Gerry's Daily Blog

January 21, 2019

Heavy Snows in the Northeast and New York!

 

Great Offerings from Murphys Collection Consignment

                      1875-CC NGC AU55 50C                                        1870-CC Rotated Reverse Die NGC F15 Seated $1

    

        1856-S Raw VF25 50C                                  1857-S Raw VG08 50C                           1875-CC PCGS VF30 CAC 50C

            

            1877-CC PCGS EF40 Trade $1           1887-CC Rotated Rev PCGS VG08 $1     

      

 

 

 

January 20, 2019

Time to Price the Sunset Point Collection!

Greetings on a quiet Sunday morning and welcome to another edition of the Blog.

Western Maine is under a major storm warning with over a foot of snow expected followed by ice accumulations. Then the temperatures plunge with Monday's high being only 8F with strong winds. Although finding shelter in Florida, there is that background worry about potential power outages back in Maine and maintaining home heating system integrity. So far, there are no text messages from Central Maine Power announcing power outages and let's hope it stays that way.

Saturday was yet another busy day in the GFRC office. Evening brought an HOA barbeque dinner, at the clubhouse, with about 50 people in attendance. The food was great and everyone had a good time. Afterwards, it was back to the office and preparing imagery for today's Blog.

 

Sunset Point Collection - Liberty Seated Quarter Set Preparation Progress

I'm pleased to report that the Sunset Point Liberty Seated Quarter set is accurately documented in the upper right table on the Blog page. Initial GFRC quality ratings were completed on Saturday afternoon along with some image processing. Many inquiries have arrived on the four key Carson City dates and best to showcase those first. I'm excited to be sharing the following images for your consideration. The 1872-CC and 1873-CC offerings have fresh CAC approval to sweeten the presentation.

Today's primary task is pricing the entire Sunset Point Collection for consignor review and feedback. Die variety attribution and pricing will be done concurrently, therefore a slow and methodical process. My goal is to have finalized offer prices by the coming weekend. Image processing has also started and will be the constraint for rolling out the entire set. Please keep checking the Blog for updates.

Sunset Point Collection - 1870-CC Thru 1873-CC Seated Quarter Dates

1870-CC PCGS VF20 25C                                                   1871-CC PCGS VG08 OGH 25C

    

1872-CC PCGS VF25 CAC 25C                                                   1873-CC PCGS F15 CAC 25C

    

 

Dr. Glenn Peterson Piles On at FUN Show

Just when I thought that progress was being made with the massive Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection consignments of Seated half dimes and half dollars, Glenn visits the GFRC table at FUN and hands me his Seated dime collection. Ah sucks...another 100 or so more coins coins added to the GFRC consignment queue. Only three of the Seated dimes were slabbed and I took the Liberty of moving those quickly into the photography loop. Here they are! The important highlight is the 1891 F-109 Double Die Obverse graded PCGS MS64 and residing in an old green holder. This example is tied for finest known and has not been to CAC for review. My gut feeling is at least a 75%+ chance of approval as it's fresh and perfectly original. The Double Die Obverse doubling is best seen on the vertical shield lines and on AMERI(CA). Heavy obverse die clashing is another important diagnostic for cherrypickers.

Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection - A Few Liberty Seated Dimes

1891 F-109 DDO PCGS MS64 OGH 10 - Tied for Finest Known

1837 F-101b PCGS EF40 OGH 10C                                                   1852 F-102a PCI AU55 10C

    

 

Trading In and Upgrading

I knew it was just a matter of time before collectors in the GFRC community decided to trade in prior purchases for upgrading or pursuing alternate denominations and designs. GFRC has already sold well over 8000 coins since starting business back in 2014. With so many coins "in the field", undoubtedly some collectors will want to trade those back for new purchases. We've seen this phenomenon with the Iowa Collection Liberty Seated quarters as many are returning as new consignments. The pre-FUN show purchase of the Liberty Seated dimes in the Outback Collection is another example of GFRC coins coming back to inventory. Since GFRC sells great coins to begin with, taking back coins for a second or even third offering round is a blessing. All that I ask is that trade in prices be fair for both parties.

Saturday brought an email for a purchase and using two previously GFRC purchased coins as trade in credit. A buy-out price was quickly reached with the following two lovely Capped Bust pieces being back on the price list. The 1829 LM-13.1 half dime is already on hold.

Saturday New Purchases

1829 LM-13.1 PCGS AU58 CAC 5C - HOLD                                      1832 JR-2 PCGS AU50 CAC 10C    

    

 

New Consignment Arrivals - Upstate New York and Murphys Collections

Just before I closed the consignment door until middle of February, two more consignments arrived this week. The Murphys Collection made another drop shipment that arrived immediately after the FUN show followed by more coins from the Upstate New York Collection. Now the GFRC consignment door is shut tight with a huge bar across the door. No more consignments please until I give the all clear signal in mid to late February.

Following are the contents of these two consignments to consider.

Murphys Collection Consigment

Seated 50c: 1856-S raw VF25 light gray; 1857-S raw VG08 light gray; 1875-CC PCGS VF30 CAC choice original light gray; 1875-CC NGC AU55 a beautiful example heading to CAC

Seated $1: 1870-CC NGC F15 Mint Error with reverse die rotated 80 degrees left, even gray and pretty!

Trade $1: 1877-CC PCGS EF40 steely light gray

Morgan $1; 1878-CC PCGS VG08 with 55 Degree CW Rotated Reverse, original gray

Upstate New York Collection Consignment

Seated 5c: 1838 PCGS MS63 gorgeous multi-color toning; 1850 NGC MS64 lustrous aquamarine, rose and gold patina; 1868-S PCGS MS62 CAC shattered dies, pretty

Liberty 5c: 1884 NGC PF65 great mirrors with golden reverse

Capped Bust 10c: 1831 NGC AU55 pretty rose-blue patina on both sides

Seated 10c: 1837 F-101b Lg Date PCGS EF45 crusty original with hammered strike, die cracks are well elevated off obverse surface

Seated 25c: 1850-O NGC AU50 CAC fully struck!!!; 1891 NGC MS62 with gorgeous teal-rose patina and hammered strike

Seated 50c: 1846-O Medium Date PCGS AU50 steely gray-rose and blue, lots of eye appeal; 1858-O PCGS AU53 old album rainbow ring toning with satiny luster, also pretty

 

Additional FUN Show Consignments in the Processing Queue

Just a quick reminder that there are two incremental consignments from the FUN show that were photographed on Saturday. They are the Titan Collection of CAC approved Liberty Seated quarters and a special new offering from the Ft. Lauderdale Collection with highlights being a gorgeous 1860 PCGS MS63 CAC OGH Liberty Seated quarter, an 1877-S quarter graded PCGS MS65 with satiny cartwheel luster and teal-gold patina, and finally an 1873 With Arrows NGC AU55 Quad Stripe Liberty Seated half dollar. My goodness!

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Ok, so ends today's Blog. Why does it feel like I've already worked half a day at this point? Yes, I was up at 5:00 am to prepare the Sunset Point and Dr. Peterson images towards a robust illustration. Blog editions without images are boring!

I will be in the GFRC office the entire day pricing the Sunset Point Collection quarters. Please remember that I need to sell coins to make room for all the new consignments. Please call or email with your requests.

Also remember that Monday is a national holiday and USPS will be closed. GFRC shipments will resume on Tuesday.

See you tomorrow with more ramblings!

 

 

 

 

January 19, 2019

An Amazing Natural Ice Phenomenon In Maine

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

With winter storm Harper barrelling down on the New England and upper mid-Atlantic states, there is always background worries about the Maine home; especially with the forecast for icing at the end of the storm. Evergreen trees will be covered with thick snow and then the freezing rain will increase weight and snap off branches leading to power outages. This in conjunction with sub zero temperatures on Monday could result is a problematic scenario for the Maine homestead. The water supply to the house is closed and all plumbing, other than furnace copper lines, have RV antifreeze. Let's hope for the best.

Speaking of winter and icing, a Blog reader forwarded an Atlas Obscura article entitled A Giant Ice Disk Has Formed on a River in Maine. A perfectly round ice disc about 100 yards in diameter has formed on the Presumpscot River in Westbrook. Westbrook is directly north of Portland and frequently traveled when living in Maine. The article quotes an eyewitness named Mitchell, that the formation “looks like a perfectly formed disk spinning at a consistent, counterclockwise rotation.” Apparently, it stays firmly centered on its axis, making it look “mechanized,” he says. Below is an aerial photo of the disc. If interested in learning more, then click on the underlined article title to access the story.

Westbrook, Maine - Rotating Ice Disc on Presumpscot River

 

Quick Access for Liberty Seated Dime Die Variety Information

For Blog readers who may be new to the GFRC website and also the connected Liberty Seated dime die variety reference (The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors), here is a quick primer on how to quickly access "web-book" die variety information when attributing dimes.

There are two approaching for using the "web-book". The first approach is clicking through a series of links as follows;

Table of Contents; then Date and Mintmark Variety Analysis; then selecting a date from the table to access a detailed die variety table. For example, let's pick the 1838-O date with the resulting screen capture.

To access individual die variety pages, one must click on the underlined F-101, F-101a and F-102 links. I've marked those links with a red outlined box in the following screen capture.

 

This access method was the initial approach when releasing the web-book back in 2004. Since being the web-book's primary user, I soon grew tired with the number of link clicks required to secure a date table and the individual die variety pages. A higher usage efficiency was required and was constantly attributing Liberty Seated dimes towards expanding web-book content. Therefore a faster access approach was developed that fit the way I attributed die varieties.

The second method (Pictorial Gallery), for gaining access to Liberty Seated Dime die variety information, is available by clicking the Seated Dime Web-Book Gallery link on the www.seateddimevarieties.com hompage as illustrated in the highlighted red box below.

 

This link takes you to an Obverse & Reverse Die Variety Gallery with Rarity Ratings table. If clicking on the 1838-O date link, the users is taken to a pictorial display of the individual die variety plate coins. Just click on the images to access a detailed description of each die variety.

Since being a visual person, I find the Pictorial Gallery access route to be much faster. Scrolling a date's gallery page allows users to quickly review the individual images before making a decision to dive deeper and access a specific die variety page.

 

Back to GFRC New Offerings

Friday was another productive day in the GFRC office as we are approaching the last of FUN show new purchases and smaller consignments to reach the price list. The Ft. Lauderdale Collection consignment remains in the queue! The realization has set in that nearly all of the new inventory is Liberty Seated coinage. If readers are a fan of the Liberty Seated denominations, then great! If not, then I seek your patience as other consignments, with most diverse product offerings, are prepared.

We open with two duplicates from the Woodbridge Collection. This individual is serious about building his advanced Liberty Seated quarter set. At FUN, he purchased the 1849-O PCGS F12 CAC that I sourced from the fresh Outback Collection purchase and provided two duplicates on consignment. His duplicate 1849-O quarter is ideal for someone attempting to fill that long standing hole in a Seated quarter date and mintmark set. The piece offers nice circulated cameo eye appeal, is accurately graded with bold rims, and is housed in PCGS old green holder. Woodbridge also consigned a duplicate 1866-S, a very tough date, that was purchased from GFRC during 2016. Both piece are fairly priced as the consignor simply wishes to secure incremental capital for ongoing upgrades.

Woodbridge Collection Releases Important Duplicates at FUN

1849-O PCGS VG08 OGH 25C - Priced at $1850                             1866-S PCGS F12 25C - Priced at $1200      

    

The Seated Appalachian Collection consignor also dropped by at the FUN show and made a substantial purchase along with dropping off two quality CAC approved pieces. The 1873-S half dime is a seriously sweet piece with brilliant satiny luster and vibrant cartwheels. The 1871 Seated dollar is perfectly original and a great With Motto type set candidate for those on a budget.

Seated Appalachian Collection - CAC Approved Duplicates

      1873-S PCGS MS63 CAC 5C                                                      1871 PCGS VF30 CAC Seated $1

    

 

And finally, the last of the GFRC new purchases at FUN. These four Liberty Seated offerings will reach the price list today. Please pay special attention to the 1860-O Seated dollar. Yes, GFRC photography is woefully inadequate for this near gem original offering. Many 1860-O Seated dollars will be found with terrible bagmarks in the fields due to be being part of several bags released by the Treasury during 1962-1964. The pieces were poorly handled during bag storage. Locating an 1860-O Seated dollar with crusty original patina and mark free fields presents a challenge for those collectors that seek an original issue specimen. Well GFRC has answered the call with this wonderful example that has light rub and CAC approval. Again, the images are terrible as my camera struggles with dark uniform toning on a larger sized coins in new PCGS holders. Please trust me when the description and coin are posted to the price list. You will want to add this steely dollar to your collection.

The Last of FUN Show New Purchases!

1860-O PCGS AU55 CAC Seated $1 - Gem Original

  1839-O V-3 PCGS EF45 5C                      1839-O V-3a PCGS EF45 5C                     1847-O PCGS VF30 CAC 25C

        

 

How About a GFRC Purchase?

The GFRC price lists have a huge amount of new offerings to consider this weekend. The Seated quarter and Seated half dollar lists are loaded with great coins. Then there are expanded Seated and Trade dollar listings too. If weathering the Harper storm, then why not spend time on the GFRC website checking out all of the informational links and product listings?

I will be in the office until 5:00 pm today ready to take your order.

Wishing everyone a safe weekend given the bad weather conditions north of Florida.

 

 

 

January 18, 2019

More FUN Show New Purchases and Consignments On Price List

Greetings on a Friday morning and welcome to the Blog.

This is one of those mornings where writer's block is at hand. I'm sitting at the laptop with a mind devoid of ideas for opening commentary. This is an ongoing risk when constantly writing. Sometimes the well is dry. Seth Godin's blog is of no help either.

So let's immediately jump into GFRC items as there is always something to discuss.

 

Wanted to Buy - Problem Free AU $5 Indian Gold at $360 each

Planning for the next GFRC trip to Shanghai is underway including filling special orders. One of those orders arrived from a Shanghai area jewelry makers who needs ten unholdered $5 Indian gold pieces for inventory. Each piece must be strictly original with natural color and without rim issues or substantial marks. GFRC managed to purchase a few at the FUN show and will once again be on the hunt at the Venice, Sarasota, and Baltimore show towards filing the order. Why not open the order on the Blog? Please contact me and send along images if you wish to offer.

 

Sunset Point Collection Rollout Update

Thursday brought an outstanding Florida winter day. Skies were cloudless and temperatures approached the low 70s. It was a perfect day to wrap up photographing the Sunset Point Collection and that I did. The project now moves to the image processing stage. In parallel, the individual offerings will be attributed and priced.

Following is another preview to whet your appetite; the initial No Drapery pieces in the collection. More smaller client galleries will be featured on a daily basis so please make sure to read the Blog each morning.

Sunset Point Collection Preview

No Drapery Liberty Seated Quarters

           1838 Open Claws NGC MS61 25C                                       1839 Closed Claws PCGS MS62 CAC 25C

    

1840-O No Drapery Briggs 1-A NGC MS61 25C

 

 

Better Date United States Gold Arrives!

GFRC's United States gold business continues to gain traction. This fact was evident at the FUN show and during pre show buying. Let's be clear, GFRC is focused on better date and better quality gold pieces rather than transacting gold that is mostly a bullion play. Dan White and I are becoming diligent and using special buying trips to stock the best possible offerings at fair market prices. As a result, FUN show gold sales contributed significantly to GFRC's overall sales total and record results.

Buying quality United States gold is no different than adding early silver type to inventory. There are two challenges to overcome. First is learning the visual characteristic of strictly original early gold pieces as so many have been messed with. Secondly, is memorizing the better dates in all denomination, including those dates that become grade rarities in AU. United States gold is a fascinating area of numismatics and a huge learning opportunity.

Following are several better dates. The highlight is an amazing 1855-S $5 half eagle graded PCGS MS61 and approved by CAC. It is the second finest known for those certified by PCGS with only an MS62 higher. This piece is also the ONLY Mint State CAC approved example!

Scarce United States Gold Offerings!

1855-S PCGS MS61 CAC G$5 Condition Census - Priced at $22,500

1855 PCGS AU55 OGH G$10 - Priced at $1,750                      1859 PCGS EF45 CAC G$20 - Priced at $10,000

      

 

Each day brings the posting of incremental FUN show new purchases and consignments. The word is out that GFRC loves to stock the best possible quality coins at assigned TPG grade levels. My eyes have become attuned to quickly recognizing above average eye appeal and strikes. If I really like a coin, there is a reasonable chance that customers will also wish to add to their collections. Consignors are learning and also offering the best possible coins during divestment and selling their inferior coins to other dealers.

Today's highlight is a gorgeous 1855-O Seated half graded PCGS MS61. Yeah, right, what is so special about a common date Seated half at the MS61 grade level. This is where the mental divergence must take place. Forget the holder and look at the coin! This 1855-O half has a monster strike with devices in high relief against the fields. The satiny cartwheel luster is stunning. Yes, there are a few micro marks, but who cares when strike and eye appeal are superior. I've called out this piece as a JUST BUY IT NOW recommendation.

More Quality Type Coins to Consider

1855-O PCGS MS61 50C

     1834 C-1 PCGS AU58 CAC 1/2C         1875-S Micro S PCGS MS63 CAC 10C         1847-O WB-22 PCGS EF40 CAC 50C

          

 

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are once again in rally mode based on more positive news concerning China - U.S. trade negotiations. Commodity prices and long bond interest rates are also reacting as expected. We've seen this picture before. Let's open with a Seeking Alpha headline that captures positive sentiments.

Responding to reports of a possible trade detente between the U.S. and China, stocks across the globe are continuing their climb higher. On Thursday, the WSJ quoted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as saying Washington could ease tariffs on Beijing, although the suggestion faced pushback from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Earnings season remains in full swing, and investors today will also be watching figures on U.S. industrial production and consumer sentiment.

Crude oil prices continue their climb on a positive outlook for global economic growth. Today's quote is $53.11 and let's say goodbye to sub $2.00 87 grade gasoline at the pump. Spot gold is reacting on a negative basis as capital rotates back into equities. Current quote is down to $1285. Finally, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield moved up slightly to 2.77%

Looking at other Seeking Alpha headlines, we open with China threatening Canada concerning using Huawei to build out its 5G infrastructure.

China's ambassador to Canada has warned of "repercussions" if Huawei is blocked from participating in building the country's 5G network. The sharp warning comes as the Chinese telecom equipment supplier fights to maintain a foothold in the West and follows the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver last month. Canada has seen a flood of Chinese money in recent years, particularly in the energy and mining sector.

Regardless of U.S. and China trade difficulties, Germany is negotiating agreements with China concerning development of mutual capital markets.

Germany and China have signed agreements to strengthen coordination in banking, finance and capital markets, pledging to further open market access and deepen cooperation to broaden economic ties. Trade between the two nations has softened amid uncertainty caused by the U.S.-China trade war, but both have shown a willingness to demonstrate that the world remains multilateral.

Moving back to the United States... OPEC production cuts are being offset by increases in U.S. shale oil supply.

"The journey to a balanced oil market will take time, and is more likely to be a marathon than a sprint," according to the IEA's closely watched monthly report. Production cuts by OPEC and Russia are being offset by swelling U.S. shale oil supply and an uncertain demand outlook. In fact, the U.S. in 2019 "will reinforce its leadership as the world's number one crude producer."

And finally, Ford has made a huge announcement! It is moving towards an all electric F-150 pick-up truck. GM and Toyota have yet to announce plans in this area.

America's most popular vehicle is going electric. While a timeline wasn't given, Ford announced an all-electric plugin version of its F-150 pickup truck at the Detroit Auto Show - a decision the automaker says will "future-proof" the model and F-Series franchise. It's big news, given that the F-150 is pretty much the quintessential symbol of a fossil fuel-powered workhorse.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is already 8:45 am so best to get this edition uploaded and then shift attention to shipping orders.

As usual, I will be in the office all day other than late afternoon health walk. Your orders are most welcomed via current communication methods known to man. Yesterday, a local customer called the office, made a purchase and conducted an on site pickup 30 minutes later.

So if interested in a potential items, phone calls, emails, and text messages work best and I will respond immediately as they arrive.

Wishing everyone a pleasant Friday as another work week comes to an end. See you on Saturday morning!

 

 

 

January 17, 2019

Another Substantial CAC Approved Liberty Seated Collection Purchase

Greetings and welcome to a Thursday Blog edition. Thank-you for checking in!

Today's Blog will be a series of short topics. GFRC customers and friends have probably noticed that my email correspondence is focused and written in a bullet point like style. Making a written point should be accomplished in one sentence, two at the most. It is the art of being concise and efficient. This writing style evolved while working as an executive in the semiconductor industry. Time was as precious as gold. Communicating in an international environment required direct statements with little room for interpretation. This style has served me well and continues today.

 

LSCC 2019 Dues Renewal Update

I'm pleased to report that yesterday's Blog, and the discussion concerning LSCC club member dues renewal brought several responses and commitments for dues payments. Progress is being made as more members paid dues at the FUN show and the accounting is underway. The club will be issuing a second dues notice mailing shortly, and hopefully the unpaid count will be reduced to less than 100 individuals prior to that mailing.

 

Venice Florida Coin Show - The Best Little Coin Show on GFRC's Calendar

In just two weeks, the Venice Florida coin show arrives on Friday February 1, and Saturday February 2. The show is held annually by the Venice Coin Club and takes place at the United Church of Christ, 620 Shamrock Blvd. The location is just a 5 minute drive from the GFRC Venice office.

Venice is home to a large snowbird population and many coin collectors. Due to demographics, this event is by far the Best Little Coin Show of the year for GFRC. Attendance is typically over 600 people for a small 30 table show. In other words, every collector who walks through the door will see the GFRC tables and cases as we are located near the entrance. GFRC will have two tables and seven cases of top quality silver type coins and United States gold. The display will be close to that of the FUN show but with one discount case with lower priced items.

If in the Tampa through Naples area, please consider visiting with GFRC that weekend. Any coin on the price list can be brought to the show for viewing including raw coins. Dan White and I are looking forward to spending two days on this friendly bourse floor and meeting local customers.

 

Collectors Corner Update Completed

I worked until 11:00 pm last evening and completed another Collectors Corner update. Gone are coins sold at the FUN show. Added are new listings including some higher priced raw coins. My goal is to update Collectors Corner once per week moving forward since it's a great source of new customers and sales.

If having time on your hands, then please check GFRC's Liberty Seated quarter product offering on Collectors Corner. I'll make it easy for you; just click here. As of this morning, there are 856 listings with GFRC accounting for nearly 20% of those offerings. Once the Sunset Point Collection starts to rollout, GFRC will become the dominant Liberty Seated quarter dealer within this marketplace. Who would have guessed just a few years ago?

 

Have You Visited the GFRC Sales Archives?

As mentioned on several occasions in the Blog, there are too many numismatic pricing guides in the marketplace. Price guides have inherent limitations as the market becomes more stratified. There are CAC approved coins, non CAC approved holdered coins, and raw coins in the marketplace. How does one use a static price guide to account for quality differences at each tiered level? The challenge is daunting for me, let alone a casual collector.

To simplify pricing of quality early type coins that include CAC approved offerings, GFRC is building its own pricing database commonly known as the Sales Archive. The Sales Archive captures ALL GFRC sales since starting operation back in 2014. Images for individually sold coins are reliably found for transactions starting in mid 2016. Exceptions are those pieces bought and sold at a coin show without opportunity to photograph the coin.

Current GFRC pricing evaluations are accomplished using CoinFacts auction records and the GFRC Sales Archive. Recently, PCGS modified the CoinFacts format for mobile interfaces and made the application more cumbersome to use. Therefore, the Sales Archives is slowly becoming my primary price guide. As GFRC sales volume ramps, more records and images can be found in the Sales Archive toward fair retail pricing discovery. I like to keep things straightforward when conducting business and the Sales Archive is evolving into a quick and simple pricing reference.

For those who are new to the GFRC website and Daily Blog, here is an image of the Sales Archive access page.

Following is a screen capture for interrogating the Sales Archive for 1844 Liberty Seated halves.

 

GFRC Purchases CAC Approved Liberty Seated Lot

Life can bring joyful times along with challenging period of emotional pain. Case in point is a recent relationship with a new collector. This individual was most excited about pursuing Liberty Seated coinage as a new personal challenge now that his children are older. He made several significant purchases during late 2018 including the Iowa Collection 1853 NA PCGS AU55 CAC quarter and the Dr. Glenn Peterson 1853-O NA PCGS EF40 CAC half dime among others.

Then tragedy struck. His son was involved in a severe motorcycle accident in San Diego. A driver pulled in front of his son while traveling at 45 mph and the impact caused serious injuries. Luckily, the collector's son will survive the accident. However, there is a critical injury that will require months of rehabilition. The costs beyond those covered by insurance will be staggering. Therefore, the collector asked that I consider buying back his 2018 purchases. A buyback price was quickly negotiated and the coins are currently in transit back to the Venice office.

Following are the buyback highlights. These will be placed on the price list in the next 24 - 48 hours. We wish this individual and his son all the best for a stable recovery from the injuries.

CAC Approved Liberty Seated Semi-Key Dates

1853-O No Arrows PCGS EF40 CAC 5c - Ex. Dr. Peterson Collection

 

                            1851-O PCGS F15 CAC 25C                               1853 No Arrows PCGS AU55 CAC 25C - Ex. Iowa Collection

       

      1853 No Arrows PCGS VF35 CAC 25C                                         1873 With Arrows PCGS MS63 CAC 25C

       

 

Cold Quarters Collection Authorizes 20% Price Reductions

An email arrived from the Cold Quarters Collection on Tuesday requesting an across the board 20% pricing reduction on all items in GFRC inventory. This request was processed yesterday. The following important Liberty Seated die varieties and high grade offerings are compelling bargains after this substantial pricing reduction. All can be found at the top of the 30 day price list at substantially reduced prices.

