natsumi. Yesterday, the family visited a section of the the Great Wall, outside of Beijing, and sent back a host of photographs.

The For Sale list main page has been updated. The World Coin icon moves to the top of the page in preparation for today's E-Sylum ad campaign launch. We've merged Liberty Seated dime proofs into the AU-Mint State price list and moved the Top 100 Varieties to the second icon row. Also added is a "Gem" Quality Rating price list further down in the body of the page. This "Gem" price list is a window into GFRC's future development plans. Eventually, GFRC customers will be able to perform custom price list downloads after Matt constructs a customer interface.

Matt has also added new code that will capture the presence of small 300x150 icon images to speed up downloads time. Since Matt's Beijing Internet bandwidth is limited, this is a perfect test bed for speeding up price list downloads.

Featured Coins of the Day

This morning's featured coins are from the Capped Bust half dime and dime price lists. Each price list offers a decent selection of graded and raw pieces. Below are some of my favorite pieces.

  

  

Your ongoing support and positive emails concerning the Daily Blog are powerful. Preparing for the Daily Blog means a constant attention to worthy articles and a steady stream of new consignments and purchases along with continuous website improvement efforts. As always, thank you for the support.

Have a great Sunday! I will be working on the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties and the West Coast Seated Dimes today along with a health walk.

 

August 6, 2016

Welcome to the first weekend in August and thank you for the ongoing Daily Blog support.

Friday was a long numismatic day that culminated with a visit to the sound room at 11:30pm. Earlier in the day, a decision was made to move speakers around in the house for optimal listening. Yes, the Fortin's still have old fashion heavy wood encased speakers made by the likes of Boston Acoustics, Bowers & Wilkins (British) and Cerwin Vega. The B&Ws in the GFRC office emphasize the low end while Boston Acoustics offer a more brilliant high end sound. So the B&Ws moved to the sound room as rear speakers to simulate concert home acoustics while the Boston Acoustics when to the office. The speaker swap was long overdue as the B&Ws added a new high volume dimension to performances by Ten Years After (Rock and Roll Music to the World) and Jethro Tull's Aqualung. I enjoyed the new sound so much that bedtime occurred at 1:30am.

GFRC Consignment News

I'm pleased to report that consignments continue to arrive on a near daily basis. Doug, the mailman, brought three boxes on Friday; two new consignments and my recent CAC submission. One of the consignments was a complete surprise from the West Coast consignor; 15 Liberty Seated dimes, all PCGS graded with consistent gray patina. Many are CAC approved and perfect collector grade coins! Following is a listing of the latest West Coast consignment for potential FRoR.

Seated 10c: 1840-O F-106 PCGS F12; 1842-O F-102 PCGS VF35 CAC; 1842-O F-107 PCGS VF30; 1847 F-103 PCGS AU55 CAC; 1850-O F-107 Med O PCGS VF35 CAC; 1872 PCGS EF40; 1875-CC BW PCGS VF30; 1876-S PCGS AU55; 1876-S PCGS VF30; 1877-CC F-107 (1877/6 Overdate) PCGS VF35; 1887 PCGS EF40 CAC; 1889 PCGS EF45 CAC; 1890 PCGS MS63 CAC; 1890-S F-102 PCGS AU55; 1890-S F-117 PCGS VF20

Another lot arrived from a new GFRC consignor which was exclusively better date, high grade Liberty Seated halves. This offerings was previously mentioned in the Blog and asking prices are being finalized today. Much of this consignment is under FRoR and will be immediately sold.

Progress was made on the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties consignment also! I spent an hour in the bank vault sorting through boxes and assembling a better portion of the collection. Many are high grade holdered pieces while others are still in raw state. It will take a week or so to get the entire collection organized, priced and photographed to the new 1200x600 image resolution size. So please hang in there with me as the set is prepared.

