The Daily Blog

 

January 13, 2025

FUN Sales Uploaded to Sales Archive/Consignment Accounts

Ramping the Shipping Department

Quick 1865 Seated Dime Business Strike Commentary

and

What's Going On with Gold?

 

 

Greetings again from the GFRC Venice office and welcome to the Daily Blog. We are sincerely pleased with the ongoing readership. Thanks for stopping by.

Operating as a coin dealer comes with substantial responsibilities, especially when being primarily a consignment driven operation. Integrity and trust are paramount as the coin business remains as one of the few unregulated "industries". The entry bar is quite low as anyone with a CDN price guide, the ability to read a TPG grading label, and the capital to create a website can call themselves a coin dealer. Missing from these attributes are the key components that separate the "expert" dealers vs. the wannabes, namely the expertise with historical numismatics and metallurgy. I tend to shy away from tooting my own horn, but recently, a number of clients have shared why they work closely with GFRC. Those factors are expertise, integrity, and accountability. At the FUN show, a number of collectors walked up to the table with coins in hand and ask for my honest opinion on what I taught of their items and how to dispose of them. Each conversation, whether a purchase or a quick consultation, was conducted in a serious manner consistent with the GFRC reputation.

OK, enough on this topic as I'm just rambling a bit...

 

FUN Sales Uploaded to Sales Archive/Consignment Accounts

When selling a ton of coins at an epic coin show, the follow-on admin tasks can be protracted. In the case of the just completed FUN show, Sunday was pretty much consumed with loading sales in the COIN database followed by uploading the results to the Hostway server and price lists. A refresh of our Collectors Corner listings was also accomplished with a notable reduction in posted inventory.

If you glance at our regular sales price list menu, the number of CAC approved coins in inventory is now down to 205 pieces along with the U.S. gold price list dropping below the 100 mark. Bottom line, GFRC sold many coins at the FUN show and will need time to replenish its inventory with fresh consignments.

At this point, all consignors can check their online accounts to determine which of their lots have found new homes. Some consignors will be saving their sales proceeds from bidding in the upcoming GFRC Online Auctions sessions while others wish to have a check mailed towards securing their proceeds. I will be sorting these preferences out during the next 72 hours and issuing consignment checks according to instructions.

 

Ramping the Shipping Department

Today's number one priority is restarting the shipping department and mailing out accumulated orders that saw check payment arrivals while we were attending the FUN show. It appears that I will be the primary shipping department employee as Diane has an Auburn Lakes Condo HOA board meeting this morning along with a bank run to deposit FUN show checks and cash.

Secondly, there are two consignments waiting for me at the Venice Island post office that need retrieval also.

Once all the accumulated shipping is placed into the USPS system, the final task is reorganizing our regular inventory and separating FUN new purchases and consignments towards photography on Tuesday, weather permitting.

 

Soliciting Quality Consignments

Just a quick reminder that GFRC is open for insourcing quality consignments. Currently under discussion is a complete Liberty Seated dime proof set from 1859 through 1891 that will move into the shipment discussion phase. I'm also anticipating another U.S. gold consignment or two based on the successful FUN sales outcome. The Atlanta ANA Money Show arrives in late February, which is only about six weeks away so please plan accordingly.

 

Quick 1865 Seated Dime Business Strike Commentary

While hosting auction lot viewing of my Liberty Seated dime collection, I noted that two dealers made catalog notations for the 1865 dime that required my verbal correction of their observations. This fact makes for a teaching moment for those who are not intimate with the Civil War era dimes. Due to their rarity, most collectors have not seen enough examples to learn the specific die anomalies.

For the 1865 F-101a obverse die, that are four die scratches to note, two of which can be confused with being hairline scratches. Please check the below image of the pending auction lot with those die scratches outlined. The two lines in the left obverse field can be mistaken as hairlines. The arcing die scratches on both sides of the date are self evident and unique in the entire Liberty Seated dime series.

1865 F-101a Business Strike - PCGS MS67 CAC OGH 10C

 

What's Going On with Gold?

At the FUN show, I also added two more $20 gold pieces to the personal physical gold box. Since not mentioning gold in awhile, the China PBOC has restarted the overt purchase of gold after a six month hiatus. The China Communist Party (CCP) holding of U.S. Treasuries stands at $749 billion as of the end of 2024 with limited sales during the second half of last year.

The following graph presents a global view of major countries and their U.S. Treasuries ownership trend. The red line is China while the yellow is the U.K. I've boxed the 2024 period for China and the U.K. which shows that China's slowdown in gold purchases coincides with their slowdown in U.S. Treasury sales. Will China renew its Treasury sale trend starting in 2025? This could be possible if the PBOC continues to add more gold to its foreign reserves at current pricing levels.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Well, I've rambled on for my allocated time before the 8:00 AM publishing deadline brings about another upload. Let's move forward with another day in the GFRC office after a quick shower.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 12, 2025

An Epic FUN Show!

Sunday: A Long Office Admin Day

and

All Eyes Focusing on January 19th Auction Launch

 

Greetings from the GFRC Venice office and welcome to another Daily Blog edition. Thank you for staying close to our ongoing adventures.

Today's headlines says it all. The 2025 Winter FUN show was an epic event, plain and simple. Saturday brought yet another day of rapid paced sales and auction lot viewing that were well beyond our expectations. Dan White said it best at 2:30 PM yesterday when he commented that it felt like Thursday, the first day of the show.

Our team returned to the booth on Saturday morning with the typical anticipation of when the closing down signal would be given. Blake Gibb arrived wearing his Hallet Racing School shirt to add yet another dimension for customer conversations. Once the booth setup was accomplished, auction lot viewing promptly initiated with dealers using the "quiet" Saturday morning time to inspect the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage offerings. Before long, the attending public found their way to the booth with the team scrambling between auction viewing duties and attending to customers. Was this a Saturday or was I dreaming? Sales kick started with a five figure deal along with a host of one and two piece sales while I was trying to spend some personal time with the dealers at the auction viewing cases. We lost track of time as the booth activity was fast paced. At 1:00 PM, Blake realizing that he needed to head to the airport to catch a flight. We said our good-byes with hugs and wished Blake safe travels.

After Blake's departure, one of the best dealer graders in the business arrived to the booth to conduct auction lot viewing. It was amazing to watch this consummate expert grading coins in the matter of 15-20 seconds while still being able to hold an engaging conversation. We managed to get through the Seated dimes before Diane brought more coins for price quotes. Once our "expert" moved to the Seated halves, I turned over the hosting role to Diane as I needed to spend time with buying customers. By 3:00 PM, we were starting to wonder when the booth might be closed as the crowd was being pushed further back into the bourse as the up front "big boys" were closing down. My last business deal of the day brought the arrival of the Fort Lauderdale Collection consignor with a quick tour of the auction lots along with offering us a fantastic 1865 PCGS PR64CAM CAC Liberty Seated dollar with the ideal black fields. This was a perfect cameo piece that I had to add to inventory as the final new purchase of the show. We quickly settled on a price with Diane counting out a large stack of $100 bills. After the purchase, it was time to close the booth though attendees were still walking the aisles. Our high performance team managed to tear down and pack up in a little over 30 minutes and we were out of the convention center by 4:35 PM.

Yes, it was an EPIC event.

The drive from Orlando to Osprey, our first stop, brought some light hearted joking about Gerry's forthcoming sports car purchase after the January 19 auction session is wrapped up. My purchase decision was announced to the team at the show with Blake providing his stamp of approval. Let's just say that owning a sports car at this level is something not fathomed until visiting Blake's Oklahoma City sports car collection and attending Hallet Racing School. The last decision was color selection and availability at dealerships throughout Florida. The team was encouraging me to go with a red color since my first three sports cars (Celica, TR-7, and Miata) have all been red. Dan and Rose Marie jokingly offered to drive the forthcoming purchase from Florida to Maine if I so desired. The conversation then shifted to a vanity license plate and ideas for naming the new car. As you can probably surmise, the GFRC team has become quite close as our friendships continue to grow.

Stay tuned at the Blog for the sports car purchase announcement during the first half of February.

 

Sunday: A Long Office Admin Day

An incredible coin show now translates into a long day in the GFRC office recording all the business activity into the COIN system followed by a GFRC website update so that consignors can log in and assess their sales levels. The admin process will be completed by dinner time along with merging show inventory with those coins that remained behind. Secondly, many new purchases and show consigned coins that found their way into the showcases must be pulled and sent aside for photography come Monday and Tuesday.

 

All Eyes Focusing on January 19th Auction Launch

The first GFRC Online Auctions session is now just one week away! After months of preparations, the main event is on our door step.

At this point, there is confidence that the sales of two all time finest collections will be greeted with strong demand based on the FUN show auction lot viewing. More will be discussed in the coming days.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's wrap up at this point as I need a shower towards finding the energy to get a pile of admin work done before 5:00 PM happy hour.

Again, the 2025 Winter FUN show was an EPIC GFRC event and indicates that the numismatic market is very healthy.

Thanks again for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 11, 2025

Best GFRC Coin Show on Record!!!

 

Greetings from the final morning at the 2025 Winter FUN show and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for returning after a period of golden silence....

Wow! The 2025 FUN show is one for the GFRC record books. On Friday alone, our great team sold over the six figures mark in a single day. When adding in Thursday's sales tally, the two show days resulted in the highest sales total for any show that GFRC has attended in its 11 year history. Of course, I could not be more pleased. I hope that the Blog readership can now understand why there was radio silence on the Blog channel.

Not only did GFRC enjoy an incredible two day sales event, the GFRC Online Auction lot viewing attendances was also very strong. Many known collectors appeared as expected. What was unexpected were the new faces that conducted their investigation of target lots. As of this morning, the remaining colorful auction catalog are in one of the showcases and are ready for today's potential visitors. Honestly, I don't wise to jinx myself, but their is growing confidence that the January 19th initial auction session will be well subscribed with certain lots seeing acute demand. I hope the community will be actively monitoring the first auction session as it should bring about a fair amount of excitement. Let's hope with fingers crossed....

Evening's have also been a lot of fun as the team spent Thursday at the English Pub followed by a loud and rambunctious dinner at a nearby Greek venue last evening. Wild table dancing was the order of the day but our team with a bit to old and wise to partake. Talk about team building.

Rich Hundertmark also reports enjoying a strong show in his small alcove table by our booth entrance. Rich moved a record number of raw and lower priced coins at the show. Everyone is quite happy this morning as you can imagine.

Four GFRC consignors will be very pleased as they dominated the consignment sales realm. Osprey and White Pine are the named collection along with the consignor of the Liberty Seated quarter collection and an addition GFRC U.S gold contributor. The Sooner and Oregon Beaver Collections also deserve an honorable mention.

Time moves along quickly with a host of tasks to complete before the bourse opens at 10:00 AM. It is best that we wrap up at this point. Sunday morning will bring a bit more commentary.

Thank you, as always, for checking in.

Be well!

 

January 10, 2025

Silence is Golden FUN!

and

Gerry Fortin Collection Crosses

 

Greetings from the FUN show bourse floor and welcome to a long overdue Daily Blog edition.

As the headline indicates, my silence is a function of a thoroughly busy time at the Winter FUN show. FUN attendance has been spectacular with endless waves of collectors descending on our double corner location. Both GFRC and GFRC-Lite have enjoyed excellent sales.

The key exhibit at the GFRC booth has been the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection and the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection that has seen considerable lot viewing. Honestly, between regular GFRC inventory and the GFRC Online Auctions' collection, we have the finest Liberty Seated coinage on the bourse, by far. This is feedback from Dan White and Blake Gibb as they have taken turns walking the bourse to benchmark other dealer showcases.

Incremental news includes the NGC to PCGS crossover of the Gerry Fortin 1851-O and 1885-s dimes from their long term NGC holders into fresh PCGS holders. The 1885-S cross is huge with respect to the PCGS population report. There are now three at the MS65 grade level with one finer at MS66. Both crossed coins will be submitted to CAC for a stickering attempt on Saturday.

Somehow, I've managed to load a fantastic 20 piece Sooner Collection Liberty Seated half dollar consignment into the bourse show cases. Unsold lots will be reaching the price list next week. The New Orleans Collection has also dropped off another important consignment that I might be able to get to in the next few hours.

There have been many new purchases also from a variety of sources Bottom line, the GFRC price lists will be seeing a host of new listing come next week.

Let's remember that the first GFRC auction session opens on January 19th!

My thanks go out to a great table crew including Diane, Blake, Dan, and Rose Marie along with Rich manning his GFRC-Lite booth section. Rich is reporting a strong show also for lower priced raw coins.

Thank you so much for checking.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 6, 2025

Last Office Day Before FUN Show

and

Expectations for Substantial Lot Viewing Activity at the GFRC Booth

 

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

Life is so predictable! After ringing in the new year, numismatic dealers and collectors promptly shift their focus to the Orlando FUN show. Such is the case here at the GFRC Venice office. Luckily, we are only a 2.5 hour road trip away from the Orange County Convention Center and surrounding hotels. This is important since I will be driving to/from Orlando on Tuesday and back to the FUN coin show venue on Wednesday morning.

There is little prepared content for today's Blog edition. Sunday brought FUN show preparations including the pulling of retail inventory to be on exhibit plus the four double row slabbed boxes that house the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections. The latter will be traveling to the FUN pre-show tomorrow.

Everyone who plans to retrieve purchased lots at the GFRC booth 638-640 can rest assured that your coins have been invoiced and are loaded in a special box that will also do double duty for insourcing consignments.

In terms of auction lot viewing preparations, Sunday brought the printing of auction lots and reserve prices as handouts for Tuesday's dealer pre-show. There will probably be some unused handouts available for those who conduct auction lot viewing early on Thursday. Yes, there will be an ample amount of colorful GFRC Online Auctions catalogs available to those who conduct auction lot viewing and plan to be active bidders. I'm sorry, but these auction catalogs are not planned to be souvenirs for those who have no intention of bidding and will be managed accordingly.

Speaking of auction lot viewing at the FUN show, this would also be a good time to discuss payment terms requirements with me. I will be granting special payment terms based on the anticipated bidding and spending amounts. One year payment terms are designed for those collectors that plan to make major purchases in the range of $75,000 or more. Six month payment terms can be possible for those spending less. However, in all cases, auction purchases will only be shipped to winning bidders once all payments are tendered. There will be no "ship aheads" granted for auction lots on extended payment terms. I'm certain that you can understand the basis for this policy.

The extended auction payment terms also provide and opportunity to consign duplicate coins to GFRC towards raising numismatic funds to offset the balances due on extended payments. Both GFRC and the consignors should be aligned to quickly sell those duplicates to close out auction purchases and securing their shipments.

 

Expectations for Substantial Lot Viewing Activity at the GFRC Booth

Based on a number of phone and email conversations with regular GFRC clients, I am expecting that the auction lot viewing of the GFRC booth will be quite busy during Thursday and Friday. Lot viewing will be limited to two individuals at a time. There will be a chair in front of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection and another in front of the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection. One of the GFRC staff members will be constantly positioned behind the four auction showcases. Potential bidders will only be allowed to view TWO LOTS outside either collection at one time for security reasons. No books, bags or other items will be allowed to be placed on the auction lot showcases by someone conducting lot viewing. GFRC is providing catalogs for note taking which can be placed on the showcases during lot inspection.

If collectors wish to have their GFRC Online Auctions catalog inscribed, I would be more than happy to oblige.

Finally, it is recognized that the FUN bourse floor is huge with many dealer booths to visit. Collectors only have a limited amount of time to canvass the entire floor along with spending time at the GFRC booth. We expect Thursday to be a particularly busy day for both retail sales along with auction lot viewing since some attendees only plan a single day's attendance. Spending extended time for auction lot viewing would be better on Friday, and of course on Saturday. Those with Early Bid badges are encouraged to visit the GFRC booth prior to the bourse being opened to the general public. Therefore, please plan accordingly.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a busy day as I must pack the show inventory and accessories for an early Wednesday morning departure given my to/from Orlando day tomorrow and an unknown time table. Today's office shipping will be the last until Monday January 13th.

At this point, let's bring today's Blog edition to a close. There will be no Daily Blog published on Tuesday and Wednesday for certain. Thursday is presently a question mark given the anticipated auction lot viewing demand and client consultations once the booth is opened. Best case for the next Blog edition is on Friday.

Thank you so much for staying close to our GFRC adventures and the lifestyle of a collector/dealer.

Be well!

 

 

January 5, 2025

Preparing for the FUN Show

and

Dreaming of Maine - Shopping for an Electric UTV

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Sunday morning. Thank you for returning for a visit.

The coming week is one of the highlights of the numismatic year as the Orlando FUN show arrives. For collectors, this is an opportunity to secure a week long holiday in Florida combining numismatics with warmer weather at a resort. As a dealer, the FUN show brings a long week of preparations followed by traveling to Orlando and then conducting business for multiple days. Once the show concludes, the following week bring an office recovery period. Stated in an alternate manner, the FUN show is a prime opportunity to kick-off a dealer's business on a high note if proper planning and execution takes place.

It terms of GFRC, I've already been busy with preparations. Saturday brought the invoicing of all lots that will be picked-up at the show. Monday brings the final day of shipping orders with those lots and packages staged and ready to go. What has not been mentioned in the Daily Blog is that GFRC will be attending the dealer pre-show on Tuesday. During 2025, the FUN organization is making an initial attempt at a pre-show specifically for dealers. The pre-show opens at 11:00 AM in one of the convention center meeting rooms and closes at 5:00 PM. Dealers can gain access to a table for $100.

Why is GFRC adding another day to the FUN show calendar? Simply stated, I will be showcasing the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections at the dealer pre-show and providing an opportunity for dealers to conduct auction lot viewing if they so chose. The dealer reality, during a large show like FUN, is that you are tied to your table due to the attendance volume and the opportunity to meet with a host of clients. Dealers do not have time to leave their tables during a busy show to view the GFRC Online Auctions lot. Therefore, I am heading to Orlando on Tuesday to bring those lots to the dealers in a much more laid back setting.

Since traveling to/from Orlando on Tuesday, this means that the GFRC booth accessories and regular retail inventory must be packed on Monday along with executing the final lot shipments before a week long show.. Come Tuesday morning, I will be strictly focused on the FUN show through late Saturday evening as we arrive back to Venice after dropping off Dan and Rose Marie in Osprey. Once back in the Venice office, there is the post show administrative workload to get done on Sunday before shipping restarts on Monday morning.

Bottom line, I will be quite busy during the next eight days and there could be some days without a Daily Blog edition being published. Tuesday and Wednesday are already a given with Thursday being a question mark.

 

Dreaming of Maine - Shopping for an Electric UTV

Yes, it is only January 5th and I'm already dreaming of being back in Maine and spending time developing the back acreage park.

