Gerry's Daily Blog Archives - May 2016

May 31, 2016

Greeting once again and welcome to a short work week to kick off the beginning of June. Southern Maine is experiencing a wide variation in temperatures with low 80s arriving today only to drop to high 50s by mid week. Frankly, I'll take days in the 60s as perfect for health walks and continued efforts to clean up the backyard landscape. Speaking of the backyard, Sunday's morning mist was ideal for burning another portion of the massive brush pile. Below is a image from the back porch taken by Diane. That is me along with neighbor Rick watching the fire starting to consume a carefully assembled brush pile that falls in on itself, leaving a small bed of coals and ash.

 

LSCC News

Bill Bugert published the June E-Gobrecht like clockwork last evening. It is a massive 11.5 MB PDF file and can be downloaded here. This is an exceptional issue with a host of articles and monthly columns. Bill opens the issue by announcing the availability of the new Whitman "The Guide Book of Liberty Seated Silver Coins" written by Q. David Bowers along with contributions by LSCC officers and club members. This book is a must have for anyone collecting or considering any of the Liberty Seated coinage denominations. Working with Q. David Bowers on the Seated Dime section was quite stimulating to say the least. The new Whitman Liberty Seated "Redbook" will hopefully attract more 20th Century collectors to Liberty Seated coinage and the LSCC.

The June E-Gobrecht also features a new monthly column by Benny Haimovitz entitled, Cracked, Shattered and Terminal which will highlight important late die states throughout all Liberty Seated denominations. I can't thank Benny enough for taking on this monthly challenge as terminal die states are always popular with LSCC members. The June E-Gobrecht also documents a well attended Central States regional meeting and Seated Dollar club display by John Frost and Carl Feldman at the Garden State Numismatic Association convention. Images of the Seated dollar love tokens (exonumia) are professionally illustrated by Bill Bugert.

My sincere thanks go out to Editor Bill Bugert and the contributors for a spectacular E-Gobrecht issue. Well done by all involved!

GFRC News

A decision to take a table at Summer FUN will be made in the next 36 hours. This means a long drive to Florida during the July 4th timeframe as I will also be attending the Summer Baltimore show on the return trip north.

Matt completed the COIN system price list transfers for GFRC 3 Cent pieces, Buffalo Nickels and Mercury Dimes. Debugging the database for these denominations is one of today's priority and hopefully the revised price lists will be online by tomorrow morning.

Open Registry updates and incremental die variety additions to the Seated dime web-book are starting to pile up. My bandwidth to support these requests is rather limited these days and your patience is appreciated.

Today is the final day of May and I would sure love to sell a few more coins towards meeting month end sales goal. If you've been considering an item, then please give me a call or send an email as I will be in the office for most of the day.

Global Financial News

Spot gold has taken a sizable hit during the past week and now stands at $1213 while oil continues to trade in the $48-$49/bbl range. Below is gold's 5 year technical chart. Note that spot gold has dropped below the 60 day moving average but remains well above the 200 day moving average. The recent breakout is intact as long as gold remains above the $1200 level during the next 30 days.

There are numerous Seeking Alpha headlines this morning but much of the information is mundane and not worth sharing. Following are a few items to stay on top of. Iraq is planning to increase crude oil output and will place pressure on oil prices. The Greece debt drama is never ending. The Greece situation demonstrates that entities with excessive debt do have leverage over their creditors. Portugal also has an ongoing debut issue and we close with the Federal Reserve drama on an interest rate increase. Thank goodness for the modern media and continuing speculations else we would be so bored.....

Iraq will supply 5M barrels of extra crude to its partners in June, according to industry sources, joining other Middle East producers by lifting market share ahead of an OPEC meeting this week. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates also plan to raise supplies in the third quarter. Despite the news, OPEC will continue to "discuss issues including an output freeze when the group gathers June 2," said Fayyad Al-Nima, Iraq's Deputy Oil Minister.

In a letter written to its European and IMF creditors, Greece said it cannot implement some of the extra changes sought in exchange for fresh bailout loans, including banking regulation, sales of bad loans, pension reforms and privatization. The disagreement could further delay the disbursement of bailout funds which Athens badly needs to pay off IMF loans in June, bonds of the ECB maturing in July and increasing state arrears.

Portugal's finance minister is urging policymakers and investors to be patient as the country tackles its burgeoning debt issue and sluggish economic growth. "We are working very hard on the public finances dimension to curb the deficit," Mario Centeno said on the outskirts of the OECD meeting in Paris. Portuguese GDP is expected to be flat this year, according to European Commission forecasts. Debt is near 130% of GDP, one of the highest in the eurozone.

Global markets appear to be "well-prepared" for a summer interest rate hike, according to St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, although he didn't specify a date for the policy move. "As far as a rate hike in June or July, I would prefer to reserve judgment," he told a news conference yesterday in Seoul. Bullard added that a rebound in U.S. GDP seems to be materializing in the second quarter, and described last week's Q1 growth figure of 0.8% as "encouraging" but "still weak."

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Let's share a few nice coins this morning to close out the month of May. GFRC offers several quality Liberty Head proof nickels that do need to find new homes. Below is an 1894 PCGS PF65 OGH Gold CAC example followed by a 1903 PCGS PF65. The 1894 example is from the Poetic Candy Collection while the 1903 is from the Carmel consignor.

 

Thank you for visiting this morning. I'm off to the packing and shipping department followed by writing consignment checks and submitting the CONA show application. Wishing everyone a great day. Remember that I am in the office and would love to sell a coin or two to close out the month of May.

 

May 28 - 30, 2016

Memorial Day Weekend - New GFRC Price List Additions

Added in random order consistent with price list postings.

    

    

    

    

    

 

May 30, 2016

Memorial Day has arrived and I have mixed emotions this morning about the state of affairs in our country. It is probably best to leave this topic alone as much of the discontent is sown by media reporting and biases. United States war veterans are special individuals who have risked their lives for our country and have seen too much human carnage during overseas rotations. Our veterans deserve the highest possible respect and support by those of us who did not serve in the military.

Southern Maine will experience rains throughout the morning hours which means an ideal day to burn another portion of the backyard brush pile. The burn pile is quite large and requires wet ground conditions for a safe burn. Later this morning, I will be off to the fire house for a permit and to local store for a few gallons of A-1 kerosine.

GFRC Coin Show News

It gives me pleasure to announce that GFRC will be taking a table at the Ohio State Coin Show in Dublin during Labor Day weekend. LSCC Central Regional Director, Stephen Petty, conducts a regional meeting at this show and suggested that I add the venue to the GFRC schedule. The Central Ohio Numismatic Association (CONA) hosts the Dublin show annually with supporting members being known as the Green Hats. GFRC will have four cases of quality offerings including a case dedicated exclusively to CAC approved coins and another featuring United States gold and beautifully toned Morgan.

I spent Sunday afternoon working on travel arrangements for the upcoming ANA show in Anaheim, California. To be honest. I am not excited about attending this event due to show location and travel costs. A decision was made months ago to not take a table at the ANA show given the high California sales tax and secondly, the Anaheim location. My fears may have been influenced by memories of the prior ANA World's Fair of Money event in Los Angeles. Many dealers and visitors remember the LA show as the "bowling alley" show....one could have rolled bowling balls down the aisles and never hit a person. The LA show was poorly attended and the memories remain vivid. Now the ANA brings us to Anaheim which is miles away from LAX, SNA or ONT airports and this means car rentals, parking fees and expensive hotels due to proximity to Disneyland. Those of us on the East Coast must fly over night flights (red eyes) to return home towards maintaining airfares at a reasonable level. I realize that GFRC customers on the West Coast are looking forward to the LSCC annual meeting and my attendance. Honestly, as a business person managing a P&L, I'm on the fence concerning the Anaheim ANA show.

I'm also exploring an idea of taking a table at Summer FUN show. More on this topic later.....

Pending Consignments

The GFRC consignment queue is growing once again. Already, four consignments are committed and all are substantial. Following is a brief description of forthcoming GFRC summer offerings.

- Burchs Creek Collection: This consignor has committed 40 Bust and Seated halves, all in the EF/AU grade range but more importantly, all are housed in ANACS old white holders. This consignment will be a time capsule dating back to the mid 1980s and I quite excited about this cool opportunity.

- Osprey Collection: The Osprey consignor and his lovely Belgium wife are recently back from another European trip with more United States gold and this time, a substantial and high grade group of French crowns from the Napoléon Bonaparte emperor period. The United States gold and Napoleon coins are already into the grading services and will be available by end of June. Retrieving this consignment in person and spending time with these new friends planning a sales strategy for the Napoleon lot is behind the idea for driving to Florida and taking a table at Summer FUN.

- Upstate New York Collection: This consignor is a life long collector and has decided to start divesting some of his massive toned coin holdings. GFRC has occasionally handled his coins but now the individual wishes to increase the consignment rate. His planned June consignment will include a variety of silver type coins.

- Gerry Fortin Top 100 Varieties Collection: GFRC customers are well aware of the contents of this collection since posted in the Open Registry at www.seateddimevarieties.com. The official sale will be announced in the July Gobrecht Journal followed by a separate Top 100 Liberty Seated dimes price list being added to the GFRC For Sale page by end of July. Photography, pricing and writing descriptions will take careful preparations after owning many of these coins for nearly two decades. FRoR response has been strong.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

GFRC is well known for handling quality Liberty Seated coinage. I'm also working diligently towards expanding Draped and Capped Bust coinage offerings. As with Liberty Seated halves, the Bust half dollar denomination is popular among collectors as there is a reasonable supply in the market place. GFRC's entrance into this market space will once again focus on choice and strictly original examples. Following are some particular special early halves for your consideration.

We open with an 1803 Large 3 O-103 half residing in NGC AU55 Fatty holder. The 1803 date is much scarcer than 1806 dated pieces. The AU55 grade level is an excellent value point as mint state examples are rare and strongly into five figures. Eye appeal is high for this lovely 1803 example. Speaking of eye appeal, how about this beautiful 1806 Draped Bust half residing in NGC AU53 Fatty holder and approved by CAC? Yes, the O-109 die pairing is often seen but the overall quality and eye appeal of this example is differentiating against others on the market.

 

In terms of early Capped Bust halves, I like this 1811/10 O-101 example which is graded PCGS EF40 and approved by CAC. This is another beautiful offering from the Seal Beach Collection. Finally, we conclude with an 1822 O-111 PCGS EF45 half from the Motor City Collection. This choice original example HAS NOT been to CAC for review and, if not sold by end of week, will be part of a forthcoming CAC submission.

 

It may be Memorial Day, but GFRC office is open throughout the day. I will be loading more new offerings on the price list this morning followed by burning the brush pile this afternoon. Emails and inquiries will be responded to this evening.

Thank you so much for visiting the Daily Blog as part of your daily routine. It is such an honor to have over 300 individuals dropping by each day to view these ramblings. Wishing everyone a great day.

 

May 29, 2016

Good Sunday morning and glad to have you back at the Daily Blog.

Southern Maine temperatures reached into the low 90s yesterday and perfect for a late afternoon Miata drive to a coastal restaurant. A crab cake and seafood gumbo dinner were thoroughly enjoy followed by a refreshing drive through country roads.

Today's Blog will be brief given the Memorial Day weekend.

GFRC News

Blog visitors should note the Memorial Day weekend image gallery that is growing at the top of this page. As increment coins are added onto price lists, their images are placed into the above gallery in no specific order. GFRC customers can quickly stop by and view the latest offerings without having to search through updated price lists. Isolating new purchases and consignments into their own price list will be another feature enabled by the COIN database and price list generation system.....careful inspection of the above gallery may be warranted as there are some gem and choice original pieces in the mix. The 1838 reeded edge half is about as nice as one will see at the EF45 grade level. The 1862 PCGS MS64 3 cent silver is a gem and undergraded (On Hold). The 1876-CC seated dime is already on hold.

GFRC Quality Ratings

Feedback from GFRC customers is always appreciated. One individual noted the new Quality Rating column on COIN system generated price lists and suggested a Quality Ratings definition link be added. He hoped for quick assess to this information rather than having to search back through the Daily Blog files. As a result, Matt developed this GFRC Quality Ratings page and I'm quite pleased with the layout.

Maybe a quick recap is in order. When evaluating any slabbed coin to be sold by GFRC, each coin is placed in one of five quality categories. These are Gem, Choice Original, Original, Market Acceptable and Cleaned. The category names are broad and the evaluation process is subjective but conducted only by me; this fact should provide consistency as I've study thousands of Seated coins and have refined grading skills. Nearly all TPG certified coins purchased or handled by GFRC fall into the Original through Gem ratings. When buying coins for GFRC inventory, many Market Acceptable coins are seen in wholesaler boxes but are immediately shunned even if the price is discounted. Handling these coins is not consistent with the GFRC brand. Rather, adding Choice Original and Gem early type coins to inventory is the priority and probably the reason for so many coins labled as "Choice" on the price lists.

What about consignor coins? The Quality Ratings of consignor coins can have wider distributions and include some Market Acceptable and Cleaned examples. As a full service coin dealer, my role is to help consignors dispose of low quality coins along with selling the choice pieces. The Quality Ratings are an honest evaluation and feedback towards setting retail prices. Lower quality coins must be discounted to sell.

A case in point is the above 1859-O Seated half submitted as part of a consignment. The half resides in PCGS EF40 OGH with an obvious past cleaning. The cleaning was not harsh or mechanical, but the result is a coin with bright underlying surfaces and unnatural appearance that one associates with a cleaned coin that has slowly retoned. The consignor took the feedback well and turned the situation around. He encourage me to use his 1859-O half as a Quality teaching aid in the Daily Blog. Matt and I then placed these 1859-O images in the Quality Rating link to illustrate that Cleaned coins will be found in TPG holders. My sincere thanks to the consignor for helping out the cause......

Let's end the Blog at this point as an early morning health walk is calling me. Today's goals will be adding more new purchases to the price lists and finishing the ANA summer seminar course presentation on Seated dimes. We may also convert another price list to the COIN system. I should be responding to email throughout the day as not traveling.

 

May 28, 2016

Greetings and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog as summer is officially underway.

The summer season is a challenging timeframe for coin dealers as most collectors shift attention to outdoor pursuits and take well deserved vacations. GFRC is not immune and has seen a drop off in order activity. As the summer business cycle unfolds, some consignors become concerned about the lack of coin transactions and request pricing reductions to stimulate demand. In most cases, patience is advised since business demand is seasonally weak. Certain collectors may well understand the seasonal situation and place offers on targeted pieces. I much prefer this approach whereby collectors and consignors can negotiate a fair price for all parties involved. Ultimately, I am here to support consignors and their wishes while offering my perspective on market seasonality. In a vibrant market where demand is elastic and price sensitive, small pricing reductions can stimulate attention and new demand. The summer numismatic market is not considered "vibrant" but rather "sleepy".

GFRC News

The Morgan and Peace Dollar price list has been converted to the COIN generation system. Matt completed the product line migration on Friday and I worked until 11:00pm debugging the database, adding TPG holder barcodes and quality ratings. Following is the brand name Morgan and Peach Dollar price list as generated by the COIN system; just click on the image icon. A sincere thank you to Matt for quickly working through popular price lists and performing the conversions.

During Memorial Day weekend, the GFRC office will be open all day Saturday and Monday while I will be monitoring email on Sunday. I've decided to withhold USPS shipments today due to the long holiday weekend and the probability that USPS may be using part time employees to cover time off for experience staff. Shipments will commence on Tuesday.

Good progress is being made on the ANA Summer Seminar course work. Already the Liberty Seated Dime discussion is nearly 40 Powerpoint slides and covers a broad range of topics including major designs, grading, key and common dates, proof strikes along with an in depth section on varieties and collecting approaches. I probably have another 10-15 slides to add during the weekend.

I will be in the GFRC office all day (I'm already here at 6:30am) and will focus on loading a decent number of new purchases and consigned items to the price lists.

If any coin on the GFRC price lists is calling out to you, "Buy me, Buy me", then please call or email concerning potential purchase and pricing terms. GFRC consignors are expecting continued sales during the summer season and it is my responsibility to bring these about.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

In today's Featured Coin section, I am pleased to welcome back two old friends. Certain GFRC customers/consignors are advanced collectors and quite active with their hobby. They will purchase quality peices but still remain on the hunt for upgrades. Once upgrades are located, these consignors are comfortable with GFRC once again handling the duplicates originality purchased from me.

This morning, I am so pleased to feature two superb Liberty Seated Dimes from the Woodlands Collection; 1838-O F-102 PCGS AU55 and 1847 F-102 PCGS AU58. The 1838-O F-102 dime had been off the market for decades and was originally listed in early 2016 from the Motor City Collection while the 1847 F-102 arrived from the Florida Collection in late 2015. Both examples are choice for the grade and would be important acquisitions. The 1838-O offers frosty surfaces due to significant die erosion and metal stress lines throughout the die steel. Golden luster is consistent with the AU58 assigned grade while the fields and devices are entirely blemish free. It is not well known that the 1847 date becomes rare in AU58 or better. PCGS population report indicates (4) pieces in AU58, (5) at the MS62 level and (4) graded MS63. If only a few of these are resubmissions, then the surviving population in lower mint state grades is very scarce indeed. How can you go wrong at an $1300 asking price for this type of quality and rarity? Yes, lay-a-ways are available.

 

Let's end the Daily Blog at this point as I would like to secure an early start to the business day and start adding new offerings to the price lists. Thank you for visiting and wishing everyone a restful and fun holiday weekend.

 

 

May 27, 2016

Welcome to Memorial Day weekend 2016 and thank you for visiting the Daily Blog.

