The Daily Blog

 

September 12, 2024

GFRC Begins Offering a Liberty Seated Quarter Collection

and

Homestead Solar Install Close to Completion

 

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to another Daily Blog update. What would we do each morning with these rambling sessions? Thanks for checking in.

So here we are approaching mid-September at a much too quick pace on one hand while the other can't wait to get out of the numismatic funk.

Clearly, the overnight temperatures are moving lower by the day as a sign that the annual foliage season will soon be upon us. The driveway maple, the earliest of the maples to move through its color transition, is already exhibiting signs of a yellow color shift while the burning bushes are well on their way with crimson red colors.

September is living up to its reputation as being the weakest numismatic sales month of the year. The presidential election uncertainties, and associated bombardment of opinions on cable news and social media are not helping matters. When there is uncertainty, the equity markets struggle as we have seen during the past seven trading days of so with ongoing volatility. Uncertain also impacts collector psyche with hesitation to make purchases unless the deep discounts are irresistible. Israel is about ready to invade southern Lebanon and the Ukraine-Russia war continues to grow wider. The bright spot is gold pricing which is holding the $2,500 level though numismatic gold sales are not responding to higher bullion prices. For those of us who have put away a physical gold stash, the appreciation is certainly welcomed.

Maine Solar was unable to complete the Fortin homestead installation on Wednesday. Therefore, we will see the team back on site during the Thursday morning hours. I'm looking forward to closure including the follow-on basement utility room cleaning and getting the homestead back to normal.

Concerning the GFRC business, an unexpected consignment wave is currently underway. A new New Orleans Collection tranche has arrived and was photographed yesterday. A large portion of the newly committed Liberty Seated Quarter collection has shipped and will arrive today or tomorrow. Just last evening, the Lakeland Collection also proposed shipping a large consignment. This would be great news in regular times. However, I had planned for the second half of September and the first half of October to be dedicated to writing the auction descriptions for the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection in an unhurried manner. This task cannot be delayed given the auction catalog preparation schedule and planned debut at the November Baltimore show. Of course, September and October are my favorite times of the year for working outdoors.... The next 30 to 45 days will be a balancing act as there will be multiple demands on my time with the outdoor portion being squeezed which is very disappointing.

Currently, the 30 Day Price List inventory level continues to expand as coins are being posted while sales are anemic. On a positive note, GFRC will be heading into the Manchester NH and Baltimore shows with a substantial amount of fresh inventory that should also carry us into Winter FUN.

So this is a quick wrap on the GFRC situation. I'm doing my best towards working with everyone who wishes to avail of our services while still conducting the planned Newtown and Gerry Fortin auction sales during the first half of 2025. Consignors will need some patience as there is only so much that I can get done each day will still enjoying a limited time outdoors. Daily health walks on the trails are non-negotiable. The Daily Blog will be one of the time squeeze points. The Global Financial News segment is already gone as an example as I just can't get any meaningful reading or research done.

 

GFRC Begins Offering a Liberty Seated Quarter Collection

Today brings an initial installment of the newly consigned Liberty Seated quarter collection that GFRC has committed to sell on behalf of an existing client. The showcase gallery opens with a very difficult date, the 1873 No Arrows Closed 3. During the past ten years of operation, GFRC has only handled eleven examples ranging from G04 through AU55. Today brings the twelfth example to the price list as featured as our marquee piece. The 1840 No Drapery quarter is definitely welcomed as I've struggled to keep No Drapery type in inventory during 2024. The 1867 quarter was previously sold into this collection by GFRC with the sales record being available in the Sales Archive. Please note that this quarter has been reholdered and requires a trip back to CAC NJ for a new green bean. This will be done next week after all of the other reholdered CAC approved quarters arrive to the office in the next 24-48 hours. The balance of the lots are nice circulated examples and will be posted to the 30 Day Price List today. The "and More" is a tough 1856-S Liberty Seated half dollar lot that was part of the initial consignment.

 

GFRC Begins Offering a Liberty Seated Quarter Collection

and More...

1873 No Arrows Closed 3 PCGS EF40 25C - $3250

  1840-O No Drapery NGC AU50 25C - $1150                                           1867 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C - $1800          

        

1840-O Drap EF40 25C - $500                         1850 PCGS VF30 25C - $250                         1852 PCGS VF30 25C - $525

                

      1855-O PCGS VF20 25C - $750                         1871 PCGS VF25 25C - $285                   1856-S WB-2 PCGS EF45 50C - $1400

                

 

Homestead Solar Install Close to Completion

Maine Solar Solutions will be back to the homestead at 8:00 AM and has promised to be done by noon time. All of the roof wiring is now in place with the last task being the lifting of 13 SEG 550W solar panels onto the roof and subsequent installation. The basement connection of the Tesla Powerwall3 battery/inverter units into the main circuit breaker was accomplished yesterday. Following is an image of the two uncovered Tesla units along with interconnections.

Today's key deliverable is a final operational check of the system to verify that all 13 PV panels are functioning properly along with testing the net metering interface with Central Maine Power's incoming supply line. Once the system passes its final Quality Buy-off, then comes a training session for Diane and me. The Tesla app will be loaded on our cellphone phones along with setting up our login accounts. Afterwards, the the system control options will be explained. Today's weather will be sunny and ideal for witnessing the amount of solar generated power during the peak noon time period. Since no heat pumps are operating at this time of year, we will be able to see the transfer of power to CMP as a first system test.

Yes, all of this is going on while I'm trying to write coin descriptions and processing more images.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

That is all she wrote for today. I'm heading to the shower (crap, there is no power to the oil furnace or hot water maker after the Tesla battery tie in as just discovered by Diane) followed by staging a few lots for Diane's shipping activities. Then Maine Solar will be on site. Fun, fun...

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 11, 2024

GFRC Bullet Point Update - A Host of Activities

and

Maine Solar Installation - Day 1 Images

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank you for staying current with the GFRC and Fortin homestead events.

Maine Solar Solutions is back on site at 8:30 AM for the final day of our 23.5KW system installation. This leaves little time to prepare a Daily Blog edition, followed by securing a shower, and staging morning shipping as we have several layaways that received final payments yesterday.

Let's get right to the heart of the today's content.

 

GFRC Bullet Point Update - A Host of Activities

Yesterday was one of those intense days that required time in the basement sound room to deprocess for the happy hour session. Following are the activities that are currently underway.

- The Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection will be featured in the upcoming Fall 2024 Gobrecht Journal edition. Greg Johnson and I have been exchanging lists to finalize the 20 dimes that will be showcased in the centerfold section. As of 6:15 this morning. the list has been settled. I will start writing descriptions for these 20 dimes first for inclusion in the supporting article. It is ironic that the Gobrecth Journal centerfold concept was first proposed by yours truly when club president. Now my own collection will be showcased in this manner. There is discussion for a potential Part 2 display in the Spring 2025 issue.

- A conference call was held with the consignor of the Liberty Seated Quarter collection that was mentioned in Tuesday's Blog. The consignor wishes to remain anonymous during the sales process, therefore there will be no collection branding. All lots will be sold via fixed price list. Lots valued under $300 will not be consigned and sold via another route. The first step is the need to resticker 13-15 lots at CAC as the consignor had these pieces reholdered. We've worked out a transport schedule.

- The latest New Orleans Collection has arrived and will be loaded into the COIN system in the next 48 hours along with photography.

- The $2.5 Liberty gold CAC submission has returned and will be photographed today. Four incremental lots from the consignment were posted to the price list yesterday.

- The sale of the residual Bart Chapman Collection lots is coming to an end. Linda, Bart's widow, has authorized a 30% discounts on the remaining lots to close down this activity. The GFRC based lots have been discounted and posted to the top of the 30 Day Price List.

- Finally, I am working on a five figure gold trade for the purchase of the 1857-S PCGS MS64+ CAC $20 gold piece from the S.S. Central America. This deal is close to completion.

 

Maine Solar Installation - Day 1 Images

Tuesday also brought the first day of Maine Solution Solar's on site presence. There was one surprise that was quickly resolved with a phone call with company management. The installation team arrived and then proceeded to spend the morning hours designing the installation plan. I had several discussions with the crew lead person (Justin) and we finalized the placement of the solar panels to be consistent with fire department setback regulations. Key was how the panels would be interconnected into a single DC line input into the Powerwall3 units. Since the homestead has three separate roof lines and minimal attic access, the interconnect took serious consideration for how and where to place the conduit. I was pleased with the final plan as the amount of visible conduit, on the outside of the house, will be minimal.

While Justin was working through the PV panel install plan, the electrician (Dan) was preparing a spot by the circuit breaker panel for the Powerwall3 battery units. Dan will also be conducting the system QA once complete and providing a training session for Diane and I after the Tesla apps are loaded on our cellphones.

Following are two status images. Maine Solar is back shortly to complete the installation today.

This first image shows the homestead with the PV rails mounted on the three different roofs. There will be six 550W SEG panels on the left roof, two panels at the lower point of the center roof, and five panels on the right roof. We lost one panel on the right roof due to an exhaust pile that was not worth the trouble to relocate. Shading will be a seasonal issue for the left and center roof panels as is evident from this image.

 

This second image was taken in the utility room and shows the two uncovered Powerwall3 battery and integrated inverter units. These will be mounted on the installed plywood back surface today along with interconnection to the DC line from the PV panels and then integrated into our circuit breaker panel and Central Maine Power incoming power line. There is no time to get into more details on how the system will be operationally configured. That is for another day.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

That is today's update and my apology for the rushed presentation given Maine Solar's arrival in the near term.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 10, 2024

GFRC Selling A Top Rated Liberty Seated Quarter Collection

and

Alert! GFRC Package Theft in River Grove, Illinois Post Office

 

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the ongoing visits.

Today edition will be brief as I'm expecting Maine Solar Solutions' arrival within minutes after the Daily Blog is uploaded and wish to be ready to discuss their day's installation work once on site. Let's move right into the headlines.

 

GFRC Selling A Top Rated Liberty Seated Quarter Collection

I'm very pleased to announce that GFRC has been selected to sell a top rated Liberty Seated quarter collection as listed on the PCGS Set Registry. Already, nine better date lots were insourced on Monday with a pricing proposal completed and approved by a customer turned consignor. These lots will be photographed today along with image processing.

During the upcoming week, or so, the balance of the collection will be shipping to the GFRC office. More will be shared once the collection has been transported and is located in the GFRC office.

 

Alert! GFRC Package Theft in River Grove, Illinois Post Office

The following GFRC lot is assumed to be stolen in the River Grove, Illinois post office.

The USPS Priority package was picked up at the post office counter or by the carrier and signed for by an unauthorized individual. The signature on the post office keypad is illegible. I will speak with the River Grove postmaster tomorrow or Wednesday though the package was improperly released on Friday of last week. My key question will focus on whether the release was done by a mail carrier or counter staff and why a package with Signature Confirmation was released to someone without proper identification or without an addressee delivery attempt. Per tracking information, the package was released prior to a delivery attempt. A post office theft is the initial conclusion as the GFRC client was home the entire day during scheduled delivery. The package was intercepted and never reached our client. The package was doubled bagged with padded Priority Mail envelope with a small flat rate Priority inside. After speaking with the postmaster, a report will be filed with NCIC to alert other dealers who may be shipping into the River Grove post office.

Yes, this ia common date $2.5 gold piece and will be quite difficult to track if offered at a local coin shop.

1913 PCGS MS62 G$2.5 Cert #83719862

 

What Is Gerry Up To Today?

As usual, I will be fully consumed during the waking hours. The Maine Solar Solutions installation begins today and will need some morning attention. Therefore, there is no shipping activity today.

The balance of the day will be focused on preparing the remaining $2.5 gold lots for posting to the price list as I am anticipating the return of the CAC submission. Work also begins on description generation for the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection. Len Augsburger is actively preparing descriptions for the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection also.

A numismatic purchase would be greatly appreciated to keep inventory flowing.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 9, 2024

Three Goals for the Week

and

Learning the Art of Race Car Driving

 

Greetings from southern Maine on a Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. You are probably checking in with a mental model of what how today's ramblings will be structured. I might just be a bit disappointing then...

At a high political and financial level, we must get through the media onslaught that comes with the Harris-Trump debate on Tuesday evening. It is doubtful that I will be watching. Come Thursday, the FOMC will report out on the much anticipated interest rate cut. Will in be 0.25% or 0.5% with tons of speculation on the impact to an already nervous equity market. Many believe that we are entering a recession if not already there.

Here in Maine, I will be focused on several goals. The first is the installation of our long awaited off-grid solar powered system. Maine Solar arrives on Tuesday and Wednesday for the roof mounted 550W solar panels along with the placement of two Powerwall3 battery systems in the basement utility room. Come Thursday, power outages are a thing of the past.

The second and third goals will be discussed shortly.

It was a quiet weekend in the GFRC office with essentially no love. The Wicker Park Collection Barber lots were loaded to the price list with just a single order for the lowest priced coin in the group. I tried discounting several aging GFRC owned coins, also without attention. OK, this is September and the focus will be on those things that I truly enjoy along with sustaining the GFRC online platform. This leads us to the headlines.

 

Three Goals for the Week

I've already spoken about the first goal for the week which is the 23.5KW solar system installation. There will be an incredible peace of mind knowing that the homestead is self sustaining regardless of the power grid situation. As long as the sun rises in the morning, even with cloudy conditions, there will be sufficient electricity to power the well and flush toilets. If you think I'm being paranoid, you did not live through the Great Ice Storm of 1998 without a generator. Melting snow on the wood stove to flush a toilet once per day was no fun for a family of four.

The second goal is loading the balance of a recent $2.5 gold consignment to the 30 day price list. I received the CAC results on Friday and was disappointed. As a CACG investor, I don't call balls and strikes. However, my batting average on this lot should send me back to the minor leagues for rehabilitation. Enough said...

The third goal secures its own headline.

 

Learning the Art of Race Car Driving

If the numismatic market is focused elsewhere I might as well focus my attention on learning a new skill. Since mastering of the art of the John Deere tractor, the new challenge is learning the art of race car driving since the Hallet racing school, in Oklahoma, is just five weeks away.

My mentor is none other than Blake Gibb (Sooner Collection), a well established sport car driver at the Hallett Speedway. Within Saturday's mail delivery were two books entitled Driving in Competition by Alan Johnson and High Performance Driving by Bob Bondurant. This weekend, the first book was consumed and sparked the awareness that I have much to learn and practice in just five weeks. Thank goodness that the 1993 Miata, with its 5-speed, is available for practicing improved shifting techniques and also learning the art of downshifting and upshifting through turns.

A Daily Blog edition would be dull without at least one image. Here are the two books that are now at the top of my reading list. Actually, these are the only books on my reading list for some time.

 

On a race course, downshifting is a critical skill with those who have mastered the art being able to execute turns on a much smoother (faster) basis. For those readers who have never driven a car with a manual transmission, then the following will not make much sense. For those of us who grew up with manual transmissions, the art of downshifting into a lower gear to pass a slower moving vehicle is important (and exciting). There are three types of downshifting. They are rev matching, double clutching, and heel-toe. Heel-toe downshifting is what I must master during the next month. In essence, humans only have two feet while a car with a manual transmission has three pedals. The right foot therefore must learn the skill of operating both the brake and accelerator at the same time while clutching through gears. I hope the Miata is up for the forthcoming practice sessions on Maine's backroads....

The second critical learning from the above books is analyzing a race track and the type of turns. In priority order, there are three types of turns. Turn 1 is the most critical since heading directly into a long straightaway. Races are won and lost based on how fast or slow a driver can move through a turn that precedes a straightway. Turn 2 is the second most important and arrives at the end of a straightaway. The goal is to brake at the last possible moment and dip into the turn apex smoothly then exiting as fast as possible. Timing and brake force is critical while downshifting. The final turn (Turn 3) is the least important. These are the "S" type turns on a race track that must be navigated as close to maximum speed as possible. The equivalent would be a snow skiing slalom course.

There are also rules of the track for passing and developing mental strength to drive one's on race while other race cars are moving around you. The passing and defending strategies are key in both turns and straightaways.

As I said earlier, there is much to learn and practice in just five weeks before flying to Oklahoma City for a two day racing class at the Hallett Speedway. Hopefully, my track performance will be better than the most recent CAC stickering submission.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

As I said, today's ramblings are unconventional as I'm not in a structured mood towards selling coins when few are actively buying. Life is too short to dwell on a business towards eking out one or two incremental sales. When collectors are ready to return to the price list, then the structured Blog editions will also reappear. In the meantime, I'm going to deal with some near term goals that are more important.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 8, 2024

Wicker Park - Mint State Barbers to Consider

 

Greetings on a cool southern Maine morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We hope that you are enjoying a pleasant weekend.

Today's primary topic is the second and final installment of the Wicker Park consignment that was transferred at the Chicago ANA show. Following is a lovely offering of Mint State Barber halves along with the balance of the Barber quarter lot. All images accurately illustrate the surfaces and overall eye appeal of each lot. Offer prices are also featured for each item.

This entire lot will be posted to the 30 Day Price List by the end of day with complete descriptions. In the meantime, you are welcomed to place email or text message orders to secure first shot at these notable offerings.

 

Wicker Park Collection - Lovely Mint State Barber Halves

1895-O PCGS MS64 50C - $2850

        1898 PCGS MS63 50C - $825                                                          1905 PCGS MS64 50C - $2000    

        

      1907-D PCGS MS64 50C - $1450                                                     1911 PCGS MS64 50C - $1200    

        

And More Mint State Barber Quarters!

 1899 NGC MS64 25C - $550                           1901 NGC MS64 25C - $535                        1905 PCGS MS63 25C - $455

                

1908-D PCGS MS61 25C - $325                        1912 ANACS MS64 25C - $395                        1912 NGC MS63 25C - $350    

                

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Maine Solar Solutions arrives on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week to install our long awaited 23.5KW-Hr Powerwall3 centric off-grid system. Having the knowledge and comfort that the homestead can now withstand a multi-day power outage will be priceless, especially when wintering in Florida. There are basement preparations, to house the two Powerwall3 units, that must be done in advance of Maine Solar's arrival, therefore I am securing an early start on that effort this morning. The afternoon hours will find me back in the office writing Wicker Park descriptions and posting his Barber consignment to the price list.

That is it for today. Thank you for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 7, 2024

Dodging the Near Term Jury Duty Bullet

and

A Wonderful Casco Bay Dinner Cruise with the Travers

 

 

Greetings from southern Maine and welcome to the Daily Blog. It is wonderfully seasonal Saturday morning here in the Pine Tree state.

Be forewarned that there is no numismatic content for today's edition. Friday brought morning shipping followed by a mid-afternoon drive to Falmouth and the Handyboat boat marina. More on the this topic in a moment. Let's move directly to the headlines.

 

Dodging the Near Term Jury Duty Bullet

With anticipation, the 6:00 PM Friday evening call was placed into the Cumberland County Superior Court hot line to determine if either Diane and/or Gerry would need to report on Monday morning for jury selection. The jury pool was huge with over 240 potential jurist numbers assembled into the selection group given the forthcoming two criminal trials. As the headline indicates, Gerry was not selected for a Monday appearance but Diane was. This is the best possible outcome for the GFRC business as I needed to stay focused on consignments and ongoing GFRC Online Auction preparations plus manning the online storefront.