Cold Quarters Collection - 20% Pricing Reduction

         1848/48 V-7 NGC MS65 5C                                                            1859 F-107 NGC MS67 CAC 10C

    

         1873 F-103 DDO NGC MS61 10C                                                1876-CC F-107b DDO NGC MS64 10C

    

1852/52 Br 1-A NGC MS63 25C                                                   1877-CC PCGS MS62 25C

    

 

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are mostly flat to slightly negative to start the day. A lack of major international headlines is welcomed as the markets return to business earnings for valuation guidance.

Commodities and long term interest rates are also steady. Crude oil is now priced at $51.83/bbl and essentially the same as on Wednesday. Gold remains in a tight trading range at $1294/oz. Ditto for Bitcoin at $3591. Finally, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond is yielding 2.71%.

Let's check a few Seeking Alpha headlines starting with more progress on China - United States trade talks.

It's official: China's chief trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, will visit Washington for the next round of talks on Jan. 30-31. The visit comes amid a more challenging economic backdrop for China, making it even more pressing to strike a deal. Recent data has been poor, with worsening factory sentiment, deflation risks and falling exports, triggering various stimulus measures from the PBOC.

Following is an explanation for the recent crude oil pricing recovery from $46/bbl to current $52 level. Saudi Arabia has made a production cut as part of a deal with other OPEC members and Russia.

Delivering a bullish signal to the oil market, OPEC got a jump on its output cut deal in December. Led by declines in Saudi production, oil supplies from the group plunged by 751K barrels per day to nearly 31.6M bpd, according to independent figures cited by OPEC in its monthly report. The deal with Russia and nine other nations will also keep 1.2M barrels per day off the market starting this month.

Significant news arrives from Venezuela as President Maduro is being challenged by Juan Guaido. The United States may recognize Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader.

Venezuelan bonds have rallied sharply over the past week as the country's opposition mounted a renewed legislative challenge to President Maduro, who recently assumed a second term in office. Juan Guaido, the new leader of the congress, is willing to assume the presidency due to accusations of fraud in last year’s election. Advisers to President Trump are also considering recognizing Guaido as the country's legitimate leader.

We close this segment with China's telecom giant, Huawei, feeling the heat from the United States and Germany.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers have introduced bills that would ban the sale of U.S. chips or other components to Huawei, ZTE or other Chinese telecom equipment companies that violate U.S. sanctions or steal trade secrets. The proposed law drew sharp criticism from China, where Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called the U.S. legislation "hysteria" amid a bitter trade war between Beijing and Washington.

Meanwhile, Berlin is now considering ways to bar China's Huawei from a 5G network buildout. It's a shift from the German government's position from October, when it told lawmakers it saw no legal basis to exclude any vendors from an upcoming 5G auction. Competitor watch: Nokia and Ericsson could benefit as Western governments increasingly ban Huawei from their markets.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Is it my imagination or are Blog editions becoming longer? Today's rambling are indeed lengthy but there is always something to announce or discuss!

Thank you again for visiting and being part of the GFRC and LSCC communities. As I've said many times, numismatics is more that just collecting and studying coins. The camaraderie and friendship are equally valuable and rewarding. This is probably why the Blog continues to grow in the length.

I will be in the office all day Thursday and looking forward to your purchases. Phone calls, text messages or emails will be responded to quickly.

See you tomorrow morning.

 

 

January 16, 2019

Important FUN Show New Purchases and Consignments

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to another edition of the Blog.

I'm excited to report that much progress was made yesterday on current GFRC consignment backlog. Just scanning through today's edition should provide a glimpse of the great coins reaching the price list. Tuesday wrapped up with a Liberty Seated Collectors Club meeting at 9:00 pm followed by immediately heading to bed for much needed sleep. After 8+ hours of sleep (a rarity), here we are at the keyboard and writing again.

Please, Please Renew Your LSCC 2019 Membership Promptly

Every year brings the same ordeal concerning LSCC membership renewals. The last Gobrecht Journal of the year is mailed to club members in late October with a dues renewal notice inside. This year, Gobrecht Journal editor Bill Bugert fabricated a special ink stamp to mark the outside of the mailing envelope with a dues renewal notice. What more can we do to remind club members to mail a check for $25 or issue payment via Paypal?

It is predictable.... There are still about 120 club members who have not made 2019 dues payment as of yesterday. LSCC membership ended 2018 at a robust 671 individuals. This means that about 550 club members are using multi-year membership payments or made timely dues payment. The LSCC Leadership is sincerely grateful for their commitment to the club and promptness with dues payments.

What about the other 120 individuals? An interesting question indeed! There are factions on the Leadership team that suggest we do nothing at this point and let their memberships expire. Once they discover a missing Gobrecht Journal issue in March, then they will return to the club. The other faction believes that a second dues notice mailing should be sent to these 120 club members. If that does not work, then a round of email notices and even dividing up the residual non-renewal list and employing personal phone calls to secure a club membership renewal.

As LSCC President, I listen to all of this and remain silent. Being a substantial believer in personal accountability, I can understand the frustrations of certain staff members. The staff commits a substantial amount of their lives to the Liberty Seated Collectors Club and promoting the numismatic hobby. Here we are with a challenge of securing prompt dues renewals that is equivalent to the price of lunch and a tip at a coin show. On a personal level, everyone who reads the Blog knows how busy I am. Some club members collect LSCC membership cards going back years and to stop issuing those cards would be a sacrilege. Regardless of the GFRC workload, time must be found to sign 650 club member cards and address each with the club member's name and membership number. Here is the box of cards that arrived from Bill Bugert two days ago. Please don't send me an email suggesting a rubber stamp be made with my signature. Signing and addressing individual LSCC club membership card is another sign of my personal commitment to the club and hobby.

Thank-you for reading through these behind the scene insights and, hopefully, there will be a sense of urgency to make your 2019 LSCC dues payment if not already done. Your $25 barely covers the cost of printing and mailing three issues of the Gobrecht Journal and is symbolic of a commitment to the hobby. Someone has to foster and encourage the next generation of collectors towards Liberty Seated coinage collecting. That someone is not the American Numismatic Association.... Rather it is every collector who currently enjoys Liberty Seated coinage, its historical significance, and the camaraderie among like minded individuals.

Please be a disciple of the hobby and share the passion. Your $25 enables a hard working LSCC Leadership to organize major events like Seated Fest II and to conduct ongoing club outreach throughout the United States. For your $25, the award winning Gobrecht Journal and E-Gobrecht could be viewed as a bargain.

 

Back to GFRC FUN Show New Purchases and Consignments

The GFRC business appears to be reaching a higher threshold with fresh 2019 new product offerings. More Liberty Seated coinage rarities are being consigned along with key dates being offered for outright purchase. These developments are appreciated and welcomed after working diligently for over five years building up GFRC's credibility and trust.

We open with a Liberty Seated half dollar die variety rarity; 1876-S WB-42 WB-103 Type 2 (Closed Bud) reverse with a Very Small Mintmark. This is an R6 rarity die marriage that captures the introduction of a new reverse hub design. All known high grade specimens have proof-like surfaces as is the case for this lovely example which was freshly graded at the FUN show for a consignor. Some numismatists believe this variety was specially struck to commemorate the nation's Centennial celebrations. Currently, the fourth finest known among the major Liberty Seated half dollar specialists within the LSCC.

Below the 1876-S Type 2 reverse half are serious Liberty Seated quarters offerings including an 1873 No Arrows Closed 3 specimen graded PCGS VF25 and approved by CAC. CAC approval for 1873 NA Closed 3 specimens is only ten (10) pieces in all grades! This is the lone example at the VF25 grade level. Talk about rarity with today's new offerings.

Rare Liberty Seated Quarter and Half Dollar Offerings

1876-S WB-42 WB-103 Closed Bud Very Small S PCGS AU53 50C - Priced at $5,000

               1867-S NGC VF20 CAC 25C                                            1873 NA Closed 3 PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

    

 

Thanks to help from the Cumberland County Collection consignment, GFRC is finally making headway in building a premium inventory of Trade dollars. At the FUN show, the following three pieces were added to inventory. One does not often see perfectly original Trade dollars with CAC approval as most were exported to the Orient or abused as such a disliked denomination.

Great Trade Dollar Acquisitions Also!!!

1875-S PCGS MS64+ CAC Trade $1 - Priced at $3,900

   1874-CC PCGS AU53 Trade $1                                                 1876 PCGS AU58 CAC Trade $1

    

 

Watch Hill Collection - Substantial Liberty Seated Quarter Offerings

At the FUN show, I received a pleasant surprise. The Watch Hill Collection consignor arrived to the GFRC table and consigned his partial Liberty Seated quarter collection. Watch Hill was one of the major buyers of Iowa Collection quarters during the May 2018 sale and has decided to return capital to his core passion; United States gold rarities. As a result, GFRC can offer this wonderful group of Iowa and Mt. View Collection Seated quarters to GFRC customers. These will not last long at the offer prices. All are posted to the price list so have at it!

Watch Hill Collection - CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarters

Many from the Iowa Collection!

1861-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C                                                      1875-CC PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

    

1838 ND PCGS VF25 CAC 25C                      1843 PCGS VF30 CAC 25C                    1853-O PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

        

 1855-O PCGS VF25 CAC 25C                       1862 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C                      1863 PCGS F15 CAC 25C   

        

 1873 WA PCGS AU53 CAC 25C                    1876-S PCGS EF40 CAC 25C                   1876-CC PCGS G06 CAC 25C

        

 1878-CC PCGS F15 CAC 25C                     1878-S PCGS F12 CAC 25C

    

 

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are mixed to start the day and have weathered the defeat of Theresa May's Brexit plan. This world leader is caught between the European Union resistance to executing Brexit and internal United Kingdom factions being leveraged by the EU beauracrats. Seeking Alpha captures the situation as follows....

Markets and the pound appear to have weathered a U.K. political storm, with most global equity indexes posting gains or moderate losses. Investors seem to have wagered that London will have no choice but to delay its Brexit deadline after Theresa May suffered a huge parliamentary defeat on her Brexit plan, prompting a no-confidence motion from Labour and the EU to say it won't renegotiate. The landmark defeat also means a likely delay to the next BOE interest rate hike, until the shape of Brexit is more clearly known.

Commodities are quiet this morning while the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield has increased to 2.74%. Crude oil is trading at $52/bbl with spot gold being rock solid at $1290/oz. Bitcoin is flat at $3610.

France's Emmanuel Macron is attempting to defuse the "yellow vest" demonstrations by organizing town hall meetings. This is shrewd political move by Macron.

Billed as the "Grand Debate," the government of Emmanuel Macron has kicked off a campaign to channel the anger of the "yellow vest" protest movement and shield the president's economic agenda. French citizens will be able to participate in town hall-style discussions, while mayors will provide organizers with economic and statistical talking points. By March 1, the project will shift to regional debates involving randomly selected citizens.

Intelligent basketball shoes have arrived at only $350 per pair! Will these be a new status symbol on the playground?

Called the Adapt BB and priced at $350, Nike has unveiled the first self-lacing smart basketball shoe. "Over the course of a basketball game, the foot can expand almost a half-size during play," the company wrote in a press release. Besides the power lacing system called FitAdapt, Nike intends for the sneakers to provide data and smart insights into athletes' workouts.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

OK, it is 8:30 am and time to wrap up this edition. Next up is a quick shower and the usual morning packing and shipping of paid orders. Afterwards is more time dedicated to preparing the Liberty Seated quarters in the Sunset Point Collection.

I will be in the office all day and well into the evening. If seriously interested in a purchase, please don't hesitate to call. Yesterday brought one of those comical phone calls. Someone was looking for a low grade Carson City struck Liberty Seated dime as a golf ball marker. Only the major device outlines and CC mintmark needed to be visible as cost was important. I pointed the individual to my website price list and did not hear back.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

January 15, 2019

Progress on Sunset Point Liberty Seated Quarters!

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

Cold air is covering the eastern United States with temperatures expected to drop into the mid 40s during the next two evenings here in Venice. Daily highs will only be in the low 60s. As the Blog is being written, the temperature is currently 53F and much warmer than the 17 degrees back in Raymond, Maine.

I worked until nearly midnight on Monday and just before heading to bed, the Huawei cellphone chirped that a test message had arrived. A power outage was underway back at the Raymond home. Luckily the outage lasted about seven hours and there were no ADT low temperature alarms so all remains well. With the huge GFRC workload, checking Maine weather conditions was absent from my priorities. But a power outage quickly brings me back to Maine (mentally) and ensuring all is well at the country homestead.

Progress on Sunset Point Liberty Seated Quarters!

As today's Blog headline indicates, progress is being made on preparing the Sunset Point Liberty Seated quarter collection for divestment in the next few weeks. PCGS grading was completed at the FUN show and CAC reviews are wrapped up. Please check the scrollable table at the upper right to view the latest updates to the Sunset Point Collection contents.

Venice Florida weather was absolutely ideal for photography on Monday with cloudly skies. Dates from 1838 through 1860 were photographed and the balance will be completed this afternoon as similar weather conditions are forecasted. First pass quality rating were also assigned to those pieces photographed. Here are two exceptional highlights from the initial photography session to whet your appetite.

Sunset Point Liberty Seated Quarter Collection Preview

       1852 Br 2-B PCGS MS63 CAC 25C                                          1853 NA PCGS MS64 CAC 25C Rattler

    

What's next on the Sunset Point project? As mentioned, photographing the balance of the quarters today followed by completing initial quality ratings. Then comes variety attributions and initial offer price formulation. I find it convenient to attribute and price at the same time as die varieties could have a bearing on asking prices.

Processing images will take considerable time. My goal is to move along at a ten coin per day rate and have a client gallery ready before the end of the January. Completed Sunset Point Collection images will be featured in the Blog on a daily basis along with a special link to view the amalgamated set images while under construction. Please keep checking back for updates.

 

GFRC Website Offers Unparalleled Content

Starting with Wednesday's Blog, I plan to showcase the wide ranging content that can be found on the GFRC website along with the Liberty Seated Dime web-book. Many Blog readers are new to the site and it's probably time for introducing and explaining the host of information that can be accessed for free. This contribution to the numismatic hobby has been under construction for nearly fifteen years and is unparalleled in the industry. The Somerville Collection consignor said it well in a text message on Monday.

GFRC is basically my one stop Numismatic shop. Your website expertly combines numismatic research, commentary, a perspective (whether I agree or disagree, its a thoughtful read), links to pricing, plus bonus current events review.... Cutting edge, revoluntionary for the hobby, you could almost charge a fee for non GFRC customers, the premium content is that good!

 

GFRC Expands Capped Bust Coinage Inventory

I will admit it! I'm falling in love with the Capped Bust quarter series.... When first starting GFRC, the Capped Bust quarter inventory was essentially all low grade examples with most having issues. With time, the inventory quality improved. During 2018, I made a point of seriously upgrading this product line and stocking some of the finest circulated examples available. At the FUN show, two more wonderful specimens were located. Please check out the high resolution images to gain a sense of how beautiful this design can be when surfaces are well preserved and nicely toned.

Collecting Capped Bust quarters requires a modest amount of disposable income and can be quite rewarding. The key to success is persistence and grabbing the finest examples when arriving to market.

Gem Original Capped Bust Quarters from FUN Show

       1815 B-1 PCGS EF40 CAC 25C                                               1825/4/(2) B-2 PCGS VF35 CAC 50C

    

 

Two Wonderful Coins Sold Online While at FUN Show

Some coins don't last long on the GFRC price list as they're just too important to stick around. Case in point are these two Seated coins.

First is the finest known 1839-O V-1 Large O half dime that was consigned at FUN. It lasted less than 24 hours after being previewed in the Blog with consignor's images. Monday brought a chance for GFRC photography and properly documenting the offering for inclusion in the Sales Archive.

Second is an incredible 1866 F-102a dime that is the plate coin at The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors. I sold this piece privately into the Outback Collection during 2018 and then bought it back the Monday before the FUN show. As expected, it lasted a day or two on the price list. If bored, please go to the CAC population reports. This is the only 1866 dime approved in grades ranging from EF45 to AU58. Just amazing!

More Gem Original Seated Coins Just Sold by GFRC

1839-O V-1 Large O PCGS AU53 CAC 5C - Finest Known                        1866 F-102a PCGS AU55 CAC OGH 10C          

    

 

Global Financial News

Global stock markets are flashing green and upbeat as we start another trading day. The reason is more positive news concerning stimulus for the China economy in the form of a tax reduction. Here is a summary of Beijing stimulus actions from Seeking Alpha.

Stocks gained ground overnight as China announced it would start implementing a package of stimulus measures to boost its economy. They include a cut to VAT rates for selected industries and tax rebates for others, helping brighten the outlook for its economy and easing fears about a global slowdown. Senior policy officials also pledged that tax reductions on a "larger scale" are in the pipeline, which JPMorgan Chase economists estimate will impact around 2T yuan ($300B), or 1.2% of GDP.

As a result, commodity prices are reacting. Crude oil increased to $51.30/bbl on heightened economic growth expectations while gold remains in a new trading range slightly under the key $1300 level. The latest quote is $1289/oz. The U.S. 10 Year Treasury yields is stable at 2.69% and indicates strong demand.

But not all is well in Europe.... Germany's GDP growth is slowing.

There are more signs of gloom for Europe's economic powerhouse following last week's dismal industrial production figures. According to flash data, German GDP grew 1.5% in 2018, compared with 2.2% in 2017, pointing to the weakest growth rate in five years. Reasons include a trade war-induced economic slowdown, delays in auto output due to tougher pollution standards and a warmer-than-expected November that held down energy production.

EU and U.S. trade talks are forthcoming with some hardline stances on agriculture (no surprise) and the risk of auto industry tariffs. The latter would be a disaster for German auto production.

The EU's executive body will meet today to firm up the bloc's parameters for U.S. trade talks, which would allow the two sides to meet as soon as mid-February. The stakes are high for the negotiations, given the EU's wish to exclude agriculture, as well as prior U.S. threats of European auto tariffs and a viewpoint that its car exports may pose a "national security risk."

This headline provides insight into the amount of bad debt held by Italian banks.

Italian banks plunged in Milan following a report that the European Central Bank told the lenders it oversees to cover all of their existing non-performing loans by 2026. The article in Il Sole 24 Ore focused in particular on Italian banks, saying the country's lenders were burdened by the highest amount of impaired loans in Europe.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Again thank-you for checking in and reading to this point. It will be another busy day (so what else is new?) with more shipping, photography and attempting to list the balance of FUN show new purchases.

I will be in the office the entire day until 10:00 pm. Key is finding time for a health walk as the days find me sitting at the laptop for endless hours.

See you tomorrow with more ramblings!

 

 

 

January 14, 2019

Just Rolling Out More Great Coins on the Blog!

Greetings on a Monday morning as another business week is at hand. Thank-you for being part of the GFRC community and often visiting the Blog.

The Venice office is nearly back to normal operation after a 15 hour day on Sunday. Today's primary challenge is catching up on a week of online order shipments followed by photographing the entire Sunset Point Collection of Liberty Seated quarters.

There were many fond memories from the 2019 Orlando show that can be summarized as civility. Civility is expressed with courtesy for others, good manners, and politeness. At the GFRC booth, one could feel civility inside the booth among the staff, and secondly, with the numerous customers and clients who visited Table 535 over a three day period. I feel proud of cultivating a spirit of fairness during all financial transactions and also providing honest advice and education without a second thought. Ultimately, the numismatic hobby is a combination of the love of historical artifacts, knowledge sharing, and personal relationships.

Why am I making mention of civility to start today's Blog? Frankly, our fast paced lives are filled with information overload, echo chamber media, and social media trolls work counter to civility. It seems that there are forces striving to negate civility, kindness, and small acts of being respectful. Seth Godin raises an interesting point in a recent Blog post entitled, Should you say ‘please’ to an AI? I remember the acronym AI being short hand for Artifical Intelligence. Now AI has taken a new form as Automated Interface with the arrival of tools like Alexa and Siri. The tech giants are hoping to change the world and have human speaking with automated interfaces to conduct daily lives. But there are risks towards losing basic civility as we blur the line between AI and fellow humans. Let's listen to Seth Godin.

Seth Godin: Should you say ‘please’ to an AI?

There are two reasons we say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.

The first is pretty obvious. It gives the other person dignity. It acknowledges their humanity. It implies that at some level, this engagement is voluntary.

But of course, none of this is true when we’re talking to Siri or Alexa.

There’s a second reason.

It helps us realize that we might be acting entitled. We forget to bring humility along. “Please” is a narrative to ourselves, one about gratitude and choice. When we start barking orders without regard for what it costs to follow those orders, it’s easy to forget that time and resources are always scarce.

Even when it’s not voluntary, it turns out we benefit when we act as if it might be.

And should an AI say please and thank you to us? Probably.

 

GFRC Priorities for Upcoming Two Weeks

As GFRC consignment rates and volumes continue to expand, the challenge remains with not cutting corners and continuing to provide quality services. Setting and communicating consignment processing and marketing priorities will be employed to manage expectations. After a most successful Orlando FUN show, the office is packed with consignments and new purchases. Some large consignments arrived before Christmas and deserve much needed attention.

Effective immediately, GFRC will no longer be accepting new consignments, regardless of value, until the middle of February.

I am aware of one consignment that is in transit. After that shipment arrives, the consignment window is completely closed as there is just too much backlog to be processed.

Priorities for the upcoming several weeks are as follows;

- Photographing and bringing the Sunset Point Collection of Liberty Seated quarters to market.

- Loading GFRC new purchases to the price list

- Continuing to load offerings from the Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection

- Processing the West Texas Collection consignment followed by the balance of the Twins Lakes Collection, then Watch Hill and Titan Collections. The latter two are heavy in CAC approved Liberty Seated quarters.

If the above was not enough to keep me busy, how about adding in Gobrecht Journal deliverables due February 1. Those include a President's Message, GFRC full page ad and signing and preparing 650 LSCC membership cards. Obviously, there will be no time for relaxing by the pool. Instead, late evenings will be the norm!

 

New Offerings from the FUN Show

There is no question that the GFRC business took another step forward at the Orlando FUN show. The quality and value of new purchases continues to improve. More new faces are making inquiries about using GFRC consignment services. Following are some great new offerings that reached the price list last evening.

We open with an exceptional 1831 JR-5 Capped Bust dime that is addicting when viewed under a light source. This piece was consigned on Friday during the FUN show, as the owner just located an upgrade. Answering the questions of why and how someone would upgrade this beauty is beyond most collectors. Surfaces are pristine and provide addicting satiny cartwheel luster under a light source. The operative word is addicting as I could just sit at the office desk and swirl this offering for tons of visual enjoyment. CAC approval is huge for an early type coin at this grade level.

Exceptional Type Coin - 1831 Capped Bust Dime

1831 JR-5 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - Priced at $23,000

 

During the next 30 days, GFRC will be offering well over 150 Liberty Seated Liberty quarters from the Sunset Point, Watch Hill, and Titan Collections. Many are CAC approved. If actively building a Seated quarter set, please stay close to the Blog and GFRC price lists as the rate of top quality offerings will be unprecedented for a dealer outside of the numismatic industry giants.

To garner and hold your attention, following are a few important Liberty Seated quarters to consider. An 1857-S quarter in strictly original mint state is a serious offering; please visit the PCGS population reports to learn how few exists at the mint state level. Then there is a near gem original 1860-S specimen with CAC approval. When was the last time that you saw this type of opportunity? Standard GFRC lay-a-way terms are available for these two coins. Yes, I recognize they are expensive and challenging for many collector budgets.

GFRC New Purchases

Challenging Liberty Seated Quarter Dates

     1857-S PCGS MS62 25C - Priced at $5,500                           1860-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C - Priced at $8,750

    

1861-S PCGS VF30 25C - Priced at $2,500

 

Here are two new purchases from the FUN show. The 1851-O 3 cent silver walked up to the GFRC table in trade while Dan White worked the bourse floor to locate this perfectly original 1844 Seated dollar with CAC approval.

Small to Large Sized Quality Offerings

     1851-O PCGS AU58 3C Silver                                                    1844 PCGS AU55 CAC Seated $1

    

 

Global Financial News

We start the week with serious negative news from the world's second largest economy; China. Here is the Seeking Alpha headlines that captures newly released economic statistics. Global equity markets are flashing red as traders move back to a risk off footing.

Stock markets across the globe are starting the week on the back foot after a shock contraction in Chinese exports, which fell 4.4% from a year earlier. Imports also unexpectedly contracted, falling 7.6%, pointing to deepening cracks in the world's second-biggest economy amid a bitter trade war with Washington. More worries? China said its trade surplus with the U.S. was up 17% to $323B in 2018 - the highest it's ever recorded.

As a result, commodity prices and interest rates are reacting. Crude oil's recent rally lost its mojo and is quoting at $50.87/bbl. Capital is moving back into long U.S. Treasury bond as the yields drops to 2.67%. Spot gold moves up to $1295/oz. Even Bitcoin took it on the chin and is quoting at $3522.

President Trump has placed Turkey on notice that attacking the Kurds (once U.S. troops in Syria are withdrawn) will result is punitive United States sanctions.

Turkey's lira slipped 1% to 5.5183 per dollar after President Trump warned Turkey not to attack Kurdish forces in Syria following a planned U.S. pullout, outlining that the NATO ally would be economically devastated if it did so. Previous U.S. sanctions over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson brought Ankara to the brink of a full-blown currency crisis in 2018.

