Gerry Fortin Rare Coins - Gerry's Daily Blog

November 21, 2019

GFRC's Venice Florida Transition Underway

Greetings and welcome to the another Blog edition. Thank-you for checking in on a daily basis.

As the headline indicates, the next 24 hours bring a concerted effort to organize the GFRC office, its inventory, and accessories. Friday is packing day along with house closing preparations. After being snowbirds for years, the routine is well understood. Execution is key as one mistake or oversight could lead to frozen pipes or a box of coins being left behind. There are a host of details to consider. For example, not leaving ANA or Whitman Baltimore show badges behind. GFRC mailed its 2020 Atlanta ANA Spring show application yesterday; badges need to come with me. Ditto for the March 2020 Whitman Baltimore show.

After three days of gloomy weather, the skies have cleared. Today's forecast is for bright sunshine. However, I will resist the urge to run outdoors with Whitman Baltimore new purchases for photography. It is best to stay focused on organizing inventory for transport.

Wednesday also brought a successful visit to the bank vault. A full double row box of over sixty Liberty Seated dimes, from my reference collection, were selected and will be packed for Florida transport. During the upcoming five months, I will be slowly parsing out those pieces into regular GFRC inventory.

GFRC's Florida Mailing Address in Effect

As mentioned in Wednesday Blog, the GFRC website has been updated with the Florida mailing address. Effective immediately, all check payments and consignment shipments should be sent to the Florida office. GFRC's Florida mailing address is;

GFRC, 502 Auburn Lakes Circle, Venice FL 34292-2367

My dealer listing on Collectors Corner will be updated this morning to also capture the Florida address.

Black Friday Sale is One Week Away

I'm pleased to report that Black Friday Sale discounting instruction are beginning to arrive. If you don't immediately hear back from me concerning inputs, there is nothing to worry about. Email instructions are being collected within my email Inbox. Starting Tuesday of next week, I will systematically review the Inbox and load all discounting instructions into COIN system. Matt Yamatin has just launched the Black Friday Sale banner and countdown clock as a reminder to all consignors.

Once again, please send your Black Friday Sale discounting instruction with Black Friday Sale Instructions in the email header. A few new consignors are still providing instructions within the body of an email that contains multiple topics. These are the situations where discounting instructions may not be captured. At GFRC, the owner (me) works closely with the client and consignor community to faciliate product sales. Given the community size that is supported by a single person, your help would be most appreciated.

Important GFRC Baltimore New Purchase Announcement - Friday November 22

Within Wednesday's Blog, I made mention of a substantial new purchase deal that was initiated at the Whitman Baltimore show. This deal wrapped up on Tuesday and the lot is due to arrive via USPS Express this afternoon. The deal is a strategic step for GFRC. Being one to not remain comfortable with the status quo, I went into the Baltimore show on a mission. Sure, I hoped to sell many consignor coins at the show towards pleasing clients and rotating inventory. That goal is tactical and the foundation for success. Business expansion is a different story.....

Come 2020, the GFRC business will continue on a path for both vertical and horizontal growth. Managing growth on two axes is difficult and take considerable forethought and incremental capital. For Blog readers who are not business owners or have careers in the non profit sector, please allow me to explain what vertical and horizontal growth implies in this discussion.

Vertical Growth - When the term "vertical" is used, it coincides with the Y axis on a two dimensional graph. This vertical axis captures inventory pricing. GFRC has been increasing the value of offered coins during the past five years. I started GFRC selling $50 to $200 coins. Today, coins priced in the $500 to $5000 price range are commonplace. Growing the vertical axis suggests that GFRC will begin stocking coins at the $5000 to $15000 level.

Horizontal Growth - Within the Blog, I often make mention of adding new "product lines". The term "product line" is a function of my years in the semiconductor industry. Adding an electronic product line required a substantial investment in design tools, manufacturing equipment and sales channel development. The same can be said for a serious coin dealer. I see each coinage denomination/design as a "product line". Initiating and ramping a product line brings addition start-up and support efforts. Capital allocation for initial stocking inventory is necessary. I must learn how to grade new product line coins and recognize striking characteristics to become a credible supplier. Personal education is just as important as financial capital. Time investment is paramount.

Executing business growth on a vertical and horizontal basis is most challenging. Vertical growth on existing product lines allows the GFRC brand name to be better recognized throughout the numismatic community. Growing on a horizontal basis meets my personal need for continuous learning. I'm enjoying the current expansion into Barber coinage and learning each denomination's key and semi dates. GFRC's expansion into the United States gold market has been an insightful experience thanks to the mentorship from Dan White.

My apology for this long preamble and a bit of a diversion from the segment's title line. On Friday, I will be announcing more Baltimore show new purchases including the contents of a substantial deal that has been negotiated. Included in the deal are better date Barber halves, high grade 20th century pieces, and an 1861 Scott Restrike grading PCGS MS63. Many are CAC approved; a critical parameter for inventory expansion. With CAC approval added to the picture, are we dealing with a three dimensional graph and business?

Global Financial News

Global equity market futures are flashing red to start the day. Hong Kong's stock market is under considerable pressure by pro-democracy riots. Let's open the Blog's financial segment with this Seeking Alpha headline.

Reports surrounding the latest trade developments saw U.S. stock index futures inching between slight gains and losses overnight. Reuters suggested that a so-called Phase One agreement between the U.S. and China may not be completed until next year, though China's foreign ministry attempted to allay fears that talks might be unraveling. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills intended to support protestors in Hong Kong, prompting Beijing to accuse the U.S. of interfering in domestic affairs.

In Wednesday's Blog, I posted a Seeking Alpha headline concerning a startup company named Nikola that claimed to have made a huge breakthrough in battery technology that would disrupt the Electric Vehicle (EV) market. 600 mile range on a single charge was mentioned. I forwarded to headline to Matt Yamatin for his thoughts and feedback given his Sustainability consulting business and constantly studying EV market developments. Matt shared the following;

This is likely all hot air. Nikola as a company has no real experience with battery technology and is known to make big announcements they can't back up as a means for more funding. All the battery tech tends to go to Tesla first as they are by far the largest customer right now.

There are rumors spreading that Telsa is working with a few folks (including the individual that invented RAM and lithium ion batteries) on the mythical solid state battery. It matches with the range improvements Tesla has suggested for its Truck and Semi with a 2022 potentially timeline. I wouldn't expect ranges to get much above the mid-300 miles for a while though. Charging speed is becoming faster replacing the need for bigger batteries - the new V3 Tesla chargers provide 200 miles in about 20 minutes.

This segment would not be complete without a check of commodity prices and the long bond interest rate. Physical gold inched down during the overnight to $1470/oz while the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield increased slightly to 1.75%. Crude oil prices saw gains to $56.78/bbl while Bitcoin continues to pull back at $7879/coin.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, I recognize that the Blog without coin images can be visually boring. Please have patience while the Florida migration takes place. Once operating from the Florida office, the Blog will be awash in fresh coin images during new purchase and consignment roll outs.

Of course, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day carefully preparing inventory for transport. I'm still open for business and would enjoy selling a few coins. Please call or email on items of interest.

Again, a sincere thank-you for checking in at the Blog. I'll be glad when next Monday morning arrives with the GFRC business restarted in a warm winter location.

See you tomorrow....

November 20, 2019

CAC's Bold Market Expansion Effort!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Wednesday morning.

The countdown clock for the annual Florida migration is down to just 72 hours. I'm pleased to report that preparations remain on schedule with no anticipated last minute heroics or high stress levels. Setting a week long schedule and faithfully working through each task to completion is paramount for a smooth transition.

Southern Maine weather has been continually cloudy and wet. Actually, the weather has been conducive for working long hours in the GFRC office and recovering from the Whitman Baltimore show. To provide a sense of what a higher volume dealer experiences after a major coin show, following is a tally of the tasks accomplished since Sunday.

- Twenty-six USPS Two Day Priority boxes have been packaged and shipped.

- All Baltimore show transactions have been recorded in the COIN system and the GFRC price lists are up to date.

- Nearly 1000 holdered coins have been re-inserted into their plastic sleeves and merged with inventory that remained in the GFRC office safe. Even with twelve cases, GFRC left lower priced inventory behind.

- Consignments that arrived at the Baltimore show and via USPS Express (Monday/Tuesday), have been loaded into the COIN system with reports provided to consignors.

- New purchases have been extracted from the inventory boxes and separated for photograply upon arriving to Florida.

- Two PCGS blue boxes chocked full of new purchases were prepared for CAC submission last evening and will Express ship today.

- I closed out a substantial new purchase deal late yesterday. This deal was tendered at the Baltimore show. Those coins will arrive on Thursday with many being CAC approved. This purchase is yet another strategic step towards expanding additional GFRC product lines.

- Responding to the usual GFRC client emails, purchase orders and die variety attribution advice.

Tuesday brought a particularly long day in the office to maintain schedule. I arose at 6:00 am as the Blog must be composed. At 9:00 pm, I finally called it a day and went to the basement sound room to chill out with more Roger Waters music. Lunch was a quick salad at the office desk while reading the latest FOX online news while dinner was another salad (I added some Italian meatballs for variety) at the same office desk. Diane was down in Massachusetts with friends at a Bob Dylan concert.

Am I crazy? Nope!

This is the behavior of a passionate person who believes in their business mission. The numismatic market needs dealers that work closely with collectors towards building superior collections at the mid price level. Trading CAC approved early type and U.S. gold has a place in a fragmented market.

GFRC Mailing Address Shifts to Florida

Today brings website updates and a shift to the Florida mailing address. Please do not send payments to the Maine address effective today. Just hold on to those checks and please place in the mail to Florida address starting on Thursday. GFRC's Florida mailing address is;

GFRC, 502 Auburn Lakes Circle, Venice FL 34292-2367

CAC's Bold Market Expansion Effort!

My hat goes off to John Albanese and John Feigenbaum for an important announcement that arrived via email on Tuesday afternoon.

The CAC website now offers CDN's market pricing for CAC approved coins. Once the email arrived, I immediately visited CAC population reports to check for myself. Yes indeed, the merger of CAC populations with CDN pricing were immediately evident in a simple to use report. This information amalgamation will further streamline my efforts in the office and during pre-show buying.

Have Blog readers considered the implications of this information merger? I have since an avid student of the numismatic marketplace. Competitive benchmarking is another ingrained mental process left over from years in the semiconductor industry.

The combined CAC and CDN information platform is now a direct competitor to the PCGS Pricing Guide. I noted dealer advertising on the CAC website as another revenue stream. This is no different than the PCGS model.

Stepping back for a moment and examining the entire numismatic market, the CAC and CDN information platform has huge implications. There is no question that the current market is tiered. Dealers have been struggling to determine accurate premiums for CAC approved coins. Collectors have also been wrestling with fair pricing for CAC stickered coins. All of this uncertainty disappeared on Tuesday afternoon. The CAC and CDN alliance is a bold positive step and will further enhance trading within the market's top tier.

I could not be more pleased as an advocate of CAC approval since launching the GFRC business. GFRC constantly has 300+ CAC stickered coins in inventory. CAC'ed coins sell at a faster rate than those without approval. Please watch the GRFC price lists carefully during the upcoming two to three weeks. CAC inventory will grow in size and start approaching 400 coins. Whitman Baltimore show new purchases and recent consignments have a high CAC content. My goal is to establish GFRC as a leading dealer of top tier quality early silver type and United States gold for collectors with reasonable means.

Global Financial News

Global markets are finally taking a breather after a string of gains. Red futures are flashing due to renewed uncertainty for a China - U.S. trade deal. The United States Senate passed a resolution that supports human rights in Hong Kong only to anger China's foreign ministry. The world is watching developments in Hong Kong with lingering memories of the Beijing crackdown at Tiananmen Square. Following are two Seeking Alpha headlines that capture Asia news and potential impacts.

Asian stocks fell back after President Trump's threat to raise tariffs on Chinese goods reverberated across the Pacific Ocean. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was off 0.75%. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.6% and Australia's ASX 200 dropped dropped 1.2% after a financial regulator cracked down on Westpac Banking.

Hong Kong riot police are still surrounding a university campus with a small number of protesters a day after the largest number of arrests and injuries were reported in the city. The protests in Hong Kong continue to draw attention from outside of China. The latest show of support was from the U.S. Senate, which unanimously passed legislation that supports human rights in Hong Kong. That action drew almost immediate criticism from China's foreign ministry. On the investing front, the disruption in Hong Kong has held back investor enthusiasm for casino companies with Macau properties, including Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts and Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Editor's Note - Macau is just a ferry boat ride away from Hong Kong.

I'm positive that Matt Yamatin will be thoroughly pleased with the following headline from the Electric Vehicle industry. If EV passenger cars can achieve 600 miles of battery life on a single charge, it is game over for gasoline powered cars.

The buzz is building up for Tesla's truck event that is scheduled for tomorrow night in California. Pricing on the Tesla truck will be closely watched with EV startup Rivian setting a starting price of $69K. Details on towing capacity, power output, and off-road capabilities will also be crucially important as Tesla looks to compete with Ford's F-150 line and Ram trucks. In other electric truck news, startup Nikola claimed yesterday to have made a huge breakthrough in battery technology that it predicts will disrupt the market. Nikola says it's in discussions with customers for truck orders that could fill production slots for more than ten years and propel Nikola to become the top truck manufacturer in the world by revenue. The next-gen battery technology is also said to have the potential to increase the range of current EV passenger cars to 600 miles from 300 miles.

Let's close this segment with our daily review of commodity prices and the long bond interest rate given the market shift towards risk on trading.

Most interesting is the substantial drop in the U.S. 10 Year Treasury yield to 1.74% as a reflection of renewed demand for the safety of Treasuries. Physical gold also improved to $1477/oz while crude oil dropped to $55.41/bbl. Bitcoin remains on a slow slide and is priced at $8102/coin.

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to say at this point. I will be in and out of the GFRC office today with several errands including time in the Windham bank vault. My goal is to pull another group of Liberty Seated dimes to be sold while being a snowbird.

The GFRC office is always open for new orders. I will respond to those as quickly as possible.

Thank-you for visiting with me on a Wednesday and taking in this rather lengthy edition. See you tomorrow!

November 19, 2019

Important Liberty Seated Half Dollar Consignment!

and

Last Day to Mail Payments to Maine Office / Black Friday Sale

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Tuesday morning!

There is much weather related relief as the Blog is composed. Monday temperatures remained above freezing throughout the day and into the overnight hours. Instead of awaking to a top to bottom sheet of ice across the driveway, accumulated snow has melted with only the area in front of the garage doors being iced over. There is plenty of wood stove ash that can be spread in that area if necessary. Today bring more rain and clouds which is fine. I'm faced with another heavy shipping event during morning hours followed by loading the balance of Baltimore consignments into the COIN system. If all goes smoothly, Baltimore show new purchases and newly repatriated Osprey U.S. gold will be organized for a large CAC submission on Wednesday.

Incremental consignments are due to arrive prior to Friday. All are being collected in a double row slabbed box that holds 66 pieces. This box should be chocked full by Florida departure time. Adding in Whitman Baltimore show new purchases and Osprey's Europe sourced U.S. gold raises the amount of new offerings to roughly 140 coins. Monday's Venice Florida weather forecast calls for sunny conditions with a daytime high of 71F. You can bet my first priority will be photographing coins that day. Once armed with images, the GFRC price list will start looking fresh by Wednesday and just in time for the Black Friday Sale.

Liberty Seated Half Dollar Consignment Announcement

I'm most pleased to announce the arrival of two rare Liberty Seated half dollar varieties. Let's review each piece individually.

1873 No Arrows Open 3 PCGS VF20

The 1873 No Arrows Open 3 half dollar is a recognized rarity among Liberty Seated coinage collectors. The Open 3 half dollar was a replacement for the Closed 3 issue of that year due to the 3 digit being too similar to an 8 digit. The Open 3 mintage is reported to be 214,200 pieces which has to be incorrect based on few known survivors across all grades. PCGS has graded thirteen total in all VF grades (VF20, VF25, VF30, VF35) plus a miniscule three pieces in both EF grades.

GFRC is pleased to be offering a choice original VF20 specimen with natural gray patina. PCGS grading is conservative as all seven letters in LIBERTY are sharp other than weakness on "E". The reverse strike is particulary notable with deeply impressed eagle feathers, claws, and arrow feathers. I'm most pleased with the coin as it has the classic "Gerry Look".