Diane, on the other hand, would not mind serving on a jury as an opportunity to participate in the judicial process. Come Monday afternoon, we will know if Diane has been selected for the first of two important criminal trials during the month of September.

 

A Wonderful Casco Bay Dinner Cruise with the Travers

Last Friday, Lyn and Terry Traver partied at the Fortin homestead for the evening including happy hour in the gazebo, a grilled scallops dinner, and the evening finale in the sound room featuring Van Morrison at Montreux circa 1980. Late evening brought the Fortins onto the Traver boat for a tour of Casco Bay including motoring along the Portland working waterfront. The weather was ideal with temperatures in the high 60s under bright sunshine. The companionship was the highlight of the evening as the gals hung out at the back of the boat while the guys staffed the captain and co-pilot quarters. Captain Terry cooked an awesome wild salmon for dinner along with Lyn's special salad being delightful.

Following are two sunset images taken while motoring back to the Handyboat marina in Falmounth. Sunset occurred at 7:07 PM with the marina closing mooring shuttle services at 8:00 PM.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be in and out of the GFRC office today with light morning shipping and some consignment image processing.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 6, 2024

New Orleans Collection Moves Up the Ladder with a New Consignment

and

Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Images Finalized

 

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

Before we go any further, there was an erroneous posting of a price for the newly listed 1907-O Barber quarter on the 30 Day Price List. The erroneous price was $395 but should be $750 consistent with the first listing of the Wicker Park Collection Barber quarters during late August. These were posted without descriptions early on and saw descriptions added yesterday along with being repositioned at the top of the price list. .

My apology to those who thought that they had secured a bargain. However, I cannot sell the coin at the erroneous price and believe those who jumped on the coin will understand that mistakes can sometime happen. In this case, I reverted to a backup copy of the COIN database that had the old uncorrected price when a database corruptions issue appeared recently. GFRC policy is to back up the COIN system frequently as the Excel database is massive and can be impacted by something as simply as an erroneous key stroke in an unwanted location.

Let's move on to the day's important news...

 

New Orleans Collection Moves Up the Ladder with a New Consignment

Yesterday brought a email from the New Orleans Collection with a proposed new consignment. As experienced with many consignors, the process of "moving up the ladder" is once again underway as collectors continue to release incrementally substantial duplicates back into the market place. These ongoing releases bring a progressive improvement in scarcer dates, higher grades, and an increasing number of CAC approved duplicates. The New Orleans Collection release will ship to the GFRC early next week which is perfect timing as I will be consumed with potential jury selection on Monday and the homestead's 23.5KW solar system installation on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Following are the planned numismatic items to be transferred. Once the consignment is in hand, I will be reviewing the lots for potential CAC submission therefore there is no First Right of Refusal option today for the non-CAC approved lots. For the four lots that are CAC approved, I will take FRoR requests. The intent of this announcement is to make the community aware of the forthcoming new inventory that will be arriving shortly to the price list.

1860-O H10c PCGS MS66CAC #02682856

1849-O 10c PCGS MS62 #14535193

1856-O 10C PCGS MS64CAC #37759116

1897-O 10c PCGS MS64 #15997219

1901-O/O 10c PCGS MS64 #19758682

1902-O 10c PCGS AU50 #10945031

1905-O 10c PCGS MS66CAC OGH #04181829

1906-O 10c PCGS MS66 #06782421

1857-Oo 50c PCGS MS64 #25551760

1860-O 50c PCGS MS65 #41616683

1902-O 50c PCGS MS62 #11529783

1908-Oo 50c PCGS MS64CAC #15386239

 

Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Images Finalized

I'm thoroughly pleased to report that the entire Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection has been fully imaged at the online auction link. Accessing the online catalog is as simple as clicking on either of the above auction banners at the top of the Daily Blog. At this point, both the Gerry Fortin Seated dimes and Newtown Seated halves are presented in their full glory. A stroll through the auction catalog may be warranted if having extra time on one's hands. The display, as a whole, is quite stunning.

When processing images, I have the unique opportunity of closely inspecting each lot and discovering its visual beauty via in hand review followed by a bright light assessment. With this understanding of the coin's attributes, especially coloration, my goal is to duplicate the visual experience as illustrated within the GFRC images. If a lot is exceptional under a bright light, the goal is transfer these characteristics to the images, of course within the limitations of the initial photograph and the enhancement tools at my disposal.

Following is a highlight presentation for the recently posted auction images starting at 1870 through the end of the series. These are notable Newtown Seated half dollars that I found to be impressive given the combination of luster and overall eye appeal. I hope that you will enjoy this presentation.

 1870 WB-7 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C                                              1872 WB-6 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C   

        

    1872-S WB-1 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C                                           1875-S WB-11 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C 

        

1876-CC WB-2 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C                                             1876-S WB-24 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C 

        

 1883 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C                                                            1884 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C 

        

 1886 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C                                                          1888 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C 

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I'm sorry, but today's Blog edition must be ended at this point. Diane is off to a Theriault family breakfast in Lewiston which means that I'm staffing the shipping department on a solo basis. Afterwards, there is a host of items to get done since next Monday through Wednesday bring potential time away from the GFRC office. At some point, life needs to slow down a tad....

Thanks again for checking in at the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 5, 2024

It is September...

Finalizing Newtown Seated Half Dollar Auction Images Today

and

A Seeded Gazebo's Back Lot Plus More...

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. The daily editions continue to arrive much too quickly as the days are literally flying by when fully consumed. We are glad that interest is still being maintain during the month of September.

Yes, the month of September is a transition period. Children and teenagers head back to school with the associated parental responsibilities. Major League Baseball wraps up its regular season this month while college football begins its fall schedule. As temperatures drop, at least in the northern states, those that love the outdoors take advantage of favorable temperatures and reductions in insect populations towards spending more time outside.

My point is that September is the doorway to the autumn season with pent up demand for a host of different activities. Is it no surprise that numismatics finds itself at a much lower level of attention?

That is certainly the case at GFRC and probably true for other dealers. Unless posting coins with deep discounts that the value buyers will pounce upon, the regular business level is anemic. I hope that consignors can understand this point when considering why their coins remain idle on a price list.

2024 brings even more distractions with presidential and local elections in just two months. Cable news and YouTube are replete with political commentary for those that subscribe to this form of entertainment.

Yes, it is September.

 

Finalizing Newtown Seated Half Dollar Auction Images Today

Since not spending much time responding to and kitting new orders, my emphasis has been and continues to be the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection that arrives at auction during the first half of 2025.

Wednesday brought an afternoon of image processing that will continue through today. If all goes to plan, the Newtown portion of the online catalog will be fully populated by later this afternoon. With a host of new images available, tomorrow's Blog will bring another showcase.

Once the Newtown images are posted, my focus shifts back to several consignments that have been patiently waiting in the background.

 

A Seeded Gazebo's Back Lot Plus More...

Wednesday afternoon also brought the grass seeding of the gazebo's back lot. What a relief to know that this area has been fine raked, seeded, and covered with straw in time for a potential green fuzz before the winter season appears. Whatever does not sprout during the cooler autumn period will appears during the spring of 2025.

At this point, the back acreage projects are mostly concluded for another year. The following two images, taken roughly fourteen weeks apart, illustrate the amount of landscaping and back deck view expansion that has taken place in a relatively short period of time. My lower back is a bit sore this morning but most justifiable given the visual progress.

August 28, 2024 Progress

May 18, 2024 Starting Point

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Again, I've not been paying attention to the equity markets as my mind has been focused elsewhere. Gold is trading at $2517 with silver at $28.67 as of 7:25 AM ET.

Let's end the Blog at this point to enable a quick transition to Newtown Seated half dollar image processing and the shipment of a single GFRC order. The shipping queue will be empty at that point.

Thank you, as always, for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 4, 2024

Newtown's Carson City Seated Halves!

and

Wrapping Up Backyard Landscaping for 2024

 

Greetings and welcome to another Daily Blog edition as the first week of September continues to barrel along. We appreciate the ongoing visits.

So what is new at the homestead since I last blogged?

For starters, the Maine Solar Solutions system installation is on for next Tuesday and Wednesday. A call into the Cumberland County Superior Court clerk's office went well as I explained the solar system installation date and the inability to be available as a jurist on September 10 and 11. There was sympathy as to my plight with the guidance to send documentation for the installation dates and I would be excused. The Maine Solar installation crew leader did just that with the email being forwarded to the Clerk of Courts. This project has been a challenge from day one with excessive Town of Raymond permitting requirements that I worked to strike down and now being called for jury duty during the installation time frame. There will be a celebration once the system is fully operational, or will it just be relief at this point as this project has been exhausting.

If checking the30 Day Price List, you will note that the New Jersey Collection has issued a 10% across the board pricing reduction for his Liberty Seated and Trade dollars. So far, two pieces have been scooped up by sharp eyes.

Tuesday's priority, other than a substantial amount of Xmas in August shipping, was the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection and wrapping up the image processing phase for online auction catalog construction. Progress was made per the next segment.

 

Newtown's Carson City Seated Halves!

When a complete Liberty Seated coinage collection is viewed (excluding half dimes), collector or dealer eyes will immediately gravitate to the key date Carson City issues given their rarity and ongoing surfaces issues for most survivors.

GFRC is most pleased to be showcasing the major Newtown Carson City half dollar dates in today's Blog edition. Our top client stretched when it was necessary to acquire superb examples for his majestic collecting achievement. Of course, we open with the 1870-CC, a key date issue, that was purchased via GFRC from the famed Seal Beach Collection. This lot was acquired during April 2020 at an eye opening price of $55,000.

1870-CC WB-2, PCGS AU55 50C

 

Next in importance is the 1874-CC issue and what a wonderful specimen for the date! This lot was also purchased from GFRC via its Online Auctions platform during July 2021. The Branch Mint Collection pedigree is synonymous with some of the finest numismatic items to be handled by GFRC and this half is no exception.

 1874-CC WB-3 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C 

 

A pair of PCGS AU55 CAC specimens, from the Seal Beach Collection, comprise the next segment of this display. Both lots were sourced from GFRC during April 2020 with the prior descriptions available in the Sales Archive.

 1871-CC WB-3 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C                                           1872-CC WB-5 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C 

        

 

Today's display concludes with the No Arrows and Arrows 1873 Carson City varieties along with the 1875-CC and ever challenging 1878-CC. The No Arrows 1873-CC half hails from the Dick Osburn Collection while the Arrows issue was purchased via GFRC. I consider the 1875 Carson City issue to be much better than the subsequent 1876-CC and 1877-CC dates that were struck in large quantities. The display wraps up with the 1878-CC, a date that continues to be under rated and appreciated for its rarity. This lot is the lone MS63 approved at CAC with five finer.

 1873-CC No Arrows WB-1 PCGS VF35 CAC 50C                             1873-CC Arrows WB-8 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C  

        

    1875-CC WB-4 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C                                            1878-CC WB-1 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C 

        

 

Wrapping Up Backyard Landscaping for 2024

The arrival of 3:00 PM each day is important in that I can walk away from the GFRC office and spent two hours working outdoors. Major projects are tackled in this manner, with two hour daily working allocations before the 5:00 PM happy hour with Diane arrives. Maine life is certainly structured towards making things happen.

On Tuesday, the area behind the gazebo approached the finish line in terms of being ready for grass seeding. The below image captures the layout and downward sloping contours. The left and right crushed stone drainage channels have been integrated into the landscape with the visual presentation of a walking path that leads to the major drainage channel at the far right. The newly planted grass at the left is coming in nicely.

Today brings a final raking of the triangular center area to remove the larger stones as a first step. Afterwards, grass seed will be applied followed by rolling the entire area with the John Deere lawn tractor to buried the grass seed at an approximately 1/4" depth. The final step is placing straw over the seeded area. Clicking on the below image will provide access to a higher resolution version. I'm open to ideas for what might be placed in the triangular area that would enhance the overall view. Just remember that a downward slope must be comprehended. Granddaughter Natsumi suggested that I build a miniature gold course in this area though the idea is unrealistic given the slope and rough rocky surface.

 

Global Financial News

Equity markets tanked on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 2.1% on the day to 5,529. The NASDAQ and the high flying tech stocks took it on the chin with a 3.3% drop. Why such a bad day for the markets? I've been so busy elsewhere to research an answer to this question. Some are simply saying it is September, typically the worse month of the year for equities. Are traders attempting to front run the market by moving into cash early?

Spot gold and silver were also hit with selling woes. Gold is currently trading at $2490/oz in London while silver has dropped to a tad above $28.

The 10 Year Treasury bond yield has barely moved to 3.81% while the U.S. dollar is steady at 101.7.

Morning market futures indicate more selling at the opening bell with the S&P forecast to drop another 0.4%.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

The shipping department will be busy again during the early morning followed by yet another Newtown Seated half dollar image processing session up until 3:00 PM. At that point, I will heading down to the backyard to try to get grass seed on the newly landscaped area. With just a two hour window, there are a host of stones to be fine raked and removed before applying the grass seed and straw coverage.

September is the low point of the annual numismatic calendar and I hope that some in the community will still remain active with their hobby. Purchase orders are most welcomed.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

September 3, 2024

Springfield 1891-O PCGS AU50 CAC 25c to Consider

More $2.5 Liberty Gold Loaded to the 30 Day Price List

and

A "Sick" 1888 Dime from the Fortin Collection

 

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog, We are glad that you could find the time for a visit.

The southern Maine temperature shift has been dramatic and timely as we exit Labor Day and move into the autumn season. The current 6:00 AM temperature is only 47F with the day's high peaking at 71 degrees. The skies will be clear the entire day with reasonably low humidity. These are ideal conditions for GFRC coin photography but unfortunately, all the consigned coins in our processing queue are already imaged.

Autumn in Maine is a fantastic time of year for two reasons. First is the lack of bugs which is huge if enjoying walking trails in the forest. The second is the soon to arrive colorful foliage that peaks during the second to third week of October. Already, our burning bushes have begun their color transition with maroon colors announcing the seasonal transition.

After living through seasonal cycles at the homestead, I'm to the point of being able to estimate the month without a calendar based on the day's length, the type of prevalent insects, what weeds are growing, and the height of the sun in the sky. This year, I've paid close attention to the various insect populations and the weed cycles. When I finally retire, I may just start a diary noting these parameters for reference during upcoming years towards building a nature's seasonal map.

Let's move into numismatics if you don't mind...

 

Springfield 1891-O PCGS AU50 CAC 25C to Consider

It took a while, but the promised Springfield Collection's 1891-O quarter arrived on Saturday and was immediately photographed and posted to the 30 Day Price List. This is a challenging final year of design issue from the New Orleans mint with only 68,000 struck and the mintage being placed into circulation. The CAC population report is quite telling with 42 examples stickered. However, nearly all approved are in the lower circulated grades. In Mint State, this date is a huge rarity, with only two examples that have been approved in all AU grades. GFRC is pleased to be showcasing one of those two pieces with a green bean. Yes, the offer price is above the CDN CAC price guide, but frankly, where will you find another AU or Mint State example at this pricing level? I certainly get this point when viewing my own Liberty Seated dime collection and the many finest or near finest known examples. The operative word for a price guide is that, a guide. Just because a website or numismatic publishing company states "x" as the value at a certain grade does not make it an undeniable fact and the end all. Personally, I have paid 2X and even 3X the "guide" for select dimes in my collection with full knowledge of the rarity or extreme beauty. The final segment in today's Blog will illustrate this point.

In the case of this offering, there is a stickered AU50 and a single AU58. The CDN CAC guide numbers are $4,500 and $6,750 respectively. The lowest Mint State approved example is an MS64 with a guide number of $26,000 and a MS67 without price guide number. That is it in terms of the population in AU50 or better. If I owned the AU58, the asking price would be at the five figure level in today's AU58 centric market. What is this AU50 specimen truly worth? The offer price is quite far from my reference point as a dealer and collector.

1891-O PCGS AU50 CAC 25C - $6950

 

More $2.5 Liberty Gold Loaded to the 30 Day Price List

I've been holding back the loading of the balance of the recently consigned $2.5 Liberty lot pending CAC results on nine pieces and their return to the office. However, last evening brought the placement of three low mintage dates with one lot selling immediately. Following are those three lots with the 1876-S being paid for and shipping today.

 1876-S NGC EF45 CAC G$2.5 - Sold at $1325

     1880 NGC AU58 CAC G$2.5 - $2500                                                1888 NGC MS64 CAC G$2.5 - $2100    

        

 

A "Sick" 1888 Dime from the Fortin Collection

Monday also brought the last of the image fine tuning for the upcoming Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection auction lots. The 1852-O and 1873 No Arrows Open 3 dimes were re-imaged in their new PCGS holders along with this 1888 dime being rephotographed with some WD40 to remove reverse holder haze. For once, I've been able to capture the intense reverse colors of this Gold CAC approved specimen.

This piece is a case of where I paid well above the "guide" to secure an amazing specimen. The purchase date was August 2007 at a price of $2900 for an MS66. $2900 was a huge price for a common date MS66, even in 2007. My judgment was validated during the 2014 CAC walk through submission as this piece secured a gold bean. I hope that my point is being made with respect to this piece and the opening 1891-O quarter from the Springfield Collection. There might be some sticker shock when reserve prices are posted for my Seated dimes as who else is better suited for understanding this series and market? As noted coin dealer and my last mentor, Jim O'Donnell would often say, "go find another one". In other words, knowledgeable numismatics need to step up when the right coin appears on the market as it could be gone again for years.

1888 F-116 PCGS MS66 Gold CAC 10C

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's end the Blog edition here as we have a substantial amount of ship aheads and regular orders to process this morning along with a host of other business items to get done. Once the shipping is out the door, there will be a several hour session processing Newtown Seated Half Dollar Collection images towards completing that portion of the online auction catalog. I am starting to fall behind schedule and need to catch up.

I do want to spend two hours on Johnny2 today towards wrapping up the area immediately behind the gazebo for grass seed planting. The 2024 grass planting season window is quickly closing as the temperatures drop and the days get ever shorter.

Thanks again for the ongoing visit.

 

 

September 2, 2024

Happy Labor Day

Sadly, a Final Maine Lobster Meal

and

Christmas In August Sale Summary

 

Greetings on Labor Day Monday 2024! Welcome to a brief Daily Blog edition.

It is hard to believe but yesterday afternoon brought my final Maine lobster roll meal. Diane and I took the Miata for a nice ride and stopped at the Fisherman's Catch eatery in downtown Raymond. Memories of the last lobster meal there were fresh on my mind given the allergic reaction that occurred. The lobster rolls were great as was the seafood chowder. Then came 2:00 AM this morning. I awoke with another round of hives that were quickly covering my body. Thank goodness that there was still Clariton antihistamine pills in the bathroom cabinet. The antihistamine worked as expected and I'm fine this morning, though short on sleep and still feeling a bit itchy. After decades of enjoying Maine lobster, the body chemistry has experienced a subtle change whereby it will no longer tolerate lobster meat. There are worse things in life to worry about than the inability to eat lobster rolls.

 

Christmas In August Sale Summary

The 2024 Christmas in August Sale closed on Sunday with a final round of purchases that improved the sale statistics. Overall, 11 coins were sold out of the offered 265. Total discounted sales amounted to $14,660 as compared to $430,000 being offered. GFRC and our consignors are grateful for the sales that did take place.