Why do I consider Friday as part of the Memorial Day weekend? In the Sebago Lake area including Raymond, summer residents and vacationers will arrive today in droves. By afternoon, Rt 302, the main artery into the region from Portland, will be jammed with bumper to bumper traffic heading north. Local residents well know that visiting Raymond and North Windham town centers is an unwise decision this coming afternoon and early evening.

Following is a Sebago Lake map including the surrounding watershed area and other lakes and ponds. One look at this map quickly confirms why this Maine tourist destination is called The Sebago Lakes Region. Lake Sebago's average depth is slightly over 100 ft with the deepest points of ~350 ft occuring in the Big Bay. The Big Bay can be frightening to navigate during heavy afternoon winds as I learned on several occasions. Even with a 20 ft Chaparell cuddy cabin boat, the swells become quite deep and closely spaced. Early mornings and evening hours are the optimum time for boating as the lake becomes congested with boat traffic during afternoons and weekends between Jordan Bay and the narrow pass at Frye Island. Few people visit the southern most Lower Bay as this is a restricted area serving as Portland's water supply.

GFRC News

On Thursday afternoon, I met with a local dealer at Diane's Benjamin Moore paint store. The children's table also doubles as the GFRC meeting place. While paint customers are discussing outdoor stains and application techniques, early type coins were being inspected along with pricing discussions and cursing the poorly performing CoinFacts app on mobile phones. Next time, I will bring the GFRC laptop and use AT&T mobile hotspot to secure pricing information. Overall, the meeting was lots of fun as three PCGS blue boxes full of wholesale dealer purchases and returned PCGS submissions were inspected and the subject of conversaton. GFRC did well at this session and purchased ten lovely collector coins. Most are completely fresh to market with no CAC attempt.

Following are the new purchases with FRoR in effect. All have been entered in the COIN system and are priced. Photography will take place on Saturday.

3c Silver: 1859 PCGS EF45 choice original gray; 1862 PCGS MS64 gem original with light rainbow toning

Seated 5c: 1863 PCGS F12 original gray and nice; 1869 original PCGS EF45 and a difficult date

Seated 10c: 1876-CC F-114 PCGS AU50 very early die state, choice with luster and conservative grading

Reeded 50c: 1838 PCGS EF45 choice crusty gray and certain CAC approval

Seated 50c: 1842-O WB-8 PCGS EF40 light original gray; 1875 NGC EF40 CAC Eric Newman Collection

Morgan $1: 1882 PCGS MS64 choice dual sided toner; 1883 NGC MS65 Fatty holder, stunning dual sided rainbow toning

Other GFRC News.....

Matt spent the past few days converting the Gold Price List to the COIN generation system while I debugged his work last evening. We are ready to go and will be changing the Gold Price List link on the For Sale page to the COIN generated version. For Blog readers wishing a quick look at the COIN generated gold price list, simply click on the following icon. Two down and thirty more price lists to complete......

Global Financial News

Spot gold remains at $1223/oz while spot oil prices are flirting with the $50 mark. Global stock markets are quiet ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. Did you realize that Japan's national sales tax is 8% with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe planning for 10%. Lastly, it must be an election year as the Dept of Commerce is expected to revise United States growth projections upward. One must carefully dissect GDP numbers as manufacturing continues to shrink while the delivery of health care and associated costs continue to raise.

Crude oil prices are back below $50 in early trading on a round of profit taking by investors and with the U.S. dollar perking up. Traders are also positioning themselves ahead of the next OPEC meeting scheduled for just around the corner on June 2. Energy market watchers are unsure if key OPEC members will agree on a production cap or increase output. WTI crude is down 0.9% to $49.05/bbl, while Brent crude trading in London is 0.89% lower at $49.15/bbl.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may delay a sales tax increase for another three years due to concerns on the global economy. A decision to postpone the tax is anticipated before an upper-house election in Japan later this summer. Abe already postponed the planned tax hike to 10% by 18 months, after the initial increase to 8% in April of 2014 edged Japan into economic hardship. Some economists think the country will be in better shape in 2019 just ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The second estimate on Q1 GDP is due out from the Commerce Department this morning. The revised figure is expected to jump to 0.9% from 0.5%. Yesterday, the Atlanta Fed caught the attention of economists by lifting its Q2 GDP forecast to 2.9% from 2.5%. The consensus mark of analysts is for 2.3% growth.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Let's visit the Morgan dollar price list for today's featured coins. Collecting dual sided toned Morgan dollars can be a lot of fun. The challenge is locating example with huge eye appeal at the MS63 through MS65 grade levels and in the $150 to $350 range. Yes, collecting toner Morgan is quite subjective but much more fun than building a date and mintmark set of blast white frosty examples. Frosty white Morgans can be easily seen at any coin show or online. Rather, locating toned Morgans that match your visual requirements for natural beauty will be much more challenging and rewarding.

Here are four recommended pieces for consideration. The images speak for themselves while the descriptions and pricing can be located at the Morgan Dollar price list.

 

 

Wishing all GFRC customer and consignors a restful Memorial Day weekend. I'm staying away form Rt 302 and will be focused on the ANA Summer Seminar course preparations after completing today's packing and shipping.

 

 

May 26, 2016

Greetings on an absolutely gorgeous Maine morning. Nature has transitioned from barren branches into a beautiful green landscape in the past two weeks and just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Skies are cloudless and blue with temperatures forecasted to reach the low 80s. Then again, this is Maine and tomorrow will bring a 20 degree temperature drop and rains. One must enjoy the great weather when possible.

Liberty Seated Collectors Club News

The LSCC annual meeting at the ANA's World's Fair of Money is just two and half months away. Club leadership team is working on a host of projects including the ANA Summer Seminar course work, the July Gobrecht Journal and the annual fund raising auction in August. The upcoming Gobrecht Journal will be another great issue and the second to feature a Collector Centerfold.

Donations for the club annual auction were off to a good start about 45 days ago but have since quieted down. Two dealers (GFRC being one) committed $200 gift certificates along with an offering of Liberty Seated coins and numismatic literature from other individuals. Providing a numismatic donation for our noble cause would be appreciated. The club is managed by volunteer business professionals who are providing a noteworthy portion of the auction lots. Monies donated to the LSCC are well spent towards promoting our hobby and providing club member education. You would be hard pressed to find a better managed non profit considering our tiny budget.

GFRC News

Yesterday's GFRC emphasis shifted away from the daily loading of new purchases and consignments. Instead, photographing a portion of the Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties for the upcoming Gobrecht Journal sale announcement and building Summer Seminar course work took prioirty. Deadlines are looming and stuff must get done. I worked until 11:00 pm and completed image processing for the following Top 100 highlights. FRoR for the Top 100 Varieties sale will be recorded and honored. This will be a fixed price list sale rather than mail bid or other form of auction. GFRC will add a Top 100 price list to the website in parallel with the release of the July Gobrecht Journal followed by contacting those with FRoR for purchase decisions. Asking prices will be consistent with the Top 100 Pricing Guide located on this website. For Green and Gold CAC approved dimes, I will use the same pricing methodology as employed for any GFRC consignor.

In summary, GFRC will be marketing and selling the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Collection as just another consignment.

Gerry Fortin Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties Collection - May 26, 2016

    

    

    

    

 

Featured Topic

I always enjoy receiving the latest writing from John Mauldin and staff. Tuesday brought an brief article from Tony Sagami as part of his Connecting the Dots series for Mauldin Economics. The article is entitled The Curse of Debt and the Blessing of Being a Lender and discusses the renewed growth of household debt in the United States with college tuition growing to the point of being another negative impact for household finances. Student load debt has increased by nearly 4x in just ten years and is the latest drag on United States economic growth. The punch line is that investing in the lenders is wise due to the growing accumulation of college and auto loan debt. The article is a quick read with the following two charts catching my attention. I grew up in an era when being indebted was considered bad and to be avoided other than a home mortgage. Transactions were cash and check based with credit cards being evil as easily abused. I went to a Maine state university as my parents could not afford the tuition and would not borrow monies. So I self funded a four year Bachelor's degree that resulted in a substantial electronic industry career. My teenage years are remembered as working and saving for that lofty university education goal.

                 Average Household Debt                                          Debt Growth Rates (Excluding Mortgages)

  

 

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

There was positive feedback on the quality of yesterday's Featured coins; four choice original Liberty Seated half dollars. Hopefully, a GFRC customer is considering a purchase of one of these lovely pieces.

We shift to the United States gold price list for today's Featured Coins. Adding United States gold to GFRC offerings was a wise decision in hindsight. A sincere thank you goes out to the Osprey Collection consignor for moving me in this direction and enabling the product line with his substantial offerings. Since that time, GFRC gold sales have increased and well augment the traditional Liberty Seated denominations. So here are four great gold pieces from the price list to consider. Yes, spot gold has taken a small drop this week, but one must look long term when purchasing United States gold. It is a combination numismatic and physical asset.

We start with two CAC approved $3 Princess pieces. Much of the $3 Princess mintage was used for Victorian jewelry with low choice example survival rates. Below are two lovely examples with CAC green beans. The first is a gem 1862 Civil War piece graded PCGS MS64. Mintage is a scant 5,750. Struck from heavily polished dies with vertical die striations remaining on both obverse and reverse. Strike is full with frosty hair curls and all reverse wreath devices being crisp. Next is an eye appealing 1874 $3 Princess graded NGC AU58 with bright cartwheel luster. Surfaces are slightly mirrored which helps with light reflections and eye appeal.

 

Moving to the gold $20 double eagle offerings, we find quality pieces from the Monument and Osprey consignors. First is a fully struck 1875-S $20 graded NGC MS62. This example offers bright cartwheel luster and is the last "affordable grade" as PCGS population at the MS63 grade level is only 16 leading to pricing well into the five figures. Next to the 1875-S is a lovely 1899-S $20 graded NGC MS63 that is so choice with bold cartwheel luster.

 

8:00 am arrives and the Daily Blog is published on time. Thank you for visiting and I do hope your day is filled with happiness and good fortune. I'm meeting with a local coin dealer later today and hopefully will locate some quality new coins for the GFRC price list. We will see you tomorrow.

 

 

May 25, 2016

Is it Wednesday already? I believe so and time for another edition of the Daily Blog.

As a long time collector, I must admit going through an emotional event on Tuesday afternoon.

The reason was a visit to local bank and spending time in the bank vault and viewing room. Yes, I went through the bank boxes and inspected a Liberty Seated dime collection that has been amassed since 1989. While going through the individual double row slab boxes, the key dates from the Top 100 Varieties set were removed for photography and publicity in the July Gobrecht Journal issue. Making a decision to sell the Top 100 collection was a logical step in one's life. But executing the sale piece by piece is emotionally challenging given the years of effort to define the set and owning these special dimes. There are so many memories associated with individual coins. The 1875 F-107 MPD residing in PCGS MS64 CAC Regency holder with the original green pouch in pristine condition purchased at a Superior Auction, the 1862 F-103 PCGS MS63 reverse die gouge dime previously owned by Monfort Johnson and the basis for his article in Gobrecht Journal issue #16. Of course, there is the 1839 Pie Shattered Obverse residing in PCGS EF45 CAC holder purchased from John Sacher in 2012 after he left a voice message indicating I might be interested in this dime. And two of my all time favorites, the 1854-O F-102 Shattered Obverse dime (PCGS AU50 CAC) purchased raw from Brian Greer during 1992 (his guidebook plate coin) and the 1839-O Cobweb Shattered Reverse residing in PCGS MS63 Gold CAC holder from the 2005 CSNS Heritage auction of Dr. Tim Cook collection. Each piece brings memories.

Yes, it will be difficult to part with a collection that has been a substantial part of my life. But one must remember, we are simply the curators of our collections and preserving the integrity of each coin and providing knowledge and understanding to next generation collectors is a noble goal after years of personal enjoyment. Coins will last forever but unfortunately, humans do not. This is why I hope to place the Top 100 dimes with other collectors rather than taking these to a traditional auction sale.

GFRC News

More GFRC coins will be reaching the price list today as the consignment and new purchase backlog shrinks. On Thursday, I have a buying appointment with a local dealer that may result in some purchases. Otherwise my attention will be focused on the ANA Summer Seminar course work preparations.

By the way, here is GFRC customer feedback after a long term lay-a-way to purchase the 1840-O With Drapery PCGS AU58 Seated quarter that had been a fixture on the price list. This was an outstanding piece that found an appreciative home.

Hi Gerry, I just received the item and am blown away. The piece figuratively jumps out of its holder with luster and high grade resonance. I am so impressed and feel that I have reached an important milestone in collecting. I am going to continue my collecting journey and will happily contact you with interests on items.

Global Financial News

Spot gold was hammered overnight at now sits at $1223/oz with no explanation in the Seeking Alpha headlines. Oil prices continue to increase while the global currency wars run unabated as each country positions its currency for increased exports. Have you noticed that oil prices are recovering after the United States oil field carnage? China issued a slight currency devaluation overnight while Greece and Puerto Rico debt restructuring is ongoing.

Crude futures are pushing closer to $50 a barrel, with U.S. oil hitting its highest in over seven months after API data suggested a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. inventories last week. Crude is also getting support by an overnight surge in U.S. equities, strong home sales and a series of oil outages around the world. Wildfires in Canada and a spate of violence in Nigeria have helped cut global crude supply by nearly 4M bpd this month.

The People's Bank of China lowered the yuan's reference rate by 0.3% to 6.5693 per dollar overnight, marking the currency's weakest level against the greenback since March 2011. The move could increase tensions between China and its trading partners, as recent strength in the dollar and yen make exports from those countries less competitive globally.

In an agreement announced early Wednesday, Greece won additional pledges of debt relief, but nothing substantial until 2018 at the earliest, and only then if it continues to carry out the painful reforms it agreed to over the weekend. Eurozone finance ministers and the IMF also gave a green light for the next round of aid for Athens, including €10.3B in fresh loans, starting with a €7.5B installment in the second half of June. Greek bond yields slid to six-month lows following the announcement.

House Republicans are attempting to hold together a rare bipartisan deal to help Puerto Rico manage its crippling finances as a committee today begins considering the legislation. The bill to create a financial control board and restructure some of the U.S. territory's $70B debt has support from both GOP and Democratic House leaders, as well as the Obama administration, but some bondholders, unions and island officials still oppose it.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Yesterday's Featured Coin section resulted in one of the four illustrated half dimes being sold. Today, let's visit the Liberty Seated halves for a few recommended pieces. Seated halves are, by far, the most popular of the Liberty Seated denominations. Availability and size are most likely the reasons. Seated dimes have similar availability but are smaller sized while Seated quarters are nicely sized as a collectible but locating choice examples is so challenging and nearly impossible to stock as they sell so quickly. Back to Seated halves..... Following are some new additions from several different consignments that may fit well into your collection. First is an 1839 With Drapery WB-104 half graded PCGS AU53 CAC from the Colonel Green/Eric P Newman Collection with classic original old paper envelope toning followed by an 1847 NGC AU58 specimen with crusty original paper envelope toning. The latter piece is not designated as from the Newman Collection but offers similar surface conditions.

 

Next is a lovely 1849 WB-10 MPD 8 in Denticles Seated half from the Highwoods Collection that is choice original with olive gray patina and lots of eye appeal. This lovely 1849 Philadelphia strike has become one of my immediate favorite within GFRC inventory. We close the Featured Coins section with a lovely 1852 half currently residing in PCGS AU58 holder but previously graded PCGS MS62. The luster is amazing with just a few marks that could result in the AU58 grade on a conservative basis. This is another excellent offering from the Seal Beach Collection.

 

Your daily visits to the Daily Blog are sincerely appreciated. This morning's edition is a tad late but hopefully worth the wait. I will be back bright and early on Thursday morning. Wishing everyone a great day.

 

 

May 24, 2016

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

Wikipedia defined "boredom" as an emotional or psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is not interested in his or her surroundings, or feels that a day or period is dull or tedious. Boredom is a mental state that has escaped me for years as each day has a priority list of must do items. Monday was particularly busy with an 8:30pm bedtime for recovery and recharging. Once again it is 6:00am and here I am at the laptop.

Seated Coinage - Open Registry News

One of Monday's must do items was updating Dale Miller's Top 25 Seated Quarter Varieties in the Open Registry. Upon matching the new set additions with remaining slots, I quickly realized that Dale had completed his Top 25 set. This is a noteworthy accomplishment as many of the Top 25 quarter varieties are very scarce and require diligent searching across multiple years in order to acquire. Dale Miller is the only collector to have completed both the Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties and now the Top 25 Liberty Seated Quarter varieties. A sincere congratulations goes out the Dale Miller for these numismatic accomplishments.

GFRC News

The Early Copper price list generated via the COIN system was quite popular yesterday with nearly 250 downloads. Feedback arrived and was all positive. A few excerpts include;

Looks like you and Matt have produced a software masterpiece. I like all the linkages and headings..........superb creation.Totally brilliant and classy way to present consigned offerings. And I trust the 'built in' time management efficiency features will make your life more livable and productive.

Thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that the new/improved price list in this morning's blog looks great. Very impressive, easy to figure out and should be to just about anybody who views it. I never knew how much has to go into the computer end of that (or anything else for that matter)

Transitioning the entire GFRC inventory to the COIN system should be completed within the next 30-45 days. My only concern is Excel's ability to handle the massive database size when individual item descriptions are ported over. Only time and experimentation will tell. But I do suspect that purchasing the most advanced laptop in terms of available RAM and processing speed will be a prudent step. I will be asking Matt for a recommendation.