Moving back to China for more Seeking Alpha headlines, now Poland has arrested a Huawei employee on spying allegations.

Poland may be the next country to exclude Huawei Technologies from its market following Friday's arrest of a Chinese employee of Huawei and a former Polish security official on spying allegations. The world's biggest producer of telecom equipment currently faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with the Chinese government and U.S.-led allegations that its devices could be used for spying.

Here is an example of how closed the Chinese markets are to western business if unable to have a controlling interest. One thing I learned about Chinese businesses is that they hide behind documented rules. The rules are on the books for face and cover during business negotiations. But executing according to those rules, when not in Chinese self interests, is a completely different story. American Express had to employ a Chinese joint venture to gain access to the mainland market.

China's central bank has refused to acknowledge applications submitted by Visa and Mastercard to process renminbi payments, despite rules in 2017 that removed formal obstacles to participate in the market. In November, American Express became the first foreign card scheme to win initial approval from the PBOC, but the decision raised eyebrows because the new entity is a 50-50 Chinese joint venture, despite policies permitting wholly foreign-owned enterprises.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Wow...it is already 8:30 am and time to push the upload button and quickly migrate to the shipping department.

Yes, I will be in the office the entire day and well into the evening again. If interested in a coin purchase, then please email or call.

Will be back tomorrow with the usual but also unpredictable ramblings. I never know from day to day what will be upcoming in a Blog edition. Only my morning cup of coffee knows....

 

 

 

January 13, 2019

An Outstanding Orlando FUN Show - Back in GFRC Office

Greetings from the GFRC office in Venice Florida and welcome back to a regular edition of the Blog.

After four days in Orlando, it is great to be back to the regular office routine of a hot cup of coffee and composing thoughts at 6:00 am.

The Orlando FUN show was an incredibly busy time yet so rewarding. GFRC sales were at record levels. The LSCC regional meeting went well with strong attendance and positive feedback. My Saturday FUN show presentation on Exploring Liberty Seated Halves 1839 - 1891 was also well attended and there may have a few more new LSCC members as a result. I've also been working, in the background, on a huge marquee display for Seated Fest II (Whitman Baltimore February 28 - March 2) and received positive feedback yesterday on that possibility. The most memorable FUN show moment took place inside the GFRC booth. I was sitting in my wall-less office at the laptop and hear a voice calling my name. Upon turning around, there is Del Loy Hansen walking into the booth to introduce himself. Need I say anything else?

Yes, it was a powerful FUN show event in many respects. A host of GFRC consignors will be pleased with sales results and their new found consignment credits available for incremental purchases or check payments.

For those who asked for my FUN show presentation on the Liberty Seated half dollar denomination, a PDF version can be downloaded by clicking here or on the below image.

 

FUN Show Report - Day 3

Major show sale patterns have become predictable along with my expectations and energy levels. Thursday is the busiest day with the advanced collectors flying in to do business and securing first shot at the best coins. These are the hardcore collectors with saved monies to spend. Friday is a continuation of Thursday but less intense as collectors have already exhausted most of their funds and shift to enjoying a large bourse, studying coins, and the camaraderie of being with fellow collectors. Saturday's attendance is a dramatic shift to local collectors. If a show has been busy, then dealers will also be freed up to walk the bourse towards finding incremental inventory.

Since GFRC has a huge 19th Century type inventory, I typically don't do well on Saturdays as the clientelle is more focused on 20th Century coins. This sales pattern once again took place yesterday to close out the FUN show. Sales was quite good for a Saturday due to dealers seeking out coins for want lists and several four figure sales to early date collectors who had arrived to the show on Friday and were still in a buying mood.

Worthy of mention is the PCGS show-turn grading that produced results consistent with expectations. Crossover and raw submissions were provides to PCGS on Wednesday and were returned Saturday morning. For once, I fully agreed with the results. There were no gifts and no screw-ups. This is the way it should be for a $65/coin grading fee. The Sunset Point Collection of Liberty Seated halves is now ready to be photographed and marketed as the last of the raw coins were graded.

By 2:00 pm, the GFRC staff was ready to close shop and return to Sarasota and Venice homes. The GFRC Express left Orlando at 4:15 pm after a quick booth tear down. Having four people to assemble and tear down the GFRC operations is a blessing. My sincerest thanks go out to Dan White and Rose-Marie Zeegers for their excellent customer support along with Diane who manages the finances and always has that smiling face for a customer.

 

GFRC FUN Show Consignments - Wow!

The fast and furious pace of the FUN show did not allow time for sharing new consignments that kept arriving. Upon returning to the Venice office last evening, I carefully unpacked all of the consignments and labeled coins for tracking purposes. The amount and quality of consignments is frankly staggering! Following are a few consignments to share this morning. Look for several important single coin consignments to be announced in Monday's Blog with supporting images.

Titan Collection Consignment - All CAC Approved

This Titan Collection consignment warrants serious attention as the collector is returning some amazing early quarters to the market. GFRC is absolutely thrilled and honored to announce the following upcoming items.

Capped Bust 25c - 1818 PCGS AU50 CAC near gem original with ample natural mint frost and a thin gray-gold skin. One of the nicest Capped Bust quarters I've handled.

Seated 25c - 1839 PCGS EF40 CAC choice gray; 1840-O PCGS EF40 CAC choice light gray 1840-O PCGS VF35 CAC choice gray; 1853-O PCGS EF40 CAC near gem for grade; 1856 PCGS AU53 CAC choice light gray; 1857 PCGS AU55 CAC choice light gray; 1857-O PCGS AU53 CAC choice light gray; 1859 I/II PCGS AU55 CAC steely light gray-gold; 1860 PCGS AU58 CAC gem lustrous gold surfaces; 1873 PCGS AU55 CAC lustrous gray-blue; 1877-S PCGS AU55 CAC lustrous gray-gold; 1879 PCGS EF45 choice steely gray; 1880 PCGS AU50 CAC lustrous aquamarine-gold; 1883 PCGS VF30 CAC crusty gray and 100% original; 1887 PCGS VF35 choice light gray; 1889 PCGS F12 CAC gem original gray

Seated Appalachian Consignment

The Seated Appalachian Collection continues to make progress with his Liberty Seated half dollar set building. At the show, this individual purchased the 1878-CC PCGS F12 in GFRC inventory and I successfully crossed the 1874 Large/Small Arrows half (ANACS OWH) from the Dr. Peterson Collection. Following are two new offerings from this individual.

Seated 5c - 1873-S PCGS MS65 CAC wonderful gem with deep rainbow toning and cartwheel luster

Seated $1 - 1871 PCGS VF30 CAC uniform gray and ideal type coin for the denomination

Woodbridge Collection Consignment

The Woodbridge Collection consignor is actively building an advanced Liberty Seated quarter set. He bought the 1849-O PCGS F12 CAC specimen from the Outback Collection (GFRC purchased collection last Monday) and provided these two new consignments.

Seated 25c - 1849-O PCGS VG08 OGH with pretty circulated cameo eye appeal; 1866-S PCGS F12 crusty gray

There are more consignments to share and those will be discussed in Monday's Blog.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As you can imagine, today brings a full day of administrative work. Sold coins must be updated in the COIN database and removed from the price lists. Consignor account will be updated for sold coins. Inventory must be sorted with new purchases pulled for photography. Merging the residual FUN show inventory with those that remained behind in the safe is the last of the time consuming activities.

If wishing to make purchases, I will be in the office the entire day other than starting up the health walk regimen. After not exercising for four days, I can feel the lack of activity in my knees and yes, the gut. So time to get back to vigorous walks.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing the 2019 Orlando FUN show adventure with GFRC. It was an outstanding show in all regards and a great way to start another numismatic year.

Next show is Venice Florida on February 2 - 4, 2019. Venice is one of the best "little" shows in the country due to the vast amount of northern snowbirds in the area. GFRC will be the major dealer at this show with two 8' tables and seven cases of quality coins. The display will essentially be the same as the FUN show but staged in a small church hall.

 

 

January 12, 2019

Another Solid Sales Day at the FUN Show

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

Today brings the final GFRC day on the FUN show bourse floor.

It is already 7:30 am with the bourse opening in one hour and needing to secure breakfast, packing up, and checking out. I was just too worn out on Friday evening to stay up late and compose a regular Blog edition. The FUN show has been exciting, busy, and ultimately exhausting. My tank of gas was on empty once returning to the hotel after dinner and went to bed for some much needed rest.

FUN Show Report - Day 2

Friday was another strong GFRC sales day but not to the magnitude of Thursday. GFRC simply ran out of five figure coins to sell and instead focused on delivering service to consignors. We sold many consignor coins priced in the $250 to $1500 range throughout the day. Floor traffic was slow in the morning but picked up significantly after lunch time. The GFRC table was non-stop busy from 12:30 to 5:00 pm. Liberty Seated quarters and halves were the hot denominations of the day along with Trade dollars. GFRC also bought another small deal on the floor.

More consignments arrived throughout the day and there were discussions with two potential consignors towards handling lifelong collections of Capped Bust and Liberty Seated coinage. Word is spreading concerning the value of the GFRC business model. Our services are refreshing to collectors who are overwhelmed with the challenge of divesting lifelong accumulations. Dr. Glenn Peterson stopped by and transferred his Liberty Seated dime collection including the finest known 1891 F-109 Double Die Obverse graded PCGS MS64 and a candidate for CAC review. I'm sure this offering will garner very serious attention in the coming week.

Ok, it is time to close the laptop and prepare to vacate the hotel room towards some breakfast.

I will be back on Sunday morning with a summary of the FUN show and detailed discussion on consignments that arrived. The balance of January will be a busy and exciting month as consignments are rollout out.

Thanks for checking in!

 

 

January 11, 2019

GFRC Breaks Show Sales Record on Day 1 of the 2019 FUN Show

Greetings from the Orlando Rosen Centre hotel and welcome to a FUN show edition of the Daily Blog. Thursday brought an exceptional sales day with GFRC breaking all prior sales records for an entire show. The feat was accomplished on the first day of the FUN show. Details forthcoming shortly.

Please remember that GFRC is at FUN Show Table 535, 535, 535, 535......

This Blog edition is being written on Thursday evening due to another early morning start on Friday. The FUN bourse opens at 8:30 am to dealers followed by the Liberty Seated Collectors Club regional meeting at 9:00 am. GFRC is blessed to have Dan White, Rose Marie and Diane to open Table 535 while I host the LSCC regional meeting. The regional meeting will focus on four primary topics and I hope for a substantial attendance. Here is what can be expected at Friday morning's meeting.

LSCC Regional Meeting Topics

- Club News and Updates

- Seated Fest 2019 Takes Place at the Spring Whitman Baltimore Show - Details and how to sign-up for educational sessions

- LSCC is hosting another ANA Summer Seminar event during June 2019 in Colorado Springs

- Stephen Petty's discussion of CAC approval rates for Liberty Seated coinage

 

FUN Show Report - Day 1

Exceptional, amazing and outstanding are fitting superlatives to describe the overall FUN show and Thursday's GFRC sales.

The day kicked off with a quick opening of Table #535 and being ready for business by 9:00 am. Before the bourse opened to the public at 10:00 am, GFRC has already conducted the initial sale of the day which included the 1871-S PCGS MS66 CAC Liberty Seated quarter along with three other Seated quarters. I was simultaneously happy and sad. There is much pleasure in knowing that the Stellar 1871-S quarter went into a major collection and will be held for years. There is sadness in that I only had the privilege to own this magnificant Seated quarter for three days.

Once the FUN bourse opened, the hall immediately rose to a roar and the GFRC table was mobbed with customers. Dan, Rose Marie were fully consumed showing coins while I worked the COIN database and providing attractive price quotes to move along coins. Diane was kept busy writing sales and new consignment receipts well into early afternoon before heading off to buy lunch for the GFRC troupe.

What was particularly amazing is that the FUN bouse floor buzz was still going well into late afternoon. Even at 4:30 pm, the floor was active and loud along with continual customer presence at the GFRC table. Most notable was the lack of tire kickers. Nearly every person who came by to the table boughts coins. At the end of the day, a quick check of the sales receipt pad reveal a new show sales record accomplished in a single day with sales well into the six figures.

What sold? Essentially everything that was better quality with strong eye appeal. The newly consigned 1839-O V-1 Large O PCGS AU53 CAC half dime sold immediately for $12,000. United States gold was hot with the 1860-S AU58 $5 half eagle selling quickly along with several Trade dollars from the Cumberland County Collection. Liberty Seated quarters were top sellers followed by dimes and half dimes. In terms of consignors, the Twins Lakes, Dr. Glenn Peterson, and Osprey Collections saw the most sales. The only disappointment were Liberty Seated half dollars as just a few pieces sold as compared to at least 100 pieces being offered in the display cases. This could change on Friday.

More consignments arrived and I'm too exhausted to begin sharing those details tonight. My favorite wholesale dealer came by during the lunch hour with GFRC purchasing eight pieces. All are great new offerings.

Many dealers also reported strong sales but there were those who did not have a good start to the show. Dealers with fresh coins and CAC approved inventory did the best. If it was a cool coin and fairly priced, it sold!

 

Global Financials News

I'm back on Friday morning with a little time to spare before a quick breakfast and heading to the bourse. How about a look at global financials news?

Crude oil prices continue to rise as global equity market remain upbeat as the U.S. Federal Reserve is signaling a slow down in interest increases. China - United States trade talks remain active. Crude is now up to $53/bbl. Gold is holding its own at $1293/oz. The 10 year U.S. long bond is quoting a yield of 2.74%. Finally, Bitcoin pricing is back down to $3618.

China's engineered economy will be forecast to remain robust during 2019 with growth between 6%-6.5%. It never ceases to amaze me how an economy the size of China can be constantly growing without variations that one would expect if understanding statistics.

China plans to set a lower economic growth target of 6%-6.5% in 2019 compared with last year's target of "around" 6.5%, policy sources told Reuters. The proposed target will likely be unveiled at the annual parliamentary session in March. As the trade war takes its toll, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said top trade negotiator Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will "most likely" visit Washington later in January for talks.

Effective tomorrow, the U.S. government shutdown will be the longest on record. Yesterday, CNN's Jim Acosta inadvertently made a case for border security by citing the effectiveness of a section of slated steel barrier. Please no emails or text messages chastising me for this headline and comment.....

The partial government shutdown is entering its 21st day, tying the record for the longest such one in American history. Visiting the U.S.-Mexico border yesterday, President Trump said he has "the absolute right to declare a national emergency" if a deal over funding for the barrier cannot be reached in Congress. The White House has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to examine potentially diverting money from other projects and is also exploring having Homeland Security request funds from the Pentagon.

Finally, Apple is attempting to recover iPhone market growth and maintain its favorable margins. I'm not optimistic given the predominance of Huawei in the China market.

Apple is planning to release three new iPhone models again this fall, including a successor to the struggling XR, which will include some new camera features, WSJ reports. Apple is also considering dropping its only LCD model in 2020, marking a complete shift to OLED displays. It's been a tough year for iPhones, including reductions to sales estimates, as well as recent reports that resellers in China have slashed prices for the smartphones by up to 22%.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is nearly 11:00 pm and time to get some much needed sleep before another fast paced Friday on the bourse floor. So let's end the Blog at this point.

Yes, I am still reading emails and text messages and supporting those order channels. If you've had an eye for a certain offering in my inventory, then don't wait too long. The FUN show will bring about a substantial turnover in GFRC offerings come next week.

Thank-you for checking in and sharing the news from the FUN show.

 

January 10, 2019

GFRC Sales Off to a Quick Start

Greetings from Orlando and welcome to the another Blog edition. This edition is being written on Wednesday evening due to an early start on Thursday.

Talk about a busy FUN show set-up day on Wednesday! The bourse floor opened to dealers at 2:00 pm with the usual long procession of dealers with carts, luggage bags, and the like making their way through narrow doors and a badge check by security. Upon finding Booth #535, it did not take long for the troupe to get GFRC into operation. When the dust settled, eight cases were loaded with approximately 90 coins each. That is 720 quality coins of inventory to treat customers to a an excellent viewing experience during the next three days. Hopefully, the viewing experience will translate into abundant purchases.

Once the coins were loaded, then a major wholesale buyer decended upon the gold cases and located the newly purchased the 1855 PCGS MS61 CAC and 1860-S PCGS AU58 $5 half eagles. An offer was made with a GFRC counter offer. Discussions will continue on Thursday morning. Then Early Bird attendees started arriving to the GFRC table and business was underway. Between initial show sales and online retail, a five figure day resulted and a quick start to the FUN show.

 

1839-O V-1 FS-501 Large O PCGS AU53 CAC Delivered at FUN Show

It did not take long for a consignor to drop off the finest known 1839-O V-1 PCGS AU53 CAC Liberty Seated half dime to the GFRC table. This piece is perfectly original with light gray surfaces that are absolutely blemish free. The V-1 die variety was struck with left over reverse from 1838 and is considered an R6 rarity. These is speculation that this 1839-O dime was struck after the 1840-O V-8 Large O.

Offer price is $12,500 and an important opportunity for serious fans of Liberty Seated half dimes.

 

Watch Hill Collection Consignment - Twelve Liberty Seated Quarters, Many Iowa Collection

I'm absolutely thrilled to report that the Watch Hill Collection consignor has decided to make a numismatic course change and consigned the following lot of Liberty Seated quarters on Wednesday. The lot is entirely from the Iowa Collection sale and includes some high demand dates! Physical transfer has already taken place at the FUN show. These coins are immediately available for sale. Prices will be the Iowa Collection sale price plus 5%. Those with serious interest can visit the GFRC Sales Archives to locate the prior sale records and prices. If you wish to purchase at Archive prices plus 5%, then please send me an email and I will place on immediate hold. This lot will be loaded into GFRC FUN show display cases on Thursday.

Former Iowa Collection Liberty Seated quarters immediately available.

1838 No Drapery PCGS 25 CAC
1843 PCGS 30 CAC
1853 O Arrows & Rays PCGS 25 CAC
1855 O With Arrows PCGS 25 CAC
1861 S PCGS 30 CAC
1862 PCGS 35 CAC
1864 PCGS 53 CAC
1873 With Arrows PCGS 53 CAC
1875 CC PCGS 25 CAC
1876 S PCGS 40 CAC
1878 S PCGS 12 CAC

Wrapping Up The Blog

Time for bed as getting late on a Wednesday evening. Thanks for checking in and sharing GFRC's FUN show experiences!

 

 

 

January 9, 2019

Its FUN Show Time!

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to the Blog. The long anticipated FUN show has arrived.

Yes, the entire numismatic industry will be assembling at the largest coin show of the year to kick off 2019. Anticipations are high with a strong economy and individuals feeling upbeat about expanding numismatic holdings. That optimism is evident close to home in Venice.

GFRC has enjoyed a robust order rate during the first eight days in January before heading to the FUN show. Yesterday brought a 15 hour day towards shipments, order arrivals, and preparing the Monday new purchases for display at the Orlando bourse floor. I was so busy and involved with preparations that last evening's annual Auburn Lakes Condo Association board meeting completely escaped me. Since Diane replaced me on the HOA board, I simply wished her good luck as she walked out the door and kept writing invoices for FUN show pick-up orders. At 10:00 pm, the luggage cases were closed and a checklist review ensured that all necessary items to conduct business at Table #535 were captured and secured for transport.

Dan White and Rose Marie arrive within a few hours and then the GFRC Express heads from Venice to Orlando. Please make a point of spending time with the GFRC troupe if visiting the show. The table number is easy to remember; just repeat after me.

GFRC Table is 535, 535, 535, 535........

Clients, friends and visitors will be treated to an awesome display of Liberty Seated coinage at Table 535. Every denomination other than Seated dollars is well stocked and represented. Key and semi-key dates will be in the cases for your consideration. GFRC's United States gold offerings have been replenished during the past two months with nearly two full cases of better date and CAC approved gold on display. And finally, GFRC has also focused on enhancing its Capped Bust coinage offerings with particular emphasis on early date Capped Bust halves.

CAC Approved Coins Plentiful at Table 535

Let's close this segment by simply stating that no other dealer on the FUN show bourse will have more CAC approved coins that GFRC! GFRC has made it a priority to stock and secure CAC approvals on new inventory. Dealers that do not have a substantial inventory profile with CAC approval will provide a familiar response.....they don't understand the CAC standards. After sending in numerous CAC submissions, in the past six months, GFRC has acquired working knowledge of the CAC standard for Capped Bust and Liberty Seated coinage and can now predict with reasonable confidence what will and what will not be approved.

West Texas Collection Scores Favorable CAC Approvals

Case in point is the West Texas Collection's Draped and Capped Bust half dollar collection. CAC results were posted on Monday and the coins arrived back to the office yesterday. Twenty-two (22) coins were submitted with the full knowledge that five of these were borderline but added as a test. The results? Thirteen (13) of the twenty-two (22) were approved with none of the borderline pieces being stickered. For circulated silver type, my eye is becoming trained and confidence is growing. Unfortunately, United States gold still remains an enigma and learning that product line will take time.

 

Global Financial News

Global markets are in big time rally mode based on the following Seeking Alpha headline...Globe goes green as trade talks extend

Stocks across the globe are marching higher after U.S.-China trade talks were extended for an unscheduled third day, fueling optimism that the world's largest economies can avoid an all-out confrontation. Progress was seen on issues including purchases of U.S. farm and energy commodities, as well as increased access to China's markets, but the two sides are still ways apart on Chinese structural reforms that would stop alleged theft and forced U.S. technology transfer.

The ramifications for commodities and long bond interest rates are apparent this morning. Crude oil is back over the $50 level and quoting $50.85/bbl. The U.S. dollar is strengthening with resulting pressure on gold prices. Gold is quoting at $1282/oz but still holding its ground. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is increasing as demand wanes. Latest quote is 2.74%. And then there is Bitcoin which marches to speculation with a quote of $4018.

There is a direct relationship between carbon emissions and a robust economy. Let's remember that carbon emissions is a global issue with China and India's economic expansions also being contributors.

Following three years of declines, U.S. carbon emissions rose 3.4% in 2018, as the effects of a strong economy, like diesel and jet-fuel use in transportation, outstripped a sharp decline in the number of power plants burning coal to generate electricity. According to the Rhodium Group, the increase was the biggest jump since 2010, when the economy was rebounding from the Great Recession, and the second largest increase in two decades.

All is not well with the European Union. First there was Brexit. Now Italy and Poland are in discussions to form an internal alliance.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and the leader of Poland’s ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, will today discuss the possibility of forming a Eurosceptic alliance to contest the European Parliament elections in May. "Someone has betrayed the European dream," Salvini told a League rally in Rome last month. "We will provide the blood for a new European community based on respect, work, growth and equality."

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The next three editions of the Blog will be written from Orlando and capturing FUN show business activity and other news.

Please remember that the Liberty Seated Collectors Club regional meeting takes place Friday morning at 9:00 am. I will publish the meeting room location in the Blog.

And with that, it is time for a shower and loading up the GFRC Express to Orlando.

Thanks for checking in and wishing everyone a great balance to the week.

 

 

 

January 8, 2019

Announcing a Substantial Pre-FUN Show Collection Purchase

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

Dan White and I had originally planned to travel to Orlando today to attend the FUN pre-show event taking place at two separate hotels. However, those plans changed upon purchasing a significant portion of the Outback Collection numismatic properties on Monday afternoon. Instead, I'm sitting here writing another Blog edition after being up until nearly midnight loading the new purchases into the COIN system and placing onto the 30 day price list. As a result, today's Blog will be a brief. I have a ton of shipping to get out the door and then must pull FUN show inventory during the balance of the day.

GFRC Announces Substantial Pre-FUN Show Collection Purchase

It gives me great pleasure to announce the purchase of a portion of the Outback Collection consignor's numismatic holdings. The meeting took place early Monday afternoon between the Outback consignor, Dan White, and myself. Previously, I had viewed much of this individual's numismatic holdings when visiting his Sarasota home during 2017. The coins were well understood and an indispensable opportunity for elevating GFRC's Liberty Seated and United States gold inventory going into the FUN show.

Following is a list of new purchases highlighted by three substantial offerings.

- The Stellar-Eliasberg-Gardner 1871-S Liberty Seated Quarter graded PCGS MS66 CAC, currently the second finest graded and only CAC approved specimen at the MS66/MS67 grade level. This is an absolutely exceptional piece that belongs in the finest Liberty Seated quarter collection under construction. Yes, there is one PCGS MS67 that was formerly in a PCGS MS66 CAC holder but was dipped for the upgrade. This leaves the Stellar specimen as the truly finest perfectly original specimen in existence.

1871-S PCGS MS66 CAC ex. Stellar/Eliasberg/Gardner

- A pair of near top population $5 Liberty quarter eagles; 1855-S PCGS MS61 CAC and 1860-S PCGS AU58. These will have the serious collectors of United States gold salivating....

Pre-FUN Show New Purchase Contents

Following is a complete list of new purchases that will be available at GFRC Table 535 at the Orlando FUN show. Many can be found in the GFRC Sales Archive with images. Those sold by GFRC into the Outback Collection are highlighted in bold. The Liberty Seated dimes are now posted to the price list and several have already sold. I am unable to guarantee which pieces will remain in inventory by Thursday morning at the FUN show. CAC approved better dates do not last long when reaching the market. If seriously interested and willing to make immediate payment, please consider a purchase today.