There is no need to speculate on the reason for the tepid sale response. As I stated yesterday, it is what it is and now time to move forward with new listings.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings time in the GFRC office regardless of it being a gorgeous weather day. Invoicing some of the more complex Christmas in August sales take priority along with staging shipping for Tuesday morning. Nearly all the discounted purchases will be ship aheads.

Thank you for checking in at the Daily Blog on a holiday wekeend.

Be well!

 

 

 

September 1, 2024

Christmas In August Sale Closes at 9:00 PM

Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection Auction Images Fully Posted

and

Dave Wilkinson's "Wheeler"

 

Greetings as we welcome the first day of September 2024. Thank you for checking in on a Labor Day weekend.

 

Christmas In August Sale Closes at 9:00 PM

The Christmas in August Sale is in its final day and closes at 9:00 PM. Saturday sales were anemic and I'm grateful to loyal clients who did make a purchase to help out the consignors in the community. The decision to schedule a GFRC sale event during Labor Day weekend appears to have been flawed or, the sale lacks sufficient sub $350 coins to attract value buyers. This sale has me a bit perplexed but it is what it is...

The fact that the regular price list has also not seen any demand during the past 48 hours has me wondering....

 

Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection Auction Images Fully Posted

I'm please to report that progress continues for the forthcoming GFRC Online Auctions sales events that will take place during the first half of 2025.

Yesterday brought the image completion for the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection. You are invited to click on the above auction banner to view that entire collection. The image processing for the marvelous Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection is now underway with the goal of wrapping up this project segment in the next few days.

 

Dave Wilkinson's "Wheeler"

Much has been accomplished in the past month concerning the back acreage projects. First came Tip Line Tree Service to clear out a substantial amount of wooded area leading to an improved coastal horizon view. This event was followed by Dave Wilkinson and I working for two solid days last week to add another trail that does double duty as an access road for incremental coastal horizon tree clearing. One of the side projects of Dave's time on site was expanding existing cleared areas to allow access for his "wheeler" 16 yard dump truck. This "park" construction effort continues a large amount of gravel and crushed stone. Purchasing via large bulk deliveries can save me up to 20% of what is being paid for delivery via a smaller 6 yard dump truck. We have been using the smaller truck due to limited access. This matter was resolved last week.

Dave was back on site Saturday with a "wheeler" load of process gravel that contains 1.5" stone and crushed brick fragments. This material is ideal for constructing a hard packed trail surface as the crushed aggregate binds the gravel into place and will become rock hard once compressed.

Here is a quick snapshot of that delivery and insights into the Wilkinson "wheeler" truck that now can traverse into the wood trails. If looking carefully, the up hill gazebo can be seen under the elevated dump bed as a reference point.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

That is all she wrote on an early Sunday morning. There were no overnight orders to process and respond to therefore I'm heading down to the back acreage and will continue working on multiple projects during the morning hours. If there are purchases orders, those will be responded to after lunch.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 31, 2024

Christmas In August Sale Is Open for Orders...

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on the final day of August 2024. Thank you for checking in.

I've been debating how to phrase today's headline for hours and decided to go with a neutral topic line. Let's get right to the point. The current Christmas in August Sale has been weakly subscribed to and is quite disappointing. It appears that collectors are focused elsewhere during the Labor Day weekend. So far, GFRC has sold five coins totaling $2100 or so. A visit to the Sales link and price list will quickly validate the lack of activity. As for the regular price list, it is crickets.

It is difficult to compose an upbeat Blog edition at this point as it appears that the numismatic market is on holiday too.

Friday brought time at the Cumberland County Courthouse with jury selection preparations for two significant criminal trials that will take place in September. The first is scheduled during the planned Maine Solar Solutions installation of our 23KW Powerwall3/PV system and the second is a 10 day affair that spans into October. I have valid excuses for both and will be communicating the Maine Solar situation once a formal email documenting the appointment is secured.

After returning from the courthouse, the weather was ideal for photographing the balance of the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection that will be auctioned during the first half of 2025. Auction preparation shifts to image processing at this point with the online catalog being populated with all images by the middle of the coming week. Len Augsburger has already started his cataloging effort for the Newtown halves.

That is all that there is to share. At this point, I'm taking the extra 1.5 hours that would typically be allocated to composing a long Blog edition and using that time to work on the back acreage projects. Kevin Johnson arrives at noon time with his trailer for another load of oak logs.

Thanks again for the visit and wishing everyone a super Labor Day weekend.

Be well!

 

 

August 30, 2024

Early Edition

Christmas In August Sale Is Ready!

265 Lots at a $430,000 Discounted Pricing Tally

 

Greetings from the GFRC office on a mid-Thursday afternoon and welcome to the ongoing saga that is entitled the Daily Blog.

After spending the day focused on preparing the 2024 Christmas in August Sale event, I'm happy to report that the sale is ready for its midnight launch and most pleased with the consignor participation rate. This will be a notable sale with 265 lots and a total discounted price tally of nearly $430,000! My trusty calculator indicates that the average discounted sale price per lot is $1622. The big guns have decided to step forward with important sale offers to entice the GFRC community.

My need to attend a jury selection at the Portland Courthouse is not guaranteed and I need to call in to check if my presence is requested. Let's hope that the Lord of Hard Working Chaps looks favorably on me and provides a pass on this civic duty.

I'll publish an update here once the courthouse disposition is known.

Yep, I'm heading to the courthouse for a slow morning of jury selection. At least cell phones are allowed which means that I can respond to Christmas in August Sale orders while killing time in the jury selection room.

A few words about the 2024 Christmas in August Sale. Though the average lot sale price is quite high, there are still many lots priced under $500, a level that value buyers enjoy participating at. Most notable in the sale is that the entire Newtown Collection Liberty Seated dimes and half dollars are discounted to varying levels. If seeking premium CAC approved Liberty Seated coinages, this sale taking pricing to the wholesale level in a number of cases. Shrewd collectors should take the time to study the special Christmas in August Sale listings as there are bargains to be had. Those who search diligently will be rewarded!

GFRC's U.S. gold is also well represented by the $2.5 and $5 denominations along with CAC approved lots. Again, there are value opportunities to consider.

Good luck to everyone to stays up until midnight on the East Coast as an early bird participant. The folks on the West Coast have an easier time with a 9:00 PM launch time!

I will be back throughout the weekend with sales updates.

Thanks in advance for your potential purchases.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 29, 2024

Christmas In August Sale Arrives at Midnight

and

Another Productive Day with Dave Wilkinson

 

Greetings on a late August Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. The summer ending Labor Day weekend arrives in the matter of hours at this point.

Today edition has two headline themes. The Christmas in August Sale countdown clock will hit the zero mark at midnight, therefore some discussion is warranted for those who are new to GFRC and its regular sales events. Then there is the work in the back acreage to share with several images and a discussion.

But first a story from yesterday morning...

Since composing and publishing the Blog on Tuesday evening, I was free to head down to the barn and fire up Johnny2 at 6:30 AM. The early morning goal was to complete the graveling of the new trail prior to Dave Wilkinson's arrival. Placing gravel on a freshly cut trail is necessary to smooth out the large divots that remain after the ground is torn up with an excavator. This allows for Johnny2's passage without an unnecessarily bumpy (and sometimes dangerous) ride.

The first load of gravel is scooped up with the tractor and off I go to the new trail. As I make a turn onto the trail, standing here is a large 2 point buck caught by surprise with my arrival. Actually, I was as surprised as he was. We both stopped and looked at each other for a moment but the buck gingerly heads into the woods. I then proceed to dump the load and return back on the trail. Standing on the trail is a doe which also takes a hard look at me as if she owns the place. The same happens with the doe moving into the woods. This cat and mouse game lasted for two more trips securing a front loader full of gravel and returning to the trail as the deer were strolling through the woods and watching me. How cool is that to start a day?

As chaotic as the Raymond post office can be with staffing issues, the post master is a great supporter of GFRC. Yesterday afternoon brought a phone call while I was in the woods as the postmaster was in my driveway with an Express shipment from CAC. She noted Dave Wilkinson's dump truck parked on the main path and assume we were working in the back acreage. I gladly authorized her to sign for me and leave the package in a special outdoor location. Here are the contents of that package. The GFRC Online Auction listings will be updated today to capture the new PCGS serial numbers and fresh CAC green beans. PCGS has also updated their database with the 1852-O added as the finest known by a wide gap over the six MS64s. The 1873 No Arrows Open 3 is now tied for finest per the population report.

 

Lastly, a seven piece Sheffield Collection lot was posted to the 30 Day Price List on Wednesday afternoon. Two of those lots are already on hold.

 

Christmas in August Sale Begins at Midnight

Yes, the Christmas in August Sale event is almost ready to launch at midnight! I still have a portion of discounting inputs to load followed by a final quality verification during the afternoon hours.

The 2024 Christmas in August Sale will offer roughly 200 discounted lots. Pricing discounts range from 8% to 25% with the majority appearing to be at the 10% level. Checking in at midnight ET is the imperative for gaining access to special deals. Notable are discounts from higher priced Liberty Seated dime and half dollar offerings from the Newtown and Oregon Beaver Collections among others.

The Christmas in August Sale is an important opportunity for both customers and GFRC. It is well known that GFRC does little if any wholesale trade with other dealers. Given this fact, the outlet for aged inventory is the GFRC customer base. Why not reward loyal GFRC customers with great values several times per year? Regardless of all the pricing guides and grading services, the numismatic hobby is still a subjective retail environment. Some coins are immediately scooped up by collectors while others will sit in inventory for a year or more due to a host of reasons. The GFRC sales events are an opportunity to readjust price points towards locating willing buyers.

Christmas in August Sale Instructions

Accessing the Christmas in August Sale price list is as simple as clicking on the black banner at the top of each GFRC price list page or the Daily Blog. Once the countdown clock reaches midnight ET, a separate price list will be available for download and shopping. Many of you have participated in a prior GFRC sales event and are old pros with navigating the special price list and its format. For those who are relatively new to the GFRC website and its sales operations, following are detailed usage instructions.

Accessing the Black Friday Weekend Sale List

- Click on the Christmas in August Sale white lettering on the black banner and wait for the price list to download. Please have patience when first downloading the Christmas in August Sale price list. The entire list and all coin images are downloaded at one time. Download time is much improved for this sale and should be less than 3-5 seconds. Of course, the download time can be variable based on your Internet service provider and access device bandwidth. With local Xfinity ISP provider, the GFRC download is almost instantaneous.

- Once in the price list, click on the product tabs to access individual price lists. DO NOT USE THE BACK BUTTON as this will take you outside the sale list and will require another download. When clicking on an icon image for high resolution photographs, these will open as a separate session in your browser. Once done viewing the high resolution image, please close that session. This will return you to the sale price list tab.

- Ordering a discounted coin is no different than shopping regular price lists. Simply click on the shopping cart icon to launch a pre-formated purchase email. If wishing to order multiple coins, a regular email listing those coins (denomination, date, grade, and price) should be issued. Come Friday morning, I will review all purchase emails on a FIFO basis and award purchases based on the order receive.

- The Christmas in August Sale price list will disappear on Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET. At that time, discounted prices are no longer in effect with prices returning to prior levels for unsold lots.

A kind reminder that I am once again summoned to the Portland Maine courthouse on Friday morning for potential jury duty. The time is terrible for responding to initial early Friday morning orders. I will be up early and will respond to as many initial orders as possible. If you don't receive initial order confirmation, please have patience with me as I will be back on the job come once returning from the courthouse. If goes without saying that there will be no Blog edition tomorrow morning.

Have fun shopping tonight and during the next three days towards accessing some special deals on quality numismatic items.

 

Another Productive Day with Dave Wilkinson

Wednesday's day long effort with Dave Wilkinson saw much being accomplished in the back acreage park creation project. Yes, it is becoming clear to everyone including family, friends, and neighbors that I'm turning the back 20 acres into a memorable park.

Monday's new trail cutting was yet another case of building infrastructure for next step efforts. The new trail allows us to clear two large maple trees from the coastal horizon. However, we also cleared a spot on a steeply sloping downhill location for piling brush and stumps. This material, in an out of the way location, will remain there for years to naturally decompose. The brush and stump dumping point was put to good use on Wednesday as we cleared a new area adjacent to the incoming crushed stone and gravel staging area. Dave has nicknamed the area the Windham Rotary which is lovely center grassed and treed island at the center of the Windham roundabout. Here is an image of the smaller sized Windham Rotary as we are wrapping up for the day. Just hours before this image was taken, the area contained two large maple tree stumps that were dug out by Dave along with transporting a huge amount of buried brush and other stumps to the new dumping location. The fresh wood chips are from the Tip Line Tree Service clearing event of last week.

Also note the shaded rock pile at the left of the center island. This pile is the end of an original settler's agricultural stone wall that is buried by vegetation and ferns. Come the summer of 2025, this wall will be cleared and exposed for it natural beauty.

 

The primary goal for Dave's presence on Wednesday was installing a drainage ditch for the area behind the gazebo. The below image showcases the ditch with large rocks already being placed in the ditch as an initial step. This area now has a "V" shaped water flow, as marked with crushed stone and rip-rap rock leading into the large exiting channel. We also took the opportunity to clear out brush from the right of the drainage ditch for Johnny2's access as there is still much work to be done. The next steps are locating rip-rap sized field stone to place in between the large rocks before covering the channel with 1.5" crushed stone. Once completed, I will be able to drive over the drainage channel with Johnny2 for clearing brush from the adjacent area. So that everyone is properly orientated, the area behind the drainage ditch is the large settler's stone wall and the new Windham Rotary center island. Yes, I an nuts but having a lot of fun in the process.

 

Global Financial News

Equity markets were down on Wednesday with the S&P 500 dropping 0.60% to 5,592. Investors and traders are now 100% certain that there is an interest rate cut arriving after the FOMC meeting on September 17-18. From what I am reading, the odds are 65% for a 0.25% cut and 35% for a larger 0.50% cut. Several analysts that I follow believe that the 0.25% cut is already priced into the market and will have little impact on the economy. The key issue facing the Federal Reserve and its dual mandates of inflation and employment is that the unemployment rate is moving upward with history indicating that higher numbers can be expected in the coming months. Should the Fed go directly to a 0.50% rate cut to stimulate the economy at this point?

One thing that is certain is that spot gold continues to increase in value as the mid October BRICS meeting approaches. In London trading, gold is now quoting at $2522/oz. Silver just can't seen to hold the $30 with a current quote of $29.49/oz.

The 10 Year Treasury bond yield stands at 3.83% while the U.S. dollar is trending at the 101.2 level. A weaker dollar will eventually mean that foreign investments in U.S. dollar denominated assets might start moving to other global markets. This monetary realignment must be closely watched as 2025 arrives for potential investment portfolio allocations.

Morning market futures are showing some trader optimism with a 0.25% gain at the onset of trading.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

My overriding goal is wrapping up the preparation work for the Christmas in August Sale. Discounting inputs from about ten consignors were loaded yesterday with the balance being completed by the afternoon hours. I am religiously sending confirmation emails after each consignor's inputs are loaded.

By late afternoon, the entire sale catalog will debugged as I have a special preview tool in the COIN database. Once the debugging is done, it will certainly be happy hour and preparing clothes for tomorrow morning's Portland courthouse jury selection session.

So ends a long Blog edition. Good luck to everyone who plans to conduct some value shopping in the Christmas in August Sale auction that launches at midnight.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 28, 2024

An Early Edition

An Improving Coastal Maine View

Christmas In August Sale Arrives Tomorrow Midnight

and

Wicker Park Collection - Noteworthy Barber Coinage Offerings - Part 1

 

Greetings and welcome to an early Daily Blog edition as prepared on Tuesday evening. Thank you for stopping by.

As mentioned yesterday, Dave Wilkinson is back on Wednesday morning for another excavator session. This time, we are focusing on the area behind the gazebo that is a proverbial low spot that collects water. Planting grass in that area makes no sense as the soil will be too soft for tractor traffic. A drainage solution is required and the reason to being Dave's expertise on the matter. I will be again out the door by 7:30 AM with no time to composed the Blog. The second best option an early edition with considerable content.

In other Raymond homestead news, we have secured an installation date for Maine Solar Solutions for the 7.7KW PV system (13 panels) and 23KW batter storage solution (2 Tesla Powerwall3 units). That date is September 10 and 11 which provides a two month usage period before we migrate to Florida for the winter. I'm feeling much better with this development. Two months of usage should be adequate time to learn the system and typical PV panel charging rates along with ensuring that the roof installation was sound and leak free.

 

An Improving Coastal Maine View

The challenge of tackling substantial projects is in part of my psyche. Whether building the product engineering yield systems for Fairchild back in the 1980s to building an new organization for managing world wide external manufacturing in the late 1990s, I've always enjoyed taking on a multi-year challenges. Building the GFRC business is yet another example. The same now hold true for the homestead and regaining our view of the coastal horizon. When purchasing this piece of land during 1985, there were no trees, rather fields and an unfeathered view of the coast from Portland to Brunswick. During close to 40 years, nature has returned with huge trees growing freely. These trees are currently being harvested for firewood.

Below is a coastal horizon image take on Tuesday afternoon and showcasing the newly clear trees that were blocking the view of Bradbury Mt. State Park. This park is located roughly 13 miles due southeast as the crow flies with another 7 miles to the ocean. Elevation is 490 ft above see level as compare to our location, Ledge Hill at 970 ft above see level.

An Improving Coastal Maine View

 

Christmas In August Sale Arrives Thursday Midnight

GFRC's special sales are an opportunity for consignors to discount their offerings by a minimum of 8% to participate in our annual sales events. This week brings the Christmas In August sale with the next discounting event being Black Friday weekend in late November. Consignors are free to discount as much as they wish but 8% is the minimum threshold for having coins listed in the Christmas in August sale list.

The Christmas In August Sale banner is found at the top of the GFRC For Sale price list page and the Daily Blog. The banner features a countdown clock to remind everyone as to when the sale starts. Once the clock reaches 0:00:00, the banner becomes a link to a special price list that is entirely separate from regular GFRC price lists. Clicking on the link initiates the download of the Christmas In August price list with tabs for individual product lines. Customers can scroll the various tabs searching for that special coin that is now bargain priced. Shopping cart icons will be enabled and available for triggering an email for purchasing coins or a regular email or text message can be sent separately.

The Christmas in August sale starts on August 29 midnight and ends on September 1 at 9:00pm. This sale will offer roughly 200+ coins at discounted prices. The exact number of offered coins will be known come Thursday morning as I will be loading discounting instructions into the COIN system this afternoon. Potential buyers may wish to stay up until 12:00 midnight on the East coast while those on the West coast should check in at 9:00 PM. Once the sale closes on September 1, the special banner and link disappear with unsold coins being available at regular offer prices prior to the sale.

GFRC sales events are cash and carry with no lay-a-way provisions. If purchasing multiple coins and needing 30 days to pay off the entire purchased lot, I'm sure mutually agreeable terms can be worked out.

 

Wicker Park Collection - Noteworthy Barber Coinage Offerings - Part 1

GFRC continues to partner with new consignors towards service both their collecting and divestment needs. I'm pleased to be showcasing a premium Barber Mint State and Proof consignment from a new client that offers sizable eye appeal. Yes, there are no CAC green beans to be had within this lot, which is surprising as the eye appeal for the majority of lots in above average. I could go on and cite individual lots as example, but will leave the visual inspection up to you. Let's just say that I've studied this consignment carefully to arrive at GFRC quality ratings. I especially like the 1892-O lot and have included in the marquee section of the presentation.