One of the new equipment additions this year will be an electric Utility Vehicle (UTV). Why an electric UTV? Before responding to that question, let share why a UTV, whether gas or electric powered is being added to the barn during 2025. There are further expansion plans for the walking trails and the neglected pond this coming summer. Each time that Dave Wilkinson returns with his excavator, the rough work is completed followed by weeks or months of finalizing the terrain for its intended function. In years past, Johnny2 would be employed to move gravel and 1/2" crush stone from the delivery area to the trail segment or land bordering the small pond. Going back and forth on the trails with Johnny2 take a lot of time in low gear to deliver one front loader load of material. The time efficiency is very low and the wear and tear on the tractor is notable with more frequent maintenance, especially the wear on the front tires and stress on the front axle.

Adding a UTV to the Fortin equipment fleet brings a host of different usage opportunities. Material can be moved with the UTV rather than with Johnny2 . The dump bed on the UTV is an option or the larger Polar trailer can be pulled with the UTV in a more efficient manner. The same holds true for transporting smaller loads of field stone rock from the "quarry" surrouding the pond to yet another summer of 2025 planned stoned wall near the gazebo. Finally, a UTV would be a great for the family and grandchildren to enjoy as a vehicle for riding the back acreage trails.

When constructing the barn and adding the solar powered electical system, the solar installation was over engineered with a consistent amount of excess power being generated during the summer and autumn months. This was part of the planning process that could enable the usage of a quiet and low maintenance battery powered UTV. For the past several months, I've been researching potential brands and options with multiple factors being involved in the decision process. Of course, specifications are quite important including battery life and hauling capacity. But more important is the UTV reliability as this will be a serious work machine for incremental park developments.

So far, I've limited the search to three brands. They are the Kandi electric UTV that can be purchased via Lowe's and is made in China as a low cost option. The specs are limited and the reliability is already questionable based on watching a few YouTube review videos. Next on the list is the American made Landmaster AMP which appears to be a rugged machine at an interim price point. The issue with this unit is that the closest dealer is in New Hampshire with a primary emphasis on electric golf carts and not UTVs. The Fortins currently do not own a full size pickup and trailer for moving this type of equipment across longer distances. The final choice is the Polaris Ranger Kinetics, from the top of the line manufacturer of UTVs. The Polaris Kinetics is a powerful machines with 14KWH battery on the base model, a dump bed capacity of 1250 lbs along with being able to tow up to 2500 lbs. The design and construction is that of a high speed sport riding UTV for farm work, hunting, or just extended rough trail riding fun. The Polaris Kinetics is the most expensive of the three with a local Polaris dealer being within 12 miles of the Maine homestead, a key issue for delivery and any warranty repairs.

Here is a smaller image of the Polaris Ranger Kinetics. It can be charged with either 120V or 240V power supply. The current barn batteries are rated at 7.5 KWH along with about 1.6KWH of solar panel generation on a sunny day. Therefore, keeping this machine charged would be straight forward as I can't imagine usage that would drain the 14KWH battery unless spending the entire day moving gravel and crushed stone to the pond area.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is best that I get on with the day's workload and stop rambling at this point. Yes, today will be the final calm before an intense numismatic week.

Thank you so much for returning to these ongoing, and sometimes folksy ramblings.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 4, 2025

Taking a Daily Blog Vacation Day

 

Greetings on a Saturday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. As the headline indicates, I believe that a Blog vacation day is wise given my lack of focus and mental energy during the early morning hours. Stated in an alternate manner, I'm feeling a tad lazy and wish to be low key this morning.

Next week brings an intense week with the Orlando FUN show and the many preparations that will begin during the afternoon hours. Therefore, today will be a slower paced day with partial time in the office to keep up with orders and correspondence. .

Thank you for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

January 3, 2025

Get Ready for a Cold Winter FUN Show

Two Important Liberty Seated Quarters to Consider

and

Greg Bennick Interviews Gerry Fortin - A YouTube Video

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on the first Friday of 2025. Thank you so much for staying current with GFRC happenings.

The Winter FUN show is just around the corner and arrives on Thursday January 9. Of course, the GFRC team will be traveling to Orlando on Wednesday morning since dealer booth setup takes place on Wednesday afternoon. I've been watching the national weather map for next week as a polar vortex is moving down into the central United States and will be bringing very cold temperatures to the southern states including Florida. To make this point in a visual manner, following is the national map for Thursday January 9 overnight temperatures courtesy of the Weather Channel. If attending the FUN show, it would be wise to bring warm clothes. Note that there is only a 10 degree difference between Boston and Jacksonville that evening.

National Temperatures - January 9th Overnight

 

The Orlando FUN show will be a huge event with a massive bourse floor. GFRC will be located at booths 638-640 and a short walk from the entrance. Please consider visiting with Gerry, Diane, Dan, Rose Marie, Blake Gibb, and Rich Hundertmark during your bourse tour. GFRC will be offerings nearly all of its inventory along with GFRC Online Auctions lot viewing for the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections. These collection bring an opportunity to view some of the finest numismatic items on the bourse.

2025 FUN - GFRC at Booth 638-640

 

Two Important Liberty Seated Quarters to Consider

As announced in Thursday's Blog edition, our Liberty Seated quarter collection consignor has released the last of his better date San Francisco pieces. The 1860-S and 1866-S lots arrived on scheduled to the office and were promptly photographed. Following are the GFRC images that are very accurate as to the in-hand visual appearance of both lots. Readers are encourage to scroll down just a tad to compare to the PCGS TruView images that were shared yesterday.

Let's discuss the 1860-S lot first. This is the San Francisco key date of the Seated quarter series and warrants consideration for those who are attempting to complete a date and mint mark set.

This lot appeared on the market during July 2023 via Heritage Auctions where it realized $9,300 and sold to our consignor. Now this individual needs to sell his collection including this lot. The PCGS price guide is $7,750 which is where we will start the offer price. As for a CAC submission, I was on the fence after reviewing the coin. The surfaces are perfectly original and should be consistent with CAC standards, however, I'm uncertain is the device details are strong enough to sticker at the certified grade. Our client and I discussed the incremental cost of a CAC attempt, the probability of a CAC green bean, along with the client's cost basis. The conclusion was to offer the coin as is at the PCGS guide number. Bottom line, this lot has not been submitted to CAC since the client's purchase via Heritage. The CAC stickered census stands at 24 with the majority being graded F15 or lower. If this piece was housed in a PCGS VF20 holder, I believe that CAC approval would be a no-brainer. Maybe it could sticker at VF25. The offer price does provide room for an economical attempt.

1860-S Briggs 1-A PCGS VF25 50C - $7,750

 

The 1866-S date has a lower mintage than the 1860-S and is even more scarcer with CAC approval. 56,000 pieces dated 1860 were struck in San Francisco as compared to 28,000 for the 1866-S. The 1866-S CAC population is only 12 examples stickered! This lot brings notable eye appeal and strong device details. However, it is not a CAC candidate per my assessment. Our consignor's cost basis is also quite strong given the date's rarity.

1866-S Briggs 1-A PCGS VF30 50C - $2950

 

Both lots are immediately available and will post to the 30 Day Price List today.

 

Greg Bennick Interviews Gerry Fortin - A YouTube Video

Thursday also brought my approval for the documentation of a recent interview by Greg Bennick for the Newman Numismatic Portal. The following interview summary and YouTube video link will be posted in this weekend's forthcoming E-Sylum edition thanks to Wayne Homren's working relationship with Greg and Len Augsburger.

GREG BENNICK INTERVIEWS GERRY FORTIN

This interview with Gerry Fortin, conducted by Greg Bennick for the Newman Numismatic Portal, explores Fortin's journey as a coin collector and expert on Liberty Seated dimes die varieties. Fortin recounts his early fascination with coins during his youth, a hiatus during his teenage years, and a rediscovery of his passion in 1987, sparked by receiving a roll of Morgan dollars. This rekindled his interest, leading him to specialize in Liberty Seated dimes due to their historical significance and ties to the Civil War era. Leveraging his engineering background in semiconductor technology, Fortin developed meticulous research methods and became the leading authority on the series. He also highlights his transition from collector to researcher and dealer, underscoring his dedication to preserving and understanding the history and varieties of these coins.

Image: 1850-O 10c, NGC MS67 Star, from the upcoming auction sale of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated dime set

 

Blog readers can gain early access to the Greg Bennick interview by clicking on the below video screen capture.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The shipping department has the day off while I will be working in the GFRC office for most of the day. We look forward to your purchase orders or other reasons to call into the office.

Thank you, as always, for visiting the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 2, 2025

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold is Hot!

Two Important Liberty Seated Quarters Arrive Today

and

Being a Broken Record...

 

Greetings on the second day of 2025 and welcome to the Daily Blog. As always, thank you for making these ramblings an online destination.

Though I had planned to enjoy a laid back January 1 holiday, it was not to be with a strong business start to the new year. Honestly, there is not a whole lot to do within the Venice condo other than working in the office, watching videos, reading a book, or taking outdoor health walks. Within an hour or two of "relaxing", the attention shifted to processing the balance of the White Pine $5 Liberty gold images followed by posting the coins to the 30 Day Price List. Before long, the orders started to arrive via phone and emails. By day's end, four White pine lots were sold along with other price list offerings. The rare date 1859-S and 1861-S along with the 1855-O are heading to new homes. I still managed to secure a brief exercise session and health walk, with 5 lb weights, before happy hour arrived. For mental exercise, Diane and I are huge fans of Tile Rummy and will fill in the happy hour time with multiple game sessions per week. I'm currently on a winning streak after besting Diane yesterday by a one tile margin for the second time in three days.

Let's shift the topic briefly to the homestead Powerwall3 battery situation...

I spoke with Maine Solar Solutions technical support person (Mark) on Monday concerning the two December recalibration events. His insights helped with understanding the situation. The Powerwall3 batteries have only been installed in the field for about 6 to 8 months as of December. As with any Tesla new product, the philosophy is to conduct the final operations debug in the fields with software updates since all are connected to the internet. Such is the case for the Powerwall3 product. At the end of November, Tesla issued a firmware engineering change to the product which required a full recalibration. Next came another firmware update on December 23-24 resulting in yet another recalibration over the Christmas holiday. Maine Solar is made aware of the updates, but no one is sending out a notice to customers who have purchased and install the Powerwall3 batteries. I remember that the early adopters of the Tesla Model 3 and Model 3 vehicles also went through this same scenario with remote firmware updates in their newly purchased vehicles.

The question now lies with when/if Tesla will issue yet another change to the firmware with the corresponding battery system recalibration. I also learned that the Powerwall integrated inverter is grid tied. This means that if the Powerwall3 batteries are completely discharged, the inverter remains alive since fed from the grid. Once the solar panels are activated with sunshine, the inverter circuit will begin charging the batteries. Of course, during a prolonged grid power outrage where the batteries and inverter are without power, the system is dead until grid power returns. Key is storing enough electricity in the batteries for an extended grid power outage. Our homestead system could probably go 4-5 days without grid power with minimal solar panel generation. This is a reasonable time frame for a back up electrical system.

 

Two Important Liberty Seated Quarters Arrive Today

Today brings a regular GFRC office day with some morning shipping and preparing invoices for orders being picked up at next week's FUN show. Of importance, is today's arrival of two better date San Francisco quarters. Here are the PCGS TruViews to whet your appetite. There is an agreement with the consignor that the 1860-S will not be quoted until I have a chance to review the coin in hand for potential submission to CAC stickering.

1860-S PCGS VF25 25C

1866-S PCGS VF30 25C

 

Being a Broken Record...

This headline easily reveals my age and brings back memories of 33, 45, and even 78 rpm vinyl records! It did not happen often, but there would be the occasional damaged record that would cause the needle to skip in place on each revolution resulting in the term "broken record".

I'll leave you with two short messages. First is that the consignment window is wide open. With the commitment of the Evergreen State Collection of Liberty Seated Proof Dimes for a GFRC Online Auctions event, I'm in a position to accept consignments for both the 30 Day Price list (which will be posted after the FUN show) and for a new auction event towards the end of February. If interested in working with GFRC, simply call or email me with your proposed consignment.

Second is that the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections will be on exhibit at the Orlando FUN show next week with all visitors welcomed for lot viewing. These are marvelous collections and deserve one final time in the spotlight before the first auction session starts on January 19th. There will be printed catalog available for note taking until they run out. Therefore, please plan to visit the GFRC both (638-640) early on Thursday and Friday.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The shipping department returns to work this morning followed by an afternoon in the GFRC office preparing FUN show pick orders. There are still a few consigned coins to process and load to the price list before heading out for a pre-happy hour health walk.

I certainly look forward to hearing from GFRC clients and those who are new collectors seeking a reliable coin dealer to service their collecting goals.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 1, 2025

Kicking Off Another Numismatic Year

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold Scores at CAC

and

GFRC Online Auctions - Gerry Fortin and Newtown "Auction Summaries"

 

Greetings, Happy New Year, and welcome to the Daily Blog on the first day of calendar 2025. Thank you for checking in during this holiday.

Today's edition will be quite brief as I'm also in the holiday spirit and wishing to be lazy during the early morning hours. Our New Year's Eve celebration was a lovely seafood dinner with the southern belles (Jan and Pam) at the nearby Deep Lagoon eatery in Osprey. Unfortunately, it was a foggy evening on the water without a pretty sunset.

The only new news of the day is an important auction consignment from the Evergreen State Collection. Our long term client, who has decided to brand himself with the "Evergreen State Collection" name, wishes to sell his Liberty Seated proof dime collection for other numismatic pursuits. This set is currently ranked #1 on the PCGS Set Registry and will be shipping to the GFRC office during the second half of January. The auction will probably take place towards the end of February and would also be an opportunity for other clients to add their fresh duplicates or other lots to this forthcoming sale. More will be discussed after the FUN show.

For those with long memories, GFRC would provide a "stakeholder's report" within the January 1 Blog edition. I've decided to not go that route this year as the business has been in a transition state during 2024. As a result of the successful startup of GFRC-Lite by Rich Hundertmark, the GFRC product mix has shifted towards higher value coins. Mid 2024 brought the decision to sell my personal Seated dime collector along with the consignment of the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection. The enormity of those two collection sales resulted in an exclusive GFRC Online Auctions focus which precluded the offering of regular auction events during the second half of 2024. The lack of regular auction sales has distorted GFRC financial outcomes as most of the value add efforts will be realized during the first half of 2025.

 

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold Scores at CAC

The recent White Pine $5 Liberty gold submission to CAC was a winner! We were able to secure CAC approval for three better dates with the primary highlight being an 1859-S PCGS EF45 being stickered along with an 1870 PCGS AU50 and 1872-S PCGS EF40. I've already photographed these lots and will be processing images today for a gallery showcase in Thursday's Blog edition. Yes, offer prices have been approved and I'm ready to quote these today.

For the curious among us, please go to the CAC price and population report to view the significance of the 1859-S approval. The White Pine coins are completely fresh to market as evidenced by these new CAC results.

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Gerry Fortin and Newtown "Auction Summaries"

Tuesday brought the creation of separate "cheat sheets" Excel files for both the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage auction lots. I'm currently in the process of emailing these PDF files to dealers that may have interest in the forthcoming auctions. Dealers are busy people and having a concise summary of the auction lots with reserved prices will allow them to quickly evaluate the offerings and whether they wish to participate in the three auction sessions.

Now that these summary sheets are completed, why not make them available to the GFRC community? If interested in viewing and saving these PDF files, prior to visiting the GFRC booth at the FUN show, simply click on these links and save the two PDF files to your computer for subsequent printing.

GFRC Online Auctions - Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection

GFRC Online Auctions - Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I'm going to be lazy this morning with some relaxing time reading or simply watching mindless YouTube videos. Come the afternoon hours, I will be in the office processing the White Pine $5 Liberty gold images and preparing the gallery display for Thursday's Blog. Happy Hour may come early today....

Once again, Happy New Year to the community. I suspect that 2025 will be an exciting year on many fronts.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 31, 2024

Wrapping Up 2024!

How About a Few Numismatic New Year Resolutions?

Mirror Collection - Seated Half Dime Price Reductions

and

A Little Bit of Everything Consignment Gallery

 

Greetings on New Year's Eve and welcome to the closing 2024 Daily Blog edition. Another year moves into the history books. Thank you for the ongoing patronage.

Yes, it is New Year's eve with many planning to stay up late to party out 2024 and welcome 2025. Honestly, my party days are long gone and have been replaced with a lower stress and healthier life style. Securing 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night is an imperative after living for years with jet lag due to constantly rotating between Asia, Silicon Valley, and home in northern New England. Therefore, my New Year's Eve will be spent securing another good night's sleep as 2025 is guaranteed to be there on Wednesday.

2024 has certainly been an exciting year for precious metals along with the equity markets. Unfortunately, core inflation has placed a damper on American households with ramifications potentially on the horizon. Let's leave this thought here as there are more skilled experts who will be providing financial forecasts for the upcoming year, Simply visit YouTube and type in "2025 Forecast" to be entertained for hours on end.

 

How About a Few Numismatic New Year Resolutions?

At the turn of every new year, many readers will seek to start a fresh aspect of their lives with improvement resolutions. Losing weight or kicking a bad habit are quite popular. For both the casual numismatists who frequent the Daily Blog and the seasoned collectors, might I suggest taking a more critical look at your coins and revising purchasing approaches during the coming year? What do I mean by a "critical look"? Following are a few thoughts to consider.

- Buying coins online via TPG labels and holder images rather than taking the time to attend a national coin show.

Yes, buying coins online can be accomplished without extra expenses and in our pajamas if that is how a hobby is conducted. For the seasoned numismatist, with a critical eye after making enough mistakes, the online buying experience does work. For budding numismatics, without in depth experience, sites like eBay are a mine field to navigate. Even the major auction houses that provide no descriptions and only images are a risky proposition. They rely on the grading services to properly grade and attribute varieties. At this point, most Blog readers should be aware of the dregs that find their way into straight graded holders.

- Make a resolution to attend a major coin show with sufficient time to conduct auction lot viewing and visiting dealer tables to study coins.

Auction lot viewing is the best method for reviewing a large number of coins as there is no immediate buying pressure. Yes, hanging out with fellow collectors is a major plus, but the primary reason for attending a coin show is to learn how to grade and mastering the surface characteristics of strictly original silver and gold coins. Find those dealers that stock a nice balance of CAC approved and non-approved coins and study the differences. Leave your ego at the bourse entrance towards studying rather than being judgmental against a preconceived bias.

- Build a relationship with a dealer who stocks premium coins and takes the time to share his/her knowledge.

This cannot be stressed enough! My current state of numismatic knowledge did not drop out of the sky, rather it grew via relationships with mentors over a period of several decades. Building a relationship with a well known expert is to a two-way street. Attempting to secure a "free" education without making purchases is the wrong approach. Dealers spend considerable monies to attend coins shows and need to recover expenses by selling coins. They are not there to provide seminars while others customers are attempting to make purchases. Said in a different but direct manner, you get what you pay for....