Liberty Seated Dimes

1838-O NS F-101 PCGS AU 50 CAC ex-Greer Plate Coin, ex-Fortin Reference Collection
1840-O F-101 NGC AU58 CAC - HOLD
1846 PCGS VF25 CAC OGH - HOLD
1856-S PCGS VF30 CAC
1858-S F-103 PCGS XF40 ex-Fortin Reference Collection and web-book plate coin
1860-O PCGS VF25 CAC ex-Newtown Collection
1862-S PCGS VF25 CAC OGH
1866 PCGS AU55 CAC OGH ex-Greer,ex-Fortin Reference Collection - HOLD
1866-S F-101 PCGS XF40 CAC - HOLD
1885-S 10c ANACS VF30

  1840-O F-101 NGC AU58 CAC 10C             1846 PCGS VF25 CAC OGH 10C               1856-S PCGS VF30 CAC 10C       

        

     1858-S F-103 PCGS EF40 10C                  1860-O PCGS VF25 CAC 10C               1862-S PCGS VF25 CAC OGH 10C

        

1866-S F-101 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C                   1885-S ANACS VF30 10C      

    

Liberty Seated Quarters

1849-O PCGS F12 CAC - HOLD
1851-O PCGS VF30 CAC
1852-O PCGS VF25 CAC ex-Iowa Collection
1855-O PCGS VF20 CAC
1856-S/s PCGS VF30
1857-S PCGS MS62
1858-S PCGS EF40 ex-Saw Mill Run Collection
1859-S PCGS VF20 CAC ex-Iowa Collection
1860-S PCGS VF30 CAC
1861-S PCGS VF 30
1864-S PCGS F12 CAC ex-Iowa Collection - HOLD
1866 WM PCGS F12 CAC ex-Iowa Collection - HOLD
1867-S NGC VF20 CAC
1871-S PCGS MS66 CAC One of finest known. Ex-Gardner/Eliasberg/Stellar.
1873 NA Cl3 PCGS VF25 CAC

$5 Liberty Gold

1855-S PCGS MS61 CAC Finest CAC approved! One at MS61 and only an MS62 better
1860-S PCGS AU58 One of three at the AU58 grade level with one finer (MS62)

$5 Indian Gold

1909-S PCGS MS62
1915-S PCGS AU58 CAC

 

Finest Known 1839-O Large O PCGS AU53 CAC Liberty Seated Half Dime

GFRC is thrilled to announce that the finest known 1839-O Large O half dime graded PCGS AU-53 with CAC approval will be consigned at the FUN show. This piece is the Breen plate coin. For Liberty Seated half dime specialist, you probably realized that this coin was produced after the 1840-O V-8. Following are images supplied by the consignor to whet your appetite....

Global Financial News

Global markets are in a risk-on or positive mood to start the day due to concrete trade negotiations between China and the United States. This Seeking Alpha headline captures the optimism.

U.S. futures appear to be looking at the glass half full again as the world's two largest economies conclude talks to resolve their ongoing trade dispute. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has predicted Beijing and Washington could reach a trade deal that "we can live with," while China's foreign ministry said it had "good faith" to work with the U.S. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields have recovered on the news, with crude and the dollar also posting gains.

The optimism is reflected in the commodity and interest rate opening numbers for the day. Crude oil prices have increased to $49.33/bbl on renewed hopes for avoiding a 2019 recession. With the dollar increasing in value, gold has dropped slightly to $1284/oz. The 10 Year Treasury bond yield has also increased to 2.7% as traders feel more comfortable with equity positions. Bitcoin is slightly back over $4000 to open the day.

Adoption of digital currencies by major central banks has a long way to go.

"At this stage, most central banks appear to have clarified the challenges of launching central bank-backed digital currencies (CBDC), but they are not yet convinced that the benefits will outweigh the costs," according to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements. 85% also said they are unlikely to issue a CBDC in the next three years. Sweden's central bank has been working on an "e-Krona" project since 2017, while the ECB and BOJ are collaborating on "Project Stella."

Late 2018 German factory data is suggesting that Europe is teetering on the edge of recession.

A simple mapping between German industrial production and GDP growth points to a recession, according to Jamie Murray, Bloomberg's Chief Economist of Europe. Factory output unexpectedly slipped 1.9% in November, marking the third straight month of decline for the eurozone's economic powerhouse. The euro fluctuated after the report, but is currently down 0.3% to $1.1444.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Again, thank-you for stopping by and checking out some rather exciting numismatic news prior to the FUN show's official open.

Time for a quick shower and then a long morning of packing and shipping lots. The afternoon's focus will be on assembling GFRC inventory that heads to Orlando on Wednesday. FUN show dealer setup starts at 2:00 pm.

Please remember FUN Show Table 535, 535, 535......

I will be back tomorrow morning with more pre-FUN show rambling. Have a great day!

 

 

 

January 7, 2019

Evaluating A Substantial Liberty Seated Collection

Greetings and welcome to the Blog as the Orlando FUN show week has arrived.

There is excitement in the air as all eyes will be on the FUN show as a barometer for the 2019 numismatic market. During the past several years, we've endured FUN shows in Ft. Lauderdale (terrible) and Tampa (good). With the venue once again being Orlando, there is much optimism for a well attended show. Families can vacation at Disney theme parks and Universal Studios as part of their FUN show trip to Florida. Individuals from Florida coin clubs are provided with shuttle buses to make the journey to and from Orlando. This definitely helps attendance.

For the final time, here is a portion of the FUN bourse floor layout and the location of the GFRC table. Gerry, Diane, Dan and Rose Marie look forward to meeting you at Tables 535. When arriving to the bourse floor, just keep repeating to yourself...535, 535, 535! The FUN bourse floor is massive this year and as a result, it will be difficult to locate any dealer without a program. So keep repeating....535, 535, 535 towards locating the broadest selection of CAC approved Liberty Seated, Capped Bust and United States gold on the bourse. Dan White and I have worked hard towards preparing some outstanding inventory and do hope you will come by and visit.

GFRC Orlando FUN Table 535

Gerry Fortin Rare Coins (535) and David Perkins Rare Coins (634)

 

Evaluating A Substantial Liberty Seated Collection

Today brings an important event that could further enhance GFRC offerings for the FUN show. During early afternoon hours, Dan and I are meeting with a well known client to review and potentially purchase his collection. The contents are distinct;

- Ten better date Liberty Seated dimes which were all sourced from GFRC. Eight of ten are CAC approved! Two dimes went directly from my bank box into the collection and have not been marketed via GFRC. In other words, the really good stuff...

- Fifteen semi-key date Liberty Seated quarters with eleven being CAC approved. About half were purchased from GFRC.

- A small lot of United States gold with several condition rarities.

After the evaluation session is completed and if the parties can reach purchase terms, a detailed listing of the acquisition contents will be published in the Blog later this evening. I'm hopeful towards reaching a deal as the collection is ideal for enhancing GFRC inventory going into the FUN show.

 

More Important Consignments Arriving at FUN

As the FUN show approaches, GFRC community friends and customers are making decisions to thin the herd and pass along incrememtal consignments. I'm grateful for all the following new consignments and the trust placed in the GFRC business model for marketing and selling important numismatic properties. Here are several consignment announcements that the community can look forward to after the FUN show.

Dr. Glenn Peterson Transfers Liberty Seated Dime Die Variety Collection

As progress is being made with the sale of Dr. Peterson's Liberty Seated half dime and half dollar die variety collections, the time has come for the transfer of his Liberty Seated dime die varieties. The transfer takes place at the FUN show and I have a preview of the contents. This collection will be queued behind the Liberty Seated halves that will roll out during the February time frame.

Finest Known 1839-O Large O PCGS AU53 CAC Liberty Seated Half Dime

Last evening brought an email from a consignor who was one of the first collectors to believe in the GFRC business model back during 2014. The time has come to part with a major Liberty Seated half dime rarity! GFRC is thrilled to announced that the finest known 1839-O Large O half dime graded PCGS AU-53 with CAC approval will be consigned at the FUN show. This piece is the Breen plate coin. For Liberty Seated half dime specialist, you probably realized that this coin was produced after the 1840-O V-8.

Iowa Collection Liberty Seated Quarters Returning to Market

The GFRC community well remembers the incredibly uniform grades and originality of the Liberty Seated quarters in the Iowa Collection. This set was sold during May 2018. I'm pleased to report that eleven pieces from the Iowa Collection, along with other Seated quarters, will be transferred at the FUN show. The consignment includes the important 1855-O PCGS VF25 CAC, 1861-S PCGS VF30 CAC, 1864 PCGS AU53 CAC, 1875-CC PCGS VF25 CAC, and 1878-S PCGS F12 CAC.

If interested in any of these quarters, please immediately request a First Right of Refusal. All quarters can be found in the GFRC Sales Archives with prior sale prices and descriptions.

Ft. Lauderdale Collection Consignor Returns

Just this pass week, I've exchanged emails with the Ft. Lauderdale Collection consignor. He will be attending the FUN show and plans to drop off another quality consignment. Details will be forthcoming.

 

Global Financial News

Another global trading week arrives with optimism in Asia markets for progress with China - United States trade talks. More on this topic shortly from Seeking Alpha headlines.

As for commodities and long bond interest rates, crude oil has found its footing and is beginning to rally. I could not believe that regular grade gasoline was only $1.99 this weekend here in Venice. That pricing will not last long as crude oil now quotes at $49.30/bbl.

Gold prices continue to be in rally mode. The big question is whether gold can break through the $1300 level again. This morning's quote is $1292/oz. Bitcoin has also increased to $4103 and the 10 Year Treasury bond yield is stable at 2.65%.

The rate of dialogue towards resolving the China - United States trade dispute is increasing.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are considering meeting in the first half of 2019 if progress is made with the trade talks that began today in Beijing. Trump is also reportedly considering meeting with Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of the month. The current U.S. delegation in China includes Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish and Treasury Department official David Malpass. Trump sent the team off with a confident reminder, saying the weakness in the Chinese economy gives the U.S. some leverage in the talks.

Staying on the China topic, Telsa has broken ground in Shanghai for its first overseas Gigafactory.

Earlier today in Shanghai, Tesla broke ground on its Chinese Gigafactory where it plans to mass-produce Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. "We think with the resources here we can build the Shanghai Gigafactory in record time and we’re looking forward to hopefully having some initial production of the Model 3 towards the end of this year and achieving volume production next year," Elon Musk stated at the event. The local Gigafactory is the first wholly-owned car plant in China operated by a foreign company. Shares of Tesla are up 1.26% in premarket action to $321.69.

United States inflation is starting to appear but may not be captured in the U.S. government's CPI index. Case in point is higher costs to visit Disney theme parks here in Florida.

Disney announced a double-digit price increase at its theme parks in California ahead of the opening of Star Wars attractions this summer that includes a Millennium Falcon ride. The cost for a one-day Disneyland ticket during peak times rose 10.4% to $149. Disneyland annual passes now range from $399 to the highest level of access costing $1,949. Higher ticket prices from Disney have sometimes provided cover for Cedar Fair, Six Flags Entertainment and SeaWorld Entertainment to lift prices at some of their parks.

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC's United States gold inventory continues to expand and has offerings for all collector levels. We offer great collector coins along with pieces that are a combination numismatic and bullion play. With spot gold approaching the $1300 mark, now may be the time to put away a few gold coins as a longer term holding.

1878 PCGS MS63+ CAC G$10                                                             1907 NGC MS63 G$10   

    

1873-S Closed 3 NGC AU58 CAC G$20                                                   1897 PCGS MS63 G$20      

    

1911-D PCGS MS65+ CAC G$20                                                      1927 PCGS MS65 OGH G$20

    

 

Thank you for stopping by at the Blog this morning and glad to be part of your day. I will be in the office the entire day but tied up this afternoon with a collection review and pricing negotiations. If the negotiations are successful, the collection contents will be announced during the evening hours as a Blog preview.

See you tomorrow with more ramblings....

 

 

 

January 6, 2019

Crunch Time for Orlando FUN Show Preparations!

Greetings on a cool Sunday morning in Venice Florida and welcome to the Daily Blog.

As today's headline indicates, crunch time starts for Orlando FUN show preparations. As GFRC continues to grow, the preparations become more diverse and time consuming. So let's have a look at the amount and type of preparations as a worthy topic to fill in today's Blog! It is so important to get organized so that no coin is left behind. The sharing of preparations activities will also bring a realization of the behind the scenes efforts for certain coin dealers. When servicing a host of GFRC clients, there is much more involved than bringing double row slabbed boxes to a coin show and loading cases. Being LSCC president further adds to the workload as serving multiple roles at the FUN show.

Orlando FUN Show Preparations

Consigned Inventory Rotation

How I wish that every consigned coin would sell. In reality, that is not the case when utilizing a fix price list business model. Regardless of pricing reductions, some coins just don't find new homes and eventually are returned to consigners. My philosophy is to let consignors make that decision as every individual has a different threshold concerning listing time. So far, the number of returned consigned coins is a tiny fraction of inventory. But when the request arrives, the coins must be pulled from inventory, transported and the COIN system updated.

PCGS Grading Submission

I've learned from experience that it is best to get PCGS grading submission forms prepared prior to being on the bourse floor. When on the bourse, my office is located on the back table and in full view. Finding 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to work up a submission is impossible. At the FUN show, there will be multiple submissions including show turns, cross overs, and the Dr. Glenn Peterson Seated halves (discussed yesterday) going via regular and economy priority.

Invoicing and Kitting Lots

At every major show, there are coin lots to be picked up by customers that wish to avoid shipping costs. Those lots must be invoiced and brought to the show. I well remember the disappointment on a customer's face at the Fall 2018 Whitman Baltimore show when forgetting to bring his paid for coins. They had been on lay-a-way and buried in the safe with no visual cues to remind me.

Price Reductions

Some consignors see GFRC attending a major show as an opportunity for price reductions. Those email requests must be processed and loaded into the COIN system and the coin's stickers updated.

Decisions on Show Inventory

Eights cases on a corner table may seem like a lot of display real estate. For most dealers with small inventories, eight cases would be difficult to fill. For GFRC, eight cases will hold about 680 coins without double stacking. If you check the Dealers page on Collectors Corner, there are presently 1157 coins listed by GFRC and none are raw. I hope the point is made....

FUN Show Presentation - Exploring Liberty Seated Half Dollars - Saturday 1:15pm

It has become tradition at the Winter FUN show for a presentation on a certain Liberty Seated denomination. This year, the denomination is Liberty Seated halves and preparations are underway. Presentations must be delivered in 45 minutes with a short time for questions at the close. David Lisot will be capturing the presentation on video so there are several forms to sign and audio gear to be mounted on my body before the show begins.

I spent several hours on this presentation yesterday utilizing the core from the Liberty Seated Collectors Club's ANA Summer Seminar topics library as the starting point. With the typical novice audience with respect to Liberty Seated coinage, the presentation must be scaled back and simplified. As I was working through this task, it became clear that GFRC has an awesome Liberty Seated half dollar inventory with many of the major date and die variety rarities. So let's explore those and hopefully a few will sell at the FUN show.

We open with the 1873 No Arrows Open 3 which is described in the presentation as; Rare and one of the key issues of the series - Approximately 60 known, as rare as the 1878-S!

1873 No Arrows Open 3 NGC EF45 50c

In terms of major die varieties, everyone wants to own an example of the 1844-O Doubled Date with bold second date punch above the final date punch. In the presentation, this varieties is described as; Date originally punched much too high, then corrected - One of the most spectacular and popular misplaced dates.

1844-O Doubled Date PCGS VG08 CAC 50C

Then there is the rare 1876 Large over Small Date WB-106 major die variety discusses as; A rare variety – most examples are in low grades. Underdate same size as 20-cent piece date punch

1876 Large Over Small Date WB-106 PCGS AU55 50c

How about the underrated 1878-CC date which is described in the presentation as follows; Scarce final edition from the Carson City Mint - Scarcer than the 1874-CC, but priced less - Grossly underrated, but 1/3 of them are in Mint State!

1878-CC PCGS F12 50c

GFRC currently has 265 Liberty Seated halves in inventory including a nice selection of pre 1853 rare dates as follows; 1850 (1), 1851 (4), 1851-O (1), 1852 (1) and 1852-O (1). Don't forget that GFRC also has one of the finest 1855-S examples known that grades NGC AU58 with CAC approval. Here are the images.

 

Dr. Glenn Peterson's Raw Seated Half Dime Die Varieties

As mentioned in yesterday's Blog, work has started on rolling out the lower priced Liberty Seated half dimes from the Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection. Following is the first installment via client gallery. These will reach the price list, hopefully today, but with very brief descriptions. Those collectors that understand Seated half dime die varieties will easily appreciate these offerings without a long marketing pitch.

Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection Consignment - Raw Seated Half Dime Die Varieties

1840-O ND V-3 Small O EF45 5C

           1838 Sm Stars VF35 5C                     1838 Lg Stars V-10 EF40 5C                1839 V-1 Star 1 Repunched F12 5C

        

      1839 V-2 Repunched 39 EF40 5C               1839-O V-2 Repunched 1 VF35 5C                       1839-O V-5 EF40 5C                 

        

  1839-O Shattered Rev VF20 5C                       1839-O V-6 VF30 5C                             1839-O Rev Rim Cud G04 5C

        

         1840 ND V-2 VF35 5C                     1840-O ND V-8 Large O G06 5c 

    

  

Wrapping Up The Blog

Whew, I'm already tired and it is only 8:00am.....

Yes, I will be in the office all day working on the preparations as discussed in today's Blog. Tomorrow brings the review of a six figure collection purchase opportunity so best to get as much work done as possible in the next 12 hours.

Please consider purchasing a few coins so I have less to bring to the Orlando FUN show. If attending FUN and seriously considering a coin in GFRC inventory, then please call to reserve coins so they won't immediately go into the display cases. Serious is the operative word as I don't wish to pull coins for casual interest levels.

Thanks for stopping by on a Sunday morning.

 

 

 

January 5, 2019

Preparing Dr. Glenn Peterson's Seated Half Dimes and Half Dollars

Greetings on a peaceful Saturday morning and welcome to another Blog edition.

Friday brought yet another non stop day in the GFRC office. Seated Fest II management efforts took up part of the day along with a long session with the Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection of Liberty Seated half dimes and Liberty Seated half dollars. Handling the Dr. Peterson Collection is an intense self education session for die varieties in both denomination. In today's Blog, I would like to share the behind the scene process for breaking up Dr. Peterson's collections and preparing them for market.

Preparing Dr. Glenn Peterson's Seated Half Dimes and Half Dollars for Market

Building a comprehensive die variety collection requires a different process and mindset than assembling a regular date and mintmark set collection. When undertaking a regular date and mintmark set collection, the individual is focused on purchasing the best possible graded example for each date within a certain budget. The hunt focuses on eye appeal, originality and strike along with fair pricing. When building a die variety set, the focus is on locating examples with heavy die cracks, cuds, misplaced dates, repunched dates and double dies. Common dates must be constantly examined in search of elusive die varieties. Sure, higher grades along with strict originality are desired. But the reality is different. When locating a scarce die variety after a multi year search, the specialist just buys the coin regardless of grade and surface conditions as one never knows when another example may be located. Daily Blog readers and GFRC customers must keep this point in mind when considering the forthcoming divestment of the individual offerings in the Dr. Glenn Peterson collections.

With the upcoming FUN show, I spent Friday afternoon with Dr. Peterson's Liberty Seated half dollars towards a substantial PCGS show submission. His Seated halves are housed in two Dansco bookshelf album and clearly identified by Wiley-Bugert die varieties. My challenge was to review every Seated half dollar in each Dansco book and make a determination on originality and value. Which of the 250 or more Seated halves were worth the expense to grade and for some, secure die variety attribution on the holder?

Above is a photo of one of the Dansco albums after the screening process along with a PCGS blue box loaded with 70+ halves heading to PCGS during FUN show dealer setup next Wednesday. As you can see from the Dansco album, many halves did not make the cut due to surfaces not being original. All remaining Peterson halves will be sold raw in the upcoming months. For example, the popular Carson City dates are present but all have been cleaned and will be marketing accordingly. There are still many Dansco or Whitman album collectors who would enjoy the opportunity to secure these difficult dates at a value price.

Also on Friday, I started processing images for Dr. Peterson's raw Liberty Seated half dimes. My original goal for this morning's Blog was a gallery display of 1838 through 1840 offerings without the die variety designations and invite readers to do their own attributions with the answers revealed on Sunday. Well, with ongoing demands on my time with Seated Fest II preparations, that goal was not met. The raw Peterson Seated half dimes will be published later today as a gallery for Sunday's Blog review and answers on Monday. Following is a screen capture of the raw half dimes as being prepared on my laptop.

 

Cumberland County Liberty Seated Half Dollar Offering Status

I'm pleased to report that offer prices for the Cumberland County Seated halves were finalized on Friday and a few pieces actually made it to the price list by end of day. By 9:00 pm, I simply ran out of gas after several late nights in the office and went to bed to recharge. The balance of the offerings will reach the price list today.

 

GFRC Reviews Six Figure Collection on Monday for Purchase

It always happens this way. A last minute (unplanned) opportunity appears before a major show and shorten the amount of available time to complete all show preparations.

On Monday afternoon, GFRC will be meeting with a client and examining a six figure collection for outright purchase. The collection is ideal for GFRC's business model and product portfolio. Included in the offering are semi-key date Liberty Seated dimes, Liberty Seated quarters and United States gold. Most pieces are CAC approved. About 40% of the pieces were sourced from GFRC with two Liberty Seated dimes being placed into the collection directly from the Maine bank box and without GFRC marketing. In other words, several really outstanding duplicates from my reference collection as a favor to this collector.

If all goes to plan, GFRC will be writing a substantial check and then must load the collection into the COIN system and have ready for display at the FUN show. It will be a long evening on Monday if terms can be reach on collection purchase.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog.

Please forgive me with limited content in today's Blog. I just have a ton of things to get done between now and Monday morning. There is the Liberty Seated half dollar presentation that I will give on Saturday afternoon. There is preparing to host the LSCC regional on Friday morning at 9:00 am. Notwithstanding, there are inventory preparations and invoicing lots that will be picked up by customers at the FUN show. Everything has to get done in the next 48 hours so the crunch time has arrived....

Yes, I will be in the office throughout Saturday and Sunday with selling coins remaining as a top priority. However, if wishing to call with a numismatic question or seeking advice, then I would kindly ask that you hold off until after the FUN show. Please understand that my time is precious during the next two days.

 

 

 

January 4, 2019

Help Wanted: LSCC's Seated Fest II

Greetings once again and thank-you for stopping by at the Blog.

Today's edition will be mostly short topics as little was prepared last evening. Preparations for the upcoming FUN show are moving along but taking place at a slower pace than I had hoped for. This is one of the risks of untethered optimism concerning getting work done. Random issues popping up throughout a day will take the winds out of a sail. For example, yesterday brought the discovery of fraudulant charges on the primary GFRC business card by Diane. Thank goodness that she monitors the card every morning. Don't you hate this when discovered? This meant a call to BOA for a new card and then having to contact every vendor that has the card on file. Then incremental Seated Fest II decisions making was required with the great Whitman folks. Challenges include lacking committed exhibitors for Liberty Seated half dollar and Trade dollar marquee sets. More on this shortly.

So let's jump right into individual items to move this Blog edition along.

 

Exhibit Opportunity: Seated Fest II Liberty Seated Half Dollar and Trade Dollar Sets

The LSCC's Seated Fest II gala event is less than two months away. Years of brainstorming and planning are about to be realized at the Spring Whitman Baltimore show. Usually, the Baltimore show is schedule in late March. However for 2019, the show has been moved up and starts on February 28th.

The LSCC has reserved ten 8' tables with cases and lights to house Liberty Seated coinage marquee set displays along with the Educational Seminar supporting items. LSCC Education Chairperson John Frost is heading up the educational seminars. These are being held concurrent with the bourse floor displays. For security reasons, coins that would typically be passed around in an ANA Summer Seminar classroom setting are best kept on the bourse floor within the marquee set display area.

After much personal outreach with club members, I have been unable to secure a commitment for marquee Liberty Seated half dollar and Trade dollar displays. Several individuals have expressed interest but have scheduling conflicts leaving those denominations without representation.

Eugene Gardner and Gerry - NH Coin Expo 2013 Liberty Seated Dime Fest

Being an exhibitor at the Seated Fest II is a very special opportunity. I well know the pride and joy first hand after exhibited my own Liberty Seated dime set on multiple occasions including with Gene Gardner at the October 2013 NH Coin Expo, at Seated Fest I, and the recent 2018 Fall Baltimore show. Displaying marquee sets is key for helping other collectors of Liberty Seated coinage to gain a sense of what is possible. Then there is the opportunity for others to learn the characteristics of high end choice original pieces. Every time that a high end set is inspected, collectors improve their grading abilities and knowledge of the appearance of choice original preservation states.

Displaying a major collection should not be taken lightly, as the set must be safely transported to and from Baltimore with personal insurance recommended. Once on the bourse, coins are safe when locked in display cases. The LSCC has rented a large floor-standing safe to house marquee sets during overnight hours. Exhibitors are responsible throughout the show event for the safety of their coins as the LSCC and Whitman are unable to take financial responsibilities.

When making a call for marquee Liberty Seated half dollar and Trade dollar sets exhibits, my expectations are for locating high end sets in AU or Mint State grades with 90% of better completion level. I'm sure that Seated Fest II event attendees would love to see an 1878-S Seated half dollar in the wild or a set of 1861 New Orleans die pairings (W1 through W15) in high grade. Ditto with the under-appreciated and unloved Trade dollar series. The later date proofs can be highly attractive along with earlier Carson City circulations strikes.

If there is a possibility to display either of these sets, then please call or email me. Your support is required towards making Seated Fest II a truly outstanding and historical LSCC outreach event. All discussions will be strictly confidential.