This Wicker Park Collection includes a host of Mint State lots along with two proof strikes (1894 and 1913). The 1894 proof is a real sweetheart and warrant close attention. The 1902-O Barber quarter is a richly frosted specimen and is accurately illustrated. Looking at the lower price lots, my favorites are the 1893 quarter with intense frosted luster and the 1893-O that is an absolute bargain at the offer price. Don't overlook the 1914 MS65 lot as this one is a luster bomb.

All of these lots have been posted to the 30 Day Price List with full descriptions arriving at some point during the Labor Day weekend. Please purchase with confidence as my illustration track record is well known by now along with the GFRC quality ratings.

 

Wicker Park Collection

Noteworthy Barber Coinage Offerings - Part 1

      1892-O PCGS MS64 25C - $785                                            1894 PCGS PR66CAM 25C - $1950   

        

    1895-O NGC MS64 25C - $1300                                                   1902-O PCGS MS64 25C - $1450   

        

  1909 NGC MS66 25C - $1250                                                         1913 PCGS PR66 25C - $1700   

        

1892 TDR FS-801 NGC MS63 25C - $575                  1893 NGC MS65 25C - $1050                       1893-O PCGS AU53 25C - $335      

                

    1894 PCGS MS63 25C - $495                        1897 PCGS MS64 25C - $575                        1903-O PCGS MS63 25C - $895

                

  1907-O PCGS MS64 25C - $395                        1914 PCGS MS65 25C - $695

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As much as I had planned to be loading Christmas in August Sale discounting instructions into the COIN system today, that did not happen. The Samsung cellphone has been diagnosed with a marginal charging socket but is still functioning. During my cellphone repair show visit today, the conclusion was to limit the use of the charging socket by moving to wireless charing which was done.

Getting back to the Christmas in August Sale event, your discounting inputs will be loaded tomorrow afternoon/evening and on Thursday morning along with a final QA check of the price lists. Yes, this is like the days of old at a university and pulling all nighters to get term papers done prior to their due dates.

OK, tomorrow brings a morning in the back acreage/yard before Dave Wilkinson must depart prior to 1:30 PM for another appointment. Given the early start to the day, this is the Blog edition for August 28th.

Thank you so much for putting up with my ongoing ramblings!

Be well!

 

 

 

August 27, 2024

Yet Another Back Acreage Trail

Introduction the Wicker Park Collection's Barber Coinage Consignment

and

Loading Christmas in August Sale Instructions

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning. Your ongoing visits are appreciated.

Well, your daily blogger is sore this morning after spending a full eight hours working in the back acreage. Much was accomplished but unfortunately, my cellphone has a charge port issue and will not charge. As a result, there are no images to be shared of yesterday's progress. I will be heading into Windham today with the day's shipping and consignment checks and plan to stop at a well known cellphone repair shop to hopefully resolve the charging port issue.

 

Yet Another Back Acreage Trail

The best I can do this morning is resurrect an old graphic of the trail system and draw in the location and length of the new trail. Please check the below illustration and the yellow line that has been added. The location of this new trail is specifically to access the tall oaks and maples that are blocking the coastal horizon view. Dave and I did succeed in completing this extension which links the northern and southern trails via a short connector.

On Sunday, I marked the construction area with red tape as guidance for Dave Wilkinson and his excavator. While Dave was tearing up the vegetation and knocking down small trees, I was working behind Dave hauling in gravel, with Johnny2, to line the freshly disturbed surface. On occasion, Dave would need me to fire up the chain saw to take down and carve up larger trees that were blocking Dave's progress. By 1:00 PM, we had successfully cut the new trail with more than half being lined with gravel. Dave ate an apple for lunch followed by Gerry becoming a full time chain saw operator until we stopped for the day at 4:00 due to incoming thunderstorms. We did manage to take down two massive maple trees that had a sizable impact on the coastal horizon view from the back deck. Those two trees were completely cut into logs and stacked along the trail.

 

Several images of the revised coastal view were taken around 6:30 PM, however the remnants of the thunderstorm were still present over the coastal communities and a poor long distance view due to low clouds. These images were not indicative of our progress. I will photograph the improved view today and will share in Wednesday Blog edition.

My closing thought is that I would not want to work as a full time logger as a strenuous and dangerous job. Dropping 40' trees with multiple trunks takes careful planning and execution. Having Dave's excavator to brace and push the trunks into the desire drop zones was critical along with pulling the branched trunks out of the forest for limbing. I was working on uneven surfaces including a host of smaller branches that could be easily be tripped upon. Yes, I did trip a few times to be honest and thank goodness of a chain break on the Husky saw.

 

Introduction the Wicker Park Collection's Barber Coinage Consignment

GFRC is pleased to be showcasing the initial consignment from a new consignor. Our friend has opted for the "Wicker Park Collection" branding name. Below is a lovely group of Barber coinage that will be reaching the price list shortly. Photography has been completed along with price approval. While the Christmas in August Sale is raging during Labor Day weekend, I will be loading these lots to the 30 Day Price List.

Blog readers will probably note that none of these offerings are CAC approved. That is correct. However, the overall eye appeal of this consignment is above average as will be demonstrated once the images are posted along with descriptions. We have priced this group on a market competitive basis leading to an opportunity for Barber collectors to upgrade their holdings at fair offer prices.

Clicking on the below image will provide access to a higher resolution version.

 

Loading Christmas in August Sale Instructions

Once the day's shipping and consignment checks are dropped off at our Raymond post office and the cellphone is hopefully repaired, attention shifts to the loading the Christmas in August Sale discounting instructions into the COIN system. This task will start this evening and extended into late Wednesday. Once a consignor's instructions are loaded into the system, a confirmation email will be issued to confirm that the sale instructions are ready to go for the sale launch come Thursday's midnight.

 

Global Financial News

Since being fully consumed of late, there has been little opportunity to focus on the financial markets. What we do know is that Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivered a very dovish speech at the Jackson Hole conference. It is clear that a rate cut arrives in September with the question being of how large a rate cut. Several analysis are predicting that the Fed needs to go directly to a 0.5% cut given that our consumption base economy will see a slowdown in fiscal stimulus. In other words, the government has exhausted its large post Covid spending initiatives to goose the economy. There are growing warning signs that unemployment continues to tick upward along with the housing market beginning to struggle in places like Florida and Texas.

The S&P 500 starts the day at 5,617 and is close to its all time high with morning market futures being flat. The 10 Year Treasury bond yield is also trending flat at 3.85%.

Spot gold pricing is quoting at $2511 in London trading while silver is holding recent gains at a tad shy of $30/oz.

WTI crude has popped back to $77/bbl.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

The final week of August is turning out to be a hectic time period due to a host of priorities. Tomorrow brings Dave Wilkinson back for a morning excavator session to clean up the area behind the gazebo including the installation of a drainage ditch and preparations for ground smoothing and grass seed planting.

I will be spending all of Thursday in the GFRC office. Unfortunately, I am once again caught up with jury duty selection on early Friday morning and must be at the Portland Maine courthouse for 8:30 AM. This will be a major pain as the Christmas in August Sale is now underway. My plan is to be up at 4:30 PM to respond to initial overnight orders with purchase confirmations. There will be no time for a Daily Blog edition as the priority is the Christmas in August Sale invoicing as clients want quick confirmation for their sale purchases. Once back from the courthouse, I will be spending the balance of the afternoon in the office and entirely focused on the sales event.

Life is certainly not boring....

Thank you for taking the time to visit with me at the Daily Blog and staying current on happenings in Raymond.

Be well!

 

 

 

 

August 26, 2024

More Coastal Horizon Tree Clearing with Dave Wilkinson

 

Greetings on the final Monday in August 2024. Thank you for stopping by.

Today brings Dave Wilkinson on site with his trusty excavator. The goal is constructing an access road behind the coastal horizon tree line that is blocking our back deck view. We also plan to drop two large maple trees. The goals are ambitious but within reach if afternoon thunderstorms do not arrive too early.

As a result, there is no regular Daily Blog edition today. I must be out to the barn by 7:00 AM to fuel Johnny2 and prepare the Husky chain saw for a busy day.

Please check back on Tuesday morning for a regular Blog edition, and hopefully a few photos of Monday's events.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 25, 2024

Happy Hour Visitors

More Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Highlights

and

Final Day for Christmas In August Sale Discounting Inputs

 

Greetings and welcome to a laid back Sunday Daily Blog edition. Today's ramblings will be a bridge to the Tuesday edition as there will be no regular Blog on Monday morning. We will discuss why shortly.

Saturday brought another day with a full calendar. I was up early, and instead of composing the Daily Blog, morning shipping was given the priority. Five shipments were prepared for Diane's receipt writing and packaging along with transport to the Raymond post office. Once the day's shipping was completed, my attention shifted to loading another $2.5 Liberty gold tranche to the 30 Day Price List and responding to overnight emails. Before long, the 9:00 AM hour arrived and it was time to head outdoors to deal with the large log pile. Off we went to the barn to fire up Johnny2 with its trusty grapple. Kevin Johnson appears ahead of schedule and before long, the log loading process was underway. Loading his smaller trailer only took about 15 minutes once the truck and trailer were backed into position. Off Kevin went to his home that is roughly five miles away as Dave Wilkinson subsequently arrived with a 6 yard load of bank run gravel. After dumping the load, Dave and I held a strategy session for Monday's day long excavator session. We also discussed what was necessary for his 16 yard "wheeler" dump truck to drive down to the material staging site. Buying in bulk, via the wheeler, would save me money as I'm spending lots of coin consignment profits on various types of materials. Dave, being the good partner that he is, came up with a plan for backing the wheeler dump truck down to the material site. Off he went to secure another 16 yards of gravel followed by Kevin returning for another load of oak and maple logs. By 1:00 PM, I was hungry for lunch and called it a day. Kevin secured three trailer loads of firewood and Dave Wilkinson deposited 22 yards of gravel. Everyone was happy with the morning's progress.

Unfortunately, I was just too consumed with the activities to stop and take pictures for today's Blog.

 

Happy Hour Visitors

Let's fast forward to 5:00 PM Happy Hour on the back deck. As Diane and I are relaxing with nuts and our favorite adult beverages, the resident wild turkey flock just happened to stroll across the backyard lawn looking for food. At this point, the poults have substantially matured in size. Below is a group photo. Clicking on the image will provide access to a higher resolution version that is worth viewing.

 

More Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Highlights

After grilling dinner, it was time to head back to the GFRC office. Image processing was on the agenda as a fairly mindless activity to close out the day. While working on images from my Seated Dime collection, I plugged in the cellphone phone to the USB-C charging cable with a startle. The phone was beeping an error message that the charge port was contaminated with moisture or debris. Oh crap, not another issue to deal with. Yes, the port had been acting up during the past month but still charging. A Google search brought possible ideas to remedy the situation with no luck. Bottom line, the Samsung charging port has gone bad and will no longer charge the phone's battery. There is a cellphone repair shop in Windham that should be able to deal with this repair. Unfortunately, Dave Wilkinson is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 AM tomorrow morning which means that the repair must be delayed until Tuesday morning with only 62% left on the battery.

OK, let's move on to incremental highlights from my Liberty Seated dime collection. These images have been posted to the online auction catalog.

We open with an 1874-S F-101 dime that is tied for finest known. The CAC census is only 18 pieces in all grades. The 1875-CC In Wreath dime is yet another one of my favorite dimes in the entire set and was purchased January 2003 via eBay. It is such a marvelous specimen with aquamarine-blue shades and hammered strike. The 1875-CC Below Wreath slot is filled by a lightly encrusted example with a complete strike. Moving on the the San Francisco issues of that year, the 1875-S In Wreath is the F-103a variety with shattered reverse and typical of the poor striking and die management quality as production was dramatically ramped without attention to quality control. This example is an absolute luster bomb. The Below Wreath counterpart is a Micro S example with gorgeous golden hues. Next come the 1876-CC entries in the set with the Type 1 Reverse being an exceptionally attractive MS63 CAC specimen. Sometimes we fail in love with a coin regardless of the grade on the label. Isn't that what numismatics is really about? The very scarce Type 2 Reverse is represented by a frosty MS64 CAC example. The last image is that of my 1876-S which was struck with heavily striated dies resulting in partially mirrored fields. When viewing GFRC images, dark fields are synonymous with mirrored surfaces.

 

       1874-S F-101 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C                                          1875-CC IW F-106 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 

        

 1875-CC BW F-106 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C                                      1875-S IW F-103a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 

        

 1875-S BW Micro S F-103a PCGS MS64 CAC 10C                                1876-CC Type 1 F-117 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C     

        

1876-CC Type 2 F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C                            1876-S Type 1 F-109 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C

        

 

Sheffield Collection Consignment Arrives!

Saturday also brought the arrival of a fresh consignment from the Sheffield Collection. This is a six piece Liberty Seated coinage lot with most being purchased from GFRC. It should not take much time to load these into the COIN system and settle down the offer prices.

 

Final Day for Christmas In August Sale Discounting Inputs

Just a kind reminder that today brings the final day for submitting your Christmas in August Sale discounting inputs. I will be loading all inputs into the COIN system starting on Tuesday and hope to have everything wrapped up by end of day Wednesday.

The Christmas in August Sale begins on Thursday evening at midnight, but you knew this already. I will try to provide an update within Wednesday morning's Blog edition.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Since it is a Sunday, my mind is urging me to head back down to the trails for a health walk along with planning out the work that will be accomplished tomorrow with Dave Wilkinson's excavator on site. The goal is to cut a construction or access road behind the remaining trees that are blocking the coastal horizon view. Once that road is in place, Tip Line Tree Service can again be hired to clear out another section of trees or Dave and I can tackle the job at a more leisurely pace. Key is building that road as an enabling first step.

Therefore I'm off to the trails to plan out the work and mark several trees that will be taken down on Monday. Afterwards, the balance of the day will find me in the GFRC office.

Thank you as always for the visit and I hope your Sunday is a pleasant day.

Be well.

 

 

 

August 24, 2024

Taking a Daily Blog Vacation Day

 

Greetings on a gorgeous southern Maine morning and thank you for stopping by.

Given all that is taking place here at the homestead and GFRC office, a Daily Blog vacation day is in order. My attention needs to immediately move to the day's shipping queue before Kevin Johnson arrives at 9:30 AM for cleaning out the maple and oak logs.

We will be back on Sunday morning with a regular edition. See you then and please be well!

 

 

 

August 23, 2024

Showcasing Better Date $2.5 Liberty Gold

 

Greetings and welcome to yet another Daily Blog edition. It is a Friday morning with only a week left before the official end of summer signified by Labor Day weekend.

Well, it certainly feels like autumn this morning as the outdoor temperature is a cool 54F. Now that the overnight temperatures have dropped, the insects are essentially gone during our back acreage trail walks. What a joy it is to do several trail loops in a peaceful wooded environment and no bugs...

The Fortins have yet another incredibly busy day ahead of us as we are hosting a dinner party at 5:00 PM. Lyn and Terry Traver are our guest and will join us for the official christening the gazebo with a round of champagne along with other activities in the homestead. Adding complexity is a delayed Anderson window upgrade from Tuesday to today. The contractor was worried about rain on Tuesday and rescheduled on us. Again, the GFRC office IT system must be relocated to enable the worker to access the windows overlooking the front landscape. Then add in a trip to Raymond for securing dinner scallops and fixing the gazebo foundation as more things that must get done. The field and crushed stone foundation under the gazebo has settled in one location with the entrance door no longer closing. The fix is simple when having a tractor and forks. One of the foundation wood beams must be elevated by 3/4" to regain a fully level surface. While all of this is taking place, I will be doing my best to respond to client orders in a timely manner. Thank goodness for modern cellphones.

On a most positive note, Thursday brought an abundance of sunshine lasting several hours which enabled a serious amount of coin photography. I was able to image the Barber quarter lot along with using WD40 on several of the worn $2.5 gold holders. A reader asked about the WD40 process, therefore here is a 30 second tutorial. Simply spray WD40 on the holder surface above the coin in question. Don't use too much, rather just enough to cover the coin. There will be air bubbles in the liquid but don't worry. Use a paper napkin to carefully dab the bubbles in the liquid until removed. Conduct photography followed by using the same napkin to soak up the WD40 and wipe down the entire holder. The WB40 fills in the scratches and is entirely transparent to the underlying coin.

 

Showcasing Better Date $2.5 Liberty Gold

Today brings the first of several gallery displays of the recently consigned $2.5 Liberty gold lot. Yes, an 1838 Classic Head $2.5 did manage to sneak into the consignment and is worth noting.

Let's walk through this lot piece by piece...

The 1840 Philadelphia issue is a rarity with the PCGS price guide suggesting that 100 are known in all grades. All featured is its New Orleans counterpart at the AU55 grade level with the GFRC images being 100% accurate as to coloration. The 1871 issue is a CAC low population date with only 15 approved in all grades. This one is priced above the CAC price guide with the reason self evident if checking the guide. The 1884 is a brilliantly frosted example with only 21 approved at CAC. I believe the offer price is quite fair for the rarity and overall quality.

Moving to the next two rows, we open with the 1838 Classic Head. In hindsight, I probably should have also sent this piece for a shot at a CAC green bean as the surfaces are strictly original. The 1853 $2.5 is a common date but with Gold CAC bean that is always in demand. Please note that the 1859 was struck with the "Old Reverse" hub while NGC has label such as Type 1 on its holder. The 1868 date is a low mintage affair with only 3,600 struck. This MS60 example is partially mirrored with honey-gold coloration. GFRC photography will present darker fields when mirrored are present. The 1876 lot is a sweet little gold piece with only 24 approved at CAC. This one should not last long at the offer price. Finally, we arrive to an 1888 graded NGC MS64 with CAC green bean and an offer price below the CAC guide.

It is doubtful that these lots will be posted to the 30 Day Price List today given all that is taking place in the next ten hours. If wishing to secure any of these lots, please email me asap with a purchase decision. The images are consistent accurate as a purchase guide. Thank you for the consideration.

 

Better Date $2.5 Liberty Gold Heading to the Price List

Priced as Marked

        1840 NGC MS60 G$2.5 - $7250                                              1840-O PCGS AU55 G$2.5 - $3600   

        

    1871 NGC AU58 CAC G$2.5 - $2500                                         1884 PCGS MS62 CAC G$2.5 - $3000    

        

      1838 NGC AU53 G$2.5 - $1950             1853 PCGS AU55 Gold CAC G$2.5 - $1100         1859 Type 1 NGC AU58 G$2.5 - $1300

                

    1868 NGC MS60 G$2.5 - $2750                  1876 NGC AU55 CAC G$2.5 - $1900                1888 NGC MS64 CAC G$2.5 - $2100

                

 

Global Financial News

Equity market experienced a rough day on Thursday with the S&P 500 dropping 0.90% to 5,571. This selling event should be of no surprise and the markets were overdue for some profit taking. Interestingly, the U.S. dollar is now losing ground and is close to being at its lowest level during 2024. The falling dollar is a result of Federal Reserve rates cut expectations and some indications that a recession could be on the horizon. After dropping below 4.0%, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is holding steady at 3.84%.