1877/6 PCGS MS64 CAC Overdate

The 1877/6 Overdate features the top loop and ball of a 6 digit positioned on top of the flag of the last 7 digit. At the Mint State grade level, PCGS has certified only four examples based on their population reports. Two MS62s and a single MS64 will be found with the older PCGS 1877/6 label along with a single MS64 example with the newer 1877/6 Overdate FS-301 label. GFRC is pleased to announce the offering of the sole MS64 example certified with new Overdate FS-301 label. Rather than writing a lengthy description, I've linked to the CoinFacts plate coin image per below. The undertype 6 digit is most evident on this wonderful example.

1877/6 PCGS MS64 CAC Overdate - PCGS TrueView Image

Both pieces are currently in the photography loop and will be available next week. First Right of Refusals are suggested.

Last Day to Mail Payments to Maine Office

Tuesday is the last day to mail check payments to the GFRC Maine office. I'm assuming that USPS will deliver those letters by Friday. If not arriving on Friday, payments will be forwarded to the Venice office address.

The GFRC Venice Florida office address will be updated on the website and price lists starting tomorrow as follows;

GFRC

502 Auburn Lakes Circle

Venice, Florida 34292

I will be using the Quick Ship program as much as possible to get ordered coins into the mail by Friday to lighten the transport load. By Thursday of this week, the GFRC return address on packages will also be changed to the Venice location. There are many details to manage during the annual migration.

GFRC Black Friday Sale: November 29 - December 1

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend arrives later than normal during 2019 and stretches into December. I was not at all excited about driving to Florida during the second weekend in December as East Coast weather can be most unpredictable. As a result of the calendar, the Florida migration was moved up to the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. This will allow time to get settled in followed by working on Black Friday sale preparations.

GFRC's special sales are an opportunity for consignors to discount their offerings by a minimum of 8% to participate in that sale. Consignors are free to discount as much as they wish but 8% is the minimum threshold for having coins listed on the Black Friday price list.

Starting on Thurdays of this week, a special banner will appear at the top of the GFRC For Sale price list page and the Daily Blog. That banner will contain a countdown clock. Once the clock reaches 0:00, the banner becomes a link to the Black Friday sale price list. This special price list is entirely separate from regular GFRC price lists. Clicking on the link initiates the download of the Black Friday price list with tabs for individual product lines. Customers can scroll the various tabs searching for that special coin that is now bargain priced. Shopping cart icons will be enabled and available for triggering an email for purchases.

The Black Friday sale luanches on November 29 12:00 am and ends on December 1 at 9:00 pm. GFRC's special sales events typically contain 600 or so coins being offered at various discounted prices. Once the sale closes on December 1, the special banner and link disappear with unsold coins being available at regular prices in effect before the sale.

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

Consignor pricing reductions must be sent to GFRC by noon time November 26! Please use Black Friday Sale Discounting in your email subject line to allow me to identify the sale reductions emails from regular GFRC business correspondence. Starting November 27, pricing reductions will be loaded into the COIN system along with sending a confirmation email. If you don't hear from me by noon November 28, unfortunately your pricing reduction instructions may have been missed. This happens when consignors provide price reduction instructions as part of an email that includes multiple topics. Therefore, I ask that Black Friday price reductions be issued in a separate email for easy tracking.

Global Financial News

Equity markets continue to be in an upbeat mood with global futures points to more gains on Tuesday. Investors don't appeared to be concerning about the ongoing political drama in Washington DC. Seeking Alpha presents a host of interesting headlines to consider today. But first, let's review our regular commodity prices and the long bond interest rate.

Given the favorable performance of equity markets and positive outlook for continued economic growth, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is holding at the 1.82% level. Physical gold is caught up in the global optimism and trades at $1468/oz. This is on the low end of the current trading range. Crude oil has inched down to $56.61/bbl while Bitcoin continues to pull back at $8082/coin.

Elon Musk is an incredible innovator and driving advances in battery technology. Case in point is an Australia battery project and the world's biggest battery.

Tesla's battery project with Neoen in South Australia became "the world's largest battery" when it was completed two years ago, and now it's expanding by 50% to 150 megawatts. The storage site has already saved more than A$50M in its first year of operation, meaning that the A$66M venture is quickly on its way to paying for itself. Australian Energy Market Operator confirmed the system is much more rapid, accurate and valuable than a conventional steam turbine in a report published last year.

Another Chinese 5G implementation advantage is Beijing's control of their C-band spectrum as compared to western approaches for auctioning their bands to the highest bidders.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his support Monday for a public auction to free up C-band spectrum, a key band currently used for delivering video content for next-generation 5G wireless networks. The news sent Intelsat's stock crashing 40%. Major satellite service providers, which hold existing C-band licenses, had proposed selling the spectrum privately to wireless carriers, arguing a private sale would make the spectrum available for 5G faster.

Were you aware of an impending U.S. government shutdown given the non stop "impeachment mania" by the news media? It truly is amazing how Congress can get away with not executing budgetary duties.

The House will vote today on a stopgap bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown at midnight on Thursday. While Congress passed a two-year agreement to set budget levels and suspend the U.S. debt ceiling earlier this year, lawmakers have failed to come to terms on where to allocate the money amid disagreements over immigration and military funding. The Senate and White House will likely support the continuing resolution, hoping to avoid another partial government shutdown like the record-long one that began last December.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The 8:00 am Daily Blog publishing time has come and gone....

It is best to hit the upload button at this point and shift attention to another heavy shipping day. Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day loading more consignments into the COIN system and preparing CAC submissions.

If a GFRC consignor, please don't forget your Black Friday discounting instruction emails!

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog. I promise to be back on Wednesday with yet more ramblings. See you then.

November 18, 2019

GFRC Office Up and Running!

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to a frozen edition of the Blog.

The Florida migration can't come soon enough! Current southern Maine temperature is a cold 28F with cloudy conditions. The good news is afternoon temperatures will rise to slightly above freezing. The bad news is rain is forecasted throughout the afternoon and into the overnight. Since living in the Maine foothills, there is a 2-3 degree temperature gradient from the coast, which is only 30 minutes away. I'm expecting a freezing rain event on Ledge Hill with the driveway turning to a sheet of ice. Tuesday brings a forecast for more rain and snow. Temperatures will finally return to the mid 40s on Thursday and Friday.

On a positive note, I've put the idea of photographing Baltimore show new purchases completely out of mind. GFRC customer must wait until the business is relocated to Venice Florida before photography will be restarted. Between the downright lousy Maine weather and limited sunlight, it is best to delay imaging new purchases until optimum sunlight conditions present themselves. That means sunny Florida!

Yes, the GFRC offie is up and running after a great Whitman Baltimore show. Once the Blog is uploaded, attention shifts to a substantial number of outgoing shipments along with receiving a week's mail that has been hold.

New Lucky Jade Stone

Here it is!

I'm thrilled to be showcasing the new lucky GFRC jade stone that was my parting gift from the Liberty Seated Club leadership team. Thanks again Len! The rope chain is key. Instead of keeping this Qing Dynasty replica coin in my pocket or wallet, it will be worn on its rope chain at coin shows along with dealer badge and 10x loupe.

GFRC Qing Dynasty Replica Jade Coin

Whitman Baltimore Show Consignments

As promised in Sunday's Blog edition, following is a report out on the many consigned coins that arrived at the Whitman Baltimore show. This report contains all but two consignments that will be showcased in Tuesday Blog. The latter two contain the rare 1842-O F-106 PCGS AU58 dime and several major Liberty Seated half dollar varieties.

First Rights of Refusal are always welcomed. Again, photography will not take place until arriving at the Venice Florida office.

Union Bridge Collection Consignment

The Union Bridge Collection is back and divesting three top quality early type coins much to my pleasure. How I wish for more CAC approved consignments at this quality level.

Capped Bust 50c:1807 O-112 Large Stars 50/20 PCGS VF35 CAC with crusty original gray surfaces, so choice; 1810 PCGS AU53 CAC another choice original early Capped Bust half with dirty gray patina over frosty surfaces

Seated $1: 1843 PCGS EF40 CAC, perfect for grade with gun metal gray-blue patina, lots of eye appeal

Port Matilda Collection

The Port Matilda Collection is back with a small offering of choice pieces. Please don't think too hard when these offerings reach the price list. All are perect for the grade with loads of natural toning and eye appeal.

Seated 10c: 1839-O F-102 PCGS VF35 CAC choice original gray; 1848 F-102 PCGS EF45 CAC choice gray patina with some residual luster

Gold $1: 1858 PCGS AU58 CAC choice with light copper-gold patina

New Jersey Collection Consignment

The New Jersey Collection consignor continues to clean out a host of bank boxes and continually transfers his spare change to GFRC. At Baltimore, he transferred a lot of five freshly graded Liberty Seated dollars that are better dates. All have detailed grades given today's conservative PCGS environment but are far from being harshly cleaned. I've seen straight graded Seated dollars that appear much less desirable than these nice offerings.

Seated $1: 1840 PCGS EF Details, light gray with EF45+ details; 1857 PCGS AU Details, rate date with typical strike, mirrored fields with old dip and retoning; 1859 PCGS EF Details, light gray with peripheral rose gold, too reflective at EF45 grade to be original; 1865 PCGS EF Details, EF45+ with mirrored fields, light gray/voilet toning; 1870-CC PCGS Fine Details, Filed Rims, an original piece with natural gray patina, reverse has very light rim filing through the original patina at 8:00 - 9:00 that is not distracting.

Southern Texas Collection Consignment

Yet another GFRC customer has decided to start divesting duplicates. This individual has chosen the Southern Texas Collection name and is welcomed to the GFRC consignor community. Liberty Seated quarters and halves are his primary focus.

Seated 25c: 1841 raw VF25 natural gray, tough date; 1853 A&R raw EF45 choice original gray; 1855-S raw VG10 perfectly original and nice; 1859-S raw G04 natural gray, honest wear; 1860 Type II/I raw AU55, choice original, light frosty silver gray; 1875-CC raw G06, tough date with natual gray toning

Seated 50c: 1852 NGC VF25 light original gray, key date; 1854 raw EF45 choice natural gray; 1857-S raw VG10 light clean, long ago clean and retoned; 1861-O W-3 raw EF40+ crusty darker gray patina, choice original; 1866-S Motto raw VF30 even gray, choice original; 1872-CC ANACS G06 gold label, perfect at grade with natural gray patina and close to complete rims; 1873-CC raw G06 original gray, perfect for date and Dansco album

Anonymous Consignment #1

This consignor likes to remain anonymous. His offerings are consistently above average in quality and sell well. This lot is top shelf and will not last long.

Barber 10c: 1898 PCGS AU53 choice original, brilliant frosty golden luster

Seated 10c: 1853 A&R PCGS VF35 choice original with natural light gray coloring

Barber 25c: 1894-O PCGS AU55 CAC ideal for grade and JUST BUY IT NOW; 1905-S PCGS AU55 choice with frosty luster and peripheral burnt gold; 1906-O PCGS EF40 choice original gray; 1915-S PCGS AU53 choice original gray

Anonymous Consignment #2

This is another consignor that wishes to remain anonymous and brings some interesting offerings to GFRC inventory.

Seated 50c: 1861-O W-1 Union Strike, raw AU53, even light gray with old clean

Global Financial News

World-wide equity markets remain upbeat as China - U.S. trade talks continue without negative leaks. China is also lowering a key interest rate for the first time since 2015. The following Seeking Alpha headline captures global investor optimism.

U.S. markets scored another hat trick on Friday as the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow hit fresh records, while the latter topped 28,000 for the first time ever. Stock futures now suggest gains of another 0.2% at the open. The move upward has been spurred by rising trade optimism, diminishing fears of a recession, while the barometer for the Fed to raise rates is incredibly high (and its balance sheet continues to grow). The People's Bank of China overnight also lowered one of its key interest rates for the first time since 2015, signaling further easing across the globe.

Looking at commodities and the long bond interest rate; crude oil is holding flat at the upper end of recent trading range with a morning quote of $57.93/bbl. Physical gold continues to retreat due to monies pouring into the risk on trade. Current quote is $1459/oz. Bitcoin has pulled back to $8452/coin. The U.S. 10 Year Treasury yield is flat at 1.84%

Wrapping Up The Blog

Whew, this has been a long edition and I'm already tired to start the day.

Morning shipping is substantial and will be garner my attention through noon time. Afterwards, new consignments must be loaded into the COIN system for tracking purposes. With just a few days left before the Florida migration, it is critical to have all inventory items properly documented.

I will be in the office the entire day if you are inclined to make a purchase.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog. See you tomorrow morning.

November 17, 2019

A Cold Maine Morning - Let's Get to Florida

Greetings from the Raymond Maine homestead and welcome to a frozen edition of the Blog.

Yes indeed, it is a cold start to the day! Current temperature is only 12F on the outdoor thermometer. The wood stove is cranking out heat as I attempt to bring the home to a comfortable temperature before Diane wakes up. Living in a passive solar home has its high and low points. Masonry is a wonderful device for heat storage and dampening temperature fluctuations. However, after a week of being exposed to 60 degree temperature from oil heat, the masonry take a full day to absorb higher heat content towards stabilize at regular 72F home temperature from the wood stove. With an outdoor temperature well below freezing, that heating process takes time leading to a cool start to the day.

The return transport from Baltimore to Maine was uneventful with an arrival time of midnight. There was no snow on the ground in Portland or even several miles from our home. But wouldn't you know it. Living on the side of a 950 ft hill brought a different landscape. The yard is completely white with ice and snow throughout the driveway. Winter conditions have arrived much too early this year! In just one week, we are off to Florida and none too soon.

There is much to share concerning the closing Whitman Baltimore show day. I'm operating on limited sleep since not heading to bed until 1:30 am due to wood stove duties, followed by arising early to write today's Blog edition. I promise to provide a full and detailed report on Whitman show happenings and consignments within the Monday edition. Here are a few highlights as a teaser.

- I was blown away when a rare Liberty Seated dime variety was consigned to GFRC immediately prior to closing down the booth. The 1842-O F-106 die paring features a heavily lapped reverse left over from 1841. The newly consigned example is a magnificent piece freshly certified as PCGS AU58 with a decent chance for CAC approval. What blew me away was a large obverse rim cud nearly consistent with the 1842 F-103a die variety. More details will be shared tomorrow after having a chance to study this dime in detail.

- My Liberty Seated Collectors Club presidency parting gift was sincerely appreciated. An extra special thank-you goes out to Len Augsburger. I recognize this was your idea! The new jade stone is carved in the shape of a Qing Dynasty coin with period enscriptions according to Harry Zhang. Yes, Harry was at the Baltimore show on Satuday morning. He made a special trip from Toronto, with his son, to take in the show.

- Saturday also brought the consignment of two major Liberty Seated half dollar varieties that will be shared on Monday morning. My guess is that GFRC took in at least 30+ fresh coins on consignment. Those will be loaded into the COIN system today coupled with attributions. All will be announced this evening by 9:00 pm. So please check back at that time to secure your First Rights of Refusals.

Whitman Baltimore Show Day 3 Report

Saturdays at the Baltimore show are unpredictable. Most prior Saturday sessions have been "tire kicker" events for those walking the bourse with Greysheets. My expectations were low for yesterday's closing session.

What a pleasant surprise when more serious collectors arrived to Booth 818 and bought higher priced offerings! When the time arrived to closed down, GFRC had sold additional inventory with sales at the five figure mark. Now that is icing on the cake.....

Overall, I could not be more pleased with the 2019 Winter Baltimore show. GFRC sales were above expectations along with some excellent pre-show buying. The staff had a wonderful time and enjoyed the event. Sales were brisk with minimal idle time.

The numismatic market remains robust with demand for strictly original early type and gold being obvious. CAC approved coins continue to grow in popularity with rising premiums. Once I have a chance to post all Whitman show new purchases, I'm sure there will be another wave of orders. Please keep visiting the Blog on a daily basis to stay abreast of new purchases and other fresh consignments that were promised to me at the show. At least one new consignment lot is due to arrive this week with several high grade San Francisco Barber halves and other cool offerings.

GFRC's Florida Migration Schedule - Change of Mailing Address

It is that time again to announce an address change for mailing GFRC check payments. Please note the following schedule. Come November 21, I will change all address listings on the GFRC website and price lists.

November 19 - Last day to mail payments to the GFRC, 225 Valley Rd., Raymond, Maine 04071

November 21 - Please mail payments to GFRC, 502 Auburn Lakes Circle, Venice, Florida 34292

Black Friday Sales Schedule and Discounting Inputs

The annual GFRC Black Friday Sale takes place on Thanksgiving weekend. The sale opens on Thanksgiving Day at midnight and is in effect until Sunday 9:00 pm.