 

Incremental GFRC Listings: More Great Port Matilda Offerings

Thursday brought the arrival of a two piece consignment from the Port Matilda Collection. Both new offerings were purchased from GFRC during the past several years. Now these are being divested as part of a PCGS box of 20 collection reshuffling.

The 1888 F-110 dime is the web-book plate coin at The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors and the 1853 $10 eagle is an absolutely choice original example that will please the most selective collector.

Port Matilda Collection Consignment

1888 F-110 PCGS MS62 CAC 10C                                                   1853 PCGS EF45 CAC G$10

    

 

Cumberland County Collection - Seated Half Dollar Status

Pricing recommendations were complete late last evening and have been shared with the consignors for feedback. Once offer prices are settled, look for these pieces to start posting in the price list late today.

 

West Texas Collection - Draped and Capped Half Dollar Status

Friday's attention shifts to the West Texas Collection and a strong offering of Draped and Capped Bust halves in nice collector grades. Many of these are currently at CAC for review with approval results expected today or Monday. Therefore, image processing and first round pricing attempt are on today's agenda.

 

Global Financial News

We close a trading week with overseas markets all flashing upbeat signals based on announced China - U.S trade negotiations. But first a look at our usual commodities and long bond rates.

Spot gold continues its slow climb to the $1300 level as is quoting at $1293/oz to start the day. Crude oil is rallying off of recent lows and is priced at $48/bbl. Bitcoin is flat at $3789. Finally, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yields opens the day at 2.62% after dropping as low as 2.60% during the past 24 hours. Equity market volatility continues to fuel the safety of Treasury notes, and for some the comfort of physical gold.

Global equity markets are responding favorably to upcoming trade talks between China and the United States.

A big market rebound is taking shape across the board after China's commerce ministry announced that vice ministerial-level trade talks with the U.S. would be held on Jan. 7-8, as the two sides look to end a bruising dispute. The development was bolstered by positive data from China's services sector, with Caixin's services PMI jumping to a six-month high of 53.9 in December. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also flagged further policy easing, while the PBOC cut banks' reserve requirement ratios for the fifth time in a year.

The arrested Canadian body count in mainland China continues to climb after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada. I would not want to be a high level Canadian executive doing business in China at the moment.

13 Canadian citizens have been detained in China since Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested last month in Vancouver, although "at least eight" of them have since been released, according to the Canadian government. Ottawa has repeatedly said it sees no explicit link between Meng and the detentions of its citizens, but Beijing-based Western diplomats and former Canadian ambassadors have said they believe the arrests were a "tit-for-tat" reprisal.

Apple's share value losses are staggering...

Apple shares have now fallen by 39.1% since Oct. 3, when the stock hit a 52-week high of $233.47 a share. With its market cap down to about $674B, its losses are larger than the individual values of 496 members of the S&P 500 - including Facebook and JPMorgan. The first to hit a one trillion dollar valuation, Apple now registers in fourth place in the market cap standings, behind Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

That is a wrap for today's edition. Time for another long busy day in the GFRC office but first a comforting shower and a second cup of hot coffee.

Thank-you for stopping by and checking out these daily ramblings.

Please remember that I'm seriously searching for incremental marquee set displays for the Seated Fest II. It does not hurt to explore the topic though I am seeking marquee grade sets.

 

 

 

January 3, 2019

Next Cumberland County Collection Lot Arrives!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog! Is it Thursday already?

West coast Florida weather is quite warm for the beginning of January. Wednesday's noon time high was 88F but the humidity has been reasonable. The Venice condo air conditioner has been operating during warm daytime hours along with the ceiing fan in the GFRC office. As a result of the warm temperatures, daily exercise walks have been moved to early evenings. No one is walking the side streets of Venice at 8:00 pm. The darkness and quiet time is mentally refreshing after a long day in the office.

Seth Godin's Blog: The Top 5%

I enjoy reading Seth Godin's blog posts as he is the consummate entrepreneur with a passion for aiding individuals locate a roadmap towards excellence in their lives. Much of what he writes is common sense if we step back from social distractions and influences. Godin stresses the importance of core values; namely hard work against longer term goals. Godin repeatedly reminds us to stay focused, inch by inch and step by step towards goals we've set for ourselves. Those goals can be business, non profit, or health related.

Godin kicks off 2019 with more common sense. Being in the top 5% of your chosen field is all about focus and effort towards having an impact.

The top 5%

In every field, extraordinary benefits go to those seen as being in the top five percent. One out of twenty.

Sure, the biggest prizes go to the once-in-a-generation superstar. But that’s largely out of reach. It turns out, though, that if you’re thoughtful and diligent, the top 5% is attainable.

The approach is to pick the right set to be part of. Not, “top 5% of all surgeons,” but perhaps, “top 5% of thoracic surgeons in Minnesota.” Be specific. Find your niche and fill it.

That’s challenging, because once you set out to be specific, you’re on the hook. The standards are more clear. No room to waffle.

Which leads to the second half of the approach: The hard work. The work of leveling up and being honest about the choices that those you seek to serve actually have. If they knew what you know, would they choose you? What would it take for you to learn enough and practice enough and invest enough to truly be one of the top 5%?

That’s something you can achieve in exchange for focus and effort. To be in the top 1% takes a combination of luck and magical talent. But to be in the top 5%, one in twenty, is mostly about choices.

The thing is, you’re not competing with the other 19 people, not really. You’re competing with yourself, competing in a journey to determine how much you care about making an impact.

Here’s to a powerful and productive year. Make a ruckus.

 

More Great GFRC Consignments Arriving!

Progress is indeed being made against the huge GFRC consignment backlog as today brings the second installment from the Cumberland County Collection. First priority was offering the Trade dollar set and now attention shifts to a wide range of Liberty Seated half dollar duplicates and an awesome 1881 proof Seated quarter.

If all goes to plan, finalized pricing for the following coins will be wrapped up today with the consignors. Then the challenge is to write descriptions and move a few pieces onto the price list before bedtime. As with any sizable consignment client gallery, please use the First Right of Refusal process to reserve desired coins until prices are settled. Those that use the FRoR process for yesterday's Twins Lakes Collection offerings saw their requested coins posted first to the price list that enabled a quick pass/play decision. Nearly every coin on FRoR was purchased!

Therefore please enjoy the following new lot from the husband and wife collecting team known as the Cumberland County Collection.

Cumberland County Collection - A Magnificent Proof Seated Quarter

1881 PCGS PR64 CAC 25C

Cumberland County Collection - Duplicate Liberty Seated Halves

1839 ND PCGS EF40 50C                                                                 1857-S PCGS EF40 50C

    

1871-CC PCGS VF35 50C                                                               1874-CC PCGS VF35 50C

    

   1847 PCGS EF45 50C                                1848-O PCGS EF45 50C                           1848-O PCGS EF40 50C 

        

 1853-O PCGS EF40 50C                             1855 PCGS EF40 50C                                1857 PCGS AU50 50C

        

       1859 PCGS EF45 50C                             1859-O PCGS AU55 50C                          1860-S PCGS EF45 CAC 50C

        

1862-S PCGS AU50 50C                             1888 PCGS EF40 50C                                  1889 PCGS VF35 50C

        

 

Global Financial News

We open the financial day with more negative news out of mainland China per the following Seeking Alpha headline. Apple cut its Q1'2019 revenue forecast and is blaming lower cellphone sales expectations in China. The Seeking Alpha writer is placing blame on a slowing economy.

Frankly, I believe Apple is losing the market share war with local producer Huawei. For Apple to continue growing sales and profits, it must reach out to the residual Chinese population that has lower and lower means for purchasing latest generation cellphones. For Chinese people to have "face" with others, they must purchase a new cellphone about every three years. Huawei is producing excellent cellphones at an attractive price point. My own Huawei phone is an example. It is an robust 4G model that cost me a modest $350 based on exchange rates. Compare that to the prices for the latest Samsung and IPhones in the U.S.

The volatility continues... After closing the first trading session of the year in the green, U.S. stock futures plunged overnight as Apple cut its quarterly revenue forecast for the first time since 2007. The unprecedented move in the Tim Cook era was prompted by a downturn in iPhone sales in China, which represents nearly 20% of Apple's revenue. It was also the latest sign of broader economic malaise in the world's second largest economy, fueled by trade tensions with the U.S.

Checking in on commodities and interest rates, we find some lift in crude oil prices to $46.20/bbl and spot gold holding at $1290/oz for a second day. Bitcoin is also flat at $3826. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield dropped slightly to 2.64%.

There is a report this morning of a "flash crash" during overnight Asia market trading.

Traders across Asia are still trying to piece together a "flash crash" that rippled across the region overnight, with the Australian dollar sinking 8% and Turkish lira tanking 10% against the Japanese yen. While some pointed to risk aversion triggered by Apple's outlook cut, others said Japanese retail investors were bailing out of loss-making positions. Moves were exacerbated by thin liquidity and algorithmic trading.

A new space race is now underway after China successfully landed its Chang'e 4 spacecraft on the dark side of the moon. It is a proud day for the Chinese people with China potentially being the first country with a full time lunar base on the moon.

China has successfully landed its Chang’e 4 spacecraft on the far side of the moon, becoming the first in history to touch the lunar surface unseen by those on Earth. China's next plan is to put astronauts on a lunar base in the 2020s and send several probes to Mars. The space race is heating up on multiple fronts, with President Trump seeking to create a "Space Force" and numerous companies aiming to commercialize space travel, like SpaceX..

Back on earth, Tesla is once again facing profitability concerns in the equity markets.

Tesla shares are down another 2.5% premarket, after falling almost 7% on Wednesday, on worries over future profitability. The EV maker cut U.S. prices for all its vehicles to offset lower green tax credits, and fell short on quarterly deliveries of its mass-market Model 3 sedan. Tesla remained unprofitable for the first nine months of 2018, and cash flow remains a concern for investors.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Let's end today's Blog at this point. Time for shower, GFRC shipping, and a haircut to look proper for next week's FUN show. Then it will be another day in the office loading the balance of the Twins Lakes Collection offerings to the price list and pricing out today's Cumberland Country Collection pieces. Attention then shifts to the West Texas Collection Draped and Capped Bust halves.

Thank-you for stopping by and checking out today's ramblings. If interested in a coin purchase, please call or email. My response time to inquiries is very fast as the sales process has priority over all other GFRC activities.

 

 

 

 

January 2, 2019

The Mad Dash to the Orlando FUN Show!

Greetings and welcome to more numismatic ramblings at the Daily Blog.

Orlando FUN Show Just a Week Away

The Orlando FUN show is now just one week away and the mad dash to complete an LSCC presentation and GFRC business items is underway. Case in point is the Twins Lakes Collection client gallery that appears in today's edition. New Year's day was not a holiday but rather another work day that wrapped up at 11:00 pm. Behind the scenes, Image processing of Cumberland County Seated halves is also underway towards posting a client gallery in Thursday's Blog.

Your dynamic duo, Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and David Perkins Rare Coins will be once again operating together at FUN at tables 535 and 634. GFRC will be at Table 535 while DPRC will be at 634. The show opens for dealer setup on Wednesday January 9 followed by general public attendance starting on January 10. The GFRC corner booth will be staffed by Gerry and Diane Fortin along with Dan White and his new love, Rose Marie. Visitors can expect eight cases of fresh inventory including Liberty Seated half dime offerings from the Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection, Trade dollars from the Cumberland Country Collection, Draped and Capped Bust halves from the West Texas Collection, and a host of PCGS AU58 graded type coins from the Twins Lakes Collection. GFRC is also meeting with an important client on January 7 towards a substantial collection purchase that will be announced once completed. If a deal can be reached, GFRC display cases will be loaded with more semi-key date CAC approved Liberty coinage than ever before. A visit to the GFRC booth should be top priority for anyone interested in early type coins, We will have the coins and I promise there will be no disappointment for visiting Table 535 first!

Aspirations are for an exciting and busy Orlando FUN show since the United States economy is strong and collectors were active during the latter months of 2018. Gold prices continue to march towards the all important $1300 level and should provide some lift to dealers who are heavy in bullion trading. I'm looking forward to being back on a busy FUN show bourse floor and the pleasure of meeting new and old customers alike.

Orlando FUN Tables 535 and 634

Gerry Fortin Rare Coins (535) and David Perkins Rare Coins (634)

 

More Twins Lakes Collection Offerings to Consider

After working through the Cumberland County Collection Trade dollars and their yet unpublished Liberty Seated half dollars, I needed a change of numismatic landscape and decided to pull twenty pieces from another newly arrived Twins Lakes Collection consignment. Following is the latest Twins Lakes client gallery to kick-off 2019 business. All are graded PCGS AU58 except for the 1842 half dime and 1888 dime. Most are housed in old blue label PCGS holder with the "Series" and "Coin" numbers on the label.

Please have a quick look and send along FRoRs. Already four pieces are reserved while prices are finalized today. If all goes to plan, these offerings should reach the price list by end of day but without long descriptions. Coins that do not immediately sell are heading to the FUN show. Of special note are the gallery opening 1860-S and 1867-S Liberty Seated dimes both graded PCGS AU58. I don't often see these dates at the AU58 grade level and an important opportunity for the advanced collector.

Twins Lakes Collection - Quality Offerings - PCGS AU55/AU58

1860-S F-102 PCGS AU58 10C                                                       1867-S F-102 PCGS AU58 10C

    

1942/1 PCGS AU58 10C                                                                 1893/2 PCGS AU58 10C

    

1875-CC PCGS AU58 20C                                                            1908-S PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

    

1834 LM-5 PCGS AU58 5C                       1842 PCGS AU55 CAC 5C                      1888 PCGS AU55 CAC 10C

        

1917-S PCGS AU58 10C                           1941 DDO PCGS AU58 10C                      1920 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

        

1917-D Obv PCGS AU58 50C                           1933-S PCGS AU58 50C                          1934-S PCGS AU58 50C    

        

1936 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C OGH                      1913 PCGS AU58 G$2.5                          1925-D PCGS AU58 G$2.5    

        

1926 PCGS AU58 G$2.5                       1909-D PCGS AU58 G$5 OGH

     

 

Global Financial News

We start a short business week with continued volatility in the global equity markets based on more negative news out of China. Market futures are in the red to start 2019 and it appears that the typical January rally may not take place this year. Gold continues to be the safe haven and is absorbing monies moving out of equities. This morning's quote is now $1291. Crude oil continues to fall due to huge surpluses in production capacity and stands at $44.61/bbl. Also of key importance is the United States 10 year bond rate that has dropped to 2.66% as demand for safe haven Treasuries is increasing. Does anyone care about Bitcoin anymore? If so, the quote is $3807.

Following are important Seeking Alpha headlines to consider. First up is the realization that China's export sector went into contraction in December.

Chinese manufacturing had an even worse December than expected, darkening the mood for global equities and upending U.S. stock futures as they start 2019. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.7 last month from 50.2 in November, dropping below the critical 50 level that separates growth from contraction. Besides the first shrinking factory activity figure in 19 months, two separate measures for new orders and new export orders showed contraction amid a trade dispute with the U.S.

2019 will bring more high stakes poker concerning North Korea, and now Taiwan. This statement by China's Xi Jinping appears to be omninous. When leaders have domestic troubles, the well worn path is to deflect attention to an outside enemy.

China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, President Xi Jinping told a gathering in Beijing, but will strive to achieve peaceful "reunification" with the self-ruled island. Meanwhile, North Korea's Kim Jong-un said he's ready to meet President Trump anytime to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, but warned he may have to take an alternative path if U.S. sanctions and pressure continue.

An economic downturn in China is weighing on global oil markets. United States production is forcing prices down and helping to control inflation in a robust economy.

Crude futures retreated to start the new year, falling as much as 2.2% to $44.41/bbl, amid concerns about a downturn in China that could squeeze demand for oil at a time when supply is in a big surplus. Russian production also hit a post-Soviet record in 2018, according to new figures, while there are fears about a resurgent glut fueled by booming U.S. production and America's waivers for buyers of Iranian crude.

The EU will be eliminating €500 banknotes. As is always the case, elimination of larger circulating bills is justified by a need to curb illegal activities.

Looking to curb illegal activities, "17 of the 19 national central banks in the euro area will no longer issue €500 banknotes from Jan. 27, 2019," the ECB said on its website. However, Austria and Germany will both continue printing the notes until April 26 "in order to ensure a smooth transition and for logistical reasons." According to ECB statistics, €500 bills account for just 2.4% of the total number of banknotes in circulation, but a little over 20% of the total value.

And finally, Ford class United States aircraft carriers are not cheap these day. The first of the new generation, the USS Gerald R. Ford cost taxpayers $13B.

Months after asking shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls for details on pricing, the U.S. Navy has informed lawmakers of its intent to pursue a block purchase of two Ford-class aircraft carriers. The move is expected to save billions of dollars as the Trump administration tries to expand the size of its fleet. The first Ford-class aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, was commissioned in July 2017, three years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. It cost about $13B.

 

Featured Coins of the Day

GFRC enters 2019 with a huge inventory of great offerings and more arriving daily. On Tuesday, Collectors Corner was updated with recent arrivals along with ANACS graded items. If checking the Collectors Corner dealer link and scrolling down to GFRC, you will find 1,157 coins listed with a retail value of over $1.2M.

Following are examples of quality NGC holdered offerings, with CAC approval, that will be available at the Orlando FUN show.

1852 NGC MS64+BN CAC 1C                                                   1858-O NGC MS64 CAC 5C

    

1859 F-105 NGC MS67 CAC 10C                                                   1882 NGC MS63 CAC 10C Fatty

    

1875-CC BF-1 NGC MS62 CAC 20C                                                   1877 NGC MS65 CAC 25C

    

 

That is all she wrote for today! Time for a quick shower and moving immediately into the packing and shipping department. Afternoon brings the pricing of the Twins Lakes Collection coins as featured today, and more image processing of Cumberland County Seated halves.

Thanks for stopping by. I will be in the office for most of the day and well into the late evening. If a special coin is speaking to you, then please don't hesitate to call or email on the topic. Let's make January another great GFRC sales month!

 

 

 

January 1, 2019

Happy New Year From GFRC as 2019 Arrives

A sincere Happy New Year and welcome to the first Blog of 2019.

It is tradition for individuals and the news media to reflect on the past year during the first day of a new year. Many will offer resolutions for the upcoming year. Bringing about a sense of closure while anticipating the future provides an opportunity for realistic assessment. So let's follow tradition to open today's ramblings.

2018 Review and Looking into 2019

2018 proved to be a pivotal year for the GFRC business. Many of the seeds planted during prior years sprouted and helped bring about record sales and a broad consignor community. Foremost is the relationship with Dan White as the ever present table assistant and United States gold expert. Our handshake agreement at the 2016 Denver ANA show brought about an important partnership that has propelled GFRC forward. Every bit as important is Matt Yamatin's information technology support. The GFRC web platform is a model for small business start-ups thanks to Matt's insight and creativity. Then there is Diane behind the scenes handling all of the finances and allowing me to focus strictly on the numismatic portion of the business. One cannot forget Harry Zhang in Shanghai and his commitment to growing the China customer base and sales revenue. And finally, there is Gerry with his tireless pursuit of business excellence via personalized service.

GFRC enjoyed record sales during 2018 with 24% year on year revenue growth. As of last evening, 2054 coins were sold during 2018 and Consignor Proceeds climbed to $3,356,000 since initiating the business during 2014. Consignors continued to join GFRC during 2018 with a year ending tally of over 160 individuals.

In terms of marketing strategy, GFRC initiated a substantial change based on customer feedback during the 2018 Labor Day weekend. Gone is paper advertising in liu of digital. The migration to Collectors Corners brought GFRC to an entirely new audience and launched more sales. GFRC tested certain regional coin shows with mixed results. Some were good while others proved that GFRC's product lines were not aligned with local collectors; these shows were dropped from the schedule.

Finally, I'm incredibly pleased to report that the GFRC website is one of the most popular venues in the numismatic industry when compared to other small dealers with similar revenues. Alexa.com is constantly monitored as a benchmark. Matt and I well know the statistics for the largest of competitors that are many times the size of GFRC. Our mission is to achieve online presence consistent with these largest competitors through superior content, ease of use links, and personalized information reporting. As of this morning, GFRC's United States website ranking stands at 94,872 and our global ranking is slightly under 1,000,000.

Indeed, 2018 was a pivotal year for GFRC. The upcoming year brings optimism for additional growth. What were 5-10 piece consignments, in the past, have evolved into 50-100 piece collections. GFRC currently has over 400+ coins in consignment backlog not counting my own Liberty Seated dimes. The inventory is substantial and will provide a constant flow of new offerings well into the March timeframe. The Sunset Point Collection of Liberty Seated quarters will be a huge sales event during late January and into February. 2019 also brings operational challenges to scale the business to new sales levels. The evolution will continue as standing still is not an option in today's fast paced business environment.

To close this segment, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to every customer and consignor who believes in the GFRC business model and personalized service. Consignors have alternative choices for divesting their coins. Customer have alternative dealers by which to source coins. My daily challenge is to continue fostering long term relationships and trust. This will continue during 2019 unabated and without short cuts. There is never a short cut for superior service regardless of automation and financial engineering. Ultimately, the numismatic business is fundamentally grounded on relationships and trust.

Thank-you everyone for a fantastic 2018 and I look forward to servicing your needs during 2019.

 

LSCC's January 2019 E-Gobrecht Edition is Published

As we have come to expect, E-Gobrecht editor Bill Bugert kicked off 2019 with the first issue of the new year. Bill prefaced the release with the following commentary.

Happy New Year everyone!

The attached file is 2019’s first issue of the E-Gobrecht, Liberty Seated Collectors Club’s electronic newsletter.

It contains both sad and happy news. John McCloskey, LSCC patriarch passes, and announcements of the upcoming SeatedFest II.

Many thanks to all the contributors.

We are in our 15th year as a publication and it would not be possible without the contributors. Enjoy.

Please click here or on the E-Gobrecht headlines page image to download the issue in PDF format.

As Bill Bugert states, the 2019 kick-off issue has great and sad news. The upcoming Seated Fest II event at the Spring Whitman Baltimore show is announced along with the passing of past LSCC President John McCloskey. I won't delve into details on these topics, rather letting Blog readers download the issue and read for themselves. But please be aware of other great content in the issue. Following are highlights.

Regional News by Dennis Fortier - Dennis summarizes the upcoming LSCC events at the Orlando, FUN show and our presence at the Houston Money Show in Conroe, Texas on January 18-19.

Cracked, Shattered and Terminal - Benny Haimovitz is back with another popular edition and reports on an 1853 Hubbed Arrows and Date F-105 dime and explores the heavy die cracks in the right wreath.

Auction News - Craig Eberhart discusses Liberty Seated coinage auction results at the Heritage Signature Auction, December 13-14, 2018, Beverly Hills.

Quarter of the Month - Greg Johnson returns with a review of one of his favorite Liberty Seated quarter dates for die variety analysis and reviews the characteristics of the 1843-O Reverse E Liberty Seated quarter dollar.

The Curios Collector - Len Augsburger writes a detail review of three 1870-CC Liberty Seated quarters being auction by Heritage at the FUN show. To properly frame the event, he sets the stage with the following commentary; This month we interrupt our regular series (Gold, Silver, and Liberty Seated Coinage) to discuss an important offering at the upcoming FUN show. Heritage Auctions is presenting three different 1870-CC quarter dollars, an event almost as rare as the coin themselves. With this date, more than one constitutes a hoard, and three make a veritable mega-hoard.

 

More Exceptional Liberty Seated Dimes from the Gerry Fortin Reference Collection

Since recent GFRC consignments have not included Liberty Seated dimes, here are two important offerings from my own collection to consider on the first day of 2019. We open with the Pittman 1857 proof dime housed in old NGC holder and certified as PF64 along with CAC approval. Mintage is estimated at 70 pieces with PCGS CoinFacts suggesting that 30-50 are known. The other offering is a really cool 1889 F-122 dime with boldly double die reverse. This example is graded MS66 and resides in a newer NGC holder. Both offerings are web-book plate coins and will be posted to the GFRC price list by afternoon time.

Two Exceptional Gerry Fortin Reference Collection Offerings

The Rascal releases two more important web-book plate coins...

1857 F-101 NGC PF64 CAC 10C Ex. Pittman                                     1889 F-122 DDR #3 NGC MS66 10C    

    

 

GFRC Consignment Status

I pleased to report that most of the Cumberland County Trade dollars are posted to the price list with two pieces already on hold. There are many outstanding offerings in this collection including the 1874-CC PCGS AU50 dollar which is the only AU50 approved at CAC. Overall quality is superior and someone should immediately jump on this piece before the FUN show. Also check out the 1874 PCGS MS61 and 1877 PCGS MS62 CAC dollars which are listed as JUST BUY IT now recommendations. Finally, if in the market for an extremely rare Trade dollar die variety, then please check out the 1876 II/II PCGS VF25 offering. The Cumberland County consignment is an important event and opportunity.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Time to wrap up the first Blog of 2019 and then brew myself another cup of hot coffee. First priority is to finish loading the Cumberland County Trade dollars along with the above two Seated dime from my own collection. Then emphasis shifts to the West Texas and Dr. Glenn Peterson Collections as more offerings are prepared for the FUN show.

Thank-you for stopping by! I will be in the GFRC office throughout the day with new orders for 2019 being most welcomed.

Again, Happy New Year!

 

 

December 31, 2018

On the Cusp of 2019

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on the cusp of a new year. Thank-you for visiting with GFRC throughout 2018 and for many, since the Blog was first published starting June 2014.