GFRC COIN System Development

I'm pleased to report that Matt and family have settled in at their Beijing apartment. The Beijing International School is a mini college campus and will be the center of their lives for the next two years. Matt restarted COIN system development with an emphasis on the World Coin price list. Please take a quick look at the page and Matt's global regional approach to country based drop down menus; a much cleaner layout indeed. Timing is perfect given GFRC launches its World Coins marketing campagin in the E-Sylum on Sunday.

Also look for minor changes in price list icon placement on the For Sale page to further emphasize the World Coins price list.

Featured Coins of the Day

We are definitely in the slow summer vacation period for numismatics. Sales have slowed dramatically, but that is OK. GFRC continues to add quality inventory and will be very well positioned come September and the busy Fall show season. Following are several Baltimore show new purchases that finally reached the price list yesterday. The 1875-S BW dime resides in NGC MS64 Fatty holder with CAC approval and is about as frosty original as one could expect. Bold reflective luster dominates on the 1829 O-112 NGC AU58 Capped Bust half; sunglasses are recommended for viewing.... The 1842 Medium Date half is housed in PCGS EF45 holder but with labeling that indicates Small Date, Rev of 1842. I wonder how PCGS can reliably attribute Fortin Seated Dime die varieties when they struggle with such obvious and fundamental attributions on large denomination coins. It is a good thing that PCGS is not in the airbag business.

  

  

So ends another Daily Blog. Thank you for stopping by and wishing everyone a great weekend. Yes, I will be back tomorrow morning like clock work. Take care....

 

August 5, 2016

Another Friday arrives at the Daily Blog and what shall we discuss this morning? Please read on and thank you for stopping in.

There are days when I lack predetermined content for writing the Daily Blog. This is one of those morning as I pray for early morning inspiration with a hot cup of coffee. The political season is disgusting. It is said that democracy can be ugly, but this presidential election cycle is downright embarrassing and so glad that I don't travel overseas often. Maine weather has been consistently excellent so writing about blue cloudless skies becomes repetitious. The summer doldrums in the numismatic hobby are upon us with orders being quite slow. It is vacation time in Europe also.

What can I possibly discuss this morning? Poetic Candy and Grey Soldier are avid Daily Blog readers and caught the Thursday roadside trash day comments. They could not resist and sent along the following....

Grey Soldier: Just got back in from taking out the roadside trash & garbage. Do you think that Thursday is the only pick-up day world wide ?

Poetic Candy:

DUMPED

If I don’t die on a Sunday,
The neighborhood will stink like shit.

The garbage truck comes Monday,
And I am not planning on missing it.
:-)
(POETICALWAYS)

Yes, we are grasping for straws this morning!

GFRC World Coin Rollout

Thursday brought more French crowns to the World Coin price list. Actually it is fun to research French history as so dynamic with constant wars and of course, the ultimate execution tool, the guillotine. Following is a brief synopsis of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first emperor of France. This short review was prepared by Osprey's wife, who is fluent in at least five languages and a professional interpreter. She is a student of European history and one of the most elegant individuals I've had the pleasure to call a friend.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 1ST, EMPEROR OF FRANCE – 1804-1814

Born : 15 August 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica.
Married to Josephine de Beauharnais 9th March 1796
Married to Marie-Louise of Austria 2nd April 1810 in Paris.
Had one son, king of Rome, who never reigned.
Died : 5th May 1821 on the island of St Helena.

Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanders who dominated Europe in person for a decade and is thought for a century. He was an important successful man thanks to his genius and hard work.

He reigned over France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands (including Belgium), Switzerland, part of Germany, Poland and went even to Russia. He won 55 battles out of 63.

In 1796 France attacked Austria, Napoleon then a general, was given command and won victory.

In 1800, he became First Consul of France, a practical dictatorship with a constitution wrapped firmly around him. The consul’s popularity remained high, helped by his mastery of propaganda and genuine national support. He then was elected Consulate for life in 1802 and Emperor in 1804 until 1814.

In 1803 he sold Louisiana, colonized by the French since 1699, to the USA.

