Gerry Fortin Rare Coins - Gerry's Daily Blog

Friday October 7, 2022

Sooner Collection Consignment - Capped Bust and Seated Halves - Part 2

and

By Popular Demand - Autumn Scenes from the Homestead

Greetings on a Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks again for returning for a Raymond homestead and GFRC update.

Thursday brought a thoroughly busy day along with ideal autumn weather. Sooner Collection Part 1 offerings were in strong demand with six of the ten pieces moving onto Hold status. The gorgeous 1839 Drapery half secured five pricing requests and sold to the first person on the coin. A high priced U.S. gold $20 sold from the price list as icing on the cake. By 1:00 PM, I was out the office and spent the next four hours on barn site landscaping along with moving more of the neighboring Dodson rock pile onto the settler's stone wall. While excavating deep into the Dodson rock pile, a strange metal artifact was unearthed. That object has been photographed and will be the subject of Saturday's Blog edition as I need help with the identification.

The afternoon hours brought an email from an Arizona client requesting Maine autumn images as we approach peak colors. My thoughts were the same as having taken several morning photographs for posting in today's edition.

Can you believe that Johnny2 has already reached 100 engine hours? The time for the first oil change has arrived!

Sooner Collection Consignment - Capped Bust and Seated Halves - Part 2

After a strong Sooner Collection consignment debut, why not promptly follow-up with the second installment? All have approved pricing and are ready for an immediate quotation. The entire Sooner half dollar lot will be posted to the price list by end of day. Now is the opportunity to gain first shot on more original collector grade specimens.

Sooner Collection Consignment - Capped Bust and Seated Halves - Part 2

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1859-S WB-2 PCGS EF45 CAC 50C 1864-S WB-1 ANACS AU50 50C OWH

1853 A&R ANACS EF45 50C OWH 1854-O WB-29 PCGS EF45 CAC 50C 1857 NGC AU53 50C EPN

1858 WB-110 PCGS EF45 50C 1859-O NGC AU53 50C 1860-O WB-29 NGC EF45 50C

1861 PCGS EF40 50C 1861-O W-4 NGC EF45 50C

By Popular Demand - Autumn Scenes from the Homestead

Frankly, I feel constantly blessed to be able to manage a small piece of Mother Nature at my age. Spending the afternoon hours "on the land" is such a contrast from the long hours in the coin office. This year, I promised myself that more time would be allocated to being outdoors during the September and October months. That promise has been kept leading to a positive attitude about supposedly "retired" life. I hope that this mental well being can be felt within the Blog ramblings.

The following four images are for my semiconductor consultant friend who made a request for autumn color illustrations.

The first image was taken during "back deck happy hour". Dusk is approaching with the moon riding over rose shades above the coastal horizon. Autumn colors are becoming most vivid at this point. The barn is only missing siding on the wall facing north. As usual, Diane has done a marvelous job with external material and color selections. The settler's stone wall is receiving a lovely gray veneer as more of the Dodson rock pile is carefully added.

Coastal Horizon View - 5:45 PM

This image was also taken at 5:45 PM and showcases two different maple species along with our wonderful Colorado blue spruce. This spruce tree was planted as an 8" seedling decades ago and a selection from the Arbor Day Foundation. It is by far Natsumi's favorite tree on the property.

Colorful Maples with Colorado Blue Spruce - 5:45 PM

Once the Daily Blog is published each day, the next activity is a health walk along the back acreage trails and skimming leaves at the spring pond. Yesterday's walk, under bright sunny skies, brought a recognition that the ferns were also involved in the autumn color transition. This image was taken at 9:00 AM and showcases one of the many ferns areas that have shifted to golden-brown.

Fields of Golden-Brown Ferns - 9:00 AM

Today's presentation closes with the driveway sugar maple that is already beginning to drop its leaves. The color contrast against the deep blue sky is phenomenal.

Driveway Sugar Maple Dropping Leaves - 10:00 AM

Global Financial News

U.S. equity markets were again down on Thursday with the S&P 500 closing at 3,744. Today brings the September non-farm payroll report (the "jobs report") as another indication on the state of the U.S. economy. With November mid-terms elections just one month away, this report is significant for the ruling party and the Federal Reserve. A weak report could be good news for investors who hope that the FOMC will slow down interest rate increases.

Morning market futures are essentially flat.

In Asia, Japan -0.7%. Hong Kong -1.5%. China closed. India -0.1%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris flat. Frankfurt -0.1%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.1%. S&P -0.2%. NASDAQ -0.4%.

Today brings WTI crude oil to nearly $90/bbl with forthcoming gas pump pricing increases. The recent spot gold rally has fizzles with the precious metal trying to hold the $1700 level. Bitcoin has be absolutely flat at the $20,000 level, give or take a few $100 dollars.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield continue to increase and is back to 3.85%. Higher Treasury bond yields continue to support a highly valued U.S. dollar which then places downward pressure on spot gold.

Crude +1.1% to $89.38. Gold -0.3% to $1716. Bitcoin -0.9% to $19,957. Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 3.85%

Wrapping Up The Blog

Since today's weather will be a repeat of Thursday, so will my schedule. The morning hours will be spent in the GFRC office while the afternoon brings more Dodson rock pile transport. The Dodson home is being demolished on October 14 along with the rock pile being hauled away. Given next week's Manchester NH coin show and required preparations, there are only a few days left to secure more of that rock pile. Yes, I've learned that Sharon Dodson and I share a love for stone walls during our frequent chats at the spring pond. She is thrilled that a portion of the well weather rocks are remaining on site and complimenting the rebuilt settler's stone wall.

Thank-you for visiting. Please check back tomorrow to view images of a metal artifact that was unearthed deep inside the Dodson rock pile.

Be well!

Thursday October 6, 2022

Dan White's European Buying Trip Update

GFRC-Lite Start-Up Report

and

Sooner Collection Consignment - Capped Bust and Seated Halves - Part 1

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning. Your ongoing patronage is sincerely appreciated.

Wow, the southern Maine 6:00 AM temperature is a balmy 52F with today's forecasted high at 72 degrees. Bright sunny skies will be the rule which can only mean one thing....GFRC photography time! Yes, the sun's elevation continues to drop which is leading to less than ideal photography conditions until the Florida migration in mid-November. Of course, I've developed several alternative photography locations on the homestead property with a sloping table that maximizes the lighting conditions. Would you expect less?

In just two days, the barn construction project will be officially complete once Gary arrives and applies the last of the low maintenance cedar shake siding. Now that construction has ceased inside the barn, there is an opportunity to secure an early start to relocating Johnny2's implements within the building for winter storage. Yesterday brought the erection of a two level storage rack for the grapple and forks. Rather than spending hundreds of dollars for a metal storage rack, an inexpensive alternative was fabricated with ToughBuilt saw horses, 80" 2x4s as cross pieces, and a wooden pallet nailed into the 2x4s for the top level storage location. Memories of wood working from years gone by quickly returned.

FInally, the driveway maple is 100% orange colored and is already dropping leaves at a quick pace. The burning bushes are a bright scarlet red at this point. Autumn's peak foliage colors are just ten or so days away.

Let's move into numismatics and GFRC team reporting to open today's Blog edition. First up is a report from Dan White as he canvasses western Europe coin galleries. Unfortunately, the news is not favorable.

Dan White's European Buying Trip Update

Gerry,

Well, my trip is coming to an end. Bottom line is that the trip was a bust.

My visit to France yielded some interesting French colonials: three nice 30 deniers, an 1721 nine denier, an 1720 twenty sol, as well as an 1739 double sol. These fit well into my current collecting but I had already sourced these coins while in the USA. It was a matter of just picking them up.

My other sources in France and in Belgium reported that the gold coin supply has dried up. One dealer where I had a chance to go through 13 kilograms of U.S. gold coins in early 2020 had only seven common date $20’s, two $10’s and no $5’s. Other dealers told me that it was not worth a visit as they had no interesting inventory!

I had to purchase two nice common date Liberty $20’s simply out of frustration.

Hopefully my trip next spring will be more fruitful.

I guess these trips results ties together with your blog today on where the market will be in 3 years. Collectors are holding on to good coins here. Only “stuff” is available at dealers. Rare and high quality coins are now being graded and sent to auctions.

Dan

Rich Hundertmark continues to prepare GFRC-Lite stocking inventory while working with a contractor for his website develpment. A reminder that the GFRC-Lite debut will occur at the Whitman Baltimore show which is just a few weeks.

GFRC-Lite Start-Up Report

Hi Gerry,

A quickie GFRC-Lite update on a Tuesday afternoon :

I’m almost with done attributing the Dr. Peterson Seated Halves and will soon begin entering info into the COIN database.

I just received a tencoin consignment from the Elegant Gentleman. It’s a nice PCGS/NGC Liberty Nickel lot with grades ranging from AU55 to MS 63 plus a lovely 1891 PCGS CAC Seated Liberty Quarter graded XF45. The coins are perfect for the collector niche the Lite business will focus on, and many thanks goes out to the Elegant Gentleman consignor. The shipment was smooth from West Virginia to NC, it left yesterday, arrived today.

I met with my web designer Bethany yesterday to review the initial GFRC-Lite website design. I believe that the GFRC community will like the look of the site when it “goes live” in early December.

Best,

Rich

Sooner Collection Consignment - Capped Bust and Seated Halves - Part 1

Securing consignments is a critical function for coin dealers. We rely on collector divestment or simply providing a market place for collectors to dispose of duplicates. Relationship building is paramount along with low commissions and robust marketing.

The Sooner Collection has graciously responded to my plea for early type halves given the strong demand that is depleting inventory. Today brings the first installment of a 20 piece consignment. Halves dated from 1808 through 1848 are presented next. Several are old friends that were purchased from GFRC and are returning for a second visit. Headlining the gallery are two wonderful Liberty Seated halves; an 1839 Drapery PCGS AU58 CAC and an underrated 1848 WB-4 certified PCGS AU55.

This lot has been loaded in the COIN system with a first round pricing proposal that will be issued to the consignor this morning (after the shipping is out the door). Please free to render pricing inquiries to gain first shot.

Sooner Collection Consignment - Capped Bust and Seated Halves - Part 1

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1839 Drapery WB-5 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C 1848 WB-4 PCGS AU55 50C

1808 O-102a PCGS VF25 50C 1811 Lg 8 O-104a NGC AU50 50C 1817 O-106a PCGS EF45 50C

1840-O WB-3 PCGS EF45 50C 1842 RPD WB-12 PCGS EF40 50C 1843 WB-29 NGC EF45 50C

1846 MD WB-9 PCGS EF45 50C 1845-O RPD WB-1 PCGS EF45 CAC 50C

Global Financial News

Wednesday's U.S. equity market trading left the S&P 500 fractionally down and in better shape than the morning futures. This is a positive momentum development.

The huge issue facing the United States is the OPEC+ agreement to cut oil production by roughly one million barrels per day. Shrinking gasoline and diesel prices will soon be shifting upward as WTI crude has increased to nearly $88/bbl as of this morning. The following Seeking Alpha commentary on the topic is worth a read.

No outsized moves were seen in crude markets yesterday after OPEC+ slashed production by a whopping 2M barrels per day from November. That's because traders had been pricing in the cut since Sunday, sending up WTI crude futures from $79 to $86 over the course of the week, before contracts ended Wednesday's session at $87/bbl. Analysts also note that the 2M headline figure will really translate into just over 1M barrels per day, or ~1% of actual global supply, given that many OPEC nations are currently producing well below their individual quota levels. Snapshot: The bigger deal is that Saudi Arabia and Russia are not only willing to work together to prop up crude markets, but they are deepening their ties despite the war in Ukraine. The cut is a big win for Moscow, which has already lost about 1M bpd of production due to sanctions from the conflict, and faces an EU oil embargo starting in December. It's also a blow to U.S. efforts of re-engaging with Saudi Arabia after President Biden labeled the country a "pariah" and refused to talk with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for years following the killing of U.S.-based columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden even undertook a trip to Riyadh in the summer after U.S. gasoline hit $5/gallon, promising at the time that the Kingdom would "take additional steps" to increase oil supply. While the sentiment took hold and prices at the pump came down, there are fresh fears over what an increase could mean for the U.S. economy, especially with gas costs already climbing over the past week (due to Midwest refinery problems and West Coast maintenance). For its part, OPEC+ painted the decision as a "preemptive" move against a slowdown in global demand, as well as not repeating the mistakes of central banks who took too long to respond to inflation. Statement from the White House: "The President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan declared. Biden will also consult with Congress on ways to "reduce OPEC's control" over energy prices (signing of NOPEC legislation?) and continue to direct Strategic Petroleum Reserves releases "to protect American consumers and promote energy security." Meanwhile, new reports suggest that the administration is preparing to scale down sanctions on Venezuela, which would allow Chevron to resume pumping oil and reopen exports to American and European markets.

Today's morning market futures are once again negative across the board.

In Asia, Japan +0.7%. Hong Kong -0.4%. China -0.5%. India +0.2%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.5%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -0.3%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.6%. S&P -0.7%. Nasdaq -0.8%.

Paper gold is trading at $1723/oz while Bitcoin is priced at $20,116. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 3.77%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The morning hours will find me in the GFRC office with shipping, Sooner Collection pricing, and finalizing the balance of the Sooner images for a Part 2 display in Friday's Blog edition. Given the warm weather and bright sunshine, early afternoon brings photography followed by time on Johnny2. I've purchased more weed mat and will be finalizing the 1.5" stone application between the barn and the settler's stone wall along with building up loam tailings around the eastern and southern sides of the barn for protecting the slab from frost penetration.

The time has arrived for the daily health walk to the spring pond and skimming leaves. Thanks for visiting. Be well!

Wednesday October 5, 2022

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection In Len Augsburger's Hands

and

Fate of Coin Market in Next 2-3 Years?

Greetings on a cool southern Maine morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks again for making the Blog a regular part of your online reading.

Relief is the operative word this morning... Why? Please read on for today's headline topic.

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection In Len Augsburger's Hands

After being focused for days on Newtown Collection image processing, Tuesday brought the preparation of the description input template that is employed by Len Augsburger. I spent from 10:00 AM through 5:00 PM reviewing every dime in the Newtown Collection and documenting my observations. Yes, this was a fun experience for sure! You might be wondering how Len and I go about preparing the individual lot descriptions given that the coins at in Maine and Len is in the Chicago area. Following is our operating secret...

Len and I have developed an evaluation system to optimize description generation. The goal is to provide Len with as much background information as possible to simplify individual lot research and to enable the most accurate descriptions possible. Let's walk through the parameters that are transfered to Len within the description template file.

- First is pedigree and purchase background to enable Len to locate past auction records. If a Newtown dime was purchased from GFRC since 2016, there is a record in the Sales Archive. If the pedigree is significant (aka Eugene Gardner), there are Heritage Auction records easily accessible via CoinFacts.

- Second are bright light observations given I have the coins in hand. Gerry will carefully review each dime under bright light and make notes on the type of luster (steely, frosted, satiny, mirrored) along with the level of cartwheel action. In this manner, Len can interpret the images since the color matching is quite accurate.

- Third are my comments about the coin that help explain the quality rating. Some of the Newtown dimes appear way better in hand than on the images. Some may have funky toning that I'm not use to seeing on high end Mint State silver pieces. Hidden marks or other issues that preclude a CAC green bean are documentation for Len's potential usage. For the truly superior lots, Len is asked to go further with the description to make it clear that the lot is worthy of a very strong bid. These observations are captured in the description file.

- Finally, die variety rarity and strike characteristics, from my own experience, are shared with Len.

Bottom line, Len and I work as a close team to deliberately study every lot in a GFRC Online Auctions event. Our goal is to ensure that bidders have sufficiently accurate information by which to place their winning bids.

The next steps in the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection sales are twofold.

- First is deciding which lots will be purchased by Gerry as upgrades to the core set. Those lots will be purchased directly from Aaron Heintz as a private transaction.

- Second is dividing the Newtown Collection into two auction sessions. Once that decision is made, I will start populating the GFRC Online Auctions catalog with those lots. Images, quality ratings, and die variety attributions will be the initial pieces of information followed by Len's descriptions upon arrival.

Fate of Coin Market in Next 2-3 Years?

Yesterday brought a purchase along with a question concerning my view of the coin market during the upcoming 2 to 3 years. The client asked that I respond to the question in the Daily Blog so that the community can share in that response.

Here goes as the response is complex.

We live in an era where media amplification (and biases) are impacting the American psyche. Government policies concerning energy and racial equity have brought about an uncomfortable financial planning environment for many citizens. We see the prices of basic goods and services climbing while the capital and bond markets are struggling. We are experiencing an economic recession, the depth of which is up for debate based on your political affiliation. The Ukrainian-Russian war brings further anxieties as the "N" word becomes commonplace in the media. Many Americans are worried about the future with those anxieties being constantly fueled by the clickbait media.

So where does this leave the U.S. numismatic market?

I've often mentioned, in the Daily Blog, that the current numismatic market is tiered or bifurcated. At the top of the market are the CAC approved premium coins that have seen a considerable increase in prices. CAC green beans are now seen as the "gold standard" for long term financial stability and appreciation. Some denominations and series have tiny CAC populations which is further elevating demand and prices. Liberty Seated quarters is just one example. Early date U.S. gold is another area.

The second tier comprises borderline coins that are unable to be CAC approved. Though being close to the CAC standard, they are not stickered. Coins at this level poise an opportunity for those who have a passion for the hobby but can't afford to go all in for CAC premiums. Since the supply of CAC coin in the marketplace is quite limited, many collectors have no choice but to pursue those pieces that are choice, or at minimum, strictly original but not stickered.

Finally, there is the bottom end of the market that includes over graded dregs, detailed coins and the like. These type of items are the mainstay of smaller coin shows as they age in vest pocket dealer inventories. Prices for this market tier are flat or dropping.

So where is the numismatic market heading in the next two to three years?

From my own collecting experience, the top end of the numismatic market will weather wars and economic events as there are a sufficient number of wealthy individual to sustain that market segment. Passionate collectors who love their top end coins have ample resources to preclude a distress sale. Given this, I believe the CAC approved market segment will hold current pricing premiums as fewer and fewer coins are being stickered. In a strong economic environment, CAC coins will continue to see pricing increases simply due to the supply/demand equation.

The bottom end of the numismatic market is not the place to be during an economic crisis as there will be more sellers than buyers. Prices will come under pressure as those on fixed incomes see a loss of buying power.

So where does that leave the middle of the market? My belief is that choice early type will continue to hold its value during a recession as long as a balance exists between supply and demand. If the demand side become anemic and the supply side expands as collectors attempt to raise cash for life expenditures, there could be pressure on prices.

Let's close this commentary with how I am managing my own numismatic investment. Bottom line, I am staying the course regardless of geopolitical events. The Liberty Seated dime collection has been a multi-decade project and will continue to be viewed in that manner. While the equity markets experience volatility that can be unnerving, the dime collection continue to retain its financial value with long term appreciation. The key is owning top shelf or premium coins with low populations. Please remember that during financial hard times, diversity is critical. Some assets will drop in value while others will increase or at least hold their value.

Global Financial News

Is the current equity market rally for real as we've seen an increase of 4.5% in two days? Based on some background reading, there is speculation that the current rally was orchestrated to keep investors from bailing given the ongoing stream of negative news. My pay grade does not allow further elaboration.

Morning market futures are pointing to heightened selling once the markets open for trading. The OPEC+ rumors of a 2 million/day cut in oil production is bringing more economic gloom with fears that the recent drop in crude pricing being reversed back to the $100/bbl level.

In Asia, Japan +0.48%. Hong Kong +5.90%. China closed. India closed.
In Europe, at midday, London -1.20%. Paris -0.79%. Frankfurt -0.69%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.80%. S&P -0.78%. NASDAQ -0.76%.

WTI crude has increased to nearly $87/bbl while spot gold in trading at $1722/oz. Bitcoin is a hair above the $20,000 mark.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is moving back up with a quote of 3.72%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office for most of the day processing consignment and new purchases images. The cellphone is always nearby for phone orders or checking emails/text messages if working outdoors.

Thank-you for stopping by and taking in today's ramblings. I certainly hope to have a new offerings gallery posted for Thursday Blog.

Be well!

Tuesday October 4, 2022

Enjoying the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 3 Gallery

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. I'm pleased that you could stop by to view another amazing Newtown gallery display.

Up here in Maine, October is starting to play out as being a tad colder than normal. The morning temperature at 6:00 AM is 36F. A check of the extended forecast indicates night time lows in the mid 30s with the freezing mark arriving by the middle of the month. Overnight temps at the freezing mark are an invitation for freezing rain and even snow. One does not want snow on the ground in October for a simple reason; leaf clean-up. Dropped leaves, if left on a lawn during the winter months, attracts moles which leads to lawn destruction. Secondly, cleaning up leaves in the spring on soft ground (mud season) brings rutting by transport equipment.

The barn project is just a few days from completion at this point. Pete Theberge wrapped up his work on Monday by installing the side door and a railing for the stairs leading to the loft. Gary returns on Saturday to complete the siding application at which time the long project has been successful finished.

In just 10 days, the neighboring Dodson home will be demolished and hauled away. Already, Maine Eco Homes (MEH) has placed a large sign on the road advertising the construction of a new eco-friendly home for the Dodson family. Unfortunately, I will be at the Manchester show during the demolition and unable to document the event with images. Monday afternoon brought the removal of four Johnny2 front loader loads of rock from the agricultural rock pile, by their house. I'm in a race against time to secure as much settler rock as possible before it is hauled away.

Enjoying the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 3 Gallery

Today brings the final installment of the remarkable Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection to the Daily Blog and Auction link. The enormity of the Newtown Collection becomes evident when viewing the complete gallery that is now available at the Auction link. Building a complete Liberty Seated Dime set with Major Varieties is a substantial challenge at any grade level given a host of key dates and some "stoppers". Immediately, the big four Carson City dates come to mind (1871-CC through 1874-CC) but let's not forget the low mintage Civil War Philadelphia strikes which present their own challenges. Hiding from common knowledge are several very difficult dates including 1870-S, 1872-S and 1885-S.

The Newtown Collection raised the degree of difficulty by attempting to build a nearly complete Mint State collection. This is a huge challenge with several dates being close to unobtainable. Immediately coming to mind are the 1843 and 1845 New Orleans issues, and again the big four Carson City dates along with the 1885-S.

You are invited to take a few moments from regular morning activities to carefully review the following gallery even if not a Seated dime collector. The Aaron Heintz accomplishment is worthy of extended review. Please don't forget that the entire Newtown Seated dime set will be on display and available for lot viewing at the Whitman Baltimore show.

Now onto the task of creating a description input template for GFRC Online Auctions' staff cataloger, Len Augsburger.

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 3 Gallery

With Legend & Arrows

1873-CC F-101 PCGS VF35 10C 1874-CC F-101 PCGS VG10 CAC 10C

1873 F-116 PCGS MS64+ CAC 10C 1873-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 1874 F-113 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C

1874-S F-101 PCGS MS62 10C

With Legend Resumed

1878-CC F-101 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1888-S Unlisted PCGS MS66 CAC 10C

1891 F-113 PCGS MS67+ CAC 10C 1891-O Unlisted PCGS MS66 CAC 10C

1875 F-121 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C 1875-CC IW F-111a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 1875-CC BW F-103a PCGS MS64+ CAC 10C

1875-S IW F-105 PCGS MS63 10C OGH 1875-S BW F-117 PCGS MS65 10C 1875-S BW F-101 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC 10C

1876 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C 1876-CC F-116a PCGS MS65+ CAC 10C 1876-S F-108 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C

1877 T2 F-107 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1877-CC T2 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C 1877-S F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C

1878 T2 F-109 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1879 F-104a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C 1880 F-102a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C

1881 F-101a PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C 1882 F-104 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1883 Unlisted PCGS MS66 CAC 10C

1884 F-105 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C 1884-S F-104 PCGS MS66 10C 1885 Unlisted PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C

1885-S F-101 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C 1886 F-113 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C 1886-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C

1887 F-111 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1887-S F-101 PCGS MS65+ CAC 10C 1888 F-113 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C

1889 Unlisted PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1889-S F-108 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 1890 Unlisted PCGS MS67 CAC 10C

1890-S F-116 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 1891-S Unlisted PCGS MS64 CAC 10C

Global Financial News

U.S. equity market volatility continues with a substantial rally that started on Monday and could extend into today. Driving the rally is a pullback in the U.S. dollar and long bond interest rates. Economic weakness is starting to appear in regular key which is providing hope that the Fed will become more dovish with year ending interest rate hikes. At least that is the story line that is circulating in the financial media.

The day starts with the S&P 500 at an anemic 3,678 and could move higher based on morning market futures.

In Asia, Japan +2.96%. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India +2.20%.
In Europe, at midday, London +1.75%. Paris +2.66%. Frankfurt +2.98%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +1.16%. S&P +1.42%. NASDAQ +1.85%.

WTI crude pricing has stabilized at $84/bbl which is providing some relief at the gas and diesel pumps. Spot gold has staged a sharp rally with the morning quote at $1717/oz. Just last week, gold was trading as low as $1620.

Bitcoin is up slightly to $19,938.

Key is the drop in the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield to 3.57%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

You will find me in the GFRC office for nearly the entire day constructing the Newtown auction input template file for Len Augsburger. This template file captures a host of information that aids the description generation since Len is unable to view the coins in-hand. Of course, key attributes including luster type, the amount of cartwheels, surface conditions, pedigrees, and special die variety commentary will be provided.

Once the Newtown input file is sent to Len, I'm back to regular consignment processing with the Sooner Collection halves becoming the top priority prior to the Manchester show. There is also another 20 piece Seated dime consignment from my own reference collection that needs to reach the price list before that New Hampshire show.

Let's not forget the second complete set of Liberty Seated dimes consigned by Steven Vitale too. Attention must shift to that special offering also.

Please consider a purchase if you could!

Thank-you for checking in at the Daily Blog. Be well!

Monday October 3, 2022

Building the Last Newtown Seated Dime Gallery

and

Deciding How to Split Newtown Collection into Two Auction Events?

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Monday morning. I'm glad that you could find the time to visit.

Cold is the operative word to describe southern Maine at 5:30 AM. Out outdoor thermometer is indicating 38F and the first time we have been sub 40 degrees since returning from Florida in late April. This cold temperature appears to be seasonally early and hopefully is not a sign of things to come later this month.

I'm thrilled to report that the barn project is now greater than 95% complete with only one side door and siding application on the north wall remaining. Pete Theberge should arrive today with the door (from Hammond Lumber) along with its installation. The stairs to the loft will also see the addition of a railing along the inside wall. At that point, Pete has completed his mission for 2022. Come 2023, I've floated the idea, to Pete, for building a permanent screened in tenting cabin next to the spring pond. The thought of processing coin images by the spring pond is quite compelling along with overnight camping. A cellphone hot spot would enable a remote GFRC workspace in the forest. As usual, these are nothing but ideas, however, ideas are the first step towards building an alternative functional space.

The Yamatins are already back in Boston for starting another work and school week. Their homestead visit was much to brief.

Building the Last Newtown Seated Dime Gallery

Construction of the final Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection gallery is already underway. The goal is to have this gallery become the highlight of Tuesday's Blog edition. There are roughly 20 coins remaining that require finalized images along with uploading to the Hostway server.

There is little else to say on this topic other than "just getting it done!"

Deciding How to Split Newtown Collection into Two Auction Events?

For those who are are not regular Daily Blog readers, you might not be aware that the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection auction sale will be divided into two sessions. The schedule for the first session has been announced with the second session taking place in mid-January after the Winter FUN show.

A key process question is how to split this amazing collection into two equal sessions. I remember the Heritage Auction strategy for the massive Eugene Gardner Collection sale that was conducted in four separate session. The Gardner collection approach was straightforward; dividing each Liberty Seated denomination into four lots with the first, fifth, ninth etc pieces in the first sale. The second, sixth, tenth etc. pieces were placed in the second sale.