Gold has battled back and regained the $2500/oz mark, but barely with a 7:30 AM quote at an even $2500. Silver continues to hold its recent gains at $29.38.

WTI crude oil pricing has dropped to $74/bbl which is yet another sign of traders seeing potential risks for weaker economic activity for the balance of 2024.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point in time other than the shipping department will be close today. Outgoing orders will be process early on Saturday morning and transported to our Raymond post office by noon time.

Thank you so much for the visit. I hope today's gallery was a visual delight.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 22, 2024

Better Date $2.5 Liberty Gold on the Way

and

More Highlights from the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection Sale

 

Greetings on a lovely southern Maine morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We are glad that you could make time for a visit.

“If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes”: Words attributed to Mark Twain when he wrote about New England's weather swings. Well, Mark Twain was certain right concerning the recent Maine weather pattern. Wednesday morning saw foggy conditions and light rain only to clear up before noon time. The sun was out long enough for a protracted photography session followed by afternoon clouds returning. Happy hour took place in the sun room as the sky opened with heavy downpours. Yes, I even grilled a pork loin on the back deck with an umbrella.

When seeing clear blue skies at 6:15 AM, I was excited about the potential to mow the lawn this afternoon. The Weather Channel quickly "rained" on that idea as the afternoon hours will bring another dramatic weather shift back to clouds, and off and on rain showers. Welcome to living in Maine.

Yesterday brought incremental posting to the 30 Day Price List that includes the balance of the circulated San Francisco struck Seated quarters (all CAC approved) along with more $2.5 Liberty gold from an old time collection. The gold posting are a warm-up for what is to come along with nine pieces safely arriving to the CAC NJ office yesterday. This gold lot is comprised of mostly better dates housed in old PCGS and NGC holders, therefore a CAC submission of the better quality lots was a straightforward exercise. In a week's time, the Wizard of Bedminster will pass judgment and provide feedback on how accurate my eye is for original gold. You will be the first to know as I'm not ashamed to be transparent if the results are mediocre. Leading a life with the focus on continuous improvement does bring about more and more wisdom as the years go by.

Let's end the day's preamble here and move on to the headline topics.

 

Better Date $2.5 Liberty Gold on the Way

Thank goodness for bright and sunny skies at lunch time yesterday. I was out on the back deck photographing the balance of the $2.5 Liberty gold lot not sent to CAC along with another group of Seated dimes from my personal collection. As the weather quickly deteriorated, the afternoon was spent processing images with the following Paint Shop Pro desktop status this morning. The next steps are cropping and finalizing each image prior to building a gallery display for Friday's Blog edition. The few images that have not been processed are due to scratched up holders and the need to redo the photography with WD40 to remove those scratches. WD40 is a great transparent filler material that can be easily cleaned off after the photography is done.

 

More Highlights from the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection Sale

If having a few spare moments, after reading today's Blog edition, please consider clicking on the top auction banners towards visiting the GFRC Online Auctions catalog that is currently under construction. I'm still a true collector at heart and love to display the outcome of a three decades or more collecting effort. The Fortin Seated dime images are currently complete through 1874 with more being populated today. Following are highlights from yesterday's additions. A few words are in order...

We open with the Liberty Seated Dime series key date, the 1874 Carson City issue. I could not be more proud of this acquisition dating back to 2003. The surfaces are unquestionably original and difficult to match with most any other pieces that have surfaced during the past 20 years. For those with aspirations to own this lot, I am toying with a $60,000ish reserve.

1874-CC F-101 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C

 

Here are more highlights with several pieces that were purchased during the recent Tom Bender Family Sale. The Bender Sale brought an opportunity to "beef-up" several dates that had been ignored in the past for a host of reasons including available numismatic capital. The 1870-S acquisition dates back to the 2002 Summer ANA and a purchase from Jim O'Donnell. At that time, a small hoard of Mint State examples were floating in the marketplace with one landing in my collection. The 1871-CC dime is an incredible lot that originates from the 2005 CSNS sale of Dr. Tim Cook's collection at that time. After purchase this lot via Dick Osburn, as my auction agent, I was told by several auction attendees that the 1871-CC dime was the highlight of the sale for those that really knew their Seated dimes.

 1870 F-101a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C Ex. Bender                                     1870-S F-101 CGS MS65 CAC 10C           

        

     1871 F-102a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C Ex. Bender                           1871-CC F-101 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C Ex. Tim Cook   

        

The 1871-S dime is an amazing gem that found its way into the collection via a client who purchased the coin at one of the HA Bender sales. I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to own this lot, even for just several years. The 1872-CC dime is also a recent acquisition with its CAC green bean. As everyone knows by now, the 1873 No Arrows Open 3 dime is the finest known and has just been crossed to PCGS and is currently at CAC for a new sticker. The images were taken while the coin was still in its NGC holder. The last two coins are quite notable. The 1873-CC dime is 100% original and still retains some residual luster under a bright light. The 1873-S is a wonderful piece that turns to steely blue with angled lighting.

 1871-S F-101 PCGS MS65+ CAC 10C Ex. Bender                                      1872-CC F-101 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C            

        

               1872-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C                                   1873 F-105 No Arrows Open 3 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 

        

 1873-CC F-101 PCGS VF35 CAC 10C                                             1873-S F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C   

        

 

Global Financial News

The U.S. Labor department has egg on its face today after revising fiscal 2023 job creation downward by 818,000. The U.S. fiscal year runs from April 2023 through March 2024. The revised total adds more evidence that the job market continues to slow in many sections of the country. If serious about securing a job, consider moving to Maine as there are Help Wanted and Hiring signs everywhere.

So the Labor Department has been operating with initially optimistic job creation estimates followed by quiet monthly downward revisions to keep the equity markets and Bidenomics on track. Now this shoe drops with close to a one million downward job reduction. Who can you trust at this point for accurate information? We certain know that the government's reporting of inflation data has also been skewed to the optimistic side.

Here are the details of where U.S. job were over reported and adjusted during the past fiscal year. Note the losses in Manufacturing, Professional business services, and Leisure/hospitality.

 

U.S equity enjoyed an upbeat day on Wednesday with the S&P 500 now back to 5,621. Morning market futures are pointing to another 0.20% gain at the opening bell

Spot gold is meandering above the $2500/oz level this morning, but barely. Silver is quoting at $29.45.

The 10 Year bond yield is quoting at 3.84% after dipping below 3.8% yesterday.

 

What is Gerry Up To Day?

Well, the shipping department has the day off since there are no new orders or check payments in the last 24 hours. The extra time will be well spent in the image processing department along with loading more of the $2.5 Liberty gold to the price list. If the morning weather holds up, I will be photographing another round of the Newtown Liberty Seated halves as attention will quickly shift back to completing this marvelous catalog segment.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

August 21, 2024

Now This is a Wood Pile!

Christmas in August Sale Banner is Posted

and

Loading the 30 Day Price List

 

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to a rather short Daily Blog edition. Thank you so much for the visit.

All is fine this early morning with my attention shifting to image processing and updating the 30 Day Price List with new offerings. Time is of the essence today as there is much on the calendar to accomplish.

Therefore, let's move forward with the day's update.

 

Now This is a Wood Pile!

A daily routine typically finds me heading outdoors at 3:00 PM, of course rain dependent, to work on back acreage projects. With a hard stop at 5:00 PM for Happy Hour with Diane, that leaves roughly two hours per day for bringing about progress. If you think about it, the same amount of time is spent composing the Daily Blog each morning at 6:00 AM.

Anyways, after spending four hours on Johnny2 on Monday and Tuesday, nearly all of the down oak and maple tree trunks have been removed from the coastal horizon clearing site and dropped into a position for Saturday retrieval by Kevin Johnson. The wood pile's size is probably 4 cords for those that burn wood during the winter months. Luckily, I am not the one who must cut and split these fresh logs.

The larger white oak logs are close to 18" in diameter and very heavy. Kevin will need to saw these in half before being loaded onto his trailer as he does not have a tractor for unloading. Once on the trailer, Kevin will further cut down each log for ease of unloading at his home wood splitting site.

For new Blog readers, let me introduce Johnny2. This is a John Deere 20238R compact tractor with a 3-Series frame size. The engine is a 38 hp diesel with turbo charger. The "R" in the model name signifies a premium machine with detachable front loader (220R), a mid-mount PTO (for a belly mowing deck), and rear PTO. The Fortin machine has many upgrades with front third function hydraulics for a grapple and rear hydraulics for the 270B backhoe. The back tires are loaded with beet juice for incremental ballast as rear weight is critical for safe operation and moving heavy loads. The front loader was also upgraded to a self leveling loader that provides additional safety along with an extra 300-400 lbs of lifting capacity. All decked out, this machine weighs close to 4500 lbs and is a beast for moving up to 3/4 ton boulders and logs.

 

Christmas in August Sale Banner is Posted

The Christmas in August Sale black banner and countdown clock are now posted as a reminder that discounting inputs are being solicited. So far, a reasonable number of clients have decided to offer their discounting instructions and I am looking forward to more in the coming day. The final day for discounting submissions is this Sunday, August 25 as everyone has had sufficient time to contemplate their sale strategies.

As a reminder, the Sale opens at midnight on August 29. Unfortunately, I am once again slated for jury duty selection on the morning of August 30, which is the first day of the sale. Please be aware, that I will not be able to respond to the early August 30 orders until back from the Portland courthouse that afternoon. I know that this fact will drive some customer crazy given the delayed response and not knowing if they were first on a coin. I will probably arise at 4:00 AM to clear the post midnight orders followed by preparing to drive to Portland.

 

Loading the 30 Day Price List

At roughly 1:00 PM on Tuesday, the sun peaked through the clouds for about 20 minutes and I was taken advantage of the momentary sunshine. There was a rush onto the back deck towards photographing about twelve coins to GFRC standards before the clouds closed in for the balance of the day.

Those coins are currently in the image processing loop and will be loaded onto the price list later this morning. The lot includes the balance of the CAC approved S-Mint Seated quarters and the beginning of the $2.5 gold pieces.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

My apology, but today's edition is truly brief as there are no new consignment announcements. I'd like to get a head start to the day towards loading the price list and bringing forth another round of auction images for the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated dime collection.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 20, 2024

Pulling Oak and Maples Logs for Kevin

Spot Gold at $2526/Oz

and

Connoisseur's Auction Sale Cataloging Progress

 

Greetings on a late August Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We are certainly glad that you could stop by for a visit.

Fall is in the air as the southern Maine temperature, at 6:00 AM, is only 60F with a 10 mph breeze that is rustling the front landscape leaves. It rained during the overnight again which is great for the newly planted lawn segment to the left of the gazebo. Unfortunately, cloudy conditions will continue to dominate which means no coin photography today. Maine weather shifts back to sunshine come Thursday and you can bet that I will be on the back deck with a substantial backlog of consigned inventory for imaging.

Monday got off to a problematic start thanks to the U.S. Postal Service. USPS was conducting website maintenance and managed to shut down the shipping cart until almost 10:45 AM. Without the shipping cart, we were unable to pay for and print labels. Since the inconvenience, my attention shifted to two CAC stickering submissions. The first was the crossed over 1852-O and 1873 No Arrows Open 3 dimes, both finest knowns, for restickering. The second was a nine piece $2.5 lot from the new consignment. After the USPS website was operating correctly, we managed to get a portion of the days shipping out the door. I'm sorry, but a few packages did not make the cut and will be shipped today.

Early afternoon brought an attention shift to the GFRC Online Auctions portion of the website. The two auction pages have been partially updated for the forthcoming 2025 Connoisseur's Auction Sale. Banners were constructed as can be noted at the top of the Daily Blog. Clicking these banners takes you directly to the online auction catalog is that filling in nicely. The Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection images are now complete through 1870 and worth a visit.

In between all of the activity, the Springfield Collection checked in to see if I wished to handled an 1891-O PCGS AU50 CAC Seated quarter that is downright gorgeous. I'm no fool and responded in the affirmative with this lot arriving today or tomorrow. Please let me know of potential interest.

 

Pulling Oak and Maples Logs for Kevin

Come 3:00 PM, my attention shifted to the back acreage and the many piles of 8" tree trunks left after Tip Line Tree Service completed their cutting last week. Kevin Johnson, Diane's former paint store business partner, returns on Saturday with his trailer to start hauling away these logs. My goal was to move and stage these logs to a convenience location for easy loading of his trailer. Johnny2's grappled was installed and worked like a charm after replacing a coupler that was damaged when moving boulders during the construction of the new stone wall that is now the backdrop for the gazebo area. One has to come to grips with the fact that moving large boulders will result in some damage to implements or their hydraulic connections. It is the nature of the beast when pushing a smaller compact tractor to its limits.

Following is a not so great image of only a portion of the spoils from last week's tree cutting. It was a cloudy day with little contrast. The wood chip pile is a full 16 yards or more while the log pile is at least two trailer loads for Kevin. These piles are roughly half or less or what was generated last week by Tip Line. Come next Monday, Dave Wilkinson is back for cutting an access road behind more of the trees blocking the coastal horizon view.

 

Spot Gold at $2526/Oz

One of my early morning activities is to check the Kitco website to view overnight trading in the Shanghai market along with the current London activity. This morning brought a nice surprise as gold has moved up to $2526/oz in London after closing at $2491 in Shanghai. The pricing gap between the east and western commodity exchanges is gone with gold pricing now being consistent with physical market conditions.

Silver is also seeing some lift with a price quote at $29.70/oz. Here is a brief report on the outlook for silver and the factors driving its volatility.

The gold market continues to attract significant attention as prices hover around new all-time highs of approximately $2,500 per ounce. However, some analysts suggest that investors might want to turn their focus to silver.

Silver has struggled to keep pace with gold during its surge to record levels, but sentiment is slowly starting to shift. The gray metal is beginning the new trading week with a push above $29 per ounce, its highest level in four weeks.

Spot silver last traded at $29.34 per ounce, up more than 1% on the day.

The new momentum is helping to decrease the gold/silver ratio, which had rallied significantly since early July. The gold/silver ratio is currently trading at 85.5 points, down sharply from last week’s high of around 90 points.

Christopher Lewis, senior market analyst at FXEmpire, said in a note on Monday that he expects silver’s upward momentum is just beginning, and any selling pressure should be viewed as a buying opportunity.

“In general, this is a market that I think will continue to experience a lot of volatility, but I still believe that the overall trend favors the upside,” he stated in the note.

Joaquin Monfort, a market analyst at FXStreet.com, identified some near-term resistance at $29.23 per ounce. However, he added that if the current momentum persists, he expects prices to rise back above $30 per ounce.

Unlike gold, silver has been unable to maintain consistent bullish momentum in the current market environment. Some analysts point out that this is due to its sensitivity to the global economy, given its industrial demand. While lower interest rates would support silver as a monetary metal, the threat of an economic slowdown could keep investors cautious.

However, analysts have noted that even in an economic downturn, the silver market faces a significant supply and demand imbalance, which is expected to continue supporting higher prices.

According to the Silver Institute, the market is expected to see a deficit of 215.3 million ounces this year, the second-largest deficit in more than two decades.

 

Connoisseur's Auction Sale Cataloging Progress

As mentioned earlier, more progress was realized as the Connoisseur's Auction Sale cataloging effort continues to move forward. We are still in the image preparation phase that hopefully will be concluded by the end of Labor Day weekend.

Here are six highlights from the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection for your viewing enjoyment.

The 1865-S dime is the Eliasbert specimen with a complete head strike. Knowledgeable Seated dime collectors will recognize the importance of this lot as few if any F-101 strikes come with a complete head. Nearly all are weakness struck with partial or missing heads. The 1866 dime is one of my absolute favorites in the collection and originated from a Stack's offering of the New England Museum Collection. I was able to purchase this piece on the rebound from the collector who purchased the coin at the original auction. It is a monster piece under a bright light and will carry a reserve that is in the five digits consistent with the original auction sale.

The 1867 dime is another eye appealing monster and tied for finest known. What is there to say about the 1867-S PCGS MS65 Gold CAC dime. It is certainly the finest or tied for finest.

 

                1865 F-101a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C                                   1865-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C Ex. Eliasberg   

        

 1866 F-102b PCGS MS66 CAC 10C Ex. New England Museum                           1866-S F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C                          

        

       1867 F-102 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C                                           1867-S F-102 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC 10C 

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

My apology for the lack of a financial news segment today as I must close down the Blog composition early. A window maintenance firm out of Portland arrives at 8:00 AM to repair molding and cranks on our 1985 vintage Anderson windows. Two window panes also require full replacement. The GFRC office windows will also be repaired which means that I must vacate the office and pull the large desk away from that window for access. All of the computer equipment will be relocated to the sun room to ensure that nothing goes awry in the process.

Once the windows in the office are updated, I will be back to handle the morning shipping followed by more image processing during the afternoon.

Please remember that discounting instructions are being solicited for the upcoming Xmas in August sale. By end of day, the auction banner and countdown clock will be activated.

Thank you for the usual visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 19, 2024

A Hugely Productive Sunday!

and

Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Auction - Moving Into the 1860s

 

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Monday morning. Thank you again for the ongoing patronage, and business support.

"Fogged In" best describes the southern Maine weather situation as today's Blog is being composed. The fog is so thick that I can barely see if the wild turkey flock is pecking away at the newly seeded lawn area left of the gazebo. They are not, which is a good thing.

Let's keep the preamble short as there is a decent amount of content to share.

 

A Hugely Productive Sunday!

I went into Sunday with three specific goals to complete before the Fortin's 5:00 PM hard stop happy hour time. Those goals included generating pricing proposals for a substantial Barber quarter lots insourced at the Chicago ANA along with the 37 piece $2.5 gold consignment that arrived after the ANA event. Icing on the cake would be the processing of more images from my personal Liberty Seated Dime collection as a gallery display for this Blog edition.

The day went incredible smooth when first posting the newest Dr. Tim Cook Liberty Seated dime consignment to the 30 Day Price List and having only two coins not sell. I can't believe that the 1857-O F-101 dime is still a free agent as this one was expected to sell immediately. The surfaces and natural toning are exactly what CACG prefers to grade these days. Believe me, I am not complaining....

Next came the preparation of a pricing proposal for the Barber quarter consignment and sending the finalized COIN report to our new client. While developing that proposal, Randy Campbell (FUN Educational Seminar Coordinator) called in to report that he expects Winter FUN 2025 to be a huge event and ranking in the top five most attended shows in FUN's history. As a result, he wants me to stay at the GFRC table and not feel pressured to give yet another education seminar this year. This was certainly a relief as I've been speaking at the Winter FUN show for years in support of Randy and their convention.

Immediately after lunch, the attention shifted to pricing the 37 piece $2.5 gold consignment and sending that proposal to the consignor. Eight of the coins will be heading to CAC stickering today for a potential green bean. Within several hours of the proposal being issued, the consignor gave the go ahead signal to start offering his coins. It did not take long to sell the 1866 PCGS AU55 CAC $2.5 lot for obvious reasons. CAC census is only 7 coins with only three finer.

Could I possibly get those Fortin images done for Monday's Blog? Somehow, I managed to keep the pace going and completed another round of images up through 1864. Please see the next segment.

When 5:00 PM arrived, Diane and I poured our favorite adult beverages and played Rummicube to stimulate some alternate neurons in my brain along with just hanging together before preparing dinner. Time in the basement sound room was the day's reward as I took in portions of Aimee Man and Van Morrison concert videos. What a busy day!