Today brings a bank vault visit to pull major Top 100 Seated dime variety pieces for photography and constructing the forthcoming GFRC ad in the July Gobrecht Journal. The end of May submission deadline is looming. Luckily, the LSCC President's Message was written yesterday and the balance of the week will be dedicated to the ANA Summer Seminar curriculum.

Incremental consignments are being held back for the next 10 days or so. Already, a major consignment from Upstate New York consignor is committed while Jim Poston continues to work on his next submission. GFRC will be soliciting incremental consignments effective the second week in June. Please contact me to discuss your holdings and development of a sales strategy.

Global Financial News

Spot gold prices are weakening and sit at $1243 this morning as the Federal Reserve generals continue to push for an interest rate hike in June. Gold prices are already factoring in a stronger US dollar. Moving to Europe, the IMF is essentially asking EU creditor nations to fund Greece without expectations for repayment. The new term for this action is "upfront unconditional debt relief". Finally...were you aware that the international bank transfer system (SWIFT) has been under attack by hackers? SWIFT is the favorite tool of the United States for trade sanctions against Russia and Iran. Now SWIFT is being attacked.....

Expectations are rising for a rate hike next month after Philly Fed President Patrick Harker reinforced the central bank's message that it's getting ready to act now that the U.S. economy has recovered from a weak winter. "I can easily see the possibility of two or three rate hikes over the remainder of the year," he told an audience in Philadelphia. "If the data comes in... I think a June rate increase is appropriate." Markets are also awaiting this week's main event - a speech from Janet Yellen on Friday.

The IMF is calling on European creditor nations to commit to "upfront unconditional" debt relief for Greece as part of an international rescue program for the debt-laden nation. The statement comes ahead of today's Eurogroup meeting in Brussels that will discuss the issue, with the aim of agreeing on the next disbursement to Athens from an €86B bailout package hammered out last year.

The head of SWIFT will present a plan today to fight back against a wave of recent cyber thefts at members of the world's top payments network. The speech follows three high profile hacks since the beginning of last year: an $81M heist at the Bangladesh central bank, a $12M theft from Banco del Austro in Ecuador, and an attack on a Vietnamese lender that was unsuccessful. "I think it will prove to be a watershed event for the banking industry," CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt is expected to say, according to a draft of his speech seen by the FT.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

The Liberty Seated half dime denomination is probably the least popular with collectors outside of double dimes. The half dime's small size has been an ongoing explanation followed by the lack of modern die variety guide. The Valentine guide is much too ambiguous for definitive attributions and hopefully, MrHalfDime (Stephen Crain) will finally publish a comprehensive guide for this series. Collecting half dimes brings the same challenges as large denominations but can be accomplished with a smaller budget since the demand side of the equations is lower.

GFRC continues to stock quality Seated half dimes. In today's Blog, I would like to showcase four examples and hope they will find new homes with a loving collector. We start with two superior 1837 examples that are ideal for a type set or the first entry in a date and mintmark set. The first 1837 half dime (PCGS MS65) is a perfect gem consigned from an old time collection. Strike is hammered with every minute device detail being crisply impressed. Surfaces are frosty and covered with transparent golden patina that is more concentrated at the obverse and reverse rims. The second 1837 example (PCGS MS63 CAC) offers spectacular eye appeal and is choice original. The obverse is covered by a transparent aquamarine and golden patina while the reverse is mostly silver gray. I love how the obverse aquamarine center is framed by a large golden ring due to the clean fields not cluttered by stars.

 

On Sunday, the following two gray original pieces were added to the price list and are excellent values. First is a sweet 1847 half dime graded NGC EF40. What is there to not like about this strictly original 1847 Philadelphia half dime that is conservatively graded? Next to the 1847 is a choice 1861/O overdate example residing in PCGS EF45 holder. Yes, there is ongoing questions about this variety being a true overdate, but the popularity is unquestionable. Eye appeal and originality are outstanding here.

 

Wishing Blog readers a great day! I appreciate the ongoing readership and work hard towards facilitating your daily online visit. We shall be back tomorrow with more interesting ramblings.

 

 

May 23, 2016

Good Morning and welcome to the last week in May. Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away and is the official start to the Maine tourist season. Our sleepy town of Raymond along with the entire Sebago Lake region sees a substantial population increase. Roads become crowded especially during the weekly Friday through Sunday timeframes. Softshell lobsters will soon be available much to the delight of full time residents and tourists.

GFRC News

Matt and I are pleased to showcase the first GFRC price list to be converted to the COIN Cloud based generation system. Yesterday, we selected the Copper price list as a test case. There were a limited number of current listings and I was in the process of loading the Seal Beach Collection early copper pieces. So why not load the Seal Beach consignment pieces via the new system as a test case? The Early Copper price list is available here and the access link will be updated on existing For Sale page this morning.

GFRC COIN System - Early Copper Price List

Modifications and improvements to the page layout and content should be obvious but let's highlight the main changes. Please don't be bashful and send your comments and feedback! We are still in the debugging stage and wish to include GFRC customer comments into the final product.

- COIN generated price list will auto size to fill the display screen of any viewing electronice device. This is accomplished by shrinking/widening the Description column and holding other column widths constant.

- A GFRC Rating column is added with the designations of Gem, Choice, Original, Market Acceptable and Cleaned to be displayed to help with purchase decisions.Coins with Gem designations will have strong premiums while Market Acceptable and Cleaned coins will have varying price discounts.

- The TPG agency and holder serial number are placed in separate column and will not longer be mentioned in the description. The serial number is a link back to PCGS and NGC websites for validation. Isn't this cool?

- A variety column is added for listing Fortin, Bugert, Overton, Briggs and other variety reference numbers. Fortin numbers will be linked back to the web-book while the Overton numbers will lead to the www.BustHalfAddict.com website and respective pages.

GFRC Consignor News

The early copper portion of the recent Seal Beach consignment is now available. Unfortunately, the photography session was challenging with TPG holder lighting reflections. The result is reflection arcs that wash out the lower portions of the images. These images will be redone shortly but decided to move ahead given the new COIN generated price list demo.

Seal Beach Collection Consignment - May 22, 2016

    

  

 

Global Financial News

There are a host of Seeking Alpha headlines this morning. Japanese exports are shrinking due to the strong Yen causing some contentious discussions at G-7 meeting. Another Federal Reserve member is telegraphing an interest increase in June as the drama continues. Puerto Rico's bond holders are suing since the island state is no longer making payments and finally, Boeing is a substantial winner during Obama's visit to Vietnam.

Japanese manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in more than three years in May as new orders slumped, putting fresh pressure on the country to unveil additional stimulus. The Markit/Nikkei Flash Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis, from a final 48.2 the month before. The data was accompanied by trade figures for April. Japanese exports declined 10.1% on-year, while imports tanked by an annual 23%, leaving the nation with a trade surplus of ¥823B ($7.5B).

The United States issued a fresh warning to Japan against intervening in currency markets on Saturday as the two countries' differences over foreign exchange overshadowed a G7 gathering of finance ministers in Japan. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said he did not consider recent yen moves as "disorderly," but his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso dubbed them "one-sided and speculative." G7 leaders also called for a mix of monetary, fiscal and structural policies to boost demand but left it to each country to decide its own policy priorities.

The U.S. is on the verge of meeting most of the economic conditions the Fed has set to increase interest rates next month, according to FOMC member and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren. Markets were putting extremely low odds on a summer rate increase until last week, when minutes from the Fed's April rate-setting meeting suggested it was preparing for the second rate rise since December. Rosengren was one of the Fed doves in 2015, but he has recently become more bullish on the outlook.

Holders of bonds from Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank are suing to challenge aspects of a debt-moratorium law that island officials say is crucial to maintaining essential services. The federal lawsuit names Puerto Rico's Governor and Treasury Secretary as well as an unidentified bank receiver. It argues that amendments give preferential treatment to local creditors at the expense of others in violation of American and Puerto Rican law.

Vietnam's VietJet has agreed to order 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 airplanes, in a deal worth $11.3B based on list prices. Delivery of the planes will run for four years beginning in 2019, and will make the airline one of the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the region. VietJet will sign the agreement later today in Hanoi during President Obama's visit to Vietnam.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Let's visit the Morgan price list for several recommended offerings. Selecting toner Morgans for GFRC inventory is an entirely subjective process as no price guides are available. My selection criteria is a combination of toning colors, toning patterns, underlying luster and blemishes.....essentially superior eye appeal. Below are two special examples. The first is an 1881-S Morgan residing in NGC Fatty MS63 holder with Gold CAC approval. This example is far from an MS63 with beautiful toning patterns; the reverse offers rainbow colored bullseyes that can be enjoyed for a long time. The 1882-CC Morgan is also quite attractively toned. I've seen too many frosty white 1882-CC, 1883-CC and 1884-CC Morgans in my lifetime and now enjoying the challenge of locating these dates with unique toning.

 

Time to move into the packing and shipping department followed by writing a President's Message for the July Gobrecht Journal. I hope you enjoyed this morning's visit to the Daily Blog and please check back tomorrow for more news and ramblings. Have a great Monday.

 

 

May 22, 2016

Welcome back to another edition of the Daily Blog and thank you for visiting.

Have you ever wondered how or why I have been writing a morning blog for nearly two years? Few people would consider it a "normal" behavior; awaking, brewing a cup of coffee and attempting to be creative at a keyboard.

There are several reasons I must admit....

Passion.....successful long term projects are driven by passionate people with a vision. They see each day as a small coordinated step towards a longer term goal.

Focus and Discipline....many individuals in our society struggle with focus and discipline. Distractions are every where beckoning our attention. Texting while driving or walking is the latest example of blatant distraction. Staying on course requires self discipline.

Execution Rhythm.....most great ideas never come to fruition. Serving on non-profit boards teaches this. Realizing an idea takes persistence and execution rhythm.

Building and shaping one's own business in a highly competitive industry takes passion, focus and discipline along with tireless daily execution. The Daily Blog is public reporting and a self accountability instrument. Would GFRC have grown so quickly without the Daily Blog? It is doubtful......

GFRC News

The post Central States and Denver consignment and new purchase backlog is mostly processed and loaded on price lists. Smaller consignments continue to arrive. Just yesterday, I received three more Liberty Seated half dollars on consignment; 1849-O PCGS VF35 choice original gray, 1859-O PCGS EF40 OGH and lovely even gray 1861-O PCGS EF40 W-7 Louisiana strike. The Seal Beach early copper pieces must be loaded along with more Liberty Seated dimes and a few world coins.

This coming week brings an attention shift to LSCC projects. I have deliverables for the July Gobrecht Journal issue and course work to prepare for the ANA Summer Seminar.

While shifting attention, selling coins remains a priority for servicing consignor trust in me. Please consider a purchase and let me know what is on your mind. I'm always ready to faciliate a discussion between GFRC customers and consignors to reach win-win agreements. So many quality coins in GFRC inventory need to locate new homes. The challenge is arriving at fair pricing.......

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

The Monument Collection consignment offers some substantial United States gold pieces and a lovely 1846 PCGS AU58 CAC Liberty Seated dollar. This consignment is short term with the coins being returned to owner when traveling to Colorado Springs for the ANA Summer Seminar. After considerable efforts to process and market these coins, I would love to sell a few to validate the trust from this individual. Below are two of the many quality offerings. Please contact me to work out a potential deal. Lay-a-ways are just fine too!

 

Wishing everyone a restful and peaceful Sunday. I will be back, as usual, on Monday with more ramblings. In the meantime, Happy Hunting and do consider a potential GFRC purchase.

 

 

May 21, 2016

Greetings once again from the GFRC office on a lovely Saturday morning. I'm so pleased that you took the time to visit the Daily Blog.

Friday was a long and busy day with the evening arrival of Matt and Natsumi. It is amazing how quickly Natsumi is transforming from a toddler to little girl with an ever increasing vocabulary. She is joy to have running around our home for the weekend.

GFRC COIN System Development

After a late dinner, Matt and I worked until midnight reviewing his Cloud based COIN System upgrade. This IT development effort has been underway for several months. I'm so pleased to report that the COIN System's dynamic price list creation module is essentially completed. Matt has been able to duplicate current table based price list formats including the hyperlinks to variety reference pages, the new item dates and shading of coins over a certain sale value. He has added new features including a separate column for TPG designation and serial number with hyperlink back to the PCGS and NGC website for product validation. There is more functionality but we will save that discussion for a later date. All GFRC data will be stored on the Cloud allowing for instantaneous world wide access.

Fundamentally, the existing GFRC For Sale page and its price lists will automatically be generated based on coin design and denomination. Image file links, coin descriptions, TPG serial numbers, CAC designation and pricing will be captured in the database and stored indefinitely. We decided to merge the separate inventory and sales databases into one for efficiency reasons. This enhancement will allow GFRC customers to perform a custom sort against all current (Active Inventory) and past listings (Sales) in the COIN database; for example, searching out only CAC Gold coins or looking for only 1861-O CSA Liberty Seated halves. The database could also allow GFRC customers to view prior sales; a GFRC Sales Archives. This incredible functionality is predicated on a well designed database architecture and this was the primary topic of Friday's discussion. Did Matt's design include all necessary database fields? Once a database architecture is defined and populated, it is a massive task to change especially for a functioning commercial business system.

The migration from the current manual HTML based price lists to the automated COIN system is mostly a long administrative journey. All current price list descriptions, variety designations and image file links must be copied into COIN System (without errors). Since the numismatic business is approaching a seasonally slow period, July and August would be an ideal timeframe to complete the transformation. Once completed, GFRC customers will have unprecedented information access for a owner operated coin business that rivals today's major numismatic enterprises.

GFRC News

The Alexandria and Jim Poston consignments are proving to be quite popular as four of the listed coins are already on FRoR or sold. GFRC customers are learning to quickly jump on top quality coins when posted in the Daily Blog. Inquiries are immediately responded to. Essentially the Daily Blog online galleries are a virtual experience consistent with standing in front of my show case on a bourse floor when I'm loading coins. Instead of the wholesale dealers gaining first access, the entire GFRC customer base can watch the new coins being added to active inventory and place selection requests.

Taking a Numismatic Break

With Matt at home, we plan to shift our attention to other activities including a transfer station (dump) run to clean up the basement and garage of unwanted items. Then the emphasis will shift to cutting up more of the massive brush pile and preparing for another brush burning event as rain is forecasted for Sunday.

Please don't be bashful to continue ordering coins from the GFRC website throughout the weekend. I will be responding to purchase requests during the evening hours.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

This morning, let's visit the Liberty Seated Dime price lists for two recommended coins. It is incredible to think that the GFRC business was launched during late 2013 with only Seated dimes as the main product line. As expansion into Bust and Gold coinage continues to occur, I can't forget my roots. The sale of my Top 100 Varieties set in July wil definitely bring back attention to Liberty Seated dimes.

The first recommended offering is an 1841-O F-101 Large O Transitional dime graded PCGS VF20 with CAC approval. As a collector who pursued Seated dime varieties for several decades, I realize how challenging it is to locate an F-101 example in VF20 let alone TPG and CAC certified. Next up is an 1843-O PCGS VF20 CAC dime that has been on the price list for awhile. I'm surprised that no one has purchased this challenging date as only three VF20 examples exist with CAC approval. This is a choice piece that is accurately graded.

 

Thank you for stopping by the Daily Blog and I look forward to writing tomorrow's edition.

 

 

May 20, 2016

3:00pm Update

Following are recent Jim Poston consignments. The 1877-S Seated dime is F-105 die pairing and graded PCGS MS62; the first handled at GFRC. The 1820 Capped Bust half is O-108 and graded PCGS VF35. The doubling in olive leaves is quite bold. The 1880 Seated half resides in PCGS MS62 holder and offers proof like surfaces. Yes, the 1878 Morgan is an 8 Tail Feather and graded NGC MS63 and finally, the 1851 Gold $1 resides in NGC MS61 holder. Overall, a carefully selected and eclectic lot from Jim. Well done!

Jim Poston Consignment - May 20, 2016

    

    

  

10:00am Update

OK, here are the latest duplicates from the Alexandria Collection. The 1851-O half dollar resides in PCGS VG10 holder and is problem free original. The 1856-O is graded PCGS EF40 and is WB14, WB-103 RPD. Finally, the 1861-O is W-7 Lousiania strike in PCGS VF35 holder. These can be found on the price list this afternoon.....Now onto the Jim Poston consignment from Denver Coin Expo.

Alexandria Consignment - May 20, 2016

    

Regular Morning Blog

Another Friday arrives with more of the same for Maine weather. Clear blue skies and warm temperatures are a continuum these days. May has been a perfect weather month but rain is much needed as brush fire dangers are increasing. I can forget about burning more of the backyard brush pile until rains arrive.

Today's Daily Blog will be short. After a fairly intense week attempting to catch up on consignments and other numismatic items, I found myself mentally burnt out last evening and decided to take a break. So bedtime came at 8:30pm and I'm feeling rested this morning just in time for Matt and Natsumi's arriving later today. I did manage to add the Seal Beach Liberty Seated halves to the price list yesterday, so please have a look.

Please check back at the Daily Blog this afternoon for the Jim Poston and Alexandria Client Galleries and yet more new offerings. GFRC orders have slowed recently and the shipping queue is empty. Therefore I can immediately move into the image processing department and wrap up these remaining consignments today. Thank you to everyone for your patience as the consignment backlog is processed.

One of the reasons for the intense focus on processing consignments is clearing the GFRC schedule next week to focus on Liberty Seated Collector Club deliverables. Within the next 10 days, an LSCC President's letter and GFRC advertisement are due to Bill Bugert for the July Gobrect Journal along with preparing my portion of the ANA Summer Seminar course curriculm. The GFRC ad in the Gobrecht Journal will showcase highlights from my Top 100 Varieties set. This means a bank visit and more photography to best represent the key dates in that set.