I'm considering this approach for the Newtown collection sale. Modeling this approach, within the COIN database, will be attempted today to ensure that there is a balance of key dates in both session. I'm also open to other ideas as long as not requiring an extraordinary amount of effort to model the financials. Key is that an equal amount of reserves are allocated between the two events. My apology, but GFRC and the consignor are not open to more than two auction sessions. Those lots that do not meet reserve, for whatever reason, will move to the GFRC price list and Collectors Corner for incremental marketing and sales.

Global Financial News

Little has changed during the weekend in terms of geopolitical tensions. Markets have been reeling from one global crisis to the next along with aggressive Federal Reserve tightening. The next CPI report will be critical for forward guidance on where the S&P 500 will end for 2022. Over in Europe, the Ukrainians continue to win back territories captured by the Russian regardless of Putin's official annexation of four Ukrainian regions. This is all starting to look like a bad movie with the reckless use of the "N" word growing too common.

U.S. equity morning market futures are essentially flat.

In Asia, Japan +1%. Hong Kong -0.8%. China -0.6%. India -1.1%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.8%. Paris -1.1%. Frankfurt -0.8%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.3%. S&P flat. NASDAQ -0.3%.

OPEC+ is considering more production cuts to sustain crude oil at the $80+/bbl level. This morning's WTI quote is $83.20. Spot gold appears to have made a bottom, for the current cycle, and is slowly gaining ground at $1669/oz. Bitcoin is stuck in a tight trading range at $19,141.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is flat at 3.78%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point. Morning shipping will keep the GFRC occupied during the morning hours followed by an eye appointment during the early afternoon hours. Otherwise, Newtown image processing will be the imperative.

Once the Newtown images are completed and the auction lot description template is issued to Len Augsburger, attention will shift back to consignments and new purchases for the 30 Day Price List.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog. Be well!

Sunday October 2, 2022

October 1 Foliage Update

and

Enjoying the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 2 Gallery

Greetings on a Sunday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank-you for visiting.

Brisk winds welcome in another southern Maine day. The 7:00 AM temperature is 45F with the forecasted high reaching only 56 degrees. Skies will be clear throughout the day with low humidity.

The Yamatin family has settled nicely into the homestead but must return back to Boston this afternoon. Matt made an interesting observation about being back home. He commented that his childhood home feels "bigger yet smaller" which required an explanation as to the vantage point. Based on Beijing and, now Boston apartments, the homestead accommodations are much larger. However, each room feels smaller that than when growing up given his adult size. Natsumi continues to be a bundle of energy and has already mastered the Battleship game. Their visits are always too brief....

October 1 Foliage Update

The Maine autumn foliage color transition is now well underway with peak colors just two weeks away. The various maple species are exhibiting red, orange, gold, and yellow colors while the mighty oaks remain deep green. This can be easily seen in the area behind and slightly to the left of the barn. The foreground is mostly maples and two apple trees while the taller trees in the background are oaks.

The barn siding is moving along slowly. Our contractor was on site for part of the day and completed the eastern and southern sides which are not visible in this image. Pete has promised to return on Monday to install the side door which then enables the siding application to the northern facing side. The barn project is now 90% complete and hopefully, will be completed by this coming weekend. It has been a long journey from the initial permitting in mid-May.

The coastal horizon image was taken at 4:30 PM. The long shadows, from the roadside trees, illustrate how far the sun has dropped in the sky in just one month's time.

Please feel free to click on the below image for inspecting a higher resolution version.

Enjoying the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 2 Gallery

It is again with great pleasure that the second installment of the fantastic Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection is being showcased for the GFRC community. Today brings the With Legend dates from 1860 through 1873. This era is challenging in many regards. First are the Civil War years with low Philadelphia mintages along with Mint State San Francisco survivors being rare. During 1871, the Carson City mint begins Seated dime coinage with any choice survivor, regardless of grade, being a prize for present day collectors.

I hope that you can find the time on a Sunday morning to enjoy these gallery contents. Choice dimes abound in this lot with the 1864-S PCGS MS65 CAC and 1865-S PCGS MS63 CAC being substantial highlights. I also love the eye appeal of the 1866-S PCGS MS63 CAC and 1872-CC PCGS VF35 CAC lots. Don't underestimate the rarity of the 1872-S date in Mint State. Unquestionably, this Newtown auction will have something for every passionate Liberty Seated dime collector including yours truly. What an accomplishment by Aaron Heintz.

Please remember that the entire Newtown Seated Dime Collection will be on display at the Whitman Baltimore come the end of October. The owner will be behind the display cases and ready to share set building stories and his impressions of each lot.

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 2 Gallery

With Legend Design Type

1861-S F-102 PCGS MS62 10C 1863-S F-101 PCGS MS64 10C

1864 F-102a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1864-S F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C

1865 F-101a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1865-S F-103 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C

1866-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C 1871-CC F-101 PCGS VF35 10C

1872-CC F-101 PCGS VF35 CAC 10C 1872-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C

1860 F-112 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C 1860-O F-101 PCGS VF35 CAC 10C 1861 Type 2 F-103 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C

1862 F-101a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 1862-S F-101 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C 1863 F-101a PCGS MS63 10C

1863-S F-101 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C 1866 F-102b PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1867 F-102 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C

1867-S F-102 PCGS MS62 10C 1868 F-101 PCGS MS64 10C 1868-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C

1869 F-105a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1869-S F-102 PCGS MS65 10C OGH 1869-S F-102 PCGS AU55 CAC 10C

1870 F-105 PCGS MS64 10C 1870-S F-101 PCGS EF40 10C 1871 F-102a PCGS MS63 10C

1871-S F-102 PCGS MS64 10C 1872 F-112 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C 1873 NA C3 F-101a PCGS MS63 CAC 10C

1873 NA O3 F-102 PCGS MS61 10C

Wrapping Up the Blog

The homestead feels a bit cool this morning which dictates starting the wood stove as the next morning activity. Afterwards, I'm heading down to the spring pond to skim fallen leaves.

The balance of the morning will find me in the GFRC office responding to overnight orders and continuing to finalize the balance of the Newtown Seated dime images. My goal is to have the last gallery published in Wednesday's Blog followed by an input template to Len Augsburger shortly there after.

Please consider a purchase from the price list before GFRC hits the show circuit next week. If wishing to sell or consign coins, please contact me at your convenience. I'm always ready to listen to divestment needs with flexible proposals.

Thanks again for visiting the Daily Blog. Be well.

Saturday October 1, 2022

LSCC E-Gobrecht Ad - Newtown Auction Lot Viewing at Whitman Baltimore Show

NH Coin Expo Arrives October 13

and

GFRC-Lite Open for Consignments - See the Details

Greetings on the first day of October 2022 and welcome to the Daily Blog. Your ongoing readership is sincerely appreciated.

October is a transition month. After exiting the ideal autumn month of September, October brings a rapid temperature, foliage, and daylight transition for southern Maine. We enter October with daytime highs still reaching the low 60s and much cooler evenings. Halloween marks the potential for the first snow of the forthcoming winter season. By the end of October, all of the trees except the mighty oaks will have shed their leaves leaving a partially barren landscape until early May 2023.

October brings a busy GFRC coin show month with the NH Coin Expo (Manchester NH show) and the all important Whitman Baltimore show. GFRC is locked and loaded with adequate inventories for both events but still needs to constantly buy premium coins and insource quality consignments. This is the nature of the business model whereby selling top quality coins at fair prices drives substantial volumes. As a result of this business model success, GFRC is undergoing a product mix transition with sub $300 coins being shifted to GFRC-Lite. More on that topic shortly.

Over at the Raymond homestead, the Yamatin family arrived on Friday evening and is sound asleep while the Blog is being composed. Today brings one-on-one time with Matt and Natsumi as we tour the trails and spring pond along with the nearly completed barn.

LSCC E-Gobrecht Ad - Newtown Auction Lot Viewing at Whitman Baltimore Show

Friday brought time in the graphic design department towards building an eye catching advertisement for the October E-Gobrecht edition as published by the Liberty Seated Collectors Club. The goal is to make the GFRC and LSCC communities aware of the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection auction sale and lot viewing opportunity at the Whitman Baltimore show. The display of a top ranked and complete Liberty Seated Dime collection is certainly a noteworthy event and we hope for many visitors to the GFRC booth on Thursday October 27 and Friday October 28.

Following is a preview of the new GFRC advertisement.

NH Coin Expo Arrives October 13

The Manchester NH coin show arrives in roughly ten days given the planning and inventory packing efforts that precede the show.

If wishing to drop-off consignments or having certain items in inventory displayed at the show, please contact me no later than next weekend. If a large consignment is being transferred, I will bring adequate transport boxes.

If seeking to sell coins at the Manchester show, please visit booth 607 first with your holdings. An early notice of the potential sale contents would greatly speed up my evaluation as coin shows are typically non-stop busy.

If there are any questions concerning a new relationship with GFRC, please don't hesitate to call or email with inquiries.

GFRC-Lite Open for Consignments - See the Details

The GFRC business model has resulted in year-on-year growth since 2014 inception. Each year brings a larger Daily Blog community following and increased numismatic volumes. Since being operated by a husband and wife team, the GFRC staffing is limited. In the past few months, a decision was made to transfer lower priced coins to a franchised operation. In that manner, GFRC clients will have access to a full range of numismatic services for coins valued from $50 through $50,000.

The GFRC-Lite franchise start-up is moving along to schedule and will make its debut at the Whitman Baltimore show during the latter part of October. The time has come to announce that GFRC-Lite is now open for sub-$300 consignments. Those consignments can be shipped directly to Rich Hundertmark in North Carolina. I will continue to service regular clients from the Raymond, Maine and Venice, Florida offices for coins priced over $300.

Some consignors have asked about the fate of their sub-$300 coins currently in GFRC inventory. Please don't worry as those will remain with GFRC until sold. For new GFRC consignments with the majority of coins being valued over $300, it will be business as usual. I will continue to support a small number of lower priced coins, especially if CAC approved. For consignments that are 80% or more priced under $300, those should be shipped to the GFRC-Lite franchise as they will receive faster turnaround and display at smaller regional shows.

Please understand that coins sold by the GFRC-Lite franchise will not be listed in the GFRC Sales Archive. The GFRC and GFRC-Lite website and COIN databases will be separately managed though the collective oversight will be provided by Gerry.

Hi Gerry,

Down here in North central NC I’m readying for potentially heavy rainfall and gusty winds on Friday as Ian approaches. Luckily this weather event will be nothing like the devastation Florida incurred, still as a transplanted Jersey boy I’m used to nor’easter storms and how to prepare and navigate through these events.

In the meantime, I have been busy attributing, pricing, and grading the Dr Glen Peterson Seated Half Dollars that were sent last week as the initial GFRC-Lite consignment. That process will be complete sometime mid next week including loading all coins into the GFRC COIN system.

Additionally, as you alluded to in the Thursday blog, GFRC-Lite , “Lite” has now OPENED THE CONSIGNMENT WINDOW for additional coins that will be first available for sale at the Whitman Baltimore Show. Additionally, GFRC-Lite will have a table at the well-attended Annandale, Virginia show that runs December 10th and 11th. Interested consignors can learn about the GFRC-Lite process by reading the below consignment policy.

In the interest of complete transparency, consignors should know that at present the “Lite” website is under construction with the targeted goal of being commercially complete (ability to sell coins on-line) somewhere in the 1st half of December. The Lite website will have a “look and feel” like the GFRC website but scaled down to accommodate the raw and under $300 graded coins that Lite will be selling.

GFRC–Lite Consignment Process
The consignment process for GFRC-Lite will be like the GFRC process. Consignors can refer to the GFRC policy as the base, with differences (and noted similarities) as follows;

• GFRC-Lite Commission Rate Structure

Final Sales Price       Commission Rate
$0 to $100                          15%
$101 to $500                     12.5%
$501 and above                 10.0%

• Minimum Value: Unless part of a more substantial consignment, the minimum value per coin is $50.

• Coinage Wanted: GFRC- Lite will handle the same Classic Type coinage that GFRC handles, but at a lower price point focused on accepting raw coins ($50 and above) and lower priced Third Party graded coinage ($50 to $300).

• Return policy: Same as GFRC

• Right to reject a consignment - Same as GFRC

• Exclusive consignment marketing - Same as GFRC

• GFRC-Lite Review, Consensus Pricing, and settlement - Same as GFRC (NOTE: coins will be listed on the GFRC–Lite website upon pricing approval when the website is operational)

Consignment Proposal: Contact Rich at 973-271-2615 (voice or text) or email Rich at richhunderr1@gmail.com to discuss potential consignments.

Mailing Consignment:

Please ship by U.S. Registered Mail - 2 Day Priority Mail Express is highly recommended.
Please insure your coins to an insurance amount you are comfortable with. Please email the tracking number to Rich at richhunderr1@gmail.com.
Please include a package list of the enclosed coins including: date, denomination, grade, grading service (note “ raw “ if applicable).
Please also send Rich the USPS tracking number for added tracking. I will contact you when the package is delivered.

Please ship to the following address:

Richard Hundertmark /
648 Hanes Mall Blvd. / PMB 281 /
Winston Salem, NC 27103-5670

ADDITIONAL SHIPPING NOTES:

Please note that the mailing address box is in a secure UPS store location. The UPS store workers have agent signature authority for all packages sent to my address. Additionally, there is always someone to accept and sign for packages and the UPS store quickly notifies me when any package is received.

Additionally, it is most secure to send the package to my name as above, DO NOT address to the business name.

Also, it is my experience that shipping on a Monday or Tuesday is most efficient. Weekend postal workers are sometimes lax and for whatever reason packages have a greater tendency to get lost or delayed on the weekend. Shipping 2-day Express Priority early in the work week alleviates much anxiety.

And lastly, thanks to all that are considering working with GFRC–Lite, I look forward to discussing the numismatic items you are considering for sale and assisting in helping you meet your collecting objectives.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Nearly all of Friday's gallery items have been posted to the 30 Day Price List with the majority already being on hold. Thanks for everyone's help, the September revenue forecast was essentially achieved.

With the Yamatins visiting the homestead today and tomorrow, the GFRC office time will be unpredictable. However, the cellphone will be in my pocket at all times for phone orders. Email orders will be responded to within several hours as we are remaining at the homestead and trails.

Thank-you for visiting and I hope that today's edition has brought everyone up to speed on the new GFRC-Lite franchise operation.

Be well!

Friday September 30, 2022

New Purchases and Consignments to Close Out September

and

Venice Condo Survived Hurricane Ian

Greetings and welcome to another morning's rambling session fondly known as the Daily Blog. Thank-you for stopping by.

There is no question that October is less than 24 hours away given a 35F morning temperature. The homestead internal temperature has dropped to a cool 69 degrees upon awakening at 4:30 AM. Starting the wood stove was a priority to warm up the thermal mass and prepare the house for cloudy conditions this afternoon. Today's high will only be 62F with next week bringing daily highs in the mid to upper 50s. Yes indeed, October has arrived.

The autumn foliage transition is moving along nicely and probably at the 30% level. Peak colors typically arrive around October 15 or thereabouts with the maples and birches well ahead of the robust oaks. A back yard status image will be posted come Sunday.

The Yamatin family arrives this evening via the Downeaster train from Boston. This will be an opportunity for Natsumi to escape an urban environment and spend time in a rural setting. I'm looking forward to a walk on the trails and time at the spring pond with Matt. Matt will also correct those two errors messages at the top of the Daily Blog page.

I found a recent Seth Godin blogpost to be relevant for start-up business owners and worth sharing in the Blog. GFRC's recent Coin World marketing campaign focuses on the theme of 'Innovation with Old Time Service" as the overriding reason why collectors should work with me. Early type coins are overlaid on a semiconductor wafer background to make the point. Godin also captures the same theme and stresses that innovation alone will not save the day for business start-ups. The operations (logistics) staff is just as important given their role in translating and augmenting new ideas with timely service and value delivery to new customers.

Seth Godin Blogpost - Logistic vs (and) innovation

When innovation arrives, the logistics people have to scramble to keep up, because innovation always makes it hard to do things the way we used to.

Over time, an innovative company thrives if it can get its logistics in order. Ship the right stuff to the right people on time and on budget.

Once this happens, it often means that the logistics people gain in power and influence. After all, they pulled off a miracle.

Then, when the next innovation shows up, the logistics voices in the room are likely to have more say in what happens next. That’s why upstarts who feel like they have nothing to lose are so much more likely to innovate–they don’t realize how hard it is going to be.

Innovation doesn’t work without logistics.

Autumn Decorations in the Front Yard

The autumn season brings cooler temperatures allowing the soil to retain moisture after a rain storm. That moisture provides for the growth of seeds and many fungus varieties on the property. The following image was taken in the front yard between the homestead and Valley Rd. This area is located under several mighty oaks and has been mulched for years. Each fall season, large mushrooms will appear in this area. However, this year has seen a fungus explosion with this variety growing as lovely pairs. I could not resist the symbolism concerning relationships and marriage. In the background are two tiny oak seedlings. along with acorns and dried needles from the nearby Mugo pines. This area is popular with squirrels and chipmunks for obvious reasons.

Venice Condo Survived Hurricane Ian

Great news arrived yesterday from two full time Auburn Lakes Condo residents. The Fortin condo and all the building in the association survived Hurricane Ian with only minor external damage. Downspouts are damaged along with much of the soffits being torn up. Newly planted trees were up rooted and the fencing surrounding the recycling and trash dumpsters is totaling mangled. Interestingly, the HOA did no lose power during the entire event.

Diane will be traveling down to Venice during the second half of October to check on the internal status of our southern home and office.

A sincere thanks goes out to those in the community who sent along their well wishes for positive news. That news did materialize with Diane and I both relieved.

New Purchases and Consignments to Close Out September

Today brings a final attempt to close on the September sales forecast. Several smaller consignments have recently arrived along with new purchases. Since all have been photographed this week, a decision was made Thursday morning to merge these lots into a final September 2022 offering. Eclectic best described the combination of type coins with high grade Morgans and three CAC approved Capped Bust halves.

Already price inquiries are appearing and will be responded to once offer prices are confirmed for the consigned coins. If a GFRC new purchase, I will provide an immediate quote. Let's hope that there is something for everyone with most of these pieces being sold today. At least that is the goal....

New Purchases and Consignments to Close Out September

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1857 NGC MS64 CAC 1C 1854-O NGC MS62 50C

1856-O PCGS MS64 50C 1880-S PCGS MS67 CAC $1

1880-S NGC MS67 CAC $1 1884-CC PCGS MS65DMPL $1

1868 F-104 PCGS PR63CAM 10C 1878 Type 2 F-101 PCGS PR63CAM 10C 1808 O-110 PCGS F12 CAC 50C

1821 O-106 PCGS VF20 CAC 50C 1823 O-105 PCGS EF45 CAC 50C

Global Financial News

What the markets giveth, the markets can taketh away. This was the case for Thursday's trading as any equity market upside on Wednesday was given back and then some. The S&P 500 stands at 3640 to open the day.

Morning market futures are favorable after European trading has been in the green.

In Asia, Japan -1.8%. Hong Kong +0.3%. China -0.6%. India +1.8%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +0.6%. Frankfurt +0.3%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.4%.

Paper gold has shown signs of strenght in the past 48 hours with the opening morning quote at $1675. Bitcoin is going nowhere fast at $19,498. WTI crude is priced at $82/bbl.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has dropped to 3.69% which should provide some relief for the current U.S. dollar rally.

Wrapping Up the Blog

Since being a Friday, the shipping department has the day off. The extra time will bring attention to Newtown Collection image processing as I've committed to have the second portion of the amazing collection ready for gallery presentation come the middle of next week.

Rich Hundertmark has submitted a draft procedure for insourcing consignments into the new GFRC-Lite franchise which will need my review and feedback.

You can bet that I will be heading down to the spring pond to skim fallen leaves once today's Blog is uploaded.

Thank-you for being regular readers. Please consider a GFRC purchase today! Be well.

Thursday September 29, 2022

Happy Birthday Diane

Waiting for Word on Venice Condo Status

and

GFRC Online Auctions Pages Updated For Newtown Collection Auction

Greetings on a lovely but cool autumn morning here in southern Maine. Thank-you for visiting.

Let's start today's edition with a Happy Birthday shout out to Diane. Though time continues to move along unabated, the Fortins remain physically and mentally busy and active. Diane is the epitome of excellent health and is following in the footsteps of her mother.

The Yamatin family will be arriving on Friday for a weekend visit to coincide with Diane's birthday. We are looking forward to having Matt, Chikae, and Natsumi at the homestead for two days.

Of course, Diane and I are quite concerned about our Venice condo after the passing of Hurricane Ian. The hurricane's southern drift towards Naples saved the Venice area from a huge storm surge. Instead, Venice was positioned on the northeast side of the hurricane and endured hurricane force winds throughout Wednesday. Rainfall totals amounted to 15 inches. As of the morning, the Venice weather reporting station is down which is not a good sign. We are literally in the dark with news from those who live in the HOA on a full time basis.

As the Blog is being published, a report has arrived from Florida Lee County sheriff that hundreds have been killed. The area is Coral Cape/Ft Myers which is about one hour or more south of Venice. The Ft Myers through Naples region received an unprecedented storm surge.

Back at the Maine homestead, the barn project is due to be completed this weekend, or maybe on Monday worse case. Wednesday afternoon was spent sweeping the barn loft and moving extra construction material into that storage area. I must have walked up and down the new loft stairs at least 25 times or more during the afternoon hours as the barn floor and outside material areas are being tidied up.

GFRC Online Auctions Pages Updated For Newtown Collection Auction

Unfortunately today's Blog has no new offerings gallery to consider as my time was spent on preparing the GFRC Online Auctions pages for the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection auction event. The banner for the first of two auction events has been completed with a marvelous 1838-O PCGS MS65 CAC no stars dime being the marquee piece.

The first Newtown Collection auction will start on October 29 at the usual 9:00 PM and wrap up one week later on November 5 at the same time. The second session is planned for mid-January 2023.

Please do not assume that the No Stars, No Drapery, and With Stars dimes will be in the first session and the With Legend dimes being in the second auction event. Aaron and I have yet to make a decision for dividing the collection lots at this point. The primary goal is to have the entire collection captured in an GFRC Online Auctions catalog for the Whitman Baltimore show lot viewing event. At that point, the lots to be sold in the Part 1 session will be listed online.

GFRC-Lite Opens for Certified Low Price Consignments Next Week

The GFRC-Lite franchise start-up is moving along nicely and preparing for its Whitman Baltimore show debut. Rich and I spoke at length yesterday about the timing for opening the GFRC-Lite consignment window. Rich will be preparing a consignment submission document that will be published in the Blog next week.

For Blog readers who might be unaware of the GFRC-Lite franchise operation, here are several high level comparisons between GFRC and GFRC-Lite.

GFRC

- Status quo business operations, online presence, and national coin show schedule

- Handling numismatic items priced at $300 and above

GFRC-Lite

- Lower value extension of GFRC and handling certified coins under $300, Details coins, and raw coins

- Supporting existing GFRC clients

- Separate website and photography

- Smaller coin show presence from Mid-Atlantic states to Georgia

I'm well aware that several GFRC clients are ready to start shipping lower priced consignments to the GFRC-Lite start-up. Consignment submission details will be published next week in the Blog. Rich and I are just as excited as the clientele about this new business option.

Global Financial News

These are certainly unsettled geopolitical times now that someone has blown holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipe lines. This is an act of war if the perpetrators are identified. Putin has/will annex 15% of Ukrainian captured territory and is waving the nuclear card if the Ukrainians continue to stay on the offensive with NATO weapons.

Over in England, there is a financial crisis brewing. Seeking Alpha reports on how that crisis is impacting U.S. equity and bond markets.

U.S. stocks look ready to sing the bear market blues again this morning after the Bank of England shuffled sentiment with a dominant turnaround. Fearing a breakdown in market stability, the central bank on Wednesday promised to buy long-dated bonds "on whatever scale is necessary," sending the yield on the 30-year gilt down by a full percentage point in the span of just a few hours. The chorus quickly spread across the Atlantic, with U.S. debt echoing similar moves, as the 10-year Treasury yield fell 26 bps to 3.71% for its largest one-day decline since March 2009. Knee-jerk reaction? Stocks soared higher as bonds surged - just a day after the S&P 500 notched a new bear market low - but many cautioned that the rally was far from sustainable. Futures are reflecting the outlook this morning, with contracts linked to the Dow, benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy NASDAQ off by about 1% at the time of writing. Many also doubt that the Fed will blink like the Bank of England, which is worried about shoring up investor confidence after a series of planned tax cuts sparked days of turmoil in financial markets. In contrast, the U.S. central bank is steadfast in its mission to stamp out inflation. It has shown a disregard to the stock crash of 2022, soaring yields and a skyrocketing dollar, especially since it wants prices and consumer spending power to come down. The Fed is also not afraid of the "unwarranted tightening of financing conditions" and "flow of credit to the real economy" that was flagged by the Bank of England, and it would likely take a more serious breakdown in U.S. trading conditions to ignite a reversal of QT policies. Will the strategy even work? "The BoE's bond purchases may temper the UK government's borrowing costs but have not resolved the tensions between fiscal loosening and monetary tightening," noted Carol Kong, strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "Sterling is not out of the woods [with] the BoE seen addressing the symptom and not the cause," added DBS currency strategist Philip Wee. "The government has yet to address the credibility of the tax cut plans, which critics see adding to the inflation woes."

The day starts with the S&P 500 at 3719 however morning market futures are forecasting a 1% drop at the opening bell.

In Asia, Japan +1%. Hong Kong -0.5%. China -0.1%. India -0.3%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.9%. Paris -1.3%. Frankfurt -1.3%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.8%. S&P -1%. NASDAQ -1.3%.

WTI crude oil prices have recovered to nearly $83/bbl along with spot gold increasing to $1657/oz. Bitcoin is trading flat at $19,420.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 3.83%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today will be pretty much a repeat of yesterday. The morning hours bring shipping and image processing towards having a new offerings gallery ready for Friday's Blog edition. The mid-afternoon brings me back to the barn site and further clean-up of extra construction material. Most is being moved in the barn and loft for winter storage. The spring of 2023 will bring a decision on what to do with the extra wood.

As for GFRC, its appears that the September financial forecast will be missed primarily due to my attention being divided between the business and the barn/trails construction project. The latter is a once in a lifetime opportunity and being cherished.

Thanks for being Daily Blog fans and sharing the events of a working man's life. Be well!

Wednesday September 28, 2022

GFRC Venice Florida Home in Hurricane Ian's Storm Track

and

Enjoying the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 1 Gallery

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. I'm glad that you could find the time to visit.

We find ourselves at the end of September with the front yard burning bushes being a bright red. The driveway maple is already dressed in its autumn season colors with orange and yellow being dominant. September and October also bring hurricane season. Already, we've seen Fiona make landfall as far north as eastern Canada. Now there is Hurricane Ian which is about to make landfall between Sarasota and Fort Myers Florida though shifting slowly to the south. The mid point between those two urban areas is Venice and Port Charlotte. As you can imagine, the Fortins are worried about our Venice condo and its condition in the next 48 hours. Luckily, we are in Evacuation Zone C for Sarasota county in terms of height above sea level. Already, those nearby in Zones A and B have been told to leave the area. Life will go on here in Maine today as Ian pounds the Venice area with hurricane force winds and heavy rain. We will know the extent of the damage come tomorrow.

Tuesday brought a beautiful autumn day with comfortable outdoor working temperatures. Much of the afternoon was spent moving rocks from that massive stone pile on the Dodson property to the stone wall in front of the homestead barn. While that was taking place, Pete Therberge was on site and constructed the stairs to the barn's loft. By 4:00 PM, the stairs were completed which facilitated my first visit to the loft. Yes, the loft brings an incremental dimension to the barn with many possibilities including installing a small workshop.

If all goes to plan, the barn project will be completed early next week. Of course, the barn has no power at this point. Internal wiring, acquisition of a battery powered generator, and solar panels will be a 2023 effort. First is the need to study the lower barn and upper loft for wiring decisions.

OK, there has been no mention of numismatic items up to this point. This changes immediately with the introduction of the fantastic Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection. Please read on....

