Gerry's Daily Blog Archives - December 2016

December 31, 2016

New Year's eve arrives as 2016 comes to a close. A special day and still time to write another Daily Blog edition.

Wishing all GFRC customers, consignors, special friends and Daily Blog readers a safe and fun New Year's celeberation. For the Fortin family, there are no celebration plans this evening. We've had a busy week with the Yamatins along with our daughter Renee, and her fiancee Mike, vacationing at Disney World in Orlando and returning to Venice today. It has been a wonderful Fortin family reunion vacation during the past week. Now the FUN show arrives in a few days with a host of orders shipping on Tuesday.....

GFRC 2016 Reflections

2016 was an incredible year for the GFRC business start-up. Yes, GFRC is still in a start-up mode as numismatic customer service and community building ideas turn to reality. Please indulge me for a few moments as the major accomplishments of the past 365 days are shared.

- Osprey joins the GFRC community as a key consignor of United States gold while gold bullion prices awaken and run up above $1300 briefly

- Matt Yamatin joins GFRC as IT Director

- The COIN system is initially designed, on paper, in late January and launched in May timeframe along with GFRC Quality Ratings.

- John Frost, Len Augsburger and Gerry Fortin, are LSCC instructors at the ANA Summer Seminar

- Gerry announced the sale of his Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties Collection

- Summer is spent converting GFRC consignors to COIN account reports and automated website price list conversions

- Osprey provides a major World Coin consignment with GFRC developing advertising campaign for COIN World

- GFRC spreads its wings and attends Summer FUN and CONA shows with positive results

- GFRC makes late summer decision to rebuild the Open Registry as next strategic community project

- GFRC returns to Shanghai in November with record results at the Yunzhou Antique Mall show; Matt adds Google Translator Widget to Daily Blog

- The GFRC Open Registry Community Project is launch immediately after Christmas with strong community support

- 2016 Year End Statistics;

- Close to 1650 coins sold with nearly 1000 being consigned

- GFRC active Consignor lists grows to over 75 individuals

- GFRC pays out $1,350,000 in consignor proceeds since start-up in late 2013

GFRC Open Registry Community Project Update

While the Yamatins were traveling to Japan, I spent the better part of Friday updating my Liberty Seated Dime w/Varieties set on the Open Registry to showcase his accomplishment. Images and descriptions were ported from PCGS Set Registry. The set is about 50% completed in terms of number of coins having images and descriptions. Some comments are in order;

- Matt's display layout is superior to that of PCGS. The Owner Comment box will auto size based on device screen size. I love the "centered coin image" presentation approach on laptop screen.

- Downloading a large set with images and descriptions takes time. The database extraction must find all the image links and comments. So patience will be required for individuals with slow internet access.

- There is an issue with adding images from web image hosting services at the moment. I have an email into Matt to discuss the proper syntax for image URLs.

Thank you to the GFRC Community for an incredible 2016!

After spending much of my life working for semiconductor corporations, the chance to launch and grow GFRC is a once in a lifetime blessing. GFRC's success would not be possible without the many dedicated customers and consignors who support this business. Then there is W. David Perkins as my major show table partner and overall great guy in the numismatic industry. I'm extremely blessed to have Matt Yamatin's creativity and intense software development support. Ideas are simply ideas without a strong development platform.

To everyone who has consigned to and purchased coins from GFRC, my sincere thank-you and wishes for great numismatic fortune during 2017!

 

 

December 30, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on the last Friday during 2016. Another year quickly soars by. The verb "soars" is purposely used as GFRC had an incredible year during 2016. More on this topic in subsequent Blogs.

Matt, Chikae and Natsumi are once again traveling with Tokyo as today's destination. Dad was up at 3:00 am to provide transport to the airport and return just in time to write another Blog edition. It was wonderful having the Yamatins living with us for two weeks and spending quality time with Natsumi. They will be returning to our Maine home during the coming July and August timeframe.

Before leaving Matt gave the GFRC community a New Year's present. Read on......

GFRC Open Registry Community Project Update

Set posting at the GRFC Open Registry continues with 128 sets and 19 collectors to date. Within another 30-60 days, I expect the set total to easily reach the 200 count milestone as our community expansion continues.

Automatic GFRC Image Posting

The important news of the day is automatic image posting for coins purchased from GFRC! Yes, Matt was able to add code to the Open Registry whereby entered TPG certificate numbers will trigger a search of the COIN database and upload images if available. If you've purchased coins from GFRC since June 2016, then the image file names are the TPG certificate number and will automatically upload. How is that for service? Please remember to enter only the serial number for PCGS coins and not the entire holder number. For NGC numbers, please do not include the (-) before the last three numbers.

For coins purchased prior to June 2016, I will provide file names and links on a request basis.

Liberty Seated Halves Review

I spoke with Bill Bugert yesterday. He has completed the rarity rating review and suggested that the WB numbers be added to the half dollar sets to further simplify variety attribution and entry. We will be working on this improvement over the next few days pending Matt's availability to update the system. In the meantime, Liberty Seated Halves set posting will remain on hold.

GFRC Consignment News

Pricing for the latest Osprey Collection consignment has been finalized. These offerings will be loaded to the price list this morning.

Global Financial News

Spot gold continues to move forward and is quoted at $1160 this morning. The next two days will bring a host of 2016 reviews and highlight reports. Seeking Alpha published their 2016 review this morning since New Year falls on a weekend.

Politics, economics and markets were all turned on their head in 2016, and investors are looking ahead to 2017 following a turbulent year. Highlights: The Panama Papers, Volkswagen Dieselgate settlement, Greek debt relief, Megabrew (Budweiser and SAB Miller merger), the EU's tax crackdown, sale of Yahoo, nuclear test and impeachment in Korea, Pokemon Go, Twitter takeover rumors, Brexit and sterling's plunge, the Italian referendum, panic at Germany's Deutsche Bank and Italy's Monte dei Paschi bank, OPEC's output deal, and following Donald Trump's election - a Fed rate hike, the dollar's surge and soaring treasury yields. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq also partied like it was 1999 - the three markets all closed at historic highs for the first time in 17 years.

Featured Coins of the Day

Today's featured coins are from the Seated and Traded Dollar price list. Collecting large denomination early type United States coinage is quite challenging as much of the surviving population has been cleaned. In recent years, third party grading services have also become more lenient on certification standards so caution is advised.

  

  

  

So ends another edition of the Daily Blog with regular posting time. Thank you for checking in. Of course, there will be more numismatic ramblings posted tomorrow so do please check back. Have a great day!

 

 

December 29, 2016

Greetings once again as 2016 comes to an end. Thank you for being a loyal Daily Blog reader.

My apology for the late Daily Blog postings during the past two days. The head cold is somewhat better but still quite a nuisance with liquids and sleep being the imperatives. One reader joking commented via email that, "Get that cold straightened out...you throw my whole morning routine off when the blog is late ;)"

GFRC Consignment News

Pleez B Seated Part 3 Collection

I'm pleased to report that recommended pricing for the last of the Pleez B Seated halves has been approved. These will be loaded to the price list after the Daily Blog is completed. We can expect the better dates to sell quickly.

Osprey Collection

Another outstanding offering from the Osprey Collection is displayed next. As usual, the United States gold should garner considerable attention along with choice silver pieces. My favorites in the lot included the 1845-O PCGS AU50 Seated half, assigned a gem quality rating, along with the 1838 Classic Head $5 NGC AU58 CAC piece and the 1854 Large Date $20 double eagle graded PCGS AU53. Most of the United States gold is freshly graded and sourced from Europe in the November timeframe.

I hope the following Osprey Client Galley is enjoyed this morning. First Right of Refusal (FRoR) should be used to reserve potential acquisitions. This lot should be posted to the price list later tomorrow.

Osprey Collection Consignment - December 29, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

    

Incremental Consignments

Emails are arriving from several GFRC clients proposing consignments after the FUN show. Collection pruning towards raising capital for more long term and strategic collecting goals is the common theme. I'm honored to be trusted by a growing number of collectors in the GFRC community. Incremental consignments will continue to be announced in the Daily Blog.

Global Financial News

Spot gold is catching a tailwind and is quoted at $1147 this morning. Crude oil is holding recent gains at $54/bbl.

The financial media is creating considerable drama concerning the Dow 20,000 milestone. To everyone's disappointment the Dow lost ground yesterday; the media has another day to speculate.

The Santa rally has run out of steam. U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday in the second biggest loss since the election. The Dow opened just a short hop away from 20,000 but then lost 111 points, falling to 19,833, while the S&P 500 fell 18 to 2,249. Ripples from Wall Street have spread overseas overnight and U.S. futures are not looking too bright in the penultimate trading session of the year.

International politics and finance may be a bit exciting as 2017 arrives. Obama is using the last days of his administration to cement an agenda while Trump appears to be shaking up established international policies. None will be more important than the relationship with China. China is quietly struggling with a slowing economy and Trump's promises to reduce a trade defict by moving manufacturing back to the United States will only add pressure onto Xi Jinping. Taiwan appears to be the pressure point.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will pass through the United States when she visits Latin America next month, angering China which urged authorities to block any such stopover by stating "we hope the U.S. can abide by the 'one China' policy." The transit details are being closely watched as Taiwan media has speculated Tsai will seek to meet President-elect Donald Trump's transition team ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Featured Coins of the Day

One of the GFRC 2017 resolutions is to continue expanding Capped Bust coinage offerings. At this point, GFRC is well known for its broad Liberty Seated inventory and consignments for those denomination are pouring in. The Open Registry, with its in depth variety sets, is a first step towards offering Capped Bust collectors a fun collecting community platform. Following are some of my favorite smaller denomination Capped Bust pieces in inventory.

  

  

  

  

So ends another Daily Blog edition. Thanks for stopping by and checking out these numismatic ramblings. My head cold appears to be waning and hopefully Friday's Blog will be a bit more timely. Have a great day......

 

 

December 28, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. 2016 is quickly coming to a close with the New Year arriving on Sunday.

Today's Blog is a bit behind schedule due to a nasty head cold and the need for additional sleep and early morning rest.

GFRC Open Registry Community Project Launch Update

Set building at the GFRC Open Registry continues at a torrid pace with 118 sets online when writing today's Blog. As a reference, the old manual Open Registry reached 195 sets before becoming unsupportable. Favorable comments continue to arrive by email. Following are a few excerpts.

The new GFRC Open Registry is simply amazing. Finally had the opportunity to start some sets. Matt and you both are to be congratulated. The only part that is still a bit of a mystery is how to include images. Is the registry open for images yet?

Adding images to the GFRC Open Registry is as simple as copying and pasting the image URL from an image hosting service. Unfortunately, GFRC has no plans to host Open Registry images unless the coins are purchased from GFRC. When coins are purchased from GFRC, the price list images remain in the COIN database and can be linked in the Open Registry.

Hi Gerry, I think that what you and Matt have done on this is so innovative. I'm so amazed with how easy you guys have made it to enter coins and how they cross each other to different sets, Its truly a ground breaking idea. I have entered my dimes but I did the Wrong entry on the name of my sets, I added THE and COLLECTION to it and now it says The The Tony Alberts Collection Collection.

In this particular case, Matt will perform a search and replace in the database to remove the extra THE and COLLECTION from each Open Registry entry.

Liberty Seated Halves and Dollars in GFRC Open Registry

Users will note that Liberty Seated Half dollar sets remain unavailable. This is intentional as we hope the numismatic expert can find time to review the rarity ratings and make appropriate adjustments. If not, we will go live with Liberty Seated Half dollar sets this weekend.

For Liberty Seated Dollars, I've corresponded with Stephen Petty towards replacing the current 1-10 rarity weight method with the Sheldon scale. Stephen has provided his inputs and Matt will be making the conversion hopefully before leaving for Japan this Friday.

GFRC Consignment Update

More consignments are being committed and should start arriving tomorrow and Friday. This is the pre FUN show rush as collectors wish to have their coins placed for sale at this major numismatic event. On Monday, the Highwoods Collection consignor offered a small denomination United States gold consignment. Following are the contents.

Highwoods Collection

Gold $2.5: 1853 NGC MS62 blazing orange patina; 1856 NGC AU58 choice orange gold; 1878 PCGS AU55

Gold $5: 1878-S NGC AU58

Pleez B. Seated Part 3 Update

I've not heard back from the consignor on recommended pricing proposal. He is probably travel as a holiday week. Already five pieces are on FRoR.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's close out the Blog with the West Texas early half dimes on this Wednesday morning. If these remain unsold by FUN, then they are heading back to the consignor and probably going to eBay. Any offers are most welcomed at this point in time as GFRC would love to sell a few towards compensation for the listing and marketing efforts.

  

  

  

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog during the Christmas through New Year holiday week. Yes, the Venice GFRC remains open for your end of year coin purchases. Have a great day!

 

December 27, 2016

Greetings on a holiday week Tuesday morning and thank you for stopping by the Daily Blog.

The major news of the day is the launch of the revised Open Registry module, so let's jump right into that commentary......

GFRC Open Registry Community Project Launch Update

Monday was a hectic but rewarding day as a result of the GFRC Open Registry Community launch. Attempts to diagnose the Microsoft Explorer/Edge login issue resulted in experimentation with my laptop and clearing out cache and historical passwords, then a reboot. So far, the Open Registry is working fine on my system at the cost of losing all auto save passwords (a real pain). But overall, we were pleased with the limited number of phone calls or emails asking for technical support. Matt has an important presentation to prepare for a Decoding Sustainability client and has minimal time to support GFRC issues during the next few days.

Following are some learnings from yesterday.

1. GFRC will not be moving existing sets from the old Open Registry to the new system. Collectors must re-enter their sets and given the intuitive nature of the new system, this should be straightforward.

2. Please be careful when establishing sets. If a set is established, then the multiple listing function for coin entries will place coins in those sets.

3. When selecting a name for Open Registry account, please do not use "The XXXX Collection". Rather simply select a name and the software will bracket your name with "The, Collecton" automatically when displaying sets.

First Day Statistics

I'm pleased to report that within 24 hours of launch, there are 13 participating collectors and 78 sets are loaded. I found time to load my Liberty Seated dime date/mintmark set but still have much to add as many others collectors. Who knows, we may be over 100 sets by the end of today!

Collector Feedback

A GFRC consignor and new Open Registry participant sent along the following email to express his thanks for the Open Registry Community Project release;

Gerry,

Great job to you and Matt for making the new GFRC Open Registry a reality! I have been anticipating the new Registry since first being mentioned in October and it did not disappoint. As a Seated Quarter collector, I believe the biggest problems with other Registry sites have been the ability to add coins of all certifications (including raw coins) and the lack of weighting given to rare dates. The GFRC Open Registry addresses these issues along with a CAC bonus. I have navigated through the new web pages and entered coins from my collection with ease. The site is user friendly and works well on my Chrome browser. I look forward to more added features that will link the For Sale List to the new Registry and recognize the time and effort needed to make all of this happen. Keep up the great work in making GFRC a huge asset to the Numismatic hobby!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Woodbridge Consigner

GFRC Consignment News

If launching the new Open Registry was not enough excitement for one day, the Pleez B. Seated Part 3 collection was priced and all images processed. Following are the contents of the entire Part 3 consignment. Once offer prices are confirmed, the consignment will be loaded to the price lists. Please note the 1866-S No Motto, 1873-CC No Arrows and low mintage date Philadelphia halves in the Client Gallery.