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines are dull this morning if one ignores the ongoing drama concerning a potential Federal Reserve interest rate increase. Spot gold is nearly $1260/oz while spot oil continues its slow rise and is being quoted at $48.40/bbl. But several headlines did catch my attention and worth sharing. First is the fact that the IMF will be aiding Iraq with funding to the tuned of $5.4B but with budget reform requirements. Sounds like Greece all over again.... Back in the US, there is now a movement to tax soda industry products in the name of improving public health. Philadelphia would like to take the increased tax revenues for expanding prekindergarten programs. As much as I believe that sugar added drinks are one of the issues behind our country's obesity problem, those in the Unprotected class will probably pay the majority of this new tax.

The IMF has agreed to give Iraq a three-year $5.4B bailout to help it manage the economic fallout of its war against ISIS and low oil prices that have left a gaping hole in its budget. The new rescue package will require Baghdad to implement public spending cuts and other reforms, the fund said, outlining that it should be accompanied by assistance from the international community.

The U.S. soda industry faces its next threat in Philadelphia, which is weighing a tax that could raise soft drink prices by 55-60%, on average. Mayor Jim Kenney is pitching the measure to pay for prekindergarten and other popular services. Philadelphia's city council plans to vote on the proposed tax next month, which would cover regular soda and other sugar-added beverages, including energy drinks and iced tea. Related stocks: KO, PEP, DPS, MNST, FIZZ

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

GFRC new product offerings have been skewed towards $500 and above priced coins of late. I recognize that many collectors have limited budgets for their hobby and seek quality coins in the $50 - $200 range to fill a Dansco or Whitman album project. This is certainly how I started collecting Liberty Seated dimes in the late 1980s. So this morning, let's feature several quality pieces for under $200. First is an 1840-O F-110 dime graded PCGS VF25 and from the Highwood Collection. This piece is conservatively graded with attractive old time patina. Next to the 1840-O dime is an 1854-O Seated half that is raw and graded EF45+. Surfaces are original and an attractive steel gray; perfect for a type set.

 

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog and once again, please check back during the afternoon hours for Alexandria and Jim Poston Client Galleries.

 

 

May 19, 2016

Greetings and welcome to the Thursday edition of the Daily Blog. Today's ramblings will be brief as much to do before Matt and grand daughter, Natsumi, travel to Maine tomorrow and stay for the weekend.

Southern Maine weather is once again picture perfect with clear blue skies and day time temperatures in the low 70s. It has been a phenomenal week, the type that tourists would hope for during coastal Maine vacations.

GFRC News

One of the reasons for Matt's visit is GFRC business. GFRC's IT Director has developed the Dynamic Price List Generation application to the point that an implementation review is warranted. For readers who are not familiar with this concept, then a short explanation is in order.

GFRC website is manually updated each day by your's truly and this takes considerable time and effort. The price lists are HTML tables/files with each newly listed coin requiring a row insertion followed by linking images and writing descriptions. When a coin sells, then I must manually add a "Hold" marker to the listing. When a coin is accepted by a customer, then the listing (a row in multiple tables) is manually deleted. Therefore, I am constantly editting and uploading price list tables throughout the day based on new listings and sales activity. Chances for errors are high since every edit is manually performed. Sometimes, I will sell a coin and not remove the listing. Other times, a popular coin continues to be ordered if a "Hold" marker is not immediately placed on the listing.

The Dynamic Price List Generation application is built on top of the COIN inventory system developed by Matt during February/March timeframe. COIN has been a fantastic innovation as consignors love the comprehensive account reports that take only a few key strokes to generation and email. We've taken the COIN Excel database and placed it on the Cloud. Matt created an application to extract data from the COIN system, then automatically formats this data into the same price list tables being used today on the For Sale page. So instead of spending hours editting HTML tables with my ancient Dreamweaver application, I will be adding the price list content (image links and coin descriptions) directly into the COIN database file. Then the price list tables magically appear at a predetermined time or based on a customer initiated request. Our vision is being able to create New Purchase tables, Top 100 Varieties tables, CAC only tables and even tables based on my designation of a coin as Gem, Choice, Original or Market Acceptable. Consignors will also be able to generate their own Client Galleries on a demand basis and the idea of a GFRC Sales Archive is rolling around my head. The benefits to GFRC's owner/operator and customers will be substantial. But much work lies ahead to turn a vision into a commercially tested product.

The challenge with every software project, is developing a robust solution that does not break down followed by a carefully designed transition period from the old to new system. Therefore, Matt and I have much to discuss this weekend and I'm looking forward to viewing his project progress. Having Natsumi running around the house and chasing our dog, Buddy, will also be wonderful.

GFRC Consignment News

I worked late into Wednesday evening processing new Seal Beach consignment images. Below are the silver pieces and hopefully, the copper pieces will be completed today. This latest Seal Beach consignment is simply amazing. The 1839 No Drapery, 1842 Medium Date, 1846 Medium Date and 1847 are all Eric P Newman pieces that have been crossed from original NGC holders to PCGS along with CAC approval. Each offering ships with the original Newman paper envelopes and the custom Col. Green/Eric P Newman NGC label. So far the 1839 and 1847 halves are under RFoR along with the 1874-S half. Both the 1912 Barber dime (PCGS MS64 CAC) and 1921 Peace dollar (PCGS MS63 CAC) reside in old green holders and are conservatively graded. I'm so pleased to be offering Seal Beach eye candy this morning and enjoyed working up the images.

Seal Beach Collection Consignment - May 18, 2016

    

    

    

   

 

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines are limited today with increasing Federal Reserve drama for a interest rate increase in June. Global stocks, bond and gold are all being hit by this growing expectation in the financial community. Increasing interest rates will only strengthen the US Dollar as other major economies are employing negative interest rates. A growing yield gap between the United States and the rest of world means more monies pouring into US denominated investments resulting in a stronger US Dollar. Changing subjects; The Philippine's economy appears to be one of the few global bright spots as politicians understand the need for infrastructure investments that generate longer term positive outcomes.

Global stocks fell to a six-week low, sovereign bonds slumped and the dollar held gains after minutes of the Fed's last meeting put the prospect of a June rate hike firmly on the table so long as economic data continues to show positive signs. Oil is under pressure from the financial movement, in addition to EIA data published on Wednesday showing a build in U.S. crude inventories, as well as surging output from Iran to Europe and Asia.

The Philippine economy expanded 6.9% in the first quarter of this year, dislodging China as Asia's fastest growing country. The GDP figure was bolstered by strong investment growth as well as higher construction and domestic consumption ahead of elections in May. Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to retain the economic priorities of the outgoing Aquino administration, policies that led to the nation's first investment-grade ratings and its best period of growth since the 1970s.

Let's end the Daily Blog at this point as much to do before Matt and Natsumi's arrival tomorrow. If all goes to plan today, the recent Alexandria and Jim Poston consignments will be posted as their own galleries before heading to bed. Thank you for visiting. Orders are always appreciated.

 

 

May 18, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on an early Wednesday morning. Maine weather will be seasonal with bright blue skies and comfortable temperatures in the low 70s. It would be nice to spend more time outdoors but combined GFRC and LSCC workloads are substantial with much focus required during the next two weeks.

GFRC Breaking News......

Selling a major collection is always a gut wrenching decision for any advanced collector. But there comes a time in one's life when transferring prized collectibles to the next generation collectors is a wise and necessary decision. I have learned so much and grown personally as a result of starting and managing the Gerry Fortin Rare Coins entity. Composing the Daily Blog has improved writing skills and increased sensitivity and knowledge of global financial markets. Developing a keen sense of what to believe and not to believe with respect to all types of reporting media has also been an outcome. But most important has been the friendships that resulted and the respect received for my commitment to the numismatic hobby.

As I grow older, transformation of expectations concerning life are occurring. Building the finest collection of whatever is no longer that important. Rather, continuous learning, having great friends and advancing a cause are much more important to me. It is in this context that I recently made a major life decision. Today, I am announcing the break up of the Gerry Fortin Top 100 Liberty Seated Dime Varieties set. All the pieces in the Top 100 set that are not part of my core Seated Dime date and mintmark set will be for sale. This sale will be handled personally via Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and not an auction house. Frankly, I wish to place my cherished pieces with other collectors in an orderly manner and don't see the need to be part of a traditional auction catalog. I'm comfortable with taking a different road for dispersing this life long and ground breaking collection. Please realize that some of the key varieties will not be inexpensive. Yes, I will be offering the 1839 Pie Shattered obverse dime (PCGS EF45 CAC), the 1841-O Transitional Large O Closed Bud (PCGS AU55 Gold CAC) and the 1874 Polished Arrows dime along with a host of other wonderful varieties assembled over a 25 year timeframe.

My plan is to employ a GFRC full page ad in the upcoming July Gobrecht Journal to publicize the Top 100 set sale. Each piece will be sold individually on a fixed price list basis. A separate Top 100 price list will be created on the GFRC website consistent with being a GFRC consignor.

No, I am not yet prepared to break up the core Liberty Seated Dime date and mintmark set. There are several advanced collectors who would like to see this event to gain access to certain pieces in my collection. Let's just take one step at a time and start with the Top 100 Varieties first.

GFRC Consignment News

Following is a combined lot of Liberty Seated dime that were recently consigned and heading to the price list today. Consignors include Highwoods, Strong Hands and the Woodlands Collection. I'm so pleased with the ongoing quality from this individuals and suggest that GFRC customers give special consideration to these offerings. The 1840 No Drapery is an F-103 Chin Whiskers graded NGS MS62, the 1840-O is a choice F-110 graded PCGS VF25. Then there is a raw 1842 F-103 a dime with huge rim cud. The lower group includes an 1847 F-102 graded PCGS AU58 followed by an incredible 1859 dime graded PCGS MS65 with recent CAC approval. Finally, GFRC is pleased to offer an 1863-S graded PCGS AU53 from the Strong Hands collection. Please email me for details this morning and potential FRoR.

Liberty Seated Dime Consignments - Highwoods, Strong Hands, Woodlands

    

    

 

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines are a conundrum this morning! Spot gold is holding steady at $1270 while spot oil continues a slow recovery and closing in on $50/bbl. The lead headline is just more Federal Reserve drama concerning potential 2016 interest rate increases. Iran is ramping up oil sales into Europe as a direct competitor to Saudi Arabia while oil prices continue a slow methodical recovery. Unfortunately, the damage is already done to the United States oil sector. Finally Goldman Sach is "neutral" on equities; a neutral rating for any stock is typically a kiss of death.

So on one hand, we have the Federal Reserve generals talking about potential interest rate increases while Goldman takes a negative view on equities. Investors must be confused this morning....definitely a conundrum.

Both Treasury yields and the dollar have ticked up as traders position themselves ahead of this afternoon's closely watched FOMC minutes. Fed officials have been talking up a storm ahead of the release, conveying hawkish tones that are also keeping stocks under pressure. During a joint speech in Washington on Tuesday, Atlanta's Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco's John Williams agreed that up to three rate hikes this year "seemed reasonable," while Dallas President Robert Kaplan said he would call for a rate rise in June or July.

Iran's oil exports are set to surge in May, climbing nearly 60% from a year ago, with European shipments recovering to about half of pre-sanction levels, according to Reuters. This shows that Tehran is regaining market share at a faster pace than analysts had projected as it battles with Saudi Arabia for customers by lowering its prices. April loadings at 2.3M barrels per day were around 15% higher than the International Energy Agency estimated earlier this month.

Goldman Sachs has downgraded its outlook on equities to "neutral" over the next 12 months, saying there's no particular reason to own them. "Until we see sustained signals of growth recovery, we do not feel comfortable taking equity risk, particularly as valuations are near peak levels," the firm said in a research note. Goldman (NYSE:GS) also upgraded commodities to "neutral" on a three-month basis, stayed "overweight" on credit over both 3- and 12-month horizons, and remained "underweight" on bonds.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Let's focus on the Liberty Seated half dollar series for today's featured coins. The United States Civil War and numismatic artifacts from that historical period remain popular with collectors. Seated halves probably top the list of collectibles due to availability and the outstanding research performed by Randy Wiley on 1861 New Orleans issues. GFRC always attempts to stock top quality Seated halves, including those from the 1861 through 1867 time period. Below are two wonderful examples for your consideration. First is one of the finer 1861-O W-13 CSA examples on the market and handled by GFRC. The W-13 variety is also known as the "Bisecting Date Die Crack" This piece was acquired at the Central States show and grades PCGS AU58 with CAC approval; perfect for an advanced collector. Next to the 1861-O W-13 is a frosty original 1865 Seated half residing in PCGS AU58 holder. PCGS population is only 11 examples with the last piece to sell at auction occuring during 2007!

 

Thank you for stopping by the Daily Blog this morning. Wishing all GFRC friends, customers and consignors a lucky day!

 

 

May 17, 2016

Greetings on a beautiful Tuesday morning as the skies are clear and the winds are calm. It will be a great day for more GFRC photography.

A Day in the Life

As you can imagine, I spend hours in the GFRC home office each day. The days start early at 6:00 am with composition of the Daily Blog followed by packing and shipping orders. Sandwiched in between the arrival of Doug, the mailman, and lunch is opening consignment arrivals followed by photography. Lunch time brings an opportunity to read the latest political and financial news. Afternoons are allocated to loading new offerings to the price list along with a health walk. Finally, evenings bring hours of image processing and posting Daily Blog preview galleries for the following day. The day wraps up with an hour in the basement sound room, then bed. Throughout the 12+ hours or so spent working, I am responding to customer emails and answering phone calls. This is a typical day in the life of an owner operated online coin business.

Yesterday, I received two emails with concerns that consignor coins were not being processed and loaded quickly. I wish to reassure all GFRC consignors that each consignment is precious and will be handled with the same care and attention. My bandwidth is limited and I ask for your patience while working through the ongoing backlog. Hiring staff has been on my mind of late, but with GFRC operating in Maine and Florida at different times of the year, it is impractical to bring staffing on board. Then there are my high quality standards that most part time help would probably not embrace. No, it is best that GFRC remains an owner operated business.

Daily Blog Feedback

I received positive comments about yesterday's Blog concerning the Protected and Unprotected classes in our country. This year's presidential election process is turning into a prize fight with everything including the kitchen sink thrown at the candidates. Who would have thought that the well respected New York Times would be doing hit piece on a candidate? Then there is Hillary bringing up the possibility of a dual presidency with husband Bill to cover herself with voters. Just read the Boston Globe headlines this morning; amazing stuff.

A GFRC consignor sent along the following commentary.

By the way, this morning's blog was spot on. Here in Michigan, the politicians are trumpeting the 4.5% unemployment rate. What they fail to mention is that most of the new jobs are service jobs paying between $8-$11, as well as restaurant wait jobs. We haven't really recovered the good, high paying jobs. Maudlin is very correct that there are two classes emerging. Who ever is elected president (some choice, sadly we lose either way) should address it or they'll be a one term president. Two weeks ago the Detroit News Editorial page editor had a great column describing our choices as "the Lunatic or the Liar". Enough said.

On the Lighter Side....

In yesterday's Blog, I joked about the Poetic Candy consignor becoming a staff contributor to the Daily Blog. An hour after publishing the Blog, I received this poem from our kind friend. Frankly, I was not one to read poetry but even an old dog like me can learn and appreciate some new tricks. We really are building a special community of friends here at the Daily Blog.

GASSED

I surely feel honored now,
To be a member of your staff.

And will do my very best,
To oft provide your readers,
With a stimulating smile or laugh.

Words you know are but some gases,
Flowing from a poet’s lips,
Perhaps some tactile thoughts,
Raining from his fingertips.

Their meaning hinges heavily,
On how they’re put together,
A day that’s filled with wise ones,
Can move a cloud and bring the sun,
And change a person’s weather.
(poeticalways)

Coin Talk

Yes, I'm sure you are checking the Daily Blog to view what new GFRC offerings may be at hand. Then, let's not disappoint! Following are more Central States and Denver show new purchases along with a quality consignment from Grey Soldier. This gallery brings the last of the recent coin show purchases; my attention now shifts to the host of consignments that are arriving daily.

The 1861 half dime is the 1861/0 variety while the 1861-O is a CSA issued W-13 graded PCGS AU58 CAC. By the way, the 1847 half dollar is graded PCGS AU50 CAC and will be a Just Buy It Now offering as the toning is so attractive. Yes, that is an 1872-CC WB-6 Seated half dollar residing in old blue label PCGS EF45 holder. One does not see 1872-CC halves at this grade level everyday....

More GFRC Central States & Denver New Purchases

    

  

 

Grey Soldier always sends along some wonderful coins on consignment and this time is no different. The 1845 NGC AU58 CAC half dollar is already sold via FRoR and will not reach the price list while the 1846 half is a Tall Date graded NGC AU58 CAC and so choice original. How about these 1843 and 1847 Seated dollars? Both are graded PCGS AU53 and would please even the most demanding collectors. Asking prices are settled on these pieces and they will reach the price list this afternoon.

Grey Soldier Collection Consignment - May 17, 2016

Liberty Seated Halves

   

Liberty Seated Dollars

  

Global Financial News

The Greek bailout is back in the financial news this morning. Are we surprised with the opening sentence? The IMF is pushing European banks to not expect loan repayment until 2040! The IMF is breaking new ground with perpetual loans that would be traditionally written off as bad debt. Europe (including Great Britian) continues to struggle with deflation and low GDP while the ECB now holds approximately a third of the Portuguese and Irish country debt. If we step back for a moment, a common tread is becoming obvious for sovereign debt. The ECB is holding European debt, Bank of Japan is holding massive Japanese debt and the Federal Reverse is holding substantial United States debt. Global central bankers are creating money and posting on their ledgers as assets while governments spend these monies to ensure stability among their citizens. How long can this approach go on? Following are Seeking Alpha headlines worth reading.