Enjoying the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 1 Gallery

Superior collections are assembled over a period of years by astute and passionate collectors. Aaron Heintz is one of those individuals who has found a keen passion for Liberty Seated coinage given his top rated dime and half dollar sets. Aaron and I spoke months ago about the possibility of selling his dime set for raising numismatic capital to further upgrade the half dollar collection. Attempting to build two Mint State Liberty Seated coinage sets in parallel is incredibly challenging from a time and funding perspective. GFRC has been active in locating premium candidates for both collections. Now many of the Liberty Seated dimes sold into the Newtown Collection are returning to the office for a second visit.

The Newtown Collection presents an accurate study of Liberty Seated dime date rarity. Some dates are available in high grade Mint State with CAC approval while others are extreme rarities at that level. For the latter, it may take several decades before a specimen is released from the most advanced collections.

One of the important highlights of the Newtown Seated Dime collection are the No Stars pieces. The 1837 Large Date and Small Date specimens are incredibly original with MS66 and MS66+ certified grades and CAC approval. The 1838-O dime is equally stunning and in the condition census with Eugene Garner pedigree.

The Newtown Collection also contains grade rarities including an 1839-O F-104a certified PCGS MS66+(ex. Branch Mint Collection), an 1856-S F-101 certified PCGS MS62 (ex. Fortin Collection), a superb gem 1857-O Medium O graded NGC MS67 (ex. James Stack), and rare 1858-S PCGS MS63 specimen (ex. Tom Bender).

It is with incredible pride that GFRC Online Auctions presents the first of two Daily Blog gallery presents of the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection. I hope that you will take the time to carefully inspect and enjoy Aaron's incredible accomplishment. The second gallery, with the balance of the dates, will arrive in one week's time.

The entire Newtown Collection will be available for lot viewing at the Whitman Baltimore show. Aaron Heintz will be present on Thursday and Friday to personally conduct the lot viewing along with sharing his acquisition stories.

Since having the opportunity to closely inspect and enjoy the entire Newtown Collection during photography and image processing, there are several potential upgrade candidates for the Fortin core dime set. The question is which pieces are targeted. This is where the GFRC community can help with their considerations and advice. Please stay close to the Daily Blog in the upcoming days as you will be asked to study both the Newtown and Fortin Seated Dime Collections towards helping me decide where upgrading is desirable.

Please enjoy the beauty of the first installment of the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection!

GFRC Online Auctions Presents the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection

No Stars Design Type

1837 Large Date F-101b PCGS MS66 CAC 1837 Small Date F-103 PCGS MS66+ CAC

1838-O F-101a PCGS MS65 CAC

No Drapery Design Type

1839-O F-104a PCGS MS66+ CAC

1838 Sm Stars F-101a PCGS MS62 CAC 1838 Lg Stars F-107 PCGS MS65 CAC 1838 Part Drap F-109 PCGS MS64 CAC

1839 F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 1840 F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 1840-O F-109a PCGS MS61 CAC

With Drapery & Stars Design Type

1840 F-101 ANACS MS61 OWH 1840 F-101 PCGS F15 CAC 1841 F-110a PCGS MS66 CAC

1841-O F-102 PCGS MS62 CAC 1842 F-105 PCGS MS66 CAC 1842-O F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC

1843 F-102a PCGS MS66 CAC 1843-O F-101 PCGS VF30 CAC 1844 F-102 NGC AU58 CAC

1844 F-102 PCGS AU50 CAC OGH 1845 F-103a PCGS MS65 CAC 1845-O F-101 PCGS AU53

1845-O F-101 PCGS VF30 CAC 1846 F-101 PCGS CAC 1847 F-101 PCGS AU55

1848 F-101a PCGS MS64 CAC 1849 F-103 PCGS MS63 CAC 1849-O F-104 PCGS EF45 CAC

1850 F-103 PCGS MS64 CAC 1850-O F-105 PCGS EF45 CAC 1851 F-103 PCGS MS64

1851-O F-101 PCGS AU55 CAC 1852 F-108 PCGS MS65+ CAC 1852-O F-101 PCGS AU53 CAC

1853 No Arrows F-101a PCGS MS66 CAC

With Arrows Design Type

1853 Unlisted PCGS MS66 CAC 1853-O F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC 1854 Unlisted F-101 PCGS AU53 CAC

1854-O F-101 PCGS MS65+ CAC 1855 Unlisted PCGS MS65

With Drapery & Stars Design Type Resumed

1856-S F-101 PCGS MS62 CAC 1857-O F-107a NGC MS67 CAC

1858-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 1860-S F-102 PCGS MS63 CAC

1856 Lg Date F-104 PCGS MS64 CAC 1856 Sm Date F-116 PCGS MS65+ CAC 1856-O F-108a PCGS MS65 CAC

1857 F-104 PCGS MS66 CAC 1857-O F-106 PCGS MS64 1858 F-107 PCGS MS64 CAC

1858-O F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 1859 F-107 PCGS MS67 CAC 1859-O F-103 PCGS MS65+ CAC

1859-S F-101 PCGS VF35

Global Financial News

So much for Tuesday's upbeat morning market futures as the S&P 500 closed down fractionally at the end of the trading day. The key question is that of the 3600 level holding or are we heading even lower? Each day brings more negativity and personal frustration for not trusting my own instincts and going to cash at the 4200 level. I listened to the rosy scenario painted by Carlos, my money manager, with a potential for being back to 4800 by end of year. In hindsight, this discussions were overly optimistic and designed to keep my monies invested. This is life and yet another learning.

The globe has moved into a period of ongoing mini-black swan events with Europe and Asia teetering towards larger scale wars.

Following are morning market futures for what they are worth at this point.

In Asia, Japan -1.5%. Hong Kong -3.4%. China -1.6%. India -0.9%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.3%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt -0.4%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.4%. NASDAQ -0.8%.

WTI crude is priced at close to $80/bbl while paper gold continues to struggle at $1635/oz. Bitcoin is hanging on to its trading range at $19,087.

Most important is the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield climbing to an even 4% which will drive the U.S. dollar higher.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Much effort has gone into preparing today's Blog edition, therefore let's close out the ramblings at this point.

There is the usual morning shipping followed by image processing of Sooner Collection Capped Bust and Liberty Seated half dollars lots. Those were photographed on Tuesday.

I will be in the GFRC office for the better portion of the day but will spend a few afternoon hours on Johnny2 working on the many barn site and trail projects.

Thanks again for checking in. Be well!

Tuesday September 27, 2022

Dan White's Numismatic Report From Vienna

and

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 1 Gallery Arrives Today

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. The next 48 hours will certainly be exciting given Hurricane Ian.

Yes, the Fortins are using the FloridaDisaster.gov website to stay abreast of risk factors concerning our Venice Florida home. Based on late Monday research, the Auburn Lakes Condo HOA is located at one of the highest land points in the immediate Venice city area. A storm surge of 13' above typical high tide is necessary to bring flood waters to our 1st floor unit. Sadly, much of the land between the condo and downtown Venice Island will not be so fortunate. We are rated Risk Zone C at the FloridaDisaster.gov website with no evacuation order so far.

Back at the northern end of the United States' east coast, life is normal. Cloudy conditions are dominant as the Blog is being composed with a comfortable early temperature of 52F. Today bring Travis the painter and Pete Theberge to the homestead. Pete's initial task is removing and replacing some rotten trim wood at the upper reaches of the house followed by building the staircase to the barn loft. Once the Blog is composed, I will be heading down to the barn to open the overhead door and relocate Johnny2.

Monday brought a quick trip to Kittery Maine for a lunch event with old IBM friends Dan and Patti Bonelli. We've managed to stay in close contact with the Bonellis after working and partying together in the early 1980s. They are building a new home on Amelia Island Florida and renting a place in Plymouth MA for the time being.

Dan White's Numismatic Report From Vienna

While Hurricane Ian is closing in on the mid-Florida west coast, Dan and Rose Marie are traveling through western Europe. I awoke to find the following report from Dan in my email Inbox. So far, the numismatic portion of the trip has been disappointing though its sounds like the holiday segment is going well. Please read on...

Hi Gerry,

I thought I would bring you up to date on my trip to Europe.

The flight from Newark to Belgium was typical of travel today-DELAYS. Our flight had 3 departure delays- weather, a plugged toilet, and removal of a sick/intoxicated woman before closing of the plane’s doors. Even after arriving in Belgium 2 hours late we managed to make our flight to Vienna.

Vienna is amazing. It has been at least 30 years since my last trip to the seat of the Austrian/Hungarian empire. We enjoyed the shopping and had a wonderful evening at the Opera. The performance of “Barber of Seville” was a very modern version and did not use any stage props. As a result, the viewer’s attention was concentrated on the music and voices. We thoroughly enjoyed an amazing evening.

I spent 3 of my days in Vienna checking out the coin scene. Unfortunately, Vienna was a bust. There are plenty of common date US $20’s available. None graded. I had 3 large dealers with whom I had arranged visits. Silver and copper US coins were very low quality and over cleaned. Any quality coins are placed in online auctions.

One dealer had an auction in progress. In hand checking of the coins highlighted the need to see raw coins before bidding. Not a new finding!

Checking other dealers repeated the same disappointing results.

Vienna collectors seem to concentrate on European coins and Ancients.

We have just arrived in Paris and hope that I will find some French Colonials and interesting American coins. I will send an update this coming weekend.

Dan

There you have it. European coin shops and galleries have also moved online to sell "better" numismatic items. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to locate any fresh material at smaller numismatic venues.

GFRC Online Auctions: Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - Part 1 Gallery Arrives Today

I'm pleased (and relieved) to report that image processing for the first segment of the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection auction sale has been completed.

What a joy it is to be handling the Newtown Seated Dime Collection with the ability to carefully inspect each piece is in this marvelous lot. Working with gems and near-gems as a rule is truly one of the high points of my coin dealer career.

The Part 1 gallery will include the No Stars, No Drapery, and With Stars design issues. Please check back after dinner in the Blog and/or the Auction link to view these spectacular offerings.

Please remember that the entire Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection will be on display at the GFRC booth during the upcoming Whitman Baltimore show. Aaron Heintz will be personally handling the lot viewing and best positioned to share his acquisition stories.

Global Financial News

Ugly is the operative word for U.S. equity markets as the U.S dollar continues to soar in value against other major world currencies. Of course, spot gold which is priced in U.S. dollars, continues to struggle with a morning price quote at $1642. I continue to ignore the gold situation as the ship will right itself during 2023. WTI crude oil pricing continues to fall with a price point of $78/bbl to start the day.

The following Seeking Alpha article highlight the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the equity markets.

The U.S. dollar is on the back foot Tuesday morning, but the move down looks more like a one-day reprieve after the jump in the previous session and greenback strength is expected to continue. Pound sterling hit an all-time low yesterday, but BoE Governor Andrew Bailey ruled out an emergency hike in rates between meetings. In addition, the People's Bank of China said it is raising risk reserve requirements for banks involved in forward foreign exchange trading to 20% from 0%. The greenback's strength is also a problem for stocks, but could hasten the end of the bear market, according to Morgan Stanley. Crisis: The "recent move in the US dollar creates an untenable situation for risk assets that historically has ended in a financial or economic crisis, or both," equity strategist Mike Wilson said. "While hard to predict such 'events,' the conditions are in place for one, which would help accelerate the end to this bear market." "In the meantime, we remain convicted in our eventual low for the S&P 500 coming later this year/early next between 3000-3400 (in line with our base and bear case tactical views, respectively)," Wilson said. "On a year over year basis, the DXY is now up 21% and still rising," he added. "Based on our analysis that every 1% change in the DXY has around a -0.5% impact on S&P 500 earnings, 4Q S&P 500 earnings will face an approximate 10% headwind to growth all else equal." "This is in addition to other headwinds we have been discussing for months - i.e., payback in demand and higher costs from inflation to name a few. It's also important to note that such US dollar strength has historically led to some kind of financial/economic crisis." "What's amazing is that this dollar strength is happening even as other major central banks are also tightening monetary policy at a historically hawkish pace," Wilson said. "If there was ever a time to be on the lookout for something to break, this would be it. Like our rates team, our currency team raised its forecast for the USD. On a DXY basis, they are now forecasting a year-end target of 118, which means no relief in sight, at least fundamentally speaking." "In our view, such an outcome is exactly how something does break, which leads to MAJOR top for the US dollar and maybe rates, too. However, until that happens, we think the screws will only get tighter for earnings growth and financial conditions." Capitulation coming? "US rates are rising as the market reprices peak Fed Funds higher, and equities are being repriced lower," Societe Generale macro strategist Kit Juckes said. "This has all the hallmarks of the start of the final stage of the dollar’s rally (a stage which has the capacity to be violent and volatile)." From a technical standpoint, BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky says that the dollar index has room to move up to 120 (it stands below 114 at the moment), but that it at least needs to pause for equities to bottom. Foreign exchange volume is also at a critical level, Krinsky said.

Morning market futures are forecast a relief rally after days of selling. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is holding at 3.84%.

In Asia, Japan +0.53%. Hong Kong +0.03%. China +1.94%. India -0.05%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.20%. Paris +0.20%. Frankfurt +0.27%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.72%. S&P +0.92%. NASDAQ +1.04%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings yet another busy day with on site contractors and must get done items for the GFRC business. I will be in and out of the office throughout the day and constantly monitoring emails for purchase inquiries.

Thanks again for being regular Daily Blog readers. Be well!

Monday September 26, 2022

Settler's Stone Wall Update

and

A Brief Daily Blog Edition

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

Today's ramblings will be brief given a substantial amount of morning shipping and a lunch time appointment. Tuesday's Blog will return to the regular format.

Another reason for a short Blog is taking Sunday afternoon off from the office and working on stone walls and graveling the spring pond entrance trail. Yes, Sunday is traditionally a day of rest away from one's regular job. My rest was mental rather than physical in nature. Building up a stone wall or digging out and graveling a trail through forested land is not mentally challenging and that is the point. Working outdoors during the cool autumn season is an event that is long awaited during the balance of the year.

I'm pleased to report that the spring pond is now connected to the homestead with a completely graveled trail. This milestone was two years in the making and required a huge number of 1.5" stone and crushed brick gravel tractor loads. However, the end result is well worth the effort and expense. Now Diane and Buddy can take a daily walk to the spring pond without concerns for muddy or uneven ground conditions.

In Sunday's Blog, I made mention of the Dodson's granting access to a huge settler's rock pile on their property. During the afternoon hours, Johnny2 front bucket loader was filled six times from the stone pile and barely making a dent into the accumulated material. One has to step back in awe of the early settler efforts to build this massive rock pile towards clearing land for farming.

Following is an image of the back side of the settler's stone wall that lies in front of the barn. Four of the six Johnny2 loads were placed on this wall at the far end where bare dirt is exposed. The wall upgrade will continue until reaching the oak tree stand and will turn left at that point. I've been working on this project for several months. The new access to the Dodson rock pile and closer proximity will bring about a more timely completion as long as my body can physically handle the challenge.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I'm sorry but this edition must be wrapped up at this point. The shipping department requires near term attention this morning given another day's busy schedule.

Tuesday will bring a "regular" edition.

Thank-you for making the Daily Blog a regular part of a day's reading. Be well!

Sunday September 25, 2022

NH Coin Expo October 14-15 - GFRC at Table 607

GFRC-Lite Update

and

Wisconsin Gold Collection Price Reductions

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a quiet Sunday morning. I'm pleased that you could stop by!

Yes, the autumn season continues to move along with colder temperatures and the first of fallen leaves on the back acreage trails and the spring pond. Yesterday afternoon brought the initial usage of a new skimmer basket and pole to keep leaves from settling to the bottom of the pond. Yes, the task is daunting, but will certainly give it a try each day.

Sadly, Gary the barn siding contractor, did not show up on Saturday. One can grow tired of empty promises when dealing with certain individuals. If Gary does not follow through, then the burden falls on Pete Theberge to handle this task.

GFRC sales were robust on Saturday with many of the new offerings finding new homes. The 1861-O Seated half, which I've struggled to attribute, is moving into an advanced collection. Congratulations to the new owner.

Yesterday also brought a wonderful gift from our neighbors, the Dodson. While graveling the last of the approach trail to the spring pond, I found the Dodson family hanging out at the pond with granddaughter Sadie enjoying walking on the rocks and scaring the frogs into the water. A conversation ensure whereby the Dodson have a huge weathered agricultural rock pile on their property between the soon to be demolished house and the roadway. Rick has asked the construction team to haul this rock pile away and clearing that area. The rock pile is substantial and will easily take two 16 yard truckloads to relocate. These rocks have been undisturbed for over a hundred years and are nicely weathered gray with moss coverage. How could I not pass up this offer to move these rocks onto the settler's stone wall that continues to be enhanced? After greasing Johnny2's front loader and backhoe this morning, I will promptly start migrating rocks from the pile. Let's see how much of the accumulation can be moved and saved before October 14.

NH Coin Expo October 14-15 - GFRC at Table 607

The Manchester NH coin show is quickly approaching with dealer setup the afternoon of October 13 and the bourse open to the general public on October 14 and 15.

Ernie Botte is one of the best show promoters around and takes good care of his dealers. I know when arriving to the booth that the right number of cases will be there along with functioning lights. The show is located in downtown Manchester at the Double Tree hotel. There are a host of eateries within a few minutes walking distance of the hotel. Dan and I particularly enjoy dining at a nearby Greek restaurant.

Below is the NH Coin Expo bourse floor with GFRC being located at booth 607. It appears that the show is sold out with dealers from as far away as Virginia. GFRC will have eight cases stuffed with inventory for visitors to enjoy. We will also be aggressively buying early type and CAC approved U.S gold. If looking to attend a historically strong show in a convenient location, the Manchester show is for you! There are several levels of parking tied to the convention center and hotel for safe access.

GFRC-Lite Update

After months of business start-up preparations, the GFRC-Lite LLC received its first major consignment. Rich has been busy working through a 91 piece Dansco album containing the first half of Dr. Glenn Peterson's Liberty Seated half dollar die variety collection. He provides the following update.

Hi Gerry,

It’s been another productive week down here in NC for GFRC - Lite. Unlike Maine, the weather here in Winston Salem had daytime highs staying at around 90 degrees through Thursday, but on Friday the first signs of autumn arrived with temps falling into the 70s, can the Whitman Baltimore show kickoff be far behind?

Tuesday was a noteworthy day as it brought the shipment of the Dr. Peterson collection halves to my office. The shipment from Maine was thankfully expeditious, and I was quick to open the parcel to check out the Dansco volume that housed 91 Seated Half Dollar varieties from 1839-1860.

As I first inspected the album my eye quickly jumped to the 1844-O Double Date WB-22 , cross reference WB-103 , R4 variety . The 1844-O double date is very dramatic mint error ( ok, it’s the Maginot Line of Seated Half Dollar blunders) that is actively sought by Seated Half collectors. I’ll get more specific with an assigned numeric grade and description at a later date, but I’ll characterize the present example as “Fine, was subject to a long ago cleaning, and now displaying rim toning.” This piece will certainly fit the bill for any raw variety set, or for a collector that is ok with an attractive coin for the variety that will almost certainly return a Details grade.

There are lots of other interesting varieties within the collection, I’ll just mention two favorites - the 1845-O “footless 1” WB-4 , R4 and a higher grade 1846 “Spiked 4” WB-13 , R3 example.

Quite honestly , I couldn’t have picked a more representative raw collection of “collector’s collector” coins to kick off Lite’s inaugural display. I’ve got lots to do stewarding this collection to market over the next few weeks including variety attribution, grading and pricing.

ll keep readers updated as the Lite business journey continues.

Rich

Several current GFRC clients have already sent emails with GFRC-Lite consignment proposals even though Rich and I have not formally open the consignment window. The first order of business is for Rich to handle aged GFRC consignments that need to be processed and sold. We will announce the opening of the GFRC-Lite consignment window when the business processes are in place to handle such. Currently, they are not defined.

Wisconsin Gold Collection Price Reductions

Our Wisconsin based U.S. gold consignor is on a mission and hopes to sell most of his remaining consignment! The mission is the purchase of a special GFRC U.S. gold offering that this individual strives to own. To that end, a new round of price reductions are being offered. Please check the 30 Day Price List once the Daily Blog is uploaded or simply view the following gallery with discounted offer prices.

Wisconsin Gold Collection Price Reductions

1882 NGC MS63 CAC G$10 - $2000

1926 PCGS MS64+ G$2.5 - $975 1927 PCGS MS64+ CAC G$2.5 - $1300 1893 PCGS MS63 CAC G$5 - $950

1901-S PCGS MS64 G$5 - $950 1906-S PCGS MS62 G$10 - $1400

Wrapping Up The Blog

So ends today's Blog edition and the latest GFRC updates.

I will be in the GFRC office during the morning hours working on Newtown Liberty Seated dime images. I am committed to showcasing the 1837 through 1860 dates via a huge gallery within Thursday's Blog. The afternoon hours will find me on Johnny2 and starting to move the Dodson rock pile onto my various stone wall building projects.

Next in the consignment processing queue is a nice 20 piece Capped Bust and Seated half dollar lot from the Sooner Collection.

Thank-you for visiting on a Sunday. Be well!

Saturday September 24, 2022

Premium Quality New Purchases to Consider

and

Homestead Barn Update

Greetings on another cold and windy southern Maine morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks as always for stopping by.

Yes, the early morning hours bring a 45F temperature and brisk winds. The Weather Channel website indicates with wind chill, the current temperature is 42 degrees. Maybe the Farmer's Almanac is correct with its prediction for a rough winter with snow arriving in October. Regardless, the trusty wood stove is operating and keeping the homestead toasty warm.

Friday brought another round of Newtown Liberty Seated Dime collection image processing. Excellent progress is being made with the goal of having the first gallery display (1837 - 1860) published by the middle of next week. Once that gallery is published, we will have some fun here at the Blog with a community participation project. Please continue to check in for details.

My goose egg CAC submission has returned and time to start placing these lovely pieces onto the price list. This past week, there was also incremental new purchases made. Therefore, let's bring together a new purchases gallery for your consideration. Images processing was just completed last evening and this morning without time for setting asking prices. As the inquiries arrive, those prices will be determined.

A few comments are warranted. First is the 1812 O-108 PCGS AU58 half. I've handled a fair number of CAC approved AU early Capped Bust halves with this example being one of the nicest to today. The fields are steely original and pristine. Many of these early CAC stickered pieces will be found heavily toned. This is not the case here as the toning is light gold with superior luster and vibrant cartwheels. Next is a gorgeous 1861-O half with a Dick Osburn Collection pedigree on the label. Die variety attribution has been a struggle for this gem. The reverse is definitely an early die state Reverse D (W-6) with die lump on the lower upright of AME(R)ICA but without a single die crack. However, the obverse appears to be a very early die state Obverse 4 (W-7) based on date placement and its upward slope. You would think that such a high grade example would be straightforward to attribute. However, there are more questions than answers.

Please look carefully at the balance of the offerings. I thought that the 1839 and 1862 half dimes would sticker along with the attractively toned and lightly mirrored 1884-CC Morgan. Yes, I'm still scratching my head over this submission. Such is life....

Premium Quality New Purchases to Consider

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1812 O-108 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C 1861-O W-6 or W-7 NGC MS64+ CAC 50C

1839 NGC MS64 H10C 1862 NGC MS62 H10C 1876 NGC PF66CAM 5C

1916 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C 1884-CC NGC MS64 $1 1854 Type 2 PCGS AU58 G$1

Homestead Barn Update

After two weeks of minimal construction progress, the past few days brought important steps for closing up the structure during the winter months. Wednesday brought Pete Theberge back to the job site for installing the windows and front entrance framing for the overhead door. Yesterday saw the installation of that door. At this point, the color scheme should become apparent. Diane has selected black windows, doors, roofing, and trim to contrast against the gray low maintenance cedar shake siding. She is so pleased with the color combination that the homestead maroon trim coloration, of 37 years, will be changed to black. Travis, our regular painter, will be handling this job during the coming week.

Gary, the siding application subcontractor, is due to be on site today for moving forward with his piece of the project.

If looking carefully at the image, the lush green lawn should in be immediately apparent. I'm also starting to fill in the area between the barn and the settler's stone wall with 1.5 stone over weed mat. Thank goodness for Johnny2 to move this material around the job site.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Where will Gerry be today?

Morning hours will find me in the office working on shipping and processing Newtown images. By early afternoon, I plan to be on Johnny2 working on the trail leading to the spring pond. There is about 30' left of muddy surface that will be have rocks dug followed by the application of brick gravel. Finally, after two years of effort, the path from the homestead to the spring pond will be entirely graveled and a comfortable walk for Diane and Buddy along with visitors.

That is all there is to share on a Saturday morning. Please consider a price list purchase as I would love to reach the September 2022 revenue forecast. I'm still short $60K in sales revenue for the month with only one week to go.

Thanks again for being regular readers. Be well!

Friday September 23, 2022

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - A Peek at Images

and

Barn Overhead Door Installation Day!

Greetings on a cold and windy southern Maine Friday morning. Welcome to yet another Daily Blog edition. As always, my sincere thanks for the ongoing readership.

Let's open today's edition with an insightful blogpost by Seth Godin as we've not enjoyed his musings for some time. Seth definitely has it right with respect to the true role of product marketing. It is not the hype but rather the substance. At GFRC, there is little if any hype given no social media presence along with limited advertising. Rather, my efforts are concentrated on straight talk, service and client delight. Many new customers arrive to the GFRC price list via word of mouth recommendations.

Seth Godin Blogpost - The chief hype officer

The chief marketing officer at a big company has an impossible job. The typical duration of a CMO is 18 months because once the CEO realizes that hype for money can’t solve their problems, they get restless.

The problem lies in what people think “marketing” is.

Marketing isn’t paying for ads, changing the logo or building a social media presence.

Marketing is product design, customer service, pricing, customer delight and creating and living a remarkable story. Marketing is creating the conditions for the network effect.

And yet, the typical CMO isn’t in charge of ANY of those things.

No wonder it’s frustrating. You thought you were getting a marketer, but all you did was hire someone to make a commotion on social media.

The words matter. If you are hiring someone to be in charge of promotion, say so. But if you want someone to be in charge of marketing, have them be in charge of all of it. If it touches the market, it’s marketing.

Near Sellout for Thursday's Consigned Offerings

Wow! As of this morning all but one of the City by the Bay and an unnamed consignor's new offerings remains in inventory. Six of the seven Seated pieces sold within hours of being posted at the Daily Blog. Let's face it, demand remains high for premiums coins with low populations and fair asking prices. The lone straggler is the 1866 F-102a dime certified PCGS G06 with CAC approval.

Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection - A Peek at Images

Having Diane back home has made a huge difference in the ability to get office work done. While she was handling shipping, having Buddy the Dog groomed, and buying groceries, I was sitting at the laptop for nearly the entire day processing images. Yes, working with the complete Newtown Liberty Seated Dime collection is an absolute joy along with being taken back to memories of die variety research time frame of my life. Studying Mint State examples of previously published varieties facilitates new findings including subtle die markers that previously went undocumented.

Innovation is something that the GFRC community has grown to expect from me. For the Newtown Seated dime catalog, a decision was made to illustrate the obverse and reverse images with their exact die alignment. Nearly all auction houses will format their images so that an offered coin appears to have perfect 180 degree coin turn die alignment. I used this approach for years, but recently decided that accurately presenting the reverse die rotation, with respect to the obverse, is yet another noteworthy contemplation parameter for die variety specialists. When reviewing the forthcoming Newtown images, it will become apparent that few dates have perfect 180 degree alignment.

Following is a laptop screen capture of the 1837 through 1863 dated lots and image status. Excellent progress was garnered on Thursday as I'm about 70% of the way through the initial rotational alignment, color balancing, and circular cropping. The final and time consuming step is cleaning up plastic holder anomalies, sharpening, and merging the obverse and reverse images together for the final product.

For those who wish to have a sneak peek at the Newtown dimes, just click on the below image to access a high resolution version. Enjoy the viewing of these fantastic lots....