Pleez B. Seated Halves - Part 3 Collection - December 27, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

Consignments Wanted: Early Silver Commemoratives in MS64 and MS65 Grades for China Market

During 2017, GFRC will continue to place emphasis on expanding China sales for quality United States coins. The primary demand area is currently Early Silver Commemoratives. If any GFRC customers have an early silver commemorative set that might be a divestment target, then please contact me as Harry and I have demand for these. CAC approval is preferred but choice original surfaces are important.

Global Financial News

As 2017 approaches, the Chinese economy is garnering attention for potential slow down. China's foreign's reserves have dropped by 25%, a staggering $1 Trillion in the past 18 months, with external capital flight being the primary issue. There are those inside China that worry about a hard economic landing and are moving their fortunes overseas. In this morning's Seeking Alpha headlines, President Xi Jinping sends a signal that the 6.5% economic growth target is not sacred; a powerful statement from the Chinese leader.

Global equities and U.S. futures are largely unchanged as some of the world's major financial markets reopened following a long holiday weekend. Although trading is expected to be thin this week, some are saying that concerns about Italian banks, Chinese growth and an overplayed Trump rally may keep investors on edge into the start of 2017. Is a so-called Santa Claus rally still in the cards?

President Xi Jinping isn't wedded to China's 6.5% economic growth objective due to concerns about rising debt and an uncertain global environment after Donald Trump's election win in the U.S., Bloomberg reports. Xi told a meeting of the Communist Party’s financial and economic leading group that China doesn't need to meet the objective if doing so creates too much risk.

Then there is Japan with its economy in a perpetual state of malaise.

Japan's consumer prices fell for the ninth straight month in November, slipping 0.4% from a year earlier, as the nation struggles to shake off deflation that has plagued its economy. The news comes after Governor Haruhiko Kuroda defended the BOJ's yield curve control and shrugged off criticism that his 2% inflation target was too ambitious.

Featured Coins of the Day

A reminder that the Venice GFRC office remains open through the balance of the week. Purchases would be appreciated as a portion of consignor commissions are allocated to website development projects. There are numerous great coins in GFRC inventory to augment your Open Registry sets! Following are some early date Liberty Seated dimes to consider.

  

  

As always, thank you for checking in at the Daily Blog and for your GFRC numismatic purchases. We are indeed building a strong community and I am quite proud of this fact. Have a great holiday week!

 

 

December 26, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on the day after Christmas.

To be honest, Christmas in Florida for this Maine family was quite an adjustment. We missed the cold weather, the snow and large family get togethers. Christmas Eve activity was a day trip to the Myakka River Park in Sarasota so that Natsumi could enjoy the boat ride and see the numerous alligators.

GFRC Open Registry

The second generation GRC Open Registry is now live but only works reliably using Google Chrome as a browser. We have a bug with Microsoft Explorer/Edge that occasionally blocks the Login In operation.

Secondly, we will be operating the old Open Registry at current link and the new GFRC Open Registry with separate link. The idea is to allow collectors to access their old Open Registry data while porting to the new system. Read on for more details.......

Blog readers are invited to visit and explore this collector community module for competitive set publicity. The new Open Registry offers major enhancements with respect to the old style manual Open Registry. A primary goal was the direct collector management of their sets and removing me as a bottleneck in the Open Registry process. We've simplified the coin entry process and used overlapping coin entries between sets where possible. Matt developed a system that is intuitive while providing considerable functionality and ease of use for average through advanced collectors.

The key goals include;

- An inclusive registry for collectors to showcase both their certified and uncertified coins.
- Increase collector awareness, particularly for Capped Bust and Seated coinage
- Create friendly competition among GFRC community in a fun manner without annual awards or expensive luncheons.
- Free collectors working on top registry collections to pursue the best possible coin rather than being limited to a single third-party holder or forced to cross, which can be a poor financial decisions with CAC'ed coins.
- Add a scoring premium for for CAC approved coins which recognizes the market pricing premium.

Following is a brief tutorial for getting started. Collectors must create a GFRC account with email and password. You will receive a confirmation email for account setup and please save the confirmation email to access the password in the future. There is no automated software to re-issue new password if forgotten.

To get started, click on the new GFRC Login link located on the website banner and input your email and password. This will be the access point for the GFRC Open Registry.

 

Once your account is establisbed, the following screen appears. Please note the new header bar for links to GRC website functions. On the right (in black outline), is starting point for establishing an Open Registry set. On the left is the menu for accessing existing sets for editting.

 

On the below screen capture is an example of the access box for Liberty Seated dime sets. An entry into any one of these sets will population all sets.

 

On the following screen capture is the individual set entry screen. Matt has done an excellent job with an intuitive feel during data entry. He defined all applicable sets for each coin entry followed by adding grade, TPG type from selection menu or uncertified, TPG serial number and CAC approval level. Collectors can also add image link and commentary for each coin.

I would like to sincerely thank Matt for the vaste amount of development work necessary to build the revised GFRC Open Registry. Also, please understand that there is a Login bug with Microsoft Explorer/Edge that we must deal with until eventually resolved. We have not tested GFRC Open Registry on FireFox browser either. The old Open Registry will disappear by end of March 2017 allowing collectors three months to port their sets to the new GFRC Open Registry.

Please remember that the GFRC Open Registry is a free numismatic community project for expanding the hobby with development funding via your GFRC purchases. No other coin dealer invests in these types of module to expand the coin hobby. The existing PCGS and NGC Set Registries are now exclusive to their own products in order to drive more revenue/profit to support these type of functions.

GFRC Consignment News

The Pleez B. Seated Part 3 offerings will be priced today and hopefully all images will be processed for a Client Gallery feature in the next 48 hours.

Featured Coins of the Day

The Venice GFRC office remains open through the balance of the week with a vaste amount of quality inventory. On Christmas Eve, the Port Matilda consignor issued price reductions for many of his offerings. With the new price reductions, the following pieces are a bargain and GFRC customers might pay close attention this morning. Sometimes, there is a Santa Claus in numismatics!

  

  

  

Thank you for returning to the Daily Blog on December 26. The Blog will be available through the balance of the week as preparations are underway for the FUN show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida next week. Have a great day!

 

 

December 24, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on Christmas Eve 2016 as another year passes by so quickly!

Wishing all Blog readers a Merry Christmas and hope family reunions and parties are a joyful event. In celebration of Christmas Day, there will be no Blog tomorrow rather sleeping in a bit and relaxing with family.

GFRC Consignment News

As promised yesterday, following are highlights from the Pleez B. Seated Collection Part 3. There is a nice ecletic mix of dates in the Part 3 offering. Below are those pieces that caught my eye for combination of overall quality and/or date rarity. The balance of the Pleez B Seated collection will be featured in the December 26 Daily Blog and then loaded onto the price lists.

Pleez B. Seated Halves - Part 3 Highlights - December 24, 2016

    

    

More consignments continue to be committed by email with several arriving just in time for the FUN show. Most significant is the Woodlands Collection consignor who plans to send the following lot this coming week. Please note that every piece is CAC approved and in mint state grade except for the 1846 EF45 date. I'm so pleased to have an influx of quality Liberty Seated dimes.

Woodlands Collection

Seated 10C: 1838 10c Lg stars PCGS MS65 CAC; 1846 10c PCGS XF45 CAC so choice and purchased from GFRC; 1872 10c PCGS MS65 CAC; 1878 10c PCGS MS66 CAC; 1887 10c PCGS MS65 CAC another choice piece from GFRC that has been upgraded

 

Consignments Wanted: Early Silver Commemoratives in MS64 and MS65 Grades for China Market

During 2017, GFRC will continue to place emphasis on expanding China sales for quality United States coins. The primary demand area is currently Early Silver Commemoratives. If any GFRC customers have an early silver commemorative set that might be a divestment target, then please contact me as Harry and I have demand for these. CAC approval is preferred but choice original surfaces are important.

 

So Ends the Daily Blog for Today! See you on December 26.....

 

 

December 23, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning with Christmas Eve arriving tomorrow.

Hurray for the USPS office lines being gone now that the Christmas shipment window is closed. GFRC can once again perform a quick shipment drop off as part of a busy day.

The new Osprey consignment was photographed on Thursday and grand daughter Natsumi took a particular interest in helping her grandpa with the project. She helped carry a few slabbed coins (with two hands) during the multiple sessions and performed a careful image quality review while sitting on my lap. I'm pleased to report that the Osprey coins were nicely photographed and now sit in the image processing queue.

GFRC Open Registry Update

Matt has been literally working non stop on Open Registry development along with training for the Great Wall Marathon given the ideal Venice running weather. I asked Matt to share a summary of his development efforts. He writes.....

The idea to transition Gerry’s Open Registry concept from a sheer brute force initiative to a modern and automated approach is synonymous with many of the GFRC improvements I attempt to tackle. As you have all heard before, Gerry is the marketer, photographer, shipper, customer service rep, website manager, accountant, etc. for GFRC. While I believe he takes pride in the ability to cover all these areas, it can stretch him a bit at times. Additionally, the all-hands on deck mentality can result in business approaches that work but are far from optimized.

Much like the automation trend that is and will continue to occur around the world, my priority is to allow my father do more in less time. Rebuilding the GFRC inventory database to allow for automatic website generation (COIN system) was the first step. While smaller improvements have been made, the Open Registry marks the next big step.

The Open Registry concept was started nearly a decade ago and concisely summarizes two characteristics of my father – brute force determination and competition. Alas, the Open Registry was ultimately a victim of those same characteristics, which drove GFRC’s success but placed the Registry in a dormant state to the disappointment of many, none greater than my father's.

That is all about to change as I can confidently say that the Open Registry will return shortly in its rebuilt format. Staying true to the original version, any collector will be able to submit both certified and raw coins directly into any one of the currently 43 different available sets using an online form. Where input coins overlap identically with multiple sets, they will automatically add to each applicable set (this functionality required a code rewrite and was the cause of the launch delay). Upon submitting a coin, your collection metrics will automatically update on the public index – let the keeping up with the Jones begin... Full details will become available upon launch.

GFRC Consignment Update

Saw Mill Run Collection

Over 40% of the consignment is now sold or on hold. Thank you to everyone who had a Hell Yes! moment and added one of these outstanding pieces to their collections.

Upstate New York Collection

The latest Upstate New York offerings are fully loaded and described. Let the sales process begin. Already a kind soul has decided to give the 1861 Seated half, entombed in PCI holder, a new loving home.

Pleez B Seated Part 3

These lovely Seated halves will see their images processed today and I may have some to share in Saturday morning's Blog.

Osprey Collection

New offerings are photographed.

Wisconsin Collection

These lovely offerings reached the price list during evening hours and already the 1862 Seated half is on hold. Great coins don't last long at GFRC. Please pay attention to the 1873-S Traded dollar graded PCGS AU58 CAC. If in the market for an absolutely stunning Trade dollar, then this is the piece for you.

Wisconsin Collection Consignment - December 23, 2016

    

Global Financial News

Global currency markets are on hold as the holiday season arrives. Everyone is expecting a strenghtening US Dollar during 2017 based on the Federal Reserves' forecast for more interest rate increases. A strenghtening US Dollar will continue to place press on gold prices.

It's hard to find a pulse in the currency market today as dealers pack up for the holidays, though the mood remains bullish for more dollar gains in the New Year. "Yields spreads should attract more capital into the USD," said Ray Attrill, global co-head of forex at NAB. The dollar index is marginally higher at 103.05 and within striking distance of the week's 103.65 peak.

Brexit vote has not impacted the U.K. economy as growth remains sustained at a 2.3% annual level.

The U.K. economy grew faster than previously thought in the three months following June's vote to leave the EU, according to fresh estimates that suggest there was no significant post-referendum slowdown. GDP growth rose 0.6% compared with initial estimates of 0.5%. On an annualized basis, the figure was revised to 2.3%, up from 2% previously.

Saubi Arabia continues to adapt to lower oil prices and reforming its economy. I would sure love to see sub $3 gasoline prices through the end of the decade.

Saudi Arabia will gradually link domestic energy prices to international benchmarks over the next few years as the kingdom seeks to deepen economic reform and balance its budget by the end of the decade. Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said poorer Saudis hit hard by the end to subsidies on utilities and fuel would be compensated with monthly cash deposits.

Featured Coins of the Day

I'd like to remind Blog readers that the Saw Mill Run consignor previously consigned an important lot of Liberty Seated quarters and several of those offerings remain available. Yes, collecting Liberty Seated quarters is not for the faint of heart as this denomination heavily circulated throughout the United States. Locating choice original examples of certain dates could take a decade or more. Following are some Saw Mill Run offerings to consider.

  

  

  

Thank you making a stop at the Daily Blog a regular part of your busy day. At GFRC, every day is special and I'm so pleased to be sharing quality coins and personal insights with the numismatic community. Yes, I will be back, live from Venice Florida, on Christmas Eve with another edition of the Blog. Have a great day!

 

 

December 22, 2016

Greetings on a Thursday morning before Christmas weekend.

Occassionally, a morning arrives where these is absolutely no content ideas for the Daily Blog. This is one of those mornings. I had originally planned to conduct a review of the individual online new media outlets and showcase the far ranging opinions coupled with the extensive filler content or "noise". Instead, I spent the evening on a much more worthwhile endeavour; playing with Natsumi with color crayons and teaching geometric shapes. The experience was priceless and you, my dear Blog readers, have no content as a result......

GFRC Open Registry

I prematurely announced the Open Registry module back in mid October as the development effort was just not ready for prime time. Many users of the Open Registry were disappointed and I apologize for this fact. During October/November timeframe, Matt's Decoding Sustainability consulting business grew quickly leaving no time for GFRC development support.

Since arriving in Venice, Matt has spent days on completing software development. When a genuis is at work, it is best to not disturb him, rather patiently waiting for the outcome. We've discussed a few options including individual coin entry re-use between certain sets but otherwise, the development effort has been an incredibly focused and personal challenge for Matt. When ready, I will ask Matt to write the introduction and feature here in the Daily Blog.

Daily Blog Reader Feedback

During Wednesday Blog, I mentioned that the stock market has increased too quickly since the Trump election. Dale Miller, LSCC Secretary and Treasurer, sent along the following commentary in response to the observation.

Hi Gerry,

I saw your blog this morning about the stock market. I am among those who fear that the rally has gone too far, too fast. 

One analyst reported that if the bull market ended right now, it would be the second most richly valued top in history in terms of trailing P-E ratio.

The one thing that tempers my concern is your report that the Dow Average first hit 10,000 in 1999. That's 17 years ago.  Applying the Rule of 72, it implies a compound growth rate of just over 4%.  That is certainly not unreasonable, and lower than longer term averages.

In my opinion the best case scenario would be if the market traded pretty flat for a year or two, rather than making a precipitous drop, allowing earnings to bring valuations back to a more reasonable level, and for more realistic expectations to be priced in on how much of President Trump's tax, trade, and regulation policy will be enacted and how much it will impact the economy.