The usual consignor requirement of a minimum 8% discount will be in place to participate in the sale. More information will be provided in Monday's Blog edition. The key date to remember is that consignor discounting inputs are due to me, via email, no later than noon time Tuesday November 26. Please use GFRC Black Friday Sale Discounting in your email subject line.

Wrapping Up The Blog

As you can imagine, a busy day is ahead of me. Baltimore show admin workload is substantial. All sales must be captured in the COIN database. This will enable a fresh price list update to removed sold coins. A Collectors Corner update is also necessary. By this evening, GFRC consignors will be able to log into MyAccounts and check their consignments for sold coins.

If that were not enough, the Baltimore show inventory must be merged back into regular inventory boxes. Fresh consignment must be loaded into the COIN system too. Monday morning brings shipment of orders taken in while at the Baltimore show.

Therefore, it is time to hit the upload button and conduct one final check for spelling and grammar errors. A second cup of coffee is immediately warranted along with a hot shower.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog!

November 16, 2019

Gerry Fortin Wraps Up as LSCC President

Greetings and welcome to the last Blog edition from Baltimore. Today brings the final day of the Whitman show followed by a long drive to the Maine homestead. Weather will be conducive for the drive with an arrival temperature of only 18F! Are we still in mid November?

As the headline indicates, Friday brought my last regional meeting as LSCC President. Moving forward, Len Augusburger has taken over the club's leadership role and I wish him the best of luck. Len is the ideal person for assuming the presidency given his broad based numismatic knowledge including authoring multiple books on American historical events that coincide with numismatics. Len is also the current project director at the Newman Numismatic Portal and has served as LSCC Secretary/Treasurer and Vice President for years. I leave the club leadership in outstanding hands.

The Baltimore regional meeting was well attended with about 25 club members. Len gave a well prepared review of my life and tenure as President. He closed with a lovely gift; a new Chinese jade coin to replace the one lost at Summer FUN. GFRC has a new good luck charm that will be carefully managed and displayed at forthcoming coin shows. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the new jade coin on Friday but will share in Sunday's Blog.

I've been known to be a brief speaker at LSCC regional meeting but took the floor for a 30 minute closing discussion. Several important points were made including;

- The LSCC must continue to work towards securing and enabling next generation collectors of Liberty Seated coinage. I can't think of a more important mission for the club given the competing attention challenges that our hobby faces.

- Die variety collecting is waning to some extent and needs to be modernized with a focused new initiative. This dear Blog readers, is my last project in a long numismatic career. The overriding goal is to enable a vibrant Liberty Seated die variety market that will supplement the demand for date and mintmark set collecting.. During the John McCloskey era as club President, die variety research was at its peak. Much information is available but takes considerable effort to locate as fragmented. My vision is the construction of a collector friend online platform that will facilitate easy access to die varieties for the Liberty Seated half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar denominations. These four denomination form the bulk of the Liberty Seated coinage market.

I went on to share more details concerning my vision of a modernized die variety information platform with LSCC regional meeting attendees. Time is too limited in today's Blog to share those details. This will be done at a later time.

Whitman Baltimore Show Day 2 Report

GFRC enjoyed a decent sales day on Friday but not to the same level seen on Thursday. Bourse floor traffic was light with a notable quiet period from about 1:30 to 3:00 pm. On a positive note, I'm pleased to report that Friday was a high yield day. Those customers that did visit with GFRC made purchases given the huge amount of inventory offerings.

Sales totals for the first two show days have already met expectations and I could not be more pleased. A substantial amount (a full PCGS blue box) of the Tuesday and Wednesday pre-show new purchases have already been sold after being posted in the Blog. Adding those purchases to bourse sales bring the Whitman Baltimore sale total into the high five figures. Again, I am thoroughly satisfied with Whitman show results and believe many consignors will enjoy hearing of their coins being sold.

Speaking of consignments, a few more consignments arrived at the show including two major Liberty Seated half dollar dates/varieties. Please check back on Monday for the entire list of new consignments taken in at the Baltimore show.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The time has arrived for a final breakfast with Diane, Dan and Rose Marie followed by returning to the Baltimore Convention Center for the 9:00 am bourse opening for dealers.

Thank-you for continuing to stop by at the Blog on a daily basis. Please check in on Sunday and Monday Blog editions as I will announce incremental new purchases that appears at the GFRC table on Thursday and Friday. There is still much to share including the new luck Chinese jade coin as my parting gift from the Liberty Seated Collectors Club.

See you then....

November 15, 2019

A Non-Stop Busy Start to Whitman Baltimore Show

Greetings from Baltimore and welcome to another Whitman coin show edition.

Today' Blog is being written on Thursday evening due to another early start on Friday morning. Breakfast comes at 7:00 am followed by being back on the Baltimore bourse floor at 8:00. After opening Booth 818, I'm heading up to Room 301 for the LSCC regional meetings which kicks off at 9:00am. This will be my last meeting as club president. I'm looking forward to taking the floor and reviewing the six years as club president along with handling the club transition efforts starting in mid 2013. As I've always been a proponent of quick and efficient regional meeting, this is my opportunity to speak at length and share thoughts on on the club's positioning in the numismatic hobby along with a personal vision for impacting the hobby in the upcoming five years.

Whitman Baltimore Show Day 1 Report

The 2019 Winter Baltimore show was off to a rip roaring start on Thursday.

The GFRC team of Gerry, Diane, Dan and Rose Marie arrived to Booth 818 promptly at 8:00 am. Setting up double corner tables with twelve cases and over a 1000 slabbed coins is a substantial undertaking. Setup took a full two and a half hours and stretched into early bird floor access. Luckily, the early bird traffic was minimal. The bourse opened to the general public at 12:00 noon with an immediate rush of collectors flowing across aisles. Withing thirty minutes, the floor was buzzing and sales was underway.

As the headline reads, the GFRC booth was non stop busy from 12:30 until 5:30 pm. All types of business were transacted including regular sales, trade deals and outright purchase. When not handling PCGS submissions, Diane was constantly writing sales and consignment receipts. Once the dust settled at end of day, GFRC has sold well into the mid five figures.

The day started with a large United States gold sale and quickly transitioned to silver coinage. Liberty Seated and Barber coinage lead the list of popular items. Capped and Draped Bust coinage was quiet but that could quickly change on Friday. Several consignments were taken in including a six piece lot of Liberty Seated dollars and more Barber quarters. An 1861-O W-1 Liberty Seated half dollar piece in raw AU condition with old cleaning also arrived. I'm also looking at a substantial collection of Barber quarters and halves for outright purchase on Friday. Demand for pre-show new purchases, as listed in this morning's Blog, continued to be strong. At issue was my ability to respond to all FRoR inquires due to be being fully consumed with customer communications and pricing responsibiltiies.

The bourse closed at 6:00 pm, followed by the GFRC staff heading to the Pratt Street Ale House for the traditional LSCC dinner. Camaradarie was great as was the food. We finally returned to the hotel room by 9:30 pm and here I am writing the Blog. Frankly, I am worn out at this point with a good night's rest being paramount. Let's end this Blog edition at this point.

In summary, the Whitman Baltimore has already been well attended. GFRC enjoyed a strong initial sales day. Life is good!

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog. I will be back on Friday evening with a Day 2 report.

November 14, 2019

Substantial GFRC New Purchases Announcement Part 2

and

GFRC Consignment Proceeds Attain $4,750,000 Milestone

Greetings once again from Baltimore and welcome to another Whitman Baltimore show edition of the Blog.

Today's edition is being written on Wednesday evening due to 8:00 am dealer setup on Thursday. Please remember that GFRC will be at Booth 818 with twelves cases of quality early type and United States gold.

Wednesday brought another great pre-show buying day as GFRC becomes more aggressive with inventory expansion. Already, seven coins have been sold throughout the day from Tuesday's appointment based pre-show buying. After another productive day, writing this Blog edition is the last task of to complete before my head touches a pillow. Therefore, let's keep the preamble short and move immediately into two announcements.

GFRC Consignment Proceeds Attain $4,750,000 Milestone

There is no question that the GFRC consignment based business model is functioning well for all parties. In just two months, GFRC has returned over $250,000 of sales proceeds (less commissions) to consignors. With the upcoming Baltimore event during the balance of the week, the Black Friday sale on Thanksgiving weekend, and the upcoming Winter FUN show, I'm confident that the $5,000,000 consignment proceeds milestone can be attain by end of January 2020.

Of course, your help is needed for insourcing more quality consignments that will enable more purchases by the GFRC community.

Wednesday Baltimore Pre-Show New Purchases

Your dynamic duo was at it again on Wednesday morning. At 9:00 am sharp, Dan and Gerry arrived to the Baltimore Convention Center and the 3rd floor wholesale event area. Our mission was additional pre-show buying to ensure the best possible inventory for GFRC customers during the closing weeks of 2019.

After three fast paced hours of searching through hundreds of coins, I am most pleased to announce another substantial round of new purchases for your consideration. As usual, First Rights of Refusal are suggested to secure first shot at some mighty fine new inventory. Please understand that my response time to FRoR requests will be impacted by GFRC booth setup on Thursday morning. I will always honor FRoRs based on email or text message time stamps.

Seated 5c: 1850 PCGS MS66 CAC a sweet little gem with rich frosty luster and light peripheral toning

Seated 10c: 1861-S NGC AU50 crusty original and so scarce as a date; 1884-S F-105 PCGS AU50 CAC lovely aquamarine and rose toning

Seated 25c 1872 PCGS EF45 CAC light gray, choice original, better date

Barber 25c: 1896-S PCGS EF40 choice with residual luster, key date

Draped Bust 50c: 1801 O-102 R4+ PCGS VF20 CAC a date that is in high demand, beautiful circulated cameo eye appeal, gray fields

Reeded 50c: 1838 GR-9 PCGS AU53 perfect crusty gray surfaces, the way a naturally preserved silver coin should look.

Seated 50c: 1839 Drapery WB-4 PCGS VF30 CAC crusty gray patina throughout and choice; 1867 PCGS AU58 CAC so choice original, CAC pop (2) in AU58; 1890 PCGS MS64PL, the only 1890 Proof Like graded with amazing eye appeal

Liberty $2.5 Gold: 1852 PCGS MS63 CAC greenish-gold with flawless surfaces; 1855 PCGS MS62 CAC nice frosty luster with minimal abrasions

Indian $2.5 Gold: 1909 NGC MS65 CAC Fatty rare grade with fantastic orange-gold mint bloom

Indian $5 Gold: 1909 PCGS MS63 CAC well struck with bold luster; 1912 PCGS MS63 CAC rich orange-gold patina and satiny luster

Liberty $10 Gold: 1841 PCGS AU58+ rare early date with substantial eye appeal; 1855 NGC AU58 CAC old crusty gold piece with copper-gold toning

Liberty $20 Gold: 1899 PCGS MS64+ CAC with luster and eye appeal of full MS65, we just had to add this lovely example to inventory!.

Wrapping Up The Blog

At this point, let's call it a day in Baltimore and head to bed. I will be up at 6:00 am for breakfast followed by retrieving GFRC inventory from Baltimore Convention Center security just in time for the bourse opening at 8:00 am. Dealer booth setup arrives in less than twelve hours and best to secure a good nights sleep.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog!

November 13, 2019

Substantial GFRC New Purchases Announcement

Greetings from Baltimore and welcome to the first of several Blog editions from the Whitman Baltimore show.

Tuesday's drive from northern New Jersey to Baltimore was uneventful other than experiencing a snowstorm on the Delaware Memorial bridge. While driving south on NJ I-295, I could see the temperature dropping from the high 30s down to 35F when reaching the New Jersey - Delaware state line. Upon arriving to the Delaware bridge, snows kicked in and what an experience crossing the highly elevated bridge in a snowstorm. Otherwise, the trip brought mostly rain and decreasing temperatures during the Baltimore noon time arrival.

Dan White and Rose Marie also made a Baltimore arrival at roughly the same time. The stage was set for an afternoon of pre-show buying appointments. I'm thrilled to report that Dan and I enjoyed a spectacular afternoon of buying as one of the three appointments featured a huge lot purchased directly from several collectors. This wholesale dealer has been in the industry for decades and has the ability to locate fresh old time deals. GFRC was fortunate to gain first shot. Of course, Tuesday would not have been complete without a buying session with my favorite wholesaler. That session also went well as this individual continues to grow his numismatic experience along with expanding inventory.

Tuesday Baltimore Pre-Show New Purchases

Following are the newly purchased coins for your consideration. All will be loaded into the COIN system and priced this coming afternoon. First Right of Refusals are being accepted. Asking price and cellphone images will be provided by end of day and your prompt pass/play decisions would be greatly appreciated. My intent is to have all new purchases loaded into display cases come Thursday morning at Whitman Baltimore show setup.

Indian 1c: 1906 NGC MS64 RB gem toning and eye appeal, reds and blues with Eagle Eye appproval

Seated 5c: 1872-S BW PCGS MS63 CAC gorgeous frost luster and gray-rose patina

Seated 10c: 1871-S F-102 PCGS AU55 CAC choice original with frosty luster and light gray patina, so rare at grade level and with CAC approval; 1875-CC IW F-108 PCGS EF45 CAC super original light gray with all diagnostics

Mercury 10c: 1916-S PCGS MS66 CAC super gem with burnt gold toning

Capped Bust 25c: 1820 Large 0 PCGS VF30 old album gun metal gray-blue patina, eye appeal for grade; 1831 Sm Letters PCGS AU55 gorgeous gray-rose with peripheral blues

Seated 25c: 1853 No Arrows PCGS AU53 crusty choice original and fresh to market, rare grade; 1853-O PCGS VF20 CAC crusty gray; 1862-S PCGS F15 CAC choice gray patina

Barber 25c: 1892 MS65 NGC Star a wonderful color coin with center rose and peripheral blues; 1897-O PCGS VF30 CAC crusty gray; 1916-D PCGS MS65 CAC an iridescent gem

Flowing Hair 50c: 1795 PCGS F15 CAC gem circulated cameo at grade;

Capped Bust 50c: 1832 Sm Letters PCGS AU55 super eye appeal with rich frosty luster and burnt gold peripheral toning; 1827 Curl Base 2 PCGS AU55 rich frosty luster and so original; 1838 RE superb eye appeal, frosty luster with peripheral gold

Seated 50c: 1852 PCGS MS62 key date light silver gray, frosty luster; 1861-O W-3 PCGS AU55 gem original at grade, lightly mirrored fields

Seated $1: 1859-S PCGS VF25 choice original crusty gray, wow!

Gold $1: 1853-O PCGS MS63 CAC choice original greenish-gold struck from eroded dies; 1874 PCGS MS64 CAC OGH rich frosty luster with orange-gold patina

Gold $2.5: 1843 PCGS EF45 CAC choice original greenish-gold

Gold $5: 1847 PCGS AU55 CAC OGH choice original greenish-gold and so nice

Gold $10: 1847-O PCGS EF45 CAC crusty greenish-gold

Early Commemorative 25c: 1893 Isabella NGC MS63 CAC Fatty gorgeous old time toning

Early Commemorative 50c: 1918 Illinois NGC MS65 lovely gold coloring; 1921 Alabama 2x2 PCGS MS64 OGH incredible colors and eye appeal; 1934 Boone NGC MS66 CAC beautifully toned; 1938 New Rochelle PCGS MS66+ peripheral holder paper gold

GFRC Consignment News

If the above new purchases were not enough news for a Wednesday morning, I'm pleased to announce that the Mountain View Collection consignment contacted me yesterday. He is ready to divest his Liberty Seated Quarter San Francisco collection as listed on the GFRC Open Set Registry. The set can be view by clicking here. All pieces will be sold except for the 1855-S which the consignor will probably never part with.....

We are presently discussing a transfer schedule to the GFRC office.

Wrapping Up The Blog

My apology but there is no time to prepare a Global Financial News segment this morning. A shower is in order along with breakfast before Dan and I head to the Baltimore Convention center for more pre-show buying.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog and please check back on Thursday morning for yet more pre-show buying announcements.

November 12, 2019

Unexpected Daily Blog from the Road!

Greetings and welcome to another edition of the Blog, though from an unexpected location!

I've been watching southern Maine weather for several days given the forecasted winter storm. The weather forecast was early Tuesday morning become downright awful for driving to Baltimore. A snow storm was due to arrive during the overnight followed by freezing rain during early morning hours. A quick decision was made to get out of Dodge ahead of the storm. That we did and left Maine late Monday afternoon. We headed south, of course, to stay ahead of the plunging temperatures and freezing conditions. Therefore, today's Blog edition is being shared from a comfortable hotel in New Jersey.