Hopefully Blog readers can sense that I'm thoroughly enjoying building the GFRC business. After a professional career that lasted 37 years and reporting to a host of bosses, I am now free to take on a personal challenge without limits. GFRC customers are my bosses and innovating to meet and exceed their expectations is what summons me out of bed each morning and back into the office. The feeling of freedom in the context of operating and enhancing a business is priceless. Personal growth and knowledge are by products of blogging at a laptop daily for two hours and fostering a community that truly appreciates the numismatic hobby as much as I do.

At businessdictionary.com, the following definition of innovation was located and fairly well summarizes the long term GFRC goals. Since being an army of one with a great part time support staff, innovation towards delivering top quality coins and services is paramount.

Innovation: The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay.

To be called an innovation, an idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need. Innovation involves deliberate application of information, imagination and initiative in deriving greater or different values from resources, and includes all processes by which new ideas are generated and converted into useful products. In business, innovation often results when ideas are applied by the company in order to further satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers.

When Matt and I conducted a GFRC business status review during Friday's dinner, we identified a host of business processes that are ripe for upgrading and a little common sense innovation. In business, if you are standing still, then you are falling behind! Hopefully during 2019, several of those identified work processes will be dissected and improved. 2019 should prove to be another exciting year for this small business start-up.

 

Cumberland County Collection Trade Dollars Arrive!

Bringing new consignors into the GFRC community is always a thrill. Not only am I handling more coins, but also building a new relationship and hopefully providing a solution to a need. Case in point is the Cumberland County Collection consignors. You will note that the plural is used when referring to the consignor(s) as this is a husband and wife team. Both are equally active in the numismatic hobby. After purchasing the 25 piece PCGS MS64 CAC Walking Liberty half dollar set from the Twins Lakes Collection, this team decided it was time for a numismatic course change and new challenges. To fund revised collecting goals, divestment of a quality Trade dollar set and a host of Liberty Seated half dollar duplicates was an option.

It gives me great pleasure to showcase the first offering from the Cumberland Country Collection.

A few comments about the images and photography challenges. GFRC photography is optimized for small coinage denomination up through quarter sized coins. Recent improvements have made photographing half dollar sized coins easier. But when photographing dollars sized coins and especially those with uniform colors (frosty untoned or uniform dark crusty gray), the old Nikon Coolpix995/Photodome combination are at the edge of capability. For untoned coins, the camera dissects the normal silver gray into its green and rose subcomponents as a top to bottom color and lighting gradient. The top of frosty dollar coins is shown with greens emphasized while the bottom of the coin sees rose coloring being dominant. Therefore when viewing the following client gallery, please keep this in mind.

Now onward to the Cumberland Country Trade dollars. For those unfamiliar with Trade dollar variety notations, obverse and reverse design hub changes took place during late 1875. Therefore during 1875 and 1876, two different obverse and reverse design hubs were employed for die preparations. The initial hub designs are listed as (I/I) while the second hub designs are designated as (II/II). Identifying obverse design hubs is easy. If the two points at the bottom end of the scroll face left, then design hub I. On the second design hub (II), these points face down. To identify the reverse design hubs, look at the arrow feathers below the eagle. If there is a single berry immediately adjacent to the feathers, then a design hub I. If the berry is missing, then design hub II. The 1876 PCGS VF25 offering struck with design hubs II/II is very rare and worthy of special consideration.

This lot will reach the price list by end of day. Already, there are FRoR emails arriving so please don't hesitate to ask for first shot after viewing this gallery.

Quality Trade Dollars from the Cumberland County Collection

1878-CC PCGS EF45 Trade $1

   1873-CC PCGS EF45 Trade $1                                                   1875 I/II PCGS MS62 OGH Trade $1

    

      1873-S PCGS AU58 Trade $1                     1874 PCGS MS61 Trade $1                1874-CC PCGS AU50 CAC Trade $1

        

  1875-CC I/I PCGS EF45 Trade $1             1875-S/CC I/I PCGS AU55 Trade $1         1875-S I/I PCGS AU55 OGH Trade $1

        

  1876 II/II PCGS VF25 Trade $1             1876-CC I/II DDR PCGS EF45 Trade $1            1876-S I/I PCGS AU50 Trade $1  

        

  1877 II/II PCGS MS62 CAC Trade $1              1877-CC II/II NGC AU50 Trade $1             1877-S II/II NGC AU58 Trade $1      

        

  1878 PCGS PR64 Trade $1                  1878-S PCGS AU55 CAC Trade $1                  1879 PCGS PF58 Trade $1

        

  1880 PCGS PR61 Trade $1                      1883 PCGS PR58 Trade $1

    

 

Global Financial News

As 2018 comes to an end, gold continues to be in a rally mode with an impressive technical chart. The precious metal is quoting at $1286 to start the day. Following is the Kitco 2 year technical chart that shows a breakout above the 200 day moving average. We are probably on our way towards low $1300 pricing in the next few weeks with $1345 being the cement ceiling that has been impenetrable for years.

 

Crude oil is holding at $45.82/bbl with the lower production prices having reached your local gas pump. 87 grade gasoline is priced at $2.03/gallon here in Venice, Florida. Bitcoin is steady at $3873 and the 10 Year U.S. Treasury is yielding 2.74% and in a risk-off mode.

The opening Seeking Alpha headlines does an excellent job of summarizing major 2018 financial events as it was a busy year for traders.

It was another exciting year for investors in 2018, with end-of-the-year bear market blues and a stock market roller coaster ride. Other highlights: The U.S.-China trade war, Cambridge Analytica scandal, Iran deal exit, Brexit fireworks and the Italian budget, U.S. unemployment at historic lows, revamped NAFTA, iPhone estimates and patent battles, cannabis stocks, EV and self-driving revolution, Amazon's new headquarters, GE dropped from the Dow and the collapse of Sears, OPEC output cuts, end of ECB bond buying, rate hike drama, and the current government shutdown.

Markets are in an upbeat mode as China and United States trade talks remain constructive.

U.S. stock index futures are rallying ahead of the final trading session of the year amid optimism surrounding talks between the world's two largest economies. President Trump said he had a "very good call" on trade with China's Xi Jinping on Saturday, claiming that "big progress" was being made on this front, while the latter said both sides wanted "stable progress."

Realistically, China's export manufacturing has slowed to the edge of contraction with more Beijing Central Government stimulus forthcoming.

The dialogue took place as activity in China's manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in over two years in December. The official PMI fell to 49.4, below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction, while new export orders shrunk for the seventh straight month. China is expected to roll out more economic support measures in coming months on top of a raft of initiatives this year.

Amazon sees 2019 as an opportunity to expand Whole Foods throughout the United States.

Amazon is planning to build and expand Whole Foods stores across the U.S. to put more customers within range of its two-hour delivery service called Prime Now, WSJ reports. The push, which would likely focus on regions in Western North America, is a shift from the layoffs and slowing store growth Whole Foods experienced for several years before Amazon (AMZN) bought it for $13.5B in 2017.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

A most appreciative thank-you goes out to every person who frequents the Blog and made GFRC purchases during 2018. It was a great year for those of us collecting early United States type coins and being Liberty Seated Collectors Club members. Speaking of which, the January 2019 edition of the E-Gobrecht should be arriving to club member email Inboxes by end of day.

Thanks for stopping by and wishing everyone a fun but safe 2019 New Year's eve celebration.

 

 

 

December 30, 2018

Yamatins Traveling to Japan

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

The Sleepy Express is back from the Tampa Airport after an early morning delivery of the Yamatins to their next travel adventure. After three flights, Matt, Chikae and little Natsumi will arrive to their final destination in Japan. Better them than me... We departed Venice home at 4:15 am and arrived to the airport at 5:30 am. Now I'm back in the office with a much needed hot cup of coffee and starting another day. The home is so quiet without Natsumi's presence.

 

Coming Soon Consignment Preview - Sunset Point Collection

Before departing, Matt provided GFRC with a clever Daily Blog innovation. Showcasing forthcoming consignments within the Blog has been mostly a random event and done without formal structure. Matt and I have been discussing this matter for the past year towards a method for automatically publishing the contents of new upcoming consignments. Today's Blog showcases Matt's creativity and resulting solution.

In the upper right corner of the Blog, a Coming Soon table has been added and extracts the contents of a designated collection directly from the COIN system. All I must do is program the collection name and date for the insourced coins and voila, the table will appear. The Greatest Hits hover links are automatically shifted to the left. Cool heh?

Since all the Sunset Point Liberty Seated quarters are back from CAC, the collection will be completely populated in COIN system today with Blog readers having access to the contents and CAC results by early afternoon time. The rollout schedule remains unknown but will definitely take place in late January or early February timeframe.

 

Two Eye Appealing Liberty Seated Dimes from Gerry Fortin Reference Collection

Moving ahead with the divestment of Liberty Seated dimes from my own reference collection is a priority for 2019. I'm committed to slowly upgrading the core date and mintmark set which requires substantial funds for notable improvements. Therefore, two double row boxes of slabbed duplicates or die variety plate coins were pulled from the Maine bank box prior to leaving for Florida. I'm slowly working through the contents of those boxes and posting occasional Seated dimes to the price list when incoming consignments are mostly other denominations or designs.

Let's face it...GFRC is known for Liberty Seated dimes and it is my duty to locate and load a constant stream of new offerings. If the consignment pipeline is void of these, then why not select a few from my own collection to keep interest level high? This is the case with the following two offerings. Both have exceptional eye appeal and are CAC approved. These are some of my favorite toners outside of the core set and time to let them go to a new home. But be warned, these will not be inexpensive....

Eye Appealing Offerings from the Gerry Fortin Reference Collection

These will NOT be inexpensive as some of my favorite Seated dimes.

      1882 F-101a NGC MS63 CAC 10C Fatty                                                1887 F-106 NGC MS64 10C            

    

 

Cumberland County Trade Dollar Gallery Arrives Today

I've pleased to report that the image processing for the Cumberland Country Trade dollars is moving along nicely and will be posted by late afternoon in the Blog. Once the gallery is published, then the entire lot will reach the price list by end of day Monday. First Right of Refusal is suggested once the gallery is published as I expect many of these pieces to sell quickly and be gone prior to the FUN show.

 

GFRC Exploring Purchase of a Major Liberty Seated and United States Gold Collection

Last week, an email arrived from a GFRC consignor concerning divestment of his entire collection. Rather than consigning, the individual was interested in a quick outright sale of all contents. A contents lists was shared late last week and progress is being towards the purchase. Let's just say that this collection is substantial as the consignor is very selective and has accumulated mostly semi-key date Seated coins with CAC approval. The United States gold features several grade rarities, also with CAC approval.

Current plans are to close the deal immediately before the FUN show and have the collection contents on display and for sale at GFRC's FUN Table #535.

 

Featured Coins of the Day

Only 48 hours remain during 2018 and GFRC continues to sell coins towards a record breaking sales year. At the moment, the 2018 sales tally stands at 2049 coins. Thanks to the large Twins Lakes Collection sale of Walking Liberty halves, December sales are way ahead of prior years.

With the Yamatins gone, my plan is to spend two intense days in the GFRC office loading more coins to the price list ahead of the FUN show. I will be available until 9:00 pm this evening and throughout Monday for pre FUN show sales. I'm expecting a robust FUN show and substantial inventory turnover. Following are some highlights within current inventory.

1844-O V-2 Medal Turn PCGS EF45 CAC 5C                                      1853 NA V-1a NGC AU55 CAC 5C        

    

            1853 WA PCGS MS63 10C                                                   1856 SD F-121 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C

    

1875-CC BF-1 NGC MS62 CAC 20C                                                1842-O SD PCGS F15 CAC 25C

    

  1795 O-104 PCGS VG08 CAC 50C                                                  1814 O-103 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

    

 

Thank-you for visiting and wishing everyone a pleasant closing to 2018. I will be back on Monday morning with the Cumberland Country Collection Trade dollars on display and more. See you then.

 

 

 

December 29, 2018

Updated GFRC Consignor Gallery Module is Live!

Greetings and welcome to the last weekend in 2018. Thank you for stopping by at the Daily Blog.

In life, great times go by much too quickly. This is the situation with the Yamatin family stay at our Florida home. Today brings the last full day to enjoy Natsumi and appreciating Matt and Chikae. Matt's presence is always an important influence as he is a role model for healthy living and sensitivity to our shared environment. If Matt can train and run close to 2:30 hour marathons then surely his father can fight aging with vigorous exercising, eliminating the last of the China gut and concurrently bulking up. Quality of life during the supposed "retirement years" is paramount and it does not come for free. Nothing in life is free. One must earn excellent health through diet, eliminating bad habits, and a commitment to ongoing physical and mental activities. A heart felt shout out goes to my son Matt for being an incredible role model.

Updated GFRC Consignor Gallery Module is Live!

When the Yamatins come to Florida and Maine for their twice annual stays, the GFRC business undergoes strategic and tactical reviews followed by an improvement cycle. During the 2018 year ending visit, emphasis was placed on improving the website towards elevating the GFRC community experience. Armed with excellent website usage feedback tools (Google Analytics and Alexa.com), Matt and I analyzed what features are driving hit rates and then focused on fine tuning those modules that are enjoyed by collectors and consignors alike. GFRC is much more than just a coin dealer. GFRC is a numismatic experience and a community builder. If we do a great job providing services, then the financial benefits will follow.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the automation of the GFRC Consignor Gallery this morning. Moving forward, the Consignor Galleries will be updated every time that a price list update is performed.

The Consignor Galleries present the past sold coins and currently offered coins for each major GFRC consignor as one pictorial gallery. If a consignor has sold or is offering at least $25,000 in aggregate coins, then they will be featured in the Consignor Gallery. Effective today, there are 48 consignors who meet this threshold and are displayed at the Gallery link on the top of all GFRC website pages.

Following is a brief usage tutorial.

Clicking on the Gallery link on the gray banner at the top of each GFRC page brings readers to the Consignor Gallery opening page. There is a brief introduction of mission followed by a table of named collections including an icon image of the most valuable coin within that collection. We also indicate the number of coins within a branded collection. Readers simply need to click on an icon image to access the collection contents.

 

If one were to click on the Winesteven Collection icon, then the following pictorial display appears. There are two presentation format that illustrate whether a coin has been previously sold or its currently in stock and available for purchase. Coins that are surrounded by an outline and have a gray price bar, below the image, are immediately available for purchase. Images without the outline were previously sold and now stand as a record of sold coins within that branded collection.

 

If clicking on a coin with outline and price bar, then a detailed listing of the coin's offering parameters can be accessed per following. For coins, without the outline, viewers will be provided with a high resolution image of the coin.

 

The Rascal is Back!

In the past, I would hold back Liberty Seated dimes from my own reference collection and give posting priority to regular GFRC consignors. With the consignment backlog becoming so large, it become obvious that a Gerry Fortin dime would never reach the price list. Therefore, I'm using best judgment and adding personal Seated dimes towards providing a balanced portfolio of new offerings. Following are six more dimes from my collection that need new homes. More than half are web-book plate coins. The two 1877-CC dimes are unlisted at The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors and are part of a group that were intended for further die variety research. I've come to the realization that an update to the 1877-CC die varieties chapter will never get done therefore slowly divesting the hoard.

First Right of Refusals are recommended as many of these offerings will not last long. Look for these six lovely Seated dimes to reach the price list by afternoon time. Already, there is a FRoR on the 1884 F-103 NGC MS64 dime. It is a gem and exceptionally well preserved example of the Repunched 1 and 8 die variety.

More Gerry Fortin Reference Collection Offerings

The Rascal just can't control himself....

      1861 Type 2 F-103 NGC MS62 10C                                                1875-CC IW F-113a NGC AU55 10C

    

1877-CC Type 2 Unlisted NGC MS63 10C                                    1877-CC Type 2 Unlisted NGC AU58 10C

    

1877-S F-108 NGC MS63 10C                                                   1884 F-103 NGC MS64 10C

    

 

Cumberland County Collection Update

I'm pleased to report that pricing has been settled for the near complete Trade Dollar set within the recent Cumberland County Collection consignment. These coins were also photographed on Friday. So let the image processing begin towards an upcoming Daily Blog client gallery display! Please check back at the Blog every morning and evening for the latest updates.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Another day in the GFRC office begins. I will be in and out of the office today towards spending some more quality time with Natsumi. Emails and phone calls are best for placing orders.

As of this morning, the GFRC 2018 sales total has reached 2046 coins with still three days to go!

Thanks again and please check back this evening and Sunday morning for the latest GFRC updates.

 

 

 

December 28, 2018

Another Significant GFRC Website Upgrade Arrives on Saturday!

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

The Yamatin family holiday is rapidly coming to an end with just a few more days to enjoy Natsumi. The visit has provided time for Matt and I to continue optimizing the GFRC business. Last evening brought dinner at a local organic food restaurant. While the ladies focused on their favorite topics, Matt and I had an opportunity to discuss business strategies and how to squeeze even more productivity out of my precious time. We agreed that it is time for GFRC to add staffing but the dual locations between Maine and Florida preclude that option. An alternative option was suggested and I have an action item to pursue after the Yamatin family returns to Asia.

In terms of enhanced personal efficiency and continued focus on GFRC community growth, two software upgrades were arrived at. The first website upgrade is essentially complete and now in the debug phase. The second was hatched at Thursday's dinner and Matt hopes to complete the coding before the departure.

 

GFRC's Consignor Gallery Module is Automated

One of the popular destination on the GFRC website is the Consignor Gallery link. The primary goal of the Consignor Gallery page was to provide a history of sold coins from the many branded collections handled by GFRC. The opening commentary captured my initial thoughts and purpose.

Viewing a personal coin collection in its entirety is difficult to accomplish. Collections are typically stored in double row slabbed box in bank vaults or in raw form within Dansco or Whitman albums in a safe. Exhibiting one's collection in display case(s) is a proven method to see a complete collection under bright light. I've found exhibiting to always be enjoyable. There is that simultaneous sense of accomplishment and pride with presenting a multi-year pursuit to fellow collectors. From personal experience, there is nothing like sitting behind several display cases containing my Liberty Seated Dime collection and sharing the beauty of the physical pieces and the many acquisition stories. Unfortunately, numerous collectors lack the opportunity to exhibit their sets publicly. An online display may be an alternative.

Maintaining the Consignor Gallery quickly became tedious and time consuming since requiring constant copy/paste maintenance from the Daily Blog. Automated generation directly from the COIN system was necessary to keep this concept alive and fresh. I'm most pleased to report that the auto generation software is complete with the finishing touches and debug being on today's agenda.

But the new version of the Consignor Gallery will contain even more options. Within each major consignor's gallery display, GFRC will also list current offerings that are available. GFRC customers will now be able to use the Consignor Gallery as a shopping tool and inspect the latest offerings from their favorite GFRC consignors. If perusing Osprey Collection for his latest United States gold is desired, then simply visiting the Consignor Gallery and Osprey Collection will provide a pictorial display of current and past offered coins from this individual.

Hopefully, the updated Consignor Galley module will go live on Saturday for the community to test out and enjoy. No other dealer in the numismatic business provides this level of historic information access for its clients. Yes, Heritage has its Archives but the information is not sortable by pedigree. At GFRC, everyone has the opportunity to become a branded and pedigreed collection as long as their consigned coin sales are greater than $25,000!

 

Feedback on Thursday's Short Description Content - Strike Descriptions

Within Thursday's Blog, detailed insight into GFRC's short and long description structure and terms were provided. I had original planned to exclusively focus on striking definition, and employed adjectives, but the topic was better served by starting with a module on how overall product descriptions are written.

Feedback quickly arrived concerning the terms "Hammered" and "Complete or Full Strike" meaning the same thing and being redundant. My thanks go out to the this individual for being my straight man and asking the question. Following are realistic but subjective differences between the two terms.

Hammered Strike

A "hammered" coin is one with a complete strike without a single point of weakness. But the term "hammered" implies even more. The strike is exceptionally bold with high relief devices raised off the fields. Within the major devices, minute details from the prepared die are crisply defined. These minute details could include granular or frosty die surfaces, micro pitting due to die environment issues and the like. Hammered coins could be fresh strikes from newly prepared dies under high minting press pressure whereby every device detail is in high relief.

After years of inspecting Liberty Seated coinage for striking characteristic, let's just say that I can easily recognize an exceptional strike that is well above average for the issue. This skill grows after inspecting thousands upon thousands of coins.

Complete or Full Strike

Many coins will have "full strikes" whereby the coin is completely struck without any obvious weak points. For Liberty Seated halves, this means all obverse stars are forms with connected centrils and the scrolls edge are raised. Liberty's head is completely formed with hair curl details established. On the reverse, the lower claws and arrow feathers are completely defined.

The primary difference between a Full Strike and a Hammered Strike is the height of the device relief off of the fields and if the micro details from the die are fully transferred to the coin's surface.

Agree or Disagree?

Whether you agree or disagree with the above definitions is a personal matter. On a message board, this topic could be debated for days.

At GFRC, my goal is to create a personal standard or criteria for consistent evaluations of offered coins. With time, GFRC customers will learn the subtle differences towards better informed purchasing decisions.

 

Twins Lakes Collection Finale

It is with great pleasure (is relief the better term?) that I announce that the recent 80 piece Twins Lakes Collection is fully loaded to the price list. Following were the last five pieces that required another photography session to meet my display standards. All are posted to the price list.

Twins Lakes Collection - Last Offerings From Current Consignment

1856-O PCGS AU58 50C                                                               1875-S PCGS AU58 50C

    

   1867 PCGS AU58 1C                                 1912-D PCGS AU58 1C                              1877 PCGS AU58 50C

        

 

Global Financial News

Gold prices are on the move! Yes, with current stock market in a psychological frenzy, some individuals are returning to the boring safety of precious metals. Spot gold is now quoting at $1281/oz.

The balance of commodities and the long bond are flat as we end the week. Crude oil is holding at the mid $45/bbl level while Bitcoin dropped back to $3622. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is flat at 2.76%.

From Seeking Alpha, we open with the United States stock markets being highly volatile to close the year. Computerized trading, by its nature, is amplifying the wide swings and helping generate more emotional headlines for the financial news media.

It's a roller coaster ride on Wall Street heading into the penultimate trading day of the year. U.S. stocks roared back to end in positive territory on Thursday after suffering steep losses for much of the session, and the same sentiment took place overnight, with futures now pointing to strong gains. "The market is right now in a psychological frenzy," said David Katz, CIO at Matrix Asset Advisors. "There's fear of the market going down; there's fear of missing the rebound."

Japan's Nikkei average is also under pressure and will post a loss for 2018.

Japan's Nikkei fell on its final trading day of the year, leading to its first annual loss in seven years. The benchmark index booked a 12.1% decline in 2018, breaking the longest winning streak since the late 1980s. Japan's 10-year bond yield also fell overnight below zero for the first time since September 2017, as a recent equity selloff fueled a rally in government debt around the world.

Foreign automakers are fleeing the China market as a result of higher China tariffs and a slowing economy.

Following similar moves by Ford and Hyundai, Nissan has become the latest automaker to cut output in China. Slowing economic growth and a crippling trade war with the U.S. have pummelled local vehicle sales over the last few months. Nissan reportedly plans to cut production in China - which is its second largest market - by a total of 30K units during the December-February period.

And finally, China will soon become the third major airline manufacturing power house in the not too distant future.

A third prototype of China's home-built C919 passenger jet completed its first test flight today, with the goal of obtaining certification from Chinese and European regulators by the end of 2020. China's first national passenger jet aims to challenge the dominance of Boeing's 737 and Airbus's A320, bringing the Asian nation a step closer to its goal of becoming a global civil aerospace player.

 

GFRC Sales Continue as 2019 Approaches

The period between Christmas and New Year is typically quiet for coin sales. I'm pleased to report that sales continue to arrive with the 2018 total reaching 2040 pieces and still a few more days to go. GFRC enjoyed its first NGC holdered gold sale yesterday after the Collectors Corner upgrade to include NGC coins.

Following are United States gold coins in inventory with Choice or Gem Original quality ratings to consider.

Premium GFRC United States Gold

1856-S NGC AU58+ CAC G$1                                                   1889 PCGS MS64+ CAC G$1

    

1852 NGC MS62 CAC G$2.5                                                    1904 PCGS MS64 CAC G$2.5

    

1894 PCGS MS64 CAC G$10                                                   1897 PCGS MS64 CAC G$10

    

1851-O PCGS VF35 CAC G$20 OGH                                                  1911-D PCGS MS65+ CAC G$20

    

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog. I will be in the office the entire day working on debugging the automated Consignor Gallery module and pricing the Cumberland County Trade dollars. Oh, I also need to photograph those Trade dollars also. There is never a dull moment at GFRC.

Wishing everyone a great day!

 

 

 

December 27, 2018

How to Read GFRC's Product Descriptions

Greetings and welcome to the ongoing Daily Blog. Your patronage is sincerely appreciated.

Wednesday was a busy day in the GFRC office. However, the work did not result in any Blog content. Hours were spent loading the Cumberland Country and West Texas Collection consignments into the COIN system. Each coin is individually loaded including initial GFRC quality ratings and die variety attributions. Determining Overton varieties for Capped Bust halves can be a lengthy process but with practice, I'm becoming much more proficient with the Parsons and Peterson reference books.