GFRC Consignment News

Saw Mill Run Collection

The Saw Mill Run Collection reached the price lists at 11:00am on Wednesday morning including being posted at the Featured Collection module. Another wave of orders arrived throughout the day and during overnight hours. Nearly 35% of the collection has been sold within several days of being posted as a Client Gallery and I'm sure a few more pieces will sell today. There is no doubt that the Saw Mill Run Collection is a Liberty Seated collector's dream in terms of quality. In the Featured Collection opening description, the owner states the following.....

As I continued to learn and study the specific issues in the set, the inclusion criterion for new purchases evolved into a binary "hell yes" or no and I reached a point where it was a very rare event for me to find a coin for sale that I like better for its grade than the one in my set. To be included a coin had to grab my attention immediately, continue to impress under close examination with a glass, and then still make me love it after I had owned it for a few months.

The binary "hell yes" statement accurately describes the feeling I have for many coins in my collection and the rudimentary decision process for accepting a coin when purchased via mail. Great coins simply speak to you when first viewed. The same "hell yes" thought process is employed for JUST BUY IT NOW recommended coins on GFRC price list. If you see a JUST BUY IT NOW recommendation, then it is a "hell yes" moment when adding the coin to inventory.

Upstate New York Collection

Offerings from this collection reached the price list last evening and full descriptions will be added this morning.

Pleez B. Seated Part 3

Attention shifts to the balance of the Pleez B. Seated Collection today. Image processing, loading into COIN system and price setting are the tasks before we can go live at some point during Christmas weekend.

Global Financial News

Global markets are on hold this morning as the Christmas weekend approaches. Even Seeking Alpha headlines are dull and none worth sharing.

Featured Coins of the Day

The Wisconsin Collection consignor suggested price reductions for his older material. So let's conduct a feature on those coins with the new prices and hopefully, a customer will emerge today. Following are the coins with reduced prices; 1847/1847 NGC EF45 Large Cent - $125, 1865 PCGS MS63 OGH 3 Cent Nickel - $150, 1884 NGC AU58 Liberty Nickel - $150, 1861 PCGS VF35 Seated Half - $140 and 1896 NGC MS63 Toner Morgan - $195.

  

  

So ends another Daily Blog edition. I hope that everyone's Christmas shopping is done and we can all relax during the coming weekend. Thank you for stopping in and yes, I'll be back on Friday morning with more to say. Have a great day.

 

 

December 21, 2016

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and thank you for stopping by the Daily Blog.

Venice weather continues to be absolutely outstanding for late December with the balance of the week's forecasted highs at 80F. During the Maine to Florida transition, I packed a decent amount of warm clothes anticipating at least one cold week. So far, so good.

Today's Blog edition will be brief as the past several days have been intense with shipments, Saw Mill Run description writing, Shanghai order follow-up and on and on. Last evening, the Fortin and Yamatin family took a break and went out to dinner on Venice Island (The Daiquiri Deck) followed by an early bedtime. Natumi is enjoying herself and spent afternoon time in the clubhouse pool but slept through dinner allowing the adults to enjoy each other's company.

GFRC Consignment Update

Saw Mill Run Collection

Today's primary goal is publishing the Saw Mill Run Collection on all price lists including the new Featured Collection link. Two more Saw Mill Run offerings sold yesterday; so 20% of the collection has sold via the Daily Blog/Client Gallery before reaching the price list. Let's see what happens in the next 48 hours after the balance is published on conventional price lists.

Upstate New York Collection

Loading into the COIN system today and completing the balance of image processing. Already one offering is sold.

Pleez B. Seated Part 3

Photography is completed so the next step is loading into COIN system and establishing retail prices for Alexandria consignor approval. Then comes the image processing and another Client Gallery.

Osprey Collection

In the photography and COIN system loading queue.

Wisconsin Collection Consignment

A two piece consignment arrived from the Wisconsin Collection consignor on Tuesday. These are absolutely awesome offerings with prices already set!

Seated 50c: 1862 PCGS AU55 CAC with lightly mirror fields, teal centers surrounded by golden rings....a gem.

Trade $1: 1873-S PCGS AU58 CAC frosty cartwheel luster with light gray-gold patina....another gem and the finest Trade dollar handled by GFRC to date.

Mountain Collection Consignment

I received a phone call from this new consignor yesterday afternoon. Some background is necessary...at the 2015 Summer ANA, this individual consigned a lovely 1845 PCGS AU58 CAC Seated dollar that was sold several months later. Now he is back with three more Seated dollars, all PCGS AU58 and dated 1843, 1847 and 1849. These will arrive next week just in time for the FUN show.

Global Financial News

The Dow Jones average appears ready to break through the 20,000 level today. P/Es continue to inflate and there are those who believe this rally has gone too far too quickly. Spot gold continues to trade at $1135/oz while spot oil is being quoted at $53.60 this morning.

The Dow Jones industrial average is within striking distance of 20,000 and some investors believe that piercing that level would signal the recent rally may continue. The U.S. stock market as a whole has added $1.6T since the election of Donald Trump on bets that his plans for deregulation, tax cuts and infrastructure spending will boost the economy. The Dow first hit 10,000 in 1999.

I'm so glad that the Yamatins are in Venice and not Beijing....

Relief could be in sight for areas across northern China that have been choking under a blanket of thick smog for days. Over 400M people have been affected by a "red alert," the highest level in China's pollution warning system, but the threat may be lifted tonight in Beijing and elsewhere. The haze has spurred authorities to cancel flights, close some highways and enact other emergency measures to cut down on air pollution.

And another case of collusion among the too big to fail banks....fines are paid as part of normal business operations.

The Swiss Competition Commission has fined several European and U.S. banks almost 100M Swiss francs ($97.3M) over interest rate cartels, the latest punishment dished out in connection with rate-rigging scandals. The largest was a 33.9M Swiss franc ($32.9M) penalty for JPMorgan. Other banks that were fined include RBS, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Barclays, Credit Suisse and SocGen.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's visit the United States gold price list this morning for some of my favorite $20 double eagle offerings that will be on display at the FUN show. The most recent Osprey consignment will add even more early date and mintmarked pieces to the bourse cases. How can you go wrong building a collection of $20 gold at current gold bullion prices?

  

  

  

So concludes yet another Daily Blog edition. Time for reheated pizza for breakfast and completing the Saw Mill Run Collection descriptions! I'll be back tomorrow with yet more ramblings. As always, happy hunting and thank you for stopping by for your daily numismatic fix.

 

 

December 20, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog as the Christmas weekend approaches quickly.

The past 24 hours brought more disturbing news from Europe along with the official election of Donald Trump. The United States presidential election is behind us and hopefully the same for media noise. We can only wish.....

Here is Venice, GFRC continues to process new consignments along with shipping orders. Matt is working diligently towards completing the Open Registry module. His environmental consulting business is growing leaving little time to support major GFRC website enhancement projects. While in Venice, time is being allocated. Yesterday, a mathematical algorithm was development to add higher Open Registry numerical weight for CAC approved coins.

GFRC Consignment News

The Saw Mill Run Collection debut, as a Client Gallery, brought a record number of hits to the Daily Blog; over 1450 hits combined for Sunday and Monday. Eight coins are on hold with more being quoted.

I worked late into the evening to prepare the Upstate New York Collection images for today's Blog. Following are nine of the thirteen pieces and indicative of the old album type toning pursued by this individual. As with the Saw Mill Run Collection, FRoR is in order. The consignor has already provided retail prices so straightforward to respond to inquiries.

Upstate New York Collection Consignment - Old Album Toning - December 20, 2016

    

    

    

Ft. Lauderdale FUN Show Reminder

The FUN show is a little over two weeks away as preparations continue. Just yesterday, David Perkins and I received confirmation that Osprey has been added to the GFRC table as an assistant and will be covering the table on Friday morning, along with Diane. Friday morning brings the LSCC meeting at 9:00am, which I am hosting. Then at 11:00am, I will be presenting a discussion entilted "Developing a Passion for Liberty Seated Dimes".

Following is the massive FUN show bourse map and a guide for quickly locating Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and W. David Perkins at tables 1825 and 1827. Visiting the GFRC table is an imperative if you are a fan of Liberty Seated coinage and United States gold. GFRC will have the broadest offering of Liberty Seated dimes, quarters and halves on the entire bourse floor including Top 100 Seated Dime varieties key dates; 1839 Pie Shattered Obverse PCGS EF45 CAC, 1841-O Transitional Large O Closed Bud PCGS AU55 GOLD CAC and 1874 Polished Arrows NGC Mint State Details.

Gerry Fortin / David Perkins Booth Location - Winter FUN - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Global Financial News

Spot gold is struggling at $1135/oz this morning as the US Dollar continues to climb back to 14 year highs. The Euro is weakening and estimated to be a parity with the US Dollar and may remain there for years as the United States tightens monetary policies. I am so glad that Chikae, Natsumi and Matt are residing in Venice and not Beijing based on the second Seeking Alpha headline. A red alert air pollution alarm is in place for Beijing due to winter coal burning and resulting air pollution. Finally, Japan will remain its current monetary policy of negative interest rates and more QE.

The dollar is climbing back towards a 14-year high after Janet Yellen flagged strength in the U.S. jobs market, while fallout from attacks in Germany, Turkey and Switzerland are putting pressure on the euro, pushing the currency firmly back below $1.04 (see both below). Many economists have predicted parity with the greenback for years, arguing that the dollar would appreciate as the Fed embarked upon a path of monetary-policy normalization, but those forecasts didn't look likely to pan out until recently.

Smog in northern China including the capital city of Beijing reached hazardous levels for the fourth straight day on Tuesday, highlighting the fallout from resurgent coal production and related demand in the world's second largest economy. A "red alert" - the highest level in China's four-tiered pollution warning system - across 24 cities has canceled flights, closed off highways and shut down schools and factories.

The Bank of Japan has finished a tumultuous year for monetary policy with an upgrade to its economic assessment, while keeping its negative rates, yield-curve and asset-purchase programs unchanged. Stating that the economy continues to recover moderately as a trend, the central bank signaled its conviction that a generally weak yen and a rebound in overseas demand will lift prospects for a solid recovery.

Closing Comments.

That is about all for today's Blog. Another busy day is at hand including more Shanghai coin orders, photography of the latest Osprey consignment and loading Upstate New York, Pleez B. Seated Part 3 and Osprey consignments into the COIN system in time for the FUN show. Thank you for stopping by this morning and please do consider a purchase so I can pay GFRC staff their annual bonus.......

 

 

December 19, 2016

Greetings on the Monday before Christmas and welcome to the Daily Blog.

It is wonderful to have a full home with much activity. Natsumi is a bundle of energy as Matt and Chikae deal with jetlag. The GFRC office remains a quiet sanctuary with Big Head Todd and Monsters' Crimes of Passion to accompany Saw Mill Run Client Gallery preparations. Most Blog readers may not have heard of this 2004 rock/indie recording but it comes highly recommended. There are several ZZ Top like rocker tunes while the balance is soft comfort music for a consumed mind.

GFRC Consignment News

There is not much to be said concerning the Saw Mill Run Collection after viewing his Client Gallery. This collection is purely original with conservative grading at the EF through AU grade levels. A collection of this statue is a decade long pursuit with strict purchasing standards. Dealer relationships are also paramount to acquire first shot when spectacular coins arrive in inventory. More than half of the Saw Mill Run pieces were purchased from five well known dealers with GFRC supplying eleven pieces into the collection. Heritage was a source for less than 10%.

The Saw Mill Run consignor should be incredibly proud of his accomplishment and I'm so pleased to offer his Client Gallery. Enjoy!

Saw Mill Run Collection - Amazing Originality - December 19, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

  

So ends the Saw Mill Run Collection Client Gallery. Price list debut will be on December 20. Until that time, please feel free to make email inquiries on pieces of interest. A reminder that this set took over a decade to build and the individual pieces are mostly gems or choice examples for the assigned grade. These will not be inexpensive as the consignor paid strong premiums to acquire many.

Osprey Collection Consignment

GFRC consignment backlog is substantial with the FUN show looming. After screening three PCGS blue boxes of coins with Osprey on Thursday, the following pieces are being consigned. Please note the important group of United Stated $20 Double Eagles including 1851 PCGS AU53, the challenging 1854 Large Date PCGS AU53, 1861 PCGS AU58, 1869-S PCGS AU58 and the 1889-CC PCGS AU53. Here comes the latest offerings from the Osprey Collection.

Seated 10c: 1839-O F-104 PCGS VF35 CAC very early die state

Capped Bust 25c: 1835 ANAC EF40 Old White Holder

Seated 25c: 1877 PCGS MS61

Capped Bust 50c: 1823 PCGS XF40; 1824 NGC XF45 CAC; 1836 PCGS AU50 CAC

Seated 50c: 1845-O PCGS AU50 CAC a gem!; 1870 NGC AU58

Morgan $1: 1884-O NGC MS65+ lovely toning

US Gold $2.5: 1847-O NGC XF45

US Gold $5: 1838 NGC AU58 CAC

US Gold $20: 1851 PCGS AU53; 1854 Large Date PCGS AU53; 1861 PCGS AU58; 1869-S PCGS AU58; 1889-CC PCGS AU53; 1897 PCGS MS63

France 1 Franc: 1806-A PCGS AU53

Global Financial News

Spot gold is up a tad this morning at $1141 and hopefully the precious metal's swoon is over just in time for the FUN show. Several Seeking Alpha headlines caught my attention this morning. Australia's economy is forecasted to slow over the coming years due to an end of a long mining boom while Indonesia will simply remove several "0" from its currency's face value.

Australia downgraded its growth forecasts overnight and predicted larger than expected budget deficits over the next four years, heightening concerns the country could lose its AAA credit rating. The resources-driven economy has enjoyed more than 20 years of growth but is now transitioning out of an unprecedented mining investment boom.

Indonesia's central bank is looking to revive a previously shelved plan to slash three zeroes off the face value of its rupiah notes. Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo told President Joko Widodo the proposal would make the currency "more efficient and simpler." The largest rupiah denomination is currently 100,000 and the smallest note is 1,000.

Closing Comments

There has been substantial content in today's Blog and time to prepare breakfast and then spend time in the packing and shipping department. I'll be back tomorrow morning with more ramblings and hopefully a few highlights from the Upstate New Year consignment as FRoRs are already arriving for his latest offerings.

 

December 18, 2016

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

The Yamatins have arrived to Venice home with their precious cargo, Natsumi. After flying from Beijing to Tokyo then Chicago and finally to Tampa, the Yamatin family is settling into our home. While I type the Blog, Matt is already out running and enjoying fresh clean air as compared to that of Beijing. He is training for the Great Wall Marathon that will be held May 2017.

On Saturday evening, the Tampa airport pick-up was not without incident. When exiting the cellphone waiting area for picking up the Yamatins, I made a wrong turn and immediately exited the airport by mistake. For those who use and know the Tamp airport, this mistake is serious as the first I-275 turnaround exit is over 10 miles south in St. Petersburg. We recovered with a 1:00 am arrival back to Venice.

GFRC Consignment News

Other than spending Saturday processing Saw Mill Run Collection images, there is little to report. Sales are in the seasonal doldrums as much of America is struggling with brutally cold weather or is out conducting holiday shopping.

Saw Mill Run Collection

Following are some Saw Mill Run Collection highlights to wet your appetite. If all goes to plan, the entire 50 piece Client Gallery will be available on Monday morning (for another round of FRoR) with the set reaching the Featured Collections price list on Wednesday along with other price lists that day. In other words, the Saw Mill Collection will debut this coming Wednesday.