French coins circulated freely in North America before and after the American Revolution since no American coins existed prior to the revolution and following the revolution the coins of the colonies and federal government were insufficient for commerce. This was particularly common in the states that were composed of lands previously ruled by France and in coastal regions that traded with the Caribbean islands. Coins of many countries including Holland, Spain, England, and France were in fact used in the day to day commerce of the early United States.

GFRC Consignment News

Jim Poston wrote that his consignment shipment will be delayed until early next week. He continues to locate quality Seated coins and indicates that this shipment will be one of his best to date!

The Mountain View Liberty Seated quarter lot is photographed and in the image processing department as of this morning.

Progress was made yesterday on the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection rollout. About 90 of the 100 pieces will be offered with the balance being part of my PCGS Platinum Level date and mintmark set. The COIN database is populated with offerings and a consolidated First Right of Refusal (FRoR) spreadsheet has been completed. Certain individual received confirmation emails last evening to validate their requests. Of course, there are certain difficult varieties on multiple want lists but no one has stepped up and requested the 1839 Pie Shattered obverse......

I'm off to the bank vault today to retrieve the Top 100 Varieties and start the photography, pricing and description writing process.

Global Financial News

Spot gold sits at $1367/oz this morning and continues to be in a solid upward trend. With all the crappy global economic news, gold is the one positive area for investors. The following 5 year technical graph says it all.

Yesterday's major financial news was the Bank of England cutting interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25% as it attempts to stimulate the British economy. This action places the United States Federal Reserve into a very tight box concerning any thoughts of a 2016 interest rate increase. We knew the Federal Reserve regional presidents were bluffing but now, the Bank of England has called their bluff.

Indonesia (and Singapore) remain one of the globe's bright spots for economic growth. Germany is being dragged into the European maliase which warrants attention given the pending Italian banking crisis. And finally, Amazon is adding a fleet of cargo planes to handle its ever increasing sales volume.

Any chance the Federal Reserve had of raising rates this year may have been quashed by the Bank of England, which not only cut interest rates on Thursday, but restarted its money-printing program. The decision makes the corner in which the Fed has found itself even more claustrophobic, and will likely make it harder to tighten monetary policy as one of its closest peers loosens its purse strings.

Indonesia's economy grew a faster-than-expected 5.18% in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks to higher commodity prices and stronger consumption. Household spending, which accounts for more than half of GDP, rose 5.04% on the year. The growth was partly fueled by the earlier start in June of Ramadan, when prices of food and other goods tend to rise.

German factories slammed on the brakes in June, hit hard by business from within the eurozone. Factory orders contracted by 3.1% on the year, an even sharper decline than the 1.5% contraction that economists had penciled in, and much worse than the revised flat reading in May. On the month, orders dropped by 0.4%, from 0.1% growth.

Amazon will reveal its first branded cargo plane, Amazon One, at Seattle's SeaFair Air Show today, emblazoned with "Amazon" on its belly, "Prime Air" on its sides and the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) smile logo on its tail. The freighter jet is among a fleet of 40 leased from Atlas (NASDAQ:AAWW) and Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) to improve a supply chain straining to keep pace with the retailer's growing sales and swelling ranks of Prime members.

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC inventory continues to grow as we can easily view on the 30 Day price list. This list has grown to 126 coins. Locating CAC approved coins remains challenging as premiums are high. Below are a few remaining CAC approved pieces on the 30 day price list to consider. Once sold, these are so difficult to replace.

  

  

So ends another Daily Blog edition. I'm heading for the tram that takes me to the GFRC packaging/shipping department building in our large Maine complex....Delusions of Grandeur? Absolutely! We will see you bright and early on Saturday morning with more ramblings.

 


August 4, 2016

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a beautiful southern Maine morning. It is road side trash day again....how time moves along so quickly....