The IMF is pressing the eurozone to let Greece skip paying interest or principal on bailout loans until 2040, WSJ reports, stating they should be fixed at an interest rate of 1.5%, and fall due gradually in the following decades, even as late as 2080. Eurozone governments, led by Germany, are reluctant to make such major concessions on their loans to Athens, which currently total over €200B, but they also want the IMF to rejoin the bailout as a lender to boost the program's credibility.

Economic data out of Europe: Inflation in the U.K. edged down in April from a one-year high the previous month, underscoring the fact that price pressures remain weak across the developed world. According to the Office for National Statistics, the rate dropped to 0.3%, due to falls in air fares, clothing and vehicle prices. Meanwhile, French gross domestic product growth for 2015 has come in at 1.3%, with a public deficit of 3.6% of GDP, and the public debt-to-GDP ratio revised up to 96.1% from 95.7%.

The ECB limited its sovereign debt buys of Portuguese and Irish bonds last month due to concerns about hitting purchase caps - a move that could mean those countries stand to benefit less from the scheme. With almost a year left of its QE program, the central bank is already nearing a self-imposed limit of holding a third of the countries' debt. Purchases for most nations have increased by 50%, but only by 16% in Portugal and 33% in Ireland.

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog today. I'm skipping the Featured Coin section today to get a head start on packing orders and processing incremental consignments into the COIN system. We will see you bright and early on Wednesday with several more consignment announcements (Highwoods and Strong Hands) along with a Jim Poston consignment gallery taken in at the Denver show. Thank you in advance to GFRC consignors for your patience.



May 16, 2016

Another Monday arrives. Central Maine is downright cool this morning at 38 F with a stiff wind. Snow was forecasted for the Maine/Canadian border area overnight. I'm glad to have completed outdoor photography on Saturday!

Since publishing the Nashua show report on Sunday afternoon, I'm at a loss for numismatic news this morning. While at the Nashua show, Poetic Candy consignor sent a quick poem that brought a laugh. As reference, I have laptop and AT&T mobile hotspot enabled at all coin shows to handle online orders in parallel with show sales. Here is a brief commentary from the Daily Blog's staff poet.....

OH GERRY

Two Friday the 12ths, and now no Sunday at all,
It surely makes me distressed.

For I look forward to Gerry’s
Ramblings and blog each morning,
Even before I get dressed.

And when I get caught with no pants on it’s certainly true,
That I can’t get very serious,
‘Cause the cold in the morning
Turns my genitals blue.

(poeticalways)

Featured Topic of the Day: Life on the Edge - Trump and the Rise of the Unprotected

I constantly read John Mauldin's newsletters on economic matters. Mauldin's essays are typically non political and unbiased. Rather, he attempts to decipher and explain the structure of global economies, ongoing developments and relevance to the prosperity of his readers. Yesterday, John Mauldin issued an essay entitled Life on the Edge which highlights the financial inequality and psychological impacts felt by nearly half of the United States population.

The basis for the Mauldin article is another essay written by Peggy Noonan back in February for the Wall St Journal. This article is entitled, Trump and the Rise of the Unprotected and is also worth the time to read. It appears that the Noonan article was quite thought provoking for Mauldlin resulting in today's commentary.

Mauldin argues that the United States population can be viewed as financially Protected and Unprotected classes. Brief definitions are as follows to wet your appetite.

Protected Class: The protected are the accomplished, the secure, the successful – those who have power or access to it. They are protected from much of the roughness of the world. More to the point, they are protected from the world they have created. Again, they make public policy and have for some time. They are figures in government, politics and media. They live in nice neighborhoods, safe ones. Their families function, their kids go to good schools, they’ve got some money. All of these things tend to isolate them, or provide buffers. Because they are protected they feel they can do pretty much anything, impose any reality. They’re insulated from many of the effects of their own decisions.

Unprotected Class: . John Mauldin uses a very interesting May 2016 article in The Atlantic magazine entitled, “The Secret Shame of the Middle Class.” to define the unprotected class. The writer, Neal Gabler, starts by noting a Federal Reserve survey that found 47% of Americans wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense without borrowing or selling something. Read that again. Yes, nearly half the country can’t come up with $400 cash in an emergency. That’s stunning. The slightest mishap – a toothache, a minor car problem, a hot-summer electric bill – will send them into debt or force them to sell something.


Mauldin then moves the essay into an analysis of the United States economy over the last two decades and statistics that explain the raise of the Unprotected Class. He starts this section as follows;

Permanent Damage

As bad as the situation is, official data says it’s improving. Just look at the unemployment rate, down to 5% and job openings everywhere.

Those numbers look quite different from the perspective of the unprotected. The data doesn’t account for underemployment, lowered wages, and job insecurity. If you spend a few hours cutting your neighbor’s grass for 50 bucks and don’t make another penny, you still count as “employed” that month.

Gallup has an enlightening statistic. Their Gallup Good Jobs Index measures the percentage of the adult population that works 30+ hours a week for a regular paycheck. It stood at 45.1% when I checked this week.

That 5% unemployment number masks a seriously low participation rate, falling productivity, and a serious surge in low-wage service jobs, coupled with a loss of middle-class jobs. It is skewed by the soaring number of temporary workers, involuntarily self-employed workers, and contractors and freelancers in the gig economy who are technically counted as employed. In other words, 5% unemployment today is not your father’s 5% unemployment. There is a reason it feels substantially different.

So millions, dissatisfied with the eroding American Dream, struggle to make ends meet, despite a historically low unemployment rate. Merely finding a job, while necessary and welcome, didn’t begin to solve their problems.

After more enlightening statistics and analysis, Mauldin closes his article with the following comments. He references a lyric from a highly influencial Buffalo Springfield song during the Vietnam era.

“There’s something happening here; what it is ain’t exactly clear.”

I think we have crossed a political Rubicon. While money is important in the political process, the unprotected have discovered that their votes are even more important. And that there are more of them than there are of the protected. And that, if you’re in the unprotected class, your vote is not for sale.

Anger and frustration are not limited to middle-class voters. They are roiling the ranks of the educated and people you would normally think of as the protected class. There is a growing recognition that the system no longer functions for many Americans. Donald Trump comes along and says he understands and sympathizes with average Americans; and he’s the one who expresses that frustration in terms that a majority of the unprotected can understand. Other candidates may sympathize, too, but what comes out of their mouths sounds like conventional political yak-yak. Whatever you want to say about Donald Trump, when you hear him speak he doesn’t sound like a normal politician.

 

Global Financial News

Overnight, spot gold has moved upward to $1284 while oil also moved to $47+. Saudi Arabia has suffered a credit rating downgrade. Donald Trump has called out the EU for its ineffectivness and "stirred the pot" for Great Britian exit from the EU. China stocks are erratic as the economic news continues to be slanted towards more weakness.

Saudi Arabia suffered another cut to its credit rating on Saturday as Moody's Investors Service downgraded the country along with Bahrain and Oman because of the past slump in oil prices. "A combination of lower growth, higher debt levels and smaller domestic and external buffers leave the Kingdom less well positioned to weather future shocks," the agency said. But "ambitious plans" announced by Riyadh to diversify its economy could offer a route back to a higher rating level over time

Former London mayor Boris Johnson, a leading campaigner for Britain to leave the EU, told the Sunday Telegraph that the union lacked democracy, a unifying authority and was doomed to fail. "Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically," he said during the interview. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump also weighed into the Brexit debate, stating the EU has been "very bureaucratic, difficult and a disaster."

Chinese data over the weekend managed to miss market expectations for every single release: credit growth, industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment, raising fears that the bounce seen in March is fizzling. "The miss on the activity front wasn't a huge surprise given we already saw a leveling off in the PMIs, but the dramatic slowing in credit growth will be raising some red flags in the already-reversing commodities space," wrote Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne.

Featured Coin from the Trading Desk

GFRC gold sales are hot! So let's feature several pieces that I particularly like and recommend due to overall quality and, of course, CAC approval. We start with a sweet 1874 $3 Princess graded NGC AU58 CAC that is essentially blemish free and offers bold cartwheel luster. Next to the 1874 $3 Princess is an early 1836 Classic Head $5 piece that would be a perfect type coin piece. This 5 year type piece offers old time original patina with suprisingly few blemishes.

 

Thank you for visiting with me this morning. I'm off to the packaging and shipping department followed by an afternoon of image processing and loading more new GFRC offerings. Wishing everyone a great day and week!

 

May 15, 2016

4:30pm Update - Nashau, NH Show Report

Greetings and thank you for checking back for the Nashua, NH show report.

For those who are not familiar with the Nashua show, then a brief summary is in order. The Nashua show is held every third Sunday of the month. It runs from 9:00am through 2:00pm. Dealers arrive at 7:00am for setup and by 7:30am, dealer wholesale is in full force. Typically by 1:00pm, the show is done. As a result of the compressed time, the bourse floor is quite active from 8:30am until 12:00pm. All types of United States and World numismatic and exonumia items can be found at this show. GFRC, by far, offers the highest quality coins when attending. Many attendees and even other dealers stopped at the table and commentd that, "this is really nice stuff!" Of course it is.....this is the quality that advanced collectors strive for and is challenging to locate.

Wholesale was ongoing throughout the morning along with active retail. I really don't understand the wholesale business at times as the Nashua dealer to dealer trading is mostly average to inferior coins. Much of the material was 20th Century issues which could explain my indifference. Dealers were furiously inspecting each others boxes of stuff looking for potential TPG upgrades or other profit opportunities. Quality coins were in short supply and I did not purchase a single item for inventory. On the cool scale, my neighbor dealer who deals in all types of $200 and under stuff pulls out a 1796/5 $5 gold piece grading PCGS VF Details, Jewelry Removal. This is an incredibly scarce early gold piece that had been lightly polished with no obvious signs of solder removal. His asking price? $17,000 which makes sense based on CoinFacts information. On a positive note, GFRC sold the 1862-S NGC VF30 G$20 to a new customer who is building a double eagle set. He was thrilled to have located this difficult date.

Just as I was about to pack up at 1:00pm, the bourse floor lost power and went dark. It is difficult to sell coins in the dark let alone packing up. So I sat at the table for 15 minutes and finally, the power was restored.

Monday brings another serious day of image processing and loading more coins onto the price list. I should be caught up on consignments within the next 3-4 days.

My apology for the lack of New Purchases... there were few quality coins on the bourse floor that I found to be attractive and worth adding to GFRC inventory. Please Note: United States Gold Consignments wanted! GFRC is selling a considerable amount of quality United States gold and I need more consignments to maintain the momentum. This is a opportunity to convert your better date gold into cash at retail prices.

Morning Blog

Welcome to the Blog. I'm presently at the Nashua, NH coin show and will write a late afternoon update.

All of the toner Morgans featured in yesterday's Blog have been loaded on the price list. The 1803 O-103 PCGS F12 Draped Bust half is on hold along with the Grey Soldier 1845 NGC AU58 CAC Seated half.

Please check back after 5:00pm for a Nashua show update.

Thank you for stopping by at the Daily Blog.

 

May 14, 2016

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog.

Today's Southern Maine weather will be ideal for outdoor activities with the huge brush pile needing some serious chain saw work to enable another burn session. Next's week's weather is forecasted to be cool with clouds and rain on Wednesday and Thursday. So preparations are in order for more brush burning and recovering the backyard.

GFRC News

Preparations are underway for attending tomorrow's Nashua, New Hampshire show at the Holiday Inn, 9 North Eastern Boulevard. The venue is easily reach by taking Exit 4 on Route 3 that travels between Manchester, NH and Lowell, MA. Please consider stopping by and saying hello if in the area. Dealer setup in between 7:00 and 9:00am with the show officially opening to the public at 9:00am. Once again, if there are coins of interest in GFRC inventory, then please email me by 6:00pm today so these can be transported to the show.

Friday was a busy image processing day as I'm getting my hands around Central States and Denver new purchases. Consignments continue to arrive and there will be lots more gallery coins featured during the upcoming week. GFRC visibility is growing in the numismatic industry with collectors, and even dealers, working with GFRC to sell their coins at fair prices. I'm pleased to announce that Grey Soldier sent yet another consignment. Though a limited number of the coins, the quality is absolutely awesome. Here comes the latest Grey Solder consignment.

Grey Solder Consignment

Seated 50c: 1845 NGC AU58 CAC with ample luster, light gray; 1846 NGC AU58 CAC old paper envelope toning and choice

Seated $1: 1843 PCGS AU53 choice gray patina; 1847 PCGS AU53 light gray with substantial remaining luster.

A small shipment from the Alexandria consignor also arrived this week with original gray color uniformity being immediately noted.

Alexandria Consignment

Seated 25c: 1856 PCGS VF35 original gray

Seated 50c: 1851-O PCGS VG10 original gray and choice, 1856-O WB-103 RPD PCGS EF40 light original gray; 1861-O PCGS EF40 Louisiana Issue, original gray

Following are more Central States and Denver quality coins that will be reaching the price lists today.

The 1834 Capped Bust quarter is choice original and resides in PCGS AU55 holder. The 1908-O Barber quarter is graded PCGS AU58 with CAC approval. One would be challenged to locate a more original 1803 O-103 Large 3 Draped Bust half at the PCGS F12 grade level. Then there is a lovely run of toner Morgans to consider. Toner Morgans have been excellent sellers in the past few months, therefore Jim Poston and I worked hard to dig out attractive examples at the MS63 - MS65 grade levels. There are always toner Morgans on the market. The challenge is locating those with strong luster, few blemishes and vivid color performance under bright light. This is a subjective process but practice makes perfect! Cherrypicking quality coins is becoming easier with experience.

More GFRC Central States & Denver New Purchases

    

    

    

    

    

  

Early yesterday morning, the Poetic Candy consignor noted that I mislabeled Friday's Blog as May 12, 2016. He thought I was being quite superstitious and wrote a poem for the occasion.

I’M BEAT

Superstitions,
Are something I have never held,
No cats, no bats, or ladders,
Have before me ever felled.

And when I jay walk ‘cross a street,
I’ll even stop my friends to meet.

Do you think I’m dangerously tempting fate?
Do you think that I should acclimate?
Do you think I’ll ever hear the word?
Do you think that I am being absurd?
Do you think I’ll ever hear the beat?
Enough to slow my untamed feet?

You’re right I’ve tempted fate too often,
Please don’t forget to tell me,
Next time I’m looking up at thee,
From the bottom of my coffin.

Let's end the Daily Blog at this point as today will be very busy with shipping, more photography, price list updates and cutting up the brush pile along with inventory preparations for the Nashua show. Thank you for visiting and please consider a GFRC purchase on this fine weekend.

 

 

May 13, 2016

3:00 PM Breaking News!

GFRC will have a table at the May 15 Nashua, NH coin show. I just received a last minute notice from Ernie Botte that a Sunday table opened up and I gladly grabbed it. GFRC will have three cases of top quality coins at the Nashua show as I will continue the theme case strategy. Here are the planned Nashua display case contents.

Case 1 - United States Gold and Toner Morgans

Case 2 - Green and Gold CAC Type Coins

Case 3 - Draped, Capped, Seated Quarters and Halves not featured in Case 2.

If you wish to see a certain GFRC inventory item, then please email me before 6:00pm Saturday.

Thank you!

Morning Blog

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning. This coming weekend brings us to the half way mark for the month of May. Amazing how time moves along so quickly during a so called "retirement" but being fully engaged on a cause (or two) is my mantra. This morning I feel refreshed after a good night's sleep and wish to explore an educational topic. Some may consider it ramblings but that is OK.

A Discussion of the Annual Coin Business Cycle

After strong Central States and Denver shows, the numismatic business is moving towards the slower summer months. Hobbyists are pursuing outdoor activities with less time allocated for coins. I'm no stranger to business cycles after years in the semiconductor industry. After the mad rush to ramp semiconductor chip factories during the third and fourth quarters (Christmas and Chinese Lunar New Year electronic gifts), we essentially closed the factory doors in January and Februrary. In the coin business, June, July, September and December are the four weakest sales months. June and July are vacation periods, September is back to school time and everyone is too busy in December with holiday planning to focus on their hobby.

Why am I mentioning the coin business cycle this morning? Consignor education and the grounding of expectations for the next few months are the primary reasons. If consigning coins to GFRC prior to the slow summer season, then patience will be required though a wise decision by the consignor. Let's explore my numismatic inventory philosophy for a moment. This philosophy evolves from years in the semiconductor business.

In the semiconductor world, certain products were commodities while others were built to order. Factories operated with a fix capacity and if the market become hot due to a new electronic gadget, then product delivery leadtimes would expand quickly as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) piled on orders for semiconductors. Companies that carefully managed capacity and strategic inventories would out perform competitors who did not. The leading companies in the business would have strategies to build commodity inventories during the bottom of an annual business cycle and open up capacity for the custom designed quick turn business during the busy season. Building inventory always carried risks however. If the product mix profile was incorrect, then a financial write-off for unsold products would take place.