Saw Mill Run Collection Highlights - December 18, 2016

    

  

Seal Beach Collection

I'm pleased to report that three of the seven pieces highlighted in Saturday's Blog are on hold. These are the 1841-O, 1857-O and 1861 dated examples.

Pleez B Seated Part 3 Seated Halves

Part 3 halves will be photographed today as Venice weather will be ideal with with 83 degree high temp and bright sunshine.

Upstate New York Collection

Same here, in the photography queue.

Featured Coins of the Day

Gold CAC Mercury dimes are typically found in early PCGS Rattler or NGC Fatty holders as grading was quite conservative during the late 1980s. These are priced in the $135-$185 range and would be a great Christmas gift given their numismatic history and quality. Following are some recommended example for potential gift giving. For existing GFRC customer, I can ship these on approval during Monday or Tuesday...with arrival just in time for Christmas Eve.

  

  

So wraps up this Sunday edition of the Daily Blog. Time to enjoy family and a second cup of hot coffee. I will be back on Monday morning and hopefully, with the entire Saw Mill Run Collection in a wonder Client Gallery. Have a great day!

 

 

December 17, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Saturday morning with only seven days left until Christmas Eve.

The significant event of the day is Matt, Chikae and Natsumi returning to the United States and spending several weeks in Venice for the holidays. Already the Fortin condo is nicely decorated for Christmas and filled with large sized legos, a ginger bread house kit and other assorted toys to make Natsumi's visit memorable. 80 degree weather and the ability to spend time in the pool will be welcomed after the colder Beijing climate.

On the numismatic front, GFRC continues to move forward with consignment processing, sales and shipping. The order rates from China collecting community is accelerating with a planned trip to Shanghai in the April/May timeframe for a GFRC sponsored sales and educational numismatic event. The Saw Mill Run images are taking shape and I'm so excited about the upcoming Featured Collection debut next week.

GFRC Consignment News

Seal Beach Collection

This morning brings another Seal Beach Liberty Seated half dollar Client Gallery display. Seal Beach is an extremely focused Seated half dollar collector and is constantly upgrading and moving along duplicates via GFRC. Below are the newest duplicates that need to find new homes. All seven pieces are loaded onto the price lists with the 1841-O WB-1 PCGS AU53 CAC and the 1857-O PCGS AU55 being on hold. The balance are immediately available.

Seal Beach Collection Consignment - December 16, 2016

    

    

Upstate New York Collection

Friday brought the arrival of another Upstate New York Collection consignment. This old time collector continues his divestment project with the "best'' pieces now being released. Collectors well understand the divestment process....we release our least favorite pieces first, then moving up the ladder towards the top tier coins. The Upstate New York consignor indicates that he is approaching the top of the ladder and I must agree after opening and reviewing his latest offerings. This individual's speciality is nice old album toning. Following is a quick list for your consideration and FRoR.

Capped Bust 25c: 1838 PCGS AU55 choice original with aquamarine-rose toning

Seated 25c: 1853 A&R NGC MS61 gem with gorgeous Wayte Raymond bullseye patina; 1873 Arrows PCGS EF45 another gem with radial old album toning; 1877-S PCGS MS64 CAC satiny luster and pretty toning

Draped Bust 50c: 1803 Lg 3 PCGS VF25 CAC choice original gun metal gray

Capped Bust 50c: 1810 PCGS EF45 choice gray-gold; 1813 PCG VF30 choice old album aquamarine-rose; 1819 PCGS VF20 perfectly original gray; 1825 PCGS EF45; 1832 O-103 NGC AU53 choice gold-rose with blue rims

Seated 50c: 1844 PCGS AU50 light old album blues with gray centers; 1861 PCI AU50...don't laugh, this is a marvelous piece that is full AU55 with lightly mirrored fields and classic center rose surrounded by blue ring; 1870 PCGS VF25 old album rose-blue and CAC possibility.

Closing Comments

There is much to be accomplished today before Matt and family arrive into Tampa this evening. Therefore today's Blog will be brief.

Having a great weekend and please do consider a GFRC purchase.

 

December 16, 2016

Greetings on a Friday morning from Venice office.

West Coast Florida temperatures are seasonally above average and will remain so during the upcoming week. Daytime highs are forecasted to be near 80F and will be ideal for when Matt, Chikae and Natsumi arrived tomorrow for their Christmas holiday break. As a reference, Raymond Maine is currently at -4F while Beijing is warmer at 28F. The following image illustrates why Florida continues to experience a housing and population boom as more snowbirds escape northern polar vortexes during winter months. This lovely flowing shrub is located to the left of our front door.

Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book News

A portion of Thursday's time was allocated to Seated dime web-book updates including the addition of a terminal die state page for the 1839-O F-105 die pairing, a strong and weak strike pictorial comparison for the 1843 F-101a variety/die state and a plate coin improvement for the 1876-CC F-132 variety. The latter was provided by Jim Skwarek and has the ideal gray surfaces to illustrate the variety. Below is a pictorial summary of the web-book updates with the 1843 F-101a PCGS MS62 dime being for sale.

1839-O F-105c Terminal Die State

        

Example of 1843 F-101a Polished Obverse and Eroded Die Reverse

      

Super Example of 1876-CC F-132 Die Pairing From Jim Skwarek

        

GFRC Consignment News

Osprey made a visit to the GFRC office on Thursday and a great time was had reviewing coins for three hours. The visit provided a chance for Osprey to view the entire Saw Mill Run Collection with one of the half dimes being purchased. We also went through three PCGS blue boxes of coins brought by Osprey for potential consignment. Some pieces were obviously undergraded and will be resubmitted while others deserved a trip through CAC. It was an enjoyable time viewing so many fresh coins including 1850 and 1854 Large Date $20 double eagles.

Seal Beach Consignment

Another group of Seal Beach Seated halves arrived. I worked late to price these and GFRC has been authorized to sell immediately. Photography will take place today.

GFRC now has a substantial consignment backlog sufficient for the FUN show. I will not be taking further consignments between now and FUN given the workload necessary to absorb and properly market Osprey, Seal Beach, Pleez B. Seated and Upstate New York consignments. New consignments are welcomed and requested at FUN and the days following the show.

 

Global Financial News

Spot gold continues to fall as the US Dollar achieves a 14 year high against other major currencies. It appears that investors believe a strong uptick in the United States economy is forthcoming along with additional interest rate increases. Spot gold sits at $1136 this morning. Following are important Seeking Alpha headlines with the China RMB : US Dollar exchange rate being quoted at nearly 7.0 this morning. It was 6.65 during GFRC November Shanghai show.

Global markets are stable overnight, and the euro, yen and pound all recover a bit of ground against the dollar, as the greenback surged to 14-year highs vs. the euro and a broader basket of currencies yesterday as markets repositioned for a faster pace of Fed rate hikes over the next year. The yen has plunged 11% vs. the dollar since Pres.-elect Trump's election victory last month, surpassing the Mexican peso's 10% slide to become the worst performing major currency during the period. The weaker yen will make Japan’s exports more competitive and could boost growth, and the Nikkei index has gained for eight straight days, but bond prices have been under pressure amid a global debt selloff. In China, fears that a rising dollar will destabilize trading in the yuan has sent the currency to its lowest against the dollar in more than eight years and raised concerns that outflows could increase

"Gold has gotten smoked," as futures prices plunged $33.90/oz., or 2.9%, yesterday to $1,129.80 for the lowest settlement since Feb. 2 and the largest single-day dollar and percentage loss since Nov. 11. The yellow metal has inched higher overnight but is on track for a sixth weekly loss that has been driven by a more aggressive Fed, investor enthusiasm about Pres.-elect Trump’s policies and ETF sales. As of Thursday’s close, gold had retreated 17% from July’s high, nearing the 20% loss that commonly defines a bear market.

This headline was surprising as I did not realize that Japan held such a large portion of United States Treasury debt.

Japan has overtaken China as the biggest holder of U.S. government bonds, as figures for foreign ownership of U.S. Treasurys in October show that China's holdings declined to the lowest in more than six years as its central bank used its foreign exchange reserves to support the yuan. Japan's Treasury holdings also decreased but at a slower pace; Japan trimmed $4.5B of U.S. paper to end the month with $1.131T, while China's holdings plunged by $41.3B to $1.115T, the lowest level since July 2010 and capping a decline of five straight months. China has been dipping into its reserves, selling Treasurys to support the yuan, which yesterday fell to its weakest level vs. the U.S. dollar in more than eight years.

GFRC Price Reductions - December Sales Doldrums

December is probably the weakest month of the year for numismatic sales. Collectors are consumed with holiday preparations and disposable income being allocated to holiday gift giving. Several GFRC consignors wish to sell their coins towards raising cash for the upcoming year or for personal expenses. On Thursday, I lowered prices on the PBG Seated halves by substantial amounts along with other select offerings. Look for New Price markers on the price lists.

I will also be repricing some gold coins today where spot gold bullion is the dominate parameter in price setting.

Featured Coins of the Day

Draped Bust halves are an important area of early Americana. GFRC continues to selectively add nice quality pieces to inventory. Following are several for your consideration on a Friday morning.

  

  

Your daily visit are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for stopping by at the Daily Blog. I will be back Saturday morning with Seal Beach Seated half dollar images and other regular ramblings.

 

 

December 15, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog as the middle of December is already upon us.

The numismatic hobby and GFRC orders have been quiet this week as individuals focus on Christmas, New Year and seasonal preparations. However, there is no let down in GFRC office activities as the FUN show is just three weeks away. Consignments are pouring in for FUN debut with top consignors connecting via phone to discuss upcoming FUN show strategies. As a reminder, I will be hosting the LSCC's FUN regional meeting on Friday January 6 at 9:00 am followed by an education presentation on Liberty Seated dimes at 11:00 am. More on both topics in an upcoming blog.

Frankly, I'm growing quite leary of our traditional news media. Yes, there is the ongoing reporting on how the Russian government influenced the United States election which I see as combined politics and decreasing journalistic standards. What disturbed me (and Diane) last evening was NBC's breaking news reporting on a 2013 Yahoo hack. NBC blurred the lines on the hack timeframe and raised viewer fears as if the hack had just recently occurred. It was reported that one billion people were at risk due to this hack. Drama and sensationalism appear to be the rule at NBC whether reporting "so called breaking news" or their ongoing estimates of the millions of United States citizens being impacted by weather events. Even the local Tampa NBC affliate, WFLA, is touting their Mega 8 radar system as the most powerful weather radar is the business at the start of each evening's report.

GFRC Consignment News

An update is warranted on this topic since enjoying phone calls with Saw Mill Run and Osprey Collection consignors yesterday plus the arrival of Part 3 of the Pleez B. Seated Collection consignment. Following are highlights;

Saw Mill Run Collection

The Saw Mill Run consignor believes it is best to release his collection through normal GFRC marketing and sales process. The entire collection will be launched as a Client Gallery and Featured Collection next week. Offerings that are not sold prior to FUN show will be available at the show as part of GFRC inventory. The collection documentation will take place via GFRC's new Featured Collection module. Already photography is completed with image processing and description writing being next steps.

Osprey Collection

Osprey is visiting the GFRC office today and I'm so pleased to be in Florida and hanging out with this great numismatic friend. We will be reviewing and discussing his latest United States gold consignment that just returned from PCGS grading. This consignment was primarily sourced from a recent Osprey European trip in the same timeframe while I was attending the Shanghai Yunzhou coin show.

Pleez B. Seated Collection Part 3

Yes, Part 3 arrived on schedule via express mail. I'm sure that Blog readers are curious as to the contents for requesting FRoR. So here comes the contents of the last Pleez B. Seated consignment;

Seated 50c: 1842 Sm Date PCGS AU53; 1842 Med Date PCGS AU53; 1844-O PCGS EF40; 1846 Med Date PCGS AU53; 1858-O PCGS AU55; 1856-S PCGS VF35; 1858 PCGS AU58; 1859 PCGS AU55; 1859-S PCGS EF45; 1860 PCGS EF45; 1860-O PCGS EF45 CAC (ex GFRC); 1861 PCGS EF40; 1861-O PCGS AU55 (LA strike); 1861-O WB103/104 PCGS EF40 (CSA strike); 1863-S PCGS AU53; 1864 PCGS EF40; 1866-S No Motto PCGS EF40; 1869 PCGS EF40; 1872-CC PCGS EF40; 1873-CC No Arrows PCGS EF40; 1874 PCGS EF45; 1875-S PCGS MS63; 1876 PCGS EF45; 1879 PCGS AU53; 1880 PCGS MS62; 1888 PCGS AU55; 1889 PCGS AU55

Featured Article: Mauldin Economics' This Week in Geopolitics - Forecasting Russia in 2017

We seem to be bombarded with news concerning Russia at the moment on traditional media. This timely piece by George Friedman arrived to my Inbox yesterday and is well worth the time to read as a counter balance to current news media noise. The article is part of the Mauldin Economics newsletters and is entitled Forecasting Russia in 2017.

The article opens with commentary about the risks associated with renderings annual forecasts and the goals of the forecasters. Whether in business or politics, forecasting is a challenging task due to the vaste array of uncontrollable parameters that may appear at a moment's notice.

We aim for accuracy, and as you can see from previous report cards on our work, we are pretty good at what we do. Our full report card for 2016 will be published next week, but in the meantime, subscribers can check out our mid-year evaluation here. But another aim that is almost as important is to be very clear about what we are forecasting. We would rather be wrong and have made a clear forecast than offer a vaguely worded “prediction” that is unfalsifiable.

Therefore, we spend less time explaining how we arrived at a given conclusion, and more time clearly stating what we think is going to happen and how that will shape the world. A forecast is not an analysis—it is the culmination of analysis. That means that a certain amount of information about how we arrived at a particular forecast is always left out. If it weren’t, the forecast would read like a volume of Tolstoy, and no matter how brilliant Tolstoy was, his writing style is not well suited for forecasting.

A detailed review of the Russian military is presented as modernizations efforts are underway but limited by a weak Russian economy to fund upgrading. The aging Russian military is a far cry from that of the Soviet Union.

Russia’s Military Capability

We began the forecasting process with Russia by looking at the country’s military capability. Russia has intervened in Syria to great fanfare, and while it has demonstrated undeniable improvements in some of its capabilities, the Russian military is far weaker than most make it out to be. Our 2016 forecast predicted a frozen conflict in Ukraine, and we came to the conclusion that this frozen conflict will be formalized in 2017 by answering a very basic question: What is the Russian military capability in Ukraine and in general?

The Russian economy is in shambles due to low oil prices and US sanctions. The Russian currency (the Ruble) has lost half of its value against the US Dollar since 2014.

The Russian Economy

The main issue for Russia in 2017 is not going to be a military one. Russia does not want to get bogged down in Syria, so it will be looking to extricate itself from that conflict. Russia cannot fix its Ukraine problem through force, so it will try to reach a settlement that will allow the status quo to remain in place. As long as Kiev remains neutral and not a basing point for major US and NATO assets, the Russians will be content, though uncomfortable. The problem for Russia is that its economy is in a shambles, and it is trying to pour money into modernizing the military at the same time that disturbing cracks in the Russian economy are beginning to show. Let’s look at two graphics that demonstrate just how challenging the current situation is. The main issue for Russia in 2017 is not going to be a military one. Russia does not want to get bogged down in Syria, so it will be looking to extricate itself from that conflict. Russia cannot fix its Ukraine problem through force, so it will try to reach a settlement that will allow the status quo to remain in place. As long as Kiev remains neutral and not a basing point for major US and NATO assets, the Russians will be content, though uncomfortable. The problem for Russia is that its economy is in a shambles, and it is trying to pour money into modernizing the military at the same time that disturbing cracks in the Russian economy are beginning to show. Let’s look at two graphics that demonstrate just how challenging the current situation is.