Being an owner/operator of a growing business requires multi tasking and shifting priorities to ensure that customer and consignor service is always at the top of the activities list. The GFRC priority for the current week had been the launch of the Top 100 Varieties Collection on the price list. Then the reality of wrapping up several more consignor account transfers to COIN system, the Portland coin shop new purchases and more consignments arrivals took place. Today's priority is consolidating the Top 100 Varieties First Right of Refusals (FRoR) followed by a visit to the bank vault on Friday to extract these coins and start the photography and listing process. So, I'm about a week behind schedule on the planned roll out of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Top 100 Varieties Collection.

Wednesday also brought a conference call with Osprey and his lovely Belgium wife. We are becoming close friends and chatted on the World Coin product line roll out and brainstormed how to raise market awareness. The Osprey world coin offerings are hand selected from finer European galleries and not the usual market acceptable coins seen at regional coin shows in the United States. Somehow, this point must be made to prospective buyers when launching a marketing campaign. Just this morning, I spoke with Wayne Homren, E-Sylum editor/publisher, about inserting a world coin advertising campaign into the E-Sylum, given its wide ranging distribution and audience.

GFRC Consignment News

The Mountain View Seated quarters and Strong Hands San Francisco Seated dimes arrived on Wednesday. Since the Strong Hands consignment was limited to four pieces, these were immediately photographed and below is the Client Gallery. Three of the four dimes were purchased from GFRC so old friends are coming back home for another sale opportunity. Please pay special attention to the 1875-S IW F-106a dime graded PCGS MS63 (former Grey Soldier Collection) and the 1887-S PCGS MS65 dime (former Birmingham Collection). Strong Hands is an active advanced collector and building a remarkable mint state set of San Francisco struck Seated dimes. He has committed to sell duplicates via GFRC. Below are the four consigned pieces. These will be posted to price list during the day at reasonable asking prices as Strong Hands wishes to raise cash for more upgrades.

Strong Hands Collection Consigment - August 4, 2016

Liberty Seated Dimes - San Francisco Mint

    

 

Featured Article - Mauldin Economics

Tony Sagami is a contributing writer for Mauldin Economics. His articles are focused, typically unbaised and to the point. August 2 brought a new article entitled, All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye? He opens the article discussing those dangerous games that we played with while children like the Mattel Creepy Crawler Thingmaker, which included a hot plate that heated up to 300 degrees and produced toxic fumes, JARTS that were nothing more than flying spears, wood-burning kits, Pogo Ball, and Click-Clacks. He then points out that children's toys have become much safer while traditional investing has become much riskier. Gone are the days of buy and hold strategies with expectations for steady equity value appreciation.

The article then shifts to the current state of the United States economy with some supporting graphs that caught my attention. Tony starts the dialogue as follows;

The biggest risk I see is an economy that is barely expanding beyond stall speed and threatening to fall into a recession. Last week, the Census Bureau reported that the US economy grew at a 1.2% annualized pace in the second quarter. Moreover, the Census Bureau adjusted the Q1 GDP growth rate from 1.1% down to just 0.8%.

That means the US economy has grown at a rate of less than 2% for three straight quarters now. But I think economic growth is going to get even uglier. In just the last week…

Ugliness Factor #1: Business bankruptcies are accelerating. According to BankruptcyData.com, the number of business bankruptcies increased by 9% from Q1 to Q2… by 23% in the first six months of 2016… and by 25% over the same period last year.

Ugliness Factor #2: Tax collections are shrinking. Everybody hates paying taxes, but a big tax bill is an indicator of success. Conversely, small tax bills are a warning sign that you’re not making much money. The US Treasury Department reported a 27% year-over-year increase in the US budget deficit to $401 billion.


Ugliness Factor #3: Rapidly evaporating corporate profits. We’re in the middle of earnings season, and if Wall Street is right, corporate earnings have dropped by another 3.7% in the second quarter—which will mark the sixth consecutive quarter of falling profits.

Just information to consider this morning....