GFRC's limited operations staff is like a semiconductor factory. I can routinely process 15 coins per day through photography, image processing, price list loading and writing descriptions. This may seem like a small number but remember that I must also pack and ship orders, conduct sales discussions with customers, write a blog, mow the lawn and drink scotch in the basement soundroom to wrap up a day.... this is a retirement job, right?. Let's not forget Liberty Seated Collector Club responsibilities either. So GFRC has a fixed capacity to process and sell coins with Matt continuing Information Technology development to increase that personal capacity. Back to the topic.... Consignors are typically motivated to consign coins before major shows, for example ANA in August or before the FUN/Spring Baltimore shows. This results in a large backlog of coins to be added to the price list in a short period of time. Some consignors must wait in a queue. Lower priced raw coins can sit in a queue for 1-2 months.

Conclusion? The best time to consign coins to GFRC is during the slow portion of the numismatic business cycle so that we can collectively build up inventories going into the busy seasonal timeframes of August, October/November and January through April. Therefore the upcoming June and July timeframe is ideal for preparing for the busy Fall season and also into January 2017. Most collectors believe the exact opposite. They want their coins to be only offered during the hot sales season and fret when their coins sit idle during quiet periods. The key point is that collector demand for coins is not a linear function throughout the year. Coins must be loaded on price lists and correspondingly, be available at major shows when there is strong demand. Positioning coins for the strong demand season allows consignors to secure fair retail prices.

GFRC News

Now that the Monument and Missouri consignments are loaded onto the price list, attention shifts to GFRC new purchases at Central States and Denver shows. GFRC was an active but very selective buyer. Wholesalers are starting to point out that I am cherrypicking the best coins in their inventory but that is my mission; locating the best possible coins for GFRC customers at fair prices.

Starting today and throughout the weekend, GFRC customer will be treated to some wonderful new offerings. Many are CAC approved and eye appeal will be the rule. So please check back frequently. New coin images will be previewed in the Daily Blog during later evenings as a staging for price list loading the following day. So please stop by the Blog twice a day. Mornings will feature new consignment announcements for FRoR while late evenings will feature the following day's new price list coins.

Below are some great coins heading to the price list today. Yes, that is an 1841-O PCGS VF20 CAC F-101 Transitional Large O dime in the gallery. The 1860-O dime is choice and grades PCGS F15. The 1890 resides in an NGC Fatty PR63 holder and is the F-101a variety. The mint worker's attempt to scratch off a reverse die crack on circulation strike dies before striking proofs is clearly visible. The 1841-O half is the WB-8 die pair and a super sweet offering. I love the 1941 Walking Liberty half grade PCGS MS66 and finally, we close with two 1881-S toner Morgans in Gold CAC holders....PCGS MS65 Rattler and NGC Fatty MS63. (1864-S PCGS VF30 CAC is on hold)

GFRC Central States & Denver New Purchases

    

    

    

Global Financial News

The carnage in the United States oil and gas business continues with three better known companies filing for bankruptcy. Please note the forecast for SandRidge also going under. More of the same from Japan and the global currency war; Japan will once again create more money in an attempt to stop the Yen's appreciation against Dollar and Yuan. Finally and closer to home, Janet Yellen would not rule out negative interest rates (NIRP). Lord help us.....I'm moving incremental monies into physical gold.

Three oil and gas bankruptcies this week - Chaparral Energy, Penn Virginia (NYSE:PVA) and Linn Energy (NASDAQ:LINE) - suggests that crude at $45 a barrel isn't even enough to rescue energy companies on the verge of collapse. According to law firm Haynes & Boone, 130 North American oil and gas producers and service companies have filed for bankruptcy since the start of 2015, owing almost $44B. More energy firms are also nearing default, including Breitburn Energy Partners (NASDAQ:BBEP) and SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD).

Japanese stocks came under pressure overnight from fresh strength in the yen, as BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned the central bank will act "decisively" to achieve its 2% inflation target, and stressed it still has "ample" policy options available. Traders appear to be betting the BOJ will likely expand monetary stimulus in either June or July, with an eye on first-quarter GDP data and the outcome of this month's G7 summit.

"While I would not completely rule out the use of negative interest rates in some future very adverse scenario, policy makers would need to consider a wide range of issues before employing this tool in the U.S.," Fed Chair Janet Yellen emphasized in a letter to Congressman Brad Sherman. With central banks in Europe and Japan using negative rates to stimulate their economies, Yellen said the Fed is attempting to learn as much as it can from their experiences.

Featured Coin from the Trading Desk

By the way, GFRC is expanding early copper offerings as more consignors send along their quality coins. I mentioned the Seal Beach copper coins in yesterday's Blog. Below are two interesting candidates for consideration. First is a 1793 Wreath cent graded PCGS VG8 details due to some mild porosity. The PCGS label indicates "Vines and Bars Edge, S-8" This is an important offering given the first year of large cent strikes at the early Philadelphia mint. Planchet color is a uniform dark brown with faint porosity throughout the obverse and reverse. Next is a choice 1837 Feuchtwanger Token that resides in old blue label PCGS AU58 holder. I like this piece as the strike is so crisp and the surfaces are blemish free.

 

Thank you for visiting this morning and suffering through the discussion on annual coin business cycle. Aftert a good night's rest, I was ready to ramble on. I will be back bright and early on Saturday with more Central States and Denver show purchases. Have a great Friday.

 

May 12, 2016

Greetings on a fabulous Maine morning as the weather is once again ideal with bright sun and temperatures in the low 70s.

Let's jump immediately into GFRC news as writing creativity escapes me this morning.

GFRC News

Two important consignments were acquired at the Denver Coin Expo; the Monument and Missouri Collections. All offerings from the Monument Collection are presently loaded and available on the price list. Google Analytics indicates a huge viewing response to the new gold offerings including the Monument pieces.

The Missouri Collection consignment takes us into a different direction with a nice selection of early quarters and Capped bust halves. Collecting early United States quarters is one of the most challenging undertakings in numismatics. Survival rates are low and available specimens are either well worn or problematic. Taking on the Missouri consignment provides an opportunity for GFRC customers to view and purchase better circulated Draped Bust examples along with other type coins. Below is the Missouri Collection Client Galley for your review. Don't let the 1806 B-9 PCGS VF20 CAC 25c and 1837 Reeded Edge 50c get away as these are my two favorites from the offering. The 1828 B-3 25/50C PCGS VG10 CAC quarter is already sold and shipped to new owner.

Missouri Collection Consignment - May 12, 2016

    

    

    

   

Be careful what you wish for said one of the GFRC consignors during a phone conversation this week. GFRC visibility and reputation in the numismatic industry continues to grow resulting in an ongoing consignment backlog. GFRC is generating consignment results and more shipments continue to arrive. Operational challenges are at hand, but somehow, I will work throught these and continue to increase GFRC offerings. Wednesday brought yet another FEDEX shipment, this time from the Seal Beach Collection.

Seal Beach coins have sold well as this individual continues to utilize GFRC for slowly convert his broad numismatic holdings into choice Seated coinage via the Trading Desk. Following are the latest Seal Beach offerings with First Right of Refusal (RFoR) being in order. Seal Beach is aiding GFRC with the challenge of building up the early copper price list via this consignment. Then there is a run of Colonel Green/Eric P Newman Seated halves to tickle your fancy. How about a challenging 1852 Seated half grade PCGS AU58 and formerly in PCGS MS62 OGH? On behalf of GFRC customers, all I can say is thank you to the Seal Beach consignor for another wonderful selection of quality coins.

Draped 1/2c: 1806 PCGS VF20 Large 6, Stems choice with rotated reverse

Early Large 1c: 1802 PCGS VG8 reverse cud, dark original patina; 1803 PCGS VG8 S-260 Small Date, Large Fraction; 1810/9 PCGS G6 dark brown; 1812 PCGS VG8 Large Date; 1814 PCGS VG08 S-294 Crosslet 4

Barber 10c: 1912 PCGS MS64 CAC OGH frosty mint luster with faint gold

Eric Newman Seated 50c: 1839 Drapery PCGS AU53 CAC choice and perfectly graded; 1842 Medium Date PCGS AU53 CAC choice gray; 1846 Medium Date PCGS AU55 CAC gun metal gray/blue; 1847 PCGS AU53 choice gray; All Eric Newman halves include original Colonel Green/Eric P Newman brown NGC labels and the original paper envelopes used to house coins for decades.

Seated 50c: 1844 PCGS AU55 CAC choice silver/gray; 1844 PCGS AU58 frosty luster; 1844-O PCGS AU58 untoned mirrored fields; 1847 PCGS AU58 light blue patina, 1852 WB-101 PCGS AU58 originally PCGS MS62 OGH; 1874-S PCGS AU53 choice original light gold

Peace $1: 1921 PCGS MS63 CAC OGH and choice!

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines are rather mundane this morning with nothing worth sharing. Spot gold is at $1270 while spot oil is trading at $46+.

Featured Coin from the Trading Desk

This morning, I'm proud to be offering a choice original 1873 With Arrows F-103 Double Die Obverse dime for your consideration. This piece is obviously undergraded at current PCGS VG8 designation and is a full VG10. All seven letters in LIBERTY are well defined. How about the crisply defined shield doubling as shown on the macro image? PCGS label contains all the variety attributions including F-103; this piece is ready for insertion in the new PCGS Top 100 Seated Dime Varieties set and is a strong example for the grade.

 

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog! I'm off to the packing and shipping department then will be photographing the new Seal Beach Consignment. Please consider a purchase!

 

May 11, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a fabulous Wednesday morning in southern Maine.

Weather conditions for Central States and Denver new inventory photography were ideal on Tuesday with over 60 coins being captured. The only challenge during photography were the black flies and thank goodness for a stiff breeze. Yes, it is black fly season in Maine and if curious about these pesky gnats, then this link from Maine Nature News provides an excellent summary. Black flies breed in running water and are attracted to humans due to carbon dioxide emissions. They also prefer darker colors so wearing light colored clothes can help mitigate the swarming. Head nets, long sleeved shirts and full length pants are requirements during May if planning to work outdoors.

NBC and FOX News - Democratic and Republican News Outlets.

NBC and FOX have become blatantly aligned with their respective constituents and are as biased as I've ever seen. It appears that we could be living in two different countries based on the reporting of these media outlets. This morning, NBC is blaming Trump for Clinton's embarrassing loss to Sanders in West Virginia. FOX continues to hammer Clinton on the email scandal and suggests that an inactive Attorney General is a result of Obama/Democratic party control of the government. Both media outlets are probably correct with their reporting but one does need to read both NBC and FOX to secure a balanced view of the United States political landscape. As an aside, I checked the BBC website and their reporting of the Sanders win in West Virginia. BBC commented that West Virginia citizens desire a president that is less liberal than Obama and moved towards Sanders at the voting booth.....end of story.

Back to Coins!

GFRC has a substantial amount of quality Bust, Seated and Gold coins heading to the price lists this week. Much of the new gold is posted but more is in the queue for today. How about the 1803 and 1806 Draped Bust halves in old time NGC Fatty holders that were also listed yesterday afternoon? Below are offerings from the Monument consignment. While attending the Denver Coin Expo since Fall 2013, I've had the pleasure of meeting and working at adjacent tables with the Monument consignor. This individual has a limited show schedule and decided to test GFRC's online marketing and national show presence to help sell his inventory. I gladly agreed to work with this fine gentleman given our similar philosophies for stocking choice coins at fair prices. FRoR is in order as the below coins should be loaded on the price lists by end of day.

Monument Collection Consignment - May 11, 2016

    

    

  

Processing Missouri Collection consignment images is another priority for today and hopefully, Blog readers will be treated with this Client Gallery on Thursday. By the weekend, I will be featuring a massive gallery of beautiful toner Morgans. I've decided to invest monies and build up GFRC toner Morgan offerings as a substantial product line. Why? Demand for good looking toned Morgan dollars at reasonable prices has been strong this year. Second, it is fun to search out attractively toned Morgans with substantial eye appeal. The selection process is highly subjective but an astute buyer can sort out the above average pieces that are offered at reasonable prices.

Global Financial News

As in politics, there is well orchestrated communications from the Federal Reserve and major banks to keep the United States business community guessing on interest rates and currency policies. In the past, I would not pay much attention to Dollar, Yen, Euro and Yuan currency values. However, due to business and trade globalization, regional currency values are key for assessing the economic health of major countries. This morning, the dollar continues its slow devaluation while Goldman Sachs is covering the move by calling for yet another bottom. The loser in the present currency war is Japan. As for gold, the yellow metal is now in a tight $1250 - $1290 trading range. Breaking the $1300 barrier will be a significant event and I'm sure that global central bankers are doing all possible to avoid this higher pricing level.

The dollar is stumbling again, succumbing to a bout of profit-taking as U.S. futures point to a fall of around a third of a percent on Wall Street. The move comes after Goldman Sachs called the greenback's bottom (again), stating it "remains dollar bullish and thinks the trajectory is higher from here." The U.S. Dollar Index -0.2% to 94.05, easing back from Tuesday's two-week high of 94.15.

Hit by a sharp appreciation in the yen, Toyota (NYSE:TM) is predicting net income to drop 35% to ¥1.5T ($13.8B) for the fiscal year ending in March, snapping three straight years of record profit. "Our earnings over the past several years have been boosted by [favorable] exchange rates," President Akio Toyoda said. "But we recognize that this trend has changed significantly." Toyota also stated it would repurchase as much as ¥500B ($4.6B), or about 3.2%, of its stock and pay a dividend of ¥210 per share.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Don't I enjoying featured some awesome new purchases in GFRC inventory. Owning an 1806 O-109 NGC AU53 CAC Draped Bust half dollar is a thrill for this long time Liberty Seated collector. This incredible early half is the complete package; a strong and uniform strike with all hair curls well impressed, attractive toning and eye appeal, housed in late 1980s NGC Fatty holder with embossed reverse emblem and finally, CAC approved! Next to the 1806 half is a choice original 1836 Classic Head $5 gold piece graded PCGS PCGS EF45 and also approved by CAC. If purchasing United States gold for the long term, then those pieces with CAC approval are wise investments as screened for surface manipulations.

 

As always, thank you for visiting this morning. I have another full day ahead of me and immediately moving into the packaging and shipping department to catch mailman arrival followed by an afternoon of image processing and price list updates. Happy Hunting and please don't be bashful about emailing or calling on new or older offerings. I enjoy selling quality coin that fits individual collector budgets and collecting goals.

 

May 10, 2016

3:00pm Breaking News! Central States and Denver New Purchasing are reaching the price lists.

How about two gorgeous Draped Bust halves to kick off the loading of more than 60 new coins? Please view the For Sale page during the next 48 hours for great new additions.

 

New GFRC Gold Offerings

        

 

Morning Blog

Here comes the sun! Yes, Maine weather experiences a dramatic shift with warmer temperatures and clear blue skies for the next two days. Nearly everyone with desk jobs wishes to be outdoors on warm spring days. Nature is stirring as the maples are budding and the lawns acquire bright green coloring. GFRC's best job fringe benefit, while at Maine HQ, is a desk and laptop overlooking the front yard landscaping.

Today's Daily Blog will be brief as I'm short on creativity along with substantial packaging/shipping and photography backlog. Doug, the mailman, typically arrives at 11:00am for his daily pickup, therefore the shipping department has to be finished for the day by then. Then the photography department kicks in between 11:00 to 12:00 noon as the sun is at its highest point of the day and the ideal time to photographing new offerings. GFRC has a huge backlog of new coins to process that will enable some awesome Client Galleries in the Daily Blog for the balance of the week. I suspect that customers would rather see coin pictorials instead of reading content that is less than inspirational.........

The Case for Gold as Money

As the global economies sink deeper in debt, gold is gaining renewed attention as money. In the past, gold has been seen as a commodity and/or an investment vehicle. But its historical significance is that of money. Then there are differing perceptions of gold between the East and the West. The East (China, India and Russia) have a long history of viewing gold as money and wealth given the unpredictability of governments and a trustworthy banking system. In the West, gold's role shifted to an investment vehicle and commodity since the United States leads the world in stable governance, a superior military and social safety net systems.

After gold's huge pricing retreat during early 2013, its role as a Western investment vehicle was damaged. Gold was projected to drop to the $900/oz range by the pundits. These people failed to recognize "all in" mining costs as a floor for gold prices. Mining new gold becomes incrementally difficult and expensive while physical gold continues to migrate from West to East with Russia and China hedging the US dollar (Treasury Notes) with physical gold.

The financial landscape has changed dramatically since 2008. Entitlement minded populations and governments can no longer tolerate economic boom and bust cycles. Stock markets must be engineered so as to constantly move upward regardless of the underlying fundamentals. Global debt accumulation dictates that Zero Interest Rate Programs (ZIRP) and now Negative Interest Rate Programs (NIRP) are here to stay as "normal" interest rates of 5-6% will become a distant memory. Add in an electronic banking system that slowly replaces physical species with memory chip banking cards, then financial commerce has and will continue to experience profound changes. But these changes are predicated on stable and benevolent governments and central banking systems controlled by the elite class.

Recently, gold started to diverge from its commodity status and returned to being money. See below. The arrival of NIRP has impacted the psyche of Western citizens and even hedge fund managers. Physical gold is once again in demand as financial insurance and a preservation of wealth. I saw this first hand at the Denver show where many visitors were specifically searching for PCGS and NGC certified MS62 double eagles as gold bullion plays. Citizens are skeptical and worried that the day will come when the elites will lose control of the banking system as global debt continues to mount. The only solution to debt is ongoing refinancing, or ultimately default. Physical gold provides protection given its age old role as money.