One must remember that there are those in the United States industrial/military complex that require an ongoing foreign threat to justify the cost of developing new military technology. Russian economic issues and less than fully modernized military should be remembered when fears of the Russian bear invading Europe and challenging NATO are raised by the media.

Global Financial News

Spot gold lost important ground on Wednesday due to the Federal Reserve interest rate increase and the strengthening US dollar. Gold is now in a technical bear market and being quoted at $1132/oz. More interest rate increases are now in play for 2017. Actually, I believe this to be a healthy situation for the proper valuing of capital investment. Bond prices and gold will be struggling during the near term as a new investment normal is realized. Crude oil is holding recent gains due to OPEC and non-OPEC production cut agreement.

There's a new normal for investors after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates and with Donald Trump's administration taking shape. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said during her press conference that Trump's election has placed the central bank under a "cloud of uncertainty" as it looks ahead and shifted some expectations. The "dot plot" of interest rate projections indicate that at least five of 17 Federal Reserve policymakers increased their interest rate forecasts.

Crude oil prices are recovering from their slide after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates yesterday. A stronger U.S. dollar is seen as a possible concern on demand. Investors expect a tight market in 2017 on their faith in the OPEC and non-OPEC production cut deals. WTI crude oil futures +0.55% to $51.32/bbl at last check. Brent crude +0.98% to $54.43/bbl.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's close today's Blog with some inexpensive offerings as potential Christmas gifts. All of these CAC approved coins are priced under $200.

  

  

  

Thank you for stopping by once again at the Daily Blog. This has been a long edition but there was much to share this morning. Time for a health walk and then moving immediately into the packing and shipping department. We will see you tomorrow morning.....

 

 

December 14, 2016

Greetings from the GFRC Venice Florida office.

Wednesday morning arrives as the Christmas holiday period is approaching so quickly. GFRC started shipping out of the local Venice post office outlet yesterday and was immediately reminded of the holiday season. Back in Maine, the Windham post office would have 4-6 people waiting in line to mail packages during this time of year. The Venice USPS outlet was a different story. Yesterday's after lunch line was 15+ people deep and required 20 minutes of patience to reach the counter to express mail the 1870-CC Seated quarter to California along with dropping off GFRC's 2 day priority boxes. The primary reason for the long delay was unprepared individuals with minimal understanding on how to package or address a parcel. My hat goes off to the British couple that operates this USPS outlet on contract basis. Their patience and friendly customer service is admirable.

GFRC Consignment News - The Saw Mill Run Collection

The better part of Tuesday was spent evaluating the Saw Mill Run Collection and entering the 50 pieces into the COIN system. Dear readers and fellow collectors, the Saw Mill Run Collection is the most amazing consignment that GFRC has handled to date! Saw Mill Run is not amazing for being high grade but rather the consistency in perfectly original surfaces along with eye appeal at the EF through AU grade levels. The consignor shared his purchase history for each piece (purchase price, date and seller) and one immediately understands the timespan and dealer relationships necessary to built a collection at this quality level. Purchase dates range from 1991 through 2015 and explain the slow methodical approach necessary to assemble a set with few peers.

Following are collection statistic and GFRC quality ratings.

Total Consigned Silver Pieces: 50

Half Dimes - 12; Dimes - 10; Quarters - 6; Halves - 20; Dollars - 2

GFRC Quality Rating Evaluation Results - 34% are Gems!

Gems - 17; Choice - 32: Original -1

CAC Approved - 48 of the 50.....amazing!

Retail pricing recommendations were also formulated and have been shared with the consignor for feedback and approval. There will be no bargain prices for Saw Mill Run Collection pieces since the consignor recognized top quality and paid the premiums to acquire such pieces. Prices have been fairly set with customers requiring long term numismatic experience to fully appreciate value. In many cases, PCGS price guides will only provide a crude guideline and even CoinFacts auction records will not provide immediate validation of asking prices since coins at this quality level don't typically appear at Heritage or Stacks auction. Let remember that these pieces are mostly EF - AU examples and will be priced between $150 - $3000, so not the optimum type of material for a large auction house. Rather the Saw Mill Run Collection is an ideal offering for GFRC's fixed price list approach and attention to strict originality.

The Saw Mill Run Collection will be photographed today.

A conference call with the consignor is planned to develop a release strategy. Do we debut the entire collection on the FUN bourse floor and release online at the same time? Or do we employ the GFRC First Right of Refusal approach with a Daily Blog Client Gallery and Featured Collection price list before FUN? These are questions to be answered in the coming days while I process images.

If someone is interested in buying the entire collection as a starting point for an even grandeur project, then a price tag of approximately $45,000 is in order.

Other GFRC Consignment Updates

Pleez B. Seated

I spoke with the Alexandria consignor yesterday. He is most pleased with Pleez B Seated sales results and having his collection highlighted within the new Featured Collection link. Pleez B. Seated Part III was expressed shipped yesterday and will arrive to Venice office later today. Who needs Christmas presents when handling all these great coins!

Seal Beach

The latest Seal Beach offering of Liberty Seated halves should arrive today. Already 3 of the 7 pieces are on FRoR.

Upstate New York

Old album toning is the hallmark of Upstate New York offerings. His latest consignment should arrive on Thursday.

Osprey European Gold

We are presently awaiting the return of Osprey gold pieces from PCGS grading and will announce the upcoming consignment contents shortly.

 

Wanted! Early United States Silver Commemorative Consignments

GFRC is ramping its China market business with early United States Commemoratives being in strong demand by Chinese collectors. GFRC is planning a special event in Shanghai during the April-May 2017 timeframe with United States early commemoratives being a key sales item. If divestment of this type of collection is anticipated, then please contact me immediately.

Global Financial News

The US Dollar continues to gain in strength as the financial community has already priced in an interest increase by the Federal Reserve today. The Japanese economy is feeling positive impacts from the strong US dollar as the Yen has weakened aiding export pricing overseas. The Trump momentum for growing domestic jobs and production was echoed today by IBM's CEO Ginni Rometty.

At 2 p.m. ET the Federal Reserve is expected to announce its first interest rate increase since last December and only the second since the financial crisis. But what's less widely known is how fast the FOMC will tighten after that. Looking for clarity, investors will tune in to the central bank's statement and economic forecasts on how it views Donald Trump's election affecting the outlook for growth and inflation.

Optimism at Japanese companies is on the rise for the first time in 18 months, thanks to a rebound in exports on a weakened yen. The election of Donald Trump brought a big slide in the currency, breathing new life into the country's drive to escape deflation and boosting the BOJ's Tankan survey. Sentiment at large manufacturers rose from +6 to +10 in December, while the index for all companies increased from +5 to +7.

Ahead of the closely-watched gathering, IBM Chief Executive Ginni Rometty pledged to invest $1B in training and development for American employees. "We have thousands of open positions at any given moment, and we intend to hire about 25,000 professionals in the next four years in the U.S.," she wrote in USA Today. IBM had nearly 378,000 employees at the end of 2015, according to the company's annual report.

Featured Coin of the Day

Let's try a new approach for today's Featured Coin section and focus on only one GFRC offering. I bought this 1795 Flowing Hair dollar due to the lovely eye appeal and assuming that someone in the GFRC community would want this piece for a type coin set. However, this piece is not technically perfect and would secure a Details grade if submitted to TPG. My asking price is $2395 and other dealers have offered $2000 on a wholesale basis. If this Flowing Hair piece is not sold by FUN show, I will wholesale the coin out and use the monies to fund other GFRC inventory purchases. Bottomline, a offer above $2200 would secure this piece.

 

 

December 13, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning.

The GFRC office is up and running with a few pieces of new electronics including a high speed Netgear modem and a Bose III Wireless speaker. Yes, the trip to Best Buy for the modem resulted in an early Christmas gift for myself. The Bose wireless speaker is a great addition to the office and uses Bluetooth to connect to laptop. The Bose speaker is also a replacment for the Maine evening sound room experence. Yesterday's featured music was Karma, a 1997 recording by Canadian electronic group Delerium that merges worldbeat, ambient and electronic music styles. Sarah McLachlan appearance on Silence turned out to be the group's biggest hit. This recording has a GFRC Gem quality rating.....

GFRC Consignment News

What a difference for GFRC photography when residing in Florida. Gone is the need for a special angled photography stand and operating in a tiny Maine noon time imaging window. Yesterday's photography of the RCM Collection took place in early afternoon on a simple folding table in the back yard. It is nice to be wearing shorts and sandals too.....please don't hate me too much.

Following is a first time consignment from the RCM Collection and a wonderful addition to the World Coin price list. The run of Great Britian crowns is quite impressive and includes 1818, 1819, 1821, 1887 and 1891 dated examples. More impressive is the gem 1902 Mexican Peso graded NGC MS64 that is already sold. The early crowns are all choice original and offer uniform gray patina with subtle rose hues as captured by GFRC photography. Please note that there are reverse lighting reflections on the two 1819 crowns. All RCM Collection offerings are loaded onto the price lists and ready for new homes.

RCM Collection - December 13, 2016

    

    

    

    

The GFRC consignment pipeline is once again full with four more shipments committed on Monday. Osprey, Seal Beach, West Texas and Upstate New York consignors will be sending along new offerings in time for the FUN show.

GFRC customers are well aware of the top quality Seal Beach Liberty Seated halves that arrive on a regular basis. Following is a preview of the upcoming shipment contents. First Right of Refusal is in order for these seven halves. Please pay attention to the 1841-O and 1857-O dates along with the 1845-O No Drapery.

Seated 50c: 1841-O PCGS AU53 CAC; 1845-O No Drapery PCGS AU50; 1856-O PCGS AU55; 1857-O PCGS AU55; 1861 PCGS AU53 attractive toning; 1871 PCGS AU55 CAC very choice; 1875-S PCGS AU58 OGH

Today's GFRC focus shifts to the Saw Mill Run Collection as it will take a few days to catalog and photograph this incredible 50 piece type set offering.

Global Financial News

The world's major economies appear to be strenghtening after the Trump election. In the United States, the Federal Reserve is expected to increase interest rates while the equities markets remain in rally mode. Economic data out of China also looks quite favorable while Great Britain inflation is slightly above forecast. In years past, interest rate increases and inflation were considered to be signs of an over heating economy. Today, the same phenonemon is considered as positive given ZIRP and NIRP that is so entrenched in Europe and Japan.

U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a higher open on Wall Street as the FOMC begins its two-day meeting on interest rate policy. It's near certain the Fed will inaugurate the Trump era with a rate hike and its economic forecast will provide a first glimpse into whether the U.S. election has reshaped the central bank's growth and inflation outlook. Will the recent stock rally and jump in bond yields increase the projected pace of rate increases for 2017 and beyond?

Lots of Chinese economic data also came out overnight, released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Retail sales surprised to the upside, jumping nearly 11% in November, while industrial output grew 6.2% from a year earlier, slightly better than analysts' estimates and October's reading. Meanwhile, fixed-asset investment was in line with forecasts, rising 8.3%, adding to growing signs of stabilization in the world's second-biggest economy.

U.K. inflation rose to 1.2% in November, beating analyst expectations for a 1.1% increase and marking the highest rate since October 2014. Meanwhile, U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond has backed a longer period to manage a "soft Brexit," suggesting for the first time that Britain may need until beyond 2019 to break away from Brussels, which would help reduce the risk of financial disruption. Sterling +0.2% to $1.2708.

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC December sales are moving along nicely thanks to the Pleez B Seated collection. But please remember that there are many great coins on the GFRC price lists seeking new homes for the holidays. Below are several Liberty Seated dimes that offer excellent eye appeal and would be a great start to a date/mintmark set or type coin set.

  

  

  

Thank you for making the Daily Blog a regular part of your daily online experience. I shall be back bright and early on Wednesday morning with more ramblings. Once again Bernadette, please note that the Blog is published at exactly 8:00am! Have a great day......

 

 

December 12, 2016

Greetings from Venice, Florida on a Monday morning.

Speaking about the weather may not win friends but was worth the long day drive. Venice temperature is presently 70F and the day's high is forecasted to be near 80. No long underwear required. In contrast, the Maine GFRC office is expecting 4-6 inches of wet snow.

How was the Maine to Florida drive? The decision to start southern migration prior to Christmas, and on a weekend, was well founded. In the past, the Fortin will head south a few days after Christmas as part of the massive snowbird migration. I-26 and I-95 in South Carolina become a huge bottleneck due to excessive traffic on two lanes roads. This year, the trip was mostly relaxing. We avoided rush hour traffic since driving on a weekend; Connecticut's Merrit Parkway was smooth without a single backup. Traffic volume was light throughout Virginia, North Carolina and especially South Carolina until reaching Florida's I-75 in Ocala. As expected the crazies in the their high powered pick up trucks appeared but we where only two hours from Venice home and their behavior was tolerable.

GFRC office is official open with the day's challenge is organizing the GFRC inventory and shipping supplies. Already, my least favorite cable company, Comcast, refuses to engage internet service as our three year modem is supposedly out of date and a new one must be purchased this morning. Today's Daily Blog is being uploaded with ATT Mobile hotspot on cellphone.

GFRC Website News - Featured Collections Button

Matt completed the development of the Featured Collections price list link and the new button is now available on the For Sale page. Gone are the Chinese Daily Blog Archive and Want List buttons. Matt's implementation of the Google Language Translator for the Daily Blog rendered the Chinese Archives obsolete and the Want List function received little usage so best to streamline the For Sale page, for mobile viewing, and remove these. The revised For Sale page is shown below with the Featured Collections link highlighted.

Let's explain how the Featured Collections link is constructed. Clicking on the Featured Collections button launches a screen with named collections. Currently, the collections are Pleez B. Seated Half Dollars and Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties. Selecting the Pleez B. Seated Half Dollar tab launches a standard menu for all collections; About Collection, Collection Sale, Full Collection. Let review each topic....

About Collection - This link presents the collection owner's personal description. Already the Alexandria consignor offers his description.

Collection Sale - This link illustrates the remaining coins from the Featured Collection that are available and for sale.

Full Collection - A long presentation of the complete collection regardless of sale status. This Full Collection link will preserve the integrity of a consignor's collection including full GFRC listings. The Full Collection link is a more advanced presentation option than the traditional Client Gallery.

GFRC Consignment News

The Pleez B. Seated Collection sale of Liberty Seated half dollars continue to rage on while traveling and is the most successful GFRC collection offering to date. During the last 48 hours, the 1865, 1871-CC and 1877-S examples when on hold with the Alexandria consignor being quite pleased.

Photography of the Saw Mill Run Collection takes place on Wednesday of this week. More on this topic in the coming days as the collection will debut at the Ft. Lauderdael FUN show.

Also coming to the price lists is the RCM Collection which was featured and itemized in the December 6 Daily Blog edition. To refresh our memories, here are the contents.