- Question those dealers that stock a very low percentage of CAC approved coins, or none at all.

Believe me, I've done sufficient dealer room buying with certain dealers stocking essentially no CAC approved coins. The reason often provided for not stocking those with green beans is that they don't believe that CAC can differentiate the premium coins. Might it be that those dealers can't differentiate the better coins themselves? Not everyone has a trained eye for originality including those that shuffle numismatic products based on price guides. Remember that there is not entrance examine for becoming a coin dealer. If you can read a TPG label and match the grade with a number on a price guide, you are qualified right?

- Be critical with online purchases upon arrival.

When opening the package and first viewing the purchased coin, what is the initial perception or feeling? Is it a "wow" moment or is it a "what did I miss" when making this purchase. Don't try to talk yourself into keeping a coin that is underwhelming. If purchasing coins at auction with a no return policy, then it might be wise to start rethinking this approach if the underwhelming feeling is frequent. In the end, every purchased coins must be eventually resold. Do you want to offer nice coins to fellow collectors or a favorite dealers or are you trying to get rid of a bunch of mistakes that keep piling up?

 

Mirror Collection - Seated Half Dime Price Reductions

A Mirror Collection email appeared in my Inbox on Monday with both price reductions and a consignment proposal. Our Florida client is once again releasing another tranche of high grade Mint State Liberty Seated half dimes while reducing prices for existing inventory. Lots with newly reduced prices can be found at the top of the 30 Day Price List. Be forewarned, the 1840 No Drapery, 1842, and 1865-S half dimes are already spoken for.

The next Mirror Collection consignment will be transferred at the Winter FUN show. So far, the consignment transfer tally is up to 35 pieces for FUN with an expectation for more commitments in the coming days.

 

A Little Bit of Everything Consignment Gallery

Let's close 2024 with one final showcase gallery accurately entitled as "a little bit of everything". The following nine lot will be posted to the price list as the final listings of 2024.

 

A Little Bit of Everything Consignment Gallery

    1853 NGC MS62 3CS - $250                    1851-O F-101 PCGS EF40 10C - $500                1853 A&R NGC AU53 25C - $375

                

1854-O PCGS EF45 50C - $245                  1860-S WB-2 PCGS EF45 50C - $450                    1904 NGC AU55 G$2.5 - $525

                

    1908 PCGS AU55 G$2.5 - $525                      1909 PCGS AU53 G$2.5 - $515                     1914-D PCGS AU55 G$2.5 - $515 

                

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a typical GFRC office day along with being willing and able to take year ending orders.

2024 has been a strong numismatic year regardless of the weak September and October time frame prior to the early November elections. Here at GFRC, our Online Auctions platform was idle during the latter part of 2024 as all energies were focused on preparing the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections for their first auction session in less than three weeks. Once we are through the FUN show, fresh consignments will be rolling onto the price lists in conjunction with multiple auction session through May 2025. It certainly will be an exciting time frame.

Thank you as always for taking time out of a busy schedule to visit with us at the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

December 30, 2024

1857-S $5 Gold Piece Takes U.S. Tour

Soliciting Consignments

and

China's Grip on the Gold Market

 

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

The Christmas holiday is now behind us with the New Year celebrations materializing tomorrow evening. Diane is back from Austin with our Venice winter outpost returning to normalcy. Back at the homestead in Maine, the Tesla batteries have recharged to a 95% level this morning. All is good as we exit 2024 and prepare for the Orlando Florida FUN show that takes place in less than ten days.

Sunday brought an update to the Auction link content with the Gerry Fortin and Newtown showcase galleries being made available via clickable images. The stage is now set for the GFRC Online Auctions lot viewing at the FUN show followed by the first auction session on January 19. Please note that January 19 is a Sunday and not the usual Saturday start and close to our auctions.

 

1857-S $5 Gold Piece Takes U.S. Tour

This is a USPS horror story, after a GFRC shipping mistake, that does end on a positive note.

Astute fans of the U.S. gold price list will note that the 1857-S $5 PCGS AU50 piece has been on hold since November 13. Payment for this lot was unfortunately delayed due to the GFRC Maine to Florida transition. Our client mailed the check to the Venice address on November 18 as instructed. All is good so far.

Next came a mistake on my part as I decide to ship ahead the coin once we were settled down in the Venice office. The package shipped on November 23 to the address in the USPS database. Well that was the mistake as our client had moved to another part of the country and his forwarding status was questionable. Our client immediately contacted me once seeing the USPS Tracking email and the old address. Not a problem I thought as I drove back to the Venice Island post office to retrieve the package. That effort yields no fruit as the package had just been loaded on the noon time USPS truck. The only alternative was to place an online intercept order and have the package returned to Venice.

The package moves along and arrives to the addressed post office, which was suppose to intercept and return the package to sender. Nope, the post office staff ignores the intercept and attempts to forward the package to an address on file. Our package then meandered along for several weeks before arriving at the client's forwarding address post office. During the meandering period, Diane had been on the phone with USPS requesting that the package be intercepted as requested and returned to our Venice address. Finally, the forwarding address post office takes the intercept seriously and ships the package back to Venice. Our frequent flier traveler was delivered on Saturday and will ship again this morning to the correct address....

Thank goodness that we avoided an insurance claim on this package as our Hugh Woods insurance renewal period will be soon underway.

 

Soliciting Consignments

I believe this is the third call for new GFRC consignments. So far, we have two committed consignments. The first is a PCGS blue box of 20 better Liberty Seated halves from the Sooner Collection. These will be transferred at the FUN show. The second is another Liberty Seated dime consignment from the Dr. Tim Cook collection. The consignment will consist of better date holdered dimes along with raw cuds examples and terminal die state varieties. This lot ships tomorrow.

Finally, an important single coin consignment is shipping from Wisconsin. Does anyone need an 1856 Large Date dime in PCGS AU58 CAC? This is a rhetorical question as this piece is pop 1 on the CAC population report. Of course, someone will definitely desire the lone AU58 CAC of this example which was previously purchased from GFRC. Simply visit the Sales Archive to view the images and prior description.

I'm all ears for other potential consignments in the near term.

 

China's Grip on the Gold Market

While the Blog is being composed, gold is trading at $2617 on the London Exchange with silver being had at $29.50/oz.

I've taken in a host of YouTube videos in the past few days with the same theme, financial market assessments for the first half of 2025. The consensus is that equity markets will see rough sailing during the next six months. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ100 have wobbled at year end with little momentum left for a strong start to 2025. Consumers are tapped out with debt along with the past 24 months of inflation raising prices to a level where many major items are unaffordable. Housing is being held back by mortgages approaching 7% as a starting point. The U.S. automotive market has seen huge MSRP sticker increases with new vehicle buyers in a state of shock. Dealer lots are jammed packed with unsold 2024 inventory while the 2025 models will be produced shortly. The used vehicle market is no better with a typical 11% car loan rate due to growing defaults.

What about gold during the first half of 2025?

The primary driver of gold prices is central bank acquisitions with China leading the way. Following is an excellent Kitco article by Neils Christensen that provides a status report on China's ongoing appetite for the precious yellow metal. I agree with most points made in this article based on personal experiences during my 2007-2012 years of living in the Wuxi and Shanghai regions and learning the Chinese affinity for gold. However, note the last sentence where Hamad Hussain grows cautious with a 2025 year ending forecast of $2750. This translate into a flat year for gold prices.

China played a pivotal role in the gold market in 2024 as consumer demand and central bank purchases drove prices to record highs in the first half of the year.

A slowdown in the second half of the year, as the People’s Bank of China paused purchases for six months and a sharp drop in gold imports occurred, hasn’t derailed the nation’s influence in the precious metals market.

Looking ahead to the new year, one research firm expects Chinese gold demand to remain strong through 2025, providing critical support for prices. Hamad Hussain, Assistant Climate and Commodities Economist at Capital Economics, said that soft economic activity and a weak renminbi will drive gold demand in China next year.

“We think that the slow-motion collapse of China’s property sector will be a major headwind to economic growth and boost safe-haven demand for gold,” he said in a recent research note. “Moreover, a worsening of the property crisis would also boost the relative attractiveness of gold as an investment vis-à-vis other assets.”

Hussain added that for Chinese consumers, “all roads lead to gold.”

Although gold has always been an important asset among Chinese investors and consumers, many analysts have seen growing downside risks to demand as the government is expected to support the Chinese economy with significant quantitative easing measures.

However, Hussain noted that China’s stimulus measures have fallen well short of expectations, which should create new momentum in the gold market.

Not only has the Chinese government failed to instill confidence in its economy, but Hussain also noted the growing threat from incoming President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose significant tariffs on Chinese goods.

The British research firm also expects this environment to weaken the renminbi.

“We now think that the renminbi will depreciate by about 10% to partially offset the impact of tariffs. For what it’s worth, whilst a currency depreciation to its weakest level since 2006 would significantly increase the cost of purchasing gold in China, the perception of gold as a safe-haven asset means that gold imports tend to rise as the renminbi weakens,” he said.

However, consumer demand is just one side of the bullion coin. Capital Economics also expects that China’s central bank will continue to buy gold and diversify away from the U.S. dollar.

Updated reserve data published at the start of the month showed that the PBOC bought five tonnes of gold in November. Some analysts considered this a paltry purchase; however, it does show that after a six-month hiatus, the central bank remains interested in gold.

“China’s central bank (PBOC) will continue tilting its $3 trillion stock of reserves towards gold – the metal only makes up about 5% of total reserves, which is less than India’s central bank (9.3%), let alone the BoE or ECB,” said Hussain. “Following a six-month hiatus, the PBOC – which has bought more than double the amount of gold than any other central bank since 2022 – resumed buying gold in November.”

With solid demand coming from China, Hussain said that he expects gold prices to continue to defy their traditional obstacles of higher bond yields and a stronger U.S. dollar. There are growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will shorten its easing cycle with only two rate cuts next year, which would support elevated yields and resilient strength in the U.S. dollar.

“Overall, whilst we expect the US dollar to strengthen and Treasury yields to rise next year, which would typically point to lower gold prices, we still think that support from strong Chinese demand, amongst other non-traditional drivers, will result in gold prices reaching $2,750 by end-2025,” Hussain said.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is a bit of morning shipping and several orders in the email queue as we close out 2024. I will be in the GFRC office the entire day and available to discuss a host of topics. Just call if interested in discussing the following...

- New consignment proposals

- Extended payment terms for the forthcoming Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage auctions

- Regular orders and special pickups at the FUN show.

Thank you as always for returning to these daily ramblings.

Be well!

 

 

December 29, 2024

GFRC Online Auctions Proudly Presents

The Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection

 

Greetings on a Sunday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. The countdown to 2025 is now underway! Thank you so much for the return visit.

The Venice office has been quiet the past two days since my return from the Austin family get together. That solitude has brought focus on one of the last GFRC Online Auctions deliverables, prior to Winter FUN, along with several long health walks. Otherwise, there is always YouTube as a research platform for whatever topic I might be interested in pursuing. Whether is it sports cars, electric UTVs, or 2025 economic forecasts, YouTube can provide hours of entertainment.

Nearly all of Saturday was consumed with constructing the showcase gallery for the Gerry Fortin front line collection prior to calling it an early evening. Blake Gibb (Sooner Collection) called to chat and inform that another twenty piece consignment would be transferred at the Winter FUN show. Along with those pieces, Blake will be consigning lower priced coins to Rich Hundertmark at GFRC-Lite. Yes, a numismatic Santa Claus will be joining us at Winter FUN and helping man the GFRC Online Auctions showcases and hosting lot viewing. Dan White and Rose Marie will also be in the GFRC booth aiding with retail traffic and time supporting the auction lot cases.

 

A Final Personal Review of a Liberty Seated Dime Collection

Saturday brought a personal occasion with my Liberty Seated Collection as stewardship time becomes increasingly short. In just three weeks, to the day, the first GFRC auction session will be underway with no turning back at this point. A multi-decade collecting project will have gone full circle with a host of historically significant dimes being released back into the marketplace. As part of the divestment process, my focus has shifted from ownership to that of placement. Yes, the placement of these wonderful lots is also part of the finalization process. If requiring extended payments terms to take ownership of one or more of my dimes, please contact me before the first auction session to discuss those needs.

Following is a presentation of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime collection. Little else needs to be said at this point as I hope that readers will enjoy viewing the entire collection in one grand display. Please note that reserve numbers are listed for each lot. Building this gallery was a thoroughly satisfying experience while assembling images and enjoying the coins in hand, and remembering their back stories.

 

GFRC Online Auctions Proudly Presents

The Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection

 

1837 No Stars, Small Date F-103 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C - $30,000

1838-O No Stars F-101a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $25,000

1839-O No Drapery F-101 PCGS MS65 Gold CAC 10C - $20,000

1852-O F-101 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $25,000

1863-S F-101 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC 10C - $39,500

1871-CC F-101 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C - $30,000

1874-CC F-101 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C - $60,000

1885-S F-101 NGC MS65 10C - $26,000

1888 PCGS MS66 Gold CAC 10C - $6850

 

   1837 No Stars, Large Date F-101c PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $12,000        1837 No Stars, Small Date F-104 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $12,500    

        

   1841 F-104 PCGS MS65 Gold CAC 10C - $12,000                                   1843-O F-101 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C - $26,000       

        

   1845-O F-101 PCGS AU55 Gold CAC 10C - $20,000                                         1846 F-101 PCGS AU58 10C - $22,500                

        

1849-O F-101b PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $19,000                                    1850-O F-103 NGC MS67 Star 10C - $27,500   

        

         1851-O F-101 NGC MS63 10C - $14,500                                       1856-S F-101 PCGS MS63+ CAC 10C - $17,500

        

1858-O F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C Rattler - $10,000                                 1858-S F-103 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $15,000     

        

           1859-S F-101 PCGS AU55 10C - $16,000                                        1860-O F-101 PCGS AU50 CAC 10C - $16,000   

        

  1860-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $20,000                                   1861-S F-101 PCGS MS62 CAC 10C - $17,500

        

1862-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $22,500                                   1863 F-101a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $23,000

        

1864-S F-101 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $29,000                                       1865 F-101a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $13,500 

        

1865-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C OGH - $17,500                                    1866 F-102b PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $12,500      

        

  1866-S F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $16,500                                        1867 F-102 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $17,500      

        

       1867-S F-102 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC 10C - $15,000                                    1869-S F-102 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $26,000             

        

        1870-S F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $12,000                                        1871-S F-101 PCGS MS65+ CAC 10C - $16,500       

        

                         1872-CC F-101 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C - $23,500                       1873 No Arrows, Open 3 F-106 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $12,500         

        

   1873-CC Arrows F-101 PCGS VF35 CAC 10C - $16,000                                1874-S F-101 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $15,500           

        

 

1838 ND LS F-104 PCGS MS65 Gold CAC 10C - $9500   1838 ND SS F-101a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $6500     1838 PD F-108a NGC MS65 CAC 10C - $4750     

                    

  1839 ND F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $3750      1840 ND F-107 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $4500     1840-O ND F-103 PCGS MS62 CAC 10C - $8750 

                    

    1840 Drap F-101 PCGS AU55 CAC 10C - $3500       1841-O F-115 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $6750          1842 F-105 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $6000         

                    

   1842-O F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $8000           1843 F-105a PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $1950          1844 F-102 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C - $5500       

                    

1845 F-110 PCGS MS64+ CAC 10C - $2150          1846 F-101 PCGS AU50 CAC 10C - $9250          1847 F-102 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $6500 

                    

    1848 F-104 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $3850              1849 F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $2500                1850 F-103 PCGS MS64 10C - $1500          

                    

     1850 F-103 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $1350           1850-O F-101 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C - $3250          1851 F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $2750     

                    

       1852 F-108 PCGS MS65+ CAC 10C - $2550               1852 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $1150             1853 NA F-101a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $4750    

                    

    1853 Arrows PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C - $3500   1853-O Arrows F-103 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $7500       1854 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $1850              

                    

                 1854-O F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $2250          1855 F-101a PCGS AU55 CAC 10C - $4000      1856 Sm Date F-103 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $5250           

                    

          1856 Lg Date F-103 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $3250     1856-O F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $3850          1857 F-106 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $2500                    

                    

    1857-O F-101a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $2650           1858 F-110 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $850             1859 F-107 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $7500        

                    

       1859-O F-103 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $2650           1860 F-112 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C - $2750    1861 T1 Obv F-104 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $1600    

                    

1861 T2 Obv F-106 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $1400      1862 F-102a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $2500          1864 F-102a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $6000       

                    

           1868 F-112 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $4500        1868-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $7500    1869 Lg Flag 1 F-105a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $8000

                    

1870 F-101a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $8500          1871 F-102a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $7500          1872 F-102 PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C - $4350

                    

  1872-S F-101 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $8500    1873 NA C3 F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $1500    1873 Arrows F-104 PCGS MS64 10C - $1150  

                    

  1873-S F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $4500          1874 F-103 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $1850           1875 F-117 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1100    

                    

1875-CC IW F-106 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $7500   1875-CC BW F-106 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $4500    1875-S IW F-103a PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $3000

                    

    1875-S BW F-103 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $800         1876 T1 Rev PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1550      1876-CC T1 Rev PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $1500      

                    

1876-CC T2 Rev F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $3250 1876-S T1 Rev F-109 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $3250    1877 T2 Rev F-107 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1650   

                    

     1877-CC T2 Rev PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $4750       1877-S F-101 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $8250      1878 T2 Rev F-109 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $2000    

                    

    1878-CC T2 Rev F-104 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $5500      1879 F-105 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1450           1880 F-102a PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $3000                

                    

1881 F-101a PCGS MS66+ CAC 10C - $5000         1882 F-104 PCGS MS67+ CAC 10C - $3750              1883 F-119a PCGS MS67 10C - $3000      

                    

      1884 F-109 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1500        1884-S F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $2250        1885 F-110 PCGS MS67+ CAC 10C - $5500    

                    

   1886 F-119 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1250          1886-S F-101 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $8750         1887 F-110 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1250    

                    

   1887-S F-108 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $1100         1888-S F-110 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $5500             1889 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $4500            

                    

    1889-S F-108 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $1400          1890 F-112 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1450         1890-S F-103 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $1750     

                    

  1891 F-106 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $1100          1891-O F-113 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $2750        1891-S F-116 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C - $2500 

                    

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point in terms of numismatic content. Diane is returning from Austin as the day's highlight along with another long health walk.

Thank you again for sharing your time during a holiday week.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 28, 2024

Making the most of a life...

Consider Visiting the Client Gallery Link

and

Consignment Window is Wide Open

 

Greetings on a peaceful Saturday morning as the 2024 calendar year is close to wrapping up. Thank you so much for the return visits.