 

Global Financial News

Seeking Alpha headlines are rather dull this morning but one headline did capture my attention. A currency war has been underway for several years and now the United States is attempting to weaken the US dollar to curtail the importing of global deflation. Japan has the most to lose in the currency war. Abenomics is designed to substantially weaken the Japanese Yen for growing an export based economy as internal demand is anemic due to aging demographics. Currency wars are zero sum games; if Japan wins, then trading partners will lose manufacturing job. Recently, the IMF sent a strong signal to Japan that the US dollar (and the Chinese Yuan by default) must also be weakened to avoid recession in the top two global economies. This morning, Japan's Finance Minister has pleaded to intervene on behalf of the Yen.

Japanese shares soared overnight after Finance Minister Taro Aso reiterated his resolve to intervene in the currency market if the yen's "one-sided" gains persist and last long enough to hurt the country's fragile economic recovery. "He said it again, so there is a growing view that he will actually do it," said Chihiro Ohta, general manager of SMBC Nikko Securities. Nikkei +2.2%.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Yesterday, a PCGS submission arrived. Since selling raw quality coins is becoming more difficult due to customer demand for TPG certification, I sent in a portion of GFRC's Capped Bust and Liberty Seated inventory for grading. Following are two strictly original pieces that graded properly and now encapsulated. If you were considering them for purchase when raw, then these same coins are probably more attractive today.

 

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog....I really need to run into the packaging and shipping department towards my 11:00am shipment cutoff time. Happy Hunting!

 

May 9, 2016

Welcome to the Daily Blog on a seasonally cold Monday morning. Current Raymond temperature is 36F with daytime high only reaching the low 50s. On a positive note, the rains have cleared out and Maine will enjoy clear skies on Tuesday and Wednesday. Timing is ideal as over sixty coins from Central States and Denver shows are patiently waiting for photography and ultimately finding new homes.

Burning in the Rain

Maine ground is thoroughly saturated with moisture after a week of cold temperatures and ample precipitation. Burning permits were available so Sunday primary activity, besides reorganizing GFRC inventory and administrative workload, was burning a portion of that massive brush pile highlighted in earlier blogs. Have you every attempted to start a hot fire in the rain? That was the challenge on Sunday. A light drizzle arrived just as I was about to start the brush burn. Kerosene is the accelerant of choice along with a dried out Christmas tree at the center of the brush pile. Using kerosene is relatively safe as it does not flash like gasoline (note the blue plastic 5 gallon container in the image). A few cardboard pieces were placed inside the brush pile, then the entire base soaked with kerosene. One match strike resulted in the below image as taken by Diane. Once the fire was underway, rains did not matter as heat from the fire keep me relatively dry. About 40% of that massive brush pile was eventually burned. The balance will need chain saw work towards another brush burn in a few weeks.

 

Reading Seth Godin's blog is one of my daily priorities. His posting are insightful and stimulating towards my personal goal of continuous learning. Sunday's blog hit home and well explains how I've approached the GFRC business since its May 2013 inception. GFRC has grown quickly and surprised many of my numismatic colleagues. Seth's blog concerning Rigor is a plausible explanation.

Rigor

Doing things with rigor takes effort, but not everything you put effort into is done with rigor.

Rigor is a focus on process. Paying attention to not just how you do things, but why. Rigor requires us to never use an emergency as an excuse. It is a process for the long haul, the work of a professional.

An amateur bread baker leaves the kitchen coated in flour, and sometimes, perhaps, ends up with a great loaf of bread.

A professional baker might not seem to be as flustered, as hassled or even as busy. But the bread, the result of this mindful process, is worth buying, every day.

We know that you're working hard.

The next step is to do it with rigor.

Global Financial News

Oil prices continue to trade in the $43 to $45/bbl range with Canada's massive Alberta wildfires closing down oil production facilities. China continues to report slowing economic growth as weak global demand continues to impact exports. Japan, on the other hand, is struggling with an appreciating currency (Yen) that could devastate its export orientated economy. Conversely, this is excellent news for United States manufacturing.

Oil is climbing higher after the huge wildfire in Canada knocked out over a million barrels in daily capacity as eleven production firms and three pipeline operators curbed their activities and officials warned they could be fighting the blaze for weeks. The lost output is equivalent to well over a third of the country's typical daily production, with almost all of Canada's crude from the oil sands region exported to the U.S. Oil futures +2.3% to $45.70/bbl.

Chinese trade shrank in April, cooling hopes of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy despite ongoing stimulus efforts. Exports fell 1.8% from a year earlier, while imports dropped 10.9%, leaving a trade surplus of $45.6B. Weak domestic and global demand is hampering government efforts to reverse an economic slowdown that dragged growth to a seven-year low of 6.7% in Q1. Shanghai -2.8%.

"For Japan, excessive volatility in yen moves that affect Japan's trade, economic and fiscal policies - be it yen rises or yen falls - is undesirable. If such moves occur, Japan is ready to intervene in the market," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told parliament. The greenback hit an 18-month low of ¥105.55 last week after the U.S. added Japan to a list of countries it was monitoring over foreign exchange policies. The yen, which currently trades at 107.60 per dollar, has so far appreciated 12% in 2016.

Selling Older GFRC Inventory

Inventory rotation is a critical process for any numismatic dealer. Customers wish to see fresh coins as the "thrill of the hunt" brings us back to our favorite coin dealers. Matching inventory with customer desires is every coin dealer's challenge. Some coins sell instantly while others may languish on the price list even though they are choice.

GFRC has a substantial amount of new inventory with three incremental consignments arriving this week. I'd like to sell some of the older inventory to make room for the new. If you've been eyeing a certain offering, then please email or call to discuss what might be possible.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Capped Bust halves seem to be omnipresent in the market place and are move available than the later struck Liberty Seated halves. The challenge is locating earlier date examples that are choice. I'm always searching for quality pre 1822 Capped Bust halves. GFRC currently has a respectable selection with the following 1810 dated pieces being today's Feature Coins. The first choice 1810 half is O-102 die pairing with assigned EF40 grade. An attractive example with obverse offering medium gray toning in hand which transitions to a rose center and aquamarine and gold surrounding the stars. The reverse remains gun metal gray both during in hand and bright light inspection. A late die state reverse has significant die cracks. The second 1810 half is the O-109a die variety and from the Motor City Collection. This choice example is graded PCGS VF30 and is covered with lovely gray and lavendar patina. Struck from eroded dies with absolutely no blemishes. Provenance is Mail Bid Sale #5, Lot #31 Sheridan Downey, August 28, 1991.

 

Please check back often through the week as there will be many new offerings and a returning to Client Gallery posting. Now that I'm done with long coin shows, my energies are targeted towards photography and placing some outstanding coins into GFRC customer collections. Thank you for visiting and I will see you bright and early on Tuesday!

 

May 8, 2016

Greetings from Maine and Happy Mother's Day!

I am thrilled to be home as Denver to Maine travel was touch and go yesterday. There were moments when an overnight in the Baltimore airport seemed like a strong possibility. But Southwest is a superb airline. The story starts in Denver with forecasted thunderstorm during flight arrival and take off. The Portland flight connection time was only one hour with the flight being the last of the day out of Baltimore. Upon arriving at Denver airport, the Baltimore flight was immediately delayed by 50 minutes; oh boy! Luckily, the inbound from Chicago arrived a bit ahead of schedule and we boarded quickly. Then the rains arrived followed by a course change to go around bad weather. More fuel was added to the plane and we departed late. The Baltimore arrival was due at gate A9 with the Portland flight departing at gate A5. This was a good thing! However, we arrived and gate A9 was still occupied. After two stints in waiting "penalty boxes" we were rerouted to gate B12. At this point, I was mentally prepared for a long night in the Baltimore airport but did not give up hope. Upon existing the plane, I ran (if that is possible at my age) with a heavy suitcase of coins (6 double row slab boxes) and reached the Portland flight gate. I was out of breath but the gate door was still open! There was even overhead space for the coin suitcase. Since Portland was an ending destination, they held the flight for delayed passengers including their luggage. My kudos go out to Southwest Airlines!

Folks, I am tired this morning and the Daily Blog will be brief. After back to back Central States and Denver coin shows, a substantial amount of recovery work lies in front of me. It is also Mother's Day and probably wise to spend some downtime today. Maine weather has been cold and rainy for days and today might be perfect for burning part of the massive brush pile. The seven day weather forecast indicates sunny skies will return on Tuesday and coin imaging can begin. In the meantime, I will be catching up on shipment, administrative work and sending out some consignment checks.

Daily Blogs without images are rather boring. Following are two images to close out today's rambling. First is a photo taken at the LSCC regional meeting of Paul Bradley and myself by his wife Cynthia. As mentioned in Saturday's Blog, Paul is another passionate Liberty Seated dime collector who I've know for years but finally met for the first time at the November 2015 Denver Coin Expo.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

A GFRC advisor on early United States gold immediately noted the 1844 Charlotte quarter eagle from the Monument Collection as listed in Saturday's Blog. He sent along the following images of this scarce and CAC approved early Charlotte gold piece to help with initial marketing.


Thank you for stopping by this morning and wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day.

 

May 7, 2016

Denver Coin Expo Report Day 3

The weekend arrives and time to fly back to Maine after a great Denver show. GFRC enjoyed its best show yet at the National Western Complex with quality gold leading sales activity. Friday's sales volume continued the momentum that emerged on Thursday and by extension, from the Central States show. The United States Gold/Toned Morgan case was the center of attention resulting in the display case glass having to be cleaned often......... Seriously, GFRC sold a lot of gold at Denver along with early type coins.

The LSCC regional meeting at Denver turned into an old friends gathering. Paul Bradley, whom I have known for at least 25 years due to our passion for Seated dimes, attended with his wife Cynthia along with Glenn Magelssen, a fellow engineering colleague from Los Alamos. Four individual huddled around my Dell laptop as I provide an LSCC club news update followed by a presentation on subtle and rare 1839 die varieties and die states. The questions and exchanges were fast paced as everyone had a strong engineering background.

I'm most proud of receiving a strong consignment from Denver area dealer. This consignment will be known as the Monument Collection moving forward. Receiving this consignment validated the GFRC business model and I'm honored with the trust. Following are some really cool coins from the Monument Collection. I'm in love with the 1803 NGC AU55 half while the 1844 Charlotte half eagle graded PCGS EF45 CAC is very challenging choice with a small CAC population.

Draped Bust 50c: 1803 O-103 NGC AU55 Fatty holder with above average eye appeal, ample luster

Seated 50c: 1846 NGC AU58 CAC choice gun metal gray/blue uniform toning

Early Gold Commem $2.5: 1926 Sesquicentennial NGC MS65 CAC satiny luster and mark free

Liberty $5 Gold: 1844-C PCGS EF45 CAC old coloring with mark free surfaces, so choice

Liberty $20 Gold: 1875-S PCGS NGC MS62 better date and accurate grading; 1884-S NGC MS62 typical for grade; 1889-S PCGS MS62 accurately graded; 1906-S NGC MS64 soft satiny luster

GFRC News

- The Missouri Collection 1828 25/50c PCGS VG10 CAC is already on hold

- Our Seal Beach consignor is sending increment Liberty Seated halves in the high demand AU grades along with some copper to flesh out that GFRC price list.

- Grey Soldier contacted me today to discuss a forthcoming consignment; more on this topic in a subsequent blog.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

I failed to mention that Jim and I purchased a fair number of quality toner Morgans at the Denver show in today's Blog. But we sure did and a gallery display will be prepared this coming week. In the meantime, let's feature several toner Morgans from the current price list. Below are two of my favorite pieces that combined attractive toning with plenty of luster. GFRC customers typically comment that my coins are better in hand than of the images so please use that frame of mind when viewing these 1879 and 1886 images. The 1879 is graded PCGS MS64+ while the 1886 is similar at PCGS MS64.....a nicely matched pair!

 

Saturday is a travel day and Sunday (Mother's Day) will be a day of rest. Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog.

 

May 6, 2016

Denver Coin Expo Report Day 2

Welcome to yet another edition of the Daily Blog live from Denver!

Don't I love an active bourse floor with that healthy numismatic buzz as dealers and customers are engaged in loud conversations!

Well the Denver show is fitting that description. The first day of public attendance was active with strong results at the GFRC table. Rumors of a reinvigorated 2016 coin market were proven to be true at Central States and now, Denver. Actually, this is the first Denver coin show where the GFRC table was continuously busy throughout the day. Even W. David Perkins, early dollar specialist and my national show partner, was at the show and stopped by to catch up after we had just worked together at Central States.

Switching to theme based display cases at Denver is working well. Luckily, GFRC inventory is to the point that this concept can be explored to determine what works and what does not work in various regions of the country. Both the United States Gold/Toned Morgan and CAC only display cases were the primary destinations for sales while the raw case remained inactive on Thursday. The $100 - $250 case generated decent sales since loaded with affordable collector coins.

Jim and I continued to selectively buy quality coins, where possible, but generating sales was the primary focus of the day. After purchasing a beautifully toned 1881-S PCGS MS65 GOLD CAC rattler on Wednesday, another 1881-S GOLD CAC Morgan walked up to the table on Thursday. This dual sided toner resides in NGC Fatty holder and is graded MS63. GFRC continues to expand its toned Morgan inventory to the delight of customers.

As promised in Thursday's blog, I'm pleased to announce a new consignor to the GFRC community. The first installment of the Missouri Collection transferred at the Denver show including a nice lot of Draped/Cast Bust quarters and Capped Bust/Seated halves. Following are the contents of the Missouri Collection consignment.

Liberty 5c: 1903 PCGS PR63

Bust 25c: 1806/5 B-1 NGC F12; 1806 B-2 PCGS AU50 gun metal gray original; 1806 B-9 PCGS VF20 CAC pretty old album toning; 1828 25/50 B3 PCGS VG10 CAC choice original

Bust 50c: 1831 PCGS AU50; 1832 PCGS AU55; 1837 RE PCGS AU55 crusty choice original

Seated 50c: 1853 PCGS AU58 original gun metal gray

Barber 50c: 1899 PCGS MS63 lustrous

Morgan $1: 1882-O PCGS MS65 dual sides toning

Updated Coin World Advertising

At Central States, Brenda Wyen from Coin World stopped by to discuss advertising strategy. Advertisements should be changing on a periodic basis to remain eye catching and relevant. Since GFRC is selling much more gold that just 6 month ago, it was time for an update. Coin World's graphic design pros quickly produced the following updated banner for the monthly coin values magazine. It is easy catching and captures the salient GFRC business points.

Global Financial News

Donal Trump is starting to appear on Seeking Alpha headlines and indicating he would replace Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve chair. Trump's job creation platform will require a weaker US dollar and continue the currency war with Japan and the EU. Speaking of Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin against the wishing of Obama. The Japanese economy may be in very rough waters if Trump is elected United States President. Finally, Alberta Canada wildfires are impacting the country's oil industry since Canada is dependent on natural resources for economic stability.

Donald Trump would probably replace Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve chair if he wins the presidential election, saying that he agrees with her monetary policy, but she is "not a Republican." "I love the concept of a strong dollar," Trump added, but stated higher rates would make it more expensive for the U.S. to service its debt. The presumptive GOP nominee also called himself the "king of debt," cautioning that it had to be handled with care.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold talks with Vladimir Putin today, in a rare meeting by a G7 leader that attempts to end Russia's isolation since it intervened in Ukraine more than two years ago. According to the Kyodo news service, the Japanese leader rejected an appeal by President Obama not to go ahead with the visit. Abe has argued for more engagement with Putin to end territorial disputes, as well as tackling issues such as those in Syria.

The massive wildfire raging in Canada has grown to more than 300 square miles, increasing by ten-fold from Thursday. The impacts of the blaze remain unknown, but initial estimates from economists suggest that production cuts in Alberta's oil sands could wipe out Canada's growth in the second quarter. It is also seen as potentially adding up to $9B in insurance costs.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

United States gold is always popular in Western states with GFRC's Denver display attracting considerable attention. If you review the Gold price list this morning, it should become apparent that quality gold is selling well as some old friends have found new homes. Let's try to keep the momentum going by featuring two quality double eagle examples. The first is a scarce 1879-S graded NGC MS61 from the Osprey Collection. MS61 is the last affordable grade for the 1879 San Francisco date as the MS62 grade level brings $13,000 retail! This piece is close to MS62 with only a few scattered field blemishes holding it back. The luster is near the MS63 level. Following the 1879-S is a gem 1911 San Francisco St. Gauden from the Poetic Candy Collection. This price is graded PCGS MS65 and offers satiny luster. MS65 is the last "affordable" grade for the 1911-S date.

 

It is time for a shower, breakfast and another day on the Denver Coin Expo bourse floor. Thank you for stopping by the Daily Blog and checking in on the Denver's show progress. GFRC is closing down at end of day and flying back to Maine on Saturday. Saturday's Blog will provide a show wrap up as Jim Poston is still buying and who knows what may appear that the GFRC table today. Have a great day.

 

May 5, 2016

Denver Coin Expo Report Day 1

Welcome to the Daily Blog and thank you for the continuous support.

Wednesday turned out to be an exceptional day but by 10:00 pm, I was exhausted and sound asleep. Please allow me to walk through the highlights of life as a coin dealer and your Liberty Seated Collectors Club president.

The day started with Jim Poston presenting a new consignment opportunity that will be known as the Missouri Collection moving forward. We previewed the consignment in my hotel room early on Wednesday. The consignment is exclusively PCGS certified early type including Draped Bust quarters and Capped Bust halves. The lot contains an 1837 PCGS AU55 Reeded Edge half that is crusty original and so choice. More will be forthcoming as we finalize terms with the consignor followed by an announcement of individual coins in tomorrow's Blog.