Barn Overhead Door Installation Day!

Finally the barn construction project moves into the closing chapter. Pete Theberge emailed yesterday that International Door will arrive this morning to install the black overhead barn door. I need to head down to the barn soon to remove Johnny2 from protected storage allowing this contractor access to the entrance area.

In addition, Pete indications that the siding contractor will be on site starting Saturday to install the low maintenance cedar shake siding. This will be an additional major step towards completion. Remaining is the protracted delivery of the side entrance door which precludes the siding from be completed on the wall facing the back deck.

Please check back tomorrow for images of the barn with its new overhead door.

Global Financial News

Another day and more losses for U.S. equity markets. Now the issue is Putin holding sham referendums in captured Ukraine provinces. Of course, the results will be a vote to join the Russian Federation. This allows Putin to place the west on notice that if those "acquired" provinces are attacked, it is an attack on Mother Russia with nuclear weapons being an option. For those of us with a keen knowledge of WWII and Hitler's rationalizations, Putin is beginning to behave in the same manner but with more dangerous weapons.

Friday's trading starts with the S&P 500 at 3,758 and spot gold at roughly $1660/oz. Following are morning market futures for what they are worth as the losses are projected to continue.

In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong -1.2%. China -0.7%. India -1.7%.

In Europe, at midday, London -2%. Paris -2%. Frankfurt -2.3%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow -1.3%. S&P -1.4%. NASDAQ -1.5%.

WTI crude has dropped to $80.55/bbl as deeper recession fears continue to mount. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has increased to 3.78%, a huge jump in the past few days.

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point. Since today is Friday, there will be no morning shipping for security reasons. Accumulated paid for orders and courtesy ship aheads will be processed on Saturday morning.

I will be in the GFRC office for most of the day continuing to process the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime collection images. The plan is to present the Newtown images in two gallery displays given the collection size. The first gallery will be dates from 1837 through 1860 and will enable the beginning of Len Augsburger's authoritative descriptions along with some die variety insights from Gerry. This time around, GFRC Online Auctions will be preparing a printed catalog of the entire Newtown collection. This catalog will be available at the Whitman Baltimore show along with Aaron Heintz personally handling the auction lot viewing of his collection.

Thanks for stopping by! Be well.

Thursday September 22, 2022

Spring Pond Update

and

Fresh Consignments to Consider

Greetings on a rainy Thursday morning and welcome to more Daily Blog ramblings. Thanks for visiting.

Another day is underway in the GFRC office with thunderstorms and heavy rain being the backdrop. The weather forecast indicates that the day will be a washout through dinner time. As a result, I will be working on Newtown Seated dime image processing throughout the day and of course, responding to price list orders.

I'm pleased to report that Pete Theberge spent the better part of Wednesday working on the barn project. The windows have been installed which is a great step forward. In addition, an International Door representative visited to verify that the framing is sufficient for installation of the 16'x9' overhead door. That assessment was positive with Friday being set as the installation date. Come the weekend, the side entrance door will be one remaining opening to the barn. The arrival of that order door has been delayed until the end of September.

Our dear neighbors, Rick and Sharon Dodson, also visited the barn and spring pond yesterday with grand-daughter Sadie. The Dodson home will be demolished on October 14th with construction of a large house beginning afterwards. Unfortunately, I will be at the Manchester Coin show during that demolition and will miss the event.

On the numismatic front, a CAC submission is back and brings an opportunity to load new purchases to the price list.

Spring Pond Update

I continue to be infatuated with the spring pond and its quiet forested beauty. Each day brings a visit to the pond through the Ledge Hill Trails network.

Yesterday brought more work on the dam and outlet with clay being the optimum material. During the excavation process, Dave Wilkinson unearthed a fair amount of clay. That clay is being collected and reused to build up the dam and to shape the spillway. As of yesterday, the spring pond is full and has begun to drain through its outlet into a wet bough that spans into the adjacent property. That same bough is also being fed by a second spring adjacent to this developed spring pond.

The following image was taken after building up the dam and starting to construct a stone wall on top of the clay. The outlet opening should be readily apparent in the image. For those who are curios, clicking on the below image will provide access to a higher resolution version.

Theodore Roosevelt - Excerpt from Citizenship in a Republic

I'd like to share the following excerpt for a Theodore Roosevelt speech that fairly well sums up a personal spirit with respect to the back acreage projects and GFRC expansion efforts. I find no joy with social media or message boards given a love for experimentation and continuous learning. That experimentation is openly shared in the Blog with insightful feedback appearing on occasion. Yes, I feel more comfortable with the "working class" as I am a product of this environment. Teddy's reminder that "timid souls neither know victory or defeat" also applies to numismatics. I will let you consider his words and how they might influence your hobby approach and goals.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

USPS First Class Mail is Erratic

A brief reminder to both customers and consignors is in order. USPS First Class mail is current erratic. Some letters are reaching their destination in three days while others are taking over a week. As a result, I am attempting to ship many orders ahead of payment to minimize client wait times for purchase receipts. If a regular and frequent customer, Quick Ship will be extended as a courtesy. If purchasing a coin over a one or two year time frame, I am holding back shipment until the check arrives.

Fresh Consignments to Consider

Today's Blog features seven new offerings from two consignors. Most of the offerings are "fresh" and have been off the market for a number of years.

Let's start with a five piece lot from a new consignor who is a well known fixture at the Whitman Baltimore coin shows. GFRC has sold a fair number of coins to this individual since being is business. Now the time arrives for that individual to issue his first significant consignment. "Premium" is a fitting description as these five Seated dimes are all there and then some for the certified grade. Our friend has an excellent understanding of original surfaces and classic collector eye appeal.

We open the display with a very rare and maybe finest known 1851-O F-101a dime with a missing star 7 probably due to a grease filled die. This dime is the web-book plate coin and is being divested. Yes, there is a considerable amount of reverse plastic holder haze. Regardless, this is one of the nicer 1851-O dimes seen in terms of strict originality. Ditto for the 1868-S F-101 dime with CAC approval. I've seen many of this date including those in Mint State. This AU53 CAC example is a no-brainer and immediate JUST BUY IT NOW and will rival those in higher certified grades.

The gallery continues with a choice 1840 Drapery dime and CAC approved 1865-S and 1866 dates. The consistent eye appeal should be readily evident from the images.

Premium Seated Dimes from New Consignor

Immediately Available, Priced as Marked

1851-O F-101a PCGS AU50 10C - $1750 1868-S F-101 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C - $1350

1840 Drap PCGS EF40 10C OGH - $985 1865-S F-103 PCGS VF30 CAC 10C - $1150 1866 F-102a PCGS G06 CAC 10C - $1400

Next are two duplicate releases from the City by the Bay Collection. I like how this collector manages his collection with duplicates being promptly released back to the market when upgrades takes place. Today brings a challenging 1864-S AU58 half dime and 1858-S dime. The 1858-S was sold by GFRC into this collection and can be found in the Sales Archive. Given the very low CAC approved populations, this date is seeing large price increases.

New City by the Bay Consignor Duplicates

1864-S NGC AU58 H10C - $1100 1858-S F-102 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C - $2250

Global Financial News

U.S. equity markets fell yet again on Wednesday with the S&P down to 3,789. The FOMC report out brought a conviction to fight inflation regardless of the inflicted pain to investors. The balance of 2022 does not look promising given that the Russian-Ukraine war appears to be escalating after Putin was embarrassed by recent Ukrainian land gains.

As the U.S. dollar continues to strengthen to 111 (DXY), foreign exchange rates are being battered. The Japanese yen has dropped to 144 to the dollar requiring the Bank of Japan to intervene into currency markets for the first time since the 1990s. The Euro exchange rate is in similar shape.

Morning market futures are flat going into the opening bell. Let's how that the equity market losing streak is broken today.

In Asia, Japan -0.6%. Hong Kong -1.6%. China -0.3%. India -0.6%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.2%. Paris -0.7%. Frankfurt -0.5%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.1%. S&P flat. NASDAQ -0.1%.

WTI crude has fallen back to $83/bbl while spot gold is trading at $1675. Bitcoin is meandering along at $19,277. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is flat at 3.54%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

A long office day awaits me with Newtown Seated dime image processing being the priority. If you are inclined to make a GFRC purchase via phone or email order, that would be great.

I believe that Pete Theberge will be back today and working inside the barn building the stairway to the loft. This is another important milestone as this will allow me to move the larger pieces of scrap wood up into the loft for constructing basic side walls along the attic trusses. With grandchildren certain to visit the barn in coming years, I don't wish to see someone fall from the loft floor down to the cement pad.

So ends my thoughts for the day. I hope that you've enjoyed the visit and will return on Friday. Be well!

Wednesday September 21, 2022

GFRC Online Auctions - Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection Listing Arrives

and

GFRC Office Staff Returns to Normal

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank-you for checking in.

Every day stays the same way with a 5:00 AM breakfast at the office desk while enjoying Gutfeld or a YouTube video. When the sun rises, the front yard awakens with a host of crimson and gold colors during the autumn season. Though being steadily busy, there is always time to stop for a moment to enjoy a good conservative laugh or the beauty that nature brings.

I'm pleased to report that Diane had an uneventful trip from Austin to Portland and is back home. Buddy the Dog joined me for the PWM pickup and was so excited to see Diane enter the MDX. He is thrilled to have his close companion and caretaker in the house again. Both are sleeping in this morning as I'm sure that Diane is still on Central time.

Unfortunately, the barn construction project appears to be stalled out at the moment. The delays are mounting as the weeks go by. The next steps are window installation, the low maintenance cedar siding placement, and the installation of the front 16'x9' door. Material availability is not the issue but rather human resources willing to complete the job. Hopefully, there will be some progress to report come this weekend.

GFRC Online Auctions - Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection Listing Arrives

Much of Tuesday was spent loading the complete Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection into the COIN system. As of this morning, about 30 dimes remain to be processed and will be finalized after morning shipping. The loading process includes a quality rating review of each coin along with die variety verification (Newtown attributes all his coins), and the classification of the TPG holder type and grading date range.

I spoke with Len Augsburger on Tuesday and he is on board for the description generation. Those descriptions will be a hybrid effect with Gerry providing some die variety commentary where appropriate.

Handling and cataloging the Newtown Seated Dime collection is numismatic nirvana. Many of the Newtown pieces were acquired from GFRC including some dating back to 2015 where there are no images in the Sales Archive. Yesterday brought the feeling of old friends returning for an overdue visit. Early collection pedigrees include the Birmingham and Pickering Creek Collections circa 2015-2016. Newtown's collection has been a work in progress going on for nearly a decade.

There was one dime in particular that captured my attention from memory. Though I struggle to remember people's names at a party or social gathering, there is a visual ability to remember coins from years gone by. This coin is an 1860 F-112 dime that looked awfully familiar. A check of the web-book confirmed that the piece was listed as being certified PCGS MS65 Gold CAC and on loan from the Jeff Bowers Collection. However, this dime now resides in a PCGS Gen 6.0 holder (2015-2020) and certified MS66+. The shift from an MS65 Gold CAC to MS66+ Green CAC is reasonable with equivalence. Here is that piece as illustrated by old web-book images.

Obverse 12: Medium Level Date, Bases of 1 Thin, Polished Die

Reverse L: Polished Die

This is probably a good time to provide full disclosure concerning the forthcoming Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection Sale. There are a handful of dimes that I wish to purchase as upgrades for my core Liberty Seated Dime set. These dimes will be purchased directly from Aaron Heintz prior to the auction sale at mutually agreed to prices. Bidding against my own clients in this sale would be unethical therefore, it is best to announce beforehand that some of the lots will be purchased prior to the online auction sales. Having said that, the Newtown PDF and printed catalog will contain the entire collection. That catalog will be available during the Whitman Baltimore show auction lot viewing session on Thursday and Friday, October 27 and 28. Those lots that are being purchased by me with be marked accordingly for transparency.

Given the size of the Newtown Sale and estimated reserves, a two session event is planned with other consignments included in each sale. The first sale will take place during mid-November while the second will be conducted in late January.

Much more will be shared in the coming days as the Newtown Collection moves into the image processing phase. There are several finest knowns in this sale along with many important pedigrees. To start off the marketing effort, the Newtown lots can be viewed at the upper right corner of the Daily Blog in scrollable table format. The listings are complete through 1876 with the balance being added today.

I'd like to close this Blog segment with a shout out to Aaron Heintz for providing GFRC the opportunity to handle this marvelous and most important collection.

GFRC Office Staff Returns to Normal

Yes, the GFRC office staff returns to regular operating conditions now that Diane is back at the homestead. Purchase email responses times should improve as I was in a triage mode during the past two weeks. That triage operating mode resulted in one unfortunate mistake that probably means the loss of a new customer. I'm to the point of not being hard on myself when mistakes occur as this is the reality of operating a multi-million dollar business single handedly along with watching over multiple homestead projects and tasks. I'm only human and doing my best to service the enter GFRC clientele as best as possible while still taking some time to relax including 8 hours of sleep per night.

When Diane returns to the office this morning, there are many checks to be deposited along with processing the morning's shipping. This will provide extra time for wrapping up the Newtown Collection loading process into the COIN system and working up images for a smaller but important Liberty Seated dime consignment that needs swift attention.

GFRC-Lite Receives Glenn Peterson Seated Half Dollar Stocking Inventory

I'm thrilled to have Rich Hundertmark on board as the GFRC-Lite subsidiary handling lower prices and less than optimum type coins. Rich is providing a much needed outlet for consigned items that never could float to the top of the processing list. Case in point is a large number of Glenn Peterson Liberty Seated halves in two Dansco albums. Of course, all are raw die varieties with most being borderline for TPG submission. However, these must be properly cataloged and sold.

Yesterday brought the arrival of 91 raw Seated halves to the GFRC-Lite office for loading into the new GFRC-Lite database followed by variety attribution and pricing. This lot will be available at the Whitman Baltimore show and GFRC booth 730. Rich will have a single GFRC-Lite case for the subsidiary's debut.

Global Financial News

Today brings the hugely anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate increase. Will it be 0.75% or a full 1.0%? The markets are pricing in a 0.75% increase and lord help us if the FOMC decides to be super aggressive with a 1.0% rate hike. The day starts with the S&P 500 at 3856 and the DJIA at 30,700. Following is the Seeking Alpha headline article on this topic.

The Federal Reserve's policymaking committee appears poised to boost its benchmark rate by 75 basis points today, making it the third straight increase of that size, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The measure, which is determined by trading activity, puts an 84% probability on a 75 bps hike, which would bring the federal funds rate target range to 3.0%-3.25%, and a 16% probability on a full percentage point increase. Indeed, the widely watched 10-year Treasury yield has been climbing in recent days, pushing past 3.5%, its highest level since 2011, while the 2-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since 2007, briefly topping 4.0%.

Commentary: "The Fed has been delivering a 'tough love' message that interest rates will be higher, and for longer, than expected," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. "The Fed will continue to hike rates until it actually restrains the economy and intends to keep rates at those restrictive levels until inflation is unmistakably on its way to 2%." A quantitative tightening program is also in the works to reduce the Fed's whopping $9T balance sheet, leading to more upward pressure on yields.

Meanwhile, the central bank this afternoon will release its latest economic projections, giving investors a clearer picture of where policymakers expect rates to go through its "dot plot." The last forecast saw the terminal rate for fed funds to be above 3.25% by the end of the year and at 3.8% in 2023, but most economists now expect the latter to be above 4%. The new projections will also offer a snapshot into the FOMC's thinking for the last two meetings of 2022, and how high rates could go in November and December.

Outlook: Mihir Kapadia, CEO of Sun Global Investments, observes the expectations' effects on asset prices. "The more aggressive monetary policy has stoked fears of an impending recession and has led to fall in most asset prices including bonds and stocks. The weakness in stocks has stopped the new issue market and the IPO drought continues. This has clearly impacted performance of banks. Corporate earnings this quarter will be a barometer for the health and resilience of the economy and sentiment."

Morning market futures are pointing to a flat open with anticipation for the rate hike announcement.

In Asia, Japan -1.4%. Hong Kong -1.8%. China -0.2%. India -0.4%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.6%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt -0.1%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.1%. NASDAQ flat.

Now that Putin has announced a "partial mobilization" of Russian reserve troops to fight in Ukraine, global energy markets took note and have respond with higher prices. WTI crude oil is back to $86/bbl.

As the dollar continues to strengthen with high interest rates, spot gold is attempting to hold on to its new trading range sub $1700. The morning quote is $1683. Bitcoin has fallen to $18,974. The 10 Year Treasury bond yield stands at 3.54% and continue to climb.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Much has been covered in this Blog edition. I hope that you've enjoyed the visit and reading through the events and thoughts in a life.

My apology goes out to the customer whereby I missed his email order and sold the piece to another client within 24 hours. I feel bad about this mistake and decided that a public apology was required.

Thanks for checking in. I'm off to the trails for a morning health walk before returning to the office. Yes, I will be in the office throughout the day as there is much to do to keep the coins rotating on and off the price lists.

Be well!

Tuesday September 20, 2022

Starting the Wood Stove in September?

and

Cumberland County Collection - Pricing Reductions!

Greetings once again, and welcome to another morning's ramblings at the Daily Blog. I hope is it warmer where you live....

It sure feels cold and damp here in southern Maine. The early morning temp is only 51F with a brisk wind. The overnight brought heavy rains with the landscape being thoroughly soaked. As a rural resident with a well, I'm not complaining as rain is always a precious commodity. But the cold temperatures are a tad difficult to adjust to. Maybe the weight loss and lack of body fat is the root cause for a heightened sense of the cold conditions.

You guessed it. After today's Daily Blog edition is uploaded, the wood stove is being started to warm up the homestead's thermal mass. The lack of sunshine for several days does have an impact on the internal living conditions. With Diane returning home later today, I had better have a warm homestead for her given the hot Austin weather experience and potential body adjustment.

Changing to a host of short subjects....

Knowing that the Maine weather was shifting to a wet weather pattern, yesterday brought the cutting of a small drainage path at the spring pond. After monitoring the pond for nearly ten days, the time had arrived for the pond to start overflowing its southern bank. With heavy rain underway, there was a sense of urgency to get the water directed into the planned spillway. The drainage trench is a first step and will allow monitoring of the erosion rate of the surface clay and potential next steps.

Sadly, the barn construction progress is essentially nil. The sudden weather shift is a factor as installing windows and siding during wet cold conditions is a non-starter.

Luckily, the GFRC business is an indoor activity other than photography. I've been diligent with photographing new consignments immediately upon arrival and storing images for less than ideal outdoor weather conditions. That strategy has worked as there is a host of images awaiting processing.

My latest CAC submission was finally processed and reported on Monday. This is only the second time in many years of securing a goose egg for approval results. Let's see... I have an eye doctor's appointment on October 1 that will hopefully provide the explanation.

Cumberland County Collection - Pricing Reductions!

On Monday afternoon, the remaining Liberty Seated half dollar offerings from the Cumberland County Collection were substantially discounted and re-posted to the 30 Day Price List. Those pricing reductions were also posted on Collectors Corner to ensure the maximum market visibility possible as our husband and wife collecting team wish to reallocated proceeds to a wonderful Liberty $2.5 gold collection that is being assembled.

Following is a gallery display of the discounted lots which are TPG certified along with their reduced prices. Please give your attention to two truly rare offerings in this showcase. First is the 1873 No Arrows Open 3 offering which seldom comes to market. Some have equated the 1873 NA Open 3 to the 1878-S in terms of overall market appearances. Second is the 1876 Trade dollar struck with Type II/II dies. Few examples have been offered over the years.

Discounted Seated Halves - Cumberland County Collection

Priced as marked

1841-O WB-2 BB Crack Rev PCGS EF40 25C - $2450 1844-O WB-22 DD PCGS AU50 50C - $4500

1873 NA Open 3 PCGS VF30 50C - $5500 1874-CC WB-3a RR Tracks PCGS EF40 50C - $3950

1875-S WB-19 Micro S PCGS EF45 50C - $3750 1876 Rare II/II PCGS VF25 T$1 - $1850

More New Arrivals

The GFRC consignment and new purchases is alive and well as each day brings new arrivals. On Saturday and Monday USPS deliveries brought a small but premium and better date Liberty Seated dime lot, all with CAC approval. Also appearing is a lovely Capped Bust half dollar new purchase lot, again all with CAC approval.

There is sufficient backlog in the GFRC processing queue to keep me busy into the Manchester NH coin show that takes place on October 13 - 15. Speaking of the show, Dan White will be joining me in NH for this event. In the meantime, Dan and Rose Marie are currently in western Europe for a long awaited U.S. gold buying trip through Belgium, France, and Spain. With the U.S. dollar and the Euro at parity, this is an ideal time for Dan to be visiting his European coin gallery contacts.

Global Financial News

The cost of borrowing continues to rise as the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield crossed the 3.5% threshold on Monday with a morning quote of 3.54%. This is the first time that rates have been this high since 2011. Worse, the 2-Year note is now yielding 3.97% and deeply inverted, a signal for recession conditions.

The Federal Reserve rate setting committee meets today and the key question is will it be 0.75% or a full 1.0% increase in the Feds Fund rate. Investors are on edge as equity and bond market losses continue to mount.

We just can't shake the negativity as morning market futures are indicating another round of moderate selling at the opening bell.

In Asia, Japan +0.4%. Hong Kong +1.2%. China +0.2%. India +1%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.2%. Paris -0.9%. Frankfurt -0.7%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.3%. S&P -0.5%. NASDAQ -0.6%.

WTI crude is up a bit to $85.22/bbl while gold remains sub $1700 and quoting at $1676/oz. Bitcoin stands at $19,22.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Given the cold wet weather, today sees Gerry working in the GFRC office the entire day. This is the final day of one person shipping for until mid October when Diane takes another vacation visit to the Florida condo to coordinate indoor painting.

Today's focus is 100% on the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection and its preparations for the GFRC Online Auctions platform. This is a fantastic collection that will be an absolute pleasure to catalog.

A thank-you goes out to everyone who noted that the GFRC service level has dropped during Diane's holiday. I've done my best to stay on top of the business demands, managing the homestead, and being Buddy's care taker. There have been a few service lapses and some delayed shipping as triage was on the operating method on high demand days.

So ends today's Blog edition. Price list purchases and new consignment proposals are gladly welcomed and cherished.

Thank-you for checking in. Be well.

Monday September 19, 2022

Twin Lakes AU58 U.S. Gold - The Last Installment

Greetings on a cold and damp southern Maine morning. Welcome to a new week of Daily Blog ramblings. I'm pleased that you could stop by.

Yes indeed, there is an autumn chill in the air this morning as I took Buddy out for his first bio break of the day. Today's high temp will only reach 57F with cloudy and wet conditions dominating. If there is a a silver lining to the weather, it is a break in the rain until early afternoon. This should allow Pete Therberge enough time to install the barn windows. Every incremental step at this point is precious.

Autumn colors are quickly appearing with the front yard burning bush shifting to moderate crimson red. The maple along the entrance driveway is already 40% orange and yellow. This maple is the first on the property to change colors and drop its leaves.

This coastal horizon image was taken at 5:00 PM on Sunday with cloudy conditions. Note the emerging autumn red, orange and yellow colors at the tree tops. If looking carefully at the horizon, one can seen the evening fog bank creeping onshore. The only progress with the barn are the soffits and edging installation as a first step for the siding application. Per usual, clicking on the below image provides access to a higher resolution version.

Autumn Color Transition - September 18, 2022

Twin Lakes AU58 U.S. Gold - The Last Installment

Today brings the final Twin Lakes consignment installment which is five U.S. gold pieces graded PCGS AU58. The 1855 is a important Type 2 Indian Princess for those pursuing a basic gold type set. Type 2 $1 gold consistently sells quickly as in constant demand by type set collectors. The 1889 $5 should be carefully considered as a scarce date with a mintage of only 7,520. Most survivors will be found in high AU and low Mint State grades.

A pricing proposal has been submitted to Twin Lakes, and once approved, I will be able to quote prices for those inquiries that arrived during the overnight hours.

Twin Lakes AU58 U.S. Gold - The Last Installment

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1855 PCGS AU58 G$1 1889 PCGS AU58 G$5 OGH

1873 Open 3 PCGS AU58 CAC G$1 1895 PCGS AU58 G$20 1896 PCGS AU58 G$20

A Twin Lakes Consignment Tally

GFRC has been actively showcasing the newest Twin Lakes Collection consignment release since September 6. As mentioned previously, today's U.S. gold offerings wraps up the release. There have been many favorable comments concerning the Twin Lakes events with a host of pleased clients upon receiving their purchases.

This consignment sale has gone extremely well and generated robust sales. Let's share a few statistics extracted from the COIN database.

- Total offerings amounted to 56 pieces. There were two consigned pieces that we did not post since believing another trip through CAC review was warranted. Included in the 56 piece count are today U.S. gold lots.

- 32 of the 56 coins have already sold in nearly two weeks at a total sales value of about $70,000. There are still many great Twin Lakes coins left in inventory with the opportunity for sales at the October Manchester NH and Baltimore shows. The overall sale highlight is the 1866-S No Motto PCGS AU58 Seated half as a Pop 1. This piece brought $10,000.

1866-S No Motto PCGS AU58 50C - Sold for $10,000

- Following are four unsold Twin Lakes offerings that warrant attention and a last call for the GFRC community before a Collectors Corner posting is issued this afternoon.

1863 PCGS AU58 H10C - $900 1852-O PCGS AU58 25C - $10000

1872-S PCGS AU58 25C - $9750 1901-O PCGS AU58 25C - $4000

Global Financial News

Finding economic optimism at this point is challenging to say the least. Last week brought bad news from FedEx and Amazon. Both companies are scaling back distribution center expansion plans. Inflation is the U.S. and Europe is impacting buying power while the China economy has been hit with Zero Covid policy, a collapse in the housing construction sector, and droughts impacting hydro energy generation. I still keep in contact with friends in China. One friend had recently traveled inside China on holiday and complain of the never ending Covid nose and throat checks on trains and visited venues.

Ugly best described investor sentiment as morning market futures are pointing to another 1% drop once markets open for trading. I'm certain that some traders have moved to shorting the markets as there is no positive news to stimulate buying.

In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong -1%. China -0.4%. India +0.5%.

In Europe, at midday, London closed. Paris -1.4%. Frankfurt -0.7%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.9%. S&P -1%. NASDAQ -1.1%.

Spot gold continues to fall in anticipation of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The morning quote is $1670/oz. Bitcoin is down to $18,744 while WTI crude is priced at $83/bbl.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has increased to nearly 3.5%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The next 48 hours will be wet and a great reason to spend two full days in the office. Priority items during that time frame include a Collectors Corner update and the loading of the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection into the COIN database. The latter is a long task given the 120+ lots in the upcoming GFRC Online Auction sales.

Please check tomorrow's Daily Blog as I will be presenting a fair number of consignor lots with pricing reductions. This lots will also post to Collectors Corner with their discounted numbers today.

Yes, Diane also returns tomorrow from a long vacation in Austin. Buddy the Dog will be thrilled to have Diane back home and sweet talking to him.

With those final comments, let's close today's edition. Thanks again for being regular readers. Be well!

Sunday September 18, 2022

Massachusetts and Port Matilda Consignments Arrive!

Greetings and welcome to a regular Daily Blog edition on a Sunday morning. Your ongoing visits are appreciated.

The countdown arrives for Diane's return to the homestead on Tuesday. She is thoroughly enjoying herself in Austin as having quality time with Renee and Ivy. Renee has made a substantial investment in backyard landscaping based on images provided by Diane. Upon her return, Diane might feel that the temperature shift could be dramatic as Maine continues to slide into seasonally cooler evenings.

You might think that I took a holiday on Saturday morning without Blog composition. Actually, the extra 1.5 hours were put to excellent use for the GFRC-Lite start-up project. Rich Hundertmark now has a streamlined version of the COIN database and went through several tutorial session on Saturday morning. That and the usual morning shipping keep me busy until early afternoon.