 

GFRC Consignment Overview

Following is an update on major consignments under preparation. Frankly, the GFRC office has become a factory floor with large consignments moving through grading and CAC review steps in parallel with being loaded into the COIN system along with being photographed. It should be obvious to the GFRC community that the business has graduated from handling small duplicates divestments to processing and marketing large collections. This end goal was my dream when writing the following caption on the GFRC For Sale page during 2015, "Consignments Wanted: Collector Friendly, Aggressive Rates and the Alternative to Major Auction Houses"

West Texas Collection Capped Bust Halves Heading to CAC

While working through the West Texas Capped Bust halves, the perfect originality and choice surfaces warranted a CAC submission. Even though most are in VF through AU grades, the quality should be rewarded with CAC stickers. A quick check of Collectors Corner will reveal the insufficient number of CAC approval coins to satisfy collector demand. GFRC is committed to making as many CAC approved early types coins as possible. So today brings another CAC shipment to be prepared.

Cumberland County Collection Status - Focusing on Trade Dollars

The Cumberland Country Collection is fully loaded into COIN system and initial quality rating were shared with the consignors. Today brings photography and pricing. Emphasis will be the Trade dollars with preparations completed for the FUN show.

Sunset Point Collection of Liberty Seated Halves Returning From CAC

The balance of the PCGS and NGC graded Sunset Point Seated quarters return from CAC today and will be photographed on Friday. There are a few raw quarters and several ANACS old white holder pieces to be submitted for grading or crossover at FUN. GFRC will have a substantial crossover submission including several Liberty Seated dimes from my own reference collection.

Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection of Liberty Seated Halves Going into PCGS Grading

Another substantial behind the scenes project is going through two Dansco books full of Liberty Seated halves and determining which will be suitable for PCGS grading submission. Since collecting Liberty Seated halves by Wiley-Bugert die varities was Dr. Peterson's goal, there is a wide variation in surface quality. Die variety collectors well understand this point. One has to purchase scarce die varieties when they can be located, and sometimes the selections will have issues. There is no need to submit coins that will be Details graded. Therefore, this exercise will be another test of my grading and surface evaluation skills.

Another Wave of PCGS AU58 Coins from Twins Lakes Collection

Just when I thought the Twins Lakes Collection was wrapped up, the consignor sends an email with Excel attachment. How about handling another 80 pieces for me? Lordy, lordy! How can I refuse? This consignment will contain everything from half cents, large cents through more United States gold. This new consignment ships today.

 

Tutorial for Reading GFRC Product Descriptions

By now, GFRC customers should have become familiar with the approach taken for writing individual coin descriptions. The descriptions consist of a Short Description in bold followed by a Long Description. Actually, this is how the COIN database is structured with separate columns for each. The Short Description is a quick summary and captures about 80% of what a customer needs to know about a coin. The Long Description brings a host of other details that auction houses and other dealers will not take the time to share. Following is a guide for how GFRC's descriptions are structured.

Short Description Content

- Die Variety Attribution

- GFRC Quality Rating - Gem, Near Gem, Choice, Near Choice, Original, Market Acceptable, Cleaned

- Luster Evaluation - Frosty, Satiny, Steely, Reflective, Iridescent and whether Cartwheel effects are present under a light source

- Toning and Coloring Summary - Crusty designation, if warranted, coupled with primary toning colors and patterns

- Strike Summary - From best to worst....Hammered Strike, Complete or Full Strike, Well Struck, Typical Strike

- Consignment Owner

Long Description Content

The length of most GFRC long descriptions are not related to the value of the product being listed. If a $150 coin has an interesting story, I feel compelled to discuss it! However, there are some standard qualifiers that are typically inserted into a long description.

- JUST BUY IT NOW recommendation if I really like the coin

- Mintage if low and contributes to the coin's story

- How the coin performs under a light source including type of luster and cartwheels

- Coloring on obverse and reverse

- Disclosure of blemishes or marks

- Die variety attributes or diagnostics if warranted

- TPG holder generation

- Reminder of which named collection this coin is from

 

Global Financial News

The United States stock market and gold were Wednesday winners! Let's check in on regular commodity prices and Seeking Alpha headlines.

Spot gold starts the day with another increase and is quoting at $1275/oz. Crude oil has moved off of recent lows with an improved quote of $45.67/bbl. Then there is Bitcoin which has fallen back to $3735. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has improved to 2.77% suggesting a flight from bonds back to higher risk equities on Wednesday.

The United States stock market experience a sharp relief rally after days of equity price corrections. Many traders were waiting for the chance to buy the dip. But we must all keep current equity market moves in proper perspective. A 1000 point increase on a 22,000 Dow is only 4.5%. Media headlines love to point out this is the largest one day increase on a numerical basis but not percentage basis. Ditto for a falling Dow. A drop from 24,500 to 22,000 is only a 10% contraction and not a crash.

Wednesday marked the biggest post-Christmas rally for U.S. stocks ever amid strong retail sales indications, surging oil prices and positive headlines from the White House. The DJIA jumped 1,086.25 points, or 4.98%, posting its largest single-day point gain in its history, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their best days since March 2009. Santa's trip to Wall Street is not coming easy, however, with futures pointing to a significant decline for the three major U.S. stock indexes ahead of the open.

More favorable news is appearing concerning U.S. and China trade war. Progress in being made and yes, there are adults in the White House. Bringing concessions of this magnitude from China is a substantial political and economic accomplishment.

A U.S. trade team will travel to Beijing the week of Jan. 7 to hold talks with Chinese officials, according to Bloomberg. Since President Trump and Xi Jinping came to a temporary truce almost a month ago, China has slashed import tariffs and drafted a law to prevent forced technology transfers. Trade tensions have weighed on the world's second-largest economy, with the latest data showing industrial profits suffering their first drop in three years.

This would be a smart move by President Trump. Every high technology company in China has ties to the People's Liberation Army through Beijing Central Government. To believe otherwise is foolish. I know this first hand from my days working at CSMC Technologies in Wuxi.

Two of China's biggest network equipment manufacturers may soon be barred from the U.S. market. President Trump is considering an executive order that would ban American companies from using gear made by China's Huawei and ZTE, sources told Reuters. The U.S. alleges the companies work at the behest of the Chinese government and their equipment could be used to spy on Americans.

The ECB is justifying an end to its QE program but will not enter a Quantitative Tightening (QT) phase like the Federal Reserve or normalizing its balance sheet.

"Looking ahead, global economic activity is expected to decelerate in 2019 and remain steady thereafter," according to the European Central Bank. "Global inflationary pressures are expected to rise slowly as spare capacity diminishes." The bulletin highlights the ECB's recent decision to end its €2.6T bond buying program, but continue reinvesting the money it receives from maturing paper for a long time following its first rate hike.

 

Wrappng Up The Blog

This has been a long edition with no coin images....Sorry! I'll try to do better for tomorrow's edition.

Thanks for checking in. I will be in the office all day working on GFRC consignment backlog. Your consideration of a purchase would be most appreciated.

See you on Friday with yet more ramblings....

 

 

 

December 26, 2018

GFRC NGC Inventory on Collectors Corner

Greetings on a post Christmas morning and welcome to the Daily Blog.

Natsumi had many gifts on Christmas morning after Santa Claus magically appeared during the overnight hours. A Christmas in Florida however, just does not bring the same emotional experience as being back home in Maine. Without snow, cold temperatures and a warm wood stove, the day soon evolved into an important work session with Matt while Natsumi went to the association pool to play.

Matt Yamatin Develops Collectors Corner Upload Application and More

As the headline indicates, Matt has done it again and delivered a new application for fast loading of GFRC inventory onto the Collectors Corner market platform.

You are invited to visit Collectors Corner and the GFRC dealer link to view 1071 offerings that consist of PCGS and NGC graded coins. Shortly, ANACS and raw coins will also be added with the total climbing to well over 1400 products.

Matt's coding brilliance brought an application on the Hostway server that translates the entire GFRC inventory into a Collectors Corner input file. One copy and paste from a Hostway table into Collectors Corner excel template is required followed by an upload. GFRC will be updating Collectors Corner frequently with new offerings similar to our own price lists.

A sincere thank you goes out to Matt for what I thought was his last Christmas present. But there was more towards increasing my office productivity. After the Collectors Corner's module was completed, Matt facilitated a migration from Windows Edge to Google Chrome as primary browser. We installed LastPass for saving all internet site passwords and bookmarked all key GFRC links into a separate folder. Gone is the need to track and lookup passwords for infrequently visited websites. Alexa.com is running real time to monitor GFRC website global and United States rankings. Google Analytics summary reports are also available with just one click. Amazing! Watch for more efforts to maximize the usefulness of the GFRC website towards community building.

 

Twins Lakes Collection Consignment is Loaded - What's Next?

The Twins Lakes consignment is essentially loaded with just a few stragglers that required another photography session.

Now attention shifts to the West Texas Collection consignment of Draped and Capped Bust half dollars plus many raw Liberty Seated quarters. I'm also loading the Cumberland Country Collection Trade dollars and Liberty Seated halves into COIN system followed by photography.

In between the above collections will be more Liberty Seated half dime die varieties from the Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection. Photography is already completed on all 1838 through 1840-O pieces. The 1839-O and 1840-O dates are most complex from a die variety perspective and will be an opportunuty for specialists to purchase accurately attributed Valentine examples.

 

Sunset Point Collection - High Grade Liberty Seated Quarters

Tomorrow brings the arrival of the balance of the Liberty Seated quarters in the Sunset Point Collection back from CAC and more photography. CAC rates were not as high on key dates as compared to the more available dates, but this is to be expected. I'm pleased to report that the 1872-CC and 1873-CC quarters did receive CAC approval!

I'm still wrestling with the marketing and rollout strategy for this collection. You can be assured that the collection will not be sold at FUN show as there is not enough time for preparations.

 

Global Financial News

Commodity prices and long bond interest rates remain fluid as 2018 comes to a close. Global equity markets are demonstrating volatility with the financial media creating a near sense of panic. From my perspective, after living through several major market crashes, the current market is simply going through a much needed correction. But listening to the financial media would convince you that the sky is falling. Welcome to the new technology era with clickbait headlines designed to grab our viewing attention via elevated emotions.

Spot gold is the winner in terms of asset reallocation and has moved up to $1277/oz. I would not be surprised to see gold at $1300 by the FUN show. Crude oil prices continue to fall and now quoting at $43.23/bbl. Bitcoin is once again below $4000 and quoting at $3742. Finally, the 10 year U.S. Treasury bond yield has dropped to 2.73%. It appears that a bond market rally is in progress as money moves out of equities to safer investment vehicles.

Today's lead Seeking Alpha headline comments on recent gold pricing increases.

Gold climbed to a six-month high of 1,277 per ounce overnight as bear fears prompted investors to seek refuge in the metal. "We always see good demand for gold in the year-end," added Yuichi Ikemizu of ICBC Standard Bank. "I would not be surprised if we see gold surpass $1,300 in the near future." The U.S. dollar is edging higher against major currencies, while the 10-year Treasury yield hit its lowest level since April 2018.

Important statements came overnight from Beijing concerning the Chinese economy. The Yuan will be held at key 7:1 ratio with the U.S dollar. Secondly, Beijing must be careful with stimulus as monies will move into an already overheated property market. We must remember that the average Chinese citizen uses real estate as their primary investment vehicle.

China will not resort to "flood-like" stimulus in monetary policy next year, otherwise, "funds will likely flow into the property sector again," according to PBOC adviser Sheng Songcheng. There remains room for further cuts in banks' reserve requirement ratios, he added, but doesn't recommend broad-based reductions in interest rates. Regarding foreign exchange, Sheng said China should defend the yuan at the key seven-per-dollar level.

Japan's Nikkei is also seeing a correction. Prime Minister Abe is attempting to reassure investors as Japan's economy is once again slowing.

Following yesterday's 5% plunge, Japan's Nikkei closed about 1% higher overnight as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reassured investors that fundamentals remain strong and pledged to strengthen the economy through steps to boost productivity. BOJ policymakers also disagreed on the feasibility of allowing bond yields to move more flexibly around the central bank’s zero percent target, according to minutes of their October rate review.

Finally, has Amazon grown too powerful in the global marketplace?

"Amazon customers made this holiday season record-breaking with more items ordered worldwide than ever before," according to a company press release. Consumers purchased millions more Amazon Devices, and tens of millions of people worldwide started Prime free trials or began paid memberships. More than 50% of items sold in Amazon's stores this holiday season also came from small and medium-sized businesses.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog and Featured Coins

There are six days remaining in 2018 and GFRC would love to sell a few more coins to go out of the year on a strong note. At the moment, the 2018 total stands at 2030 coins sold.

Much new inventory has been added in the past several weeks and there is more to come. Following are some of my recommended listings to consider this morning. I will be in the GFRC office all day with a busy shipping and image processing schedule. Please don't hesitate to email or call with potential orders.

Gerry's Recommended New Listings

     1858 PCGS AU58 CAC 5C                                                        1876-CC F-103 NGC MS64 10C

    

1836 B-2 PCGS EF40 CAC 25C                                                      1836 O-102 PCGS AU58 50C

    

        1842-O WB-8 PCGS MS62 50C                                                   1851-O NGC AU58+ CAC G$10     

    

 

Thank-you for stopping by on a Wednesday morning!

 

 

 

December 25, 2018

A Numismatic Giant Passes - John W. McCloskey

1938 - 2018

Merry Christmas everyone and welcome to the Daily Blog!

What should be a most happy and relaxing day opens with sad news. As usual, I awoke early and immediately checked overnight emails. Len Augsburger forwarded a sad email via Wayne Homren (E-Sylum). The email announced the passing of one of the numismatic giants of our generation; past Liberty Seated Collectors Club president, John McCloskey.

For Blog readers who may be of a younger age or not an LSCC member, following is a brief summary of John McCloskey's life from the Newman Numismatic Portal.

John William McCloskey

Born in Dayton, Ohio. Married Norma Jean Monnin August 6, 1960. They have two sons and two daughters. Received B.S. from the University of Dayton in 1960 and Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1965. Professor of mathematics at the University of Dayton (OH) since 1965 and department chairman 1976 to 1988.

McCloskey began collecting at age eleven. He collects early half dimes, dimes and quarters by die variety. He was a founding member of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club in 1974. He has served as president of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club and editor of The Gobrecht Journal since August 1975. He raised the money to publish The Gobrecht Journal - Collective Volume Number One in 1980. He also published collective volume two in 1985 and volume three in 1990.

Vice president of the John Reich Collectors Society since 1985. Co-author with Davis et. al. of Early United States Dimes 1796-1837.

This summary is an incomplete representation of this numismatic giant. To share more about John, Jack as his wife Norma would call him, I went to the Newman Numismatic Portal towards locating suitable content to share. The following is a tribute written by Len Augsburger in the July 2014 issue of the Gobrecht Journal as the time of John's retirement as LSCC president.

Again for younger GFRC community members, you will note the smaller sized Gobrecht Journal format that John prepared from 1975 through 2014; an amazing 39 years. The first Gobrecht Journal issue was published in November 1974. Kam Ahwash was the first LSCC president during the 1974 timeframe but soon turned the presidency over to John McCloskey due to a growing coin business dealing in Liberty Seated coinage

    

 

Indeed John was the "numismatic rock" upon which the Liberty Seated Collectors Club was built. Preparing the Gobrecht Journal during the days before computerized publishing was a monumental challenge. Correspondence with club members was hand typed by John and mailed. Potential Gobrecht Journal articles arrived in all shapes and forms and required translation and preparations into the small sized format. Image quality was a constant challenge for John as images were physical objects and not digitized. Somehow John managed to prepare three Gobrecht Journal issues per year. When article submissions were lacking, John would continue his research and write articles to fill the white spaces toward issuing complete editions.

But that was not all that John did for the Liberty Seated Collectors Club. He managed the membership lists and generated LSCC membership cards. He wrote and printed the annual Kam Ahwash Literary Award ballots that accompanied the final Gobrecht Journal issue of each year. He worked with a printing company to prepare each Gobrecht Journal edition and performed quality control to ensure every mailed Gobrecht Journal did not have internal folded pages or creases. If one steps back and considers the enormous workload and commitment, indeed John W. McCloskey was the Liberty Seated Collectors Club and without his passion, the club would not have survived during the ebbs and flows of club membership totals.

I was my honor to assume the LSCC presidency during 2014 after knowing this numismatic giant among us, John McCloskey, since 1990.

For more information concerning funeral home location and funeral mass, please click the following link.

John W. McCloskey Passing Announcement - Dayton Daily News

 

John McCloskey Tribute From Scott Grieb, LSCC Secretary/Treasurer 1992 - 2004

Hello Gerry,

It certainly is sad news to hear John McCloskey passed away. I agree, he was a true numismatic giant. As LSCC club secretary/treasurer from 1994 to 2002 I became aware of so much more he did that never made the press. LSCC members have always been an enthusiastic lot but it was John who really kept the machinery running. During his tenure, issues of the Gobrecht Journal were never issued late, much less missed. As Len Augsberger wrote, he sent out the dues notices and signed and sent out the membership cards. Being a professor of mathematics (statistics) likely helped as he had a method, clear instructions, and
a schedule for everything. He had it down! I know he did this at times he was in the hospital or had just gotten out. Plus, he always had time to talk on the telephone, whether it was related to club stuff or not. I should add that his wife, Norma, was always great and supported his efforts; I wish her Gods peace in all this.

John assiduously collected more than just seated coinage and added to numismatic knowledge among specialists on other fronts. Lastly, he was humble at base. While other shirt and tie numismatists were busy awarding each other awards, John simply did what he considered as his job.

He was a numismatic giant among numismatic giants.

Best Regards,

Scott Grieb
LSCC Secretary Treasurer 1994 - 2002

 

Others are welcomed to send their tributes or memories to the Daily Blog

 

 

 

December 24, 2018

Escape Room Experience - A Wonderful Christmas Present

Greetings as Christmas Eve 2018 arrives. Thank you for sharing your holiday time and visiting the Blog.

My apology for the late publishing time as worked in the GFRC office until midnight after enjoying a wonderful Christmas present from the Yamatins. The family spent early evening time at a Sarasota escape room venue. For those not familiar with escape rooms, here is the Wikipedia definition.

An escape room, also known as an "escape game", is a physical adventure game in which players solve a series of puzzles and riddles using clues, hints, and strategy to complete the objectives at hand. Players are given a set time limit to unveil the secret plot which is hidden within the rooms. Escape rooms are inspired by " escape-the-room "–style video games.

Our escape room experience was an intense hour of puzzle and riddle solving, opening locks and moving from one room to another. Since Natsumi was with us, the Madhatter adventure was selected with one hour to free ourselves. Five people are placed in a small room and the doors are locked. Clues must be gathered, deciphered, and then tested to open locked boxes and doors. Some adventures are linear while others are random accordingly to Matt. Linear means that clues from earlier rooms are necessary to solve riddles in a late room as was the case with Madhatter.

Frankly, it was an unforgettable Christmas present and fun memory. Thank goodness Matt and Chikae were there with usual intensity. We finished the puzzle with 2 minutes to spare and relived the fun experience during the drive back home.

Then it was back in the GFRC office to load more coins in the COIN system and work on image processing.

 

GFRC's Newest Office Member

Natsumi has been asking Grandpa to help out in the GFRC office. To date, she learned how to use a scanner and help load TPG barcodes into the COIN system. But this morning, Natsumi was given her first experience with physical coins and learning size, color and designs. There was also a brief tutorial on George Washington and Thomas Jefferson....

 

The Constant Flow of New Consignments

Christmas Eve is another work day until later afternoon. Following are new offerings reaching the price list by end of day.

The Twins Lakes Collection is essentially completed with a few stragglers that need re-imaging. Please pay attention to the 1853 A&R and 1874 Seated halves both graded PCGS AU58 and ideal type coins.

Then that rascal, Gerry, managed to sneak in another four dimes from his two double row slabbed boxes. Two are web-book plate coins for your consideration. The 1875-S BW F-104 Micro S is an R5 die pairing.

Twins Lakes Collection - Liberty Seated Halves, All PCGS AU58

1853 A&R PCGS AU58 50C

1855-O Arrows PCGS AU58 50C                                                1874 Arrows PCGS AU58 50C

    

 

Gerry Fortin Reference Collection - Important Seated Dime Varieties and Plate Coins

That Rascal is back with a few more....

1875-S Micro S F-104 NGC MS61 10C                                               1875-S F-110 NGC MS64 10C     

    

1887-S F-103 NGC MS63 CAC 10C                                                   1888 F-102 NGC MS62 10C      

    

 

Outback Collection Price Reductions

I'm pleased to report that three Outback Collection Capped Bust quarters sold on Sunday. Further dialogue with the consignor took place with GFRC potentially purchasing a portion of this individual's numismatic holdings outside of his core PCGS box of 20 holdings. More on this topic prior to the FUN show.

 

Global Financial News

With most United States traders on Christmas holiday, the equity markets will be quiet today. Commodities and interest rates are also taking a break and relatively stable.

The day opens with spot gold quoting at $1265/oz. Crude oil has fallen to $45.44/bbl amid concerns on slowing down OPEC production. Bitcoin continues its recovery and now quotes at $4125. Finally, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond is yields 2.78%.

Let's open Seeking Alpha headlines with commentary on OPEC's struggle to place a floor under oil prices.

OPEC hasn't even started implementing its new six-month agreement to trim output by 1.2M barrels per day, but the group is already prepared to lengthen or deepen the cuts. "If we are required to extend for another six months, we will, if it requires more, we always discuss and come up with the right balance," OPEC President Suhail Al Mazrouei declared. Oil plunged over 11% last week to $45/bbl, capping its biggest weekly decline since 2016.

Trump's pressure on China may bring about substantial changes in foreign investment rules.

Looking to address a complaint at the heart of the Sino-U.S. trade dispute, China is also considering a new law on foreign investment that would emphasize the illegality of forced tech transfer. The measure could replace three existing rules regarding wholly foreign-owned enterprises, Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures and contractual joint ventures, which often go on to compete with foreign investors through their parent companies.

We don't often see headlines concerning India. India's economy continues to grow and its stock market is now the seventh largest in the world.

India's rise on the global stage has claimed another victory after its stock market overtook Germany to become the seventh largest in the world. That means, after the U.K. leaves the EU in March, the bloc would have only one country - France - among the seven biggest markets. While the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is heading for a 17% decline this year, India’s benchmark S&P BSE Sensex is up 5%.

 

Wishing The GFRC Community a Wonderful Christmas Eve!

Time to wrap up the Blog and move into the shipping and consignment check writing department.

Today will be a regular office day until about 4:00pm. Please feel free to call with inquiries or send orders via email. I will response quickly as every order is special.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day holiday. Yes, I will be back on Christmas Day with a brief edition of the Blog.

 

 

 

December 23, 2018

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From The GFRC Family

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a peaceful Sunday morning. The Venice home is quiet as everyone is asleep while I prepare another Blog edition. The hot coffee is stimulating and the fingers are ready to type out more numismatic ramblings.

During the past several years, I've made a tradition of writing personalized Christmas cards to many GFRC clients. Unfortunately, that tradition was not possible during 2018. Time simply ran away as being too over committed to the hobby this year. December became a flash after arriving to Florida home. Remodeling the office, the Whitman Red Book pricing effort, the early arrival of the Yamatins, and focusing on LSCC SeatedFest II preparations along with day to day GFRC stuff just gobbled up time. Yesterday, Diane looked at the boxes of unwritten holiday cards and advised that they were best saved for next year.

Instead, I spent last evening preparing the above holiday greeting and hope it is a suitable replacement to traditional holiday cards. My apology for the absence of personalized messages. But every day at the Blog is a form of personal messaging as I attempt to speak with those who frequent this online venue.

Wishing every friend in the GFRC community a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season!

 

Seth Godin: “Nobody dabbles at dentistry”

Let's open with a piece from Seth Godin that pretty much summarizes what takes place at the GFRC home when the Yamatin family is here. Three of the five individuals are typically focused on their laptop screens and pursuing long term objectives. One can sense the passion by which work is accomplished. Just last evening, I finally wrapped up the day at 11:30 pm and there were Matt and Chikae focused on their laptops and definitely not watching movies. Nope, they were thinking and assembling pieces towards a dream as if involved in a new start-up company. I still treat GFRC as a start-up as the sixth year of business arrives. Seth Godin's newest Blog post captures this point.

“Nobody dabbles at dentistry”

There are some jobs that are only done by accredited professionals.

And then there are most jobs, jobs that some people do for fun, now and then, perhaps in front of the bathroom mirror.

It’s difficult to find your footing when you’re a logo designer, a comedian or a project manager. Because these are gigs that many people think they can do, at least a little bit.

If you’re doing one of these non-dentist jobs, the best approach is to be extraordinarily good at it. So much better than an amateur that there’s really no room for discussion. You don’t have to justify yourself. Your work justifies you.

The alternative is to simply whine about the fact that everyone thinks that they can do what you do.

The thing is, it might be true.

 

Outback Collection Price Reductions

An email arrived from the Outback Collection consignor last evening. He is off enjoying life in Mexico after moving to Austin earlier this year. I met this individual when he lived in Sarasota and was a steady presence at Florida coin shows.

The Outback Collection Capped Bust quarters are exceptional offerings but fully priced. I've been instructed to discount the Outback pieces between now and the Orlando FUN show. Whatever is not sold will be returned to the consignor at the show. Please check the 30 day price list and you will find the entire lot relisted at lower prices. Following are several highlights for your final consideration.

Outback Collection - Price Reductions ON ALL CAC Capped Bust Quarters

A Few Highlights

   1818/5 B-1 PCGS F12 CAC 25C - $520                                      1820 B-3 PCGS VF20 CAC 25C - $665

    

   1825/4(2) B-2 PCGS VF30 CAC 25C - $1020                                 1828 25/50c B-3 PCGS F12 CAC 25C - $2435

    

 

Indiana Collection Consignor Issues 20% Pricing Reduction

Yes, you've read that correctly. The Indiana Collection consignor issued a 20% pricing reduction on his Liberty Seated dime die variety offerings. Now is the time to take advantage of the much lower prices. Following are two highlights to consider.