 

Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Auction - Moving Into the 1860s

Following is a showcase of a newly prepared images for the Liberty Seated dimes within my personal collection. This display presents the lots from 1860 through 1864.

We open with the 1860-S PCGS MS64 CAC dime that dates back to Kamal Ahwash and its usage as the plate coin within his ground breaking Encyclopedia on the series. The 1860 is a gorgeous example that was sourced from the Newtown Collection when handling his sale back in 2022-2023. Then comes the 1860-O dime which is incredibly original and the third finest at CAC. This lot was one of the top viewed dimes at the Chicago ANA display.

Moving on, the 1861 Type 1 and Type 2 Obverses are illustrated with attractively toned PCGS MS65 CAC examples. The 1861-S dime is an unquestionable gem at grade and so challenging in Mint State. Again, this lot is the third finest at CAC. The 1862 date is well represented by a PCGS MS66 example. Now for several of the major collection highlights...

The 1862-S dime is the second finest at CAC and sports multiple important pedigrees including Norweb, Richmond, and Bolen. Over the years, I've fallen in love with the speckled toning and huge strike. The 1863 Philly is graded PCGS MS67 CAC and the finest known. The 1863-S has an incredible acquisition story which will be told when cataloging the collection. This lot has notable pedigrees that include Frog Run, Lovely, and initially Reed Hawn and is the finest or tied for finest given its Gold CAC bean.

We wrap up the display with an 1864 PCGS MS65 example along with an incredible 1864-S PCGS MS66 CAC dime with Northern Bay, Gardner, and BigMo Collection pedigrees. This piece is now tied for finest known as CACG has also certified another MS66 example.

 

Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Auction - Moving Into the 1860s

1860-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C Ex. Ahwash                                       1860 F-112 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C         

        

       1860-O F-101 PCGS AU50 CAC 10C                                         1861 Type 1 F-104 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 

        

1861 Type 2 F-106 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C                                        1861-S F-101 PCGS MS62 CAC 10C     

        

       1862 F-102a PCGS MS66 CAC OGH 10C                                 1862-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C Ex Norweb

        

                   1863 F-101a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C                               1863-S F-101 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC 10C Ex Reed Hawn 

        

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

        

 

Global Financial News

Since being a Monday, a new trading week arrives on Wall Street with the S&P 500 back to 5,554. I hope that markets will stabilize at this point as we await for the Federal Reserve's next interest rate move in September. Morning market futures are dead flat at the Blog is composed.

Spot gold has dipped to $2489 during London trading. Holding the $2500 level will take time and patience as investor become more accustomed to this new pricing level. Silver is quoting at $28.84/oz.

The 10 Year Treasury bond yield is flat at 3.87% while the U.S. dollar DXY index stands at 102.2.

WTI crude is selling at $76 even per barrel.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

Today's primary goal is a substantial amount of initial week shipping and CAC stickering submissions. The afterward will find me again in the office processing yet more Gerry Fortin Seated Dime collection images. I've stockpiled photographs through 1875, therefore in good shape for another day or two.

After Sunday's marathon office session, some time working in the back acreage with Johnny2 many be in the cards. There is much to clean up after the Tip Line Tree Service cutting session from last week.

Finally, a gentle reminder that the Xmas in August Sale arrives on Labor Day weekend. It would be great to have all discounting instructions by this weekend.

Thank you so much for the visit and I hope it met your expectations.

Be well!

 

 

August 18, 2024

A New Dr. Tim Cook Seated Dime Die Variety Consignment

 

Greetings on a wet morning here in southern Maine. Thank you so much for visiting the Daily Blog.

There is not much to share this morning as the large flock of turkeys is back. This would be fine other than I seeded a new lawn section behind the gazebo yesterday. At first, the gang remained in the back yard in front of the settler's stone wall, but sure enough, the lead tom went over the wall and soon discovered a treasure trove of fresh grass seed. The balance of the flock soon followed and were pecking away until I went outdoors and invited them to leave immediately. Now that the flock is back, I must watch this newly seeded area off and on while working in the office today.

Yesterday brought Dave Wilkinson back to the homestead with loads of 1.5" crushed stone and another 16 yard load of loam tailings. Dave and I walked the cut areas via Tip Line Tree Service and formulated our plan for August 26 and 28 when he returns with his trusty excavator. I will get into those details next week once the work begins.

Following is a nice lot of recently consigned Liberty Seated dime die varieties from the Dr. Tim Cook (Indiana Collection) for your considering. I will be posting these next to the 30 Day Price List. A few comments are necessary. The 1852 F-105a is a raw piece, with a notable reverse cud, is perfectly original and is guaranteed to holder. The 1857-O F-101 is the web-book plate coin with credit to Dr. Tim Cook for the usage years ago. Now, this lot is available and will easily cross into whatever TPG of your choose including CACG. The 1875-S IW is an F-105b with shattered reverse and three distinct reverse cuds. Finally, the 1891-O O/Horizontal O is rarely seen in Mint State with this offering being an important opportunity.

Dr. Tim Cook Seated Dime Die Varieties to Consider

            1852 F-105a Raw VF35 10C - $425                                        1857-O F-101 ANACS AU58 10C OWH - $435    

        

1869 Short Flag 1 F-103 NGC AU55 10C - $750                                       1872 RPD F-106 NGC MS64 10C - $650        

        

       1875-S F-105b NGC MS63 10C - $1000                                        1891-O O/Horiz O PCGS MS61 10C - $2500    

        

 

What is Gerry Up To Today/

Today brings a long office day with the priorities being loading Tim Cook's coins to the price list followed by pricing two major consignments. The first is the Barber quarter lot and the second is the 37 piece $2.5 gold lot.

I will be watching emails for potential orders and hope that the community steps forward with a few purchases.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 17, 2024

Gold Sets New Record at $2512/Oz

and

Xmas In August Sale Arrives on August 30

 

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

The autumn season is in the air here in southern Maine as daytime highs are struggling to reach the high 70s. My goodness, the calendar indicates that Labor Day weekend is just two weeks away. Here in northern New England, the Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer along with the tourist season. Seasonal enterprises will stay open through the end of September and then close for the year. By now, Blog readers should be well aware that September and October are my favorite months of the year due to the cooler temperatures and the lower traffic density on roadways.

Numismatic wise, September is one of the two weakest sales months of the year. After collectors re-engage with their hobby in August, due to the Summer ANA and its publicity, they take a breather in September to focus on things other than coin collecting. Here in the GFRC office, September will bring serious attention to the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage auction sales that will take place in the first half of 2025.

Yesterday's posting of a portion of the CAC approved Liberty Seated quarter lot (all San Francisco dates) brought immediately sales with three of the five posted lots being sold. There is also a FRoR on the 1855-S.

Let's check on with Seth Godin on a thought providing blogpost. Hiding from accountability, via different strategies, is often encountered in the business world. When working at CSMC in Wuxi, China, the local mainland Chinese staff were masters at avoiding accountability and shifting blame to others. When things went wrong, the review meetings turned into kung fu sessions between organizations. As a result, much of their work was mediocre as the focus was primarily on how to shift blame when things went inevitably wrong.

Seth Godin Blogpost: Mediocrity and perfectionism

It’s surprising to realize that they’re the same.

They are both places to hide.

When we ship average work, it’s not our fault. We’re simply doing what the manual says, and if you don’t like it, blame the culture and the system.

And when we hold back on shipping because it isn’t perfect, we’re also hiding. Who can blame us for refusing to sign off on something if we can find something (anything) that could still be discussed or improved?

If it doesn’t ship, it doesn’t count.

The work is to establish a standard and then meet it. To ship it when it’s good enough (which we get to define in advance). Don’t ship junk, but ship.

Here at GFRC, we've launched website updates and new ideas before they were perfected, but in hindsight, we kept the ball moving forward in a competitive market place....

 

Gold Sets New Record at $2512/Oz

I was wrong about gold! In prior Blog editions, it was mentioned that gold would hit $2500 or more come October when the next BRICS summit takes place in Russia.

On Friday afternoon, spot gold set an all time new high of $2512/oz while closing at $2508 for the day. Now that the $2500 level has been breached, gold will be free to run even higher as the repricing journey continues to move forward. Those that have been predicting a $3000/oz level are starting to appear more credible after Friday's closing number' Let's remember that the average price of gold during 2023 was $1943/oz. Therefore, the $3000 mark, at some point in 2025, is not out of the question.

Kitco has the new recond high nicely covered with the following report.

Gold enjoyed one of its best five-day stretches of the year this week, and ended with a bang, rocketing to fresh all-time highs in both the spot and futures markets. 

Spot gold kicked off the week trading at $2,429.49 per ounce, before moving sharply higher during the Asian and European sessions. North American traders then picked up right where their Eastern counterparts left off as gold rallied into the U.S. stock market open, trading at $2,452.10 at 9:30 a.m. EDT and continuing the upward momentum to top out at $2,476.30 by 8:00 p.m. Monday evening. 

The yellow metal then took a one-day breather, trading in a channel between $2,458 and $2,478 per ounce until Wednesday morning's U.S. data took the wind out of its sales, with spot gold declining to a daily low of $2,440 per ounce shortly after 1:30 p.m. EDT. After trading as high as $2,467 in the early evening, spot gold was once again smacked down below $2,440 at 9:00 p.m. EDT, but it quickly returned to the middle of its recent range. 

The stage was now set for one of the yellow metal's sharpest single-day gold rallies outside of a geopolitical crisis, as gold rocketed through multiple levels of resistance during the overnight, rising from $2,452.63 just after 3:00 a.m. EDT to $2,494.07 at the North American open. And after a brief dip back to 2481, it was off to the races once again, this time driven by a disappointing U.S. housing starts report.

Spot gold first breached the $2,500 per ounce level shortly before 10 am EDT, just half an hour into the North American trading session and less than 90 minutes after the downbeat housing data was released.

After pulling back as low as $2,479 per ounce, the yellow metal resumed its steady march higher, breaking definitively above $2,500 just after 2:30 pm EDT.

The latest Kitco News Weekly Gold Survey shows a clear majority of industry experts and retail investors believe gold prices can push beyond this week’s all-time highs.

Mark Leibovit, publisher of the VR Metals/Resource Letter, sees no reason to doubt the yellow metal in the near term, and believes silver could also post gains next week. “Have to give the upside the benefit of the doubt for both gold and silver,” he said.

"Unchanged,” said Adrian Day, President of Adrian Day Asset Management. “At record highs, there is potential for economic news or Federal Reserve officials to dampen the enthusiasm for multiple rate cuts this year, starting next month, and that would see a pullback in gold. But it would only be very short term.  The odds still favor a Fed cut in September, adding to the cuts we have already seen at many banks around the world, and the longer-term direction for gold is certainly up.”

Marc Chandler, Managing Director at Bannockburn Global Forex, sees consolidation for the yellow metal in the near term before it sets new all-time highs.

“Gold is range bound near record highs,” he said. “I don't think the yen carry trade is back in vogue, but instead a broader dollar weakening move.  That is supportive for gold.  Also, despite stronger US retail sales and 5-week low in weekly jobless claims, 10yr Treasury yields are essentially flat this week.”

Chandler is also looking ahead to Fed chair Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole next Friday. He is likely to frame next month's cut as not easier monetary policy but rather less restrictive,” he said. “I expect the consolidation in gold to ultimately be resolved with new highs.”

Bob Haberkorn, Senior Commodities Broker at RJO Futures, was looking at the price action on Friday morning as the bulls were fighting to keep the $2,500 level.

“I think it's a little overstretched here right now, in the short term,” Haberkorn said. “I think earlier in the weekend, maybe in this session, you might get a little bit of a pullback [in futures] to try to get back to $2,500.”

“Now that we took out such a big level here, I'm sure there's money on the sideline that wants to get in, and it's going to wait for a pullback.”

Haberkorn said that Friday morning’s housing data was so bad that it drove market expectations even higher. “It really amped up this market, the increased likelihood for rate cuts coming in September,” he said.

“Next week, now that we're around $2,500, I think you're going to have sideways action,” he added. “I don't see us going up to $2,600. I don't think we've got the legs for that yet. I think eventually we will, after we get past our first rate cut, but expect it to be a little sideways here into next week.”

Haberkorn said the market will get its cut, but the traders predicting half a point are getting ahead of themselves. “I don't think the Fed can move too fast and do a [50-basis-point] cut, because the inflation numbers have come down a bit, but they still are pretty high by normal standards,” he said. “I think a lot of this is fear-driven, around a recession and also with the position the Fed is in, if they lower too fast, inflation will come back. You won't see it immediately, but you will get higher inflation. I think right now, the fact that the Fed is in a bind, it feels like, has traders pushing gold up to new highs.”

“There's so much pressure on them to start cutting, but inflation is still here,” he added. “Stuff still is pretty expensive if you go out there. Yes, the data's showing some lower numbers, but I don't know if the job is done. I don't think they know if the job is done. But there's so much pressure on them to start cutting, because now we're starting to see cracks in employment, as well as the housing numbers out there, and it's a bad position to be in.”

“What they're signaling right now, I think, shows that they're in a bad position.”

Haberkorn believes that the $2,500 level on the December contract, or very close to it, could become support. “$2,580 all the way down to $2,485, with good support levels for the time being,” he said. “Where we're trading at, I could see us giving back a little more here. I think it's going to be hard to attract new buyers, for new buyers coming to this market at such an elevated level,” he said.

“The market should continue upwards and be bullish, it's just hard to buy it up north of $2500 at this point, after we just broke it,” Haberkorn added. “I think that's why next week you'll see sideways to lower action in gold.”

This week, nine analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey, with the majority of Wall Street still seeing potential for gains above this week’s all-time highs. Five experts, or 56%, expect to see gold prices rise during the week ahead, while three analysts, or 33%, believe gold will consolidate its gains next week. Only one, representing 11% of the total, predicted a decline in price for the precious metal.

 

Xmas In August Sale Arrives on August 30

Just a quick reminder that the Xmas in August Sale is just two weeks away along with the Labor Day weekend. Come Monday, the black sale banner and countdown clock will be launched as a reminder for consignments to consider if they wish to participate in this 2024 sales event. The next GFRC discounting sale is not until Black Friday in late November.

If wishing to participate, an 8% minimum discount is required. Discounting instructions can be sent directly to me with "Xmas In August Sale" notation in the subject line.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be in and out of the GFRC office today with weather conditions being the deciding factor. The day will be overcast, therefore coin photography is out of the question. However, there is a decent amount of images in the GFRC processing along with the need to price out a substantial Barber coinage consignment and the $2.5 gold lot that has been showcased this week.

Also on my things to do is seeding the new lawn area behind the gazebo before rain appears on Sunday and Monday.

So ends another Daily Editions as my focus shifts to responding to several overnight orders and preparing the shipping department for Diane's arrival.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

August 16, 2024

CAC Approved Seated Quarter San Francisco Deal Ready for FRORs

and

37 Piece $2.5 Gold Consignment - The NGC Lots

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog as we begin the journey through the second half of August 2024. Thank you for the visit.

Today's ramblings will be brief as another health issue has become aggravated in the past 24 hours. My right shoulder has been bothering me for the past six months though a background issue. Recently, the pain has moved down from the shoulder into the elbow and was notable when moving heavy showcases at the Chicago ANA. Yesterday, I went to Lowe's and Tractor Supply Company to purchase fertilizer, grass seed, and straw bales for the upcoming seeding of the new lawn behind the gazebo. When picking up a straw bale, there was a sharp pain down through the right arm and not a temporary situation. This morning my right shoulder is tender and painful without the ability to lift anything heavier than a double row box of slabbed coins. Sure, I can type... Yes, I've already sent an email for an appointment with Dr. Bean who has been providing cortisone shoots for my ailing fingers. Hopefully, he can see me today or early next week.

Most of Thursday was spent in the GFRC office with eight consignment checks issued along with morning shipping. The afternoon brought the loading of a 30+ piece Barber coinage lot into the COIN system before heading to Windham for lawn seeding materials.

Let's move on to the numismatic content of the day.

 

CAC Approved Seated Quarter San Francisco Deal Ready for FRORs

Yesterday brought the arrival of a CAC approved Seated Quarter new purchase deal with all lots being struck in San Francisco. A check will be mailed today to the client at our agreed to purchase price. Therefore, I am feel to start selling these coins. Following is a gallery showcase of the group towards securing First Right of Refusals. The star of the group is the 1857-S which last sold via GFRC auction during August 2021 for $2500. This piece also sold during August 2020 at $2750. This is a near-gem and under graded. The balance are well worn but naturally toned examples. Please note that the 1862-S and 1865-S suffering from a lighting issue as their color is consistent with the natural coin gray seen on the balance of the lots.

 

37 Piece $2.5 Gold Consignment - The NGC Lots

Today brings the second of two gallery showcase images for the recently arrived $2.5 gold lot. The group opens with an 1838 Classic Head example followed by a host of better dates in the 1850s through 1870s.

I will be loading the entire 37 piece lot into the COIN system today along with a first shot at a pricing proposal for our consignor. Photography will be delayed as southern Maine weather has shifted into a cloudy and wet cycle.

 

Global Financial News

Thursday brought a substantial equity market rally with the S&P 500 climbing 1.6% to 5,543. The NASDAQ and its high flying tech stocks led a broad upswing in prices.

Spot gold is quoting at $2470/oz while silver is trying to stay above the $28/oz mark. The Gold:Silver ratio is now 88 which is quite bullish for silver.

Morning market futures are dead flat while the 10 Year bond yield is quoting at 3.87%.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be taking it easy today and hoping that an appointment with Dr. Bean can be scheduled in the near term. I'm not in a position to working outdoors, therefore the day will be spent in the office with Advil.

Thank you for stopping by.

Be well.

 

 

 

August 15, 2024

Another Round of Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Images

and

GFRC-Lite's August 10th Statesville Show Report

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a wet Thursday morning in southern Maine. Thank you so much for the time spent each day visiting with me.

As the Blog is being composed, Raymond is experiencing heavy downpours and thunderstorms. The rain is a blessing, in some manner, as I was planning to seed incremental grass behind the gazebo this weekend. Heavy downpours are ideal for recognizing water flow erosion and how effective the current preparations are.

Tip Line Tree Service has come and gone. Two trunks of a badly leaning white oak, within the front landscaping, have been removed. That worry is now behind me. Does anyone need maple and oak firewood as there is an abundance on the property that must be hauled away. Sorry, the firewood is in 6' to 10' lengths and needs to be sawn and split. The property also has several huge wood chip piles that will be put to good use. Here is an image of the three trunk white oak with Tip Line cutting one of the two leaning trunks. This tree is massive.

 

Let's move forward with today's headlines....

 

Another Round of Gerry Fortin Seated Dime Collection Images

The month of August is moving along much too quickly! Yesterday brought the processing and posting of another ten images for the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection. Steady progress is being made with the entire collection being targeted by end of August for full imagery.

In this showcase, there are several notable lots including the 1855 Arrows F-101a dime with its boldly doubled date. This obverse die was employed to strike proofs followed by a few business strikes. The F-101a die variety is very rare as having seen only three examples in my numismatic career. The lot in my collection originated from the Dr, Tim Cook Collection sale circa 2005 and remains unimprovable as a die variety and for the date. Unfortunately, this specimen was not awarded a CAC sticker during the 2014 Far Hills, NJ walk through submission. The 1856-O is the Jim Gray coin.