Yes, the Pete Theberge subcontractor made an appearance on Saturday to cut and install soffits and edging in advance of the full barn siding job. I'm to the point of relishing any progress as the project must be completed by late October. Late October marks the point at which southern Maine can experience it first snowfall of the season. The Sunday and Monday weather forecast has rain starting mid-afternoon today and clearing out during the early Monday hours. This should allow Pete an opportunity to install the three windows and hopefully secure momentum for the main barn door. I can only hope that the coming week brings substantial progress.

Finally, the spring pond spillway will be tested today once rain arrives. A small drainage channel was cut on Saturday afternoon to facilitate some initial overflow movement along the spillway. That flow will be checked today to ensure all is proceeding as designed.

Shifting to numismatics and GFRC....

More consignments arrived on Friday and Saturday adding to a plentiful processing queue. Once Diane is back in the office, you will see a marked improvement in consignment processing and price list posting. Next in the queue is a 20 piece Capped Bust and Liberty Seated half dollar consignment from the Sooner Collection. Michelle at CAC has confirmed that my aging submission will be shipped tomorrow which brings a strong new purchase lot back to the office followed by prompt price list posting as the images are mostly completed.

Massachusetts Collection Duplicates Release

As the years go by, the Liberty Seated Dime collection being assembled by Tom Coulombe continues to move upward in the Open Set Registry. As of this morning, the Coulombe Family Collection stands at 99% complete (missing 1874-CC) with a weighted grade of 56.1%. Now that the Tom Bender Collection has been broken up, Tom will be positioned 3rd on the Registry leader board.

Following are five quality duplicates that arrived late this past week. Tom keeps detailed records of his purchases and shared those details for these new offerings. For example, the 1853-O F-101 was purchased from GFRC during 2014 while the 1860-S dates back to a 2003 Boston coin show purchase. The 1850 dime is another GFRC purchase circa 2014 while the 1877 PCGS AU58 was a long ago purchase from Gerry Fortin the Seated dime researcher. I made a habit of selling die variety duplicates on eBay with Tom buying a fair number during the late 1990s.

Today brings COIN system loading and pricing approval. Please feel free to email with a pricing inquiry and for first shot.

Massachusetts Collection Duplicates Release

1853-O F-101 PCGS AU55 10C 1860-S F-102 PCGS EF45 10C

1850 F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C 1877 Type 1 PCGS MS64 10C 1877 Type 2 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C

CAC Approved Gems from Port Matilda Collection

What a surprise when the Port Matilda consignor sent along another consignment. I love handling his coins as all are near-gems or gems for the certified grade. This small but high end consignment fits the same mold. All three pieces will have a Gem quality rating once posted to the price list. Since Port Matilda sent his offer prices, these lots are ready for a pricing quotation and might just be gone by end of day.

CAC Approved Gems from Port Matilda Collection

Please Email for Price Quote

1892 PCGS MS64+ CAC 25C

1907 PCGS MS62 25C CAC OGH 1848 PCGS VF35 CAC 50C

Wrapping Up The Blog

A full morning and early afternoon of must get done activities await me before the rains arrive. Come mid-afternoon, I will be in the GFRC office loading today's showcased coins to the price list and responding to orders.

At this point, Buddy needs his morning outdoor walk and bio relief. Let's end the Blog here.

Thanks as always for stopping by and checking on the daily ramblings. Be well!

Saturday September 17, 2022

Taking a Daily Blog Holiday

Greetings on a chilly southern Maine morning and welcome to the Daily Blog.

Today's edition will be brief as I need to get a shower in before a Pete Theberge subcontractor arrives to start working on the barn siding installation. I've not met this indiviudal and unsure when he will appear on the job site.

In addition, there is morning shipping along with needing groceries for me and diesel for Johnny2.

Offer prices have been approved for the Lakeland Collection offerings and those will post to the price list today along with a few residual Twin Lakes Collection Seated halves.

Therefore, a Daily Blog holiday is in order as there is little else to share.

Thanks for stopping by. Be well!

Friday September 16, 2022

GFRC-Lite Update

and

Lakeland Collection Offerings Arrive

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning. Thank-you for stopping by.

Signs of things to come are apparent this morning as the mercury is reading a brisk 46F. Not only are the days growing shorter but now the overnight temperature is dropping. Clearly, the autumn season is upon us in northern New England.

Days are becoming a blur at this point given the many demands on a limited number of hours in a day. The challenge is not that of executing any single task on a solo basis, but rather the cumulative effect of so many tasks requiring attention.

Today's preamble will be brief as there is little to share other than the mundane aspects of dog care, homestead maintenance along with operating GFRC at a consistent service level.

GFRC-Lite Update

Setup progress for the GFRC-Lite subsidiary continues to move forward. Rich Hundertmark sent along the following update.

Hi Gerry,

Yes, much progress was accomplished since last week’s GFRC - Lite blog update.

To start, business insurance coverage was approved by the efficient staff at Hugh Wood - kudos to Michele and Caroline.

Next, after further internet research and screening I scheduled two meetings that were held Monday and Tuesday with local web designers. I provided each supplier with something similar to a RFP document that I developed over the weekend (minus much formality) so that quotes could be compared on an equal basis. Each meeting was around 90 minutes and took place in the laid back setting of a Winston Salem Panera Bread location. Design and required functionality was reviewed in detail. Conducting face to face meetings also allowed me to best evaluate each person’s business acumen, preparedness thought process, creativity, etc.. Yes I’m old school (or maybe just old) but lessons learned many years ago are still applicable today,

Once I have fully reviewed the submitted website proposals I’ll be able to make a supplier selection , work through a redline contract process and hopefully have an agreement in place by the end of this week.

All in all, I’ve got my work cut out for me between the website going “live” in the November to early December time frame, learning the GFRC coin data base system, and ,oh yes, the GFRC - Lite Baltimore show kickoff event in October to be followed in short order by the Annandale Virginia December show.

Finally, on a side note I have to mention that I completed the RFP document early Sunday afternoon and at 4pm promptly headed out to a local tavern to catch my favorite NFL team in action. Let’s just say I don’t miss NJ an iota except for a few items- like getting a good Taylor ham egg and cheese breakfast sandwich and watching my NY Giants. Here in central NC only 5 or so Giant games will be televised so this trip will be a regular occurrence this season - I’m not paying for the overpriced NFL package. Anyway, the chosen local draft beer was quite good and the Giants actually won a football game , YES !!

I hope everyone in the GFRC community had as good a week as I did, and I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on new GFRC - Lite developments.

Rich

Lakeland Collection Offerings Arrive

Let's take a break from the substantial Twin Lakes consignor offerings and let the Lakeland Collection be the Daily Blog highlight of the day.

For those who are new to the Daily Blog, the Lakeland Collection is a mother/son collecting team with primary attention to the Civil War era. However, this duo continues to provide GFRC with an eclectic assortment of coins on consignment. Today brings a nine piece "collectors" lot that covers multiple denominations. Copper coinage is well represented by three Lincoln cents and a pretty 1869 RPD 2c piece. The 1889 dime features eye catching satiny luster and cool toning. Also note the appearance of an 1839-O F-104a Seated dime with repunched mintmark and long horizontal reverse die crack.

These images were processed last evening along with loading the consignment into the COIN system. Today brings pricing determination and approval. Please feel free to request a price quote and first shot. However, the quotations may be delayed towards the end or day as first priority is morning shipping and consignment check preparations.

Lakeland Collection Offerings Arrive

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1869 FS-302 PCGS MS64RB 2C 1889 PCGS MS65 50C

1918-S ANACS MS63RB 1C OWH 1921-S NGC MS63RB 1C 1931-D PCGS MS65RB 1C

1882 NGC AU55 3CN 1839-O F-104a NGC EF45 10C 1875-S NGC AU50 20C

1936-S NGC MS64 CAC 50C

Global Financial News

This has been an ugly week for U.S. equities with the S&P 500 down to 3,901. Morning market futures are pointing to more losses.

In Asia, Japan -1.1%. Hong Kong -0.9%. China -2.3%. India -1.8%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris -1.1%. Frankfurt -1.4%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.8%. S&P -0.9%. NASDAQ -1.1%.

WTI crude pricing is down to $85/bbl. Spot gold has been hammered by higher interests rate and a strong U.S. dollar. The current quote is $1670/oz. Bitcoin has also fallen to $19,808.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is just shy of 3.5%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a nearly full day in the GFRC office other than completing lawn mowing.

Thank-you for checking in at the Daily Blog. Be well!

Thursday September 15, 2022

Spring Pond Update

and

Twin Lakes Collection Release Part 4 - Quarter and Halves

Greetings on a cold and windy southern Maine morning as the autumn season makes its presence known. Thanks for visiting with GFRC.

Time moves on much to quickly as we find ourselves at the September mid-point. The next two weeks will bring the autumn foliage colors and before long, the annual leaf raking task. On the numismatic front, the NH Coin Expo (Manchester show) is just one month away.

So what is the state of the numismatic hobby given stubborn inflation and a looming deeper recession? Not helping the situation is PCGS operating at three to four month lead times and CAC being up and down with respect to Tier 1 submissions. I've given up on sending coins to PCGS and simply stock piling certifiable raw coins for the time being. The CAC situation is frustrating as both clients and GFRC have coins that need to be submitted. My last CAC submission is going on 2+ weeks and doubtful it will be shipped by tomorrow unless I complain to Michelle.

At the September mid-point, GFRC is experiencing one of its slowest months of the past several years. Orders, outside of new consignment offerings, have notably dropped. Those collectors that approach GFRC typically make offers with most being rejected. I'm in a strong financial position and have no need to discount premium inventory to make a sale. These are indeed unsettled times but where else would you want your monies to be? CAC approved coins and better date early type has moved up nicely during the past several years and a cooling off period was overdue. It appears that general economic conditions are the impetus for pricing stabilization in the coin market.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming October coin show month with the Manchester and Baltimore shows taking place in the next four to six weeks. These shows will be an excellent barometer of where the numismatic market stands.

The core GFRC consignment business continues to roll along with a steady flow of incoming lots. Yesterday brought another Seated dime release from the Massachusetts Collection after receiving a large half dollar lot from the Sooner Collection. I've also bought a sixteen piece lot that needs to go to CAC first before being placed on the price list.

Back at the homestead, Buddy the Dog is feeling better and back to normal eating habits. The days are flying by as I'm operating a two person business, doing laundry and cleaning, and relishing the moments in the back acreage. September is indeed moving along much too quickly.

Spring Pond Update

With the barn construction being delayed to this coming Monday, my attention has shifted to the spring pond. This is yet another case of where a crazy vision become a reality. Who would have thought that a tiny bubbling spring could be turned into a beautiful fish pond deep in the woods? As often mentioned, patience and persistence will win the day.

The following image was taken on Wednesday morning at roughly 8:30 AM. The morning sun is peeking through the overhead canopy and transforming the spring surface into a reflective mirror. Look carefully and you will note that the spring pond has filled to capacity and is about ready to begin outflowing at the southern (top) exit. I've been shaping a spillway out of dug clay and hope that Mother Nature will follow my lead. Tuesday brought the discovery of a dam leak which was plugged with clay and held through Wednesday's visit. If I'm right, outflow will begin in earnest on Friday through a packed clay spillway. Also, the pond water continues to clear with the bottom becoming visible. The next challenge will be the dropping leaves and locating a long pole skimmer to remove those leaves before they drop to the bottom of the pool.

I'm looking forward to 2023 and the introduction of trout into this little mediation oasis. Please feel free to click on the below image to access a higher resolution version.

Twin Lakes Collection Release Part 4 - Quarter and Halves

I'm pleased to be showcasing the fourth installment of the Twin Lakes Collection release. This time around, I've grouped the remaining silver coins into one gallery leaving the U.S. gold for the final display tomorrow.

This display opens with a huge marquee offering. The featured 1866-S No Motto PCGS AU58 Seated half dollar is a population 1 at the grade with only six better. The balance of the offerings should speak for themselves. Offer prices are as marked. I hope that you will take the time to study the images and consider these lots given the AU58 grades and overall eye appeal. There are several pricing inquiries in my email Inbox that will be responded to once the Blog is uploaded.

Twin Lakes Collection Release Part 4 - Quarter and Halves

Offer Prices are Marked

1866-S No Motto PCGS AU58 50C - $10,000

1901-O PCGS AU58 25C - $4000 1923-S PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $5400

1887 PCGS AU58 50C - $1975 1892-CC PCGS AU58 CAC $1 - $2000

1897-S PCGS AU58 25C - $1750 1906-O PCGS AU58 25C - $500 1864 PCGS AU58 50C - $1750

1866-S Motto PCGS AU58 50C - $1550 1874-S Arrows PCGS AU58 50C - $1750 1880 PCGS AU58 50C - $1800

Global Financial News

After Tuesday's losses, U.S. equity markets quickly stabilized with fractional gains on Wednesday. The good news is that Tuesday's selling did not result in a panic. Investors went into the CPI report out hoping that the August reading would have dropped into the high 7.0% range as a sign of inflation fighting progress. That did not happen leading to a reversal of trading momentum.

Morning market futures are pointing to a flat open for U.S equity trading in a few hours.

In Asia, Japan +0.2%. Hong Kong +0.4%. China -1.2%. India -0.7%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -0.1%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.1%. S&P -0.1%. NASDAQ flat.

WTI crude oil pricing is unchanged at $88/bbl but the yellow precious metal is trading slightly below the $1700 level. Bitcoin is priced at $20,160.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield continues to rise and is quoting at 3.46%.

Thank goodness the railway strike has been averted as some much needed good news for the U.S. economy. Seeking Alpha covers the details in this brief report.

Railway workers and companies have finally come to a tentative labor agreement that would avert a strike, which was set to go into motion shortly after midnight. The Association of American Railroads said the deal would give rail employees a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, as well as an immediate payout that averages around $11,000. While the contract covers around 60,000 workers, it still needs to be ratified by the holdout unions, and a sick-leave policy needs to be ironed out.

Quote: "The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people," President Biden wrote in a statement. "It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America's families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years."

The last-minute deal averts a strike that could have halted shipments of key goods, and disrupted the flow of commodities across the country. About 40% of long-haul trade is transported by rail, and a strike could have idled more than 7,000 trains, while costing the U.S. economy an estimated $2B per day.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a sunny day and an opportunity to photograph the Sooner and Massachusetts Collection consignment arrivals. Between the Newtown and Steven Vitale Liberty Seated Dime Collections and consignment backlog, there is enough to be keep me busy well into October.

Tomorrow's Blog will bring a GFRC-Lite update from Rich Hundertmark as that effort is moving along well.

I will be in the office for most of the day with exception of a few hours on Johnny 2 to continue the landscaping effort around the barn. There is still much to get done before the first snow arrives.

As always, thank-you for making the Daily Blog a regular part of your online reading. Be well!

Wednesday September 14, 2022

Just One of Those Days....

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank-you for visiting.

The morning starts with a bright blue sky and seasonal temperatures. It would be a perfect day for advancing the barn project but that is not in the cards. Please read on.

Just One of Those Days....

Some days the stars are in alignment and on other days, they are not. Tuesday brought one of the those challenging days where stuff is not going well. Hammond Lumber failed to deliver the barn windows on Monday since Jeff, the sale person, failed to issue the invoicing slips for the cedar siding and other items that we due to be included in that delivery. He realized his mistake at 7:00 AM on Tuesday morning in a bit of a panic as Pete Theberge would be on site at 7:30 AM. I paid for the additional invoice within minutes, but delivery did not happen until 2:00 PM. Pete and I had a nice on site chat before he punted and was long gone before material delivery time. Even International Door did not return Pete's phone call for a technician to be present yesterday to plan out the barn door installation.

Buddy the Dog is also not feeling well. He is probably heart broken with Diane being gone so long. Attempting to diagnose a dog that is having trouble keeping food down is an incremental challenge. I withdrew his food last evening and hopefully his stomach will settle out today as the poor dog is hungry.

On a positive note, I was able to build the shared GFRC and GFRC-Lite excel database yesterday and passed along to Rich for initial review. Several training session will be necessary . GFRC's low priced consignments will be entered into this GFRC-Lite tracking database as part of physical transfer to the subsidiary. Rich also indicates more business setup progress on his end and will send a report for Thursday's Blog.

There was some progress with the Twin Lakes Collection remaining consigned coins but not enough for a morning gallery display. The Barber quarter and Seated dollar images will be available in the Blog later this afternoon. A pricing recommendation must also be completed and approved by Twin Lakes to move forward.

Delayed Check Deposits

I'm starting to receive emails from concerned clients that their checks are not being deposited on a timely basis. Yes, this is the case as I must drive into Windham to conduct the deposit directly at the bank branch. This is being done twice per week given the balance of the GFRC workload on a solo basis. Please don't worry as shipments are not being delayed.

Sooner Collection Consignment Arrives

Tuesday brought the arrival of a fresh consignment from the Sooner Collection. My dear friend is helping out the Capped Bust and Seated half dollar inventory request with a lot of twenty pieces. I will start working on this consignment once the Twin Lakes and Lakeland Collection consignments are posted to the price list.

Global Financial News

Inflation is not receding per the August CPI report resulting in equity markets dropping multiple points on Tuesday. While that was taking place, the country's brain trust was celebrating the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act at the White House.

There are multiple issues underway that may make inflation reduction a substantial challenge. Rising food, energy and rental prices will eventually lead to labor union action for wage increases. This fact is already playing out in the railroad transportation industry with a duel between railroad works and major companies underway. A strike of the railroad union will immediately impact the supply chain including food and energy transport. The Seeking Alpha article is worth a read for becoming up to date.

As mentioned earlier this week, another inflation threat is in the works, with a Western-style showdown threatening the U.S. economy. A duel between 60,000 rail workers, their unions and some of the largest U.S. railroad operators is already having impacts, but the worst is yet to come. A 12:01 a.m. Friday deadline to agree to new work terms hangs in the balance, with the gunslinging likely to cost the nation $2B in economic output per day if things go off the rails. What's at stake: There are already reports of railways stopping to take grain and animal-feed shipments, while most of them have already put a halt to ammonia fertilizer and hazardous items to ensure that sensitive cargo is not left unsecured. Other raw material deliveries are also facing uncertainty, like coal transports that could be interrupted ahead of pre-winter stocking, which could subsequently trigger an increase in gas power demand. By some estimates, the railroads in the U.S. impact about a third to about 45% of all freight in the U.S., meaning there can be knock-on effects for many industries. "Almost all ethanol is moved via rail and it is produced in the Midwest," noted Debnil Chowdhury of S&P Global Commodity Insights. "There is no easy substitute for rail and the U.S. government will have to make decisions around blend targets if ethanol movement to demand centers are constrained due to a strike." Ethanol currently accounts for around 10% of U.S. gasoline volume, and prices for the commodity have already been raised at several marketplaces with sellers facing interruptions. Supply chain threat: The current dispute goes back three years and mainly centers around pay hikes, sick leave and time-off policies. In July, the Biden administration intervened to avert a strike, naming a panel of arbitrators to mediate the contract dispute, but two remaining holdouts - the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers - account for over half of the rail labor force. The Biden administration is now speaking with truckers and air freight companies to assess alternative modes of transportation, but if things get real bad, Congress may be forced to impose contractual terms or send the dispute to forced arbitration. Emergency powers could also be used by the White House for the delivery of critical materials.

To baseline where we are after Tuesday's losses, the S&P 500 is down to 3,933 while the DJIA sank to 31,105. All asset classes were hit with losses.

Morning market futures are pointing to some early buying after Tuesday's pullback.

In Asia, Japan -2.8%. Hong Kong -2.5%. China -0.8%. India -0.4%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.9%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt -0.6%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.5%. NASDAQ +0.5%.

WTI crude pricing is quoting at $87.45/bbl while spot gold is hanging tough at slightly over the $1700/oz level. The Bitcoin "Merge" rally has ended with a drop back to $20,357.

Most importantly, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has climbed to 3.44%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings another busy day in the GFRC office though my heart seeks downtime in the back acreage. Diane returns next Tuesday and will certainly bring relief to the current solo GFRC operation. Buddy will be thrilled to have her back home.

So ends another Blog edition. Thanks again for checking in. Be well!

Tuesday September 13, 2022

Steven Vitale Liberty Seated Dime Collection Arrives

Baselining the Back Deck Autumn Color Transition

and

Odds n' Ends New Offerings

Greetings on a seasonal Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. I hope this edition is worthwhile viewing.

Given the many GFRC deliverables and barn construction items that need to get done today, let's skip the usual preamble and jump right into the headline topics.

Steven Vitale Liberty Seated Dime Collection Arrives

Another day and another completed Liberty Seated dime collection being retrieved. Yes, that was the main event on Monday afternoon. Steven Vitale had decided to sell his complete Liberty Seated dime date and mintmark set along with a host of Top 100 die varieties months ago and approached GFRC to handle the sale. We agreed that the physical transfer would take place after the August ANA show. Since Steven resides in Massachusetts and GFRC is located in Maine, a convenient meeting point was in Portsmouth, NH. What better place than the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet store directly off I-95.

I arrived to the meeting point early to restock the basement sound room bar followed by Steven appearing at 6:15 PM. The physical transfer went smoothly along with several minutes of technology discussion as Steven is a research physicist for solid state materials, specifically for the semiconductor industry.

Once again, Daily Blog tradition dictates that an as received collection photograph is taken for announcing the forthcoming collection sale. While Newtown transferred his collection in double row slabbed boxes, Steven housed his exclusively PCGS graded collection in their blue boxes. Here is the Vitale collection on the GFRC office desk this morning before being transferred to double row slabbed boxes. Again, this is a complete circulated set with most dates being in the VF through AU grade range. Die variety collectors will enjoy this sale as Steven took the time to have variety attribution assigned on the PCGS labels. The first step is loading the collection in the COIN system and identifying which dimes I believe are worth submitting to CAC (when they re-open for Tier 1 submissions). For efficiency, I will assign quality ratings during the CAC submission decision process as each dime must be carefully reviewed. If I believe a coin deserves a Choice or better quality rating, then it become a candidate for a trip to Far Hills, NJ.

For those who are curious as to the big four Carson City dates, Steven did a great job of matching surfaces and grades for these; 1871-CC PCGS V25, 1872-CC PCGS VF30, 1873-CC PCGS VF25, 1874-CC PCGS VF25. At this point, I will not discuss CAC approval rates as these will definitely change after my review and submission.

When will the Steven Vitale collection be offered? Presently, the timing is towards the end of the year and early into 2023 in conjunction with the Newtown Collection auction sale. Lower prices common dates will be split between GFRC and GFRC-Lite as the current plan. All is subject to change as I delve into the collections and develop an auction and price list marketing strategy.

Baselining the Back Deck Autumn Color Transition

Another Daily Blog tradition is the weekly illustration of the autumn color transition as seen from the homestead back deck. Monday brought a bright sunny day and ideal conditions for capturing a baseline of the coastal horizon. This year's imagery will also showcase the completion of the barn project.

Please feel free to click on the image to gain access to a higher resolution version. If checking carefully, red and yellow patches are starting to appear at the tree tops. The liberated apple tree, behind the barn, has already begun to shift to yellow along with several maples further back changing to orange-red.

Back Deck Autumn Color Status - September 12, 2022

Odds n' Ends New Offerings

How about an odds n' ends gallery to wrap up the headline content? This lot is a combination of new consignments from Twin Lakes, Upstate New York, and Indiana Collections along with a gem 1826 O-106a Capped Bust half that was recently bought back. All but the 1852-O dime are priced and ready to sell, so please have at it.

New GFRC Consignment Offerings

1838-O F-101 PCGS AU55 10C 1852-O F-101 PCGS AU58 10C

1884 PCGS AU55 25C 1826 O-106a PCGS VF30 CAC 50C 1832 NGC AU53 CAC 50C

Global Financial News

Today brings another CPI report and the associate equity market drama. I'm running out of time before 8:00 publishing deadline and best to let Seeking Alpha explain the dynamics.

Economists are forecasting U.S. headline consumer price inflation for August to ease to 8.1% Y/Y from 8.5% in July, in a growing sign that the closely-watched index may have peaked at 9.1% in June. On the other hand, core CPI, which excludes volatile prices and happens to be the Fed's more preferred inflation gauge, is expected to increase to 6.1% in August from a year before vs. 5.9% in July, as rents and wages show little signs of slowing. Note that the Fed is currently in its blackout period before the big September meeting, so expect all the reactions to come from traders and analysts, not central bank officials. Commentary: Interactive Brokers Senior Economist José Torres, who is expecting August's CPI reading to be 8.2% Y/Y and 6.2% for core, believes the upcoming report on consumer prices "will not deter the Fed from their tightening plans as they remain committed to easing price pressures." Chair Jerome Powell already telegraphed that he's taking out the big guns next week, so the data is more likely to impact decisions in November and December, if anything. Bear in mind that part of the central bank's dual mandate is to bring down inflation to its 2% target, which is nowhere near current levels. As a result, markets are betting on another aggressive 75-basis-point rate hike as inflation hovers around a 40-year high. According to CME's FedWatch tool, traders see a 92% probability that the FOMC will lift its fed funds target range to 3.00%-3.25% from the current range of 2.25%-2.50%, compared to a mere 8% probability of a 50-bps move.

Morning market futures are forecasting a nearly half point gain for U.S. indices at the opening bell. That number could change in a heart beat once the August CPI report is issued.

In Asia, Japan +0.3%. Hong Kong -0.2%. China +0.1%. India +0.7%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt +0.4%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.4%. NASDAQ +0.4%.

WTI crude is quoting at $89/bbl while $1738 will buy you an ounce of paper gold, whatever that is these days! Bitcoin is holding its "Merge" gains at $22,386.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is up slightly to 3.32%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Rain is in the forecast along with a Hammond Lumber delivery that should arrive around noon time. Today is definitely a long day in the GFRC office without road trips to retrieve collections.

I will be posting the "odds n' ends" lots to the price list along with wrapping up the Twin Lakes image processing and pricing. Hopefully, there will be another Twin Lakes gallery available for Wednesday's Blog. This group will feature Barber quarters and Seated halves.

That is it for now. Thanks for checking in. Be well!

Monday September 12, 2022

The Geophysical Resistivity Measurements Are Available

Another USPS Theft - A GFRC Community Member Reports In

and

Beautiful Toners from the Upstate New York Collection Arrive

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a mid-September Monday morning. I'm glad you could visit as there is much to share.

A sore lower back best describes the morning after working in the back acreage on Sunday afternoon. Many larger rocks were transported from the Ledge Hill "rock quarry" as the stone wall in front of the barn is being upgraded. I'll have images at some point in the future. Also, a second spillway fabrication session at the spring pond took place. The spillway is ready to be tested once the water level exceeds the entrance bank. This should happen by mid-week.

The Geophysical Resistivity Measurements Are Available

Saturday brought an email from neighbor Sharon Dodson with the geophysical resistivity measurement results. Let's just say that the results were disappointing for the Dodsons and that the Fortins had plain old dumb luck when well drilling back in 1985. The following granite resistivity plot tells the whole story.

First, let's get our bearings concerning this plot. This image is a cross section of the ground immediately in front of the settler's stone wall that runs across the Fortin and Dodson properties. The Fortin property is on the left and the Dodson on the right. The black vertical line is the property line. Reds and oranges are areas of very high ohmic resistivity which translates into dense granite. Greens and the many shades of blue are low resistivity where the granite is porous or missing. Water can easily collect in those areas.

The Dodsons have a 1200 ft well which produces 1-2 gallons/minute as marked on the diagram by the consultant. The Fortins have a 265 ft well which generates over 5 gallons per minute. After 37 years, I changed out the well pump this summer as a proactive step. On the other hand, the Dodsons must change their pump every 5 years. Sadly, this $4000 consulting measurement and report failed to indicate an advantageous location for drilling a new well. Conversely, the Fortins were just plain dumb lucky when the drillers choose our location back in 1985.

Another USPS Theft - A GFRC Community Member Reports In

Sadly, the Mountain View Collection consignor has been the victim of another USPS Small Flat Rate box theft. Our friend received a shipment from Victorian Rare Coins (Melrose MA) last week with the contents missing. The box was opened with the contents removed followed by being resealed and placed back in the USPS delivery system. This is the same theft method that GFRC experienced during Q4'2021 before redesigning our shipping security approaches.