Toner Morgans: 1883 NGC MS66 rose gold cartwheel mirrors; 1883-O NGC MS64 PL light rose with blue rims; 1885 NGC MS64 Fatty steely cartwheel luster, undergraded

Great Britain Crowns: 1818 LVIII NGC MS61 choice original gray/rose and so pretty; 1819 LIX NGC AU58 gem original steely luster, museum quality, 1819 LIX NGC AU58 same as prior with a bit more rose coloring, amazing to have nearly identical twins; 1821 Secundo NGC EF45 original gun metal gray; 1887 NGC MS62 WINGS gorgeous rainbow toning; 1887 NGC MS63 flashy cartwheel luster, light toning; 1891 NGC MS62 steely cartwheel luster with pastel rose/violet patina.

Mexico Peso: 1903CN JQ NGC MS64 amazing cartwheel luster coupled with pastel rose and blues, a pure gem! (On FRoR)

Spain 5 Pesetas: 1870 NGC AU55 crisp cartwheel luster

Global Financial News

We start the week with a considerable amount of international financial news per Seeking Alpha headlines. Spot gold is once again in a bear market and being quoted at $1158. The substantial news is spot oil at over $54/bbl due to a OPEC and non-OPEC agreement to cut production.

Oil prices have jumped 5% to over $54/bbl after OPEC and non-OPEC producers signed their first deal to cut output since 2001. Led by Russia, non-OPEC nations agreed to reduce production by 558K barrels per day, falling just short of the 600K target envisioned by OPEC. But following the meeting in Vienna, the Saudi Energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said everyone is committed to making sure the levels are enforced.

United States Treasury yields continue to climb as the impending Federal Reserve meeting could yield a rate hike.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is above 2.5% for the first time since October 2014, as investors eye a key Federal Reserve meeting which begins tomorrow. The next notable yield is 3%, last hit in 2013. In equities: U.S. stocks are at all-time highs, with the Dow in striking distance of 20,000, but futures are sliding lower to start the week. Will expectations of a Fed rate hike put a dent in the Trump rally?

Trump is questioning the status quo with respect to China as an initial negotiating step on trade.

Shares in China tumbled overnight after Beijing imposed regulatory curbs on stock purchases by insurers, while President-elect Trump questioned nearly four decades of policy in the Far East. "I don't know why we have to be bound by a 'one China' policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," he said in an interview with Fox News.

Venezuela has a huge inflation problem and is removing the 100-bolivar from circulation (worth $2 on black market) and replacing with higher denominations.

Venezuela will pull its largest bill, the 100-bolivar, from circulation this week, as the country introduces new higher-value notes. Venezuelans will then have 10 days to exchange the currency at the central bank in a move that will likely worsen the country's cash crunch. The bolivar, worth just $0.02 on the black market, has fallen 55% against the dollar in the last month.

The is positive news about Italian banks this morning as it appears the Italian Treasury will step in to recapitalize Monte dei Paschi.

Italian banks are performing well today on news the Italian Treasury will step in to recapitalize Monte dei Paschi (OTCPK:BMDPY) if its plan to raise private funds fails. But BMPS is still making a final push to raise €5B to avoid a bailout. The eleventh-hour solution being drawn up by the bank involves reopening a debt-to-equity swap offer to 40K retail investors holding €2.1B of its subordinated bonds.

Featured Coins of the Day

The Venice GFRC is officially open and ready for business! Below are some great recent offerings to consider.

  

  

  

Thank you for stopping in at the Daily Blog. Actually, the two day break was refreshing and I'm recharged and excited about this morning's composition. Have a great week...

 

 

December 9, 2016

Greetings on a Friday morning. This is the last 2016 edition of the Daily Blog to be published from the Maine office. What an outstanding year it has been for GFRC business growth fueled by the incredible support from consignors and customers.

Yes, today is the last day of GFRC office operation in Maine as preparations and packing are underway. There will be no scheduled Daily Blog postings this weekend given the long driving days and evening recovery time. Look for a Daily Blog on Monday morning, December 12 as I'm sure there will be some GFRCmobile stories to pass along.

GFRC at Winter FUN - Ft Lauderdale, Florida

The winter FUN show is less than a month away. Cindy Wibker announced the Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and W. David Perkins, Numismatist location on Thursday. We will be situated at Tables 1825 and 1827 and close to the U.S. Mint booth.

This year's FUN bourse is massive with over 600 tables. Our booth location is mapped out below. Please plan to visit with Gerry Fortin and David Perkins first for viewing top quality Bust, Seated, United State Gold and even World Coins. The dynanic duo will have 12 cases of quality coins for your consideration. GFRC will be featuring the Saw Mill Run Collection of Capped Bust and Liberty Seated Type at the FUN show. Both David and I will be available for consignment discussions. Already, there is a special announcement planned for the March Whitman Baltimore show.

Gerry Fortin / David Perkins Booth Location - Winter FUN - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 

GFRC Consignment News

The Pleez B. Seated Collection is online with strong initial sales. Collectors understand that quick purchase decisions are important when a major collection arrives to market. Working with GFRC means fair overall pricing for both the buyer and consignor. Collectors should not be not be worried about being buried in a coin, price wise, due to high initial markups. At GFRC, coins are priced at fair market value and to sell quickly.

GFRC Blog Feedback

I correspond with Grey Soldier consignor frequently as his humor typically will lighten a busy day. Following are his thoughts for the pending Florida journey and to Thursday's blog announcement for the Google Language Translator....

Hello Gerry,

Hope everything is going well in preparing for the Annual Fortin Florida Adventure. Weather is looking good in Venice. Tomorrow is going to be the coldest day, high 61 low 53. It will be back up in the 80s by Sunday, so don't forget to bring long underwear.

The GFRC Google Translate is a simply marvelous upgrade feature to the blog. Now I can read it in English.

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines are definitely worth reading to stay abreast of world reaction to new Trump economic policies. We start with Europe and the latest Mario Draghi communications. Not much will change as the European Central Bank will continue a QE bond buying program through 2017 and will reconsider the type of bonds to be purchased.

Whether it's called a "trim" or a "taper," Mario Draghi said yesterday the ECB would scale back bond buys from €80B per month to €60B, but extend the duration of QE as necessary until the end of 2017. Draghi also announced the central bank would get some more flexibility on the bonds it can buy, but remained coy about reports that Italy may get help from the European Stability Mechanism to recapitalise its banking sector.

Spot oil sits at $51/bbl this morning. Now that OPEC producers have agreed to production cuts, the challenge lies with an OPEC and non OPEC production alignment.

Oil prices have stabilized after a volatile session caused by questions over the OPEC and non-OPEC meeting due to be held this weekend. There's growing optimism that Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and others might agree to cut output following an OPEC agreement to limit production, but doubts are still swirling over whether the amount will be enough and whether the cuts will be implemented effectively.

Interestingly, Japan has ratified the TPP which is not supported by Trump. Japan is quite dependent on the United States export market and I believe there will be leverage due to this fact.

Japan's parliament has ratified the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a mostly symbolic step because of opposition by President-elect Donald Trump that is forcing Tokyo to abandon the current trade agreement. Assuming he carries out his pledge, Japan has several options: pursue the TPP without the U.S., negotiate a two-way trade deal with the U.S. or prioritize free trade with other countries.

China is already seeing signs of inflation as producer prices are climbing.

Markets are betting President-elect Donald Trump can reflate the U.S. economy, but in China, reflation is already happening. The nation's producer prices for November rose to a five-year high of 3.3%, up from 1.2% in October, thanks to soaring costs for commodities such as coal and steel and other building materials. Meanwhile, consumer prices rose as well, to 2.3% from 2.1%, as strength in food prices pushed up the headline figure.

Featured Coins of the Day

Yes, the GFRC office is open all day while the packing takes place. I'm sure there will more orders for Pleez B. Seated halves along with other items. Here are several small denomination United States gold pieces from the Osprey Collection consignor to close out today's Blog. Dinner is planned with Osprey and his lovely Belgium wife once the Fortins are settled into Venice home.

  

  

Once again, there will be no Daily Blogs on Saturday or Sunday. I'll be back bright and early on Monday morning with a GFRC office transition update. Thank you for making the Daily Blog a part of your day. Please do consider a numismatic purchase for a special friend for Christmas. That special friend can be one's self too. Have a great Friday and weekend!

 

 

December 8, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning.

Southern Maine weather is cooperating, without incremental snow, as the GFRC office transition looms in 48 hours. I will be in the no coin left behind mode for the next two days, ensuring all inventory, lay-a-ways, and Florida shippable orders are accounted for. Please don't let these transition activities impact potential orders. Taking an order is an simple as updating the COIN database. Coins are marked as being on hold, on the online price lists, and will be shipped next week out of the Florida office.

GFRC Daily Blog - Google Language Translator

I'm incredibly pleased to announce that a Google Language Translator widget has been added to the Daily Blog page. Matt surprised me with another GFRC website innovation yesterday by adding the Google button directly under the "Gerry's Daily Blog" header on this page. Please see illustration below to become familiar with the new language button.

So how does the Google Language Translator operating? Simply click on the "Select Language" link and a drop down box opens with approximately 95 different languages to choose from. Then select the desired language and the Daily Blog page is immediately translated into that language. Now Bernadette in Osprey can read the Daily Blog in French while Harry in Shanghai can convert to Simplified Chinese characters. To quote Harry Zhang when advised of this capability via WeChat, "I have tried the Google button. It is amazing, simply amazing!"

The Google Language Translator button will be added to all pages in the GFRC Daily Blog Archives and enables the deletion of the old PDF formatted Simplified Chinese Archives. Manually translating the Daily Blog into Simplified Chinese characters became too large of a workload and the effort stopped in July 2016 timeframe. With Matt's new website innovation, the Daily Blog has the potential to greatly increase its outreach into mainland China and other countries.

GFRC Consignment News

I worked late into Wednesday evening processing images for the Pleez B. Seated Collection and these are available in the below Client Gallery. All available pieces are now illustrated in Client Galleries within December 7 and December 8 blogs. Several Seated halves are already on hold or on FRoR. These include the 1846-O Tall Date, 1857-S, 1863 and 1867.

The December 7 listed halves are priced and are available for purchase on regular price lists. New offerings, as shown below, will be priced today as there will be multiple requests once this morning's Blog is reviewed by customers.

Pleez B. Seated Collection - December 8, 2016

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

 

Daily Blog Reader Feedback

Yesterday's 75th Pearl Harbor anniversary postings brought a powerful email response. This commentary speaks for itself as we must never forget the horrors of full scale war.

Hi Gerry,

Growing up, I've always been intrigued by the history of WWII in the Pacific Theater and the Japanese invasion of China. My grandmother was a 12-year-old during the Rape of Nanking and survived by making it to the safe zones set up by John Rabe and other foreign humanitarians; stories she told me and my personal studies on the general subject reinforced my belief that the United States did absolutely the right thing and have nothing to apologize for, including the use of atomic bombs. It bothers me that the current revisionist thinking now casts America as the villain for ending the war in what was probably the most merciful way possible given the context, and that a beaten aggressor's heinous actions early and throughout their high times during the war are all but forgotten.

I've been to Pearl Harbor twice, and both times boarded the USS Arizona memorial. It is by far the most solemn place I've been to and a very powerful experience each time. The water was clearer during my second trip and afforded a decent view of the wreck below, It's difficult to fathom the hell that had once taken place when one's amidst a tropical paradise like Hawaii, which is why the history must be passed on, and taught properly, which the defined curriculum at my high school did not. My "renegade" history teacher during the first semester of 11th grade is a former SEAL. So he slipped in a bit more combat history and even brought two Vietnam vets for a Q&A. He was hired full-time at a different school mid-year so we got someone who followed curriculum to the letter. WWII under his instruction became a struggle that took place wholly within the United States between the various ethnic groups.

Silicon Valley Consignor

Global Financial News

Spot gold remains essentially flat at $1178 this morning. The financial world remains up beat given Trump's focus on stimulating the United States economy via spending rather than monetary expansion. Following are a few Seeking Alpha headlines to stay abreast of financial developments in Europe and Asia. We start with focus on Europe and Draghi's plans for maintaining ultra-loose monetary policy. Italian PM Renzi is gone and Moody's has downgraded Italy's bonds to negative levels. China's export market appears to be stabilizing as the Yuan is carefully devalued against US Dollar while Japan's economy continues to struggle. Governments have an ongoing need to adopt new measurement standards to paper over reality.

Mario Draghi's final policy announcement of the year will come at 7:45 a.m. ET, with a highly watched press conference to follow 45 minutes later. More important than the expected extension of asset purchases at the current monthly pace of €80B for six months may be any signal by the ECB president on the path of stimulus thereafter. Questions are swirling about the ultra-loose monetary policy that underpins the eurozone's economic recovery but is out of sync with Berlin and Washington.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has officially resigned after a bruising referendum loss at the weekend, with most parliamentary factions pushing for an early election in a few months' time. Underscoring the financial risks that Italy faces, Moody's changed its outlook on the country's bond rating to negative from stable, citing slowing prospects for much-needed economic reform and the nation's debt burden.

Snapping a seven-month losing streak, China's exports gained in November as a cheaper yuan aided foreign purchasing. Exports in dollar-denominated terms edged up 0.1% on year, while imports rose 6.7%, leaving Beijing with a trade surplus of $44.6B. The stabilizing data suggests demand remains intact for now as the world's largest exporter faces potential headwinds and policy uncertainty in the U.S.

Japan's economy grew much slower than initially estimated in Q3, recording an annualized 1.3% expansion instead of a preliminary reading of 2.2%, as capital expenditure dried up and companies ran down inventories. The government's projection for the overall size of the economy rose, however, thanks to its adoption of a new base year and incorporation of international accounting standards.

Featured Coins of the Day

If there were not enough coin images in today's Blog, here are a few more recommended coins for good measure. Please remember that the GFRC office is open all day and until 9:00pm for orders. Now is the time for Christmas shopping for that special numismatist on your list......

  

  

  

 

 

December 7, 2016

Greetings once again. Today is the 75th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan. Immediately Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers the Day Of Infamy speech on December 8, 1941 and Congress declares war on Japan. For Blog readers who have not seen the Day of Infamy speech, please take just two minutes of your morning to relive the moment that launched the United States down the path of the world's greatest defender of freedom. Roosevelt's speech was brief, concise yet so powerful as to the resolve of the American people.

GFRC News

I'm pleased to report that the 1859-S PCGS F12 Seated quarter, from the Mountain View Collection, sold immediately after Tuesday's featured commentary.

Today brings a record packing and shipping day including residual Black Friday purchases coupled with early December business. During 2014 and 2015, December has been a slow month for GFRC numismatic sales. 2016 is off to a fantastic start and hopefully the momentum will continue through the month and regardless of the office transition.

GFRC Consignment News

Progress is at hand with posting the Pleez B. Seated Collection. Matt has developed a new Featured Collection page for the GFRC website. The Pleez B. Seated Collection pioneers the way for showcasing larger sized collections to be sold at fixed price retail rather than traditional auction. The Alexandria consignor has written a collection introduction that captures his set building aspirations and thoughts. Below are images of the first 12 offerings with another 36 images targeted for final processing today. Retail prices have been agreed upon for the Seated halves shown below. If there is potential interest, then don't be bashful to send an inquiry via email or call for FRoR.