The early Maine departure brings GFRC into Baltimore ahead of the prior schedule. After checking in, the balance of Tuesday will be spent on coin buying appointments. Dan White is also traveling earlier upon hearing of our news and will be joining me. After more phone calls, the GFRC appointment list has expanded making Tuesday the primary Baltimore pre-show buying event. More time will be available on Wednesday to visit with secondary dealers and also conduct COIN database loading of new purchases in a less hurried manner. The early Maine winter storm brought a silver lining.

Little has been prepared for today's edition. In that case, let's visit with Seth Godin and check in on his latest ramblings. There is always something to be learned or, at least worth reflecting upon.

Seth Godin's Blog - Busy is a choice, productive is a skill

Building the GFRC business has been a case study in raising personal productivity and efficiency across my work habits. Many wonder how a lone person can operate the GFRC business at current volumes plus write a blog each day. You might think I'm sick, but each day brings a study of how tasks are conducted and accomplished. I'm always searching for a shorter approach or shaving a few seconds off of a repeated task. Shaved seconds do add up with conducting the same tasks endless times. Also important is operating in an error free manner. Redos and correcting issues are a huge impact to efficiency. My imperative is to get each task done correctly the first time.

Busy is a choice, productive is a skill

Anyone can be busy. All you need to do to feel busy is to try to get two things done at once–or seek to beat a deadline that is stressing you out.

Productivity, on the other hand, has little to do with busy. Productivity requires bringing soft skills (real skills) to the table in service of the generous work you seek to do. Productivity is learned. And productivity takes guts. Once people are comfortable with discovering how to they get out of their own way, they can get a huge amount done.

Once you see what’s possible, it’s amazing how much you can contribute.

Learning is not the same as education, and busy is not the same as productive.

Global Financial News

World-wide markets are upbeat to start the day while commodities and the long bond interest rate continue to reflect a risk off environment.

President Trump is giving a trade speech today at the Economic Club of New York. This Seeking Alpha headlines captures the significance for global equity markets.

Awaiting a key speech from President Trump at the Economic Club of New York, U.S. stock index futures are holding steady, while global stocks trade firmly in positive territory. "You can expect the president to highlight how his policies of lower taxes, deregulation, and fair and reciprocal trade have supported the longest economic recovery in U.S. history with record low unemployment, rising wages, and soaring consumer confidence," White House spokesman Judd Deere said, without giving further details. Markets will still be hanging on to every word that could reference trade talks, and any suggestion that tariffs could be lifted or delayed.

Physical gold is dropped to $1453/oz. Writing today's Blog, I took a quick look at gold's technical charts. The breakout and trending above the 200 day moving average on the 5 year chart is still intact.

The U.S. 10 Year long bond interest rate inched up to 1.95% on continued economic optimism. Crude oil is quoting a tad over $57/bbl while $8736 will buy you a Bitcoin.

Here is an interesting headlines concerning the ongoing online video streaming war between Netflix, HBO, Apple and now, Disney. I know little about this topic as you won't find me sitting in front of a television or laptop watching movies.

Disney+ has gone live, challenging the likes of Netflix, Apple TV Plus and HBO Max with a low price of $6.99/month (or $69.99/year). It'll also offer a triple bundle - including Hulu and ESPN Plus - for $12.99/month. Waves were already made after the Mouse House gave Verizon customers a free year of the service, as well as broadening device support to nearly every platform: Apple OS, Android, Fire TV, Roku, etc. Disney has called the service - which will be the exclusive home of Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar - the future of the company, and is building out a slate of original shows and movies based on those brands like The Mandalorian.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog on a Tuesday. After the remaining drive to Baltimore and checking in, GFRC will be on the hunt for new inventory. How I love the thrill of the hunt, especially when the pursuit can be conducted in a less pressured manner. Who knows, GFRC may change its Whitman Baltimore pre-show habits and add a day to the schedule for more comprehensive buying activities.

Please check back on Wednesday morning for a new purchase summary and first shot.

See you tomorrow at the Blog!

November 11, 2019

Whitman Baltimore Show Week Arrives!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on Veterans Day. A sincere thank-you goes out to the men and women of the Armed Services for protecting our country; past, present and future.

Since Veterans Day is a federal holiday, the United States Postal Service and banks are closed for observance. The GFRC shipping queue is about empty as nearly all orders have been shipped ahead. Orders that arrived on Sunday will be shipped on Monday November 18th.

Today brings a full day of packing for the Winter Whitman Baltimore show. Though the calendar reads mid November, Baltimore will be experiencing freezing overnight conditions from Tuesday through Saturday. I'm sure that everyone is aware of the below average temperatures that will be gripping New England and the Mid-Atlantic states this week. Icing will be an issue in Baltimore from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.

GFRC will be active at this year's Baltimore pre-show event along with insourcing the latest round of Osprey United States gold. Let's remember that the Winter FUN show, in sunny Orlando Florida, is only seven weeks away! FUN is a huge numismatic industry event with all dealers striving to attend with well rounded fresh inventories for those who decend on the show. A few smaller GFRC consignments have been committed during the past week. However, I'm still on the hunt for one to two major consignments consisting of early silver type and/or U.S gold. I'm all ears as to what might be under consideration.

For the final time, following is the GFRC location on the Whitman bourse floor. GFRC will be exhibiting 12 cases of broad based inventory and the largest display to date for the business. Nearly all GFRC inventory, other than raw coins, will be available for inspection and purchase. The inventory will range from early copper, all Draped and Capped Bust denominations, plus the signature Liberty Seated denominations, and United States gold. United States gold sales have dramatically increased in the past two years with two full cases of quality numismatic gold being on display at Baltimore. W.David Perkins Numismatics while be sharing the balance of Booth 818 as has been done for years. It will be great to be back in Baltimore and operating from a large display footprint.

GFRC Booth 818 - Whitman Baltimore Show

Fast Paced Offerings of Baltimore New Purchases

Since Dan and I plan to be active buyers at the Tuesday and Wednesday pre-show, plans are being made to quickly insource new purchases on Wednesday evening into the COIN system and have ready for inventory display starting Thursday morning. All new purchases will be announced on Wednesday and Thursday morning at the Daily Blog. I will be happy to quote asking prices along with emailing cellphone images of the new purchases towards solid purchase commitments.

At this point, I have a mental library of GFRC client collections and their want lists. These mental want lists will be used to source new inventory on Tuesday/Wednesday along with selectively expanding CAC approved offerings. Once new purchases are communicated, all that I ask is for customers to be sensitive for placing fresh purchases on hold. New purchases placed on hold will not be displayed for sale at the Baltimore show.

LSCC Regional Meeting and Club Dinner

The traditional LSCC regional meeting takes places on Friday at 9:00 am in Room 301. I spoke with Len Augsburger yesterday concerning our agenda. This meeting will be a tad different. The usual attendees photo and introductions will open the meeting followed by Len Augsburger sharing his thoughts about the club's leadership transition that is underway. The meeting will wrap up with Gerry Fortin taking the floor to discuss the LSCC's transition from the McCloskey era to the modern digital era starting back in 2013. This will be a spontaneous sharing of my presidency for the past six years without speaker notes. I also plan to hint at what is upcoming as the next Fortin numismatic initiative in the coming five years.

The LSCC club dinner will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday evening at the Pratt Street Ale House. This venue is adjacent to the Days Inn and easy to locate. The dinner is non-hosted which means everyone dines via separate checks. Unfortunately, Len Augsburger is tied up in Washington DC on Thursday evening and will not attend. LSCC members will be stuck with me in attendance as club President for one last time....

Fresh GFRC Consignment Wanted - Looking into 2020

Yes, I'm sure that Blog readers are well aware of my desire to source fresh consignments. I've made this point on multiple occasions.

Please remember that it is best to sell duplicates and divest a complete collection in a strong market environment. The market for Liberty Seated coinage and all coins CAC approved is currently robust. The AU58 grade level, with CAC approval, is experiencing huge demand with strong premiums. GFRC is in need of fresh Liberty Seated quarter, half dollar and dollar inventories. GFRC is also expanding its presence in the Barber coinage arena and needs large quantities of Barber dimes and halves to populate those price lists.

Once again, if you are holding a substantial amount of duplicates or are no longer excited with certain portions of your numismatic holdings, now is the time to prune or divest. I'm expecting a robust first half of 2020 for numismatic sales. Come September 2020 and the forthcoming election cycle, market unpredictability could set in. I'm expecting, and will forecast weak sales for fourth quarter 2020 due to national elections. This election cycle will be extremely contentious and capturing everyone's attention. It is best to reposition your numismatic holdings during the first half of 2020. GFRC hopes to be an enabler of those activities.

Global Financial News

Global equity market euphoria has been stopped in its tracks due to developments in Hong Kong. If appears that the mainland crack-down in underway. Market futures are red with large drops anticipated in Asian markets. Let's check in on the Seeking Alpha headline before moving further with this segment.

Traders are closely following the events in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index lost almost 3% after the city's start-of-week commute descended into turmoil. A day after three pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested, police fired gunshots at protesters as they tried to block roads and delay trains, sending one man to the hospital in critical condition. Dow futures also fell 115 points on the news in the U.S., where the bond market is closed Monday due to Veterans Day.

Otherwise, commodities and the U.S. long bond are priced for global harmony. Gold prices have pulled back to $1467/oz during the past few sessions. Bitcoin has also dropped to $8685/coin. Crude oil is flat at $56.36. Most telling is the 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield that has increased to 1.95%. Increasing yield is associated with waning demand.

Here is a headline to appreciate the size of the Chinese market. A significant part of the Chinese population is single with Alibaba leveraging this fact with Single's Day on November 11!

The event regularly racks up bigger sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, but Alibaba already topped last year's record in 16.5 hours with gross merchandise value of 213.5B yuan ($30.5B). That's equal to 87% of Amazon's online store sales in its latest quarter, and the figure is set to rise further. Held back by a slowing overall e-commerce industry and the trade war, sales growth for the full 24-hour event is still likely to fall short of last year's 27%, according to analysts. Alibaba first latched on to Singles' Day - symbolized by the four lonely 1s of 11/11 - in 2009, and has transformed the holiday into the world's biggest online sales event.

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point. My attention shifts to wrapping up Redbook pricing recommendations followed by packing GFRC inventory for Tuesday's early morning departure to Baltimore.

New online and phone orders will be pulled from inventory once unloaded at the Baltimore show. Please remember that order shipments will resume on Monday, November 18.

In tomorrow's Blog, it will be time to share the schedule for the upcoming Florida migration and Black Friday discounting instructions. How time flies.....

Thank-you for visiting with me on a Monday and please stay close to the Daily Blog during the next 72 hours for Baltimore new purchase announcements.

November 10, 2019

What Inspired You to Get into Coin Collecting Part 2?

and

West Texas Collection Better Dates

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Sunday morning. Whitman Baltimore show preparations begin today.

Saturday brought another busy day. The last leaf cleaning event of the year took place with the landscaping ready for the first snow of the season. Evening time saw me sitting in the GFRC office working on Redbook pricing updates. Trade dollars were reviewed with many prices seeing reductions. As Jeff Garret provides in his instructions, the Redbook prices are for an average coin at the grade. CAC prices are elevated and should not be considered when formulating Redbook prices. There is no question that Redbook pricing recommendations are a subjective undertaking. As a contributor, I'm giving it my best for suggesting average coin price estimates.

What Inspired You to Get into Coin Collecting Part 2?

In Saturday's Blog, my response to the Oregon Beaver questions focused on collecting during teenager years with a miniscule budget. The narrative continues today and takes us to late 1987.

A period of seventeen years passes without paying attention to the numismatic hobby. My life is focused on building a career in the semiconductor industry, rock music, marriage and the birth of our two children. A transition from IBM (Dutchess County, New York) to Fairchild Semiconductor (Southern Maine) takes place along with the construction of a passive solar, super insulated home in the Maine countryside.

Christmas 1987 arrives. At Diane's annual family party on Christmas Eve, gifts are opened. Diane's mother has a special gift for each of her five children. The package is opened to reveal a roll of VF-AU Morgan dollars. Diane views the contents with some bewilderment and passed the package to me. How super cool was my take on the situation. I immediately went through the roll checking every Morgan for grade and mintmarks. Of course, these were mass marketed on QVC but still a really cool gift. That gift was the spark that brought me back into numismatics.

During the first half of 1988, a decision is made to build a complete set of Morgan dollars in AU/MS grade. I start attending local coin shows and coin club meetings. My long ago Coin World subscription is restarted. Two Whitman bookshelf albums are purchased. Maine Gold & Silver, near the Fairchild office, becomes a lunch time destination. Then the realization set in. Morgan dollars are constantly seen with many being overgraded. There is no challenge to collecting the series other than raising funds to purchase every required date. Within six months, I was bored; there was no thrill of the hunt associated with Morgan dollars.

July 1988 arrives. One evening, I'm relaxing at home and start reviewing the Redbook. I wanted out of Morgan dollars and decided to research United States coinage for a more exciting collecting objective. Since enjoying reading Civil War history and striving to collect historically significant coinage, the various Liberty Seated coinage denominations were carefully analyzed as potential targets. By process of elimination, it was decided to pursue Liberty Seated dimes at the Fine 12 grade level based on perceived availability (mintages), current prices and my targeted budget. Other denominations were easily eliminated for multiple reasons. The Seated half dime series was too short and the coins too small. Liberty Seated halves were too expensive for my budget given the 1878-S stopper. Liberty Seated quarters appeared to be much too challenging due to low mintages and expensive early Carson City dates. Seated dollar were never a consideration after my experience with Morgan dollars. The decision was made; my new numismatic pursuit would be Liberty Seated dimes!

Then came the life changing decision....

Checking Coin World for Liberty Seated dimes, I noted an advertisement for a reference book written by Kamal Ahwash. Why not purchase a book on the Liberty Seated dime series before spending monies? That I did. The Ahwash Encyclopedia arrived several weeks later with a huge sense of excitement. Opening the book revealed page upon page of high grade Liberty Seated dimes with varying designs, mintmark sizes and cracked dies. This was super cool stuff! Finally, I had found a long term challenge; collecting the varieties in the Ahwash book as part of the overall Liberty Seated dime pursuit. How could I learn more about Liberty Seated dime die varieties? Local shows and coin club meetings had few Liberty Seated dimes available. I was not excited about doing mail order buying without seeing coin images. Let's remember this is 1988 with the Internet in its infancy.

Next came two consecutive decisions that cemented my fate...

I walked into Maine Gold & Silver during a usual lunch time visit and announced to owner Bob Levi, that I was building a complete set of Liberty Seated dimes. He just smiled and went into the back room. Out comes Bob with a 2x2 box containing his Liberty Seated dime collection. Each coin is housed in old time yellow paper envelopes with descriptions. My timing was perfect as Bob was breaking up and selling his Redbook collection. I mentioned the Kam Ahwash book and Bob again smiled. Many of Bob's coins had been purchased from Kam. My source for quality Liberty Seated dimes had been located!

The other faithful step was writing a letter to John McCloskey expressing my desire to join the Liberty Seated Collectors Club as I was building a set of Liberty Seated dimes. I had seen an ad somewhere for the club and decided this was an appropriate step to meet other serious collectors. John McCloskey replied within a few weeks and paired me with a Liberty Seated dime collector/researcher named Brian Greer. The narrative will conclude at this point; the rest is well known history.

Better Date Silver Pieces - West Texas Collection

Following is another lot of raw coins from the West Texas Collection. Surfaces range from Original to Cleaned and will be accurately described once reaching the price list by evening time. These offerings are ideal for Dansco or Whitman bookshelf album collectors.

Better Raw Dates - West Texas Collection

1805 B-3 Raw VG08 Cleaned 25C

1815 B-1 Raw VG10 25C 1862-S Raw F12 25C 1883 Raw VF35 25C

1843 Raw VF35 50C 1865-S WB-8 Raw EF40 50C 1866-S Motto WB-7 Raw EF40 Cleaned 50C

Wrapping Up The Blog

My goodness, it is already 8:45 am and best to hit the upload button. Next on the day's agenda is a health walk followed by reviewing Redbook pricing for Liberty Seated halves. Those two activities will take me to lunch time. Afterward, attention shifts to invoicing orders to be picked up at the Baltimore show.

There is not question that I will be in the GFRC office for nearly the entire day. Selling coins is number one priorty. Please call or email to reserve your purchases prior to inventory transport to Baltimore on Tuesday.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog.

November 9, 2019

What Inspired You to Get into Coin Collecting?

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

Winter temperatures have arrived as the outdoor thermometer reads 20F while preparing coffee and breakfast. Skies are clear blue with a sunny day forecasted. Instead of more photography at the noon time hour, my plans are a final round of leaf blowing and wrapping delicate shrubs. Snowstorms are a distinct possibility in the upcoming days given the well below normal temperatures.