       1854 Arrows PCGS MS65 CAC OGH 10C                                  1854-O Arrows F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C   

        

         1855 Arrows F-101a PCGS MS65 50C                                     1856 Large Date F-104 PCGS MS62 CAC 10C    

        

 1856-O F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C                                                1857 F-116 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C    

        

 1857-O F-101a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C                                                1858 F-110 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C    

        

     1859 F-107 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C                                                1859-O F-103 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C   

        

 

GFRC-Lite's August 10th Statesville Show Report

Hi Gerry,

 

Last Saturday I attended the Statesville Coin show for the second year as a “vest pocket” dealer, the objective to do a bit of dealer - dealer business while at the same time gauging current market conditions.

 

This 50-dealer table show is held at the Statesville Civic Center which serves as a very nice venue with good security. I arrived maybe 15 minutes early for the 10am public opening, here’s a pic of the crowd entering the bourse. 

 

I did a bit of selling as I brought a box of 20 lower priced coins, but my main objective was to add a few select coins to inventory. My buying focus was Morgan dollars and Barber type, two areas that I felt could use some inventory replenishment.

        

 

For the Morgans the highlight was a better date 1893 PCGS CAC xf40 with lovely original gunmetal surfaces. (See pic).

 

On the Barber side, a 50C CACG 1909 xf40 caught my attention (see pic) as did a better date 1897-S graded G6 by PCGS. For a G6 I was quite taken by the originality, lack of issues and lots of remaining “meat on the bone”, a winning combo!

 

All the coins mentioned are listed on the Lite website in addition to a few recent purchases from the July Annandale show adventure.

 

One thing I noticed on the floor was the amount of CACG holders. There is no doubt CACG is gaining both momentum and market share.

 

In looking at the CACG holders I somewhat surprisingly noted a good amount of collector lower grade coins in the CACG holder in addition to many labeled as “details”.

It’s my opinion that astute collectors decided to try CAGC for lower collector grades with the hope of getting a bit of a premium. For the details coins, if it’s me and I’m submitting raw, I’m marking the “No” box on the “Holder if details” question on the CACG Grading Submission Form. I was surprised to see all these CACG details coins, but now let’s all remember CACG is now a grading company and is operating as such. For example, I looked at one dealer's case with quite a few classic commemoratives in details holders. The dealer remarked “CACG is tough”, I guess we know who made that submission.

 

My “to-do” takeaway from this learning is to revisit the Lite raw inventory before the Whitman show and make a few recommendations to consignors for CACG submittal. It's always both easier and efficient to submit to the TPG grading services when they are on site, eliminating half the shipping cost and worry is always a good thing.

 

As for the market in general, show attendance was good, the bourse had a nice buzz, and it seemed that business was brisk for many dealers. Dealers I talked to said they were off to a good start. By 1pm I had wrapped up business and headed home to Winston Salem.

 

Next up for Lite is the 4-day NCNA show in Concord that starts Oct 3rd followed a month later by November Baltimore at which time we should know the next POTUS and the nation’s fate. 

 

Ok, that’s a wrap. Hoping all the blogamanics are doing well and enjoying their summer. 

 

Best

Rich

 

Global Financial New

This morning brings the first time that I've seriously reviewed the equity markets and commodities since prior to the Chicago ANA. In that time frame, the equity markets had swooned due to a weak job report with big tech stocks taking it on the chin. In a relatively short time frame, the markets have recovered most of those losses with the S&P 500 starting the day's trading at 5,455. This is roughly 2% below where the S&P 500 had previously peaked.

Investors are split between expectations for a 50-basis-point cut or a 25-basis-point cut in September by the Federal Reserve. There is growing data pressure on the Fed to move directly to a 0.50% interest rate cut according to the financial analysts on Kitco.

Another sobering note for the U.S. dollar's status as the world's reserve currency is that according to the Atlantic Council’s Dollar Dominance Monitor, the share of the U.S. dollar in global reserves stood at 58% in 2024, a 14% decline from 2002 when it accounted for 72% of global reserves.

Spot gold has solidified its presence above the $2400/oz level and is currently quoting at $2464/oz in London trading. The Shanghai Gold Exchange close was at $2460, thus the disparity between Asian, Europe, and U.S. trading has evaporated. Finally, gold is securing a fair value without big bank manipulation on the COMEX.

Silver continues to struggle a tad and is quoting at $28.20/oz with the Gold:Silver ratio increasing to 87+. When silver was trading above $30, that ration was about 83.

The 10 Year U.S. bond yield has dropped to 3.85% while the U.S. dollar index has also decreased to 102.6.

WTI crude oil is trading at $78/bbl.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

Today brings a full office day with morning shipping along with preparing a fair number of consignment checks prior to lunch time. The afternoon hours will be dedicated to loading another Liberty Seated dime consignment from the Dr. Tim Cook Collection into the COIN system along with a 30 piece mostly Barber 25c lot that was insourced at the Chicago ANA. If my day goes as planned, a pricing proposal will be issued for the Tim Cook dimes along with starting the image processing.

Please check back tomorrow as I will be showcasing the second installment of that 34 piece $2.5 gold consignment.

So ends a long Blog edition. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

August 14, 2024

GFRC Buys a CAC Approved Seated Quarter San Francisco Deal

37 Piece $2.5 Gold Consignment Arrives

and

A Revised View of the Coastal Horizon After Clearing

 

Greetings on a Wednesday early morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you so much for the visit as there is plenty of news to share. Let's get right the headline topics as Tip Line Tree Service returns this morning.

 

GFRC Buys a CAC Approved Seated Quarter San Francisco Deal

The story begin on August 7 at the Chicago ANA show. An email arrived from a long term client indicating the desire to divest eleven Liberty Seated quarters, all struck in San Francisco and with CAC approval. The dates run from 1855-S through 1869-S and excluding the 1864-S, 1866-S and 1867-S. Grades range from G04 to EF40 with about half being purchased from GFRC. This lot ships to the GFRC office today.

Once in house, I will published the deal in the Daily Blog via a gallery showcase image.

 

37 Piece $2.5 Gold Consignment Arrives

Kudos go out to USPS for their on time transfer of two Express Priority boxes to the Maine office. Rather than write a long summary of this fresh consignment, let's start the consignment marketing process with the first of two showcase images. In today's Blog, the PCGS holdered lots are featured and attest to the fact that this consignment is entirely FRESH to market. The holder generation range from a Gen 2.1 (1986-1989) through Gen 4.4 (2005-2011). Yes, there is a lone old ANACS holder also. Five of the seventeen lots are CAC approved as purchased.

Please look carefully as the 1840-C, 1840-O, 1841-C, 1847-C, 1859-D Rattler, and 1866 are all better dates. Yes, there are two 1870 quarter eagles with both being certified PCGS MS61. The 1876 is PCGS AU58 CAC and is also a better date.

In Thursday's Blog, the NGC certified lots will be presented.

I am NOT entertaining First Right of Refusals as the size of this consignment is too large for manually tracking who was first on which coin. Please stay close to the Daily Blog for an update come this weekend. We may be conducting a CAC submission for those pieces that were purchased without existing green or gold beans. Clicking on the below image will provide a higher resolution version. However, you should know that at this point...

 

A Revised View of the Coastal Horizon After Clearing

Tuesday was one of those non-stop busy days as I tried to coordinate the Tip line Tree Service activities, consistent with the October 2023 quotation, along with staying close to GFRC business emails and developments. Complicating the matter was that Terry Travor, who did the quote and was due on site to guide the work, has just been diagnosed with Covid and was home sick. The detailed work deliverables fell on my shoulders to negotiate with Chris Cook, the business owner and chief operator. Chris is a huge man who could break me in half in a heartbeat. So it was that kind of day with a bit of stress as I did not want to be seen as being overly managerial but at the same time, wished to get a list of trees cut without tearing up my trails too badly. The working conditions were certainly tight on the trails.

This coastal horizon image was taken from the back deck at 5:45 PM after Tip Line departed for the day and the lawn was mowed. Please look carefully to note the improvement in the coastal horizon view on the left side of the image. This photograph is incredibly deceiving as what appears as a tiny upright protrusion on the horizon is actually a 40' or more oak or maple tree.

To bring the above image into proper perspective, here is a cellphone snapshot of the Tip Line staff running branches up to 10" in diameter through a commercial chipper. The challenge was gaining access for this size equipment to the cutting site via my narrow walking trail. This image should make that point clear. There is much work involved in taking down large trees in terms of safely dropping the trees followed by the cleanup which requires an excavator. Working in such tight quarters just increased the degree of difficulty. The Tip Line staff took down over 20 trees yesterday and are back this morning to complete the chipping and clean-up effort while removing a three trunk white oak in the front yard, That oak has two trunks badly leaning and about ready to fall during the next major windstorm. There would be considerable damage if this white oak is not dealt with immediately.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

This edition needs to end here as I must start working on the day's shipping before Tip Line is back on site.

Thanks again for visiting.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 13, 2024

A Monday Night Edition

What a Surprise! Tip Line Tree Service Arrives Tuesday 7:00 AM

and

A Baseline View of the Coastal Horizon Prior to Clearing

 

Greetings on a Monday evening after another whirlwind day in the GFRC office with half my brain focused on homestead projects. It certainly is never dull here and thank goodness that we recovered the office quickly after returning from the Chicago ANA show. The new purchases are now posted at the 30 Day Price list and a growing number of consignments are queued for my attention.

You might be asking why the need for a special Monday night Blog edition? The quick and simple response is that Terry Traver from Tip Line Tree Service called on Monday afternoon at 3:00 PM and indicated that he could fit in my tree clearing job starting tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM. How could I refuse as clearing the coast horizon has been on my wish list right behind the 23.5KW Powerwall3 solar system. It goes without saying that I will spending all of Tuesday outdoors with Tip Line as we handle several tree trimming and cabling projects before moving into coastal horizon clearing mode.

 

A Baseline View of the Coastal Horizon Prior to Clearing

While grilling Mojitos Lime chicken on the grill this evening, I realized that a baseline photography of the coastal horizon circa mid-August 2024 was in order. The following image was taken at 6:30 PM with moderate shadows starting to creeping as the sun continues to drop in the sky. Mid-August is indeed here and I can feel the forthcoming autumn season quickly approaching.

On the image are three downward pointing arrows where Tuesday's tree pruning or complete cutting will take place. Please click on the below image to secure a higher resolution version.

Concerning the arrows, starting from left to right, the first arrow points to a stand of younger birch, maple and populars totaling about 8-10 trees. There will be taken down as the major project of the day.

The middle arrow points to two large back-to-backmaples at the crushed stone dumping site. One will be completely removed and the second pruned to allow a deck view of Bradbury Mtn (really a hill) State Park in Pownal.

The final arrow points to another large maple that will be pruned rather than removed. There are certain trees that I've grown quite fond of and hope to kept for many more years.

 

During the overnight hours, the Winesteven consignor asked the following question...

Gerry - I just read your Monday night blog regarding your tree project being done for the purpose of better exposure of your gorgeous views from your deck. The obvious question - why not do much more trimming to the right of the third arrow, as none of that coastline is viewable at all? NO need for a personal reply. If you feel like addressing it in Wednesdays blog, great, as I'm sure some others are wondering that too, even if there are legitimate reasons to stop at the third arrow! Good luck and enjoy the outcome!

This is a good question for those who are not intimate with the back acreage layout and contours.

When cutting down large section of trees, there are several consideration. First is access. Few local (and affordable) tree services have the equipment to operate in a forest without construction paths. The last thing I wish to do is to clear cut with larger logging equipment. The trees marked by the downward pointing arrows are all easily accessible from the trail paths. Second is the type and size of the trees. White oaks can grow to enormous sizes and bring incremental expenses to take down versus maples, ash, poplars, and white birch.

If looking carefully to the right of the rightmost arrow, there is a long row of white oaks further back from where we will be cutting today. Even if clearing in front of these oaks, the coastal horizon will remain blocked. Access to those white oaks is the core issue. Another construction road must be built by Dave Wilkinson.

Finally, there is property lines to consider. On the far right, those white oaks are on my neighbor's property. On the left side marked by the leftmost arrow, some of those trees are on the Dodson property. I have an agreement with Rick Dodson that I am free to cut on his land at will. Of course, Rick is no fool. Trees cleared on his side of the property line help with his coastal horizon view also.

I hope that the situation is better understood.

Obviously, there is no regular numismatic related Daily Blog edition on Tuesday morning as I must be outdoors at 7:00 AM for another major homestead event. Pictures will be taken as the following 1-2 day event proceed and shared in the Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 12, 2024

Gerry Fortin's 1852-O and 1873 NA Open 3 Dimes Crossed at PCGS

Seed Oils are Poison for the Human Body

and

Processing New Purchases and Consignments

 

Greetings on a wonderful southern Maine early morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the visit.

As the middle of August approaches, old time Mainers can feel the shift in the air. It is certainly subtle but noticeable. The hot humid temperatures have begun to moderate with crisp cooler breezes during the early morning and evening hours. At this point, the days are growing shorter as the sun is starting to drop in the sky. Yesterday brought a post Daily Blog health walk on the trails with no bugs as a sure sign that the seasons are changing. We are just several weeks from September's arrival and the best month to schedule a vacation in northern New England.

I have some good news to share....

 

Gerry Fortin's 1852-O and 1873 NA Open 3 Dimes Crossed at PCGS

I'm thrilled to report that the 1852-O NGC MS66 CAC and 1873 No Arrows Open 3 NGC MS65 CAC Seated dimes have been crossed at the Chicago ANA into PCGS holders. Both of these coins, in my personal collection, were anomalies since being housed in NGC holder while the balance of the collection was PCGS certified. Let's face it, the PCGS population reports are a much better representation of rarity than that of NGC.

1852-O PCGS MS66 (CAC) 10C - Finest Known

The good news arrived on Friday when PCGS billed our credit card with ANA show turn fees. There was a 1% cross over fee for both coins along with the regular grading fee.

The PCGS population report has yet to be updated with the crosses. However, let's look at the situation for both dimes with the assumption that the CAC Green beans will be added once the shipment is back from PCGS.

1852-O PCGS MS66 (CAC) - Unquestionably, the finest known since PCGS has certified six at the MS64 level and none finer as of last week, The Fortin MS66 is now two grade points higher than any other known example. Honestly, I have no idea what this piece might be worth to those assembling the best of the best collections, but the forthcoming auction reserve will be strong.

1873 No Arrows Open 3 PCGS MS65 (CAC) - This dime is now tied with another MS65 on the PCGS population report for finest known. On the CAC population report, it is pop 1 at MS65. I'd say it is fair to say that this dime is also the finest known at this point.

The early 2025 auction of my personal collection is going to be mighty interesting....

 

Seed Oils are Poison for the Human Body

Every morning starts the same here in the GFRC office. I'm typically up around 4:30 AM and will make my breakfast followed by consumption while taking in YouTube videos. This morning brought the viewing of a new Dr. Berg video that was eye opening and needs to be shared. The video can be viewed at this link and is a must watch event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuYvGyNXvPk

Dr. Berg shares the video spot light with Dr. Chris Knobbe who has done extensive research on seed oils and the impact to the human body. You must watch this video in its entirety to learn of how the food processing industry has incorporated cheap seed oils into most of the grocery shelf items that we consume. Dr. Knobbe shares a stunning graph which indicates a direct correlation of the introduction of seed oils into the American diet in the early 20th century to the subsequent rise in obesity and diabetes. There is a detailed explanation of how seed oil fats accumulate in the body over time and cause damage to cell membranes. Even more stunning is the fact that seed oils have a half life inside the body and will take three years to be completely removed once a person takes steps to eliminate from a diet.

The core issue is that seed oils are used in processed foods and by restaurants. During the past two years, I've noted that my body has become very sensitive to processed foods, especially certain pizza. When certain pizza types are consumed, my body reacts with rapid processing and diarrhea. God forbid if I dare eat a McDonald's Big Mac as the same will immediately happen.

Dr. Knobbe issues a bold statement towards the end of the video by saying that if a store bought food has an ingredients label, then there is risk of consuming seed oils. Fresh vegetables, meats, and fish do not come with food labels since being unprocessed and indicative of what our ancestors ate when obesity and diabetes were essentially unknown. Bottom line, the U.S. food industry is slowly poisoning us and fueling our health crisis as a nation.

So please do yourself a favor and take 30 minutes of your day to what this video. A simple lifestyle change could save you huge medical expenses and extend your life without cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other modern life induced ailments.

 

Processing New Purchases and Consignments

Today brings morning shipping followed by a full day in the office processing new purchases and consignments. As of last evening, six lots reached the 30 Day Price List with only the 1827 JR-3 CACG AU58 Capped Bust dime and the 1875-S PCGS MS64 CAC Seated quarter being available. The balance are already on hold.

I'm soliciting new consignments if you are so inclined. Please email me with potential ideas.

 

Global Financial News

Time has run away from me this morning due to the keen interest in the previously mentioned Dr. Berg video. Therefore this segment will be brief.

Spot gold is quoting at $2441/oz while silver continues its struggles at close to $28.

The S&P 500 has settled down at 5,344 after its recent drubbing. Morning market futures are up 0.20%.

The 10 Year U.S. treasury bond yield is 3.96%.

WTI crude is trading at $77.65/bbl.

I believe that we are caught up with the primary financial indices.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

The 8:00 AM publishing time is quickly approaching and best to end here.

Thank you again for visiting and your forthcoming purchases. Hopefully, the online order rate for existing inventory will increase this week, but I am not hopeful now that the Xmas in August Sale has been announced. Please stay focused on new offerings via the 30 Day Price List.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 11, 2024

Announcing the 2024 Christmas in August Sales Event

Consignments Arriving and Being Solicited

and

A Homestead Backyard Update

 

Greetings from the Raymond office and welcome to a Sunday edition of the Daily Blog. We are pleased that you could stop by.

I'm in a particularly good mood this morning after spending several hours on Johnny yesterday afternoon along with the homestead projects beginning to come together. Honestly, it is great to be back in rural Maine and out of Chicago. We will discuss the homestead projects after several GFRC announcements. Here goes...

 

Announcing the 2024 Christmas in August Sales Event

Several clients have emailed me recently and asked if GFRC was planning a Christmas in August Sale. The thought certainty makes sense given where we are on the calendar. Therefore let's make if official.

The 2024 Christmas in August Sale will take place starting at August 29 midnight and closing on September 1 at 9:00 PM.

The usual GFRC sales parameters will be in effect with a minimum 8% discount to participate. Larger discounts are always welcomed and may produce better results. GFRC sales are a cash and carry event with no lay-a-way options. The idea is to provide the value buyers in the community an opportunity to scoop up price list offerings at a reduced priced. These sales are idea for consignors with aging inventory that needs to find a new home.

Come August 19, the black sales banner will be activated with the usual countdown clock. When August 29 midnight arrives, clicking that banner provides access to a special price list with the discounted lots. The price list is divided into major denominations for reviewing ease. The last GFRC sale had roughly 250 lots. Let's try to get to that number for the August ending sale.

If wishing to participate in the Christmas in August Sale, please send me your discounting instructions via email with "GFRC Xmas in August Sale" in the subject line. I will let these emails accumulate in my Inbox towards building the special price list starting on August 27. Let's make August 27 as the final day for discounting submissions. Once your discounting instructions are loaded into the COIN system, a confirmation email will be sent that all is ready to go.