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's go to the World Coin price list this morning to highlight some of my favorite offerings. We start with a Great Britain 5 Shillings (1 Dollar) piece created from captured Spanish 8 Reales. Note the Bank of England counterstamp on this Mexico 1796 8 Reales graded NGC VF30. This piece is perfectly original and blemish free. I simply love it for the historical significance. Next to the GB 5 Shillings is a gem 1868 Napoleon III 1 Franc silver piece graded PCGS MS65. This piece was sourced from France of course! Next is a stunning Louis XV 1718 12 Sol struck at the Strasbourg Mint and graded NGC AU58. Please take a good look at the double struck legend....just a marvelous piece. We close with a gem 1875 Mexico 8 Reales struck at the Guanajuato Mint. Surfaces are pristine and lightly toned. Graded by NGC as MS65.

  

  

So concludes another Daily Blog edition. I would write more but a quick shower is in order as contractor arrives at 8:00am to discuss construction of a landscaping retaining wall. Our pressure treated wood wall, circa 1986, has completely disintegrated and needs to be replaced.

I will be back bright and early on Friday morning. See you then and have a great day!

 

 

August 3, 2016

Hard to believe it is already mid week as time moves along so quickly. Thank you for stopping in at the Daily Blog.

Last evening, the LSCC Leadership team met under the capable guidance of Len Augsburger. Len keeps the team focused on longer term issues with detailed meeting minutes sent out via email within seconds of meeting closure. One can hear Len typing notes during the meeting, a skill that I've been unable to master. Tuesday's meeting focused on the LSCC Annual Meeting agenda, presentations and Treasury benefit auction that arrives next Thursday, August 11. Preparations are top notch with Len, John Frost, Bill Bugert and Dale Miller being in attendance at the Anaheim session. If John Frost can rig a speaker phone or cellphone near the conference room microphone, then I will attend the meeting via conference call and conduct an opening slide or two.

There are mixed emotions about not attending the ANA show this year. Yes, it is one of the annual coin show circuit highlights. But on the other hand, some personal down time was in order during August after a stressful first half of the year. Running GFRC at full throttle and implementing the COIN system conversion took a substantial amount of time and energy. Knowing that I'm grounded and staying home in Maine until Labor Day weekend has lowered stress level and allowed much needed time to focus on property maintenance projects in between the consignments that keep arriving.

GFRC Consignment News

Yes, yet another consignment was committed on Tuesday and ships today. This better date and grade Liberty Seated half dollar consignment was briefly mentioned in the August 1 Blog and originates from a new GFRC consignor. Following are four highlights that are worth noting and should not last long.

Seated 50c: 1857-S PCGS AU55 CAC, 1867-S NGC MS61; 1869 PCGS AU58 CAC; 1871-S PCGS MS62

GFRC New Purchase News

New purchases from Portland coin shop buying event are loaded on the price lists. It is easiest to view these on the 30 Day New Purchase price list. I should have images posted by end of day.

Global Financial News

Spot gold sits at $1370 this morning and is knocking on the $1400 milestone doorstep. Spot oil at $40/bbl is having a negative effect on emerging market bond and equities. With so much debt now ingrained in the financial system, a prolong drop in commodity prices at or below $40 could have serious consequences. Already, equities for major global oil companies are starting to roll over after an anticipated recovery in oil prices during late 2016 and 2017 might not happen due to Iran coming online with more supply. The opening Seeking Alpha headline (below) discusses this point.

I can't believe that Federal Reserve regional presidents are still attempting to talk up the possibilty of an increase rate increase in 2016. It is a charade given an election year, strong US Dollar and under performing GDP. I'll offer a John Mauldin featured article tomorrow that will illustrate, with data, that the United States economy is approaching stall speed and the possibility of a recession is growing. Finally, Japan's stimulus package did not impress Nikkei investors and Bank of Japan's own central bank meeting minutes indicate uncertainty about current policies. As an investor, I would be running away from Japanese bond and equities.