Denver Coin show setup went smoothly as Chuck Hayes and Corey are most professional in managing bourse floor details. Cases were new and lighting functioned properly. It was great to be back in Denver among old friends. GFRC performed a quick case setup and we were open for business by 12:30 pm. Immediately, we sold several Osprey double eagles followed by Jim and I moving into a buying mode since GFRC is primarily a retailer and not wholesaler. Luck was on our side. Here are the highlights of Denver Day 1 purchases. FRoR is in order as these pieces are already featured in Denver showcases.

Seated 10c: 1841-O F-101 PCGS VF20 CAC Large O Transitional reverse; 1884 PCGS MS65 CAC choice old time toning; 1890 NGC PR63 CAC Fatty holder with exceptional toning

Draped Bust 50c: 1806 O-109 NGC AU53 CAC Fatty holder....an incredible example with peripheral toning and lots of eye appeal

Morgan $1: 1881-CC PCGS MS64 choice dual sided toning; 1881-S PCGS MS65 GOLD CAC Rattler with incredible rose patina; 1882-CC PCGS MS64 choice with pretty obverse toning

Gold $1: 1851 NGC MS61; 1851-O PCGS AU58 CAC

Gold $3: 1874 NGC AU58 CAC prooflike and choice

Gold $5: 1836 PCGS EF45 CAC original orange patina; 1848 PCGS AU58 CAC with ample luster

Gold $10: 1879 PCGS AU55 CAC with old time dirty crusty patina....this one is Jim's favorite among GFRC purchases.

By 6:15 pm, Jim and I were back to the hotel just in time for a conference call with John Frost and Len Augsburger to continue refining the ANA Summer Seminar curriculum and preparations. Bottom line is course material must be completed by end of May for review and fine tuning during June. The call ended at 7:10 and just in time to be picked up by Michael Sandoval, a GFRC customer, consignor and close friend in the Denver area. Michael will be attending the ANA Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs.

Have you ever heard of a JCB Burger? Downtime Denver offers a huge number of fashionable eateries and bars. I asked Michael to showcase a special venue for casual dining....bar food! Michael selected My Brother's Bar on 15th & Platte St. much to the delight of Jim and me. This place was rustic with a large patio. Clear Denver skies and warm temperatures made for a comfortable evening. We ordered their signature Jalapeno Cream Cheese Burger with onion rings and fries and could not be more pleased with the selection. After dinner discussions turned to coins and the GFRC Daily Blog as Michael reads the Daily Blog religiously.

While at dinner, I received an email from my son Matt. This email wrapped up a truly special day. Matt's email contained a link for the first GFRC price list that was automatically generated from our COIN inventory database located on Hostway server. Bottomline? Our vision of dynamically generating GFRC price list tables directly from the Cloud had been demonstrated. Congratulation Matt for the hard work and creativity as I am so pleased with project progress.

Global Financial News

Spot oil prices and the European Central Bank decision to discontinue the 500 Euro note are the two highlights this morning. Let's check the Seeking Alpha headlines.

It's not just the massive wildfire in Canada that's pushing up crude today. Supplies in Libya have been disrupted as fighting between rival factions in the country intensifies. Tripoli officials are warning the country's output could fall by 120K barrels per day if tankers continue to be blocked. Meanwhile, 88,000 residents have fled Fort McMurray, a city in the the heart of Canada's oil sands. While production facilities are not directly in the fire's path, the blaze is likely to disrupt operations. Crude futures +3.1% to $45.12/bbl.

The ECB is also discontinuing production of the €500 note due to concerns that it could facilitate illegal activities. The currency has been nicknamed the "Bin Laden" because of its association with money-laundering and terror financing. Although the banknote will remain legal tender, the bank will stop issuing the denomination around the end of 2018, when it will bring in new €100 and €200 notes.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

Wednesday was truly a special day with little time this morning for a long blog. Let's pass on Featured Coins as a shower and breakfast are in order before heading back to the Denver Coin Expo. Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog each and every day.

 

May 4, 2016

Greetings from Denver, Colorado, the Mile High city.

Don't I love uneventful flying! Southwest does a great job with their early bird boarding being one of the best airline values. For both legs of the Portland, Maine to Denver trip, I was able to secure exit row aisle seats with no one in the middle seat. Budget air travel does not get an better than this. Jim Poston drove in from Kansas and arrived at the Denver airport just in time to pick me up. We enjoyed a traditional Olive Garden dinner and caught up on family situations and of course, spoke about GFRC business growth and coins! It was a great day.

It is Denver Coin Expo time!

The Denver show opens at noon today for dealer setup and early birds. Jim will be out buying for GFRC inventory while Gerry will be manning the table and attempting to sell our consignor's coins. Inventory rotation is paramount in the numismatic business. This evening, I'm looking forward to dinner with a GFRC consignor and strong supporter in the Denver area. Show reports will be published each morning as Daily Blog readers have come to expect.

GFRC enjoyed a record breaking month during April. The number of new customer rose significantly and the average value of each coin sold also rose dramatically. Please don't worry as I am not migrating to higher priced coins while abandoning the bread and butter collector market. The average collector is the nucleus of the numismatic hobby and ways will be found to continue stocking coins in the $100 - $200 range while still driving the overall inventory quality upward. I spoke with my son Matt, while awaiting a connecting flight in Baltimore. Matt is making some progress on the development of a cloud based inventory system that will ultimately faciliate the dynamic construction of GFRC online price list tables. I can't wait as adding and deleting coins within multiple tables is taking too much of my time and becoming daunting as volumes increase. Matt's COIN system resulted in a significant personal productivity increase while consignors are pleased with full account transparency. The COIN system has finally enabled the Trading Desk business model with 34% of April sales being done via Trading Desk credits and purchases. Business dreams can be turned into reality with smart support and a commitment to see projects to completion.

LSCC Regional Meeting at Central States.

While traveling yesterday, I received some images from Stephen Petty, LSCC Central Region Director, and wish to share with Blog readers. Stephen is also trying to convince me to take a table at the CONA (Ohio) show during Labor Day weekend. He might just be successful.

Attendance for a Central States regional meeting was outstanding. This photograph was taken at the start of the meeting with another four attendees walking in later. Below the group photo are other images taken during the early stage of the meeting. Gerry is introducing Stephen Petty's 1850-O PCGS MS66 CAC Large O dime (second finest know) before being passed around for attendees to admire. Len Augsburger, LSCC Vice President, provided a club update and called for donations for the upcoming club auction (with Heritage's Bob Merrill) at the ANA Anaheim event.

 

Global Financial News

This may be a case of I told you so based on this morning's Seeking Alpha headline concerning the United State oil industry. 59 United States oil and gas companies have filed for bankrupcy with more predicted. Spot oil has retreated to ~ $43/bbl while spot gold is taking a breather at the $1277 level.

The rout in crude prices is snowballing into one of the biggest avalanches in the history of corporate America, with 59 oil and gas companies now bankrupt following this week's Chapter 11 filings by Midstates Petroleum (NYSE:MPO) and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE:UPL). According to Reuters data, the number of U.S. energy bankruptcies is closing in on the staggering 68 filings seen during the depths of the telecom bust of 2002 and 2003. "I think we'll see more filings in the second quarter than in the first quarter," said Charles Gibbs, a restructuring partner at Akin Gump in Texas.

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

This morning's featured coins are quality early type coins for under $250. We start with a nice original 1856-O F-101 dime residing in ANACS EF45 old white holder. F-101 is a die pairing between a fresh obverse and a polished down reverse die. Actually, I'm surprised that this piece has not sold as the variety is much more difficult to locate than the common F-104 Repunched Date Up variety. This lovely F-101 example will be available at Denver show and featured in GFRC's $100 - $250 case. Next to the 1856-O dime is an 1844-O WB-20 half dollar graded VF30 raw and from the Seal Beach collection. Many collectors are hesitant to purchase raw coins these days as the TPG's have brainwashed us. This 1844-O half is fully original with choice light gun metal gray patina. It is a perfect collector coin for a Dansco or Whitman album.

 

Thank you for visiting the Daily Blog. Tomorrow morning will bring the first Denver Coin Expo report with new purchases and exciting news about a new GFRC consignor and his first consignment. Have a great day.

 

 

May 3, 2016

Greetings once again and thank you for checking in at the Daily Blog.

Today's blog will be brief as I'm packaging two last minutes orders followed by drive to USPS drop off and the PWM airport. Yes, I'm flying Southwest this time around with Boeing 737 service out of Portland, Maine. Denver weather is forecasted to be warmer than Maine and looking forward to bright sunny days.

Nearly every adult in America is probably aware of the Indiana Republican primary today with the results potentially historic. In the past, those with no chance of winning a nomination would gracefully withdrawn from the primary race for the good of their party. But in today's intense media world, there is an insatiable appetite for dueling until the respective conventions take place. Also new to the media is recording one on one heated exchanges between candidates and opposition supporters. It sure leads to great video footage...

GFRC at the Denver Coin Expo

Yes, it is Denver Coin Expo week. GFRC will be located at Table 210. Coins are packed and consistent with the display case strategy as outlined in the April 30 Blog. For those who missed that edition, here is what you can expect if visiting with GFRC later this week. Please note that GFRC will be flying back to Maine on Saturday and will not be present at the Denver show that day.

Case 1 - United States Gold, Toner Morgans, Mint State Walking Liberty Halves

Case 2 - Green and Gold CAC Bust, Liberty Seated and other type coins

Case 3 - TPG certified Capped Bust and Liberty Seated coinage priced between $50 - $200 along with Gold CAC Mercury dimes

Case 4 - Raw Capped Bust and Liberty Seated coins

As has become the tradition, the Daily Blog will contain show reports and new purchase/consignment announcements. Several coins sold off the floor at the Central States show based on Blog reporting and smart phone images.

Global Financial News

This morning's Seeking Alpha headlines are predictable. Australia is dropping interest rates while the Japanese Yen continues to climb against the US Dollar. Japan is in for a difficult period. China manufacturing continues its slow downward trend also. Then there is Puerto Rico that has defaulted on bond payments and seeks a bail out from United States mainland. We should be watching this situation closely for precedence. Several states are in difficult budgetary situations and defaults could be seen in the coming years.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut its official cash rate by 25 basis points to a historic low of 1.75%, the first reduction since May 2015, giving the country membership into the club of developed economies with ever-falling interest rates. "Quarterly data...together with ongoing very subdued growth in labor costs and very low cost pressures elsewhere in the world, point to a lower outlook for inflation than previously forecast," RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.

Following the record rate cut Down Under, the yen surged against the Australian dollar, pushing the greenback below ¥106 for the first time in about 18 months. The yen's rise occurred in thin trading conditions with Japanese markets closed from Tuesday to Thursday for public holidays. The U.S. dollar last traded at ¥105.73, down 0.6% on the day.

Activity in China's manufacturing sector slipped further last month, underscoring pockets of weakness in an economy weighed by overcapacity and weak external demand. The Caixin Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 from 49.7 in March, shrinking for the 14th straight month. "All of the index's categories indicated conditions worsened...the economy lacks a solid foundation for recovery and is still in the process of bottoming out," said He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group.

Puerto Rico's debt crisis has moved into a more perilous phase after it missed a $422M bond payment deadline for its Government Development Bank. A U.S. "taxpayer-funded bailout may become the only course available" if the proposed restructuring legislation isn't approved, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned in a letter to Congress. The missed payment, the largest so far by the island, is widely viewed on Wall Street as foreshadowing additional defaults this summer, when more than $2B in bills are due.

Let's close the Daily Blog here as there is much to do in the next hour before heading to the airport. Thank you for visiting this morning.

 

May 2, 2016

Welcome to the first week of May! Maine has shifted from dry to wet weather patterns including the chance of a nor'easter on Thursday that will dump substantial rains on the area. Forsythia bushes, outside the GFRC office window, are starting to reveal their yellow spring coloring while maples trees are slowly budding. A week of wet weather will be welcomed as the huge backyard bush piles needs to be burned once returning from Denver Coin Expo.

Let's take a short diversion this morning as I wish to share probably the best daily blog available today. The writer is Seth Godin and his blog is available here. Frequent Daily Blog contributor, Greg Johnson, shared the Seth Godin link several months back. I've become a dedicated fan of Seth's musings as most are thoroughly insightful and thought provocating. If a "thought for the day" for reflection seems like a good idea, then please start reading Seth's Blog. Seth did a marvelous job of summing up my philosophy for building the GFRC business with these simple words in his April ending blog.

Errors in scale

A restaurant that's too small for its following creates pent-up demand and can thrive as it lays plans to expand.
A restaurant that's too big merely fails.
There are occasional counterexamples of ventures that fail because they were too small when they gained customer traction. But not many.
It pays to have big dreams but low overhead.

 

Liberty Seated Collectors Club Update

Bill Bugert published the May 2016 E-Gobrecht issue promptly on May 1 and let's take a look at the content this morning. The issues opens with a call for LSCC auction lot donations for the upcoming Annual Meeting at the ANA World's Fair of Money show in Anaheim, California. Donations are starting to arrive while Heritage's Bob Merrill has agreed to call the auction once again. The LSCC targets a 15 lot auction of quality materials. So far, we've received 5 lots and please accept my thanks and appreciation for those who contributed.

Also in the E-Gobrecht is an updated image of Greg Johnson, our noted Liberty Seated quarter dollar column writer along with monthly columns from Craig Eberhart, Dennis Fortier, Len Augsburger, Richard Hundertmark, Tony Barreca and by default, Jim Laughlin. I can't thank these individuals enough for their dedication to the E-Gobrecht and entire Liberty Seated collecting community. I well know first hand the time and effort to secure ideas and turn those into professional musing on a regular basis.

Denver Coin Expo Week Arrives

Yes, the Denver Coin Expo arrives on the heals of the Central States show. GFRC is attending the the Denver Coin Expo on May 4 through May 6. Jim Poston is driving from Kansas and we will be positioned at Table 210 near the bourse entrance. Here is the bourse layout and where you can find Gerry and Jim later this week....

Global Financial News

Spot gold is now above $1300/oz as investors are rushing to take positions in the yellow metal. The global bankers have sent enough strong signals that the US dollar value will be allowed to drop as United States economy approached stall speed during Q1 2016. As a result gold is moving up quickly. Conversely, the Japanese Yen must rise if the US dollar is falling resulting is substantial impacts to their export based economy. Puerto Rico defaulting on bond payments does not help investor psyche also. Following are the pertinent Seeking Alpha headlines.

The weak dollar is sending gold above $1,300 an ounce for the first time since January 2015, as prices advance 23% YTD, rebounding from three straight annual declines. Investors have flooded back to the yellow metal as risks to the global economy prompt the Fed to take a slower approach to further interest-rate increases.

Japanese stocks fell more than 3% overnight as domestic manufacturing activity contracted at its fastest pace since 2013 and the yen hit a fresh 18-month high against the greenback. The move saw the dollar drop as far as ¥106.14, extending its slump of nearly 5% last week - a percentage fall not seen since 2008 - after the Bank of Japan refrained from adding fresh stimulus. Note: Over the last seven days the Nikkei has tumbled more than 8%.

Puerto Rico will miss a $422M bond payment due to its Government Development Bank today, registering the largest default to date for the fiscally struggling U.S. territory. "Faced with the inability to meet the demands of our creditors and the needs of our people, I had to make a choice,” Governor Garcia Padilla said via a televised address in Spanish. "I decided that essential services for the 3.5M American citizens in Puerto Rico came first."

Featured Coins from the Trading Desk

With spot gold moving upward, the bullion content of many GFRC Liberty and St. Gauden double eagle offerings makes these lovely pieces even more attractive. Following are two recommended pieces this morning. First is a quality 1897-S Liberty double eagle graded PCGS MS62 followed by a 1924 Saint Gauden that resides in NGC MS64+ holder with CAC approval. Now is the time to be considering double eagles for a combination precious metal and numismatic portfolio.

 

Thank you for visiting on this Monday morning. There is much to do today including a massive shipping run to the post office followed by inventory preparations for tomorrow's Denver flights. Please check back on Tuesday morning for more numismatic ramblings. Have a great day and week!

 

May 1, 2016

Greetings from Maine!

The Daily Blog is obviously late as United Airlines provided a opportunity to spend the early morning hours in Logan airport's baggage claim area seeking some sleep. A Saturday 6:00pm Chicago O'Hare departure slowly digressed into a 11:00pm take off, leaving me stranded in Boston until the first Concord Trailway bus of the morning arrived at 6:00am. On a positive note, I'm home for two days before flying to Denver on Tuesday.

Today's Blog will be brief as there is much GFRC administrative workload to catch up on along with reassembling inventory before pulling the Denver selections as mentioned in Saturday's Blog.

Central States Numismatic Society Show Report - Summary

I went into the Central States show with low expectations and am extremely pleased with the outcome. Sales were consistently strong throughout the show including Saturday. Collectors were in a buying mood at the GFRC table due to overall quality inventory along with better dates. The challenge continues to be the replacement of sold coins with comparable new inventories.

Already, Grey Soldier and Seal Beach consignors have responded to my request for incremental consignments. Stay tuned as a fresh group of quality Seated halves and Seated dollars will be arriving after the Denver show. More consignments are solicited as the numismatic market for quality early type coins is strong. GFRC is now well recognized as a leading dealer in these types of numismatic properties driven by a strong collector customer base.

After the Denver show is in the history book, GFRC will be issuing a substantial announcement concerning the break up and sale of a well known collection. This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire condition census variety rarities. This statement is not marketing hype; GFRC customers should be pleased with the post Denver show announcement and new offerings.

Closing Comments

May Day is an important holiday in the Asian world and best wishes go out to GFRC readers in mainland China during their holiday week.

Thank you for checking in this morning. Monday's Blog will be traditional and comprehensive after a good night's rest. Have a great Sunday.