Following are the stolen coins as the Mountain View collector focuses on lowball Liberty Seated coins.

1856-S 50c PCGS FR02 CAC 36848599
1859-S 50c PCGS FR02 CAC 36771474
1861-S 50c PCGS AG03 CAC 34950538
1867-S 50c PCGS FR02 CAC 36848610
1869-S 50c PCGS FR02 CAC 36848611
1874-CC 50c PCGS AG03 CAC 84688918

Andy from Victorian Rare Coins called me to check on the credibility of the Mountain View consignor which I wholeheartedly verified. During our conversation, I provided Andy with the shipping changes that GFRC implement. Key is using a padded USPS envelope with the small box inside. The thieves are unable to open the envelope without destroying it and revealing the distribution center where the theft took place.

Please help us out here if seeing any of these listed coins on eBay. You can contact me and I will forward the information to Andy and the Mountain View consignor.

Beautiful Toners from the Upstate New York Collection Arrive

Our dear friend from upstate New York has released another seven pieces from his collection. Since five of the seven coins were purchased from GFRC, I was able to skip the photography step and move those offerings directly to the price list as of this morning. Following are some pretty Capped Bust and Seated pieces to consider.

The 1809 O-106 Capped Bust half originates from the Osprey Collection and was, at one time, a gem piece in his PCGS blue box of 20 set before Dan decided to move on to early coppers. The 1839 half dime is absolutely pretty and has not been to CAC. The 1888 F-107 dime is from my reference collection and a web-book plate coin. Finally, the 1861 quarter originated from the Iowa Collection. All are posted to the price list as of 6:30 AM.

Beautiful Toners from the Upstate New York Collection Arrive

1837 F-103 NGC MS61 10C 1809 O-106 PCGS AU50 50C

1839 NGC MS63 H10C 1888 F-107 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 1861 II/II PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

Global Financial News

Late last week brought a U.S. equity market momentum shift for the bulls. The S&P 500 closed the week at 4.067 with the DJIA solidly above the 32,000 mark. Inflation concerns may be waning as regular gas prices have dropped below the $4.00 level in heavily taxes states like Maine, New York, and New Jersey. However, grocery shopping continues to be an eye opening experience if purchasing healthy foods.

Morning market futures indicate that the rally will continue with the S&P and NASDAQ up at full point at the opening bell. Let's hope this rally has some legs. The Shanghai stock exchange is closed due to Moon Cake Festival. Yes, it is that time of year when the Chinese purchase millions of moon cakes that are given as gifts and then thrown away. Those cakes are downright unhealthy and equivalent to an immediate heart attack.

In Asia, Japan +1.2%. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India +0.5%.

In Europe, at midday, London +1.3%. Paris +1.2%. Frankfurt +1.5%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.6%. S&P +0.9%. NASDAQ +1.1%.

The week opens with WTI crude trading at $88/bbl and spot gold up a tad at $1739/oz. Bitcoin has recovered to $22,131.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond year stands at an even 3.30%

Wrapping Up the Blog

Since my lower back is quite painful, today brings a full day in the GFRC office as there is plenty to get done. First priority is morning shipping followed by posting the unsold Twin Lakes offerings to the price list. Afterwards, I will be processing images for the Twin Lakes Part 4 and Part 5 galleries that will appear this week.

Please consider a purchase as the price lists are quiet and need a little love and attention. Yes, it is September, the slowest numismatic month of the year!

Thank-you for checking in that the Daily Blog. Be well!

Sunday September 11, 2022

Important Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - The Quarters

Capped Bust and Seated Quarters

Greetings on a peaceful Sunday morning and welcome to yet another Daily Blog edition.

Northern New England days continue to grow shorter as witnessed by today's 6:16 AM sunrise and 7:00 PM sunset. Just two months ago, the sun would greet me at 5:00 AM for breakfast and another round of early morning blogging. Of course, the trade-off are the cooler temperatures and ability to walk the trails without flying insects. How I enjoy the autumn season regardless of the reduced sunlight.

Today's preamble will be brief as manning the homestead and GFRC business, on a solo basis, is consuming me. I did manage to break away from the routine for a two hour visit to the Crockett's pond party and hanging out with long time Raymond friends. A talented group of older musicians were grooving away and treating the crowd to late 60s rock n' roll. In fairness to Buddy and the Twin Lakes consignor, the party attendance was brief so as to give Buddy a long walk after Friday's twelve hour homestead imprisonment. Also, I made a promise in the morning Blog that the third Twin Lakes gallery display would be posted during the evening hours.

The homestead pace does not slow down on Monday and Tuesday with a Hammond Lumber delivery on Monday and Pete Theberge back on Tuesday.

Important Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - The Quarters

As promised in Saturday's Blog, the third installment from the Twin Lakes Collection was posted last evening around 8:00 PM. Twin Lakes and I took a hard look at the individual Capped Bust and Seated quarters and their rarity based on the PCGS population reports. From that research, we arrived at the below offer prices. Some readers might believe that the offer prices for the key dates are aggressive. Well that they are as few appear to market at the higher AU grades.

Once the below gallery was posted, purchase request emails promptly rolled in. As of this morning, both 1852 quarters are spoken for along with 1862-S, 1874-S, 1888, and 1889 quarters. Someone should immediately scoop up the 1868-S when offered at the AU55 grade level as few exist better.

This entire lot will be posted to the price list by end of day. Those that were quickly purchased will see a limited description while the unsold specimens will be carefully discussed. A sincere thanks goes out to Twin Lakes for returning this important pieces back to the marketplace.

Important Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - The Quarters

Offer Prices as Marked

1852-O Briggs 1-A PCGS AU55 25C - $10,000

1815 B-1 PCGS AU58 25C - $5150 1852 Briggs 2-B PCGS MS62 CAC 250C - $4500

1858-S Briggs 2-B PCGS AU53 25C - $8000 1862-S Briggs 1-A PCGS AU58 25C - $5500

1868-S Briggs 1-A PCGS AU55 25C - $3500 1872-S Briggs 1-A PCGS AU55 50C - $9750

1852 Br 2-B PCGS AU58 25c - $1800 1866 Br 1- A PCGS AU55 25C - $3500 1874-S Br 3-A PCGS AU58 25C - $1000

1878-S PCGS AU55 25C - $3250 1888 Br 1-A PCGS AU58 25C - $875 1889 Br 1-A PCGS AU55 25C - $1150

Please stay close to the Daily Blog as there are two more Twin Lakes Collection installments that will arrive during the first half of next week. The current offering strategy will continue with pricing approval before the Blog gallery posting. Up next are Barber quarters and Liberty Seated halves. The final lot will contain 20th century coins along with several U.S. gold pieces.

More GFRC Consignment News

Capped Bust and Liberty Seated halves have been hot on the GFRC price list leading to shrinking inventories. Coming to the rescue is the Sooner Collection with a 20 piece release from his substantial holdings. That lot ships on Monday and should be ready for prime time come next weekend.

The Upstate New York consignor has also sent along a wonderful early type consignment with attractive toning being the imperative. You will not want to miss the posting of this fresh material. Please keep checking the Daily Blog for a posting announcement.

Finally, I've selected another 20 or so Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection as an incremental consignment. These have been photographed and will move into the image processing department soon.

At this point, there is ample consignment backlog to keep me busy for the next two weeks. Upcoming in several days is the retrieval of a second complete Liberty Seated dime collection for the GFRC Online Auction platform. Between the Newtown Collection and this second lot, there will be a host of admin and photography workload going into October. I suspect that GFRC will have a strong inventory for the NH Coin Expo (Manchester show) come October 14-15.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yet another busy day awaits me. I'm running low on groceries and need to reload. The spring pond dam and spillway will need a few hours of attention. Otherwise, I will be working in the GFRC office into the evening hours to ensure that today's Twin Lakes quarters reach the price list.

Thanks as always for making the Daily Blog a part of your online experience. Be well!

Saturday September 10, 2022

GFRC Online Auctions News Item!

The Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection is in the Office

Greetings on a pretty Saturday morning here in southern Maine. Thank-you for visiting the Daily Blog.

Friday brought an exciting but long drive for retrieving the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime collection. The key question was Buddy the Dog's ability to stay in the homestead for 11+ hours without an outdoor bio break. Up next is Friday's story.

The day started early at 4:30 AM with a small breakfast and minimal water. My destination was Far Hills, NJ and the CAC parking lot for taking transfer of the top ranked Newtwon Liberty Seated Dime collection. The drive from Raymond to CAC is about 5.5 hours but dependent on traffic conditions surrounding Hartford CT and the usual crashes that can tie you up for an hour or more. The MDX departed promptly at 5:15 AM saying goodbye to Buddy and wishing him the best. The drive along I-495 through the northern Boston corridor went smoothly as did the balance of the trip. CAC arrival time was a little before 11:00 AM at the forecasted 5.5 hour journey. There was Aaron in the back of the parking lot reading his cellphone and the Daily Blog when I drove up adjacent to him. After handshakes and a brief check on our travel conditions, we got down to the bittersweet moment for Aaron. He was releasing a huge numismatic project to GFRC for auction during late 2022 and early 2023. Transfer of ownership papers were signed and the double row boxes moved to a smaller LL Bean luggage piece. We said our goodbyes and off we went in different directions.

The return drive to Maine was unfortunately not as smooth as the southern leg. Noon hour traffic through northern NJ up to the former Tappan Zee bridge was fine. A decision was made to traverse the Merrit Parkway up to Hartford as who is traveling north out of NYC at 1:30 in the afternoon? The answer to that question was too many.... The Merrit Parkway was slow at times and crowded. I-84 was busy also but nothing out of the ordinary. Then came I-495 in Massachusetts at 3:00 PM and a complete opposite of the morning crossing. Stop and go traffic from Marlborough to I-93 connection slowed down the journey. I was feeling bad for Buddy as hopes of a reasonable arrival home where dashed on I-495. By 5:00 PM, the MDX turned down the driveway and a rush to unlock the door and turn off the alarm system. There was Buddy with an excited but panicked look on his face. We rushed outdoors and he immediately felt better.

This is just another day in the life of a coin dealer....

Here is a traditional cellphone capture of a major consignment. In this case, the Newtown consignment is the largest to date for the GFRC business. My sincere thanks go out to Aaron for being an amazingly supportive client and numismatic friend. Aaron has assembled a number of collections including the recently sold Seated half dollar varieties lot on the fixed price list and a past Newtown Seated half dollar auction.

Next week brings a similar but shorter trip to retrieve yet another complete Liberty Seated dime collection. This lot is mostly middle to high circulated grades including many Top 100 varieties. The Newtown and soon to be secured collection will bring a smashing Liberty Seated close to the 2022 numismatic year. Please keep reading the Blog for the latest updates.

Barn Construction and Spring Pond Updates

Pete Theberge has decided that the barn must be completed sooner rather than later which is perfectly fine by me. Hammond Lumber delivers the windows and low maintenance cedar shake siding on Monday. Tuesday brings Pete and International Door. By the end of this coming week, the barn front door and windows will be installed. The following week bring the cedar siding. Hopefully, the side door will arrive soon into Hammond.

If not apparent from the Daily Blog, I could not be more thrilled with the spring pond expansion. I walked down to the pond before composing the Blog to check on the water level. The spring fed pond continues to raise its water level with about 6-8 inches before overflowing at the site of the future spillway. The strategy for that project is becoming clearer and will be implemented next week.

Wrapping Up The Blog

After being gone all day Friday, today brings a long office day towards catching up on shipping, orders, and preparing Twin Lakes Collection Part 3 gallery. This gallery will be 100% Liberty Seated quarters and should be uploaded as a Daily Blog preview after the dinner hour.

Thanks again for stopping by. Be well!

Friday September 9, 2022

Substantial Demand for Twin Lakes Seated Dimes

and

Spring Pond Update

Greetings and welcome to a Friday edition of the Daily Blog. I can't believe how quickly this week flew by.

This edition is being written on Thursday evening as I have an appointment in Raymond early on Friday morning. It has been a long day in the GFRC office and working in the back back acreage. Therefore the updates will be brief.

Substantial Demand for Twin Lakes Seated Dimes

I'm pleased to report that the release of the Twin Lakes Liberty Seated half dimes and dimes has been met with exceptional demand.

Of the 22 Seated half dimes and dimes released this week, roughly 75% of those piece have been sold in the matter of minutes of being showcased in the Daily Blog. Of course, the Twin Lakes consignor is pleased with the initial results.

Up next is a significant Liberty Seated quarter lot with a fair number of key dates. As with all Twin Lakes offering, these pieces are PCGS certified as AU55 or AU58. The current plan is to have pricing approval completed by Saturday and a huge gallery display being published on Sunday evening. You will not want to miss this display with approved offer prices.

Spring Pond Update

I managed to find time away from the GFRC office on Thursday afternoon with the top priority being the newly expanded spring pond and developing a spillway solution. I'm be frank here. One can devise many visions and potential execution plans but those must face reality during the implementation phase.

The spring pond expansion was a four hour afternoon effort by Dave Wilkinson and his small excavator. Dave did the heavy lifting last Friday including bulling a new dam and pond expansion area towards the northern property stone wall. Since that time, I've been down to the spring pond on a daily basis to monitor the spring fed rising waters. Paramount is having a spillway strategy prior to the pond overflowing its banks.

The following image was taken at 4:30 PM on Thursday after spending several hour adding more 1.5" stone to the earth surrounding the pond. This area is habitually wet as positioned at the bottom most corner of the property line on a sloping grade. The 1.5" stone provides for some "bone" to ride on top of the water filled soil.

The water level in the spring pond has increased nicely, since last Friday, along with the water becoming clearer to overhead sunshine. In this image, the water is reflective like a mirror and capturing the overhead foliage breaks that allows limited sunshine through the overhead canopy. . Over to the upper right at 1:00 is where the pond will eventually breach its banks and start to flow downhill.

Spring Pond Update

This incremental image captures efforts to solidify the dam frontage before the water flows over the dam and into the neighbor's bough. I spent time retrieving clay from behind the stone and dirt dam and used that material to pack in between the existing boulder rocks. I will continue to monitor the rising waters and return when the water level is 2" from spilling out of the pond. The spillway is a tricky new adventure for your truly and looking forward to yet another new challenge.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I'm pretty well tired out for another long day and best to hit the upload button. Friday will be equally challenging.

Today also brought incremental consignments from the Upstate NY Collection and more Liberty Seated dimes from the City By The Bay Collection. These have moved into the consignment backlog queue for the time being.

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II is a truly sad occasion as she has known a host of U.S President, starting with Harry Truman, during her 70+ year reign. My only exposure to the prior king (King George VI) was via Canadian coinage that still circulated in central Maine during the late 1960s.

Thank-you for checking in at the Daily Blog. Be well!

Thursday September 8, 2022

The Homestead Barn has a Shingled Roof

and

Huge Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - Part 2 Arrives!

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning. Your ongoing patronage is appreciated.

Autumn is in the air! The Raymond early morning temperature is a cool 51F with the days growing ever so shorter. The southern forested view from the back deck is beginning to be speckled with reds and yellows. One has to carefully look to spot the early signs of the fall color change.

Back in the GFRC office, morning brought another eleven package shipping event. Since Monday, thirty-one shipments have been prepared and brought to the Raymond post office. Today's shipping queue is light with no checks arriving yesterday. I'm taking a much needed break and shifting attention to description generation for the Twin Lakes consignment during the morning hours.

The Homestead Barn has a Shingled Roof

The barn project took an all important step on Wednesday with the shingled roofing being completed. At 8:00 AM, a four person Mexican heritage crew arrived to the site. There were three men and a woman on the job. In just three hours the shingle installation was completed. Efficiency was in full display as I briefly watched the crew's operating method. The shingle bundles were carried and staged across the building's peak. Next came the setup of edge flashing followed by one worker per roof side moving into position. The woman crew member then walked the peak (like a tightrope) and slide down shingles to the two workers. Shingles were quickly moved into position and attached with six nails from a nailing gun. This process started at the lower left corner and moved upward forming a diagonal that continued until reaching the peak at the opposite side.

Here is a back deck image of the finished product taken at 5:00 PM. Johnny2 now has a dry home. Note the very long shadows as the sun continues to drop in the sky.

Pete returns to the job site next Tuesday to frame the barn door opening and will bring the installer from International Door in Lewiston to measure the 16'x9' door requirements. Hopefully, by the end of next week, the barn door will be in place. Remaining are the window and side door to be installed followed by low maintenance cedar shake siding to completely seal the building. Within the building, Pete must still build stairs to the loft.

Huge Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - Part 2 Arrives!

Today brings the second of five installments from the recent Twin Lakes Collection consignment. The following gallery wraps up the Seated Dime denomination with an incremental twelve offerings. All lots are certified by PCGS and consistently graded AU58 except for the 1864-S. Since offer prices have been approved, those numbers are also posted. Currently, the 1860-S, 1868-S, 1873 NA C3, 1875-S, 1876-CC, and 1880 have been requested.

Huge Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - Part 2 Arrives!

Priced as Marked - First Come, First Serve

1860-S F-101 PCGS AU58 10C - $2000 1864-S F-101 PCGS AU55 10C - $1800

1868 F-111 PCGS AU58 10C - $650 1868-S F-101a PCGS AU58 10C - $2500

1873 NA C3 F-103 PCGS AU58 10C - $265 1875-S IW Unlisted PCGS AU58 10C - $300 1876-CC F-110 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C - $450

1879 F-104a PCGS AU58 10C Rattler - $750 1880 F-103 PCGS AU58 10C - $625 1881 F-101a PCGS AU58 10C - $750

1886-S F-101 PCGS AU58 10C - $625 1891 F-109 DDO PCGS AU58 10C - $750

Global Financial News

Wednesday brought a much needed relief rally with the S&P 500 climbing back to 3,980. Over in Europe, the economic and Central Bank situation appears to be dyer. The cut-off of Russia natural gas supplies going into winter is leading to significant energy induced inflation. How the ECB will respond is the major question. The following Seeking Alpha article brings us up to date.

Facing headwinds and crises on all sides, the European Central Bank is likely to begin a super aggressive phase of monetary policy today, with the largest hike in the institution's 24-year history. Most economists see a jumbo-sized 0.75 percentage point increase in the cards, after the bank raised interest rates by a half percentage point in July. That hike was its first in more than a decade (and the first since the pandemic), and highlighted how severely the ECB is behind its central bank peers. Bigger picture: Playing catch-up won't be easy, with the eurozone staring down the barrel of a severe economic crisis. The common currency is plunging amid surging inflation, which hit a new all-time high of 9.1% in August, while a damaging recession is in the works due to an energy crisis. Things aren't getting any better as Russia threatens to cut off all gas supplies to the "collective West" ahead of what might be a harsh winter, and retaliate if the G7 imposes a price cap on Russian oil. "At Jackson Hole, ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel acknowledged a trade off between taming inflation and maintaining growth," noted Jean Boivin of BlackRock Investment Institute. "Yet she stressed a 'robust control' approach to monetary policy, focused on getting inflation down at whatever cost." Thought bubble: Many are wondering if the ECB can even play catch-up, or if it is caught in a Catch-22. Raise rates to stave off entrenched inflation, only to find that energy prices are keeping costs elevated and weighing on economic output. In that situation, inflation may not decline, or can at least take quite a while to decline, risking a nightmare stagflation scenario. The ECB will announce its policy decision and growth projections at 8:15 ET, followed by President Christine Lagarde's news conference a half-hour later.

Morning market futures are indicating a flat opening bell for U.S. equity trading.

In Asia, Japan +2.3%. Hong Kong -1%. China -0.3%. India +1.1%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt -0.3%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow flat. S&P flat. NASDAQ -0.1%.

WTI crude pricing continues to decrease as the United States, Europe, China and portions of the undeveloped world face a growing recession. The morning quote is $81.44/bbl. Gold pricing remains in a tight trading range at $1731/oz. Bitcoin also remains below the $20,000 with a start of day quote at $19,304.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 3.24%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings another GFRC office day for the most part. The morning hours will see all Twin Lakes Collection lots (Part 1 and 2) reaching the price list. Afterwards, I will be pricing out the balance of the consignment for Twin Lakes' approval.

Otherwise, today bring a mostly regular day at the Raymond Boys Club. Buddy the Dog is doing fine and is being well fed and exercised. Buddy does miss Diane not being home however.

Thanks again for being part of the GFRC community and staying close to the Daily Blog for the latest business and homestead developments.

Be well!

Wednesday September 7, 2022

A Lucky Day - Barn Roofing Installation This Morning!

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. The Raymond Boys Club is alive and well....

As the headline indicates, this morning brings a local roofing company to the homestead. Wallace Roofing will arrive within the hour. Yes, this is a fortunate development after Pete Theberge struck out with his roofing contractor options. After being called yesterday morning, the Wallace Roofing owner visited the barn construction site and committed to have the installation done today. The job is small enough to be treated as a filler for the crew.

Sadly, there is little to share from a GFRC perspective. The packing of 21 shipments on Monday and Tuesday, on a solo basis, plus loading the first Twin Lakes installment to the price list took all of my time. There was also a grocery shopping trip to Windham as the Boys Club was running low on food. Have you noticed the rising cost of eggs? At 8:00 PM last evening, the office was closed followed by an hour of downtime in the basement sound room.

Speaking of the Twin Lakes Collection consignment, sales have been brisk. A visit to the 30 Day Price List will provide access to the sales action.

This morning brings Wallace Roofing on site along with Dave Wilkinson retrieving his excavator and trailer. Dave is also bringing a dump truck load of 1.5" stone gravel. After coordinating the truck egress between the two contractors, another long packing and shipping session will consume the entire morning.

I'm also carefully monitoring the expanded spring pond and dam. The pond dam will most likely be breeched by Thursday after two days of rain filtering through the spring inlet. Building an initial spillway will take top priority on Thursday.

Here is a cool front yard image taken at 6:20 AM during sunrise. The contrasted coloration reminds me of folded paper end roll toning on a Morgan dollar. Yes, the patched up asphalt driveway will be removed followed by new paving during the summer of 2023.

Global Financial News

U.S. equity markets are slowly heading south as there is little optimism to stimulate buying. The globe appears to be moving from one mini-crisis to another with no relief in sight. The S&P 500 closed down to 3,908 on Tuesday with today's morning market futures forecasting a flat open.

Seeking Alpha summarizes the current market action in the just published article.

There has sure been a lot of choppy trading since the beginning of September, with the bears taking the bulls by the horns in an intense fight over market direction. Traders continue to assess market data - before the FOMC meeting at the end of the month - to see how far the central bank will go in its battle against inflation. The more positive the economic figures, the less the Fed will have to worry its aggressive hiking cycle will trigger a downturn... or so the thinking goes.

The latest: The S&P 500, along with the major indices, fell Tuesday for its seventh consecutive day of losses, marking the longest losing streak since November 2016. It followed an ISM survey that showed the U.S. services industry picking up for the second straight month in August due to increases in business activity, new orders and employment. The focus now turns to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech tomorrow, after the central bank telegraphed that it would be extremely data dependent given a road ahead that'll "bring some pain to households and businesses."

Traders now see a 70% chance of a third 75-basis-point move in September, up from 57% a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool that measures pricing in the fed funds futures markets.

Commentary: "The Fed will be surprised by the growth damage caused by its tightening, in our view," wrote analysts at Blackrock. "When the Fed sees this pain, we think it will stop raising rates. It will be too late to avoid a contraction in economic activity by then, we think, but the decrease won’t be deep enough to bring PCE inflation down to the Fed's target of 2%... That's a big deal. We think getting inflation back to central bank targets means crushing demand with a recession. That’s bad news for risk assets in the near term."

Following are the daily market futures:

In Asia, Japan -0.7%. Hong Kong -0.8%. China +0.1%. India -0.3%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.7%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -0.5%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow flat. S&P +0.1%. NASDAQ +0.2%.

WTI crude is trading at $87.28/bbl while an ounce of paper gold can be secured for $1716. Bitcoin has plunged to $18,748 while the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 3.32%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Other than monitoring the barn roofing installation, my presence will be in the GFRC office throughout the day. Your purchase orders are always appreciated.

Thank-you for checking in. Be well!

Tuesday September 6, 2022

Huge Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - Part 1 Arrives!

and

Whitman Baltimore Show - A Multifaceted GFRC Event

Greetings and welcome to the ongoing saga known as the Daily Blog. I'm pleased that you could stop by.

The homestead is quiet now that Diane is spending several weeks in Austin with Renee, Mike, and Ivy. Not mentioned in the Blog is that Renee is pregnant with a boy and the due date is January 1. We are thoroughly excited for the forthcoming third grandchild and the first boy in the family. Diane will be returning to Austin in December and will not be attending the Winter FUN show for obvious reasons.

The Maine summer tourist season is officially over with Raymond and Windham traffic density exhibiting a notable reduction. The out-of-state tourists will return come the beginning of October for leaf peeping season.

Today starts on a cold and damp note as the rains should abate by late morning. The barn has held up well to the ongoing rain of the past 36 hours. One of my top priorities (of many) is securing a shingled roof and the installation of windows and doors by the end of the month. The Farmer's Almanac, published here in Lewiston, Maine, is predicting a very cold winter with October snows. The barn definitely needs to be closed up for the winter months.

Without Diane in the office and at home, workloads increase and the days simply fly by. Handling the shipping department and incoming checks eats into available time for image processing and posting coins. Completing the initial Twin Lakes Collection image gallery took all of Monday afternoon after spending the morning in the shipping department. There is no time for an idle mind during the next two weeks.

Monday also brought a consulting call with Rich Hundertmark as the start-up GFRC-Lite business takes shape. We are on track for the Whitman Baltimore debut. I asked Rich to write a brief summary of start-up activities and plans for today's Blog. Here it is...

Hi Gerry,

Great call this morning, your guidance was much appreciated In completing the Hugh Wood Insurance application form. Subsequent to our conversation, I mailed a PDF file of the completed application to our insurance rep Michele. Once coverage is approved I can begin taking on GFRC inventory for GFRC - Lite and then grading, pricing and recording each coin. As we discussed, this is a critical step and needs to be accomplished before the October Whitman show.

We also discussed setting a time line for getting the GFRC - Lite website ready for sales. We agreed that the look and “feel” of the “Lite” website should be as close to the GFRC site as possible to give existing customers a similar buying experience. I’ve set a preliminary goal of having the new website market ready and functional in December. In discussing with a web developer this afternoon, the key reason we can make this deadline is that we know what we want, in fact I directed the web developer, Bethany to the GFRC site for an introductory peek.This week I’ll develop the website functionality requirement and then schedule a 1st meeting with Bethany so that she can develop a project plan and time line for website completion.

I’ll keep you and the blog readers posted on this week’s progress and next steps.

Rich

Huge Twin Lakes Collection Consignment - Part 1 Arrives!

The Twin Lakes Collection is back with a substantial release of Liberty Seated coinage including a host of better dates and die varieties. Today brings the first installment which captures half dimes through a portion of the Liberty Seated dimes. One will immediately note the consistent quality and many better dates in the subsequent gallery.

By now, the GFRC community is well aware that Twin Lakes is building an epic PCGS AU58 CAC collection that spans the Draped and Capped Bust series along with Liberty Seated and Barbers. Recently, our friend as also branched out into U.S. gold. But the acquisition criteria remains constant. GFRC has become the outlet for all duplicates as a project of this magnitude requires the constant inflow of numismatic capital.

Since offer prices have been approved, I've listed those prices within the gallery display to simplify the workload of responding to pricing inquiries.

Please have a close look at the gallery contents as the Twin Lakes pieces are selling quickly. Already, the 1864-S H10c, 1834 10c, 1842-O 10c, and 1849-O 10c are on hold. Hopefully, I will have all piece posted to the 30 Day Price List by end of day.