The reversal in oil prices to $40 a barrel is rippling through equity and bond markets, reigniting concerns about deeply indebted companies and countries reliant on commodities. "Should oil slice through $40 towards $35, macroeconomic fears will pick up," said Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at Merrill Lynch. Before the sharp drop in crude this week, investment in some of the riskiest areas of financial markets had been gathering pace, as central bank stimulus programs pushed equities to record highs and yields in safer areas of the market to new lows.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart is not ruling out a rate increase at the U.S. central bank's next meeting in September, saying "at this point... we just have to wait and see how the data comes in." He also expressed concern about what he called lofty asset valuations in the financial markets. "At the moment I would say they particularly deserve watching because they are relatively buoyant or relatively high."

Despite Japan's massive stimulus program, the Nikkei fell close to 2% today, on lingering disappointment that it did not include more direct government spending which could give an immediate boost to economic growth. Meanwhile, minutes from the BOJ's June meeting showed uncertainty over the actions being pursued by the central bank, highlighting doubts about the sustainability of its policies.

Featured Coins of the Day

Collecting Liberty Seated quarters is a most challenging endeavor with demand outstripping supply. CAC approved Seated quarters in the prime EF-AU collector grades simply don't last on the price list. But let's face it, building a Seated quarter date/mintmark set with all pieces being CAC approved will take a decade or more, again due to low surviving populations. Below are four original Seated quarters that deserve attention. For more details, please visit the 30 Day New Purchase price list.

  

  

Once again, thank you for starting your busy day with a visit to the Daily Blog. We will see you bright and early on Thursday!


August 2, 2016

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the yet another Daily Blog edition.

Maine's heat wave has broken and cooler temperatures are back. Evening air is crisp and allows for a much better overnight rest. Now if it would only rain for several days.

GFRC News

Monday was another busy day at GFRC. A visit to favorite Portland coin shop resulted in more new purchases including an 1861-O W-1 Union half and an 1894-O NGC MS61 $10. A patron had sold a quality Liberty gold type set at the shop and luckily, I arrived in time to purchase the $1, $2.5, $5 and $10 pieces from that set. There was also a nice selection of raw silver type coins purchased. All new purchases will hopefully reach the price list by end of day.

Also, the Liberty Seated dime 1837-1859 price list, for coins grading Good through Extra Fine, has been converted to automated COIN system generation. This just leaves the corresponding 1860-1891 price list to be updated.

Matt has settled down in Beijing apartment and is working on GFRC IT development. I joked last evening with him that GFRC will have round the clock technical support given the 12 hour time zone difference between Maine and China.

It has been a pleasure to team up with Brenda at Coin World for GFRC's initial world coin ad campaign. The Coin World graphic design staff did a marvelous job and below is the ad that will be appearing in the World Coin Marketplace starting with the release of the September monthly magazine. The evening hours brought more image processing and below is another world coin lot from the Osprey Collection. The lot is heavy in 18th and 19th century silver pieces.

GFRC World Coin Ad Campaign - Coin World

More Osprey Collection World Coin Offerings - August 2, 2016

    

    

    

GFRC Consignment Update

Trust in GFRC's consignment business model is growing as the queue of committed and under discussion consignments continues to grow. GFRC customers will be in for a treat throughout the month of August. Following is a list of committed consignments that are in transit. There are also discussions with new clients for at least three more consignments.

- A small Highwoods consignment of United States coins

- A Jim Poston lot with emphasis on Seated halves and United States gold

- Strong Hands continues to upgrade his Liberty Seated San Francisco dime collection and is sending mint state duplicates

- Mountain View consignor shipped a Liberty Seated quarter lot as detailed yesterday in the Blog

- Work on the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection consignment seriously starts on Wednesday

Global Financial News

Spot gold is up to $1366/oz this morning while oil briefly broken below $40/bbl yesterday. I suspect that money is slowly shifting out of an over valued equities market and into precious metals.

Japan has taken a step towards "helicopter money" to stimulate its economy. So what is "helicopter money?" A quick Google search brought me to the World Economic Forum link concerning this topic.

Helicopter money is a reference to an idea made popular by the American economist Milton Friedman in 1969. In the now famous paper “The Optimum Quantity of Money”, Friedman included the following parable:

Let us suppose now that one day a helicopter flies over this community and drops an additional $1,000 in bills from the sky, which is, of course, hastily collected by members of the community. Let us suppose further that everyone is convinced that this is a unique event which will never be repeated.”