Making the most of a life is worthy of some introspection this morning as there is no prepared numismatic content. When typing making the most of a life into Google's Generative AI, the response is a road map, in a sense, for achieving purpose and happiness especially in our retirement years. Reading through the following map will not take much time, but rather serious contemplation will and can be accomplished over a period of time. With the sale of a my front line Liberty Seated dime collection and soon approaching the 70 year old milestone, one has to take stock of past accomplishments and acquired skills to map out the forthcoming lifestyle updates and new adventures.

 

Consider Visiting the Client Gallery Link

Friday brought a bit of a laid back day after the morning shipping was cleared out. While in Austin, Matt Yamatin and I looked over the website for any glaring issues and noted that the Gallery link could use some maintenance. As the link name implies, the Gallery provides visual access for past and current GFRC consignor offerings against a minimum $25,000 threshold. If you've been working with GFRC for the sale of coins and have sold at least $25,000, there is a gallery presentation of those coins. The individual galleries are sorted by value, therefore top clients like Newtown, Osprey, Twin Lakes, and the personal release of my Seated dime die variety pieces, are shown at the top of the display. The highest value coin in the consignor's portfolio is selected as your clickable icon.

Yesterday brought the update of all collection titles based on the branding names that are loaded in the COIN database. Those individuals, who enjoy remaining anonymous are so noted.

Astute viewers will note that some coins might have repeat listings within multiple collections. This is a case where GFRC has sold a coin multiple times as it moved from one collection to another.

For those clients who have sold their collections and are no longer actively collecting, the Gallery link is an opportunity to view that prior collection as all sold coins remain in the database.

 

Consignment Window is Wide Open

The GFRC consignment queue is essentially empty and needs to be replenished. If you've been wishing to streamline a collection and would like to consign coins to GFRC, now would be a great time. I can't guarantee that the coins will be available for the Winter FUN show, rather new consignments will be process and loaded to the price lists after the FUN show and in time for the ANA National Money Show in Atlanta.

The GFRC website will also be seeing a substantial amount of collector traffic due to the GFRC Online Auctions sales that begin on January 19th. I'm certain that a subset of the community will be monitoring the initial auction event along with checking in at the Daily Blog. Therefore, new consignments should garner much exposure as I make a habit of showcasing new arrivals in the Blog.

Just let me know via email or phone call as to what might be under consideration. For lower priced coins under $300, I will steer you to Rich Hundertmark at GFRC-Lite.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The shipping queue is empty which will allow me to focus exclusively on the construction of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection showcase gallery today. Hopefully, this will be the main topic of Sunday's Blog edition.

So how are the Tesla Powerwall3 batteries this morning? Luckily, Friday brought some sunshine with the solar panels' snow cover being partially melted. The batteries are now charged to 60% of their rated capacity as of last evening. So far this morning, the panels are not producing any energy as heavy clouds are blocking the morning sun. The next snow event arrives on Wednesday/Thursday, and hopefully, the batteries will be fully charged by then.

Thank you again for visiting with me at the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 27, 2024

Back in the GFRC Venice Office

and

Tesla Powerwall3 Batteries - Rogue Tesla Calibrations

 

Greetings on a Christmas week Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for returning to these regular ramblings.

Yes, I'm back in the GFRC office after a Christmas family holiday in Austin, Texas. The reason for a missing Blog edition on Thursday was an early morning flight back to Sarasota and simply taking a break from the constant need to upload some type of commentary.

As today's edition is being composed, I'm staring at a pile of check payments that will translate into a busy shipping day since Diane is still in Austin enjoying time with the grandchildren.

My apology as there will be no numismatic content in today's Blog. Everyone does need some downtime and yesterday brought a long health walk and relaxation after the morning flight.

 

Tesla Powerwall3 Batteries - Rogue Tesla Calibrations

As excited as I was about the Tesla Powerwall3 battery installation this year, the realities of a new Tesla technology have sent in. This brief article is a warning to anyone in the community who might be considering a similar purchase and installation. Everyone must do their homework to determine if a battery backup system is right for you. Key is asking the right questions which I did not do during the Fortin purchase. Furthermore, Maine Solar was not transparent with certain issues currently being encountered. I would not recommend Maine Solar Solutions after what has taken place with this contractor.

Let's start with the idiosyncrasies of public utilities.

In Maine and certain other states in the Union, the public utility regulations do not allow a home installed battery system to be charged directly from the grid. I remember the heavy sales pitch by Maine Solar about the Tesla Powerwall3 Storm Watch function whereby Tesla would monitor the National Weather Service and automatically recharge the batteries prior to the weather event. Yes, the Tesla Powerwall3 batteries do have this capability. What Maine Solar failed to explain is that this function is useless unless the state utility regulations allow for grid charging. In Maine, they do not. Isn't this interesting in that "Maine" Solar Solutions failed to disclose this fact when selling a Tesla system.

The inability to charge home based batteries is illogical when considering that one can charge an EV directly from the Maine power grid. Some new EVs now have bidirectional charging capabilities whereby, the car's battery can be used as a home emergency power source, but not the backup batteries as part of a home solar system. Go figure on this...

Now let's get to the core Tesla issue that has become very frustrating.

Tesla has complete control of their Powerwall3 batteries as the system is connected to the Internet. At any moment, Tesla management can take control of my battery system which they are doing. Their procedure is called "remote testing and calibration" and is no different when Microsoft takes control of your laptop or computer to conduct a system update, In the early days of computers, Microsoft would simply take control without asking for permission. After customer outcries, Microsoft allows customers to schedule their updates. Tesla's approach is similar to the early Microsoft days. They decide when to take control of your batteries to conduct the "calibration" routine. So far, Tesla is calibrating the Powerwall3 batteries about once per month. The issue is that the calibration routine last for several days and shuts down the solar panel charging while underway. Worse, is that the routine depletes the batteries as the electronics are running hot doing whatever testing and calibration that Tesla deems necessary.

On Tuesday, another calibration event took place dropping our battery charge level to 25%. The batteries themselves will consume about 4% of their storage capacity on a daily basis just to keep the system operational. Maine had experienced light snow so the solar panels were covered with snow on Tuesday and not generating any solar power. As of Thursday morning, the battery charge had dipped to as low as 8% before some power generation was realized during the afternoon hours. I was on the phone with a Tesla support technician asking for help in stopping these ongoing calibrations events as they could occur during the middle of a heavy snow storm leaving my batteries depleted and useless as a backup power source during the loss of homestead grid power. My plea fell on deaf ears with just a commitment to monitor my system and to issue a status update via email. Guess what, the status email never came....

This leaves me with no choice be to get back on the phone with Tesla to demand that they stop the Powerwall3 remote calibrations during the Maine winter months or at least provide me with an option to delay the calibration based on weather conditions. Today will bring that first phone call to present my demands. Darn it, I paid $23,000 for this system and believe that I own this property or do I really own these batteries?

Stay tuned for updates...

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As mentioned earlier, today brings a substantial amount of order shipments on a solo basis. Afterwards, I will be in the office building the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection showcase gallery. There is plenty to keep me out of trouble.

Thanks again for staying close to the Daily Blog,

Be well!

 

 

December 25, 2024

Thermo Fisher Scientific Thought Leadership

A Matthew Yamatin Interview

 

Greetings on Christmas Day 2025 and welcome to a brief Daily Blog edition. Thank you for the visit on this traditional holiday.

There is little numismatic content prepared and to present today. Therefore as a proud GFRC owner and a father, let's share a new "thought leadership" interview of Matthew Yamatin by the communications staff at Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO). TMO is the leading manufacturer of medical and research laboratory equipment coupled with raw materials for the pharmac eutical industry.

Please feel free to click on this link to learn about Matthew Yamatin and his personal commitment to sustainability pursuits. If there is someone who walks the talk, it is Matt.

http:///us/en/index/newsroom/thought-leadership.html

Thank you again for the visit.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

December 24, 2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the GFRC Staff

and

GFRC Online Auctions Proudly Presents

The Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection

 

Greetings on Christmas Eve 2024 and welcome to the Daily Blog. Another year has passed by much too quickly, but at the same time, has brought a host of fond memories. Please accept our heart felt wishes for a wonderful Christmas celebration and forthcoming New Year holiday to all in the GFRC community. Though I have not met everyone personally at coin shows, the constant stream of emails and positive feedback is certainly motivational towards maintaining this publication.

Now that the year ending holiday season is upon us, it is time to slow down just a tad and relish the many gifts that the past year has brought. I hope that all readers will do the same and enjoy time with wives, husbands, significant others, and family. Our numismatic hobby is the glue that bonds many of us together in local or national coin clubs, and of course our GFRC community.

 

 

Now a Special GFRC Online Auctions Holiday Presentation

Assembling top rated Liberty Seated coinage collections, especially with finest known examples, it a mementos undertaking with a host of challenges to overcome. There are knowledge and visual evaluation skills necessary to properly assess high grade survivors. Purchasing the coin and not the label is paramount. There are time requirements towards attending major coin shows, attending auction lot viewing events, and of course, the endless hours viewing potential acquisitions online. Undoubtedly, one must also amass the financial resources to operate and sustain a collection at the highest levels.

It is so fitting that on December 24, 2025 we are sharing, as a community gift, the renown efforts of Aaron Heintz. GFRC Online Auctions could not be more pleased and proud to be illustrating the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection as it was intended to be viewed. We open with the best of the best followed by a host of marquee lots before moving into the balance of the collection. Each lot has its corresponding auction reserve listed to further embellish the importance of this collection.

Congratulations Aaron for achieving this lifetime milestone.

 

GFRC Online Auctions Proudly Presents

The Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection

 

1839 No Drapery WB-4 PCGS MS63+ Gold CAC - $57,500

1850 WB-4 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $55,000

1870-CC WB-2 PCGS AU55 50C - $56,500

1878-S WB-1 PCGS EF40 50C - $75,000

 

   1839 With Drapery WB-5 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $25,500                             1841-O WB-1 PCGS MS63+ CAC 50C - $9000              

        

1842 Medium Date WB-8 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $26,000                                1845-O WB-1 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $24,000       

        

        1845 WB-2 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $12,000                                         1847-O WB-23 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $24,500    

        

1850-O WB-3 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C Rattler - $16,500                                    1852 WB-2 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $21,500        

        

          1853 A&R PCGS MS64+ CAC 50C - $9500                                 1855-S Arrows WB-2 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $18,500

        

        1860-S WB-1 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $15,000                                 1861-O CSA W-14 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $22,500   

        

           1865 WB-3 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $11,500                              1866-S No Motto WB-1 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $17,000

        

  1866-S With Motto WB-9 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C - $18,250                             1870 WB-7 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C - $12,500                

        

1871-CC WB-3 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C - $15,000                                   1872-CC WB-5 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C - $11,000

        

    1872-S WB-1 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $20,000                                 1873-CC Arrows WB-8 PCGS MS63 50C - $17,000

        

    1874 Arrows PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $34,000                                  1874-CC Arrows WB-3 PCGS MS63 50C - $37,500 

        

1874-S Arrows WB-2 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $10,000                                  1877-CC WB-15 PCGS MS66 50C - $11,200         

        

              1878 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C - $14,500                                            1878-CC WB-1 PCGS MS63 50C - $22,500         

        

   1881 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C - $12,500                                                  1885 PCGS MS66+ 50C - $12,500         

        

   1887 PCGS MS67 CAC 50C - $25,000                                                    1889 PCGS MS66 50C - $10,500         

        

 

1840 WB-1 PCGS MS64+ CAC 50C - $8000    1840-O WB-11 PCGS MS63+ CAC 50C - $7500     1841 WB-1 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $4250 

            

  1842-O WB-4 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $6000       1843 WB-36 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $3450     1843-O WB-17 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $3650 

            

    1844 WB-9 PCGS MS63+ CAC 50C - $2950     1844-O WB-21 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $1750    1846 TD WB-11 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $6250 

            

 1846-O MD WB-10 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $2750     1847 WB-4 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $2700        1848 WB-10 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $6500       

            

1848-O WB-8 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $3000       1849 WB-11 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $6000      1849-O WB-7 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $2750 

            

1851 WB-6 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $5500       1851-O WB-1 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $3250         1852-O WB-1 PCGS MS61 50C - $4250    

            

1853-O A&R WB-21 PCGS MS62+ CAC 50C - $7000   1854 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $2950          1854-O WB-52 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $7250             

            

   1855 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $4500                 1855-O PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $8150               1856 WB-1 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $8000    

            

    1856-O WB-13 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $5850          1856-S WB-5 PCGS AU58 50C - $6500            1857 WB-5 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $2500        

            

       1857-O WB-1 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $7500       1857-S WB-4 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C - $7500              1858 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $5250              

            

          1858-O WB-14 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $3250     1858-S WB-11 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $7500      1859 WB-10 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $1500              

            

    1859-O WB-7 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $2850       1859-S WB-8 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $5000       1860 WB-7 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $1350        

            

     1860-O WB-7 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C - $8000       1861 WB-8 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $8250      1861-S WB-7 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $1350        

            

1862 WB-1 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $1500       1862-S WB-1 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $7500      1863 WB-7 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $5000  

            

1863-S WB-4 PCGS MS64+ CAC 50C - $8850       1864 WB-8 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $4500           1864-S WB-4 PCGS MS61 50C - $2500       

            

1865-S WB-5 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $5000        1866 WB-1 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $8000             1867 WB-9 PCGS MS63 50C - $1750       

            

  1867-S WB-2 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C - $2000       1868 WB-1 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $3500       1868-S WB-8 PCGS MS64+ CAC 50C - $7000  

            

  1869 WB-1 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $5500        1869-S WB-1 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C - $950       1870-S WB-1 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $4500

            

1871 WB-7 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $2000       1871-S WB-8 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $4250      1872 WB-6 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C - $9500

            

1873 NA C3 WB-4 PCGS AU50 CAC 50C - $550   1873-CC NA WB-1 PCGS VF35 CAC 50C - $3750    1873 Arr PCGS MS64+ CAC 50C - $9500      

            

  1873-S Arr WB-1 PCGS AU58 50C - $3500              1875 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $3850          1875-CC WB-4 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $7500

            

 1875-S WB-11 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C - $7500           1876 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $5000          1876-CC WB-2 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - $4150  

            

         1876-S PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $8000               1877 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C - $7250        1877-S WB-32 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C - $6750  

            

1879 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $6000                 1880 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C - $5350                      1882 PCGS MS65 50C - $4500    

            

    1883 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $3300                   1884 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $7500                  1886 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $2250    

            

   1888 PCGS MS66+ CAC 50C - $8250                   1890 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $4950                  1891 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $2000    

            

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

At the moment, I am planning to compose a short Blog edition for Christmas morning. This edition will be showcasing a newly published feature article concerning Matthew Yamatin's professional career at Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Fortune 50 company. As everyone should be aware, Matt is still a GFRC staff member after the creation of our online IT platform. Today his role is that of consulting when I run up against website or Excel COIN database matters.

And on that note, let's wrap up this Christmas Eve edition and hope that everyone is surrounded by family and is enjoying good health. Nothing is more precious.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 23, 2024

Preparing GFRC Online Auctions Gallery Showcases

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog as the 2024 Christmas week has arrived. Thank you so much for returning for another session of ongoing GFRC news and other ramblings. We appreciate the ongoing patronage.

The Christmas week will bring some brief down time though my mind is focused on the upcoming GFRC Online Auctions events that are a huge step for this smaller dealer operation. Bringing the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections to the numismatic market is a substantial undertaking given the many finest known lots and overall collection values. The overall marketing strategy in presently being executed with two YouTube interviews and advertising in a host of club and major market publications. I just received word that the Fall Gobrecht Journal has been mailed and in being received by the Liberty Seated Collectors Club membership. This edition features highlights from the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection as the centerfold presentation for that issue.

In a past Blog, I made mention that Coin World has had difficulties with its printing contractor resulting in the October and November monthly magazine and the weekly newspapers not being printed and ship to subscribers. After a discussion with Brenda Wyen, agreement was reached for GFRC to advertise its forthcoming January FUN show lot viewing and the first auction session that begins on January 19th. The following full page ad will appear on page 15 of the January monthly magazine and hopefully drive home the two points.

 

Considerable time has passed since checking in on Seth Godin and his daily posts. I'm in awe of Godin for his highly detailed and though provoking essays that continually address self development at the business and individual levels. The following blog post is brief but to the point and has parallels with my efforts to help individuals become more sophisticated collectors. For years, I've advocated that collectors use strict acquisition parameters followed by selling duplicate coins quickly as a feedback loop for buying acumen.

Seth Godin Blog - What if they’re right?

We spend a lot of time in our own heads, certain that our path and our method make sense. We often become more certain in the face of criticism or even suggestions.

This confidence is essential, as it allows us to lean into our project.

Once in a while, though, it might help to model the alternative. What if they’re right? How would that play out? If they’re right, what could I do with that insight?

If it’s helpful, run with it.

We can always go back to being right tomorrow.

 

Preparing GFRC Online Auctions Gallery Showcases

Gallery showcases have become a mainstay of the Daily Blog and a perfect tool for illustrating new consignments. Many GFRC sales actually take place directly from the Blog and prior to those coins being posted to the 30 Day Price List. The sale marketing philosophy has been employed for smaller GFRC Online Auction events too.

This coming week, I will be preparing huge pictorial galleries for the Fortin and Newtown Collections with website access links. Each collection has been sorted by reserve prices to aid with the selection of lots that will achieve marquee status followed by the balance of the collection. I've also decided to post the reserve prices as a reference point and a bidder guide post.

So please stay close to the Blog this week for updates. The individual galleries will be massive and a truly special documentation of two once in a lifetime collections.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I believe this is the extent of available content to be shared today. Price list sales continued through the weekend and I could not be more pleased with how the overall December sales are shaping up.

Thank you again for the daily visits.

Be well!

 

 

December 22, 2024

Taking a Daily Blog Holiday

 

Greetings on a Sunday morning. Yes, it is a Sunday and a perfect time to a take a short break from composing yet another Daily Blog edition.

The 30 Day Price List has seen a fair number of new listings as of late Saturday afternoon and you are invited to have a look. Otherwise, a laid back day is in order with a long health walk along with focusing on the creation of some awesome GFRC Online Auctions showcase galleries for the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections that will be available for auction lot viewing at the Winter FUN show.

Thank you for checking in as we move into a special holiday season.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 21, 2024

GFRC Tapes New Interview with Greg Bennick

and

Dreaming of a Once in a Lifetime Sports Car (with a little help from my friends)

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Saturday morning. A sincere thank you goes out to the countless number of readers who make the Blog a regular part of their morning reading.

The countdown for the Christmas and New Year holiday period is now underway as we prepare to say goodbye to the 2024 calendar year.

GFRC sales continued on Friday with more shipping to accomplish this morning. December sales have been robust and I could not be more pleased with the sales recovery after an anemic September and October. Yes, presidential and local elections have a way of distracting the citizenry.