Twin Lakes Collection - Important PCGS AU58 Offerings

Offer Price as Marked - First Come, First Serve

1863 PCGS AU58 H10C - $900 1864-S PCGS AU58 H10C - $1300

1867 PCGS AU58 H10C - $1550 1834 JR-7 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C Ex Benson - $1395

1842-O F-102 PCGS AU58 10C - $2150 1849-O F-102 PCGS AU58 10C - $2500

1851-O F-101 PCGS AU58 10C - $4250 1858-S F-103 PCGS AU55 10C - $4895

1831 LM-4 PCGS AU58 H10C OGH - $575 1848-O PCGS AU58 H10C - $675 1838 PD F-108a PCGS AU58 10C - $1150

1843 RPD F-102 PCGS AU58 10C - $575 1853 F-125 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C - $415 1854-O Unlisted PCGS AU58 10C - $500

Whitman Baltimore Show - A Multifaceted GFRC Event

The forthcoming Whitman Baltimore show (October 27 - 29) will be GFRC's most ambitious effort to date. Two new features will be added to the large booth display area.

First is a most exciting GFRC Online Auctions event whereby GFRC will be conducting auction lot preview of the entire Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection. We are trying an exciting new approach for the preview and display by having the collection owner handling the event. Yes, Aaron Heintz will be hosting the lot viewing of his collection at the GFRC booth on Thursday and Friday and sharing the story behind the building of this impressive collection that includes several finest known specimens. The Newtown Seated Dime collection is a complete set with an impressive 86% CAC approval rate including the big four Carson City dates; 1871-CC PCGS VF35, 1872-CC PCGS VF35 CAC, 1873-CC PCGS VF30, and 1874-CC PCGS VG10 CAC.

Second is the debut of the GFRC-Lite subsidiary at the Whitman Baltimore show. Rich Hundertmark will be a general GFRC table assistant while also displaying his first case of offerings as a separate business entity.

I hope that these events will provide the East Coast collector community with a reason for attending the Whitman show!

Global Financial News

The world is facing an energy crisis, plain and simple. Natural gas prices are hitting records in Europe after Putin closes Nordstream 1. Crude oil prices will move back up as OPEC+ has decided to slow output. California has an electrical grid and supply issue during a heat wave. All will have heightened inflation impacts.

Equity markets are opening the week on an optimistic note per the following morning market futures.

In Asia, Japan flat. Hong Kong -0.1%. China +1.4%. India -0.1%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris +0.6%. Frankfurt +1.1%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.6%. S&P +0.6%. Nasdaq +0.7%.

At the moment, crude oil is priced at $87/bbl after hitting $90 during the weekend. Spot gold is priced at $1722/oz and Bitcoin is at an even $20,000.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield has increased to 3.23%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be in the GFRC office the entire day other than a quick trip into Raymond to drop off shipping.

Thanks again for stopping by at the Daily Blog. Be well!

Monday September 5, 2022

A Rainy Labor Day Monday - Working Through Shipping Queue

Preparing Twin Lakes Consignment Rollout

and

Spring Pond Needs a Spillway

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on the Labor Day Monday holiday. Your ongoing patronage is appreciated.

An old fashion 24-hour rainy day is on store for the Labor Day holiday here in southern Maine. I've almost forgotten what a full day of rain feels like after a dry summer. Throughout the summer months, the only source of precipitation was thunderstorm induced downpours and the constant fear of trail erosion. A daily long steady rain that is ground soaking is much preferred. From the view from the back deck, it appears that the barn has remained dry inside. This is a positive step.

Given that today is a washout, the plan is two-fold. First is preparing a pile of shipping for Tuesday deposit at the Raymond post office. Doug the Mailman is still on vacation leading to inexperienced replacement carriers being unable to return to the post office in time for catching the outgoing 4:00 PM pickup. Second is Twin Lakes image processing with the hope of building an initial gallery for Tuesday's Blog. That pretty much sums up the day as Diane is now in Austin for two weeks. Yes, it is the boys club again with Gerry and Buddy hanging out together as close pals.

As committed to the community, yesterday's new U.S. gold and Seated dime offerings were posted to the price list after spending much of the day cleaning up the spring pond grounds. I'm pleased to report that sales have been robust with a price list update arriving after the Blog is uploaded.

Spring Pond Needs a Spillway

Much of Sunday was spent down at the expanded spring pond with awareness of the coming rain. The pond is filling in nicely at the rate of 7-8" per day and will overflow its southern dam by mid week. A spillway must be quickly constructed to control the erosion at the exit point. Like with all back acreage projects, building infrastructure is the initial step to gain access to the intended project. In the case of the spring pond and spillway, the surrounding area must be cleared with enough space for Johnny2 to operate. Secondly, the ground becomes soft and muddy during any rain event and must be made passable with stone coverage.

Following is an image taken mid-afternoon Sunday after applying a host of 1.5" stone tractor loads while removing surfaces rocks. Those rocks are being transported to the stone walls surrounding the barn construction project. The most likely exit point for the pond is marked with a white arrow and the location where the spillway will be constructed. The problem is that I am unable to access that spot with Johnny2 given the trees on the right. The spillway must be manually constructed with shovel, a tamper for the clay, and a host of rip-rap sized rocks that will be foraged from the trails and transported in by Johnny2. The key question becomes when the pond will overflow its southern dam given two days of rain that will accelerate the feeding spring. Stay tuned at the Daily Blog for the latest updates as I'm committed to getting the spillway installed to preserve the dam's integrity. If all goes to plan, 2023 brings the introduction of trout into the pond.

For new Blog readers, here is where the spring pond digging project began back in August of last year. This spring fed pond has seen two substantial expansions since the below image was taken.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Unfortunately, this is all the content that is available for today's Blog edition. With Diane in Austin, I will be fully consumed with supporting the GFRC business, taking care of Buddy, and ensuring that the barn construction project continues to move forward. Constructing a spring pond spillway is just another task to manage in a busy life.

I hope that you've enjoyed today's visit and will return on Tuesday for the initial installment of a substantial Twin Lakes consignment.

Be well!

Sunday September 4, 2022

Back In the Office - CAC Approved U.S. Gold to Consider

and

Another Installment from the Seated Dime Reference Collection

Greetings on a seasonal Labor Day Sunday and welcome to the Daily Blog. I hope that your weekend is going well.

A southern Maine day starts with blue skies and a temperature in the high 50s. The changing of the seasons is quickly becoming apparent as late afternoon temperatures are dropping quickly. Last evening's back deck happy hour time required pants rather than shorts. Hints of red and yellow foliage is starting to appear within the back acreage landscape and a prelude of what is to come by the end of month.

After two solid days of working outdoors, Saturday brought a regular day in the GFRC office. Consignment checks were issued along with photography and image processing. There was much to catch-up with. However, order shipments are being delayed until Tuesday for security reasons. I hope that everyone can understand the uncomfortable feeling of having GFRC packages remaining in distribution centers during a long holiday weekend.

This morning's Blog feels challenging to compose given a lack of inspiration. Therefore, let's shift into two new offering displays that might be found enticing. Let's start with several U.S. gold pieces.

Back In the Office - CAC Approved U.S. Gold to Consider

A decades high U.S. dollar continues to place downward pressure on spot gold and silver pieces. Much of the early U.S. gold that collectors accumulate may have bullion value but is not the primary reason for being collected. Early U.S. gold are substantial American artifacts worthy of inclusion into a long numismatic holding. Case in point are gold coins struck at the short lived Charlotte and Dahlonega mints.

GFRC is pleased to be offering a near-gem 1854 Large D Dahlonega issued $5 gold piece with CAC approval as the gallery's marquee coin. One look at the images should convince of the well preserved surfaces and gorgeous coloration. This piece just arrived into the office on Friday from a new client that is disposing of his duplicate gold via GFRC. I'm not afraid to pay strong monies when this level of eye appeal is available. Next are two more "common" pieces including an 1858 $1 Type 3 Indian Princess and an 1878 $2.5 gold piece. The 1858 $1 is already sold to an astute collector. Look for the remaining two pieces to post to the price list by end of day.

Back In the Office - CAC Approved U.S. Gold to Consider

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1854-D Large D PCGS AU55 CAC G$5

1858 PCGS MS62 CAC G$1 1878 PCGS AU55 CAC G$2.5

Another Installment from the Seated Dime Reference Collection

Raising personal numismatic capital is becoming a priority due to the number of potential Seated Dime core collection upgrades that will be reaching the market during the next six months. Today brings a smogasbord of offerings including the important 1855 F-103a Doubled Date (Proof Dies) release, the superb 1877 Type 1 in MS65+ CAC, and other web-book plate coins. I will be making an effort to stage one of the releases per week through the beginning of November. Those that wish to acquire "fresh" Seated dimes should continue to monitor the Daily Blog.

A host of price inquiries arrived during the overnight hours. These will be responded to after the Blog is uploaded. Of course, all web-book plate coins will see these improved images employed as upgrades for the inferior quality images prepared during 2003-2004 time frame.

Another Installment from the Seated Dime Reference Collection

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1877 Type 1 Unlisted PCGS MS65+ CAC 10C 1877 Type 2 F-103 NGC MS64 10C

1841-O F-107a PCGS VF35 10C 1850 F-107 PCGS MS62 10C 1855 F-101a PCGS EF40 10C

1856 SD F-108 PCGS MS62 10C 1858 F-104 PCGS MS63 10C OGH

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this time as I wish to get on with another busy day. After responding to pricing inquiries, I'm heading down to the trails and the expanded spring pond to check the water level and clarity.

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office during the afternoon and early evening hours.

I hope that the entire readership enjoys a relaxing holiday weekend. Be well!

Saturday September 3, 2022

An Expanded Spring Pond

and

Never Ever Trust FedEx

Greetings on a Labor Day weekend Saturday and welcome to the Daily Blog. I'm pleased that the readership is hanging with me while taking two days away from the GFRC office.

Let's open today's edition with a shout out to my buddy Dave Wilkinson. Dave has been the execution arm of the Ledge Hill Trails project and now, the barn site and solar power preparation efforts. This individual has taken my ideas and turned them into reality along with being an outstanding heavy equipment mentor. We are fortunate during a lifetime when hard working and knowledgeable individuals like Dave appear to share our passion leading to amazing results.

Friday brought the second GFRC office vacation day and freedom to work in the back acreage. There was a laundry list of items to accomplish with Dave's trusty excavator. A second apple tree was liberated along with taking down and "limbing" another huge oak tree that would block early afternoon sunshine. The south side of the barn is now ready for 2023 solar panel installation. Next came a half day at the spring pond and an expansion project in the deep woods. Come next year, the spring pond should be ready for trout introduction.

Dave and I wrapped up at 5:00 PM just in time for a shower and happy hour on the back deck with Diane. When checking afternoon emails on the cellphone, an "oh crap" moment arose due to a double system failure by Heritage Rare Coins and FedEx. At this point, FedEx is high on my list of untrustworthy business entities. More on that topic shortly.

An Expanded Spring Pond

That tiny bubbling spring on the edge of the northeast property line has been transformed into a peaceful sanctuary for Ledge Hill Trails visitors and local wildlife.

Friday afternoon brought repairs to the existing pond and a substantial expansion effort. The spring is located in a relatively flat but wet area of the property. Water flowing from the hillside collects into a bough beyond the spring pond outlet. That bough is located on the adjacent property. The challenge is building a fish pond and staying within a tight property line. Therefore any expansion must be carefully thought through.

The first order of business was removing fallen rocks into the pond from the north retaining wall. A portion of that wall had given way after last year's effort to dig the spring inlet deeper for increase water flow. Next came correcting a retained water issue in front of the spring which leaves the ground muddy after a rain event. Dave dug a ditch that drains that area into the pond. My role was to fill the ditch with 1.5" stone transported in by Johnny2.

The pond expansion was next with several trees being felled and their stumps removed. This first image captures Dave attempting to extract the stumps and roots from the ground where a dam will be installed to raise the outlet level by nearly 3' along with the expansion. The large pine tree trunk at the top right is the property line. My apology for the many reflections and shadows are we are working under a partially treed canopy.

Once the outlet dam was in place, Dave proceed to dig the expansion. He used the classic technique of leaving a small berm to hold back the water while the expansion area was dug out. That berm is not visible in the image due to reflections.

This final image captures the expanded pond as Dave and I wrapped at 4:30 PM. The sun was much lower in the sky which eliminated the overhead canopy sunlight and shadows found in the prior two images.

Once today's Blog edition is uploaded, you can bet that I'm heading done to the spring pond to check on water level and clarity. Over a twelve hour period, I'm certain that the silt has settled with the end state being visible.

Never Ever Trust FedEx

After two days of outdoor work, I was looking forward to happy hour on the back deck to start the Labor Day weekend. Diane shared stories from her Boston day trip as we both relaxed. My cellphone was retrieved to show the picture of the expanded spring pond. Afterwards, emails were quickly checked with FedEx notifying me that the two Tom Bender dimes had been delivery to our Florida condo.

Here is the story and a very lucky ending.....

On Tuesday, Heritage sent email notice that the Bender dimes had been shipped. The destination was checked to find that our Florida address had not been changed to Maine on the Heritage system. After attempting to use the FedEx website to redirect the shipment to Maine and failing due to strict Heritage requirements, I called Heritage first thing on Wednesday morning and spoke with Karen in Customer Service. She confirmed that Heritage would contact FedEx and have the shipment returned to Dallas for reshipment to Maine. There was nothing to worry about as the shipment required signature confirmation. OK, I put the matter out of my mind given all that was taking place at the homestead with contractors.

Well, a double system failure took place on the part of Heritage and FedEx. Heritage obviously did not notify FedEx and FedEx dropped the shipment off at the Florida condo door claiming my signature at the time of delivery. Yes, I have the PDF file stating that I signed for the package at 12:11 PM on Friday. What a load of crap....

As you might imagine, I'm quite upset at this point but calmly called Heritage to notify them of the issue and potential theft risk as the package has been sitting at my doorway for over five hours. I called Heritage at 4:45 Central Time and received an automated message that the call was placed after normal business hours ending at 5:00 PM Central Time. Yep, the Heritage staff had cut out early for Labor Day weekend.

Next came a call to FedEx and after working through the many automated messages, I spoke to an agent explaining what their carrier had done. The agent could only open a case and forward to the Punta Gorda office for their review and action. We've seen this movie before when GFRC attempted to use FedEx for a month with the same type of issues. I was given a case number as pacification and told that someone would call me from FedEx in the next 48 hours with a status update.

Two major corporations failed a collector that promptly reached out for support.

My only recourse was to call a person on the Auburn Lakes Condo Association board and ask for their kindness during the dinner hour. That person walked over to our front door and retrieved the FedEx box. Diane will secure the box when she flies to Florida condo in October.

Never ever trust FedEx! Following is a screen capture of the PDF file that states that G. Fortin signed for this package at 12:11 PM.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's close the Blog with a Happy Labor Day weekend wish for the readership. I will be in the office most of today and definitely on Sunday and Monday towards catching up on consignments backlog.

Several U.S. gold purchases have arrived along with another consignment.

Thank-you for sharing time with GFRC. Be well!

Friday September 2, 2022

Thursday's Perfect Storm Summary - Barn and Land Clearing Progress

and

Dave Wilkinson Day 2 - Working on the Spring Pond

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog as we move into Labor Day weekend 2022. Today's Blog content will be entirely non-numismatic as a warning to those who like to view new purchase and consignment galleries.

Thursday brought a thoroughly busy day, actually one of the busiest multi-event days in a long time. I'm happy to report that all went well with significant progress. Not mentioned in yesterday's Blog is the fact that Diane went to Boston early to spend the day with Chikae and Natsumi. As usual, for security reasons, we do not discuss our whereabouts in advance when away from the homestead. Bottom line, I was home alone with Buddy the Dog and three different contractors on the property at the same time. Thank goodness for years in the semiconductor industry and the ability to multi-task with ease.

Unfortunately, the day was so consuming that few images were taken. Here is Thursday's recap.

I was out the door and down to the barn by 7:15 AM. The Husky chain saw was readied along with Johnny2 fueled followed by Dave Wilkinson appearing with his trusty excavator. The location of the geophysical resistivity sensors and powering wire were explained to Dave followed by carefully parking the dump truck and trailed as close to the settler's stone wall as possible. Once the excavator was inside the "compound", we visited the badly leaning maple trunk and discussed options. I asked Dave if he has experience taking down a "leaner" like this. He responded, "sure, but not so close to strike a building if we screw up." I have extreme confidence with Dave and went with his plan of notching the maple to fall to the left of the barn along with Dave positioning the excavator's bucket accordingly. The plan was to make a deep notch cut (50% of the trunk) and slowly conduct the final cross cut with Dave applying pressure from the excavator. Talk about being pumped when the maple dropped consistent with the notch cut. Dave was also relieved to say the least. Even neighbor Sharon was watching along with the geophysical consultant. Thank goodness we did not screw this one up,

The only issue of the day appeared next. Dave moved on to clearing the area south of the new boulder retaining wall while I "limbed" the downed maple. While cutting trunk into pieces, one cut pinched the end of the chainsaw bar. Yes, a trip to Windham for a replacement was necessary. Just as I was about to rush to Windham, Pete arrives followed by a roofing strategy session. Pete agreement to install the roofing underlayment that Hammond Lumber provided rather than tar paper. This new material is of superior quality with no bubbling during rain and temperature cycling. Great! I'm off to Windham and purchased two chainsaw bars and an extra chain.

Once back on site, Pete is on the barn roof, Dave is ready for my chainsaw effort and the geophysical consultant with laying 700' of wire across two properties with a host of metal rods being pounded into the ground. From that point on, all went smoothly with much accomplished. Pete and the geophysical consultant when gone by 2:00 PM leaving Dave and I working until 5:00 PM. To maximize productivity, Dave and I have an operating agreement. Dave remains in his excavator cab while I conduct all the chain saw work. Much can be accomplished in a day's time when the excavator is in constant motion.

By 5:30 PM, I was physically exhausted but Buddy required his bio break and a brief walk. After a shower and a hefty pour of tequila, the balance of the day brought time on the back deck and a quick dinner. At 6:30, Diane calls in that she is stuck on Boston's infamous Storrow Drive due to university moving in traffic and will be home late.

Let's start the image gallery with a summary photography taken at 5:30 PM from the back deck. Immediately seen is the sealed barn roof thanks to Pete's effort. The leaning maple trunk remaining on the ground to the right of the barn. Please note the cleared area behind the barn including the discovery of a lovely apple tree behind the left corner of the barn. Actually, there is a second apple tree that will be uncovered today. One can note the steep grade as Dave's excavator is barely visible behind the boulder retaining wall.

I'm consistently amazed with the lifting and pulling power of Dave's small excavator. This substantial pine tree has an 18" trunk at the cutting point.

It did not take long to overload the burn pit with the many tree cuttings and stumps. We decided to clear out the area south of the burn pit to create a secondary brush staging area. This image captures Dave smoothing out the area (after a complete clearing) to allow safe access with Johnny2 for moving brush into the burn pit.

This final image shares the view from the main pathway looking left and uphill to the barn. Note the liberated apple tree that is a welcomed addition to the property. In the foreground are the heating BTU spoils of the day. The boulder retaining wall has also been enhanced given the endless supply of granite rock on site.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Dave will be arriving in less than 30 minutes therefore, I need to get into the shower along with providing Diane with shipping instructions. Yes, I was up at 4:00 AM responding to overnight purchase orders and preparing a small amount of shipping and new purchases checks.

Today brings another full day in the back acreage with the focus on the connector trail and the expanding the spring pond. I'm pumped for the potential improvements.

GFRC email orders will be responded to after dinner or early on Saturday morning. I plan to spend much of the Labor Day weekend in the GFRC to catch up on the business.

Thanks for staying abreast of all that takes place at GFRC and the homestead. At 66, I feel that life is just beginning....

Be well!

Thursday September 1, 2022

Perfect Storm - Multiple Back Acreage Events Today

and

GFRC Office is Closed!

Greetings on the first day of September and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank-you for checking in.

As today's headlines indicate, the day brings an unexpected perform storm of back acreage activities that will require my attention. Therefore, the GFRC office will be closed today.

So what is going on?

First, Dave Wilkinson arrives with his excavator for the previously discussed tree cutting and other Ledge Hill Trail activities.

Second, Pete Theberge is returning to apply tar paper to the barn roof since timing for the asphalt shingle application remains an unknown. A shout out goes to David Kahn of DKRC for the tar paper installation advice.

Third, our neighbors Sharon and Rick Dodson have a geophysical resistivity measurement taking place today via a consulting firm. That measurement requires the injection of electrical current into the ground (metal rods into the ground) across the full length of both of our properties to map out the underlying granite formations. The goal is determining the best possible location for their new well. The planned current injection and measurement location is directly in front of the settler's stone wall on both of our properties since our producing well is in that location.

At 7:30 AM, Dave arrives with a dump trunk and trailer with the excavator along with Pete and his truck. 8:30 AM brings the arrival of the consulting firm. Parking Dave's and Pete's vehicles will require careful consideration.

I've been awake since 4:30 AM and have responded to overnight orders and conducted a price list update for those lots that have moved to hold status. Next is a shower before heading down to the barn and preparing the chain saw for a day of tree felling and cutting along with fueling Johhny2.

Thanks for stopping by. Please Friday's Blog edition for a report on all the back acreage events. Be well.

Wednesday August 31, 2022

Two Liberty Seated Dime Releases from Reference Collection

and

Awesome Morgans from the Westend Avenue Collection

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on the final day of August 2022. I'm excited about the pending September and October autumn months!

Darkness and rain sum up the southern Maine situation at 6:30 AM. Prior to sitting down in front of the laptop, I strolled down to the barn to check on the internal situation given the rain. Yes, the inside of the barn is wet as the unshingled roof is leaking like a sieve. Since starting to move tractor support items into the barn, I need to know the situation and where to build elevated storage. This morning's stroll and check answered that question. There is a sense of urgency for securing someone to shingle the roof at this point.

This past week, portable power generator YouTube videos have been consumed. I'm on a crash course to learn as much as possible for the spring 2023 purchase of a barn power station that will be charged by solar panels. So far, the leading contenders are Pecron, Bluetti, and ECOflow. The Bluetti is particularly interesting with its ability to add incremental modules up to 6kW hours of battery storage. The barn's primary power requirements will be outdoor tool charging, lighting, and the motor operator for the 16'x9' garage style door. Of course, a small workshop will certainly appear requiring additional surge capacity.

Let's return to numismatics....

Two Liberty Seated Dime Releases from Reference Collection

With the second installment of the Tom Bender collection being sold during the Winter FUN 2023 time frame, I'm on a mission to continually liquidate the remaining Liberty Seated Dime reference collection housed in three double row slab boxes. Raising capital is key for playing in the upcoming auction and further improvement of the core collection.

Today brings the release of two new offerings. First up is the 1841 F-104 web-book plate coin with repunched 184 and rotated reverse. This is the second pairing of the repunched 1841 obverse with a different reverse die though the reverse die alignment is the same as F-103. Second is an incredibly original 1866-S F-103 specimen with CAC approval that is also the Greer plate coin for his DLRC Press guidebook. A check of the CAC population report indicates 5 at EF40, 2 at EF45, and 1 at AU50 before a significant gap to choice and gem Mint State. I've so glad that my core set example is one of the two finest known at MS65 CAC with the Tom Bender example just selling for $15,600.

Two Liberty Seated Dime Releases from Reference Collection

1841 RPD F-104 NGC MS64 CAC 10C - Priced at $1850 1866-S F-103 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C - Priced at $1450

Awesome Morgans from the Westend Avenue Collection

Let's keep moving along with three fresh consignment arrivals from the Westend Avenue Collection. This client is slowly liquidating his current collection and releasing some mighty fine pieces via GFRC. Morgan dollar fans should take immediate note as I expect these lovely offerings to be gone by the end of day. Offer prices were approved during the overnight and are posted below. So far, there are inquiries on the 1883-CC and the 1881-S MS66+. These individuals have first shot.

Awesome Morgans from the Westend Avenue Collection

1883-CC PCGS MS65PL CAC $1 - Priced at $1125

1881-S PCGS MS66+ CAC $1 - $585 1881-S NGC MS65 CAC $1 - $725

CAC Again Closes Tier 1 Submission Effective September 1

Say it ain't true! Yesterday brought the third time that CAC has closed down its Tier 1 submissions. The effective day is September 1. This is unfortunate as I had planned a substantial Liberty Seated dime submission along with Morgan dollars on behalf of two consignors. When the Tier 1 level will reopen is an unknown.

Also sitting at CAC is a post ANA vacation submission that has a host of new purchases. Hopefully, I will see these back at soon point next week.

Global Financial News

Though Tuesday morning market futures were forecasting a 1% gain, U.S. equity markets dropped a full point by the closing bell with the S&P 500 at 3,986. The bad news just keeps on coming with UK inflation reporting in at 9.1%. The saints of green energy, EU members, are restarting coal fired plants for winter electricity. China continues to build incremental coal plants also. In the U.S., tomatoes may be in short supply this winter due to western drought issues.

Being financial diversified is now more important than ever given the financial market headwinds and never ending and unpredictable crises that are disrupting food, energy, and manufactured goods supply chains. A balance of real estate, stocks, and commodities including rare coins allows me to sleep well at night.

Here are today's morning market futures for what they are worth.

In Asia, Japan -0.4%. Hong Kong flat. China -0.8%. India closed.

In Europe, at midday, London -1.2%. Paris -0.8%. Frankfurt -0.5%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow flat. S&P +0.2%. NASDAQ +0.6%.

Serious recession fears must be rising as WTI crude has dropped to $88.66/bbl. Wasn't just a week ago that Saudi Arabia was suggesting production cuts?

Spot gold continue to struggle at $1723/oz while Bitcoin is flat at $20,294. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has increased to 3.14%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today's Blog edition is short as I have a 10:00 AM annual Mazda Miata inspection in Raymond along with the ability to drop off shipping. Today's shipping is limited as the bulk of the Huntington West Virginia auction sale ship aheads went out on Monday and Tuesday.

Since I will be working outdoors all day tomorrow with Dave Wilkinson and his excavator, today bring a long office day to wrap up August sales. Please don't be bashful concerning a coin order or consignment proposal.

Thursday's Daily Blog edition is presently an unknown but I'm sure there will be something to discuss from before Dave arrives at 7:30 AM.

Thanks for checking in. Be well.

Tuesday August 30, 2022

Homestead Barn Construction Update

GFRC Lite Coin Show Debut - Annandale VA December 10-11

Making Progress with Massive Twin Lakes Consignment

and

Dave Wilkinson and Excavator Back on Thursday

Greetings on a pleasantly cool Tuesday morning here in southern Maine. The Labor Day weekend and the month of September are within reach. Thank-you for checking in.

The past two days have been hectic to say the least given the post Huntington West Virginia auction workload. Now that the invoicing is completed with unsold coins posted to the 30 Day Price List and Collectors Corner, orders are appearing along with "what is your best price" inquiries. The GFRC policy is not to discount auction lots below their reserves for at least 30-60 days. With the Manchester NH and Whitman Baltimore shows approaching in October, I'm responding to inquiries that prices are firm.

Today brings another heavy shipping day as more auction lots will be shipped ahead to well known clients. Unfortunately, Doug the Mailman is on vacation again which means driving in the outgoing shipments to the Raymond post office to ensure it is loaded onto the 4:00 PM departure truck. GFRC's old time service means ensuring that shipments arrive to clients as soon as possible.

Homestead Barn Construction Update

There is good and bad news concerning the homestead barn construction project. First the good news is illustrated in the below image. Pete Theberge returned on Monday to wrap the barn walls with Typar allowing for internal storage of Johnny2 and supporting items. Once the roofing shingles are layered in place, the barn is ready for installing windows, the side door and the large 16'x9" overhead door.

Now the bad news, Pete is unable to secure a response from his planned roofing subcon. He has a potential Plan B alternative which his must coerce during a Labor Day weekend fishing event. Securing a roof is critical to moving forward at this point. The second piece of bad news is visible in the below image. I'll let readers study the image for a few moments before disclosing what that issue is and how it will be resolved.