There is absolutely nothing prepared for today's Blog edition after a much needed Friday evening break from the GFRC office. Instead of processing more images, there was a loud calling from the basement sound room and I gladly succumbed. Roger Waters, the musical genius within Pink Floyd, was Friday evening's featured artist. His Amused to Death album is currently being enjoyed and analyzed for its cynical view of humanity.

Given the lack of prepared content, let's take a question from Oregon Beaver; what inspired you to get into coin collecting?

What Inspired You to Get into Coin Collecting?

The response is rather simple; a thirst for knowledge and a goal orientated personality.

My numismatic journey started when 12 years old. Life was not overly exciting living in southern Maine during the summer time. There was no information technology in those day other than my little transistor radio and the family black and white TV that could only be accessed as a family during evening hours. No one was allowed in the living room unless Mother approved and she did not. Since growing up without a family car, movement was either walking or on a bike. My explorations moved from the small neighborhood to books towards keeping the mind engaged. I was an avid reader and one day stumbled upon a Redbook at the downtown Lewiston library. I become fascinated with the United States coin illustrations and became engaged. Next step was the purchase of a coin magazine for additional reading followed by my first Whitman blue folder for Lincoln pennies.

Filling the Whitman folder became a new calling in a young teenage's life. Funds were limited to what could be raised by picking up discarded glass bottles on the local horse racing fairgrounds with my grand-father. He owned a car and would take me there on early mornings to retrieve bottles for generating collecting monies. At two to three cents per bottle, it took a number of sessions to raise working capital. Once I had accumulated several dollars, collecting shifted to bank roll inspections. There were two bank offices within walking distance of my home. These were visited frequently to exchange a dollar or two of searched Lincoln rolls for "fresh" rolls. Remember that this is the 1968 timeframe. I quickly filled the Lincoln Memorial cent Whitman folder and went to work on the earlier dates. Lincolns dated in the 1930 and 1940s were commonplace during 1868 along with well worn earlier dates. I remember the 1955-S being so damn elusive along with a few other San Francisco dates. Locating a 1909 VDB in change would bring a happy dance.

Eventually, Jefferson and Buffalo nickels were added to the collection along with a subscription to Coin World. At the age of 13, I started working for my grand-father's lawn mowing business. We mowed "rich people's" lawns during evenings and on Saturday mornings since my grand-father worked at a local shoe shop during the daytime hours. Collecting silver coins was out of the question given the face value and limited collecting capital. I stayed with coin collecting until the age of 15. At that point, girls, rock music and stereo equipment were much more stimulating endeavors than searching coin rolls. Mother put the coin collection away in the home attic for safe keeping. Those coins remained there until I was 32.

Christmas 1987 arrives. My life has progressed to the point of being an engineering manager at Fairchild Semiconductor leading the development of software tools for increasing end of line production yields. My mission was to isolate factory producing defects and eliminate those towards 100% yielding semiconductor wafers. Matt is four years old while Renee had recently arrived.

I'll finish the rest of the story on Sunday morning.

Last Shipping Day Until After Baltimore Show

It dawned on me yesterday that Monday is Veterans Day. USPS is closed for observance. Since driving to Baltimore on Tuesday, this leaves today as the only shipping day until Monday November 18.

I'll do my best to get orders shipped before noon time including Quick Ships for reliable customers.

Consignments Wanted!

A reminder that GFRC is soliciting consignments for the December timeframe. The busy 2020 numismatic season quickly launches with the Winter FUN show in early January.

I've noticed that select dealers and all auction houses are aggressively soliciting consignments. One auction house approached me on Thursday to consign a portion of GFRC's Liberty Seated inventory but without taking the time to learn of the GFRC business model. The contact was not impressive, rather an aggressive attempt to locate auction items.

With a robust economy, demand for top quality coins is outstripping supply. Once quality coins move into collections, they remain in strong hands for extended periods. Let's face it, the supply of strictly original and eye appealing Liberty Seated coinage is limited. As financially capable collectors enter the hobby and absorb the top coins, the supply diminishes leaving average coins in the market place. It takes a collector's passing or the redirection of collecting objectives to bring those top quality coins back into the market.

I can't stress this point enough! If you are holding duplicates within a collection, please consider returning those back to the market for other collectors to absorb and enjoy. I'm doing my part with the many Liberty Seated Dime die variety duplicates that have been accumulated since 1989. At this time, GFRC needs more Liberty Seated quarters, halves and dollars to support demand.

Please call or email to schedule an appointment to discuss a potential divestment.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is time to bring closure to today's edition and immediately move into the packing and shipping department. Thank-you for visiting on a Saturday morning.

Now is the time to pull the trigger on that special coin you've been eyeing on the GFRC price list since inventory is being packed on Sunday for the Baltimore show. I have a feeling that the Baltimore show will be a robust event as long as the weather allows everyone to attend.

Please remember that GFRC is located at Booth 818 at the Baltimore show and will have 12 cases of inventory on display.

See you Sunday morning at the Blog.

November 8, 2019

A Memorable Gobrecth Journal Edition Arrives

and

More Dr. Peterson Liberty Seated Half Dimes Die Varieties

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

Outdoor homestead temperature is a cool 26F with bright sunny skies to start a Friday. After the weather people forecasted 1-3 inches of snowfall associated with Thursday storm, I see patches of white consistent with a morning frost in the front yard. Yesterday's weather event turned out to be a non event which is just fine by me. The next potential for snowfall is forecasted for Monday evening into Tuesday morning. That forecast is disconcerning since the GFRC mobile must depart early Tuesday morning for Baltimore.

The coming weekend brings a final leaf blowing job and wrapping sensitive shrubs with burlap. Yes, early winter-like conditions have arrived to southern Maine while the countdown for the Florida migration is underway. Shortly, I will post the usual schedule for transitioning order payments from the Maine to Florida office address. The annual GFRC Black Friday Sale is less than three weeks away. November is turning out to be a very busy month. Please keep reading the Blog for daily updates.

A Memorable Gobrecth Journal Edition Arrives

Wednesday brought the arrival of Gobrecth Journal Issue #136 to my mailbox. Editor Bill Bugert has done it again with exceptional layout and content. Bill is always humble and stresses that the Journal's success is due to content. As one of my last acts as Liberty Seated Collectors Club President, I would like to respectfully disagree with Bill. The Gobrecht Journal format and content have undergone a dramatic transition since 2014 while under Bill's tenure as editor. Success breeds more success and this is the case for the Journal. Bill has transformed the Journal from the small sized black and white McCloskey era publication to a magazine sized full color publication. The content backlog is ever growing as numismatic authors are proud to be published in the modern Gobrecht Journal.

Congratulation to Editor Bill Bugert and the host of authors that are published within Gobrecth Journal Issue #136.

Gobrecht Journal Issue #136 is personally bittersweet. It is the final edition while being the steward of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club. My tenure as President is complete come the Whitman Baltimore regional meeting being held next Friday, November 15. The Liberty Seated Collectors Club has seen a dramatic transformation since 2014. Rather than rambling on within this Blog edition, my final President's Message was photographed and is presented next. Simply click on the below image to download a high resolution image that is suitable for reading. Most Blog readers, who are LSCC members, have already received their Gobrecht Journal Issue #136. For those who are not LSCC members, this is your chance to capture my closing thought as President of one of the finest numismatic non-profits in existence.

At the November 15 LSCC regional meeting, I plan to take the floor and discuss the club's transformation that took place from 2013 until today. The Liberty Seated Collectors Club is well recognized and the envy of others in the numismatic hobby. The transformation was not by chance. Rather, the transformation was carefully planned starting in 2013 followed by building a leadership team that included the finest non-dealer numismatists in the hobby. Please read on....

What is Gerry Fortin Planning as His Next Numismatic Adventure?

This is an excellent question. I've already made a decision on my next numismatic adventure towards influencing the industry and collector involvement. Please plan to attend the Liberty Seated Collectors Club regional meeting on Friday, November 15 at 9:00 am in Room 301 to learn of my future plans.

Another Lot of Dr. Peterson Liberty Seated Half Dime Varieties

There is no question that the Dr. Glenn Peterson Liberty Seated half dime collection contains a bounty of die varieties. Thanks to the attribution support from Clint Cummings, small lots are being brought to market with current day attributions. Clint Cummins' research website for Liberty Seated half dime die varieties can be accessed by clicking here.

Following is an important lot of earlier date die varieties to consider. There are some classic die varieties in desirable collector grades within this lot. Shattered dies are always so cool with this lot bringing several popular specimens to market. Current plan is to have this lot posted to the GFRC price list by end of day.

Early Date Dr. Peterson Liberty Seated Half Dime Varieties

Current Dr. Peterson Attributions - Cummins Attribution Verifications with Updates ( )

1843 V-4 (V-2a) Classic Y Cracked Reverse Raw AU58 5C

1840-O ND V-3 Raw EF45 5C 1840-O ND V-9 Raw VF30 5C 1841 V-2 Raw EF45+ 5C

1841-O V-6 R7 Raw F12 5C 1842 V-1 Raw AU50 5C 1842 V-1a Shattered Rev Raw VF30 5C

1842 V-3 Raw F15 5C 1843 V-5 (V-7a) Shattered Rev Raw AU50 5C 1844 Doubled Date V-3 AU50 5C

1845 V-3 Raw AU55 5C 1845 V-5 Repunched Date Raw EF45 5C 1848/7/6 V-7 Raw VF25 5C

Global Financial News

Equity markets are forecasted to open down after Thursday's movement into record territory. Some analysts are calling the present round of record breaking highs as a "Melt-Up" where traders don't want to be left behind in a significant rally. Hot money is being thrown at equities. Conversely, any bad news could take the floor out from under the present rally. Seeking Alpha captures the current situation with this headline.

Futures are inching down after yesterday gains, when the Dow and S&P 500 notched record closing highs, as traders wait for the next catalyst to move stocks higher. "Any kind of uncertainty there, with the market at all-time highs, and it's easy for traders and institutions to press the sell button and take some money off the table," said Alan Lancz, president of investment advisory Alan B. Lancz & Associates. Reports have suggested that the White House's plan to roll back China tariffs faces internal opposition, though President Trump said the two sides had come to a substantial "Phase One" trade deal on IP, financial services and big agricultural purchases.

Commodities and the long bond interest rate are also reacting as money moves from safe havens to the current equity rally. Gold took a substantial hit and is now quoting at $1465/oz. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield has increased to 1.92% as demand wanes. Crude oil remains in its trading range at $56.10/bbl while Bitcoin dropped to $9034/coin.

The Japanesse are once again moving towards looser fiscal policy and economic stimulus. The problem is that overseas money generation in Japan and Europe finds its way back into the United States equity market and drives up prices.

"To speed up our recovery [from natural disasters], deal with risks from abroad and accelerate productivity growth, we are formulating an economic plan along the lines of a 15-month budget," said Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary. It would be Japan's first economic stimulus package since 2016. The BOJ has already cut overnight interest rates to -0.1% and purchased trillions of yen worth of government bonds, but the flat yield curve now makes it hard for banks and insurers to turn a profit.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Whew.....

Another Blog edition is wrapped up and published a bit after 8:00 am ET. Thank-you for stopping by and checking in on the day's ramblings.

There is no question that I will be in the GFRC office the entire day. Morning brings more shipping followed by posting the Peterson half dimes to the price list. Evening brings a review of Redbook Liberty Seated dime and half dollar pricing for Jeff Garrett. As an official Redbook pricing contributor, there is annual responsibilities to monitor and update pricing for Liberty Seated coinage.

As always, there are GFRC consignors hoping to sell their coins for raising capital towards additional upgrading. Please consider a purchase today as I will gladly entertain your order via email, phone or text message.

See you tomorrow at the Blog.

November 7, 2019

Repatriated U.S. Gold at Whitman Baltimore Show - GFRC Booth 818

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Blog.

Weather forecasts for today's southern Maine weather have been variable for days. Early predictions were for a significant snow storm. Last evening's weather person, on our NBC affiliate, called for 1-3 inches in the southern Maine foothills and 3-6 inches in the mountains. Checking Weather.com this morning indicates a rain event ending with snow showers around midnight. Let's hope the Weather.com models are accurate as I'm not into shoveling wet slushy snow just yet.

There is little prepared for today's Blog. More new offerings were posted to the price list on Wednesday evening resulting from a noon time photography session. Three offerings were posted with multiple orders arriving on the nice original 1850 Seated dollar graded PCGS VG08. Also added were 1840-O WB-7 ANACS EF40 OWH and 1939 PCGS MS66 CAC half dollar pieces. The Seated piece is from the West Texas Collection while the 1939 Walker is from Mark Mattox Estate. Yes, I am aware of several typos on the price list that will be corrected shortly.

GFRC's Wednesday Evening Price List Additions

1850 PCGS VG08 $1 - On Hold

1840-O WB-7 ANACS EF40 OWH 50C 1939 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C

Absolutely Fresh Repatriated U.S. Gold at Whitman Baltimore Show

Most Blog readers will remember that Dan White and Rose Marie spent most of September touring Europe. Dan was on a United States gold sourcing adventure for GFRC and did not disappoint. After returning to the States and securing PCGS grading, we are ready to announce the fruits of Dan's labor. The following list contains about 75% of Dan's newly repatriated United States gold. The balance is off for regrading due to disagreement with PCGS certification results. There is a chance that those regraded pieces may make it the Baltimore show. Due to their unknown availability status, this latter group is not included in the below report out.

There has been insufficent time, prior to the Whitman Baltimore show, for a CAC submission. This lot is absolutely fresh to the United States numismatic market without CAC review. Those pieces that remain after the Baltimore show will be sent to CAC along with the regraded lot.

Following are fresh offerings from the Osprey Collection that will debut at GFRC's Booth 818 next Thursday. My apology, but unless attending the Baltimore show, we are unable to take First Rights of Refusals. Access to this repatriated gold is on a first come first serve basis at the show.

Liberty $10 Gold: 1880-S PCGS MS61; 1883 PCGS MS63; 1891-CC RPMM PCGS MS61; 1891-CC PCGS MS61; 1891-CC PCGS AU55; 1894 PCGS MS63; 1894 PCGS MS62; 1901-S PCGS MS65+; 1903 PCGS MS65

Indian $10 Gold: 1907 PCGS MS62; 1910 PCGS MS63; 1910-D PCGS MS63; 1912 PCGS MS63; 1914-D PCGS MS62; 1926 PCGS MS64; 1926 PCGS MS63; 1926 PCGS MS63; 1932 PCGS MS63

Liberty $20 Gold: 1858-S PCGS AU53; 1874-S PCGS AU55; 1876-S PCGS MS62; 1878-S PCGS AU55; 1882-CC PCGS AU58; 1883-CC PCGS AU58; 1883-S PCGS MS62+; 1894-S PCGS MS61; 1900-S PCGS MS63; 1904 PCGS MS62; 1905 PCGS MS62; 1906 PCGS AU58; 1907-D PCGS MS62

St. Gaudens $20 Gold: 1913-D PCGS AU58

Thursday GFRC Activities

What can GFRC customers expect today from the Raymond Maine command center?

My goals include posting the newly announced 1853 Hubbed Arrows & Date F-118 and 1891-O F-132a Liberty Seated Dime varieties to the web-book following by preparing another twelve piece Libety Seated half dime lot from the Dr. Peterson collection. This lot will contain cool die varieties from 1840-O through 1845.

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are in a seriously upbeat mood as increasingly positive news is emerges concerning China - U.S. trade negotiations. The following Seeking Alpha headline captures the latest communications from Beijing.

U.S. stock index futures turned sharply higher overnight, climbing 0.6%, as China's Ministry of Commerce said the the world's two largest economies had agreed to remove duties on each other's goods in phases. "If China, U.S. reach a phase-one deal, both sides should roll back existing additional tariffs in the same proportion," declared spokesman Gao Feng. That would potentially provide a road map to end the bruising trade war after reports yesterday suggested a meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping could be postponed until December (delaying a chance for the two leaders to sign an interim trade deal).

Our favorite commodities and long bond interest rate are also reacting to the risk on movement in trader attitudes. Spot gold pricing has dropped to $1484, at the lower end of current trading range. Crude oil prices increased to $57.03/bbl while the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield rose to 1.87%. The latter is another strong indication of capital flight away from the safety of U.S. Treasuries to riskier equity markets.