As mentioned yesterday, the consignment queue is close to empty with a final round of new offerings being posted shortly. Without new consignments, my attention will shift to the forthcoming GFRC Online Auctions event that starts with lot viewing at Winter FUN followed by the first auction session that arrives on January 19th. During the coming week, a huge gallery display of the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection will be prepared as a long term online testament to Aaron Heintz's amazing accomplishment. After publishing the Newtown gallery, the same will be done for the Fortin Liberty Seated Dime collection. Special links will be posted on the GFRC platform to provide ongoing access to these galleries. This is an important effort for documenting pedigrees since neither Gerry or Aaron chose to reholder these coins with our names.

Let's jump into the headlines, shall we?

 

GFRC Tapes New Interview with Greg Bennick

Friday evening brought another GFRC interview, this time with Greg Bennick, an inspiring and fun keynote speaker on teamwork and focus offering strategies to enhance organizational performance and drive success. The interview lasted for a bit over an hour as we explored the parallels between Gerry Fortin's semiconductor career and his concurrent Liberty Seated dime die variety research. My thanks go out to Len Augsburger who arranged the interview in conjunction with the Newman Numismatic Portal.

This interview was recorded and will be edited shortly before being posted on YouTube. The announcement and link will be first published in the E-Sylum by mid-January. My thanks go out to Greg Bennick for a thoroughly stimulating discussion. It was obvious that Greg is a consummate professional in this realm. Simply "google" Greg Bennick to learn of his reputation and accomplishments.

 

Dreaming of a Once in a Lifetime Sports Car (with a little help from my friends)

Wow, this headline certainly covers much ground as my life is taking new turns.

First there was the visit to Oklahoma City and time spent with Blake Gibb at his sport car warehouse followed by two days of racing school at the Hallet Speedway in Jennings, OK. The friendship and time on the track has had an impact and resurfaced memories of my younger days working for IBM in East Fishkill, NY. During those days, I gifted myself a reward for the many years of hard work raising monies to attend UMaine and securing a BSEE followed by being hired by IBM. That gift was a Triump TR-7, a wonderful little performance two seater. Diane still displays the image of Gerry helping her out of the TR-7, in her full wedding gown as we arrived at St. Peters and Paul church in Lewiston Mane on May 24, 1980.

Fast forward to 2025 and the pending sale of the Liberty Seated Dime Collection by GFRC Online Auctions. I've worked for 10+ years building up a numismatic business to the point where it is capable of selling both the Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage collections. The time has come for another memorable reward in terms of a special sports car. Those closest to me have been aware of the background research that has been taking place towards a decision on a once in a lifetime sports car. Blake Gibb has been a close consultant given his track racing experience and his sports car stable. The below image should drive home this point as we see a new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, an Acura NSX, a BMW Z4, Audi Quattro R8, and a older Ferrari in the upper left background.

 

In today's Blog, I will not reveal where the decision process is heading. I've studied the pros and cons of many options from a thoroughly safe choice like a new Mazda MX-5, an environmentally friendly Tesla Model 3 Performance, to the opposite end of the spectrum, a riskier and more expensive Porsche 718 Boxster S. Once the initial January 19th auction sale is concluded, there will be ample cash flow to fund a purchase. Please keep visiting the Daily Blog to learn of the decision process and the final selection.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings the usual time in the office with morning shipping and loading more coins to the price list during the afternoon hours.

Thank you again for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 20, 2024

A Dr. Tim Cook Seated Dime Release to Consider

GFRC Consignment Window is Open

and

GFRC Online Auctions - Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud

 

Greetings on a pre-Christmas week Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We appreciated the ongoing readership and your year ending orders!

The current U.S. government chaos concerning a potential shutdown is just the tip of the iceberg heading straight at us during 2025. Most elected officials are political animals who view survival as their top priority. To survive, one must constantly sustain happy constituents. The most direct approach to happy constituents is allocating money to programs or hand outs that keep constituents on their side. This is the reason why the U.S. budget deficit is now at 36,200,000,000,000 and climbing daily. Enter Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy who will look behind the curtain to call out all of the pork spending. The past two days is the first example of what is to come with classical political rhetoric at its finest against those who wish to simplify the government. I believe that popcorn sales will do well in 2025.

Mild chaos was also apparent in the equity and bond markets as Jerome Powell surprised investors with a hawkish pull back on 2025 interest rate cuts. The Fed appears to be spooked by recent inflation reports and is dismissing a weakening labor market outside of government hiring. Market reaction was sharp on Wednesday with a 3% drop. The S&P 500 steadied at 5,867 on Thursday but the wobbling on the technical charts is apparent. Bonds took it on the chin as the 10 Year yield jumped to 4.55% in a flash. Gold and silver volatility is also apparent with the yellow precious metal hanging on to the $2600 and silver down big to $29.

Get ready for a wild first quarter in 2025. Let's move forward with today's numismatic content.

 

A Dr. Tim Cook Seated Dime Release to Consider

After Barry Sunshine's departure, I was back in the GFRC office and loaded the last of the White Pine $5 Liberty gold lots (first installment) to the 30 Day Price List. During the overnight, the 1904-S piece has sold, which is no surprise given the low mintage. After loading the White Pine gold, the focused shifted to a small but important consignment from Dr. Tim Cook. Our pricing proposal was promptly approved which enables today showcase gallery.

Following are four Liberty Seated dime for consideration. These are mostly die variety plays other than the 1848 F-101, a lovely CAC approved Mint State example. The 1850-O lot is a F-107 Medium O and much more challenging to locate than the Large O. Surfaces are nice and crusty original. Next is a popular 1872 DDR F-105 with the classic die variety appearance for that die pairing. All F-105 example seen will have a weak obverse strike, therefore please do not let that stop you from a purchase. If wishing to find an F-105 with a full obverse strike, good luck.

The final lot is a magnificent 1890-S DDO F-102 dime that received a GFRC-Gem quality rating and a JUST BUY IT NOW recommendation. The frosted luster and eye appeal is superior for the date coupled with an intricate view of the die doubling at the base. Hurry on this one!

New Liberty Seated Dimes From the Indiana Collection

      1848 F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $3500                                           1850-O F-107 PCGS EF45 10C - $495          

        

      1872 DDR F-105 PCGS AU50 10C - $1600                                       1890-S F-102 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C - $850    

        

 

GFRC Consignment Window is Open

It appears that I closed the GFRC consignment window a bit too prematurely...

Yes, I am down to one fresh consignment in the queue that will be processed today. Afterwards, there is a residual consignment of lower priced coins to keep me partially busy next week. The consignment window was closed early to ensure that I did not disappoint any consignor with their coins not being ready for display at the Winter FUN show. My ability to process coins in the Florida office was under estimated.

Therefore, the GFRC consignment window is wide open. I may be able to get to a consignment or two before FUN. If not, new consignments will be positioned in backlog for processing immediately after the FUN show.

If interested in consigning, please email me asap to work out a transfer.

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud

What is the basis for this headline, you might be asking?

Major auction houses will provide their special relationship clients with extended payments terms for major purchases. Have you even wondered how collectors can fund purchases of $100,000+ coins? Most do not have a ready checkbook, rather they need terms for raising the cash. Barry Sunshine and I discussed this fact and the need to make these types of terms available to the GFRC community given the amount of high end Liberty Seated dimes and halves being sold during the first half of 2025.

Bottom line, if you would like to be a substantial player in the forthcoming three auction sessions and require extended payments terms, then let's work together to find a solution. The consignors are limited to two individuals who are motivated to sell their collections directly to collectors and can be flexible with how payments are accomplished. For example, if a vetted community member wishes to spend over $100,000 (or more) across the three sessions, we an arrange payments that could span 12 months. Don't be bashful about talking to me about your goals and funding strategy. For existing consignors, GFRC can immediately take on your duplicate coins on consignment with the proceeds helping offset the auction bill. As the idiom goes, there are many ways to skin a cat. The ball is in your court to contact me on this topic. All discussions will be strictly confidential as to potential targeted lots or spending amounts.

The Fortin and Newtown auction sales are a truly special event being held by a collector/dealer that caters primarily to collectors. Without a dealer backstop for liquidity, my role is to be creative with approaches for placing these coins directly in collector hands without a dealer intermediary.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is a small amount of shipping this morning followed by more time in the office during the afternoon hours. The shipping department will close after today and reopen on December 27.

Thank so much for the ongoing visits.

Be well!

 

 

December 19, 2024

Two Collectors Just Having Fun (and Sound Advice!)

 

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

Yes, this edition is late as compared to the normal 8:00 AM publishing time. There is a rational explanation as two collectors have been enjoying each other's company while viewing the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection. I will upload the Blog at this point and write much more during the coming hours.

 

Two Collectors Just Having Fun (and Sound Advice!)

OK, we are back and ready to share the events of the past 24 hours or so.

Let's start with the special guest that visited the GFRC office on Wednesday and did an overnight stay. I've known Barry Sunshine for years as one of the more prolific members of the John Reich Collectors Society. Barry is a consummate collector of Capped Bust coinage and has also amassed an incredible collection over a numismatic lifetime. He has been in the coin business since running coins for Q. David Bowers at New York City area shows as a young teenager and is well connected with present day dealers. The Sunshine name may be familiar with many in the community given that David Sunshine is Barry's son. David Sunshine and GFRC have built a close working relationship since the early days of my humble business. We had originally planned for David to also attend Wednesday's event but that did not come to pass.

Barry arrived from West Palm Beach around 2:00 PM, and after enjoying a pink salmon sandwich as prepared by Diane, we headed to the GFRC office and positioned ourselves for a complete review of the Gerry Fortin Seated dime collection. The stage was set with two chairs and a bright white overhead lamp for critical viewing of each piece. Barry made an admission early on that he entered the lot viewing session with skepticism and the fact that my reserves had been set too high. Many collectors who liquidate their collections will over market their coins with claims of upgrade potential. It was with that mindset that the lot viewing began at 3:00 PM and lasted until a bit after 5:00 PM. In those two plus hours, we only managed to view the 1837 through 1851 dates with much more to study after dinner. Barry's initial thought was that the collection, so far, was very strong with multiple upgrade opportunities against current grading standards.

Happy hour brought the opening of a fantastic Argentinian malbec, brought by Barry, for the three of us to enjoy on the lanai along with the usual assorted nuts. The conversations were wide ranging including touching upon Gerry's current options for that special sports car once the collection is sold along with potential overseas vacations. Dusk soon appeared and it was time to fire up the grill for a scallops and asparagus dinner along with Diane's famous spinach salad. We ate and chatted until 7:30 before heading back to the office to complete the lot viewing. Once back in the lot viewing mode, we went through the 1850s date before arriving to the Civil War years, a particularly strong collection segment. There was one date that Barry felt was under graded by two full points and required corrective action at FUN. Once exiting the Civil War era, we found ourselves into the early 1870s and the big four Carson City date run where we gawked at the incredible originality. The entire collection was studied by a little after 11:00 PM, followed by heading to bed for some well deserved sleep.

I was back in the GFRC office at 5:30 AM having breakfast, with the intention of writing a Blog edition, when Barry pops into the office for a summary conversation of what he had seen the prior evening. Again, his preconceived mindset that my reserves were too high was shattered. The lot viewing session proved that assumption to be incorrect, rather I was getting beat up by Barry (as only Barry can do) for not taking the necessary steps to resubmit a fair number of coins for upgrades. His point was that the collection was notably above his expectations and incredibly consistent in terms of original surfaces and light toning colors. There was praise for the fact that I had managed to locate high grade Mint State examples without any marks on Liberty. Of course, in the 1990 through 2005 period, grading standards were much tighter than today with respect to small blemishes. My dimes were close to perfection at the labeled grades given the consistent luster and mark free surfaces.

We finished our discussions with agreement on which coins were blatantly under graded and required show grading submission at the upcoming Winter FUN show. Barry reinforce the fact that I was "leaving money on the table" by not fixing the most egregiously under graded pieces. Otherwise, the marketing effort, between now and the first January 19 auction session, must aggressively drive home the point that this collection is atypical as compared to those currently appearing within the auction market. In hand lot reviews are necessary to fully appreciated these dimes including the basis for the current reserves.

There you have it. Two experienced collectors reviewing an old time collection with specific outcomes. I have much work to do between now and the first January 19 auction session to bring in a robust bidding base towards realizing the true value of these coins.

Those collectors attending the FUN show will have an opportunity to view the entire collection in detail along with the Newtown Liberty Seated halves which are also exemplary. I will also be making an announcement on special payment terms that will enable collectors to stretch their numismatic budgets over a longer period of time.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The lunch hour has somehow already arrived. After taking a break, I will be in the office the entire afternoon loading the White Pine $5 gold to the 30 Day Price List along with more processing images for a four piece Seated dime lot from the Dr. Tim Cook Collection.

Friday morning brings the last shipping session before we move into the Christmas holiday come early next week.

Thank you for checking in and listening to today's ramblings.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 18, 2024

Special Guests Visit the GFRC Office

and

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold to Consider - Part 1

 

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for staying close to these ongoing ramblings.

The GFRC office continues to hum right along and I'm not talking about musical tunes...

December's order rate has been very strong as we attempt to post as many freshly consigned coins as possible prior to the early January FUN show. Those new offerings have generated a host of interest and consistent order rate. Each morning, I've been heading to the Venice Island post office with five or more packages in the LL Bean canvas bag for transfer. I believe this trend will continue after the community takes in the first installment of the newest White Pine consignment.

Today's Blog will be brief as there is much to get done this morning before special guests arrive to the GFRC office for an in depth review of the forthcoming GFRC Online Auctions lots that will be on exhibit at the Winter FUN show. I'm really looking forward to hanging with fellow numismatics and savoring my Liberty Seated Dime collection for one final show and tell. There are many back stories but also the significance of certain pieces on a date/grade level rarity basis.

 

A Super Nice 1853 $20 Gold Piece

Let's open the numismatic portion of today's Blog with a super nice 1853 $20 gold piece that was just taken in trade. The surfaces are well preserved and offer crisp frosted luster. This lot is currently posted to the price list with the following description.

Excellent Candidate for Type, Pleasing Eye Appeal, Honey-Green Gold . Just taken in trade is this wonderful 1853 Type 1 double eagle for consideration. Though not CAC approved (I've not submitted), the overall eye appeal is sufficient for a JUST BUY NOT recommendation. The surfaces are essentially unabraded with rich frosted radiance radiating when placed under a bright. Vibrant cartwheels are also part of the winning combination. Perfect for the collector that wishes to own a pretty Type 1 design issue at a competitive offer price. PCGS has just bumped their price guide to $6000 in AU58. Though a bit overstated, the wholesale auction trade stands at $4100 for a run of the mill dreg. Housed in PCGS Gen 6.0 (2015-2020) holder.

1853 PCGS AU58 G$20 - $4500

 

 

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold to Consider - Part 1

Today's main Daily Blog event is a wonderful gallery display of a subset of the newest White Pine Collection $5 Liberty gold consignment. As mentioned previously, this consignment offers well above average quality along with many better dates. For example, PCGS reports the 1861-S Civil Date to have less than 100 known in all grades for starters.

How can you resist the 1840 and 1844-O lots with their eye appealing presentation and CAC approval? The 1847 lot is a repunched date with extra flag at the top of the 7 digit. The orange-gold coloration is stunning. The 1904-S brings a small mintage of only 97,000 and is a better date at the AU58 and Mint State grades.

If interested in any of these lots, please email me as these will not be posted to the price list until Thursday afternoon. My focus for today is hosting our guests and enjoying a fine afternoon and evening of numismatic company.

 

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold to Consider - Part 1

      1840 PCGS AU55 CAC G$5 - $2350                                               1844-O PCGS AU50 CAC G$5 - $1975    

        

      1860 PCGS AU58 G$5 - $4500                                                       1861-S PCGS VF35 G$5 - $7000    

        

1843-O LL PCGS EF40 CAC G$5 - $1650                  1844 PCGS AU53 G$5 - $875                1847 RPD PCGS AU55 CAC G$5 - $1300  

                

              1904-S PCGS AU58 G$5 - $900                      1905-S PCGS MS62 G$5 - $900            1906-D PCGS MS63 CAC G$5 OGH - $1050  

                

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The time has arrived to say goodbye for another day as I need to hit the shower followed by getting the day's shipping done and then driving to the Venice Island post office and a local fish market for some fresh scallops.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 17, 2024

Sheffield Collection Consignment - Part 2 Listings

and

Soliciting Consignments for January 2025

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning. We hope that everyone is moving along with their Christmas shopping as time is running out! Thank you for stopping by.

Today's edition will be brief as I'm just not in a rambling mood. Don't get me wrong, everything is fine after a productive Monday. Brenda Wyen from COIN World called yesterday and we were able to settle the lack of printed GFRC advertising for the November Baltimore show to my satisfaction. I will be running a full page GFRC Online Auctions advertisement in the January 2025 monthly magazine specially targeting the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated Collections and auction lot viewing at the Winter FUN show. I was promised that the January issue will ship ahead of the show with some favorable ad placement in the edition. So this matter has been resolved.

Health wise, I'm finally feeling back to normal just in time for the holidays. This is also good.

Finally, the Maine homestead is always in the back of my mind. The new SEG solar panels and Tesla Powerwall3 batteries are performing well per the Tesla cellphone app. Daily Maine weather conditions can be implied from the amount of solar generation. The system output is such that the Fortins may never pay for insourced energy from the grid again. A recent heating oil delivery brings our 250 gallon fuel tank ready to take the homestead well into February as long as the winter weather remains seasonal. Once March arrives, Maine temperatures are on the upswing and I'm chopping at the bit to return home.

Today's GFRC office focus is two-fold. First is posting yet more consignments to the 30 Price List. The White Pine Collection has approved our pricing proposal, therefore some awesome $5 Liberty gold will be offered to the community. Second is preparing is for special auction lot viewing event that occurs on Wednesday. I'm most excited about the latter as this will be the final opportunity to sit down with two expert numismatists towards a complete review of my front-line dime collection.

 

Sheffield Collection Consignment - Part 2 Listings

So far, the Sheffield Collection Liberty Seated dimes have been in demand and quickly selling. This should come as no surprise as the coins are very choice with great eye appeal. Following is a gallery of the remaining pieces that would loaded to the price list yesterday evening. Already, there are purchase requests for the 1862 and 1888 dimes.

 

Sheffield Collection Consignment - Part 2 Listings

      1852 PCGS MS65 CAC H10C - $1285                                          1838 F-104 PCGS MS63 10C - $995    

        

  1862 F-108 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $725                                           1888 PCGS MS64 CAC H10C - $675    

        

 

Soliciting Consignments for January 2025

OK, the GFRC consignment window is now officially open for new consignments. However, incoming consignments will be processed and posted to the price lists after the January FUN Show. The next major GFRC show event will be the ANA National Money Show that takes place in Atlanta from February 27 to March 1 with GFRC securing a fantastic booth location in the UltraPremium section.