The basic principle is that if a central bank wants to raise inflation and output in an economy that is running substantially below potential, one of the most effective tools would be simply to give everyone direct money transfers. In theory, people would see this as a permanent one-off expansion of the amount of money in circulation and would then start to spend more freely, increasing broader economic activity and pushing inflation back up to the central bank’s target.

Seeking Alpha headlines open with an annoucement of another huge Japanese stimulus package with some "helicopter money" thrown in. Australia has cut interest rates to 1.5% due to persistently low inflation. Then there is the corporate world where major corporations are funding large acquisitions with near zero interest bonds. Read on about Microsoft. What is scaring me is fact that people and corporations will take on much more debt risk as interest rates continue to fall. Once the genie is out of the bottle, you can't put the genie back in the bottle. Global finance is adjusting to ZIRP and NIRP and will be unable to return to historical interest rates of 5-6%. Welcome to the brave new world......I'm surprised that gold is only at $1366 this morning given the Japan stimulus package announcement.

Looking to jolt the nation back to life, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet has approved a ¥28T ($274B) stimulus package amid a growing consensus that monetary policy alone won't be able to revive the economy. According to Dow Jones, the stimulus package ranks among Japan's biggest since the global financial crisis, and will: Lift GDP by 1.4%, include childcare benefits, provide $150 handouts to 22M low income people, loan ¥10.7T for infrastructure and provide ¥7.5T for direct fiscal spending.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut its benchmark interest rate overnight by 25 basis points to a fresh record low of 1.50% amid signs of slowing economic growth and persistently low inflation. "This is expected to remain the case for some time," the RBA said in a statement. The Aussie slumped after the rate cut, while Australian equities remained in negative territory.

Helping finance its planned purchase of LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has raised $19.75B in its biggest ever debt sale and the fifth largest corporate bond sale on record. Strong demand helped the company to borrow at lower rates than it paid for the $13B of bonds it raised in October, as portfolio managers search out income. Trillions of dollars of sovereign and corporate debt are already trading with a yield below zero.

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC Walking Liberty half dollar sales have been quiet of late. The Colorado consignor wishes to sell a few of his pieces towards rotating monies into early type coins. Below are four lovely Walkers with CAC approval that hopefully, someone will consider. Please don't be bashful with an offer.

  

  

Thank you for stopping by this morning. It is time to move into the packing and shipping department followed time in the photography department too. Wishing everyone a great second day of August.

 

August 1, 2016

August arrives with cooler southern Maine temperatures and cloudy conditions. Today's high will only be 69F and I'm excited about driving the Miata through crisp rather than humid air during the day's visit to bank vault. Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Monday morning and thank you for stopping by.

On Sunday, the back yard brush pile shrunk substantially and a sore back is the result. It was great to get outdoors and work in the yard with a chain saw. The Fortins will not lack firewood for several years. The only downside were aggressive horse flies that kept biting my back during the sawing process. A warm soaking bath help relieve the back pain followed by an evening in the GFRC office preparing shipments and more consignment checks. Two consignment proposals arrived during the early evening hours with one lot already being transferred today.

LSCC News

Bill Bugert, LSCC Publications Guru, issued the August E-Gobrecht ahead of schedule as he always does. It is another strong issue with solid monthly columns and an excellent article by Jim Laughlin on how the United States Philadelphia and New Orleans mints were sourcing physical silver for Liberty Seated coinage during the 1838 through 1850 period. The August issue opens with an announcement of the passing of Eugene Gardner, an LSCC Hall of Fame member. Len Augsburger provides an Anaheim ANA preview while Greg Johnson discusses 1840s dated Liberty Seated quarters, their rarity and important repunched dates for that era. Rich Hundertmark discusses the new Whitman Liberty Seated coinage book and Benny Haimovitz features an 1875-S cracked reverse double dime that was recently sold by GFRC. The August E-Gobrecht edition is available as a PDF file and can be download by clicking this link.