Beijing is already initiating 6G telecommunications research and development

It was only last week that China launched commercial services for its superfast 5G mobile networks, but the country is not stopping there. The government has charged 37 experts at various universities and institutes to oversee the research of 6G, according to a statement by the Ministry of Science and Technology. While 5G is known to have data transmission speeds at least 10x greater than 4G - rolled out in 2009 - it's too early to tell what 6G could be or what technologies it would advance.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Thank-you for stopping by as this concludes the items available to share on a Thursday.

The Baltimore show week countdown is underway. Wednesday evening brought a phone chat with my favorite wholesale dealer. We've made an important buying appointment once he arrives to his Baltimore hotel on Tuesday afternoon. How I enjoy working with this individual.

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day. Responses to purchase requests will be quick as every order is precious.

See you Friday morning at the Blog.

November 6, 2019

Emptying The Dr. Peterson Seated Half Dime Album

Greetings and welcome to the ongoing numismatic and business saga of a coin dealer. I truly hope today's reading is both enjoyable and insightful. No other dealer is transparent like GFRC.

With the shift off of Daylight Savings time, there is a daybreak view of the front yard landscaping while writing this edition. Though the landscaping is barren, vehicle traffic and the moving clouds across Ledge Hill provide company at this early hour. Temperature is right at freezing. The day's forecast is for clearing skies with bright sun at noon time. I'm sure everyone recognizes that signal; more GFRC coin photography is possible.

Today's Blog features another lot of Liberty Seated half dimes from Dr. Peterson's Dansco album. Yes, this display is probably underwhelming for higher powered customers but in reality, there are at least four collectors who are scooping up many of Dr. Peterson's half dimes. Clint Cummins was on the job during the overnight hours. Upon opening my morning emails, there were the attributions for the Dr. Peterson half dimes being shared today. Following are eleven new Liberty Seated half dimes to consider. Final attributions are from Clint Cummins.

More Dr. Glenn Peterson Raw Seated Half Dimes

Clint Cummins Attributions - Thank-you Clint!

1859 (V-1 EDS) RPD Raw AU55 5C 1859-O V-2 Raw EF45+ 5C

1848-O V-7 Raw EF40 5C 1856 V-1 Raw AU53 5C 1859 V-1 Raw VG08 5C

1859 (V-1 EDS) RPD Raw F12 5C 1860 Dld Date V-7b Raw AU50 5C 1860 V-8a Raw EF40 5C

1861/0 V-6 Dld Die Obv Raw EF45 5C 1872-S IW V-2 Raw AU50 5C 1873-S V-1 Raw AU50 5C

Winter Whitman Baltimore Show Arrives in One Week!

How time moves along quickly when faced with daily must do lists to keep the GFRC enterprise operating smoothly. In less than a week's time, GFRC staff will be traveling to Baltimore for the all important Whitman show.

GFRC preparations are in full force this coming Monday. Inventory will be selected to fill twelve cases across two corner tables at Booth 818. Each case holds between 80 - 90 coins depending on display arrangement and double stacking. Doing basic math leads to about 1000 coins on display at Baltimore. This is a huge number of offerings and one of the many reasons that clients should come visit GFRC first on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, after the Liberty Seated Collectors Club regional meeting. The full GFRC staff will be available to host customers and coordinate coin viewing to their heart's delight. GFRC Baltimore staffing will be Gerry, Diane, Dan and Rose Marie.

After packing 1000 coins along with booth accessories plus computer office, Tuesday brings a long and thoroughly busy day. There is the 8+ hour drive from Maine to Baltimore. Once at the hotel, coins must be unloaded with a watchful eye and taken to the hotel room with constant monitoring. Cars must be moved to parking garages. Once in town, Dan and I already have two scheduled appointments with wholesale dealers. These are your classic hotel room meetings where dealer to dealer trading takes place out of sight. GFRC clients will be able to read about Tuesday's new purchases when the Wednesday morning Blog is published. Yes, I will not head to bed on Tuesday until a Blog edition is written.

Wednesday brings traditional pre-show activities. GFRC inventory is transported into Whitman security room to allow Diane and Rose Marie freedom to move outside of the hotel. Dan and Gerry will be on the hunt for top quality coins that can be competitively purchased on Wednesday morning and afternoon. Mental fatigue is an issue on Wednesday due to the rate at which coins are inspected and split second purchase decisions are made. Having first shot at fresh coins means being first at dealer pre-show tables. Dan and I must be exceptionally focused and decisive. There in lies the mental fatigue as the day wears on. By 3:00 pm, the pre-show buying is done. Great! Now Gerry will sit in a hotel room at his makeshift office and load all new purchases into the COIN database along with pricing each item. Oh! Thursday's Blog edition must also be composed with the day's pre-show new purchases announced.

Everything that I've explained up to this point takes place before GFRC appears on the Whitman bourse floor at 8:00 am Thursday morning for booth setup. Imagine that!

Thursday morning brings the substantial task of setting up the GFRC booth and loading coins in twelve cases. While loading coins, dealers will be walking the floor looking for wholesale purchases and dropping by. Early bird customers and those collectors with courtesy dealer badges will also be parousing the bourse while booth setup takes place. At 12:00 noon, the bourse opens to the general public with hopes for strong retail sales. Thursday evening brings the traditional LSCC dinner at the Pratt St. Ale House. If Dan and I appear to be a tad tired at this dinner, there is a plausible explanation....

Following is the Whitman bourse floor map with the show situated in the well known Halls A, B and C. GFRC is located at Booth 818, which is between Stacks and Heritage auction companies. Please come visit with us first to view some wonderful early silver type coins along with a fantastic display of United States gold, many with CAC approval. Diane and Rose Marie are elegant table assistants too and should not be missed!

GFRC Booth 818 at Whitman Baltimore Show

November 14 - 16, 2018

GFRC Ready for New Consignments!

The Whitman Baltimore show is an ideal venue for the transfer of consignments. At this time, GFRC is soliciting new consignments for the upcoming Winter FUN show in Orlando, Florida. Consignments can be a few duplicates or a complete collection valued in the six figures. Small consignments should contain coins with retail value over $200, be consistent with typical GFRC inventory and not Details Graded.

If considering the divestment or liquidation of a larger collection, might I suggest a Baltimore show appointment to discuss your numismatic holdings and potential time horizon. Or, just show up with a double row box of slabbed coins and transfer to GFRC on the spot! I'm flexible concerning consignments approaches and appreciate every opportunity. Please consider the appointment approach if planning to drop off 50+ slabbed coins at the Baltimore show. Show opening times at Thursday noon and Friday morning, after the LSCC regional meeting, are very busy retail sales periods and not optimum for insourcing a large consignment. I would be happy to take the coins off of your hands and placed within the GFRC security case for safe keeping until a formal receipt can be written during afternoon hours.

Global Financial News

United States equity markets set new records on Tuesday. Global futures, to start the day, are mostly flat. Optimism concerning a U.S. - China "Phase 1" trade deal runs high and continue to stimulate trader optimism. Commodities and the long bond interest rate are unchanged other than physical gold, which pulled back to $1490/oz on Tuesday.

Let's check out a few Seeking Alpha headlines to stay abreast of global developments. We open with some quiet optimism for Germany's manufacturing sector.

Economists are hailing today's rise in German factory orders, and while the 1.3% monthly increase was "solid," Oliver Rakau of Oxford Economics said it may not prevent the economy falling into recession (we'll get those figures on Nov. 14). Orders from other countries in the 28-nation eurozone dropped 1.8% and manufacturing in the region on a whole is the weakest it’s been for seven years. Given two consecutive monthly declines in September and October, the latest results from Germany are helping the euro this morning, up slightly to $1.1082.

Tesla is going all out in China.

Gearing up for the open of its $2B Shanghai plant, its first overseas factory, Tesla is moving away from the approach CEO Elon Musk announced in March, when he said the EV maker would cut costs and shut many of its retail stores worldwide. According to documents seen by Reuters, the company plans to double its service centers to 63 from 29, boost fast charging stations by 39% to 362 and convert some of its showrooms into "Tesla Centers." It appears to be a different strategy for Tesla, with its China unit also offering racing events and parties despite Musk's open disdain for marketing.

Wrapping Up The Blog

So what is on the GFRC agenda for today? Probably more photography of Dr. Glenn Peterson Seated half dimes from his Dansco album as there are still more offerings to process. Since Liberty Seated half dollar sales have quieted down, I might pull some raw Seated halves from the Peterson and Newtown Dansco album for photography and listing. There is also a very cool 20 piece contemporary counterfeit lot from the Coney Collection that needs attention. Please don't worry about my being bored!

Of utmost importance is GFRC sales. There are a host of consignors who wish to see their coins sold in the near term. Your consideration, as a GFRC client for new purchases, would be greatly appreciated. I'm willing to make trades too if that gets you into a desired coin from GFRC inventory. Every coin has value. Our challenge is arriving on a fair assessement of value for both parties.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog. The time has come to move into the packing and shipping department prior to a health walk and noon time photography.

See you tomorrow at the Blog!

November 5, 2019

GFRC Welcomes the City by the Bay Collection Consignor

and

All Jim Poston Offerings Discounted 10%

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Blog.

Is winter coming early to southern Maine? It sure looks that way based on the 10 day Weather Channel forecast. Whitman Baltimore show week brings overnight lows in the mid to lower 20s with ongoing possibilities of snow showers. Baltimore temperatures will be a tad warmer with overnight lows in the 30s. Best to dress up warm if attending the show.

The "great Maine escape" to Florida takes place a week after the Baltimore show. Planning for the GFRC office transition is already underway.

Please check out the www.seateddimevarieties.com homepage for a much needed update. I've expanded and published the GFRC coin show and events schedule through July 2020 including the timing for Black Friday and St. Patrick's Day sales events.

Seth Godin's Blog - Annoyed

It has been a few days since checking in with Seth Godin. What might be on his mind that is worth sharing? In the following blogpost, Godin raises a profound question that every message board or social media junkie (troll) should consider, "why do we work so hard to amplify the annoyance we feel?" Please read on as Seth Godin's words remind us to find happiness in life rather than being in a perpetual state of annoyance and amplifying our unhappiness to others. The old adage of misery loves company is applicable to modern day online media and the reason you will never find me posting to message boards, Facebook or whatever. The GFRC Facebook page has not be updated in years....

Annoyed

Does being annoyed serve any useful purpose?

If it does, are there classes you can take or experiences you can pay for that help you become annoyed? We have gyms to get fit and mindfulness exercises to get calm, but I’m not sure I’m seeing a widespread movement toward seeking annoyance.

So, if being annoyed is simply a side effect of something else we do, and it’s not actually useful, why do we work so hard to amplify the annoyance we feel? Why create a narrative, push hard against the powerless bureaucrat or the stuck pickle jar simply to make ourselves even more annoyed?

The only person who is getting taught a lesson is us.

Watch Hill Collection Buys Newtown's $5 Gold "Grading Set"

Monday morning brought a phone conversation with the Watch Hill Collection consignor and confirmation that he is purchasing the Newtown $5 gold "grading set". Everyone involved in the sale is thrilled with the outcome. Watch Hill is a passionate collector of early date U.S. gold; this purchase fits perfectly in his wheelhouse. Newtown specifically wanted this set to stay intact due to the amount of effort taken by the original owner to assemble. It would have been a shame to break-up this set. Of course, I'm also pleased when the stars align resulting in a buyer and seller having a strong sense of satisfaction with a brokered transaction.

The Newtown $5 gold set is shipping today via USPS Express Priority to its new home!

Welcoming the City by the Bay Collection Consignor

GFRC is pleased to welcome yet another consignor to the community. The City by the Bay Collection is being built by an individual solely focused on San Francisco minted coinage across Liberty Seated and Barber denominations. This individual has been sourcing coins from GFRC for several years and recently responded to my advice for selling duplicates. As a result of selling accumulated duplicates, two things happen. First is freed up capital for additional upgrading. Second is feedback on how well duplicates are being accepted by other collectors. If unable to sell duplicates at close to purchased prices, one's evaluation and selection criteria may need fine tuning. If duplicates are selling well, this is postive reinforcement for collecting decisions.

Following is a fresh lot from the City by the Bay Collection. A few pieces managed to reach the price list last evening. Already, the 1877-S dime and 1867-S quarter are on hold. A sincere welcome goes out to the City by the Bay Collection consignor. It will be great to have a source for San Francisco minted coinage.

City by the Bay Collection Consignment

1867-S PCGS VF25 25C

1892-S PCGS AU55 25C 1897-S PCGS VF35 25C

1876-S Type1 F-108 ANACS AU58 10C 1877-S F-109 NGC MS61 10C 1887-S F-112 ANACS AU53 10C

1890-S F-116 PCGS AU50 10C 1911-S PCGS AU58 10C 1907-S NGC VF35 25C

1911-S PCGS AU50 25C 1877-S PCGS AU53 25C

Announcing Jim Poston's 10% Price Reduction Event

Jim emailed this past weekend with a request for an across the board 10% pricing reduction event. This request was implemented on Monday afternoon with all of Jim's price reductions posted to the 30 day price list. Jim's offerings include Gold CAC approved coins along with vintage NGC and PCGS holders. Might I suggest that you take the time to check out the 30 day price list for a potential purchase? Below are six Gold CAC offerings worth considering at lower asking prices.

1857 FE PCGS MS60 Gold CAC OGH 1C 1872 PCGS MS60 5C

1872 NGC MS62 Gold CAC Fatty 10C 1882 PCGS AU55 Gold CAC 10C

1936 Bay Bridge PCGS MS62 Gold CAC OGH 50C 1945 PCGS MS65 Gold CAC 50C

Coming Today! Another Lot of Dr. Glenn Peterson Liberty Seated Half Dimes

Another twelve piece Liberty Seated half dime lot has been pulled from Dr. Peterson's Dansco album. The lot was photographed this past weekend. It should not take long to process these images during the afternoon hours leading to a potential client gallery display by evening time. Hopefully, Liberty Seated half dime die variety expert Clint Cummins will be available to conduct attributions!

Global Financial News

United States and foreign equity markets are teeming with optimism as expectations for a "Phase One" U.S. - China trade war agreement continue to rise. Seeking Alpha captures the enthusiasm.

More highs are in store for the three major U.S. stock indexes as reports suggest the Trump administration is weighing whether to drop existing tariffs on $112B of Chinese imports (which were introduced at a 15% rate on Sept. 1). The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are ahead by 0.4% as the concession is seen as pausing the U.S.-China trade war. "Phase One" of the pact would include Chinese purchases of American farm goods, rules to deter currency manipulation and some provisions to protect intellectual property and open up Chinese industries to U.S. firms.

More positive Seeking Alpha news arrives as the Chinese Yuan strengthens past 7 per dollar. This fact will help re-start GFRC coins sales in China!

With the U.S. considering rolling back tariffs on Chinese imports, the yuan has strengthened beyond seven per dollar for the first time since August. The move, if confirmed, "can be regarded as a turning point" in the U.S.-China trade war," according to Ken Cheung, a Mizuho currency strategist. Many had feared the prior tumble past the psychologically important level of 7 threatened to unleash a whole new front in trade hostilities - a currency war.

OPEC cuts oil demand forecasts again due to those pesky United States oil shale producers outperforming again.

"The outlook for global growth, at least in the short- and medium-term, has been revised down repeatedly over the past year... as U.S. tight oil (shale), in particular, has again outperformed expectations," OPEC wrote in its closely-watched annual World Oil Outlook. As a result, the 14-member group lowered its outlook numbers for global oil demand growth, to 104.8M barrels per day by 2024, and 110.6M bpd by 2040. OPEC's production of crude oil and other liquids is also expected to decline to 32.8M bpd by 2024, compared with 35M bpd in 2019.

European countries are unable to overcome United States sanctions on Iran.....

The EU remains committed to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, though that depends on the Islamic State's "full compliance," as the accord continues to collapse following President Trump's withdrawal from the agreement. Starting tomorrow, Tehran will begin injecting uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges at its Fordow plant, after already going beyond the deal's enrichment and stockpile limitations. European nations have so far been unable to give Iran a way to help it sell its oil abroad or access its banking system without restrictions as the country faces strict U.S. sanctions.

Given all the above headlines, how are commodities and the long bond interest rate performing?

As expected, demand for U.S. 10 Year Treasury notes has softened with the yield rising to 1.82%. Spot gold prices are holding steady at $1507/oz. Crude oil is inching up to $56.93/bbl. Bitcoin, which marches to its own drummer, is quoting at $9281/coin.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The time has arrived to bring closure to another Blog edition. Thank-you for checking in and absorbing a daily dose of GFRC numismatic news and financial highlights.

Without question, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day working on City by the Bay price list postings and Dr. Glenn Peterson half dime images. How I would enjoy being interrupted by your purchase order email or phone call.