Once we are through the Winter FUN show, my focus will again return to processing consignments and restocking inventory in time of the ANA event. Your role is to consider potential consignments and their shipments during January.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As I said at the opening, today's edition has been brief.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 16, 2024

Oregon Beaver's Seated Half Dollar and Dollar Offerings

and

Sheffield Collection Consignment - Part 1 Listings

 

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to yet another Daily Blog issue. Thank you for the visit.

Today's ramblings will be brief as there are a host of non-numismatic tasks to get done prior to the Christmas holiday week rapidly approaching on the calendar. Sunday brought a long and productive day in the GFRC office, therefore I'm going to take the foot off the accelerator today and focus on other areas of life.

This week also brings a special appointment visit by two long time clients to the GFRC office for a private auction lot viewing of my Liberty Seated Dime collection.

Let's jump right into today's headline content.

 

Oregon Beaver's Seated Half Dollar and Dollar Offerings

The 30 Day Price List continues to flourish with incremental Liberty Seated coinage offerings from the Oregon Beaver Collection. Our long time client has be steadily divesting his Liberty Seated half dollar collection along with other holdings during the past several years. Today brings another installment.

GFRC is pleased to be showcasing a lot of much better date Seated halves in high AU and Mint State grades for consideration.

We open with a truly noteworthy 1856-S half that is full AU58 at today's grading standards. This piece features a mint made planchet delamination error at 1:00 while the balance of the coin is a sweet frosty piece with light gold patination. Moving right is one of the finest 1858-S Seated halves extant and the former Eugene Gardner piece. The luster and cartwheels combined for exceptional overall eye appeal. The 1867 half is equally beautiful and warrants a home in a top collection. The unlisted 1872-CChalf can be traced back to the Seal Beach Collection that was sold by GFRC during November 2016. The past record can be found in the Sales Archive.

The 1872-S half and 1859-S dollar lots have yet to be listed to the price list and will be added today. An 1859-S Seated dollar at the AU58 grade level is certainly a prize offering within an important historical context. U.S. trade demands with the Orient were increasing with San Francisco being an key embarkation point for direct trade with China. 20,000 1859-S dated silver dollars were therefore struck for that purpose with few high grade survivors remaining for present day collectors.

 

Oregon Beaver's Seated Half Dollar and Dollar Offerings

       1856-S WB-5 PCGS AU55 50C - $4500                                           1858-S WB-10 PCGS MS64+ 50C - $12,500    

        

                1867 PCGS MS64 50C - $4000                                                1872-CC Unlisted PCGS AU55 50C - $5850    

        

    1872-S WB-3 PCGS MS63 50C - $3150                                              1859-S OC-2 PCGS AU58 $1 - $7500    

        

 

Sheffield Collection Consignment - Part 1 Listings

Saturday brought the arrival of a 16 piece consignment from the Sheffield Collection with all being Liberty Seated dimes other than a lone 1852 Seated half dime. Our consignor purchased many of these lots from GFRC in the past, therefore it was straightforward to recycle the images and descriptions once the offer prices were approved. Following is an initial presentation of those Sheffield dimes with existing images. These have been posted to the 30 Day Price List.

 

Sheffield Collection Consignment - Part 1 Listings

          1849 F-101 NGC MS65 10C - $3350                                       1853 Arrows F-102 NGC MS65 10C - $1450      

        

 1873 Arrows F-117 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C - $650                                     1875 F-103 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C - $685          

        

 1887 Unlisted PCGS MS65 10C - $700                                           1889 Unlisted PCGS MS65 10C - $675    

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

That is it for today's content and commentary. I will be in and out of the GFRC office throughout the day and doing my best to remain abreast of incoming orders.

On a positive note, all of the committed consignments to arrive prior to the 2025 Winter FUN show are now in the office. This will provide a processing opportunity during the coming week as the 30 Day Price List sees a constant flow of new offerings. Yes, I am still waiting for pricing confirmation from the White Pine Collection and those choice $5 Liberty gold lots. Image processing is about 70% completed.

As for the Gerry Fortin interview video on YouTube, there are now 183 views as of this morning. I could not be more pleased with the number of views which will hopefully translate into active bidding for my front line collection dimes come the first session on January 19.

Thank you again for stopping by at the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 15, 2024

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold Consignment Preview

High Grade Liberty Seated Dimes Courtesy the Sheffield Collection

and

Gerry Fortin Interview - 100+ YouTube Views

 

Greetings on a mid-December early morning and welcome to yet another Daily Blog edition. Thank you for stopping by.

It is hard to believe that we are already at the mid-December point, but then again it is cold 6F in Raymond as the Blog is being composed. Diane and I are blessed to have a winter refuge in mid west coast Florida during the frigid northern New England months. Here is Venice, the temperature is a comfortable 66 degrees.

Saturday brought a full day in the GFRC office with much progress with the latest White Pine $5 Liberty gold consignment. A pricing and CAC submission recommendation has been prepared and sent to our consignor with image processing underway. USPS arrived during the afternoon hours with a strong Liberty Seated Dime consignment from the Sheffield Collection. To start the day, I sat down and watched my own YouTube video and very pleased with how the podcast turned out. I'm known for frank talk and this video certainly remained true to that philosophy.

Lastly, yesterday's featured 1861-S PCGS EF45 CAC Liberty Seated quarter has found a fitting new home. Congratulations go out to a long time GFRC client who secure this superb example.

There is little else to ramble about, so let's get right into today's content.

 

White Pine $5 Liberty Gold Consignment Preview

The newest White Pine Collection consignment is yet another collector working with GFRC to "move up the ladder". Roger's incremental consignments are delving deeper in his bank box and releasing the really rare dates and lots with premium surfaces. Yesterday's review and GFRC quality ratings amounted to two Gems, one Original, and the balance being rated Choice.

Following is the entire consignment for your viewing enjoyment. Please note that the 1870 is an NGC CAC approved cross into PCGS and needs to head back to CAC on Monday for a fresh green bean. Accompanying the 1870 for a shot at green approval are the 1855-O, 1872-S, and 1877-S. The balance will be heading to the price list once the offer prices are settled. I'm open to securing First Rights of Refusals based on the following showcase gallery.

 

Choice White Pine $5 Liberty Gold

 

High Grade Liberty Seated Dimes Courtesy the Sheffield Collection

Fresh to the office is the following Liberty Seated Dime lot from the Sheffield Collection. Our near term client has been bitten by the Seated Dime collecting bug and is releasing a quality group of duplicates towards raising numismatic capital in advance of the Fortin Collection auction sale. I've not had a change to attribute these yet as they are pretty much fresh from the shipping box. Photography will take place today along with the group being loaded into the COIN database.

 

Sheffield Collection - Liberty Seated Dime Release

 

Gerry Fortin Interview - 100+ YouTube Views

Just a quick note that the Gerry Fortin Interview video has already garnered 103 views on YouTube as of 6:00 AM.

The feedback has been quite positive from several clients and friends to took the time to respond with their comments. Again, the video can be viewed by clicking on this link.

https://youtu.be/dARmMOaiBPg

from I'm already in discussions with Aaron Heintz and Len towards a second podcast during the mid-January time frame. The focus will be on the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection and the presentation format will be a bit different than that of my interview. Please stay close to the Daily Blog for more details.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is a Sunday and a day of intended rest by our creator. I'm still in recovery mode from that stomach bug or whatever that nailed me this week and would like to have a slow day in the office. Let's wrap up today's edition at this point.

Thanks again for making the Daily Blog a part of your morning reading.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 14, 2024

2025 FUN Show is Three+ Weeks Away!

30 Day Price List at 100 Lots

and

GFRC Online Auctions Podcast Posted to YouTube

 

Greetings from Venice Florida and welcome to the Daily Blog. It is a Saturday morning and I'm feeling a whole lot better with Christmas rapidly approaching.

Yes, the past five days have brought their ups and downs but I'm close to being back to normal operating condition. Friday was a particularly long day in the GFRC office while being cautious about food selections as my body recovers from whatever nailed me on Monday and Thursday. From a GFRC perspective, it has been a strong sales week with hopes that the momentum can be sustained for a few more days. I'm doing my best to load the 30 Day Price List with a host of new offerings and price reductions to entice some final gift giving or personal holiday shopping.

Let's move forward with today's headline topics...

 

2025 FUN Show is Three+ Weeks Away!

Time moves on much too quickly! Immediately after celebrating Christmas joy and ringing in the New Year, the most important numismatic event of the year arrives on January 8, 2025. Yes, the massive 2025 Winter FUN show is only three plus weeks away with GFRC beginning its preparations.

GFRC will be operating at its usual Booth #636-640 location. Yes, the spot is well off the entrance but the stroll will be rewarded with a host of fantastics numismatic auction lots and regular inventory. Taking center stage is the final GFRC Online Auction lot viewing session for the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection and the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection. Over 220 lots of high grade Mint State Seated coinage, with many finest knowns, will be available for careful inspection prior to the first auction session that begins on January 19.

This year, the GFRC booth will be thoroughly staff with Gerry, Diane, Dan White, Rose Marie, and Blake Gibb. Also located within the booth will be Rich Hundertmark and his GFRC-Lite inventory at a side table. If early type coins are your forte, then a visit to the GFRC booths is highly suggested and will not disappoint.

Here is a screen capture of the FUN show bourse map and our location.

2025 FUN - GFRC at Booth 638-640

 

GFRC is absolutely ready for the auction lot viewing portion of the booth with staffing and auction catalogs. Yesterday brought a Staples delivery of the second printing of our colorful catalogs for the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Collections. I'm certain that these will become collector's item in their own right. The images and colors are fantastic along with in depth descriptions by the GFRC Online Auctions cataloging staff.

GFRC Online Auctions Catalogs Ready to Go!

 

30 Day Price List at 100 Lots

As mentioned earlier, Friday brought a full court press to load the 30 Day Price List with new offerings and more price reductions. As of this morning, that price list stands at an even 100 lots including several JUST BUY IT NOW recommendations. One in particular, an 1861-S Liberty Seated quarter graded PCGS EF45 with CAC approval, warrants a special shout out. Astute Liberty Seated collectors need only take a look at the CAC population report and the GFRC Sales Archive to understand the importance of this opportunity. The CAC population is four at the EF45 grade level with a single AU58 finer. The offer price is well below the last sale realized by GFRC.

This lot looks much better in-hand than as illustrated. Yes, the lines to the left of Liberty's left facing arm are a strike through of fine polishing cloth fibers as made.

1861-S PCGS EF45 CAC 25C - $9000

Important Opportunity, Rare Grade, Choice Surfaces, Residual Luster, CAC Approved. Here at GFRC, we have handled a host of lower grade 1861-S Seated quarters as the date is a favorite target of hoarders given the low mintage of 96,000 and ongoing Civil War Collector demand. A quick trip to the GFRC Sales Archive will easily validate this claim. From a complete set of Liberty Seated quarters arrives this marvelous EF45 certified specimen that warrants a JUST BUY IT NOW shout out as this piece is rock solid at grade with unmolested surfaces. The visual presentation, under a bright light, is undisturbed as the fields offer residual steely reflectance and a overall strike is boldly pleasing. Our consignor has priced this lot fairly as GFRC has previously sold another PCGS EF45 CAC example for $10,500 during June 2022 as reference. The CAC Stickered census is currently 34 example with a single AU58 example finer. The CAC price guide suggest $8250 as fair market value which is understated IMHO. Hurry as this piece will be acquired by a knowledgeable student of the series. Housed in PCGS Gen 4.5 (2012-2013) holder with CAC approval.

 

GFRC Online Auctions Podcast Posted to YouTube

Len Augsburger has made quick work of Tuesday evening's podcast presentation of an interview with Gerry Fortin. The interview was recorded and has been uploaded to YouTube. If you could not attend the Tuesday session, simply click on this link to access the video presentation at your leisure.

https://youtu.be/dARmMOaiBPg

There are a host of great stories and some frank talk from Gerry's past life in the semiconductor business along with a background on his Liberty Seated Dime die variety research that culminated in the release of The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors online reference published during August 2004. The interview will shed light into the parallels between his semiconductor career and its influence on his original numismatic research.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings another round of morning shipping and consignment check writing followed by an afternoon focused on incremental postings to the 30 Day Price List. My next consignment priority is the latest $5 Liberty gold offerings from the White Pine Collection. Sunday's Blog edition will feature a group photo of this lot as I'm still in the preliminary stages of loading into the COIN system and processing images.

Thank you so much for stopping by at the Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 13, 2024

Not One of My Better Health Weeks

A Quality Emerald Isle Consignment to Consider

and

GFRC-Lite at the Annadale VA Coin Show Plus 12 Coins of Christmas Sale

 

Greetings on a Christmas season Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for returning for another edition.

Well, this has not been a great health week...

Yesterday brought another afternoon in bed with symptoms similar to that of Monday. Let's add in a sore throat to the mix for good measure. As a result, there were no new postings to the 30 Day Price List yesterday. I'm back in the office this morning after a good night's sleep and will be clearing the refrigerator of any suspect foods. For the time being, I'm eating boiled eggs, and dumplings until my GI tract settles down. Three cheers go out to Diane for keeping the incoming consignments and outgoing shipping moving along this week as sales have been brisk at the best level is months.

Gold and silver took a spill on Thursday consistent with how I was feeling. Gold is back down to $2665 in the London market as the Blog is composed. Silver is quoting at $30.70/oz. The down trend was precipitated by a disappointing November Producer Price Index Report revealed wholesale costs rising by 0.4% from October, exceeding market expectations of a 0.2% increase. This "surprise" was on the heels of a CPI report at 0.3%. The government reports have spooked investors concerning a potential resurgence of inflation during the early stages of a Federal Reserve interest rate cutting cycle which could be short lived. Investors are on edge to begin with as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 are trading at extremely high levels according to Warren Buffet's two standard deviations from trend line. Let's go to Google AI to explain this last comment.

The Buffett Indicator is a valuation model that uses standard deviation bands to estimate if the stock market is overvalued or undervalued. When the Buffett Indicator is two or more standard deviations above or below the trend line, it could indicate that the market is severely overvalued or undervalued.

What it is? The Buffett Indicator compares the total value of all US stocks to the country's GDP

How to use it? Compare the current value of the Buffett Indicator to its historical trend line.

What it indicates? A value that's two or more standard deviations above or below the trend line could indicate that the market is severely overvalued or undervalued.

Equity markets were also down on the report but appear to be in recovery mode based on morning market futures. I believe that financial volatility will be the rule in the coming months for a simple reason. Though there is euphoria due to the Trump election, there will be actors in various government agencies who will be happy to release negative economic data to challenge the new president. One example is the Bureau of Labor Statistics that has been systematically revising monthly front line job reports once issued. Those revisions are consistently on the down side and bring questions about biases.

My gut tells me that Q1'2025 could be a rocky ride and I hope that I am just being a nervous Nellie on this point. Proceed with caution and hug your physical gold.

 

A Quality Emerald Isle Consignment to Consider

The Emerald Isle consignor is back with a six-piece lot that warrants your attention for quality coins at a fair price point.

Let's start with the 1834 JR-4 Large 4 Capped Bust dime that was previously purchased from GFRC in an NGC AU55 CAC holder. This piece looks that much better in a new clearer plastic CACG holder. The gem 1875 dime, an unlisted die pairing, was also purchased from GFRC in the past. Ditto for the 1846 Medium Date WB-9 Seated half.

Moving to the second illustrated row, all three coins are fresh to GFRC with the 1858-O housed in a PCGS holder with 35th anniversary old green holder label. I've assigned a gem quality rating to this lot along with a JUST BUY IT NOW once posted. I will do my best to get these new lots on the price list today.

Lovely Emerald Isle Offerings

    1834 JR-4 CACG AU55 10C - $825                      1875 PCGS MS65 10C - $575                1846 MD WB-9 PCGS MS65 10C - $350 

                

       1854 NGC AU58 50C - $525                         1858-O PCGS AU58 50C - $475                 1873 Arrows NGC AU55 50C - $550  

                

 

GFRC-Lite at the Annadale VA Coin Show Plus 12 Coins of Christmas Sale

As promised yesterday, Rich has composed a thorough introduction to his appearance at this weekend's Annadale VA Coin Show along with a novel 12 Coins of Christmas Sale event. Please read on.

Hi Gerry,  

Holiday greetings to all the loyal blogamaniacs.

Just a reminder that Lite will be attending the December Annandale show this Saturday and Sunday at the Northern Virginia Community College. This 80-table event is the traditional year end show for Lite with doors opening to the general public at 10AM. Promoter Wayne Herndon of Wizard Coin notoriety always does a masterful job in running the event at the on-campus venue including a complementary dealer lunch and providing a strong security presence. 

Lite will be in its normal table location right off the front entry door to the bourse, so if visiting, walk in , hang a quickie left , take maybe five paces and you will be in front of a dealer table that has a selection of collector grade 19th and early 20th century type coins that is surely above the average fare found at a smaller regional show. For this go-round, Lite will have 2 cases of graded coins and one case of raw. At the recently concluded Whitman Affair, the raw case showed strong sales while the graded coins lagged. It would be nice to see an uptick in graded material purchases.

In conjunction with the show, Lite will be running its 2nd annual Christmas sale, I’m formally dubbing it the “12 Coins of Christmas Sale” in homage to one of my favorite Christmas songs. As the title implies, I've selected 12 coins from Lite's gfrclite.com website that will be discounted during the show event. The coins range in price from $100 to $400 and are listed below. 

Here's how the sale works:

1- the sale is a 2-day event on Sat Dec 14 and Sunday Dec 15th
2- the below coins are now listed on the Lite website gfrclite.com with the promotional sale price shown. The Christmas Sale price is now listed in the Description box and if the website's sale functionality works as intended the sale price will show in the price box during the sale's 2-day time duration.
3- offers won’t be accepted before the 14th and accepted offer priority will be determined by the time date stamp of an order placed via the Lite website or email inquiry received.
4- I will confirm availability as quickly as possible. Given that I’ll be working on the Annandale show bourse as a one-person operation and traveling home Sunday there may be a delay in acknowledgement. I will do my best to respond as quickly as possible. I've also marked all of the Christmas sale coins with RED circle stickers, so if an order is received during show hours, I will quickly pull it from the display case.
6- Sunday weather is forecasted to be bad so I may be leaving the show in the early afternoon, if placing an order in the afternoon time frame please be patient with my acknowledgment as I may be on the road back to North Carolina.
5- Once an order is acknowledged I will calculate the total amount due including shipping and PayPal ( if requested). Please do not send money until coin availability and total amount due is communicated.