GFRC Consigment News

I'm pleased to report that a substantial Liberty Seated quarter consignment will arrive by mid week. The Mountain View consignor has been busy upgrading his set and, as a result, has many duplicates to release back into the marketplace. There are great dates in this lot with all being certified by PCGS. Grades are nicely clustered in the Fine to Very Fine range. Please note the 1864-S and 1869-S dates among those listed below.

Seated 25c: 1846 PCGS VF20; 1857 Smoking Liberty PCGS VF25; 1858S PCGS F12; 1862S PCGS F15; 1863 PCGS F12; 1864 PCGS G6; 1864S PCGS F12; 1865 PCGS F12; 1869 PCGS F15; 1869S PCGS F15; 1872 PCGS F12; 1876 RPD FS-302 PCGS VF25; 1878-CC PCGS F15; 1878-S PCGS AG3 CAC; 1880 PCGS F15; 1881 PCGS F12

The second consignment, under discussion, is a small lot of high grade better date Liberty Seated halves. The individual is a long time LSCC member and a recent new GFRC customer. More on this opportunity as the transfer is finalized.

Global Financial News

Spot gold opens the week at an impressive $1355/oz while oil is treading water at $41/bbl. Seeking Alpha headlines offer little this morning but please do pay attention to the Goldman Sachs headline.......

There is the ongoing blabber from Federal Reserve hawk, William Dudley on a 2016 interest rate increase while Goldman Sachs declares United States equities to be over priced in the near term. This downgrade might just be the trigger for an August market swoon. Iran is attempting to put "lipstick on a pig" as OPEC's oil production is at record levels, now that Iran is pumping. Iran's oil minister says, don't worry but happy, there will be balance between supply and demand. But when if an American producing trying to stay in business?

The Fed should be cautious in considering an interest rate increase due to lingering risks to the U.S. economy, New York Fed President William Dudley declared, describing Friday's GDP growth figure of 1.2% as "sluggish." Although he said it was "premature" to rule out monetary policy tightening in 2016, he added that negative shocks were more likely than positive ones due to the unknown fallout from Brexit, a strong dollar and because it was safer to delay a move with rates so low.

Goldman Sachs has cut its three-month rating on equities to "underweight", saying its risk appetite indicator has turned neutral as stocks remain expensive and earnings growth is poor. The downgrade follows a recent rally in risk assets which Goldman (NYSE:GS) said has been driven by a combination of light positioning into Britain's vote to leave the EU and a search for yield.

"The oil market is oversupplied now but there are expectations that there will be balance between demand and supply in the market," Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after a Reuters survey showed OPEC's oil output this month was likely to reach its highest point in recent history. Today also marks the first day at the desk for OPEC's new general secretary. Nigeria's Mohammed Barkindo will be the first new top official at the cartel in almost a decade. Crude futures -1.4% to $41.04/bbl.

Featured Coin of the Day

GFRC has an 1870-CC key date Seated quarter on consignment. This piece has reverse scratches while the obverse provides device details at the VF30 grade level. Mintage is only 8,340 during the initial year of Carson City production. PCGS price guide at the VF20-VF30 grade levels ranges from $23,500 to $28,500. The consignor wishes to sell this piece and has agreed to lower the price to $9,500. Checking CoinFacts at the $9,500 price points revealed three records in the G4 and VG8 grade levels. There is a PCGS VG8 Details, Scratched example that sold for $9,988 during January 2013 as a comparison to the GFRC offered example. Given the strong obverse device details, I believe this offering is fairly priced at $9500.

1870-CC PCGS VF Details, Grafitti - Offered at $9500 - Key Liberty Seated Quarter

This concludes the Daily Blog on Monday, August 1. As usual, the GFRC office will be humming throughout the day as more new offerings reach the price list and the Liberty Seated Dime 1837-1859 price list is finally converted to automated COIN system generation. I will be back bright and early on Tuesday morning with more GFRC news. Have a great week!