The final Pleez B. Seated Collection installment ships to Florida office next week.

Pleez B. Seated Collection - December 7, 2016

    

    

    

    

Featured Article: This Week in Geopolitics - Pearl Harbor, 75 Years Later by George Friedman

I thoroughly enjoy reading George Friedman's articles concerning important geopolitic matters and believe that an informed United States citizenry should take time to self educate in this area. Therefore, I'm doing my part by featuring George Friedman articles in the Daily Blog. No surprise, today's article provides an excellent historical review of the state of Empire of Japan aspirations and United States counter balancing interests in the Pacific region prior to the Pearl Harbor attack. If there is time in your busy day, please read this article entitled Pearl Harbor, 75 Years Later.

Mr. Friedman opens with the following to catch our attention.....

Wednesday will be the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It happened three-quarters of a century ago, but it remains the defining moment of our time. It continues to inform the way we look at the world, and it triggered a redefinition of the federal government that still haunts us in some ways. That day—the way it happened and the manner in which we responded—redefined the United States… a redefinition that we still struggle with today.

The Pearl Harbor attack shifted the United States psyche from complacency to obsessive alertness as explained by Mr. Friedman. But there was more substantial changes. The United States nationalized the economy to simultaneously fight wars with Japan and Germany.

After the war, complacency was replaced by obsessive alertness. There is a place in Colorado Springs called NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), where obsessive alertness became a religion. NORAD waited and watched 24/7 throughout the Cold War and continues to do so today… constantly aware of Kermit Tyler.
No scenario is too preposterous, no moment is totally secure, and any attack can come at any moment from any direction. This is not an irrational view. It is also one that changed the US permanently.
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Pearl Harbor taught the United States that it could be destroyed by complacency. The US can be surprised (as it was on 9/11), but it constantly remains on the edge of its seat, never again as secure as it was on Dec. 6. This is one of the legacies of Pearl Harbor.
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There was another, more transformative legacy. After Pearl Harbor, the United States had to build a vast military apparatus to face Germany and Japan simultaneously. To do this, the federal government had to virtually nationalize the economy. The flow of material, the allocation of personnel in factories, and the control of production of civilian goods were all decided by government planners. Civil liberties—from the rights of Japanese-American citizens to freedom of speech—were curtailed.

Please take the time to ready today's featured article. One must be a well read student of history to understand current geopolitical concerns and form educated opinions on the course taken by current leadership.

Featured Coins of the Day

This has been a rather long Blog edition to prepare while there is so much to accomplish today! Following are several 1941 dated GFRC offerings to close out the Daily Blog.

  

  

Thank you for visiting this morning. It is snowing once again and I plan to be office bound for the entire day. Please feel free to call in with orders or FRoR requests. Also many thanks for supporting the GFRC business!

 

 

December 6, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning. Southern Maine received more snow that forecasted with the landscape becoming quite seasonal in appearance. Instead of a health walk on Monday, time was spent clearing 3-4" of snow off the driveway. Our plowing contractor does not come by unless a storm is a bit more substantial.

Today's Blog will be brief as a personal matter requires my attention this morning.

GFRC Office Transition

The Florida office address is online (GFRC - 502 Auburn Lakes Circle, Venice, FL 34292). Please do not mail payments to the Maine address moving forward and best to hold mailing payment to Florida address until this Friday.

GFRC Price List Additions

More offerings reached the price lists on Monday including three Liberty Seated dimes from the Gerry Fortin die variety reference collection. These are web-book plate coins and will not be upgraded so new owners will have pieces with a nice pedigree.

    

GFRC Consignment Update

I'm pleased to announce that another consignor has joined the GFRC numismatic circle. I've been corresponding with this collector for several weeks via email and traditional letter. His consignment arrived on Monday and is an exciting selection of quality toner Morgans and superb World Coins ideal for GFRC price list. The Great Britain 1818 through 1819 Crowns are so incredibly well matched as a set. Following are new items coming soon. The Mexico 1903 Peso is also a gem.

Toner Morgans: 1883 NGC MS66 rose gold cartwheel mirrors; 1883-O NGC MS64 PL light rose with blue rims; 1885 NGC MS64 Fatty steely cartwheel luster, undergraded

Great Britain Crowns: 1818 LVIII NGC MS61 choice original gray/rose and so pretty; 1819 LIX NGC AU58 gem original steely luster, museum quality, 1819 LIX NGC AU58 same as prior with a bit more rose coloring, amazing to have nearly identical twins; 1821 Secundo NGC EF45 original gun metal gray; 1887 NGC MS62 WINGS gorgeous rainbow toning; 1887 NGC MS63 flashy cartwheel luster, light toning; 1891 NGC MS62 steely cartwheel luster with pastel rose/violet patina.

Mexico Peso: 1903CN JQ NGC MS64 amazing cartwheel luster coupled with pastel rose and blues, a pure gem!

Spain 5 Pesetas: 1870 NGC AU55 crisp cartwheel luster

 

Revisiting the Mountain View Collection - 1859-S Liberty Seated Quarter

Most collectors probably don't appreciate the importance of this 1859-S PCGS F12 Seated quarter appearance on the GFRC price list. This date is in its own league in terms of rarity with no known mint state examples in existence. The Eugene Gardner specimen was graded NGC AU58. PCGS population report reveals 7 pieces in all AU grades with the highest being AU55. In EF grades, the population is 16 with prices ranging from $4500 to $6500.

The current Mountain Collection example is choice original with uniform gray patina with rose hues and is graded PCGS F12. How can any serious collector of the Liberty Seated quarter series go wrong by purchasing this example given rarity and quality? Something to think about this morning........

 

Featured Coins of the Day

How about showcasing some GEM toner Morgan and Peace dollars with lots of colors?

  

  

  

Many thanks for stopping by at the Daily Blog and your ongoing support. I'll be back tomorrow with yet more ramblings.

 

 

December 5, 2016

Greetings on a Monday morning as GFRC prepares for its Florida migration. Thank you for stopping by and viewing the latest numismatic offerings and daily commentaries.

Traditional winter weather has arrived with light snow blanketing southern Maine today along with a wet snow storm on Thursday. The Florida migration is rather timely as temperatures will not be above freezing during the forthcoming weekend. In contrast, Venice Florida temperatures are in the mid 70s.

Today's sunrise was spectacular with a fiery yellow horizon and orange hues penetrating the cloud cover. Thanks go out to GFRC staff photographer, Diane, for capturing this image from our upstairs bedroom window while I sat at the laptop pondering on a topic for the Blog.

GFRC Office Transition News

Please note that today is the last day for sending check payments to the GFRC Maine office address. On Tuesday, the GFRC website address changes to Florida address. To ensure that check payments do not enter the USPS mail forwarding loop, no mailings to GFRC should occur from December 6 through December 8.

For well known customers, I will be shipping orders out of Maine office on approval and prior to receiving payments. Our goal is to ensure no interruption in numismatic service during the annual Florida migration.

GFRC Sales News

Wow, the response to the Mountain View Collection offerings was fast and furious this weekend. FRoR arrived on the 1870-CC and 1878-S quarters on Saturday with purchases immediately made once prices were confirmed on Sunday. Congratulations go out to the California based buyer of the 1870-CC quarter. We had an enjoyable phone call whereby the buyer celebrated the completion of his Liberty Seated quarter date and mintmark set as a result of this purchase! Again, congratulations go out to this individual for a huge numismatic accomplishment!

On Saturday, another consignment arrived from the Highwoods Collection consignor. This individual is active in the hobby and will pick up items at local coin shops and consign to GFRC when quality and pricing are advantageous. Given the perfect Maine weekend weather, his offerings were immediately photographed along with a few more GFRC new purchases. These items are featured below and should be online by end of day. Please note the 1843-O and 1855 United States quarter eagles and the way cool 1808 Ceylon Elephant graded NGC AU58.

Highwoods Collection Consignment & GFRC New Purchases

    

    

    

  

GFRC Consignment News

I am so pleased to announce that the Pleez B Seated half dollar collection inventory (50 pieces) was photographed on Sunday. The improvised outdoor photography stand is working like a charm. Overall outcome met GFRC quality standards with adequate image contrast and minimal lighting reflections on PCGS edge view holders. If all goes to plan, the Pleez B Seated Featured Collection price list will debut on Thursday or Friday.

Global Financial News

Today's major news is Italy's election results whereby Prime Minister Renzi's constitutional reform plans were defeated. As a result, Renzi is resigning his post. Seeking Alpha headlines discuss the referendum outcome, movement in Italian bank shares and new round of European finance minister meetings to discuss the impact of Italian vote on overall EU harmony. Also buried in the Seeking Alpha headlines is a tidbit concerning Donald Trump's search for a capable Secretary of State. It appears that Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil is under consideration.

Taking cues from the U.S. election and post-Brexit trading, a "Renzi resignation rally" is underway across the globe after denting equities earlier in the session. With virtually all the ballots counted, 59.6% of Italians voted to block the Prime Minister's constitutional reform plans in a closely-watched referendum. The euro has come off 20-month lows, trading down only 0.2% at $1.0639, while the yield on 10-year Italian government bonds rose 11 basis points to 2.02%.

Shares in Italian banks have also surprisingly rallied from opening losses despite severe pressure from an enormous surfeit of bad loans and a desperate need to recapitalize. The Bank of Italy estimates there is €360B worth of impaired loans in the banking system. Perhaps this is on expectations that the ECB will now definitely announce a six month extension of its bond buying program on Thursday.

Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan has canceled his trip to today's Eurogroup meeting in Brussels as the vacuum in Italian politics opens up. European finance ministers are set to discuss immediate impacts from the country's referendum, which is likely to be felt most in the banking sector, as well as conclude a review of reforms in Greece and discuss ways of making its giant debt more manageable.

New candidates have emerged for Trump's Secretary of State position, including Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM). The company, of course, operates globally, so Tillerson is no stranger to interacting with foreign leaders at the highest levels. He joined Exxon in 1975 and is set to retire next year. XOM +1.1% premarket.

Featured Coins of the Day

Business owners face challenges when exploring new market opportunities and expanding product lines. GFRC currently faces these challenges as it expands its Barber coinage and World Coins product offerings. Acquiring quality inventory at competitive prices is a key milestone following by focused advertising to raise market awareness. GFRC has made important progress with building its Barber coinage product line. Below is a nice selection of inventory items for your consideration on a Monday morning.

  

  

  

Thanks again for stopping into the Daily Blog and checking out my ramblings. As usual, it is shower time followed by a stint in the packing and shipping department. An Auburn Lakes Condo Association board meeting takes place at 11:00am followed by an afternoon of Pleez B Seated image processing and Highwood Collection price setting. Wishing everyone a safe Monday!

 

 

December 4, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a peaceful Sunday morning and thank you for being such dedicated visitors.

This is the final week of GFRC operations in the Maine office with much to do including shipping as many orders as possible to limit the amount of inventory transported to Florida. A significant snow storm is forecasted for Thursday into Friday but Saturday appears to be calm, weather wise, for the long first day's journey.

Time in the basement sound room is also limited as a late evening reward for long days handling coins. Last evening performance was Rush's Exit Stage Left concert video followed by quiet new age sounds to pacify the mind.

Liberty Seated Quarter Theme for the Day

Today's Blog will have a Liberty Seated quarter theme given the posting of Mountain View Collection client gallery. The Mountain View collector focuses primarily on Seated quarters in the F12 and F15 grade range with CAC approval. This may first appear to be a straightforward collecting challenge but, in reality, a very difficult and nearly impossible journey. Semi key date New Orleans and San Francisco dates will appeared on the market but many are problematic or weakly struck. The early Carson City dates are nearly impossible with only one 1870-CC receiving CAC approval at the F-12/F-15 level, none for 1871-CC and again, just one for 1872-CC. Actually, the situation is no better for With Motto dates between 1866 to 1873. Amazing isn't?

We start the Seated quarter feature section with a really cool image provided by an LSCC member and New England vest pocket dealer that I've known for years. This individual stumbled into an incredible lot of pierced AU/MS 1864 Seated quarters while visiting an area coin shop. I've seen the eight piece lot, in hand, at the Westford coin show and though it would make for an excellent Gobrecht Journal article. Below are four of the coins that were most likely part of a contemporary jewelry piece during the Civil War.

AU/MS 1864 Liberty Seated Quarters

 

Maine weather has been suprisingly good for coin photography along with developing a new platform stand to secure 1/500 shutter speeds and F-stop greater than 6.0. Given the low sun angle, even at high noon, a special platform was constructed to maximize the amount of light reaching the coin's surface. Call it yankee engineering to solved a critical business issue. GFRC photography is the best ever during the Maine November/December timeframe.

Below are the new Mountain View Collection offerings. There are important coins for serious collectors of the Seated quarter series. How about that gorgeous 1859-S graded PCGS F12 and the 1870-CC PCGS AG Details due to a tiny divot at the top of Liberty's head. This may be one of the most "affordable" examples of the 1870-CC to hit the market this year. The 1878-S PCGS F12 CAC is so choice for the grade. Pricing recommendations have been submitted to the consignor and waiting for the green light to post to price list today. Already there are three inquiries.

Mountain View Collection Consignment - December 4, 2016

    

    

    

    

 

Featured Article: John Mauldin's A Big Swirling Italian Mess

In recent Global Financial News postings at the Daily Blog, I've made mention of a pending Italan banking crisis. The mainstream media is much too interested in president-elect Trump's transition to focus on important overseas issues. Enter another well researched and written analysis by John Mauldin entitled A Big Swirling Italian Mess that deserves attention on a quiet Sunday morning. This article is a fairly quick read and timely given that Italians are voting today on a series of government reforms that will also decide the fate of Prime Minister Renzi. The elephant in the room is the banking sector.

Mauldin provides a long preamble and then states the following;

I’ll cut to my conclusion: There is a high degree of probability (approaching 90%, I’d say) that Italy will experience a severe banking crisis in the next few quarters. Perhaps they can stave off the problem for a year, but something will have to be done about the banks. We’ll go into that later in the letter, since the plight of the banking system is the root cause of all the country’s other problems. Without a banking crisis, Italy would still be the political mess it has been for 65 years, but the banking mess turns the political mess into an economic mess.

These two graphs well summarize the Italian economic situation. GDP and employmnet are trailing the rest of the EU with the bank sector piling up bad loans. Bad loans amount to 18% of outstanding loans, according to Mauldin, with the Italian banks having insufficient capital to cover.

 

So why does Italy have a bad loan crisis? Mauldlin provides a straightforward explanation;

Italy is problematic for many of the same reasons that Greece, Spain, and Portugal are. Bank customers in these southern-tier Eurozone states borrowed to buy goods from the wealthier north, mainly from Germany; and then the economic growth they anticipated failed to occur. The purchased goods have mostly been consumed, so there is no collateral to recover. Many loans look like near-total losses.

The balance of the Mauldin article goes into individual banks and their hopeless actions to raise capital. So a banking crisis is coming to the EU that will have global implications. United States investors should be aware of these risks when considering EU based investments.