Here’s a listing of the offered coins;

1- 3CS 1853 VF30 NGC #3683152001, List $110 Sale $100
2- 5C 1883Cents XF45 NGC #6895150005, List $100 Sale $90
3- 5C 1944-S MS67 NGC #1952556039, List $110, Sale $100
4- H10C 1838-O No Stars AG03 PCGS #36932590, List $210 Sale $190
5- H10C 1840ND MS61 NGC #5895060001, List $425 Sale $390
6- H10C 1847 AU50 ANACS #4894384, List $150 Sale $130
7-10C 1838 ND, Large Stars AU50 PCGS #81220672, List $325 Sale $290
8- 10C 1840-O No Drapery VF25 PCGS #81220676, List $225 Sale $200
9- 25C 1835 VF35 PCGS# 26679692, List $240 Sale $210
10- 50C 1946-S MS65 NGC #321583026, List $160 Sale $145
11- $1 1878 8TF VAM-10 MS62 NGC #1607715012, List $359 Sale $319
12- $1Peace 1921 EF40 ANACS #5134560, List $210 Sale $185

After the Annandale show the turnaround time is quick to the FUN show. That's always my favorite show as the event perfectly breaks up the winter and I get
to see a host of dealer and client friends that make it a point to attend. 

I'll simply end by wishing all continued collecting success, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Rich

 

Wrapping Up The Blog Commentary

The Oregon Beaver has also been a bit under the weather and just approved pricing for his new Liberty Seated half dollar and $2.5 Liberty gold consignment that was showcased last week in the Blog. Let's add those coins to the price list posting queue.

Yesterday also brought a letter from COIN World announcing that due to a dispute with their contract printer, the October and November weekly and monthly magazine were never printed and shipped to customers. GFRC was caught up in this event as my full page ad for the GFRC Online Auction's lot viewing at the Whitman Baltimore show never went out. The worst part was a 65% invoice for the full page ad was included with the letter. Displeased does not begin to describe my reaction to the letter and the invoice as an initial settlement attempt. Stay tuned for more details on how this plays out as my advertising days with COIN World will be a function of how they handle this situation given yesterday email from Brenda Wyen asking me to advertise in the January issue for the upcoming FUN show. Does COIN World management understand what service recovery means in the business world?

Let's move on and you can guessed what is next.

I will be in the office the entire day attempting to load a host of new lots to the 30 Day Price List.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 12, 2024

An Important 1876-CC Seated Dime Variety Offering

and

San Francisco Liberty Seated Quarters to Consider

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog. It is a mid-December Thursday morning and all is well here in Venice Florida. We hope the same for you as the Christmas shopping season moves along quickly.

Wednesday brought a catch-up day in the GFRC office while noon time thunderstorms raged outdoors. We were able to catch up on shipping after being down and out in bed on Tuesday. The afternoon hours brought a Liberty Seated quarter gallery showcase that brought immediate sales.

Gold and silver continued their rally on Wednesday after U.S. November inflation data came in at 2.7%. The number "was to expectations" but let's face the facts, we are still experiencing moderate inflation in the overall economy with the value of the U.S. dollar slowly eroding. We've been conditioned to accept moderate inflation as "normal" as prices continue their upward spiral year-on-year. Following are the first two paragraphs from Kitco's Neils Christensen on the latest inflation numbers.

Gold futures have experienced a remarkable week of gains, climbing nearly $100 per troy ounce across three consecutive trading sessions. The recent price surge coincides with the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which reveals a persistent inflationary trend that has caught the attention of financial markets and Federal Reserve officials.

The November inflation report shows a 2.7% annual increase, marking a slight uptick from previous months. Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, has been even more pronounced, rising 3.3% on an annualized basis. While the data aligns with economists' expectations, it signals a concerning direction for price pressures in the economy.

The central bank is currently navigating a delicate monetary policy approach, with projections indicating the benchmark Fed funds rate will likely settle between 3.25% and 3.5% in the coming year. Recent policy meetings have seen the Fed implement rate cuts totaling 75 basis points, including a significant 50-basis-point reduction followed by a 25-basis-point cut.

Market expectations for further monetary intervention remain high. The CME's FedWatch tool suggests a 98.6% probability of an additional 25-basis-point rate cut in the upcoming FOMC meeting, a significant increase from recent weeks' projections. However, the persistence of sticky inflation could potentially slow the pace of future rate cuts. Investors and economists are closely watching how the Federal Reserve will balance its dual mandate of controlling inflation and supporting economic growth.

These economic dynamics have proven particularly beneficial for gold prices. The precious metal typically responds favorably to lower interest rates, as reduced yields make fixed assets like government treasuries less attractive to investors. The current week's surge, with gold futures reaching $2,753.20 per troy ounce, demonstrates the metal's sensitivity to monetary policy and inflation trends.

 

An Important 1876-CC Seated Dime Variety Offering

Let's feature a Liberty Seated dime variety to start the numismatic portion of today's Blog. This piece is from my personal reference collection and was acquired raw in the late 1990's. It was submitted to CACG last year and returned with a Mint State Details - Questionable Toning opinion. Yes the toning is mottled but the dime is clearly uncirculated. The key point here is that an uncirculated example of this variety is a big deal. Can you attribute it from the images? This coin is for sale with offers being accepted.

An Important 1876-CC Seated Dime Variety Offering

Can you attribute it?

CACG MS Details - Questionable Toning

 

San Francisco Liberty Seated Quarters to Consider

Our client, who initial divested a substantial portion of this Liberty Seated Quarter collection, held back the San Francisco pieces between 1858 and 1869 as quite elusive in better circulated grades. Recently, he decided to complete the divestment and sent along these pieces. GFRC is proud to be offering the following group for immediate purchase. Already, the 1858-S and 1864-S sold quickly once this gallery was posted. The balance remain free agents for your consideration at the posted offer prices.

San Francisco Liberty Seated Quarters to Consider

      1858-S PCGS EF45 CAC 25C - $4500 (HOLD)                                        1859-S PCGS EF40 25C - $6000              

        

             1861-S PCGS EF45 CAC 25C - $9000                                          1864-S PCGS VF35 25C - $5500 (HOLD)       

        

1855-S PCGS VF25 25C - $950                         1856-S PCGS VF20 25C - $1000                      1862-S PCGS VF25 25C - $850

                

1867-S PCGS VF25 25C - $1950                        1868-S PCGS VF20 25C - $700                       1869-S PCGS VF25 25C - $850

                

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It will be a "cold" day here in Venice if you are a Floridian or are Diane. The morning temp is only 46F.

We will be working in the office the entire day with several goals. The first is the usual morning shipping and carry to the Venice Island post office. Second is posting the above Liberty Seated quarters to the 30 Day Price List. Finally, I will be processing images for a lovely six piece consignment towards another showcase gallery for Friday's Blog edition. If all goes to plan, this gallery may be uploaded prior to our 5:00 PM happy hour break.

Friday's edition will also feature an update from Rich Hundertmark at GFRC-Lite concerning the upcoming Annadale VA coin show on December 14-15. I hope that Rich has as much good business fortune as GFRC experienced at the Sarasota FL show.

Thank you for taking the time to visit with us at the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 11, 2024

Back in the Office

and

A Well Attended GFRC Online Auction Podcast

 

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

Why was there no Blog edition on Tuesday as many might be wondering?

The answer was being sick in bed after what appears to be another case of food poisoning on Monday afternoon. This event was really bad without going into explicit details. From the bed, I kept Len Augsburger informed on the situation concerning the evening podcast. Weeks ago, I had made a doctor's appointment for Tuesday at 3:00 PM to establish a medical relationship here in Venice. As Diane and I both age, health issues do not wait until we are back living in Maine. Therefore, it was a prudent step to initiate a medical contact with the Sarasota Memorial Hospital group which is quickly growing and responding to the rapidly increasing population in this area. The doctor's visit went well, confirming that I had somehow run across contaminated food, the suspect being a pre-made salad at our nearby Publix supermarket. By 6:00 PM, I was feeling better and sent the signal to Len that the podcast was on.

Obviously, all GFRC activities came to a complete halt on Tuesday as most of the day was spent in bed recovering from the GI track cleansing. Please rest assured that I am back in the office today and will be catching up on email correspondence and orders.

 

A Well Attended GFRC Online Auction Podcast

A huge shout out goes to Len Augsburger for hosting the Tuesday evening podcast. Len placed considered time in thinking through the interview questions that mapped out a numismatic career from initial collector through the Liberty Seated research years. The came the final chapter of my semiconductor career in mainland China followed by the transition to a coin dealer. The fun part of the podcast was sharing many back stories that I've not often told in a public forum. There was one point in the podcast where I completely lost my train of thought as still in recovery mode from food poisoning. My thanks go out to Len for helping me at that moment.

The podcast was recorded by Len and will be available for viewing shortly. Once the link is announced, it will be published here in the Blog.

 

More Consignments Have Arrived

Losing a full day in a the GFRC office is a big deal in term of processing consignments. While sick in bed, another consignment arrived from the Dr. Tim Cook collection with still another Liberty Seated dime centric consignment shipping shortly. At this point, the consignment queue is substantial and will provide ample material to post to the price list through the Christmas holiday.

 

Gold and Silver Stage a Comeback

Gold opened strong this morning at $2708 at initial trading on the London Exchange while silver is attempting to hold the $32 mark. Gary Wagner is a technical market analyst and has published the following report on the Kitco platform. Let's remember that gold futures typically trade at a +$15 premium to spot.

Gold futures have surged significantly, with the February 2025 contract gaining $34.90, or 1.30%, to reach $2,717.80 per troy ounce. This breakthrough comes after an extended period of consolidation, marking a notable shift in the precious metal's trading pattern.

The current rally is underpinned by multiple compelling factors, beginning with geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East. Market sources report increased safe-haven buying following dramatic regional developments, including the reported collapse of Syria's long-ruling regime. Interestingly, this price appreciation occurs despite a stronger U.S. dollar, traditionally a bearish indicator for commodity prices.

Central bank activity has emerged as another significant driver of gold's momentum. The People's Bank of China has particularly stood out, signaling a renewed appetite for gold reserves after a potential pause at previous record high prices. This institutional buying suggests growing confidence in gold as a strategic asset allocation.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory is also playing a crucial role in gold's current market dynamics. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has outlined a measured approach to interest rate normalization, anticipating a gradual reduction from current levels above 5% to between 3% and 3.5% in the coming years. Recent rate cuts, including a 50-basis-point reduction followed by a 25-basis-point cut, have set the stage for potential further easing.

Market expectations are now firmly focused on the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The CME's Fed Watch tool indicates an 86.1% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut, with Powell emphasizing a deliberate and cautious approach. His recent comments suggest the Fed will not rush rate cuts, carefully monitoring economic indicators and inflation trends.

While Powell's stance of potentially maintaining higher borrowing costs could typically create headwinds for gold, the market's fractional response suggests that these considerations are already priced in. The precious metal continues to find support from a complex interplay of geopolitical tensions, central bank strategies, and monetary policy expectations.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I believe that everyone will understand the need to wrap up at this point and to move forward with a GFRC office recovery day.

Thank you again for returning to the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 10, 2024

GFRC Online Auctions - Tuesday 8:00 PM ET Podcast is On!

https://wustl.zoom.us/j/5086565637

 

December 9, 2024

A Price Reduction Cavalcade

Perfectly Original CACG Seated Halves to Consider

and

GFRC Online Auctions - Tuesday 8:00 PM ET Podcast

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Monday morning. Thank you so much for the visit.

Sunday brought one of the fastest post coin show office recoveries. By noon time, the GFRC office was back to normal with a shift in focus to consignment processing. The new White Pine $5 Liberty gold was photographed followed by a pricing session for the balance of the Liberty Seated quarter collection that arrived before the Sarasota show. Included in that consignment were five lovely CACG graded Liberty Seated halves which will be illustrated shortly. Let's remember that the GFRC consignment window is currently closed as I attempt to prepare all lots in time for the Winter FUN show. After the Christmas holiday week, the window will re-open for consignments targeting the late February ANA Money Show being held in Atlanta this year.

I've not spoken about gold and silver of late as the precious metals have been trading mostly in a tight range while the S&P 500 continues to churn upward in a decidedly overvalued manner. One article seen has gold priced at $3739/oz based on the debasement value of the U.S. dollar. I will be watching the NASDAQ and equities in general during the balance of 2024 as any retrenchment will be bullish for gold and U.S. Treasuries. We might be seeing first hand the playing out of the greater fool theory as equities continue to rise into nose-bleed levels. The greater fool theory is a speculative investment strategy that suggests that you can make money by buying overvalued assets and then selling them at an even higher price. The theory is based on the idea that there will always be someone else, called a "greater fool", who is willing to pay more than you did. Personally, I lightened up on equities when the S&P 500 was at the 5,650 level and do not regret that decision in terms of piece of mind.

Let's move on to today's numismatic topics...

 

A Price Reduction Cavalcade

Please have a look at the 30 Day Price List as a number of consignors have issued price reductions. Last evening brought another reduction email from the Scenic Lakeview Collection whereby his Morgan and Peace dollars are receiving a 7% across the board pricing reduction. This price list update will be executed after the morning shipping is processed.

 

Perfectly Original CACG Seated Halves to Consider

I must acknowledge that CACG grading is doing one heck of a job in terms of strict originality. Their conservative approach to unmolested surfaces and tight grading standards are readily apparent in this five lot offering. Working with this lot reminds me of the old adage that you get what you pay for. This is so true with CACG holdered coins as the premiums are obviously justified. All are priced as marked and worthy of inclusions into selective collections.

CACG Graded Liberty Seated Halves to Consider

      1846-O Med Date WB-17 CACG EF45 50C - $525                                  1849-O WB-12 CACG EF40 50C - $525            

        

    1858-S WB-12 CACG EF45 50C - $750                                           1861-S WB-10 CACG EF40 50C - $500    

        

    1864-S WB-4 CACG EF45 50C - $975 

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Tuesday 8:00 PM ET Podcast

The stage is set for the Tuesday evening GFRC Online Auctions podcast as Len Augsburger sent along a revised set of questions, on Sunday, for my early contemplation. Len will be recording the session towards an online posting accessible by those who could not attend in real time.

I've already hinted enough about the discussion topics and believe that attendees will be treated to an hour plus of numismatic history along with special insights concerning the construction of my Liberty Seated Dime collection.

In the matter of weeks, the first auction session kicks off on January 19th for both the Fortin Seated dimes and Newtown Seated halves. It was noted that Heritage is offering a group of higher grade Mint State Seated dimes immediately prior to the GFRC event, but most lack CAC approval. If planning to spend top dollar for high grade Seated material, then the CAC green bean brings an assurance of strict originality and conservative grading.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a busy morning in the shipping department along with Diane attending an HOA board meeting. At some point today, I must head to Staples to print another round of Gerry Fortin and Newtown auction catalogs in preparation for the early January FUN show auction lot viewing.

Once the above items are done, it is back to image processing with the goal of presenting an important Liberty Seated quarter San Francisco Mint run from 1855-S through 1869-S. Yes, the run includes noteworthy 1857-S PCGS AU58 CAC, 1858-S PCGS EF45 CAC, and 1861-S PCGS EF45 CAC lots along with an 1864-S graded PCGS VF35. I might be able to have the gallery posted this evening before heading to bed. Let's see how the day goes...

Thank you again for the taking the time to visit with us at the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

December 8, 2024

Sarasota Coin Show Wrap Up

GFRC Online Auctions - Tuesday 8:00 PM ET Podcast

and

TPG Mistakes Hurt the Hobby

 

Greetings on an early Sunday morning and welcome to another round of numismatic ramblings. Your ongoing patronage is appreciated.

The Sarasota Coin Show was a lot of fun from a human interactions perspective. Hanging with Dan White was a pleasure as we make such a great team. Of course, there was at least one person questioning if we were brothers as is so common. Ben Todd, of Sarasota Rare Coin Galleries and the show promoter, is one of the most pleasant expert numismatist and hobby historian to hang around with. During quiet periods at both our tables, Ben would come over to the GFRC booth to chat and provides a host of insights about the historical personalties in the numismatic business.

Now that I'm back in the office, there is the usual post coin show office organizing to get done followed by preparing a ton of Monday morning shipments.

As one additional side note, an appointment has been made for a private viewing of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection at our Venice office come the week of December 16. A long time client wishes to view the entire collection in a quiet setting along with hearing the history behind the individual lots. This could be the last time that I provide a personal review of the entire collection before the first auction session that arrives on January 19th.

 

Sarasota Coin Show Wrap Up

It was a strong show! There you have it. The undisputed consignment sales winner was the New Orleans Collection as his Liberty Seated and Barber consignments were hot! About 40% of our consignors inventory was sold in the matter of three days. Second place goes to the individual who consigned a complete Liberty Seated quarter collection.

Thursday was remarkable, followed by a quiet Friday, with sales returning on Saturday. It is quite interesting when considering that GFRC has had strong Manchester NH and Sarasota FL shows as book ends to an anemic Baltimore show. Though there are efforts underway to rejuvenate the Whitman show, some out of box thinking is necessary to attract retail collectors back to Baltimore else the event will continue to evolve primarily into a dealer wholesale show with on site Stacks' Bowers auction lot viewing.

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Tuesday 8:00 PM ET Podcast

I'm most excited about Tuesday evening's live podcast. The format will be straight forwarded with Len Augsburger being your host and interviewing Gerry Fortin. The conversations will be lively and insightful as Len's discussion topics will take us into new areas not often seen or heard in a regular YouTube numismatic podcast.

A second podcast is being planned for January, prior to or during the first January 19 auction session. This session will focus on the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection as our top client also deserves his time in the spotlight.

 

TPG Mistakes Hurt the Hobby

I really wish that NGC and PCGS would bite the bullet at some point and make an effort to clean-up some of the dregs in their holders.

Case in point was a visit to the GFRC booth by a local Sarasota area U.S. gold collector. He was interested in the White Pine 1851 Dahlonega $5 and rightly so. Dan was helping this visitor and commented that the 1851-D $5 should be set to CAC as a thoroughly well preserved example. This collector could only acquire the piece if GFRC would take his offered trade coins as part of the deal. It was so sad to view what this collector was attempting to trade. His first offer was a PCGS 1924 Mint State Saint with coloration and luster that was all wrong. After I rejected that piece, he offers an NGC graded 1851-C $5 that was obviously cleaned with brush hairlines. I only looked at the obverse and rejected the coin. Curious Dan examined both sides and commented that the reverse was even worse.

Yes, we did not sell the 1851-D as the collector walked away with his problematic acquisitions and attempted to sell them to others dealers with U.S. gold inventory.

Many in the numismatic industry operate on the buyer beware principal. It is up to the buyer to be self educated with the TPGs providing only an opinion on the surfaces and grades. If that opinion is erroneous to generally accepted standards, then there is little recourse. These mistakes simply float around bourse floors or internal sites until sticking with an inexperienced collector who will be stuck paying numismatic tuition down the road.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The GFRC website and price lists have been updated with Sarasota Coin Show sales as of last evening. Consignors are welcomed to check their accounts to learn of potential sales.