See you tomorrow at the Blog.

November 4, 2019

A CAC Centric View of Newtown's $5 Gold "Grading Set"

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to the Blog.

Will the Fortin's escape the first southern Maine snowfall of the year? I'm having my doubts looking at the morning's seven day weather forecast. Current temperature is only 29F as a precursor of what is to come later in the week. Overnight temperatures will drop into the low 20s. Snow appears in Friday's weather forecast as the daytime high will peak at the freezing mark. Welcome to winter time conditions in Maine.

Recognizing that a snowfall could occur at any moment moving forward, I spent Sunday afternoon clearing accumulated leaves across the property. It took over three hours, two tanks of leaf blower 50:1 pre-mixed gas, and hand raking large piles to accomplish the job. Additional cleaning is necessary under one oak in the backyard today. Following are before and after images of the entrance area. Those leaf piles may appear small in the images but were considerable. Also note the stark leafless landscape that will be with us until early May 2020.

An apology goes out to a GFRC customer for missing a phone call appointment at the end of the leaf blowing event. Light rain appeared resulting on being wholly focused on wrapping up the leaf clearing job and losing track of time.

Leaf Clearing Piles

A Job Well Done

Sunday closed with a midnight pick-up of Diane at the Portland airport. Regardless, I was up early to compose today's Blog edition. Persistence is paramount!

A CAC Centric View of Newtown's $5 Gold "Grading Set"

In Sunday's Blog, the Newtown $5 gold "grading set" was illustrated. Images were ordered by date with CAC approved and non-approved coins intermixed. As I scanned the completed gallery, it dawned on me that a reordering of the images with respect to CAC approved and non-approved $5 gold pieces would be a great visual teaching moment. This I have done for today's Blog; indeed a picture is truly worth a thousands words!

Tenafly caught the display on Sunday evening and sent along the following commentary. I was relieved to hear that he experienced the same Bank of America lobby gauntlet when attempting to make a deposit in Yucca Valley, CA. Herding people like cattle via a contrive bottleneck for selling financial products is just a bad business practice. If Key Bank offices were located in Florida (they are not), I would not hesitate to exit Bank of America banking.

Hi Gerry,

Hope all's well there and that Diane is home safe and sound. Airports - the worst airport is LAX (Los Angeles International); it's a nightmare!

The CAC $5's all appear in various states of "natural" with proper grades; I'm certainly no expert on gold coin grading but the ANA Grading Guide sure is informative. As for the non CAC's, the 1851-0, 1880-S and 1881 have "odd" colors; the 1851-O (picking on that one) looks like a F12 at most and the 1853 is a G4 or worse. The 1896-S has some white spots (on the holder?) which looks like toothpaste. The CAC staff is very meticulous; to the untrained eye they look the "same".

Bank of America is the same in Yucca Valley as there (they closed here a couple of months ago). The "greeters" were always trying to hawk their financial products when all I want to do is deposit and leave. I'm very familiar with the one teller and a line of about 25, especially on Fridays.

Newtown $5 Gold - CAC Approved

1847-C PCGS FR02 CAC OGH G$5 1854-D Large D PCGS G06 CAC G$5 1867-S PCGS G04 CAC OGH G$5

1869-S PCGS VF20 CAC G$5 1872-S PCGS F12 CAC G$5 1883-S PCGS EF45 CAC OGH G$5

1887-S PCGS F15 CAC G$5 1887-S PCGS AG03 CAC G$5 1905 PCGS MS60 GOLD CAC G$5

1906-D PCGS MS62 CAC G$5 1906-D PCGS MS62 CAC G$5 1908 PCGS MS61 CAC OGH G$5

Newtown $5 Gold - Not Approved

1841-C PCGS VG10 G$5 1851-O PCGS VF25 G$5 1853 PCGS VG08 G$5

1880-S PCGS VF35 G$5 1881 PCGS AU53 G$5 1896-S PCGS AU50 G$5

1898-S PCGS AU55 OGH G$5 1901-S PCGS EF40 G$5

Global Financial News

The week starts with global financial markets in an upbeat mood. All markets are experiencing or forecasting gains between 0.5% - 1.0 on the day based on futures. Seeking Alpha captures the underlying reasons for market exuberance. Reduced European tariff anxieties and a strong United States jobs report are cited.

Equities rose across the globe overnight, with Hang Seng climbing 1.7% to lead gains in Asia, the Europe Stoxx 50 up by 1% and DJIA futures pointing to another 100-point advance at the open. There's lots of optimism surrounding trade. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said positive talks being held with automakers in Europe and Japan may mean tariffs could be avoided on cars being imported into the U.S., while licenses for American firms to sell to Huawei will be granted "very shortly." A surprise jobs number on Friday saw American employers add 128K jobs in October - comfortably beating an estimate of 89K - adding to the upbeat market sentiment.

Looking at my favorite economic indicators, crude oil prices have moved up to $56.77/bbl on new economic optimism. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield increased to 1.75%. Gold prices are at the upper end of current trading range with a morning quote of $1513/oz. Bitcoin is flat at $9244/coin.

Christine Lagarde is the new European Central Bank head and wasted no time with her push for negative interest rates and currency debasement. Saving is frowned upon in Europe!

"We should be happier to have a job than to have our savings protected," declared Christine Lagarde as the incoming ECB President criticized Germany and the Netherlands for the sin of having a government budget surplus. Lagarde, of course, comes over from the IMF, an organization that has never met a currency debasement it wasn't in favor of. Her comments suggest she's not only going to continue flooding markets with euros, but she will now break from ECB tradition and go after individual states that don't toe the line.

It appears that health industry lobbying efforts are working as the hospital transparency rule is delayed....

Citing its intent to expand its plan to include health insurers, the White House is delaying the implementation of a rule requiring hospitals to disclose heretofore confidential rates for services. U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Seema Verma said the Trump administration prefers a less disjointed approach and will proceed expeditiously to release a combined plan this quarter to rein in ever-increasing healthcare costs. Hospital operators, which consider negotiated rates as contractual trade secrets, have stated publicly that they will sue to block the rule.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The shipping queue is reasonable to start the day and best to get into the packing swing of things.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog and I hope you've enjoyed this edition.

I will definitely be in the GFRC office the entire day other than a morning health walk after shipping backlog is wrapped up. How I would love to sell a few coins as sales of existing inventory have notably slowed in the past 7-10 days. New consignment postings continue to sell well.

See you tomorrow at the Blog with yet more ramblings.

November 3, 2019

GFRC Presents the Newtown's $5 Gold PCGS "Grading Set"

and

Commonalities of Well Attended Coin Club Meetings

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Sunday. I'm pleased that you and many others return on a daily basis to take in these ramblings.

The United States is off of Daylight Savings time as of 2:00 am. What did I do with the extra precious hour? Honestly, I slept to recharge batteries after a long day in the office. In Saturday's Blog, a commitment to post the 20 piece Newtown $5 gold PCGS "Grading Set" was extended. I worked throughout the afternoon to complete image processing and posting followed by loading more offerings on the price list before heading to bed.

How I Hate Windham Bank of America Branch Office

Saturday started with a drive to the Windham Post Office for delivering GFRC shipments and deposit checks at the local Bank of America (BoA) branch office. Visiting the Windham BoA branch is one of my least favorite activities in life and rates below going to the dentist. This BoA branch has a wierd and frustrating business model. Their primary focus is selling banking products while teller transactions are frowned upon. The usual staff was in place on Saturady at 10:30 am; one teller and two greeters. No, these are not Walmart type greeters. The BoA greeters are aggressive and approach customers when standing in a long teller line. Their initial inquiry concerns why you are standing in a teller line and the day's business need. If making a deposit, they attempt to move you to the ATM machine. If not, they strike up conversations and learn more about you for potential banking products needs.

Saturday's queue was six customers. I am not one for being grilled by the greeters and made a point of looking busy reading emails on the cellphone. Wouldn't you know it; the greeter interrupted me and specifically inquires why I am standing in the queue as if a privilege to be allowed into their office. "I'm planning to make a large check and cash deposit and don't have my BoA card as with Diane in Austin" was the response. Ok, the greeter approves of my presense and moves to the next patron. The line is not moving since the sole teller is tied up with a complex transaction. What happens next? The second greeter (a former teller), comes by and asks me again why I am standing in the queue. At this point, the response was curt with "you need to add more tellers on a Saturday morning." The former teller, now promoted to greeter, walks away and promptly hides at her new office desk.

Personal banking is accomplished at Key Bank. Key Bank is also the location of my bank boxes. Their office is one block away from the BoA branch. Key Bank is professionally managed with three tellers on a Saturday morning. The business products staff reside in the offices and are on call for potential banking product discussions. This is how a bank branch should be managed; quick in and out teller access with referrals when required.

Presenting the Newtown's $5 Gold PCGS "Grading Set"

After hours of image processing, it give me great pleasure to present a special Newtown Collection consignment. One does not often see choice original lower grade United States gold including more desirable branch mint specimens. As previously mentioned in the Blog, once this 20 piece set arrived to the GFRC office, an immediate decision was made for CAC submission. The results were shared last Wednesday.

Inspection of the Newtown gold client gallery will provide a CAC educational opportunity. Please study the CAC approved gold pieces and compare against those that were not approved. On average, the John Albanese "look" for circulated gold should become evident. John stickers gold pieces with uniform copper-gold coloring plus being accurate to conservatively graded. The consignment includes several "lowball" set possibilities as some are the lowest graded per PCGS population report.

While writing this introduction, it dawned on me that rearranging the Newtown client gallery into CAC approved and non CAC approved pieces would immediately drive home the point on the expected appearance of perfectly original circulated gold. This will be done within Monday's Blog edition so please check back.

The Newtown $5 "Grading Set" will be sold at a single lot. If not immediately sold via today's Blog presentation, it will be listed on the price list and showcased at the Whitman Baltimore show.

Newtown's $5 Gold PCGS "Grading Set"

Offered as a Single Lot - Fresh CAC Approvals - Price on Request

1854-D Large D PCGS G06 CAC G$5 1869-S PCGS VF20 CAC G$5

1841-C PCGS VG10 G$5 1847-C PCGS FR02 CAC OGH G$5 1851-O PCGS VF25 G$5

1853 PCGS VG08 G$5 1867-S PCGS G04 CAC OGH G$5 1872-S PCGS F12 CAC G$5

1880-S PCGS VF35 G$5 1881 PCGS AU53 G$5 1883-S PCGS EF45 CAC OGH G$5

1887-S PCGS F15 CAC G$5 1887-S PCGS AG03 CAC G$5 1896-S PCGS AU50 G$5

1898-S PCGS AU55 OGH G$5 1901-S PCGS EF40 G$5 1905 PCGS MS60 GOLD CAC G$5

1906-D PCGS MS62 CAC G$5 1906-D PCGS MS62 CAC G$5 1908 PCGS MS61 CAC OGH G$5

Question of the Day - Oregon Beaver - Coin Club Feedback

The balance of today's edition focuses on a question asked by Oregon Beaver. To refresh everyone's memory, following is that question.

Any ideas on what the ideal coin club should be doing to promote coin collecting? The agenda for my club (30 plus members attending monthly) is the pledge of allegiance, sometimes announcements as to coin shows, membership drawings of some noncollectable coins worth $5 to $15, a break with cookies, a drawing from tickets purchased before the meeting with prizes in the same range, another break, and then an auction of what are generally highly circulated non-collectible coins in the same value range (or less). It appears that there are no collectors of anything that wasn't sort of available in circulation during the late 50s. No emphasis on history or quality. Not much incentive to attend. What do other readers experience in their clubs. Maybe they could be encouraged to write in and there may be snippets that you could use as material.

I received two responses to share this morning. The first is from the Denver Collection consignor. He is fortunate to belong to a well organized coin club that is in the same geographical location as the Colorado Springs ANA. Please note the emphasis on sharing and club member education as a priority. Based on my own experiences, this Denver/Colorado Springs area coin club is atypical. The club is blessed with the availability of local numismatic experts and guest speakers. Auctions are secondary to the educational component.

Gerry,

Here's my input on ideal coin club material that makes folks want to stick around for years and participate on a monthly basis.

At the two clubs I belong to in Denver, we always have a pre-meeting bourse for anyone who wants to set up, from a handful of coins to local dealers who bring a selection of their stock every month.

Every meeting has an agenda of some sort, including a presentation for every meeting other than our annual holiday meeting where we have potluck and play CENTS/bingo.

These presentations range from collectors and club members giving a powerpoint show on some topic, from Japanese coinage, to colonial coinage and everything in between. In Colorado we have folks like Dan Carr give presentations on the minting process or the history of the Denver Mint, a gentleman who is a collector of so-called dollars, and I gave a presentation on the Carson City Mint earlier this year, having visited last November.

We also have folks up from the ANA in Colorado Springs, ANACS representatives to talk about slabbing or aspects of grading, or local dealers offering their expertise on topics from counterfeit detection to national bank notes.

I also teamed with a fellow collector and presenter who has been frequently published in The Numismatist, Bob Bair, to give a presentation on technical versus market grading, as well as problem coin detection.

No meeting lacks a presentation, and even when hard pressed, we always have a coin video from youtube or something else numismatically related if a guest speaker falls through at the last minute.

We also have raffles, of course, and a coin of the month raffle. Our smaller club also does a monthly show and tell of a minute or two on new acquisitions.

We also do coin news sharing, usually from the numismatic outlets, podcasts, or auction results.

Our larger club has a monthly auction, and occasionally we devote the whole meeting to an auction. The material varies, but is usually interesting enough for me to bid on a few items.

Anyone in their local club is likely at some level an "expert" or at least experience collector who could whip up a 30 minute presentation on one of the Mints or some other topic, or could find a presentation to share with just a little effort and research. At the very least, I think of PCGS youtube or videos from the specialized coin clubs that could be shared if the facilities are adequate.

Our small club is a tight group of about 15 to 20, and we probably have the best discussions and meetings and have never failed to attract outside speakers. I would credit the clubs' officers for running a tight ship and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. We also make sure young numismatists are heartily welcomed and encouraged to attend as much as possible given school and family issues.

Hope that helps!

Another email arrived from an individual at the opposite end of the country; North Carolina and the Raleigh coin club. Please note the common theme with the Denver area coin club. Presentations and club member education are paramount. Helping YNs explore United States history consistent with their numismatic pursuits is facilitated.

My own experience with the Raleigh coin club highlights some major differences from the description in your blog. First of all, we have a very active YN program run by senior members who host a separate meeting an hour before the regular meeting. Senior member rotate doing presentations on topics and helping the YNs prepare their own presentations. We help keep up interest by donating coins that are old enough and diverse enough to be of significant interest and they are awarded as various parts of activities.

The main meeting always has a presentation by a club member or guest on a numismatic related topic. On one occasion we had a local Treasury agent come and talk about counterfeiting, we members brought in counterfeit coins to show him. Many times the topics are not related to my area of collecting, but the presentations are well done and always interesting.

We also do show and tell, I have passed around a number of seated coinage items, and talked about Liberty seated series in general and mention LSCC specifically. Another point of engagement is our yearly show which in my opinion is one if the better shows in North Carolina if not the region. I always help out with that and generally it is all hands on deck.

Another thing we do in Raleigh to boost attendence is we have a $5/week kitty and draw a member name at each meeting. If the person is there, they get the accumulated cash. Otherwise it rolls over to the next meeting. Once I won $30. Kids are included as most are members since our dues are low.

Numismatics is both the collecting and study of coins, paper money and other related objects. Let's visit Wikipedia for a broader definition of "numismatics".

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money and related objects. While numismatists are often characterised as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the exchange of goods. Early money used by people is referred to as "Odd and Curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., cigarettes in prison). Many objects have been used for centuries, such as cowry shells, precious metals, cocoa beans, large stones and gems.

Wikipedia also includes a description of "Modern numismatics" as follows;

Modern numismatics is the study of the coins of the mid-17th century onward, the period of machine-struck coins. Their study serves more the need of collectors than historians and it is more often successfully pursued by amateur aficionados than by professional scholars. The focus of modern numismatics lies frequently in the research of production and use of money in historical contexts using mint or other records in order to determine the relative rarity of the coins they study. Varieties, mint-made errors, the results of progressive die wear, mintage figures and even the sociopolitical context of coin mintings are also matters of interest.

Successful coin clubs bring a heavy emphasis on club member education and promoting the historical context of the coins being collected. Coin clubs who lack "experts" or those wishing to invest the time in preparing or organizing educational content, then succumb to holding "social events". Social events are meetings where the agenda is light, predictable, and provides senior club members with an evening for meeting fellow collectors for chatting and camaraderie. This type of event is no different than a pot luck dinner or playing cards with the boys. The social aspect is foremost.