1875-CC F-107b Raw VF20 10C                                                   1887-S F-111a Raw EF40 10C

    

 

Twins Lakes Collection - PCGS AU58 Capped Bust Halves

The rollout of Twins Lakes Collection offerings continues with the arrival of PCGS AU58 Capped Bust halves and leaving only Liberty Seated half dollars for image processing today. It has been an enjoyable journey through this substantial divestment and word on the street is that another twenty pieces will be forthcoming before the FUN show.

But for today, following is a substantial lot of later date Capped Bust half dollars that are nearly uniformly matched and graded PCGS AU58. Look for these on the price list during the afternoon hours. If any immediately catch your attention, then a First Right of Refusal may be warranted.

Twins Lakes Collection - Capped Bust Halves, All PCGS AU58

        1829 O-111 PCGS AU58 50C                                                  1830 Large 0 O-123 PCGS AU58 50C

    

1830 Small 0 O-103 PCGS AU58 50C                                                1831 O-104 PCGS AU58 50C    

    

1833 O-103 PCGS AU58 50C                                                        1833 O-112 PCGS AU58 50C

    

1834 O-114 PCGS AU58 50C                                                        1836 O-102 PCGS AU58 50C

    

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another edition of the Blog comes to a end. It is time for breakfast and changing out batteries in our smoke detectors as they are chirping this morning.

Thank you for visiting and making the GFRC website a popular numismatic destination. See you on Christmas Eve!

 

 

 

December 22, 2018

Just Another Day In the GFRC Office

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a peaceful Saturday morning.

There is little creativity to start this Blog edition and I'm sitting here hoping for divine inspiration. After a full cup of coffee, no luck. So best to keep today's preamble short. A check of Seth Godin's Blog proved fruitless in terms of a message that excites me.

Renee and husband Mike are now in Long Island. The Yamatin's are entrenched in Venice home and all is well. Little Natsumi adds so much fun and the occasional drama expected from a four year old.

Natsumi - LSCC Member #2500

Feedback on the revised Daily Blog header has been positive and I'm sure the newer community members will enjoy browsing older articles.

GFRC sales continue to be red hot after breaking the 2000 coin threshold. As of this morning the total stands at 2020 with another eight days to go. I'm trying to load consignments as quickly as possible but without sacrificing quality that we've come to expect.

Regular USPS mail transfer times are slow as to be expected during the Christmas rush. Payment checks continue to arrive on a steady basis with a few more packages shipping today.

 

Numismatic Questions: What is on Your Mind?

A great source of Daily Blog topics is responding to questions that might be on your mind. Please send along those questions via email towards future Blog topics. Questions that are straightforward and do not required substantial research will be responded to during the next 30 days and help fill in Blog content.

 

Progress on Twins Lakes Collection Consignment

An 80 piece consignment is a joy to handle! Progress is being made with the Twins Lakes Collection as today's showcase is PCGS AU58 type gold and early quarters. Remaining are Capped Bust and Liberty Seated halves that will be processed today and featured in Sunday's Blog.

None of the following United States gold offerings are rare. Instead they are common date type but notable for their above average quality and being housed in old green and blue label PCGS holders. Most will be assigned Choice quality ratings. Look for these on the price list by early afternoon.

Twins Lakes Collection - Old PCGS Holders - AU58 U.S. Gold

1854 Type 1 PCGS AU58 G$1                   1854 Type 2 PCGS AU58 G$1                        1893 PCGS AU58 G$2.5

        

1907 PCGS AU58 G$2.5                              1880 PCGS AU58 G$5                                 1903 PCGS AU58 G$5

        

     1909-D PCGS AU58 G$5                              1915 PCGS AU58 G$5                            1908 NM PCGS AU58 G$10

        

 

Then there are the Twins Lakes Collection quarters are are particular nice! The 1875, 1876-CC and 1877-CC quarters are well matched and fully struck examples. The 1831 B-4 Capped Bust quarter offers eye catching steely cartwheel luster and a complete strike including nicely rounded stars. These AU58 offerings will not last long once reaching the price list.

Twins Lakes Collection - Early Quarters, All PCGS AU58

1831 B-4 PCGS AU58 25C

       1875 PCGS AU58 25C                            1876-CC PCGS AU58 25C                             1877-CC PCGS AU58 25C

        

 

What's Next on the Consignment Rollout?

West Texas Collection and more Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection offerings are staged for image processing starting Sunday. GFRC customers can expect a flood of quality Draped and Capped Bust halves from West Texas and a deep dive into Liberty Seated half dime die varieties from the Dr. Glenn Peterson Collection. Many of the Peterson half dimes will be raw.

In between the West Texas and Dr. Glenn Peterson Collections, the new Cumberland County consignment of Trade Dollars and Liberty Seated halves will be loaded into the COIN system.

The balance of the Liberty Seated Quarters, from the Sunset Point Collection, will return from CAC on Thursday. In conjunction with the great people at CAC, a decision was made to hold off return shipments until after the Christmas holiday rush.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

It is time for breakfast and calling an early end to today's ramblings. Indeed it is a holiday weekend with Christmas just a few days away.

Thank you for making the Daily Blog a regular part of a day's activities.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

December 21, 2018

Matt Yamatin's Christmas Present to the GFRC Community

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

Regular readers will notice a change at the Blog's header. Gone is the Blog Archives link. Instead you will find a much needed improvement that Matt Yamatin and I have been brainstorming during the past year. I'm proud to be sharing my 2018 Christmas present with the GFRC community this morning. Following is Matt's introduction to an important GFRC website innovation.

The Daily Blog has been a cornerstone of GRFC for over four years now. During this time, numerous posts have been made by Gerry and others via the Guest Blog. As many have already commented, a number of those posts contain valuable insights to new and veteran collectors alike. Unfortunately, those posts are quickly buried and then shelved into the archives. A quick Google Analytics check confirmed that the archives are rarely accessed. Therefore, instead of writing code I shifted gears and decided to provide a different type of holiday gift to Gerry and the GFRC community this year.

At the top of the Daily Blog you will find a collection of Daily Blog greatest hits extracted from the archives for your reading pleasure. This collection will continue to expand over the next few days as I work through the backlog. Happy Holidays!

Matt Yamatin - December 21, 2018

 

Trade Dollars - The Cumberland County Collection

I'm pleased to report, much to the relief of a new consignor, that the first Cumberland County Collection shipment arrived safely on Thursday afternoon. Contained in that shipment are roughly fifty (50) coins including a nearly complete set of Trade Dollars. In yesterday's Blog, the contents of that set were itemized and already First Rights of Refusals are arriving. Following is a quick Huawei cellphone image of the lot less the 1880 and 1883 proof strikes.

Simply click on the below image to access a high resolution photograph of the individual coins. My apology for the washed out 1876 and 1876-CC DDR pieces due to the cellphone's flash. This is a quick and dirty image to raise awareness. Of course, GFRC photography will take place in the upcoming days followed by a traditional client gallery that everyone has come to expect before price list postings.

When will I get to these? Probably between Christmas and New Year given the substantial consignment backlog being worked through prior to the Orlando FUN show.

Cumberland County Trade Dollars - Coming Soon!

 

Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollars Available

I worked late into Thursday evening to complete image processing and partial posting of the most recent Oregon Beaver Collection consignment. This individual is now a believer in quickly returning duplicates to the marketplace. The Oregon Beaver Collection of Liberty Seated half dollars is posted on the GFRC Open Registry and is currently ranked third with 99% completion, 55.3 average grade, and 32% CAC approval. This passionate collector is constantly upgrading, and as a result, has duplicates to share with other advanced collectors in the community.

Every piece in this new lot has been assigned a Choice quality rating with the 1846 Tall Date being a JUST BUY IT NOW recommendation due to its perfectly natural surfaces and being fully struck. One could not find a more original specimen at the AU53 grade level. No, this offering has not been to CAC for those who will ask. The 1851 WB-6 deserves special consideration for overall quality and rarity. The 1874-S is from the Seal Beach Collection and already has a FRoR.

Oregon Beaver Collection Consignment - Quality Liberty Seated Halves

The AU53 Club...well all most!

1839 Drapery WB-6 PCGS AU53 50C                                               1844-O WB-3 PCGS AU50 50C

    

1846 Tall Date WB-15 NGC AU53 50C                                               1848 WB-7 PCGS AU53 50C    

    

    1851 WB-6 PCGS AU53 50C                                                        1874-S WB-1 PCGS AU53 50C

    

 

Gerry Fortin Sneaks in a Few Reference Collection Dimes

Yes, sometimes I must take a turn to add a few pieces from my own reference collection to the GFRC offerings. Following are four great Liberty Seated dimes that are all plate coins within the Definitive Resourse for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors. The 1876-CC is a truly special example with mirrored fields and purchased back in 2003 from my mentor, Jim O'Donnell. The 1877 dime is blast frosty white. The 1889 is the F-110 Repunched 889 die variety that I've found to be most elusive during my collecting years.

The three offerings outside of the 1889 dime HAVE NOT been to CAC for review. I pulled two double row slabbed boxes of dime from the Maine bank vault before coming to Florida and decided yesterday to fit the following four pieces into the growing GFRC consignor backlog. All four will reach the price list today.

Gerry Fortin Reference Collection - Seated Dime Web Book Plate Coins

That Rascal Sneaks a Few In....

1876-CC Type 1 F-103 NGC MS64 10C                                          1877 Type 1 F-107 NGC MS64 10C

    

1877-CC Type 2 F-112 NGC MS65 10C                                             1889 F-110 NGC MS65 CAC 10C  

    

 

Global Financial News

Global markets are nervous after the resignation of General Mattis and the House of Representative vote on U.S. partial spending package that includes funding for President's Trump border wall. Market volatility is becoming the norm as we head into the Christmas and New Year holidays. Commodities and interest rates are not immume to the volatility.

Given these anxieties, spot gold continued to see gains overnight and now quotes at $1263/oz. Crude oil remains abundant with traders pushing the price down to $45.60/bbl. Bitcoin is in rally mode at $4010 while the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield stands at 2.79%

We open Seeking Alpha headlines with confirmation that China's economy is slowing.

China's top policy makers confirmed that more monetary and fiscal support is on the way, as the world’s second-biggest economy grapples with a slowdown that's yet to show signs of ending. "Significant" cuts to taxes and fees will be enacted in 2019 and while monetary policy will remain "prudent," officials will strike an "appropriate" balance between tightening and loosening, according to a statement published after the annual Economic Work Conference.

Crytocurrencies are seeing acceptance in the futures markets thought still not approved by the SEC for ETFs.

The first futures contract, launched by the Intercontinental Exchange, that will pay out in cryptocurrency rather than cash is expected to soon get regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, WSJ reports. Bitcoin futures currently allow investors to bet on the price of the cryptocurrency. Other bitcoin-futures contracts exist but they pay out in dollars. Bitcoin +7.2% to $4,010.

Did you know that China regulates and approves video games?

Chinese regulatory officials have cleared some new video games from Tencent in the world’s largest gaming market, propelling shares up by as much as 4.6% in Hong Kong. China stopped approving new titles from March amid a regulatory overhaul triggered by growing criticism of video games for being violent, leading to myopia and addiction among young users.

The business world is migrating to Asia with Hong Kong being the largest IPO market during 2018. The crown has been previously owned by the New York Stock Exchange.

A flurry of IPOs in Hong Kong propelled the financial center to first place in volumes globally in 2018. Companies raised a total of $36.3B, well ahead of New York Stock Exchange's $28.9B, and a 174% increase year-on-year. Dealmakers also celebrated their third-strongest M&A year on record, up 20% from a year ago to $3.91T, but 2019 is looking dimmer due to a stock market selloff and Sino-U.S. trade war.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another busy day is at hand at the Fortin home. Renee and husband Mike are returning to the Tampa airport later today for flights to New York City and Christmas with Mike's family. I will be in the office most of the day posting coins to the price list after packing and shipping a few orders this morning.

Please don't hesitate to email or call with new orders as great coins wil continue to arrive to the price list. Wish I could go faster...

A sincere thank-you goes out to Matt Yamatin for his long hours assembling today's Christmas present!!!

 

 

December 20, 2018

GFRC Attains 2000 Coins Sold With Huge Sales Day

Greetings on a rainy Florida morning and welcome to the Daily Blog.

Thursday brought an incredibly busy day with minimum sleep due to the prior evening's Tampa Airport trip to retrieve daughter Renee and husband Mike. Coordinating the LSCC's SeatedFest II event with Whitman's Lori Kraft took priority during morning hours. Decisions were necessary on educational session accommodations at Baltimore Convention Center Halls F & G. Then attention shifted to correspondence with those who had committed to exhibit marquee Liberty Seated sets and items as part of SeatedFest II. Have you even seen the lone 1870-S half dime? How about the current finest set of Liberty Seated dimes? Or the finest collection of Liberty Seated Dollar exonumia in existence? Maybe a display of exceptionally toned Liberty Seated quarters might strike your fancy and bring you to Baltimore? And that is just the beginning of exhibit commitments.....

Then GFRC sales orders appeared. Not just single piece orders but also multi piece orders. Orders poured in throughout the day with substantial time on the cellphone or emails towards closing larger sales deals. At 3:00 pm, there was a call for an afternoon snack with the entire family present around the dining room table. Renee announces that she is pregnant and the Fortin's will have a second grandchild this upcoming August. After hugs and happiness, it was back to the office for another large order. By 5:30 pm, it was time for a well deserved scotch break followed by early bedtime at 8:30 pm. After ten hours of much needed sleep, your blogger is back at the laptop for another exciting day in the GFRC office.

 

GFRC Attains 2000 Coins Sold With Huge Sales Day

Goal: 2000

Actual: 2007

I'm pleased to report that GFRC sold nineteen (19) coins on Wednesday across multiple orders to break through the 2018 sales goal. Liberty Seated coins were the dominant items throughout the day, coupled with United States gold. More collectors are migrating away from 20th century coins and beginning to explore 19th century silver coinage with its grand American history. Other individuals are returning to the hobby with Liberty Seated coins as their collecting objective. Liberty Seated quarters, in particular, are finally securing much needed attention due to value at current pricing levels. The Dr. Glenn Peterson half dimes also remain in demand.

My personal challenge now lies in loading replacement inventories prior to the Orlando FUN show. The is sufficient consignment backlog on hand and more commitments in the pipeline for inventory restocking. Securing time to accomplish image processing and price list descriptions is necessary during the next few weeks.

A sincere thank-you goes out to all the great GFRC community members who have made this humble business a huge success during 2018. Year on year sales and volume growth has exceeded 20%. Consignment backlog is very strong and should enable continued growth during the first quarter of 2019.

 

GFRC Announces Trade Dollar Set Consignment

The buyers of the Twins Lakes 25 piece Walking Liberty half dollar set (all PCGS MS64 CAC) have decided to divest their Trade Dollar set. This consignment shipped on Wednesday via USPS Express and should arrive to the GFRC office today. This set has taken years to carefully assemble and includes multiple pieces from noted LSCC member and Trade Dollar expert, Bill Cowburn. Unfortunately, Bill passed away at a young age but his article legacy in the Gobrecht Journal is well recognized.

Following are the contents of a special Trade Dollar set offering. The consignors have yet to pick a collection name but should be forthcoming soon.

Philadelphia Strikes: 1874 PCGS MS61; 1875 I/II PCGS MS62; 1876 II/II PCGS VF25; 1877 PCGS MS62 CAC; 1878 PROOF PCGS PF64; 1879 PROOF PCGS PR58; 1880 PROOF PCGS PR61; 1883 PROOF PCGS AU58

Carson City Strikes: 1873-CC PCGS EF45 (ex. Cowburn); 1874-CC PCGS AU50 CAC (ex. Cowburn); 1875-CC I/I PCGS EF45 (ex. Cowburn); 1876-CC DDR PCGS EF45; 1877-CC NGC AU50; 1878-CC PCGS XF45

San Francisco Strikes: 1873-S PCGS AU58; 1875- S/CC PCGS AU55 (ex. Cowburn); 1875-S I/I PCGS AU55; 1876-S PCGS AU50; 1877-S II/II NGC AU55; 1878-S PCGS AU55 CAC (ex. Cowburn)

 

Global Financial News

Well the Federal Reserve continued to hike short term interest rates on Wednesday along with a commitment to unwind its QE enriched balance sheet. Global markets were not pleased with the action and are selling off on the news.

Commodity prices and interest rates are also experiencing volatility as monies coming out of equities must find new homes. Bitcoin enjoyed a huge percentage gain and increased to $4052. Spot gold continues its forward momentum and is quoting at $1259/oz. On the other hand, crude oil has yet to find a bottom and dropped to $46.43/bbl. Finally, the yield on the 10 Year U.S. Treasury fell to 2.77% further increasing the potential for an inverted yield curve.

Seeking Alpha headlines of interest are limited today. Here are a few that captured my attention.

It appears that OPEC's ability to control global oil pricing is waning as Russia and the United States continue to pump.

Oil prices have resumed declines seen earlier in the week despite OPEC reportedly planning to release a table detailing voluntary supply cut quotas among its members and allies. The cartel's Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo further commended Saudi Arabia, saying the de facto leader of the group was going above and beyond the output cut of 1.2M barrels per day agreed to earlier this month.

Sweden is raising interest rates....

Policymakers in Sweden have taken a decisive step away from an historic stimulus program, hiking interest rates for the first time in seven years. The krona soared on the news, appreciating as much as 1% against the euro, with the quarter of a percentage point increase bringing the repo rate to minus 0.25%. The need for a "highly expansionary monetary policy has decreased slightly," according to the Riksbank, as inflation and inflation expectations are now looking "established."



Wrapping Up the Blog

Venice is experiencing heavy rains and thunderstorms to start the day. Let's hope those clear up by late morning as another post office run with USPS Express shipments is necessary.

Time for a morning shower and back to the packing and shipping department before more image processing. Look for the latest Oregon Beaver Collection consignment in tomorrow's Blog.

Thank you for visiting and wishing everyone a safe close to the week and fun pre Christmas weekend.

December 19, 2018

West Texas Collection Consignment Preview

Greetings and welcome to the Blog as the Christmas holiday approaches.

This edition is being composed on limited sleep so please have understanding if there are spelling or grammar issues. The New Hampshire Collection editor will be busy cleaning up these ramblings. There is much great news to share and the first cup of coffee is having a limited impact on my tired mind.

Daughter Renee and new husband Mike arrived at Tampa International Airport at 11:30 pm last evening, therefore bed time took place at nearly 1:30 am this morning. This fact coupled with very late evenings during the past few days will dictate a long afternoon nap. Yes, I'be been focused on processing coin images and gaining momentum on consignment backlog and late evenings are best for uninterrupted work.

 

Another Consignor Joins the GFRC Community

I'm pleased to report that the Twins Lakes 25 piece Walking Liberty set safely arrived to the buyers' home and has been accepted. Therefore those lovely offerings will be removed from the price list during the next website update.

The same individuals who purchased the Walker set have decided to take advantage of the GFRC consignment program and will be shipping a 55 piece consignment before Christmas. The consignment, from what I understand, will contain a circulated Trade Dollar set and a host of duplicate Liberty Seated halves including difficult Carson City dates.

 

Sunset Point Collection CAC Results

The first CAC review results for the Sunset Point Collection of Liberty Seated quarters arrived on Tuesday. I'm thrilled to report that the 1873-CC PCGS F-15 quarter was approved along with seventeen (17) other pieces out of a total of thirty-six (36) reviewed. Yes, that is an exciting 50% approval rate with more results due in the next 24 to 48 hours.

The Sunset Point Collection sale will indeed be huge!

 

SeatedFest II Educational Schedule Announced

The LSCC will be hosting a massive SeatedFest II event at the Spring Whitman Baltimore show on February 28 through March 2. SeatedFest II has two ambitions components; education seminar with content from the ANA Summer Seminars and marquee Liberty Seated coinage set displays. The amount of LSCC Leadership Team effort to pull off this event is substantial. But the goal is noble; enabling the next generation of Liberty Seated coinage collectors.

John Frost has developed the education curriculm and posted on the LSCC website and is already accepting registrations. Please click on this link for access to the SeatedFest II educational seminar registration page. Following is some of the page content and curriculm to whet your appetite.

LSCC SeatedFest II - Educational Programs Registration

There are 4 sessions to the SeatedFest II educational program, delivered over the course of the first two days of the Spring Whitman Baltimore Expo. Each session is 90 minutes, and the timing of the sessions will allow the attendees to have plenty of time for the bourse floor. Each session will include a 5-minute break approximately mid-way through the session. The format will be lecture and interactive discussions throughout. Examination of coins will not be done in the sessions themselves, but rather will be conducted at the SeatedFest II booth on the bourse floor (Booth #913).

Here are the individual sessions available for registration.

Session 1, Thursday February 28, 9:00-10:30 a.m.

Welcome, brief introduction to the LSCC, Liberty Seated research and education; introduction to Liberty Seated coinage, designers, subtypes, Liberty Seated artistry, collecting Liberty Seated coins, why are we passionate about Liberty Seated coinage?

Session 2, Thursday February 28, 3:00-4:30 p.m.

Liberty Seated economics, location of coins for examination at table. Series: Liberty Seated half dimes, Liberty Seated dimes, Liberty Seated quarters. Topics for each series: series overview, key dates and other important dates, major varieties, collecting difficulty, and budget.

Session 3, Friday March 1, 9:00 a.m - 10:45 a.m. (includes very brief LSCC meeting)

Series: Double dimes (twenty cent pieces), Trade dollars. Variety attribution, References for Liberty Seated coinage, both printed and online.

Session 4, Friday March 1, 3:00-4:30 p.m.

Series: Liberty Seated half dollars, Liberty Seated dollars. The AndrewJackson-Sevier Flying Eagle Dollar, building a network of Liberty Seated collectors and dealers via the LSCC.

 

Significant GFRC Daily Blog Update Forthcoming

With the Yamatins hanging out at the Fortin home, creativity is always high given the Type A personalities. Chikae is developing ground breaking curriculm for teaching mathematics to a broad age range at the International School at Beijing (ISB). Her focus is on motivating those students who struggle with math and have fallen behind their classmates. Matt is developing environmental sustainability programs for ISB and is now a staff member. His goal is to turn ISB into a sustainability methods incubator that will facilitate best practices, standards settings, and cooperative benchmarching throughout China and Europe international schools.

Matt is also working on a substantial update to the Daily Blog's Archives and I've seen his prototype. The GFRC community will be most pleased once this update is released. Trust me.....

 

West Texas Collection Consignment Preview

A nearly 100 piece consignment from the West Texas Collection was transferred at the NH Coin Expo and has patiently sat in the GFRC safe calling out for attention. The time has arrived to start photographing the coins and loading into the COIN database. Following are some highlights to whet your appetite. The consignment features the consignor's Draped and Capped Bust half dollar collection along with many Liberty Seated quarters and halves in nice circulated collector grades.

West Texas Collection - Consignment Highlights

1801 PCGS F12 50C

        1806 PCGS F12 50C                                                           1809 ANACS AU50 50C OWH

    

1812/1 O-102a ANACS EF45 50C OWH                                                 1855-S ANACS F15 50C OWH

    

 

Attaining GFRC's 2018 Sales Goal

Goal: 2000

Actual: 1988

Tuesday was a relatively slow sales day as we approach the Christmas holiday weekend. Folks will be traveling, attending holiday parties, or shopping with time being precious.

GFRC still needs to sell twelve coins to reach the 2018 goal of 2000 pieces. The Twins Lakes Seated half dimes and dimes are posted to the price list and sales have begun.

 

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are mixed as we start a Wednesday. All eyes are on the Federal Reserve and their decision for another interest rate hike in December. There is much to discuss in today's financial segment so let's get to it!

Bitcoin has seen a significant percentage rise based increase during the past 24 hours and is now quoting at $3816. Excess global crude oil production is weighing on traders with today's quote at $46.45/bbl. Spot gold is steady at $1252/oz and the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is also steady at 2.82%.

Let's face it, the Federal Reserve began its tighening program too late and may now push the U.S. economy into recession as it attempts to build an adequate interest rate buffer to deal with the next recession. With Europe and Japan still at zero and negative interest rates, I'm for holding off in December.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point today, but may cut the number of hikes it anticipates next year in the face of market volatility, a collapse in oil prices, and cooling trade activity. Complicating matters further, President Trump again warned the central bank that it must tread carefully in order not to "make yet another mistake." The rate hike would be the fourth this year and the ninth since the Fed began its current tightening cycle in December 2015.

The United States stock market performance has been fueled by share buy-backs. First it was near zero percent interest rates that funded the buy-backs and now the impact of tax cuts. Are the markets anticipating a cut in resources for additional buy-backs during 2019?

As stocks move to new lows, it's an all-time record year for U.S. corporate stock buybacks. About $800B of stock has already been bought back amid total announcements of $1.1T. The trend is likely to continue into 2019, assuming that companies continue to generate significant free cash flow and that executives believe reducing share count and boosting EPS is more valuable than reinvesting profits.

Japan's export sector is slowing due to weak growth in U.S. and China demand. This fact will be a weight on the overall Japanese economy.

Japan's export growth slowed to a crawl in November as shipments to the U.S. and China weakened sharply. The value of exports rose 0.1% from a year earlier, as a Sino-U.S. trade war weighed on the world's third-largest economy. There's some good news, however, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed plans to hold trade talks with Beijing in January.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

My mind is tired and time to end the Blog here. I'm probably going back to bed for a few hours as there is no shipping this morning.

Thanks for checking in.