Today brings a long office day repositioning inventory and dealing with two newly arrived consignments along with others that are quietly resting in the processing queue. The new White Pine $5 Liberty gold consignment is awesome and will be scrutinized for CAC stickering submission candidates.

On this note, let's close today's ramblings. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 7, 2024

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

GFRC Shipping Restarts on Monday

and

GFRC Online Auctions Live Podcast

Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection Interview

 

Greetings once again from the GFRC office on a Friday evening. Thank you, as always, for the visit.

I've found it quite difficult to compose a meaningful Blog edition from a bourse floor during dealer setup. Regardless of the best intentions, there is always a bourse floor demand that precludes a focused composition. Therefore, this Saturday edition is being written on Friday evening.

History repeat itself at the Sarasota show. In contrast to Thursday being a stupendous sales day, the air came out of the balloon on Friday. We did manage to a sell a single coin, the Pittman 1857 NGC PF64 CAM Seated dime from my personal collection. A local Sarasota buyer was thrilled to add this "historic" piece to his collection as several friends huddled around the table during the purchase. Otherwise, it was a typical Friday at the Sarasota show. Saturday brings the final show day with anticipation of a different clientele and high hopes for a few more sales.

Dan and I received a host of compliments on the quality of the GFRC inventory. Of course, quality inventory does not sell at Greysheet bid, a common theme from many of those who asked for quotes. These individuals love our coins but were fixated on buying at CDN bid. As you can imagine, those collectors and dealers walked away from the GFRC table empty handed. A few circled the bourse and returned to pay our asking price after seeing what else was available as alternatives.

Let's look ahead to next week and an important GFRC Online Auction event that arrives on Tuesday evening. But first....

 

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

It is difficult to explain, but December 7th is a thoroughly memorable date similar to July 4th or Thanksgiving. Call me an old historian or a patriot as Pearly Harbor Day is inescapable in my childhood memories. My father served in the Korean War and once back home, he would pass the time building Revell plastic models of WWII airplanes, tanks, and Navy ships. I learned that skill from my father but took it a step further with a plunge into books that recorded the events of WWII with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor being one of the most graphically illustrated, leaving a lasting impression on this youngster.

To this day, December 7 is a special date which typically brings a personal reading of Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech to a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941. The first sentence reads, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

I hope that all Blog readers will stop for a moment and remember those who died during the Pearl Harbor attack and its impact to the nation.

 

GFRC Shipping Restarts on Monday

Just a quick note that the GFRC shipping department will be operational starting on Monday morning. We've received a fair number of ship ahead and new purchases checks while at the Sarasota show. Your patience is appreciated for those who mailed checks and are awaiting a shipment.

 

GFRC Online Auctions Live Podcast - Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection Interview

The first of two GFRC Online Auctions live podcasts arrives on Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET.

Len Augsburger will be hosting a live podcast and interviewing Gerry Fortin. This session will provide special insights into Gerry's long numismatic career and the assemblage of his "front line" Liberty Seated Dime collection. Len has prepared a set of twelve questions that will guide attendees through an insightful journey that encompasses the back stories from the 1990 through mid-2000s time frame when Gerry was conducting original research and building his noteworthy collection. As a teaser, I am sharing two of the twelve questions as a preview.

Q. Let’s get the elephant out of the room first. Whenever I offer a coin to another collector, they invariably want to know why I am selling it. It’s like they want me to tell them about some problem with the coin so that they can negotiate accordingly. This behavior is much less common among coin professionals who move in and out of coins quickly. It’s pass or play, with no time for such chit chat or mind games. In any case, why are you selling your front line dime collection at this time?

Q. With the Seated dime website, you did an extraordinary amount of original research in documenting the Seated dime varieties. Is there any aspect of your personality that is more drawn to the research work as opposed to strictly collecting and completing sets?

Len's interview questions are structured in a manner to take the audience through a personal history of Gerry Fortin's multi-decade numismatic career. We explore the early research years through the transition to Gerry, the coin dealer, and his construction of a well known numismatic platform within our hobby. There will be several fun questions to explore topics infrequently discussed in a public forum along with the infamous Frank Van Valen 1863-S dime auction purchase at the American Numismatic Rarities Frog Run Farm Sale circa 2004. How I enjoy sharing this story and believe you will too!

Again, the Zoom "Podcast" will take place on Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET with an expected length of 1.5 hours. There will be an opportunity for Q&A if time allows.

The Zoom "Podcast" can be accessed at https://wustl.zoom.us/j/5086565637

Len and I look forward to your attendance!

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Time moves along much too quickly. It is getting late and time to head to bed for a rest before driving back to Sarasota on Saturday morning. Having published the Blog on Friday evening will facilitate ample time for preparing breakfast in a casual manner.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 6, 2024

A Fantastic Sarasota Coin Show

 

Greetings from the Sarasota Coin show bourse floor on a Friday morning. Thank you for checking in on GFRC adventures.

Yes, I know that there was a missing Blog edition on Thursday morning and for a good reason. Several GFRC consignors will be most pleased with the first day results from the Sarasota Coin Show. Both dealer wholesale and retail sales were very active on Thursday. I was fully consumed with pricing several large deals during the dealer setup time frame and completely forget to composed a Blog edition.

When Thursday wrapped up, the Gerry and Dan duo had racked up mid-five figures in sales, quite the feat for a smaller local show in a single day.

Several consignors will be pleased with the Sarasota show results with the New Orleans and Newtown Collections at the top of the list. The balance of sales was spread across a host of consignors and GFRC regular inventory.

It is now 10:00 AM on Friday and the bourse has opened again for another day of sales and trading. Wish us luck that the sales momentum continues...

Back at the office, two incremental consignments have arrived including a very notable $5 Liberty gold lot from the White Pine Collection. I had a chance to glance at those consignments and quite pleased with the incoming material.

So ends today's brief ramblings. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 4, 2024

Setup Day at the Sarasota Coin Show

and

New Orleans Collection Price Reductions

 

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for making time for a visit.

Today's edition will be brief as there are remaining tasks to be accomplish in preparation for the Sarasota Coin Show including dealer setup that starts at 2:00 PM. So what is the big deal about attending a local show? The answer is simple as the Fortins only have one vehicle in Florida. If I'm at a long local coin show, then Diane is without transportation for taking shipping to the post office or purchasing groceries. We must plan in advance....

This morning brings another round of shipping and that all important grocery run while Gerry cleans the showcases and stages inventory for the show. Come early afternoon, I'm off to Sarasota with hopes, for consignors, that this show is well attended and worth the effort.

Logan Curtis, from the ANA, emailed yesterday afternoon that today also brings booth selection for the Atlanta ANA Money show. I've printed a copy of the bourse layout in anticipation of her phone call.

 

New Orleans Collection Price Reductions

The New Orleans Collection emailed yesterday with instructions to make the recent Black Friday discounts permanent. This was accomplished last evening. A quick check of the 30 Day Price List will find the New Orleans lots to be repriced and at the top of the list. Prices are quite attractive at the revised levels.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is not much else to share at the moment other than the Oregon Beaver pricing proposal has been completed and issued. Once a response is received, these lots will be tagged and added to the Sarasota show inventory.

My apology for a lack of content for today's edition. The reasons are justifiable and exemplify the life of a coin dealer.

Be well!

 

 

December 3, 2024

Oregon Beaver Collection Consignment Highlights

and

Hanging Out on the Sarasota Coin Show Bourse

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on an early Tuesday morning. Thank you for dropping by.

Let's start by reporting that nearly all the Black Friday Sales lots have been shipped as of yesterday afternoon as an important accomplishment. Today brings the last of the shipments along with a CAC Stickering submission.

Yesterday afternoon's Happy Hour entertainment appeared when Diane returned from purchasing a new iPhone and iPad as her seven year old versions were obsolete. Let's just say that the visit to a crowded Apple Store to have her new electronics properly configured was memorable for its utilitarian approach to customer service. This was a case of a low tech Boomer walking into a high tech Gen Z environment where the service staff eats and sleeps Apple technology. The gap was quite frustrating for Diane as her questions were not phrased in current techno language with a less than desirable information outcome. I comforted her with the fact that the grandchildren pictures/videos and contact list has been properly transferred, therefore life is good. The new phone is larger with a much clearer screen and higher resolution camera. So that everyone knows, I am the only Android user in the family....

Let's move on to numismatics...

 

Oregon Beaver Collection Consignment Highlights

I was able to make image processing progress with the new Oregon Beaver consignment for some visual content in today's Blog. Following is the first installment of the latest Beaver offerings. I'm sorry, but pricing has yet to be settled. Please feel free to request a First Right of Refusal if there is interest in these new lots.

We open with a super cool properly graded AU55 1856-S half with a substantial lamination flap at the upper obverse. The flap is nicely raised off the surface at the cap and star 8. This lot is was sold into the Oregon Beaver by GFRC during November 2016 with the sales record posted in the Sales Archive.

1856-S PCGS AU55 50C - Lamination Flap Obverse

 

The Beaver has also released another tranche of $2.5 Liberty gold just in time for the holidays.

Low mintages are so commonplace for the $2.5 gold issues as is the case for the 1842-O with only 19,800 struck, resulting in this date being quite scare in all grades. The strike is typical for the issue and not a case of overgrading by NGC. The 1851 Philadelphia strike is a higher end Mint State example and so close to full gem with few survivors at this lofty preservation state. The highlight of this group is the 1875-S in terms of grade rarity, surfaces, and brilliant luster.

We close the showcase with the 1881 Philadelphia issue with a mintage of only 640. This date is one of the rarest and most popular in the $2.5 Liberty gold series. PCGS estimates that less than 100 are extant. Honey-gold colored surfaces are lightly mirrored. I'm certain that there will be demand for this lot from those pursuing AU58 collections.

 1842-O NGC AU53 G$2.5                                                            1851 NGC MS64+ G$2.5 

        

 1875-S PCGS AU58+ G$2.5                                                           1881 NGC AU58 G$2.5 

        

 

I will do my best to get those priced today for inclusion in the Sarasota Coin Show inventory.

 

Hanging Out on the Sarasota Coin Show Bourse

Yes, the Sarasota Coin Show arrives on Thursday with setup taking place on Wednesday afternoon. I was able to locate an old bourse layout from the February 2024 event towards sharing where GFRC will be hanging out for three days. I was not kidding that Dan and I will be found immediately to the left of the bourse entrance with a notable eight case inventory display.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings yet another office day with shipping and Sarasota Coin Show accessories preparations as the primary goals. I should be able to wrap up the Oregon Beaver consignment pricing towards illustrating the balance of his consignment within Wednesday's Blog.

Thanks again for taking time to visit these ongoing ramblings.

Be well!

 

 

 

 

 

December 2, 2024

Speed, Creativity and AI

A Robust Black Friday Sale

Preparing for the Sarasota Coin Show

and

USPS 1st Class Mail is Erratic!

 

Greetings on a December 2nd Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We appreciate the ongoing visits.

After reviewing the recent Daily Blog editions, I've taken note that some incremental content might be in order to enhance the overall presentation. I've been so downright focused on the Maine to Florida transition followed by all that has taken place here in the Venice condo and GFRC business to explore outside of those boundaries. Therefore, let's open today's Blog with an excellent summary of why we should be all focused on the AI revolution and how it will enhance our lives, if we chose to do so! As usual, Seth Godin has made the AI topic quite simple to understand in terms of potential benefits. Here goes...

Seth Godin Blog - Speed, creativity and AI

A little faster is a market advantage.

A step change in speed changes the market entirely.

Fedex was faster mail. It allowed them to grow and profit.

Email, on the other hand, completely changed communication.

In the discussions of AI, most people are failing to consider the step change in speed. A logo made in Kittl might not be as magical as one made by Milton Glaser, but it can be created 1,000 times faster. That means that the number of polished graphics being created will grow exponentially.

When an AI can give you a pretty good diagnosis in real time, it changes the way you deal with the medical system.

Just as email isn’t as humane or thoughtful or memorable as a hand-written letter, these faster alternatives aren’t better… they’re simply different. And, as the market often does, it prizes conveniences and speed.

And so, good, fast and inexpensive is now possible.

This opens the door to two opportunities:

We can start building real-time insights into more and more components of our daily life.

We can start doing human-constructed creative work that’s worth waiting for. Great, not good.

Once again, it’s the mediocre middle that’s going to be devalued.

Definitely some food for thought on a Monday morning! Have you gone to Google and asked a question for an AI Overview response? The results might be shocking in terms of the amount of information that will be presented at lightning speed.

 

A Robust Black Friday Sale

The 2024 Black Friday Sale is now in the GFRC history books with a sterling write-up. It was a great sale with 38 coins sold at a total discounted value of $52.5K. The increase in the GFRC selling price point is easily noted by these statistics. There were three consignors who dominated sales. They are the Cumberland County, Newtown, and Osprey Collections. All three consignors made reductions across their inventories and will be seeing ample consignments checks once payments are received and coins are shipped and approved. GFRC also sold a reasonable amount of its aging inventory at discounted prices towards reconfiguring its overall inventory profile.

I've got to say this...

There were several consignors with significant inventories who decided to not participate in the sale. One in particular has inventory that is aging but does not wish to reduce prices to stimulate sales. From my perspective, it becomes a burden to continually take these coins to shows without any notable sales. These coins take valuable case space, yet do not drive revenues or profit for the effort. After the Sarasota Coin Show, I will be conducting some inventory triage with recommendations to certain consignors about pricing, or having consignments returned. Come the Winter FUN show, retail case space will be limited as four cases will be dedicated to auction lot viewing for the Gerry Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated coinage auction lots. I'd like to attend the FUN show, and follow-on Atlanta ANA Money show with refreshed inventories.

 

Preparing for the Sarasota Coin Show

One can become spoiled when attending larger coin shows where cases and lights can be rented. It is a challenge to load a vehicle with 8 showcases, lights, and several luggage bags replete with inventory. Such is the situation for the forthcoming Sarasota Coin Show with dealer setup on Wednesday afternoon. Come Tuesday, the many showcases must be removed from storage area and cleaned along with checking all the lights as being functional. Then comes the loading of the cases in the MDX along with pulling inventory for the show. I'm not complaining, rather simply indicating the efforts necessary for exhibiting at a local Florida show.

Today's primary goal is to ship as many Black Friday Sale orders as possible leaving only a few for Tuesday morning given the show preparations workload.

 

USPS 1st Class Mail is Erratic!

I can't remember when it was this bad! USPS 1st Class is no longer reliable or predictable. Some check payments arrive quickly while others take two to three weeks to find their way to the GFRC office. Conscientious customers start to worry when they see that their checks have not been deposited a week after being mailed. For GFRC, I've become ambivalent to when check payments finally arrive and will only check in with customers after the two week mark for ship ahead purchases.

More and more dealers are moving to eCheck payments which are checks that can be emailed and downloaded as a PDF file. It is exactly the same as when I supply consignors with a GFRC shipping label as a PDF file. Within a few more years, I suspect that USPS 1st class mail will be moving into the obsolete realm as more communications and money transfers are accomplished electronically. Of course, the downside is that the electronic convenience comes with a fee, as is the case with PayPal or a credit card.

Bottom line, GFRC will continue to ship most of its sales on a ship ahead basis to vetted clients to ensure that customers receive their coins on a timely basis. We will deal with check payment delays when they arise on a case by case basis.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point after some venting on several business topics. The office is always busy with a host of tasks to be accomplished each day. For example, Sunday brought the photography of all consignments that have arrived as of Saturday. Now comes the image processing stage along with loading those consignments into the COIN system and developing pricing proposals.

Again, today's focus is on shipping Black Friday lots ahead of payment to most buyers.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

December 1, 2024

Black Friday Sale Closes at 9:00 PM ET

Sarasota Coin Show Arrives on Thursday

and

Emerald Collection Consignment to Consider

 

Greetings on the first day of December 2024 and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for making time to visit these ramblings.

The 2024 Black Friday Sales is behaving consistent with past trends. While Friday brought a robust amount of activity, Saturday was quiet with only three lots being sold across 24 hours. Today brings the final opportunity to secure quality coins at reduced prices and if history repeats itself, there will be an uptick in purchases as the sale approaches the 9:00 PM shutdown.

Changing subjects to forthcoming consignments, in yesterday's announcement of the pending consignments, I failed to mentioned that the Sheffield Collection will also be sending a group of Liberty Seated dimes to the Venice office. I will do my best to work through all of the pending consignments as quickly as possible to ensure that they will be in the Winter FUN show cases. Some of the consignors hope to sell their duplicates towards raising numismatic capital for the upcoming Gerry Fortin and Newtown Collection auction sales that begin with a first session on January 19.

Saturday brought the arrival of more Liberty Seated quarters to the office and these will be unpacked this morning. If the weather is conducive, I will be outdoors during the early afternoon to get this consignment promptly photographed along with the latest Oregon Beaver release.

 

Sarasota Coin Show Arrives on Thursday

Just a quick reminder that GFRC will be attending the Sarasota Coin Show being held at the Sahib Shriners facility on North Beneva Road in Sarasota. The location is easily accessible off I-75 at the Fruitville Rd exit or via Rt 41 with ample parking behind the building. The event hall is spacious with a full restaurant on site.

GFRC will be located immediately to the left of the bourse entrance with eight cases of inventory. Dan White and Gerry will be manning the booth from Thursday through Saturday.

 

Emerald Collection Consignment to Consider

Today's featured showcase is a new Emerald Collection consignment that is exclusively Liberty Seated halves other than an 1849 Liberty Seated dollar.

Of potential interest to die variety collectors are the 1855/854 overdate and an 1873 Quad Stripes, the latter being one of the strongest presentations of the quad shield lines due to obverse die doubling.

The 1849 and 1850-O Seated half dollar lots were previously purchased from GRFR with their records available in the Sales Archive. Finally, the 1849 Seated dollar was photographed with my cellphone rather than the Nikon camera. I've found that the cellphone camera provides a more accurate illustration of larger denominations without a host of lighting reflections from the Nikon setup. So please keep this in mind when viewing the images.

If my day goes as planned, these lots will be posting to the 30 Price List during the afternoon hours.

 

Emerald Collection Consignment to Consider

      1849 WB-12 NGC MS63 50C - $2650                                                1855/854 NGC MS62 50C - $3250         

        

  1873 WB-109 Quad Stripes NGC AU55 50C - $1400                                       1849 NGC AU50 $1 - $1350                      

        

1844 WB-13 NGC AU58 50C - $585               1850-O WB-6 NGC MS62 50C - $1650                1886 PCGS AU55 50C - $1500        

                

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

So the Black Friday Sales has another 13 hours to run before closing down automatically at 9:00 PM. I will be in the office the entire day working on GFRC projects and will be monitoring incoming purchases for quick turnaround and invoicing. Diane and I are looking at another substantial shipping session on Monday morning and we may get a head start later today with packaging orders.

That is all she wrote on the first day of December. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!