GFRC-Lite Coin Show Debut - Annandale VA December 10-11

Rich Hundertmark texted on Monday that GFRC-Lite will make its coin show debut at the Annandale Virginia two day event on December 10 and 11. Rich will have a single table with two cases of consigned inventory from GFRC. The new GFRC-Lite table apron has also arrived to the Maine office and will be transferred to Rich at Whitman Baltimore.

For those who are questioning where GFRC stops and GFRC-Lite begins, let's just say that lower priced holdered coins including Details graded items along with raw inventory will be shifting to GFRC-Lite. This type of inventory is ideal for smaller shows as GFRC is not transporting these items to the large coin show events. More business details will be forthcoming in late September.

Making Progress with Massive Twin Lakes Consignment

Now that the latest GFRC auction is behind me, the focus promptly shifts to a huge Twin Lakes Collection consignment that primarily consists of PCGS AU58 Liberty Seated coinage along with Capped Bust and Barber offerings.

Monday brought photography completion followed by most of the consignment receiving GFRC quality system ratings while being entered into the COIN database. Today brings the last of the database loading and first pass pricing recommendations. Image processing will be a multi-day task that brings us into the Labor Day weekend for the initial Daily Blog gallery posting.

This consignment has a host of better and key dates, especially in the Liberty Seated quarter denomination. Please keep following the Blog for updates.

Dave Wilkinson and Excavator Back on Thursday

My good buddy, Dave Wilkinson, returns with his excavator on Thursday, September 1 for a full day of odds and ends projects concerning the barn and Ledge Hill Trails efforts. Key to bringing in Dave this week is a bad news barn issue that needs to be resolved before installing the roofing and low maintenance cedar shake siding.

Have you studied the above barn site image where I purposely display the tall oaks and maples to the right of the barn? As with all major projects, one does the best to anticipate potential issues and have those resolve proactively. In this case, the barn placement was pushed back further away from the pathway and turned counter clockwise to improve the aesthetics. Unfortunately, there is a long maple trunk with a bad lean directly into the back side of the barn. If this tree trunk were to drop today, the last 10' of branches would rest on the barn's roof. Waiting another year or two brings even more peril.

Below is the same image as above with a white frame that documents the maple tree trunk that must be removed on Thursday. Dave and I will determine the safest direction for dropping the trunk and positioning the excavator so as to push the trunk into that intended direction during the felling process. I'm not worried about hanging up the maple trunk on the adjacent oak as the excavator will be able to drag it down.

There will be a brief 7:00 AM Blog edition with the balance of the day being spent in the woods with Dave. We will be clearing trees behind the new boulder retaining wall along with spring pond repairs and expansion.

Global Financial News

Monday brought a quiet trading day on Wall Street after Friday's selloff resulting from tough inflation talk by Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole. The fact that investors did not follow through with more selling on Monday brings some optimism. Tuesday morning market futures are pointing to roughly a full point upside side at the opening of trading.

In Asia, Japan +1.1%. Hong Kong -0.4%. China -0.4%. India +2.7%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +1.1%. Frankfurt +1.8%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.7%. S&P +0.9%. NASDAQ +1.2%.

Spot gold is unable to escape the U.S. dollar headwind and is quoting at $1745/oz. WTI crude is up slightly at $95.26/bbl while Bitcoin also back to $20,357.

As interest rates continue to climb, so do mortgage rates. High borrowing costs translate into lower buying power with pressure on housing prices. The recent run-up in housing appears to have peaked and is now succumbing to higher interest rates. The following Seeking Alpha headline article sums up the situation. Also note towards the end of the article that the writer does not believe we are currently in a recession.

The housing market comes into focus at 9 a.m. as the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index reveals trends for the end of the second quarter. The data for June will highlight resales of single-family homes in 20 metropolitan regions across the nation at the start of the typically hot summer buying season. Many have recently weighed in on the industry, especially as the Fed continues its aggressive rate hiking cycle, though some say the fundamentals are still intact despite current volatility.

Quote: "We still will have, even for the deals that are under contract, a very high cancellation rate. It's just hard to put deals together because the economy is [in] a remarkably uncertain time," noted Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "In 2007, we predicted there would be a crash. We were selling homes to people who couldn’t afford them, where they couldn't even make the first mortgage payment. And that's just not the case. Right now, there are trillions of dollars, and people who are buying homes have great credit scores."

Average mortgage rates reached 5.2% in Q2, according to Fannie Mae, and while that represents a major increase from the 3.2% seen in the first week of January, it's still low by historical standards. Furthermore, mortgage rates are projected to decline next year, easing back to an average of 4.5% in 2023.

Correction? Most of the worries in the housing market center around whether the U.S. plunges into recession. In that event, Moody's Analytics forecasts that house prices will fall between 5%-10%, and in 183 overvalued areas, properties could crash 15%-20%. It comes as sales of new single-family homes slid to their lowest level in nearly seven years in July, tumbling 12.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511K.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings morning shipping along with spending time to prepare for Dave Wilkinson's Thursday visit. The Husky chain saw must be ready for a long day of tree cutting. I will probably cut down a few smaller trees today to speed up Thursday's main event.

Therefore, I will be in and out of the GFRC office throughout the day but conscientious about responding to email purchase orders quickly.

Thanks again for stopping by. Be well.

Monday August 29, 2022

Huntington West Virginia Auction Closing Admin and Lobster Rolls

Greetings on a pleasant Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. As always, thank-you for checking in.

Today's edition will truly be brief as closing out the Huntington West Virginia auction sale took most of Sunday. This auction saw a host of single coin purchases which translates into a substantial amount of invoicing. As of this morning, there are still five more invoices to issue. But that is only a portion of the workload. Now comes the winning bidder emails with special payment requests and shipping dates. Some wish to have their invoices revised to include price list purchases.

Today's Blog headline pretty much sums up Sunday's situation. By 4:00 PM, Diane and I were tired and went to Raymond's Fisherman Catch eatery for lobster rolls and beers. Afterwards, we were back in the office until 8:00 PM. This image captures Sunday's admin and shipping preparation outcome. But there are more shipments to prepare this morning along with the first round shipping.

If responses to your incremental service request are delayed, please understand that we remain focused on clearing out the auction invoicing first. Afterwards, I will work through the response emails and do my best to execute your instructions. My plan is to be conservative with ship aheads until I have payment confirmations.

The unsold Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale lots are now loaded to the price list. Already the 1853-D $5 is on hold as testament that lots not selling at auction will be scooped up once reaching the 30 Day Price List. Given today's workload, the Collectors Corner update will be delayed until Tuesday.

Global Financial News

Is Jerome Powell the reincarnated Paul Volcker? If does appear that way after his Jackson Hole speech that took down equity markets on Friday. I'll let Seeking Alpha explain the situation by publishing this morning lead financial storyline.

The economic symposium down in Jackson Hole was about as hawkish as investors could have expected, sending markets into a tailspin on Friday. All three major averages slumped between 3%-4%, sending risk-off signals to other sectors and asset classes (Bitcoin fell below $20K for the first time since early July). Sentiment may remain dented in the week ahead, or stay at somewhat of a standstill until the release of fresh market data (home prices on Tuesday and the jobs report on Friday). No doves here: Going into Jackson Hole, there were some hopes that the Fed would telegraph a "pivot" on its aggressive policy tightening, but Chair Jerome Powell shot down any such intentions. "Restoring price stability will take some time and is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth and softer labor market conditions," he told the conference, adding that the road ahead would "bring some pain to households and businesses." It's a clear message that the central bank is willing to forego any economic gains made during the pandemic, and possibly a soft landing, in order to ensure that inflation doesn't get out of control. "July's increase in the target range was the second 75-basis-point increase in as many meetings and I said then that another unusually large increase could be appropriate at our next meeting," Powell continued. "We are now about halfway through the intermeeting period. Our decision at the September meeting will depend on the totality of the incoming data and the evolving outlook. At some point, as the stance of monetary policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases." Is Powell the new Paul Volcker? In his speech, the Chair referenced the famous inflation slayer of the 1980s, saying part of the equation in anchoring price stability was to also break the grip on inflationary expectations. As pressures become more entrenched, more people expect them to remain high, and factor them into their wage and price decisions. "A lengthy period of very restrictive monetary policy was ultimately needed to stem the high inflation in the early 1980s... after multiple failed attempts over the previous 15 years... and our aim is to avoid that outcome by acting with resolve now."

Morning market futures are pointing to a full point drop at 9:30 AM which is follow-on selling from Friday's reaction. Let's hope that the selling abates rather than becoming a panic.

In Asia, Japan -2.7%. Hong Kong -0.7%. China +0.1%. India -1.5%.
In Europe, at midday, London closed. Paris -1.9%. Frankfurt -1.6%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.9%. S&P -1.1%. NASDAQ -1.3%.

WTI crude oil pricing is holding steady at $94/bbl which signals that energy investors believe that the U.S. will not fall into a deep recession.

Spot gold has pulled back on the Powell comments as the U.S. dollar climbs to a multi-decade high against other currencies. The morning quote is $1734/oz. Bitcoin is also caught in the selling trend at $19,807.

The Ten Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has climbed further to 3.12%

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point. Yes, I will be in the office the entire day again wrapping up the auction event and needs to push last week's new purchase showcase to the price list. So much for time on Johnny2 today.

See you tomorrow at the Blog. Be well!

Sunday August 28, 2022

Preparing Civil War Hill Trail for Autumn Walking Season

and

The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale Summary Comments

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a post GFRC Online Auctions Sunday morning. Thank-you for stopping by and checking in on these numismatic ramblings.

A beautiful southern Maine day is arriving with the longing to be hanging out with Johnny2 in the back trails. But not today as the Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale admin workload and winning bidder invoicing will take priority. Saturday afternoon brought a taste of the calm and cool temperatures while working inside an overhead forest canopy. With September arriving in a few days, the prime trail walking season will be upon us. Cooler overnight temperatures translates into a much reduced insect population for walking without long sleeves or bug spray. Making incremental progress with trail smoothing (graveling as I call it) takes renewed priority now that the barn situation has stabilized.

Following is an image taken at 5:00 PM yesterday while on the northern segment and looking down onto the Civil War Hill portion of the trail. The name Civil War Hill was coined by Kevin Johnson as one should walk down this trail segment rather than up given its steep downhill slope along with the period settlers of that era. The image captures trail smoothing with crushed brick gravel and back dragging with Johnny2. Yes, Johnny2 is resting a tad beyond a huge leaning pine tree that will eventually succumb to gravity. I do not relish the day that this pine tree drops across the trail as the clean-up will be massive.

The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale Summary Comments

Saturday evening brought yet another finale for a GFRC Online Auctions event. This was the fifth auction of 2022 and a most interesting outcome. Overall, the sale brought a 54% sell through rate with just shy of $75,000 in winning bids. Yesterday's auction close forecast was accurate for the sell through rate but $12,000 short for total sales. I had expected more of the branch mint U.S. gold to find auction ending bidding. Unfortunately, those bids did not appear with the lots heading to the price list and Collectors Corner in the next 48 hours.

Let's start the summary with a look at the Seated coinage lots.

Demand for Liberty Seated coinage, with CAC approved, continued to be red hot. The Seated Appalachian Liberty Seated half dollar collection along with Seated quarters from the Tenafly, Saw Mill Run, and GM-HWV Collections sold well and for strong prices. Of the 44 offered lots, 33 sold last evening for a 75% sell through rate. Two gem rated pieces with superior eye appeal were targeted by a host of bidders and realized substantial winning bids.

1853 A&R PCGS EF45 CAC 25C - Realized $650 1877-CC WB-1 PCGS AU50 CAC 50C - Realized $1321

Now let's study the U.S. gold portion of the auction sale. There were two anchor collections with different offerings. The Elegant Gentleman Collection was a wide ranging type set while the GM-HWV offerings were primary an 1843 date set with branch mints and a $5 San Francisco date run from 1870 through 1879.

Overall, the U.S. gold portion of the sale saw a 35% sell through rate with total winning bids of a tad over $22,000. The Elegant Gentleman Collection's 1849-C $5 lot also sold minutes after the auction close as the bidder could not access internet during the sale finale. The unsold portion of the auction sale is heading to the price list and Collectors Corner. Much of GFRC U.S. gold sells directly to collectors and other dealers via these sale channels.

The Next GFRC Online Auctions Event is a Liberty Seated Dime Fest

Get ready for a huge Liberty Seated dime centric auction come the November time frame as GFRC Online Auction has been selected to handle two complete collections. The first offering has already been announced in the Daily Blog and Coin World. The Newtown Collection will be selling his top ranked Liberty Seated dime collection during November 2022 and January 2023 auctions sales. For those with inquisitive minds, the Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Collection can be viewed on the Open Set Registry and at this link; The Newton Collection.

Joining the Newtown Collection auction will be a second complete Liberty Seated dime collection from a long term GFRC client from the New England area. This is a circulated set, including a host of major die varieties, that will appeal to a different segment of the Liberty Seated collecting community. More details will be forthcoming as I was just provided the set inventory list last evening.

Of course, GFRC will be soliciting other Liberty Seated coinage consignments for the November sale along side the Newtown Seated dimes. If there is interest in participating, please contact me in the near term with your proposals. Thank-you.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a long day in the GFRC office. The first task is loading the winning bids and bidders into the COIN database. Afterwards, a host of invoices will be prepared and emailed to the winning bidders. Once all winning bidders have been notified and invoiced, the unsold lots will migrate to the the 30 Day Price List followed by a Collectors Corner update. If all goes to plan, the unsold lots will reach the price list during Monday afternoon given the substantial administrative workload.

Wishing everyone a pleasant final August Sunday. Labor Day weekend in just around the corner. Be well!

Saturday August 26, 2022

The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale Finale Arrives at 9:00 PM

and

Quality New Purchases to Consider on a Saturday

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a foggy southern Maine morning. It is a Saturday and the closing day of The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale. Thank-you for stopping by.

The day starts with some disappointing news. The subcontractor that was due to install the barn roofing shingles has not confirmed his availability with Pete Theberge. Pete is therefore assuming that this individual will not show up today to start this two day roofing job. Presently, I do not have a date for when the roofing will be completed. Such is life when working with a limited number of local contractor options.

On a positive note, GFRC was approached by a long time New England client to sell his complete Liberty Seated dime set. For those of you who attended the Chicago ANA, this set was on exhibit in the display area. The client and I had previously discussed the sale with the client rendering the final selling decision after the ANA show. So here we are with a favorable outcome. This is a lower grade set (as compared to the forthcoming GFRC Online Auctions Newtown Collection Sale) but complete with the big four Carson City dates. Please stay close to the Daily Blog for further details as a marketing and sales strategy is developed.

The GFRC business continues to move along at a steady pace during the month of August regardless of economic headwinds. The breath of the expanding GFRC community continues to astound based on the Daily Blog readership. I'm learning that some clients have been reading the Blog since 2015 and have remained loyal to these daily ramblings for many years.

Otherwise, there is little else for today's preamble given a huge amount of morning shipping and delivery to the Raymond Post Office before 12:00 noon closing time.

The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale Finale Arrives at 9:00 PM

Yes, the Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale closes this evening at 9:00 PM ET. Please be aware that the auction has a hard close for all lots at exactly 9:00 PM.

I could not be more pleased with the incremental bidding during the past 24 hours. The all important 1856 PR64 Cameo Liberty Seated quarter has found its initial bid and will be sold. The question become that of other competitive bidding that might appear today. The Seated Appalachian Carson City Seated halves are also spoken for and have found new homes. Again, the question of which homes will be settled this evening. More bidding has appeared for the U.S. gold lots from the Elegant Gentleman and GM-HWV anchor collections.

As of the Blog composition, 39 of the 97 lots have met reserves for a total of nearly $60,000 in high bids. As mentioned in Friday's Blog, trusting the process is paramount as this substantial auction moves to its finale during the early evening hours. As with every auction, I venture an estimate of where the event will close in terms of sell through rate and total sales. My forecast is a 55% sell through and total sales approaching $87,500.

The usual final words of advice are in order concerning the last hour of bidding. Please understand that the GFRC Online Auctions application is not as sophisticated a design as that employed by the major auction houses. The heavy bidding volume, during the final 20 minutes, leads to delays with confirmation email generation and arrival to your Inbox. You can feel comfortable that every bid is being captured by the Hostway server and is being recorded in the COIN system with a precise time stamp. The COIN system recording of these bids will be the basis for awarding coins to the highest bidder as real time online auction updates become erratic during the last five minutes of the auction.

Furthermore, those who enjoy sniping and opening multiple bidding screens, waiting for the last 20 seconds to bid, pose challenges for the software application. Due to this behavior, the closing auction prices at exactly 9:00 PM may not be the final prices realized. I will be at the control panel and monitoring the bidding until auction close. If I see a disparity between the online display of a final bid at 9:00 PM and those in the control panel, the corrected winning bids will be updated during the overnight by Matt Yamatin and winning bidders notified by me on Sunday morning. The frequency of this issue is low as only a few individuals are using the aforementioned sniping approach.

Good luck to everyone who plans to jump into the auction finale starting at 8:00 PM. It certainly will be an exciting final hour given the broad range of quality lots and reserve pricing levels. I will be back on Sunday with a regular blog edition and the customary auction summary.

Quality New Purchases to Consider on a Saturday

Friday afternoon brought more thunderstorms and rain to the southern Maine area. This weather kept me in the office with sufficient time to process another round of new purchases. The result is the following gallery display that includes a smorgasbord of numismatic offerings. Already, the superbly attractive 1883 Morgan has been sold at $350. The balance of the offerings remain as free agents with price quotes being tendered on request.

Quality New Purchases to Consider on a Saturday

Please Email for Price Quote and First Shot

1873 NGC MS66 H10C 1846 NGC AU58 25C

1861-S PCGS F15 25C 1835 O-105 PCGS AU53 CAC 50C

1883 NGC MS63 CAC $1 1884-O PCGS MS64 CAC $1

1853 NGC AU58BN 1C 1872-S BW NGC MS62 H10C 1883 Shield PCGS MS64 5C

1883 NC PCGS AU58 5C 1913 Type 2 PCGS AU58 5C 1885 PCGS MS63 10C

Wrapping Up The Blog

The 8:00 AM publishing time is quickly approaching and best to stop rambling. The morning imperative is a quick health walk through the back acreage trails followed by the balance of the morning in the shipping department. Come the afternoon hours, I am hoping to spend time on Johnny2 and relaxing in the great outdoors while graveling another section of walking trail. Sunday brings a full day in the GFRC office with auction invoicing, a 30 Day Price List update for unsold lots, along with a Collectors Corner refresh of the same. I hope that you can understand a slow response time to afternoon emails.

With that, it is time to say good-bye and a sincere thank-you for being loyal Daily Blog readers. Be well!

Friday August 26, 2022

Bidding Kicks in for The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale

Quick Barn Construction Update

and

Consignments Being Solicited

Greetings on a Friday and welcome to the Daily Blog. I'm pleased that you could make these ramblings a part of regular day's online reading.

Let's open today's Blog with a warning about a numismatic scam being conducted via email under the name James Hildebrand (jimhilde01@gmail.com). This entity approached me last week with an innocent enough email asking if GFRC accepted ACH e-check for a gold coin purchase. Immediately, the request felt wrong but I played along to see where it would lead. Next came a request for a coin price list which indicated the entity had no idea of the GFRC website. What type of gold do you seek James? was the next question. The response was $20 gold. Playing along some more, I provided a link to the GFRC price list whereby the entity selected three gold coins, only one being a $20 Lib. A price was provided for the lot followed by the entity requesting to pay via ACH. ACH stands for Automated Clearing Housed, a system for funds transfers between banks and client accounts. One popular example of an ACH is eChecks.

Moving along, the entity provides his bank account and routing information and requests that GFRC pull the monies from his bank account. This is a far as I would go down the scam exploration path as the sharing of account information for our withdrawal attempt would lead to exposure of GFRC bank account information. Diane and I stopped the communications at that point as the scam was obvious.

Would you believe that my email Inbox contained a repeat email from James Hildebrand this morning requesting to purchase a gold coin via ACH e-check. The scammer has a poor memory....

Switching topics to the first installment of the Tom Bender Family Collection sale via Heritage, several emails arrived from clients who bid in the sale and shared their stories. The following email is well written and does not disclose the won lot, therefore I'm comfortable posting the following on an anonymous basis.

Thank you for your writings in the Daily Blog yesterday which gave a heads up of what was coming in yesterday's Heritage auction as well as for sharing your experience in today's write up. I felt a little better about my own experience, even though I already knew I was out of my league with items from the Tom Bender collection. I'm truly amazed when the power of wealth is on full display and yesterday that it was.

I had the opportunity to view items from the Tom Bender collection. I had never heard of Tom Bender other than what you've mentioned in the Daily Blog. However, after viewing the parts of the collection that interested me, I had to have something if at all possible. That viewing experience was an amazing treat and something that I will never forget. Most things that I dreamed of purchasing were beyond my reach before they crossed the block, but I knew that would be the case. I was able to bid on 6 items that were still obtainable when their time came for bidding. I was the under bidder on 4 items that I really wanted, I got blown away on the 5th item, and just wouldn't give up on the 6th piece. The piece I won wasn't something that wasn't on my collecting radar, and something I would have never stretched for had I not held the coin in my hand, but it was one of my favorite pieces from the viewing.

The other main factor in yesterday's purchase of my one, cherished, Tom Bender coin is what I've learned from you through reading your daily labor of love. I'm sure the GFRC community feels the same way as I do. I have learned so much from your sharing, from selling coins with you, and buying coins from you, and learning that you really have to stretch for the right one (if the competitive conditions are equal of course). I feel very fortunate that a dealer friend of mine introduced me to the CherryPickers Guide years ago because that path led me to you and I have been growing numismatically ever since then.

I am glad that you were able to upgrade two of your dimes, but I'm sorry about the 1868. I know that disappointment. I hope that one day the 1868 will find its way to your collection.

Thank you for all you do, and for all you've done for me.

Finally, yesterday's offering of Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection went quite well. Four of the five dimes are on hold as of this morning with only the 1873 With Arrows F-115 NGC MS62 remaining. These sales will help with the funding of the 1869 and 1888-S Bender dimes.

Bidding Kicks in for The Huntington West Virginia Auction Sale

Trust the process is sound advice from a wise sage during years in the semiconductor business. If a process is well designed with quality material and participants, the outcome will be just fine.

Such is the case for the GFRC Online Auctions platform and the many auction sales conducted during the past two years. Every auction has turned out well when the Saturday finale wrapped up at 9:00 PM. Moving through the contemplation period is where I must often tell myself to trust the process. When offering 97 lots with minimal or no bids for several days, the affair could feel a tad disconcerting.

As of this morning, I'm thrilled to report that bidding has kicked in along with more overnight bidding registrations. The auction stats have improved to 32 lots meeting reserve along with multiple bids on a handful of lots. There is still a long way to go but now that Saturday is approaching, I'm certain that bidding will heat up.

The Seated Appalachian halves continue to do well with just the 1872-CC and 1874-CC lacking a little love. Here are those pieces for your attention.

1872-CC WB-1 PCGS EF40 50C 1874-CC PCGS VG10 CAC 50C

As for the Elegant Gentleman and GM-HWV U.S gold offerings, more love is required. There are a host of wonderful lots that should have bids at this point. From my perspective (since having the coins in hand), these lots are worthy of their reserve bids and then some.

If able to purchase CAC approved U.S. gold at the CDN CAC guide, this is fair value with limited downside risk. Some may call this an asymmetrical trade or "one sided trade" meaning upside potential with little if any downside risk.

1836 Block 8 PCGS EF45 G$2.5 1843-C Large Date PCGS EF44 G$2.5

1852-O PCGS VF35 CAC G$2.5 1843-C PCGS EF45 CAC G$5

1873-S NGC AU53 CAC G$5 1895 PCGS MS63 CAC G$20

Quick Barn Construction Update

Yes, I did spend much of Thursday afternoon working outdoors. The first hour was an exercise in frustration as I attempted to grease the drive train fittings on Johnny2. There I am on my back under the tractor with a Dewalt battery powered grease gun. All the fittings have been located and accessed but the fitting to grease gun coupling is not allowing grease to flow into the fittings. Yes, I can easily grease the fittings on the front loader and backhoe, but not those on the drive train. Experienced tractor owners will say that it is an experience issue on my part. I'm sure it ....

After giving up with the greasing attempt, the focus shifted to improving the area surrounding the barn. The first step was to clean up Pete's scrap wood pile with smaller pieces being stored in the garage as wood stove kindling and the large pieces moved into the burn pit.

Look carefully at the below image and you will note that the left side of the field stone wall behind the barn (marked arrow) is taking shape along with more 1.5" stone being applied in front of the wall. (Yes, I am using a weed mat to slow the vegetation growth through the stone.) The small section of field stone wall may look trivial from this back deck image, but believe me, it is a substantial amount of effort. Those stone are being removed from the sides of the northern walking trail and loaded into Johnny2's bucket and transported to the wall. Each rock is hand placed as part of a large puzzle. This work is excellent physical exercise rather than going to a gym! When completed, the back field stone wall will match the appearance of the settler's stone wall, though not as tall.

Hammond Lumber also delivered the roofing material for shingling the roof this weekend. That material can be seen by the barn entrance.

Clicking on the below image will provide access to a higher resolution version for those with inquisitive minds.

Consignments Being Solicited

For those readers that are relatively new to the Daily Blog, the GFRC business sells between 200 - 250 coins per month. Operating at this sales volume requires a constant incoming flow of new inventory to backfill sold coins. The math is that straightforward. GFRC needs to insource about 250 coins per month via consignments and new purchases to hold inventories at a constant level.

Sourcing consignments is a non-linear process and opportunistic. I am dependent on the goodwill of those in the GFRC community to shed duplicates when conducting upgrades. The opportunistic portion is being awarded a large collection when a divestment decision arrives.

Therefore, I must repeatedly make a commercial announcement in the Daily Blog and remind the readership that consignments are being solicited. Please don't hold back and wait several weeks before the upcoming Whitman Baltimore show to ship a consignment. I've seen this movie multiple times with the stress of attempting to move consignment quickly to the price list immediately before a major show. September is typically the slowest month of the numismatic year (along with June) and the ideal time for insourcing and processing consignments.

Your consignments would be most appreciated.

Global Financial News

There are clear signals that China is moving into a recession after the economy has been hit with multiple issues. First is the Zero Covid policy, second is the collapse of multiple home building firms, and now, a severe drought that has reduced hydro-electric power. Mazda is just the latest big name that is moving its manufacturing operations out of China along with Apple and Honda.

Europe, especially Germany, are staring at a cold and dark winter given the natural gas supply withdrawal by Russia for NATO's Ukraine support. A lack of energy will lead Europe into a recession.

The United States is fairing the best of the major economies though inflation is a nagging issue. As long as the Biden administration continues to spend like drunken sailors, U.S. GDP will be maintained. Managing ever increasing debt levels, as a percentage of GDP, will be up to subsequent administrations to deal with.

U.S. equity markets enjoyed a strong day on Thursday with the S&P 500 back to the 4,200 level. Today brings the highly anticipated Jerome Powell speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. The million dollar question is the Fed's decision to stay with another 0.75% rate increase in September or become dovish with only 0.5%. As they say, Powell is between a rock (inflation) and a hard place (recession).

Morning market futures are pointing to a weak opening for U.S. equities.

In Asia, Japan +0.6%. Hong Kong +1%. China -0.3%. India +0.1%.

In Europe, at midday, London flat. Paris -0.4%. Frankfurt -0.4%.

Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.3%. NASDAQ -0.5%.

Little has changed with commodity pricing, Bitcoin, and the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield. The financial world is in suspended animation due to Jackson Hole.

Wrapping Up the Blog

This has been a long Blog edition and my aging fingers are tired.

Thanks again for stopping by. Be well!

1925 NGC MS66 CAC 50C $1500	1872-S Briggs 1-A NGC AG3 CAC 25C $2750	1853 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C Anonymous $925
1877-CC F-110 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C $4250	1884 NGC PF64 CAC 25C $1125	1871 PCGS MS64+ CAC $1 Osprey $15400

Gerry's Daily Blog

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