Consignors are free to discount a single lot or their entire consignment. Some individuals will provide a flat 8% discount for all lots while others will provide varying discounts for each coin on consignment with GFRC. That decision is solely up to you.

 

Consignments Arriving and Being Solicited

What does the GFRC consignment landscape look like at the moment?

The Chicago ANA brought a 30 piece Barber coinage consignment from a new client who has decided to let go of his duplicate AU and Mint State Barber quarters. These will be photographed today with image processing starting on Monday.

While away at the ANA show, Dr. Tim Cook (Indiana Collection) sent along another Liberty Seated dime consignment as his recent offering was very popular with most selling immediately. There are still a large number of die variety collectors in the audience with Tim Cook not disappointing. The Cleveland Collection also released several Seated dime duplicates at the Chicago ANA, therefore we should have enough new dimes to kept those collectors on their toes.

Shipping this week is the previously mentioned 34 piece $2.5 Liberty gold lot valued at $150,000. Yes, there will be early branch mints and CAC green beans to entice fans of smaller denomination U.S. gold.

As for Chicago ANA new purchases and trades, the group is small as I was not able to spent much time on the bourse floor conducting buying since only Diane and I were attending to the booth. Following are the new purchases that were photographed on Saturday. Since the number is small, we can go with First Rights of Refusals towards getting these quality lots into new hands promptly. Please pay special attention to the 1850-O Seated quarter as a marvelous example with fully struck head and intricately detailed viewing of the rusted obverse die. I can't remember seeing a more eye appealing 1850-O quarter! As usual, clicking on the below image will provide access to a higher resolution version.

 

As a gentle reminder, GFRC is ALWAYS interested in what you might have to consign. Whether several pieces or a complete collection for the GFRC Online Auctions platform, I'm all ears.

 

A Homestead Backyard Update

Saturday brought the return of Johnny2 to the homestead after a maintenance and repair trip to Hall Implement while we were in Chicago. The backhoe hydraulic leak was diagnostics as a pinched O-ring in a check valve in the joystick controller valve section of the "hoe". I have a feeling that this "pinched" O-ring was the result of marginal build quality and finally starting bleeding fluid last year. For those that are not familiar with a check valve, these are one way valves used to prevent back-flow in a pressurized system.

By 3:00 PM, I was out on Johnny2 and getting back to clearing and leveling the area behind the gazebo for seeding come late August. All I can say is that time on a functioning backhoe was a lot of fun as I quickly relearned the art of digging out large rocks and small stumps.

Here are two images of the backyard progress as the seeded lawn to the front and side of the gazebo area has filled in nicely. The steep grade should be readily apparent from this image and why ground cover and rip-rap water channeling is paramount for preventing surface erosion.

The second image captures the status of the area behind the gazebo and the challenge with filling in a low lying area at the far right that continues to hold water during heavy rains. Johnny2 sunk in that area about 8-12" after Friday's overnight rain. The brownish fill is terrible material as it has no bone and acts like a sponge when wet. Crushed stone and material from the remaining loam tailings pile must be added to that area and compressed to construct a firm base. On the lower right, one can see the construction of another rip-rap channel and its direction into the low lying spot. The leveling process is moving along as should be apparent from this image. The plan to have all ready for seeding during the Christmas in August Sale.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

There are host of goals for today. Most important is taking images of the basement circuit breaker box area for Maine Solar Solutions and responding to all of their questions. I'm now hopeful for a late September installation of the long awaited Powerwall3 battery centric solar power system. Otherwise, there will be a health walk on the trails followed by time in the GFRC office processing images and moving forward with updates to the 30 Day Price List by end of day.

Thank you, as always, for returning to the Daily Blog. I hope that you've enjoyed the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 10, 2024

How I Love Being Home...

and

Chicago ANA Show Ramblings From O'Hare

 

Greetings from the Maine GFRC office and thank you for the patience while Diane and I were attending the Chicago ANA show. One knows when being missed when there are several phone calls and emails inquiring why the 30 Day Price List has not been updated since August 3.

It was your typical unpredictable journey back from Chicago to Maine, especially when transporting the high value coins that were on auction display at the ANA show. There was a several hour delay including a gate chance from B6 to C28. Seasoned travels in ORD will understand the distance between the two gates. Once at Gate C28, the attendance started the boarding process only to remember that the pilots were still in the air on an incoming flight. It was a hurry up and wait kinda situation that many readers have experienced.

Friday started as planned with an early shuttle ride from the Embassy Suites, across from the convention center, to ORD. Diane and I were very pleased with this hotel and the large two room suite and the evening happy hour from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. There was a large Dominican Friars assemblage on Tuesday and Wednesday which certainly made happy hour interesting. This group was so large that it crowded out the coin dealers staying at the hotel. We did our best in the drink line and found some places to sit prior to dinner in the hotel's Slyce restaurant, a pizza bar with great salads and wings. Let's face it, after a long day on the bourse, there was just enough energy for happy hour and dinner followed by heading to bed.

It is great to be home with the next coin show on the GFRC schedule being the Manchester NH show in later October. This will give me time to work on new consignments and wrap up the cataloging effort for the Newtown and Gerry Fortins Seated collections. You know the denominations, right?

Diane reported that PCGS billed our credit card for $700 which is good news. Two coins in my Seated dime collection appear to have been crossed into PCGS holders via show grading. Please read on to the Blog that was written in the Chicago airport on Friday morning to learn of those two dimes that have fresh PCGS holders. Sadly, the ORD hotspot bandwidth was so bad that I could not upload the Blog file.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

It is a Saturday morning with a great stretch of Maine weather forthcoming during the next seven days. The first priority is loading the Chicago ANA sales into the COIN system and refreshing the price lists. By noon time, consignors will be able to go to their online accounts to check for sold coins. Afterwards, the unsold inventory will be merged back with the stay behind safe inventory.

New purchases and consignments should be photographed this afternoon, of course, pending weather conditions.

By end of day, the GFRC office will be back to a steady state of operation.

Following are the ORD airport Friday morning ramblings that were never uploaded...

 

Greetings from the Chicago O'Hare airport and welcome to a delayed Friday edition of the Daily Blog. Thank you for checking in.

Yes, Diane and I are on our way back to Portland, Maine and dealing with a delayed flight. Given the extra hours to kill, I thought it might be good to write a Blog and catch everyone up on the ANA World's Fair of Money show and our observations. So here goes...We went into the Chicago show with the primary mission of marketing the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections along with conducting higher priced numismatic retail. I'm please to report that both mission were accomplished to our satisfaction. Overall, the show was good given our table location on the edge of the UltraPremium bourse. Our location was on the far left of the bourse with most visitors heading right and center upon entering. It took about an hour before attendees found our table, but once they did, all went well.

Let's start with the auction portion of the exhibit. We arrived with 40 pamphelts and left with about 8 which is positive. Both collections saw ongoing attention across the four display days. Of course, Newtown's 1878-S half was eagerly reviewed by serious collectors who needed the coin to complete their half dollar sets. Newtown's 1855-O half was a headlight in the display case and drew much attention. My Seated Dime collection was also viewed by many visitors including preliminary auction lot viewing by four individuals. One individual, who is the consumate collector, reviewed the collection and provided some thoughtful advice that was acted upon. The CAC approved 1852-O NGC MS66 (the finest known) resided in an old ugly holder and just looked out of place in the display case. His advice was to get this coin crossed into a new PCGS holder, which I did on Thursday along with the 1873 No Arrows Open 3 NGC MS65 CAC. .

The balance of the exhibit consisted of four display cases of higher priced retail coins. These cases did quite well with the residual Walking Liberty halves from the Cumberland County Collection auction drawing notable attention and a fair number of sales. Otherwise, we sold coins across all denominations and series other than Morgan dollars. U.S. Gold saw reasonable attention with several sales of higher priced pieces.

Notably, I can't remember attending a coin show where so many customers and consignors were present. Seeing everyone was a pleasure, with several being new faces for the first time.

It was difficult to spend time on the bourse looking at other dealer cases and attempting to buy. Our buying was walk up offers and a nice trade that brought an super 1850-O NGC MS63 Seated quarter into inventory. This piece is remarkably struck with a full head and provides a highly detailed view of the rusted obverse die. We also took in about 40 consignment lots with the majority being Barber quarters from a new client.

Overall, I'm pleased with the show results as wesold into the mid-five figures. Since not conducting any wholesale business and lacking coins priced under a $1000, the outcome was as expected. Key was moving along a fair number of consigned coins.

On other topics, there has been a surprising, and welcomed, amount of progress with Maine Solar Solutions and our pending 23.5KW Powerwall3 centric solar system installation. The Town of Raymond permitting approvals was conducted in lighting fast speed. On Thursday, I was contacted with a detailed photography request for the basement installation area and the existing circuit breaker boxes. This request will be responded to this weekend with "Jose", the leader of the installation teams, indicating that we will be scheduled at the earliest new installation opening once the information in reviewed on Monday. This is great news and hopefully, we will have an install date at some point in September.

So ends today's Daily Blog edition. Please check back for a regular edition on Saturday morning.

Thank you for the patience while we were at the Chicago ANA show.

Be well!

 

 

August 8, 2024

A Robust Chicago ANA Show

 

Greetings from the Chicago ANA bourse and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning.

Silence is golden comes to mind when composing today's Daily Blog edition from the Chicago bourse floor. Indeed the ANA show has been a robust event for the GFRC crew of Diane and Gerry. Here is the lovely coupled posing for a photograph during a quiet period before the bourse opens once again at 10:00 AM. Photography credit goes out to Melissa at DKRC for the following image.

 

I had plan to composed a longer Blog edition, but the GFRC table is already surrounding by customers. therefore it is time to wrap up.

Be well,

 

 

 

 

August 5, 2024

See GFRC at the World's Fair of Money - Booth #431

 

 

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

This edition will be brief as today brings a travel day. Everything is packed and we are good to go. All show order pick-ups have be organized and loaded into the luggage.

GFRC and its many wonderful numismatic items can be found at Booth #431 in the UltraPremium section of the Chicago ANA bourse floor. If curious on the bourse floor size, simply scroll down to the August 2 edition where a bourse map is pictured.

Diane and I look forward to the many anticipated visit by GFRC clients at the table. If attending the ANA show, the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime and Newtown Liberty Half Dollar Collections are a must see event.

I'm not certain when the next Blog edition will be published. Please continue to stop by as I will be composing and reporting at some point during the show.

Thanks again, be well!

 

 

 

August 4, 2024

Preparing Inventory and Pickups for the Chicago ANA

and

Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection - An Auction Image Update

 

Greetings on a Sunday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks again for checking in.

Southern Maine has seen a notable shift into a wet weather pattern which will continue through the coming week. Each day brings cloudy conditions with an ongoing probability of showers and thunderstorms. The constant precipitation is a boon for the landscape as all is nice and green at this point of the summer.

Yesterday brought a recovery from what appeared to be food poisoning or an allergic reaction. I don't remember experiencing hives across my body as was the case on Friday into the early hours of Saturday. Anyways, the event is over and I'm back to normal.

Today's focus shifts to Chicago ANA preparations. A fair number of orders will be retrieved at the show which requires that I get two things right. First is ensuring that the sold coins are pulled from the inventory boxes, and the second is generating the invoices. In many ways, this is equivalent to a day in the shipping department but without the need to cut USPS labels and the subsequent packaging.

Also on today's agenda is pulling retail inventory for the show. This will take a fair amount of time as twelve double row slabbed inventory boxes must be compressed into five for transport to the show.

Finally, I will be pre-planning the layout of the Fortin and Newtown auction lots in their respective cases.

 

Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection - An Auction Images Update

Saturday afternoon brought a round of auction lot image processing. The majority of the effort was placed on my own collection as we are in a catchup mode with respect to the Newtown Collection. All of these lots, along with the balance of the full collection, will be on display at the Chicago ANA.

Following is a gallery of the newly added images at the Auction link.

Gerry Fortin Collection - New Images Posted to Online Catalog

            1846 F-101 PCGS AU58 10C                                                        1846 F-101 PCGS AU50 CAC 10C     

        

    1847 F-102 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C                                                  1848 F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C     

        

    1849 F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C                                               1849-O F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C    

        

1850 F-103 PCGS MS64 10C - Pittman                                            1850-O F-103 NGC MS67 Star 10C   

        

1850-O F-101 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C                                                  1851 F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 

        

                   1851-O F-101 NGC MS63 10C                                              1852-O F-101 NGC MS66 CAC 50C - Finest    

        

            1853 Arrows PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C - Pittman                                1853-O F-103 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - Eliasberg            

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a long day in the GFRC office even though it is a Sunday.

Please note that the 30 Day Price List is chocked full of price reductions and newly consigned lots. If it is raining in your part of the country, then please grab a cup of coffee and spend time perusing the latest GFRC offerings.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

August 3, 2024

A Midnight Allergic Reaction to Shellfish?

 

There will be no Blog edition today as I'm recovering from an overnight allergic reaction to a lobster roll and seafood chowder meal at our favorite eatery in Raymond. At first, the midnight event felt like classic food poisoning but then the body hives appeared and spread quickly. Thank goodness for always stocking an antihistame in the medicine cabinet.

I'm in recovery mode this morning and not in a mood to write a long Blog edition..

The 1861-O Union W-1 Seated half did not sell in the Flash Auction.

Thank you for stopping by.

Be well!

 

 

 

August 2, 2024

GFRC "Flash Auction" Ends at 9:00 PM

Osprey U.S. Gold - Across the Board Price Discounts Coming

and

GFRC's Chicago ANA Booth #431 Update

 

Greetings on a Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Many thanks for the continued visits here and to the 30 Day Price List.

Thursday brought decent morning sunshine which facilitated photography of the remaining consignments and the Gerry Fortin Seated dimes that were showcased in the Blog. This was a solid start to the day leading to the afternoon posting of a host of new offerings. The 1846-C and 1858 $5 gold pieces brought multiple purchase requests. These are obviously sold and shipping to new homes on Saturday.

Johnny2 is being transported to Hall Implement this morning, therefore a quick bath was also in order. I've timed the maintenance and backhoe repair visit to coincide with our time away at the Chicago ANA. Once Johnny2 is returned, the second half of August brings Dave Wilkinson's excavator back on site for two days. This time, we are opening a construction path as part of the coastal horizon tree clearing project. When taking down a large number of trees, the ongoing challenge is where to place all the brush that is generated. In the past, the burn pit was loaded with the spoils, but not this time as the pit is long gone. Instead, a steep downhill sloping spot will be identified in the forest for piling up the tree clearing debris and letting it naturally decompose over a five year or more period. The trunks and larger branches will be cut for firewood.

Finally, in terms of homestead news, progress was made with Central Maine Power concerning the Powerwall3 solar system installation. The Fortins signed Interconnect and Customer Net Energy Billing agreements with our current electricity supplier. The CMP meter must be updated with a new model that can measure the flow of bidirectional power as a next step.

Let's move on to numismatics...

 

GFRC "Flash Auction" Ends at 9:00 PM

As a reminder, the two day GFRC "flash auction" for an 1861-O W-1 Union Seated half graded PCGS VF30 ends this evening. This lot does not have the W-1 designation on the holder, a question that arrived from one potential bidder. Here is that lot again for your consideration.

1861-O Union W-1 PCGS VF30 CAC 50C

$1880 Opening Bid

Osprey U.S. Gold - Across the Board Price Discounts Coming

GFRC continues to offer a substantial amount of U.S. gold lots with that price list currently totally 128 selections. A portion of those offerings are from the Osprey Collection (Dan White). During a recent discussion with Dan, we have decided to discount his entire inventory for a capital raising opportunity. If you've been considering the purchase of an Osprey Collection or two, then this near term discounting event should provide for a nice purchase incentive.

Dan's discounting instructions arrived on Thursday afternoon and will be loaded into the COIN system today. Once implemented, his entire inventory will be reposted to the top of the 30 Day Price List with revised offer levels. I should have this update done by 2:00 PM ET, so please plan your day accordingly. Once the price list is revised, I will also be taking the discounts to Collectors Corner.

 

GFRC's Chicago ANA Booth #431 Update

With the Chicago ANA World's Fair of Money event just days away, let's showcase a portion of the bourse floor and GFRC's booth location in the UltraPremium section. Diane and Gerry will be located on the left side of the bourse as you walk into the hall. Our location is adjacent to the U.S. Mint and Museum Showcase if finding oneself lost in this expansive bourse.

GFRC Online Auctions - Booth #431

 

GFRC was fortunate to secure a spot in UltraPremium and a regular corner table. A corner table limits us to eight display cases, four of which will be housing the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime and the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collections for display and lot viewing. The GFRC Online Auctions handouts, with complete set listings, are printed and ready to go.

Perceptive readers should note that only four cases will be available to house our regular GFRC price list offerings. This is a far cry from the ten cases that we feature at the Whitman Baltimore and Winter FUN shows. I must make a hard decision on which coins to pack for the Chicago show this coming weekend.

If attending the show and wishing to view certain coins in GFRC's regular price list inventory, then please email me with those requests by Sunday morning. I can't stress this enough for avoiding customer disappointment. Beyond special requests, the typical coin heading to Chicago will be at the $1000 or higher price level.

Thank you for taking the time to email me with special requests.

Of course, the highlight of the GFRC display will be the Gerry Fortin and Newtown collections. Both are remarkable numismatic set building accomplishments and are not to be missed. The next opportunity for viewing these sets will be at the Fall Whitman Baltimore show come mid-November followed by the Winter FUN show in early January 2025.

 

Global Financial News

I'm not liking what is seen with respect to the equity market at this point. The month of August is usually a yawner but 2024 is far from that with heightened volatility. One day the markets are delighted with the prospect of interest cuts, and then the next, they are depressed due to warning signs of a pending recession.

Thursday was an ugly day for all equities, whether small cap or high tech. The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% to 5,447. The NASDAQ was down 2.3% and the DJIA by 1.2%.

Intel brought a ton of bad news as is stock plunges after announcing cost cutting restructuring and the elimination of its dividend. High flying Nvidia was also sharply down. Morning market futures are forecasting yet another sharp drop in equity prices for today's trading.

The 10 Year Treasury yield has also fallen like a rock and is quoting at 3.93% this morning. Is this good or bad? It all depends on your perspective. The drop is great is owning recently purchased T-Bills in anticipation of yields falling. It is negative if heavy in equities and facing the realization that a recession is underway or on the horizon. Let's remember that the Federal Reserve is always late when shifting interest rate course since using lagging data.

How I love the safety of gold! The morning Kitco quote for London trading is $2460/oz with silver at nearly $29.

WTI crude has fallen to $76/bbl, also on worries of slowing demand due to reduced economic activities.

 

What is Gerry Up To Today?

There is no shipping today as Diane has the day off for personal business. Shipping will resume on Saturday.

Today's primary focus is on loading the Osprey Collection discounting instructions into the COIN system and posting a huge update to the 30 Day Price List at 2:00 PM.

Afterwards, I need to mow the lawn which takes several hours to accomplish. Purchase orders will be responded to once the lawn moving task is completed.

Another day will fly by quickly. Thanks again for making the Daily Blog a regular online destination.

Be well!