Featured Coins of the Day

Let's stick with the Liberty Seated quarter theme for the featured coins of the day and current offerings from the Saw Mill Run Collection. Yes, this is the same Saw Mill Run Collection consignor that I've been mentioned concerning a marvelous Bust/Seated type set debut at the FUN show. This advanced collector understands and is passionate about quality in his numismatic holdings. The following Seated quarter offerings should drive home this point.

  

  

  

A bright sunny morning is at hand and I'm going out for a health walk to start another numismatic day. Thank you, as always, for dropping by and reading my ramblings. Yes, I will be back on Monday morning with more to say....... Have a great Sunday and please do consider a GFRC purchase. I'd like to lighten the transport load between Maine and Florida and selling a few coins will help.

 

 

December 3, 2016

Greetings as the first weekend in December is upon us!

Southern Maine weather on Friday was amazing for early December. Bright sunshine, calm wind conditions and a comfortable 45 degree temperatures allowed the top down Miata to make a final 2016 appearance for a Portland dentist appointment. Several motorists honked in approval as I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air and the thrill of driving a convertible in December.

GFRC Florida Office Transition

The GFRC transition to Florida office takes place in exactly one week so much to be done in the upcoming last few days in Maine. To ensure ongoing customer service, let's review the transition schedule for the upcoming ten days and sending check payments via USPS mail. The last day to mail payments to Maine GFRC office address is this coming Monday! Payments addressed to the Venice Florida office can be mailed starting December 10. A change of business address on GFRC website will take place this coming Tuesday.

December 5: Last day to mail payments to GFRC Maine office

December 6: GFRC website address change to Florida office

December 9: Last shipments from GFRC Maine office

December 10 - 12: GFRC office is closed

December 10: First day to mail payments to GFRC Florida office

December 13: GFRC office opens and shipments resume

GFRC Consignment News

As GFRC consignment volume continues to grow and large collection consignments arrive, then website improvements are necessary to properly showcase these offerings. Matt and I are developing a Featured Collections price list concept that will look similar to the custom Black Friday price list employed last week. GFRC will shortly be installing individualized price lists for substantial collections. A substantial collection is defined as one with 50 coins or more and/or a retail value of greater than $50,000.

A Featured Collections icon will be added to the For Sale price list page and the Daily Blog page. The first three named collections to have their own price lists will be;

Gerry Fortin - Liberty Seated Dime Top 100 Varieties Collection

Pleez B Seated - Liberty Seated Halves Collection

Saw Mill Run - Capped Bust & Liberty Seated Type Coin Collection

Following is the current status of consignments in GFRC's processing queue;

Pleez B Seated Collection

Part I (FRoR items) and Part II (second shipment) are loaded in COIN system with Part II pricing recommendations to be completed this weekend. Once Part II pricing is approved, we will go live with the listings in a Featured Collection price list. Customers will need to visit the Pleez B Seated images on the PCGS Set Registry in the near term. GFRC images will be added after transitioning office to Florida. The final Pleez B Seated collection installment will ship directly to Florida.

Mountain View Consignment

The Mountain View consignor has shipped 12 incremental Capped Bust and Liberty quarters. These are photographed and will be loaded into COIN system this weekend. A Client Gallery posting in Sunday's Daily Blog may be possible but not guaranteed.

Saw Mill Run Collection Type Set

This collection remains in the bank vault as the online debut will be immediately before FUN show along with the bourse floor debut at FUN. Photography and preparations will take place at Florida office.

Forthcoming Consignments

GFRC has received a commitments from Osprey and West Texas consignors for incremental consignments in early January. Osprey will offer his latest round of European gold purchases while West Texas will provide another robust selection of Bust and Seated type coins. The new Osprey gold is targeted for display at the FUN show.

After the FUN show, GFRC will have plenty of bandwidth to handle several major consignments that can be featured at the ANA Money Show in Orlando followed by the Spring Whitman Baltimore show.

Please contact me if there is potential interest in working with GFRC for divestment of a substantial collection. Once the collection size and scope is understood, the Daily Blog marketing process can begin immediately. Since starting GFRC business in late 2013, $1,300,000 in consignor proceeds at an average commission rate of 9% has been returned to collectors. GFRC daily updated consignment sales performance is available at the Consignor Value Proposition page.

Featured Coins of the Day

The drop in spot gold price has slowed the sale of United States $10 and $20 gold pieces. $1, $2.5 and $5 gold denomination sales, which are less bullion sensitive, continue to be strong. As a reminder, GFRC has an excellent selection of early date Liberty $20 double eagle gold up through Civil War years. Let's showcase some of my favorite offerings this morning.

  

  

  

  

Thank you for visting the Blog this morning. As usual, I'm off to the shower and then wrapping up a substantial amount of shipments that are mostly Black Friday sales. Please do consider a purchase along with returning on Sunday morning for more Daily Blog ramblings. See you then.....

 

 

December 2, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog, Friday edition. The coffee is hot and left over pizza tastes just fine for breakfast.

Let's open today's Blog with a quote from Bill Bugert received last evening via email. Yesterday, I sincerely stated that Bill is one of the humble giants of numismatics. Bill responded with; You are I both know we are not in this for the pay or the fame but we believe in a cause.  I thank you for that also – for the better good.

When dedicated to a substantial cause, the mind and soul become fully aligned, allowing focus on key issues that matter. There are never enough hours in the day to explore one's passion and as a result life seems to fly by. A week long project extends into a month and before you know it, a year becomes consumed. Maintaining focus on a cause takes persistence and an unwaving belief in the quality of the outcome. As Bill Bugert well stated; for the better good. Something to think about this morning......

GFRC News

December is off to a strong start after doing another large First Right of Refusal (FRoR) deal for Liberty Seated halves in the Pleez B Seated collection. When top quality collections reach the market, advanced collectors should pay attention and take the necessary steps towards their own set building goals. I've mentioned on multiple occasions, in the Blog, that the best coins are not in dealer inventories but rather in the hands of advanced collectors. When these advanced collectors decide to sell, an important opportunity reaches the market and other collectors should immediate take action. In the case of Pleez B Seated, two individuals took aggressive steps towards enhancing personal collections. Already, over 20% of the Pleez B Seated collection is sold.

Staying on the Pleez B Seated collection topic, I've also mentioned the concept of renting coins in the Blog. Renting can be defined as, pay someone for the use of something, typically property, land, or a car. Let's hold that thought for a moment. Are collectors in fact renting coins while in their private collection? Let's remember that our coins are permanent physical artifacts while humans have finite lifespans. In reality, one never truly "owns" his or her coins unless taking them to the grave. The reality is that coins become elements in personal museums and will move between collectors over long periods of time. Are we not renting our coins while in our possession? The rent being the cost to insure, protect and finally, the cost to disperse the coins. Sometimes the rent is high if purchase decisions were poorly made and conversely, the rent can be negligible if wise decisions were made. Again something to think about this morning.....

Following are some quality new purchases that reached the price list last evening......

GFRC Quality New Purchases

    

    

Price Reductions on Carson City Half Eagle Gold

The Watch Hill collector is a passionate individual and aggressively building a collection of United States gold. Most of his $5 and $10 Carson City duplicates have sold since being consigned at the Whitman Baltimore show. There are two $5 piece remaining in GFRC inventory; 1871-CC and 1881-CC. We would like to locate new homes for these pieces and have dropped prices to hopefully locate a buyer. Following are images with reduced asking prices.

Watch Hill Consignment - $5 Half Eagle Price Reductions

1871-CC @ $3,250                                                                  1881-CC @ $3,350

  

Global Financial News

Global equity market futures are nearly all negative this morning. Spot gold is barely holding the $1170/oz level while spot oil is slightly over $50/bbl. Once again, there is potential trouble brewing in Europe. Informed Blog readers should be carefully watching developments in Italy and its capital strapped banking sector.

Italy will hold a constitutional referendum on Sunday that has become a de facto vote on whether the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi should keep his job. What's it about? The reforms would remove power from the Senate to enable laws to be passed quickly. The latest polls showing the overhauls are likely to be rejected has investors worried about a "financial meltdown," as Italy's shaky banking sector would have a tough time raising much-needed capital.

Populist movements are growing in European politics after successful Brexit vote and Trump's presidential election. It appears that globalization may have gone too far too quickly and the pendulum could be moving in the opposite direction.

Theresa May is "extremely confident" she can trigger the Article 50 process to leave the EU by the end of March even if she loses a Supreme Court appeal next week. Former members of the Remain campaign have told FT that a feared full-blown parliamentary revolt will not materialize, and pro-EU MPs will instead wage a war over the "Great Repeal Bill" to bring EU law into domestic legislation.

Francois Hollande will not seek re-election for a second term in France's 2017 Presidential election, injecting new uncertainty into next year's race. "Today I am aware of the risk of not being able to unite" people behind my candidacy, he said from the Elysee Palace. Another leftist candidate will now be sought to take on conservative Francois Fillon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Featured Coins of the Day

Many of the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Liberty Seated dimes have been sold with another large segment being transferred to an advanced collector in early January. Raising funds to absorb these coins is a challenge for many collectors. I'm quite flexible on terms given the fact that selling these coins is part of a long term divestment strategy without an immediate need to raise funds to pay off new coin purchases. The Top 100 key dates are still available and will be on display in GFRC cases throughout the 2017 show season. Frankly, I would like to place these into advanced collections where new owners will have a keen appreciation for historical significance.

  

  

  

Wishing Blog readers a Friday filled with good fortune and happy events. It is the end of the work week, right? I'll be back tomorrow with more rambling. Take care and thanks for stopping by.

 

 

December 1, 2016

Welcome to December 2016 and roadside trash day. Thank you for stopping by at the Blog.

There is a stark difference between northern and southern Maine weather during the past 36 hours. Northern Maine will received 2-3 feet of snow while the south will see only rains. While transporting the recycling bin and trash can to the top of the driveway in the pouring rain, I felt so fortunate. In past years, December would mean a substantial amount of snow already being on the ground and today's precipitation burying the property. So getting wet while transporting the roadside pickup is a positive event in December. The alternative is winter boots and trudging through a foot of wet snow.

LSCC News

Bill Bugert released the December 2016 E-Gobrecht issue on schedule yesterday. This is Bill's 12th year as E-Gobrecht Editor and his 143rd issue. Bill is one of the humble giants of numismatics given his ongoing dedication and persistence in promoting Liberty Seated coinage and the overall hobby. He publishes the Gobrecht Journal and E-Gobrecht for the LSCC while continuing to research and document Liberty Seated half dollar varieties in his well known Federal Registers.

The 143rd issue offers the usual and well written monthly columns by Craig Eberhart, Dennis Fortier, Len Ausgburger, Greg Johnson and Benny Haimovitz. There is much to be learned in this issue concerning Christian Gobrecht's final burial place, 1853-O Seated quarter varieties and a bisecting obverse die crack on the 1840-O No Drapery V-6 half dime. The issue closes out with another masterpiece article from Jim Lauglin concerning the operating conditions at the San Francisco mint during 1856. Procurement of Sulfuric and Nitric acid was a huge issue for refining gold and silver raw materials. I can only imagine the working conditions at the San Francisco mint during that time period when handling 150,000 pounds of sulfuric acid and 500,022 pounds of nitric acid, in the year 1856. These are nasty compounds with no OSHA workplace regulations to protect mint employees.

GFRC Consignment Update

Posting of the United States Gold $1 set is completed along with many offerings from Westford show and local coin shop purchases. Initial gold $1 sales have been steady as room is needed in the inventory boxes for the arrival of ongoing consignments.

Pleez B Seated Half Dollar Collection Consignment Status

The first round of FRoR shipments/purchases has been completed and I will be approaching the next layer of individuals with FRoR today. The second shipment, of the Pleez B. Seated pieces, arrived yesterday and will be unloaded and entered into COIN system today.

Mountain View Collection Seated Quarters

This latest shipment has been unpacked and will be entered in COIN system today. A quick walk through revealed important semi key dates in nice collector grades including 1855-O PCGS F15, 1857-S PCGS F15, 1859-S PCGS F12, 1866-S PCGS F12, 1870-CC PCGS AG3 and an incredible 1878-S PCGS F12 CAC. Hopefully, prices will be available by early weekend and there may be enough sunlight for a photography round.

Saw Mill Run Collection Consignment

This 50+ piece type set offering has been frequently mentioned and will be retrieved from the bank vault tomorrow. I've been slow moving on this consignment given the rollout will take place at the FUN show. This collection offers superior quality and it is best to perform photography after arriving in Florida.

Incremental Consignments

Smaller consignments continue to arrive on a regular basis. Highwood is sending several coins today and also consigned incremental World Coins at the Baltimore show that need to be captured in COIN system. A new consignor is sending several toner Morgans and more World Coins.

GFRC New Purchases

The ongoing purchase of select pieces for GFRC's inventory build up continues. A high quality lot arrived yesterday and contained the following pieces;

Bust 50c: 1826 PCGS AU55 CAC...a gem with bold strike and golden rims

Seated 50c: 1840 NGC AU58 Fatty holder...crusty original gray; 1874 With Arrows PCGS EF40 old album toning and lovely blue rims

Toner Morgan $1: 1886 NGC MS64 CAC Fatty holder....crisp cartwheel luster with pastel rose and light blue rims. Definitely well above average.

Gold $2.5: 1907 PCGS AU58 CAC....old orange coloring and very choice at the grade level

Global Financial News

Gold continues to lose altitude and is being quoted at $1170 this morning; it appears we are back in a bear market for the time being. Seeking Alpha headlines are full of good news this morning....well maybe not on the oil production front as Saudi Arabia and Iran are cooperating on production cuts. Putin is also ready to cooperate with the new U.S. leadership. Let's face it, Putin does not have the economic strength to increase military spending and wage war in Eastern Europe. Wouldn't it be amazing if Russia and the United States could work together as allies?

The oil club is dizzy with its own success after a harmonious meeting in Vienna, where it surprised the world by agreeing to its first production cut in eight years. Crude prices up 12%? Check. Saudi Arabia and Iran in agreement? Check. OPEC and Russia working together? Check. The big question now is whether all these cuts will be implemented. Meanwhile, crude is up over $50 a barrel, lifting energy shares in its slipstream.

Chinese manufacturing grew more than expected in November, with the official Purchasing Managers' Index rising to 51.7, buoyed by a government infrastructure building spree. The eurozone also posted a strong figure, with IHS Markit's final manufacturing PMI registering 53.7, in-line with an earlier flash estimate. British manufacturing growth cooled, however, as soaring costs caused by sterling's slump led the U.K. number to fall from 54.2 to 53.4 in November.

Russia is ready to cooperate with the new U.S. leadership next year, President Vladimir Putin said during his annual state of the nation address in the Kremlin. He also stated that "internal problems" were the main reason for the country's economic malaise and GDP was on track to shrink 0.6% this year. Annual inflation is expected to fall below 6% and reach the central bank's target of 4% in 2017.

Featured Coins of the Day

This morning featured coins are from the United States gold price list. GFRC continues to ramp its US gold product line with quality inventory across all denominations. As for November 30, there were 153 offerings and I still need to add another 8 pieces during the next 24 hours. So here comes some quality $1 and $2.5 gold pieces, all with CAC approval. Please consider spoiling yourself with an early Christmas or holiday season present.

  

  

  

So ends another Daily Blog edition. Time for a shower and another long day in the GFRC office. I would not have it any other way as working with beautiful coins each day is a dream come true....... Thanks for stopping by.