Bottomline? Well attended coin clubs require knowledgeable leadership and an emphasis on club member education.

A sincere thank-you goes out to the two individuals who took time to share their successful coin club meeting experiences.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is time to start another day in the GFRC office prior to retrieving Diane at the Portland airport this afternoon. Look for more new posting on the price list including the recently purchased 1837 F-101b PCGS MS63 CAC dime and a perfectly original 1841 PCGS AU58 CAC approved Seated dollar among other new offerings.

Up next in the new offerings queue are more Mark Mattox Mercury dimes and a new consignment from an unnamed collection at this point. More Dr. Peterson Seated half dimes have been photographed and will be making an appearance by mid week.

I hope you've enjoyed today's Blog edition. Please check back on Monday for the CAC and non-CAC segmentation of the Newtown "Grading Set". This presentation will be worth the visit.

Also, please consider a GFRC purchase. I will be in the office most of the day or monitoring emails if working outdoors.

November 2, 2019

Operating GFRC Office During Power Outage

Friday Afternoon Update

Welcome to a Blog update on Friday afternoon.

Southern Maine is currently experiencing widespread power outgages due to downed trees. GFRC lost power about 9:00 am. Since that time, the office is operating on gas generator power. Pre-planned circuits in the home are powered for emergency needs including oil furnance, well pump, kitchen appliances and selected lighting. An extension cord has been run into the office to power laptops, cellphone and desk lighting.

Wouldn't you know it! While typing this Friday afternoon update the power comes on. Great news as there is a ton of shipping for Saturday since not shipping today due to outage.

Please note that early Mercury dime dates, from the Mark Mattox Estate, have been posted to the price list.

See you on Saturday morning at the Blog.

Newtown's $5 Gold PCGS "Grading Set" Arrives Today

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Saturday morning. Please remember that Daylight Savings time ends Sunday 2:00 am.

Winds have abated with the Fortin homestead landscape now barren. It is probably time to migrate to Florida to bring greenery back into one's life. The mighty oaks were thoroughly stripped of their leaves on Friday. Accumulated leaves are less than expected as all were being blown long distances. Sunday's leaf clearing task will not be as ominous as expected. Diane also returned home later in the day Sunday as her nanny duties conclude in Austin.

GFRC Price List Update - PCGS/NGC Serial Number Look-up Links

The web is a dynamic environment and linking to other websites for information access requires ongoing monitoring. One must also consider how each major browser application (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple) processes link access.

Recently, I received feedback that the TPG serial number links, for each item in the price list, were not functioning properly. Matt came to the rescue during the overnight with an assessment and update. We are pleased to announce that serial number links to PCGS and NGC websites are functioning properly. ANACS has removed serial number verification from their website, therefore Matt removed this capability for ANACS listings.

Question of the Day - Oregon Beaver - Coin Club Feedback

So far, I've received only one feedback email concerning the question posed by Oregon Beaver on approaches for making local coin club meetings more engaging and compelling. In Sunday's Blog, the topic will be discussed including the lone piece of feedback.

Local coin clubs face a host of issues in the internet age. I will attempt to explore those tomorrow along with potential recommendations.

Newtown's $5 Gold PCGS "Grading Set" Arrives Today

Regardless of Friday's heavy winds and power outage, GFRC photography was active without a single coin being blown into the next county. Today's weather also looks to be conducive for photographing another sizable lot of Liberty Seated half dimes from Dr. Peterson's Dansco collection.

Photographing the Newtown $5 gold PCGS "grading set" was the main priority on Friday. This task was completed followed by working late into Friday evening conducting image processing. I'm about 50% done at this time and will wrap up today. Blog readers can expect the 20 piece lot to appear as a client gallery display this evening.

Please understand that the Newtown $5 gold lot is being sold intact. Newtown and I believe it is best to keep this wonderful collection whole given the significant amount of time taken to assemble. Recent CAC approvals validate the lot's conservative grading and old time eye appeal.

Mark Mattox Estate - Mercury Dime Set Offerings

Friday also brought the initial phase of the Mark Mattox Estate's Mercury dime set to the price list. Dimes dated from 1916 to 1931-S are loaded with purchase requests arriving. I've priced these offerings on a competitively attractive basis and hope GFRC customers will acquire a few. The cause is noble and honestly, I don't wish to transport these to Florida as there is already a substantial amount of GFRC inventory to organize and pack. Following are a few initial highlights to consider.

Mark Mattox Estate - Mercury Dime Collection Highlights

1916-D PCGS G04 10C 1919 PCGS MS64FB 10C

1923 PCGS MS64FB 10C 1931-S PCGS MS64 10C

New Consignments Wanted

The numismatic business has its ebbs and flows which can be unpredictable. My major show partner, W. David Perkins, said it so well. His observations were consistent with the old adage, feast or famine. When a dealer has excess bandwith to process fresh consignments, none can be found. But when operating with a substantial backlog, more consignments come out of the woodwork.

At this point, GFRC is quickly working through consignments upon arrival along with pulling raw Liberty Seated coins from Dansco albums. I will be in this operating mode until the Baltimore show. At Baltimore, Dan White transfers a huge United States gold consignents that was source from his September European travels. There are additional exciting Osprey new purchases to dress up the price list.

Bottomline, I'm all ears on potential consignments for the December timeframe followed by debut at the Orlando FUN show.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The 8:00 am publishing time target is upon me and best to hit the upload button.

Order shipments are the morning's primary task since not shipping on Friday due to the power outage.

Thank-you for visiting the Blog. Please remember to change those clocks before heading to bed. Fall brings an extra hour of sleep, or in the case of GFRC, an extra hour of image processing time.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday morning.

November 1, 2019

November Brings a Busy GFRC Month

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning. November 2019 is upon us.

Southern Maine continues to face windy conditions that will be sustained throughout the day. As predicted, the mighty oaks have been stripped of their leaves leaving the Maine landscape barren until the Spring of 2020. The next 72 hours brings a substantial leaf blowing and raking effort. Why? Leaves left under snowpack become a warm winter location for ground moles. They will congregate under the leaves and destroy lawns.

As I was just about to upload today's completed Blog edition, the Fortin homestead has lost power. This was an expected outcome given the strong winds. The time has arrived to fire up the gas generator to get office progress on schedule.

November Brings a Busy GFRC Month

Shortly, the peaceful working environment in the Maine GFRC office will come to end. The Whitman Baltimore show is less than two weeks away when considering travel time and pre-show activities. Immediately upon returning to Maine from the Baltimore event, the GFRC office must be carefully organized and packed. Yes, the Fortins are heading to Florida early this year due to a late Thanksgiving holiday. The annual Black Friday Sale will be held from the Venice office for the first time. Please watch for schedule announcements, in the Blog, during the coming two weeks.

The LSCC Publishes November 2019 E-Gobrecht

Like clockwork, the November 2019 E-Gobrecht edition arrived to my email Inbox at 7:30 pm ET. Editor Bill Bugert is back with another insightful issue. I particularly enjoyed reading Greg Johnson's Quarter of the Month column entitled, A Bit of the Ordinary. The premise of the article is simple. What if a key date Washington Quarter was a Liberty Seated Quarter? Just how would it rank in terms or rarity and availability? Greg's article presents comparison tables that are eye opening. As recently mentioned in a Blog edition, better date Liberty Seated quarters, with CAC approval, are is terribly short supply given current collector demand. Prices for these dates need to substantially increase to bring supply back to the market.

The November 2019 E-Gobrecht edition can be downloaded as a PDF file by clicking here or by clicking on the cover page illustration shown next.

November 2019 E-Gobrecht Cover Page

Today's GFRC Office Happenings

Clear blue skies are forecasted for today but with a caveat; 20 mph winds and dropping temperatures. GFRC photography is the day's top priority. I plan to brave the winds at noon time with a mission of photographing the 20 piece Newtown $5 United States gold lot along with a fresh consignment that has just arrived. Photographing another batch of Dr. Glenn Peterson Liberty Seated half dimes may not be a wise idea as the winds will send those little silver pieces into the next county....

Look for the balance of the West Texas raw Liberty Seated halves to reach the price list by late afternoon. The Mercury dime collection, from the Mark Mattox Estate, has entered the image processing phase with an initial client gallery display planned for late evening in the Blog.

Global Financial News

Internatiional equity markets are in an upbeat mood to start the day. Why? A new China manufacturing PMI report suggests that the China manufacturing sector is expanding again after recent slowing. The following Seeking Alpha headlines captures the news.

Stocks across the globe are back in the green as a surprise bounce in Chinese manufacturing activity overshadowed doubts raised by a Bloomberg report on whether the U.S. and China can reach a long-term trade deal. The Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI came in at 51.7 for October, the fastest expansion in more than two years, as export orders and production rose. Shanghai climbed 1% on the news, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.4%, while U.S. stock index futures have pulled ahead by 0.3%.

Let's move on to the usual commodity prices and the long bond interest rate....

Gold prices are moving up again with the current quote at $1513/oz while the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has dropped to 1.7%. Is this an indication of a quiet flight to safety? I believe so given the political events in Washington DC and an upcoming U.S. government funding battle that looms in just a few weeks. Crude oil is priced at $54.41/bbl while Bitcoin is quoting at $9148/coin.

In other Seeking Alpha headlines, China is implementing 5G networks well ahead of Western countries. A critical telecommunications technology race has arrived.

China turned on its 5G networks ahead of schedule on Friday - after initially targeting a 2020 launch - amid an ongoing trade war with the U.S. that has turned into a battle over tech supremacy. President Trump said earlier this year that "the race to 5G is on and America must win," and has been seeking to convince other countries to ban Huawei from their next-generation networks. China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile all unveiled 5G plans that start at around 128 yuan ($18) per month, though experts have warned of challenges to adoption, including price and a lack of 5G capable handsets.

Wrapping Up The Blog

With a power outage at hand, it is best to wrap up at this point while the laptop and cellphone have power.

I will be in the office the entire day working as usual, and looking forward to your purchases.

Thank-you for visiting the Blog on a Friday morning.

October 31, 2019

West Texas Dansco Halves for Halloween Viewing Delight

Greeting and welcome to the Blog on Halloween 2019. Thank-you for checking in.

Halloween will be a wet event here in New England. Rains are forecasted for the entire day and particular heavy during the afternoon and early evening hours. GFRC has a substantial shipping day with several Express Priority packages. The previously forecasted high winds are no where to be found in the morning forecast. This is a good thing! Even the local weather people are becoming victims of amplification. Portland's current overnight forecast has winds peaking at 27 mph. Worries for a Friday morning power outage are alleviated.

The weekend brings clearing skies with bright sunshine on Sunday. You can bet that the GFRC photo table and camera will be receiving a substantial workout that day. Until that time, I will be loading the COIN system with new offerings and catching up images after the weekend photo-shoot event.

GFRC New Purchases

Wednesday brought two wonderful new purchases. Both are CAC approved and ideal type coins for an advanced collection. The first is a nicely toned 1837 F-101a Seated dime graded PCGS MS63. The second is a perfectly original 1841 PCGS AU58 Liberty Seated dollar. Both coins are immediately available and will be added to the price list on Friday.

GFRC New Purchases

1837 Large Date F-101a PCGS MS63 CAC 10C 1841 PCGS AU58 CAC $1

Final Call - 1865 F-101a PCGS MS65 Liberty Seated Dime

An email arrived last evening from a western U.S. consignor requesting the return of this important 1865 Liberty Seated dime graded PCGS MS65. If the offering does not sell at the Whitman Baltimore show, it will be traveling back to the consignor. Since the Baltimore show is only two weeks away, let's post the dime with the hope for a potential customer appearing. Offers are welcomed.

The GFRC description reads as follows;

High End Civil War Philadelphia Business Strike, Repunched Date, Heavily Striated Fields, Frosty Devices, Hammered Strike. An important 1865 Philadelphia business strike with typical heavily striated dies. Fields offer partial mirrors and a view into how heavily polished the dies were. For example, all 1865 F-101a business strikes will have arcing die lines on either side of the date. On this offering, the left obverse field die lines are bold along with much lighter die lines behind Liberty. The reverse is heavily striated with diagonal lines. A slight angling of the coin under bright line exposes heavy die polishing and lack of proper finish. Resulting luster is reflective with notable cartwheels. Intense mint frost covers the devices. Strike is hammered. Accurately graded and housed in PCGS Gen 6.0 holder. From an old time collection and fresh to market without prior CoinFacts records. Worthy of the most advanced collections being built.

1865 F-101a PCGS MS65

Question of the Day - Oregon Beaver

Here is a chance for Daily Blog reader participation by responding to a question from Oregon Beaver.

Most of us have experienced the repetitive nature of local coin club meeting agendas. For many senior members, the local coin club meeting is a social event and a chance to get away from home. Younger or less experienced attendees will attend for several meetings and ultimately walk away from a predictable and unexciting agenda.

I could easily write a paragraph on suggested changes to local coin club meeting formats and agenda. This I will do after hearing back from others in the GFRC community. Don't be shy; here is a chance for audience participation! Feedback will be collected during the next 72 hours and published in Sunday's Blog edition.

Arriving Shortly to GFRC Price List

As the GFRC consignment queue dries up, I've moved back to consignor Dansco album for sourcing nice raw collector coins. Following is a lot of Liberty Seated halves that were previously pulled and photographed. I've not yet graded or attributed the individual pieces as of this morning. This will be done today. Look for these nice halves to reach the price list on Friday. As usual, First Rights of Refusal are gladly accepted.

West Texas Collection Consignment - Raw Capped Bust/Seated Halves

Dates, Grades and Varieties to be Defined Shortly

Global Financial News

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25% and telegraphed a halt to rate cutting for the balance of 2019. Equity markets had already baked in the rate cut and yawned. This morning's Dow and NasdaQ futures outlook is slightly negative. Seeking Alpha documents the action, or lack there of, with this headline. Please notice the language being used as symptomatic of current news culture. "U.S. stock index futures are turning around sharply" might suggest a substantial move in stock prices. However, a 100 point drop at the Dow's current level is only a 0.35% movement. Is 0.35% a sharp shift?

Up for most of the night after the Fed cut rates for the third time this year - and indicated the possibility of a pause in the easing cycle - U.S. stock index futures are turning around sharply. The DJIA is now pointing to a 100-point decline at the open following a report from Bloomberg that said Beijing has doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade agreement with the U.S. Chinese officials have warned they won't budge on the thorniest issues and they remain concerned about President Trump's impulsive nature, as well as the risk he may back out of even the limited deal both sides say they want to sign in the coming weeks.

Let's have a quick look at commodities and bond rates followed by several China centric Seeking Alpha headlines. Tensions between the United States and China are increasing in my opinion.

Gold prices are once again over the $1500 milestone and quoting at $1508/oz. Crude oil prices are down slightly to $54.89 while more shine is leaving Bitcoin. Prices are down to $9028/coin. Interestingly, the 10 Year U.S Treasury bond yield has decreased to 1.74% indicating increasing demand for the safety of U.S. assets.

China manufacturing continues to shrink as low skilled production moves to other Asia countries while foreign investment dries up. The China - U.S. trade war is producing pain for Beijing Central Government.

Factory activity in China contracted for the sixth straight month in October and by more than expected, while service sector growth eased as companies face the weakest economic growth in nearly 30 years. Weighed down by slowing global demand and the Sino-U.S. trade war, the manufacturing PMI fell to 49.3, versus 49.8 in September, according to the country's statistics bureau. The figures will heap pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus to avoid a sharper slowdown and job losses.

Hong Kong is officially in recession after months of protests have impacted the local economy.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority chopped its policy rate by 25 basis points overnight, tracking the Federal Reserve as obligated by Hong Kong’s currency peg with the greenback. Two of Hong Kong’s biggest banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, also cut their key benchmark rates in the city, their largest market, which officially fell into a recession amid the months-long protests. The economy shrank 3.2% in Q3 from the period just before, marking the worst quarter-to-quarter drop since 2009.

More trade deal delays are possible between the world's two leading economic powers. Current optimism is underwhelming from my perspective.

The Trump administration still expects to sign an initial trade deal with China next month, even as Chile said ongoing protests in the country would prevent it from hosting the APEC summit, where both sides were expected to finalize the accord. Chinese officials also voiced optimism that Beijing and Washington can find a way to clinch the so-called Phase One trade agreement in November. Bilateral talks will continue to proceed as previously planned and the lead trade negotiators from both countries will speak by telephone on Friday.

Wrapping Up The Blog

As usual, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day other than a quick post office run. There is still much to do including posting the last of the AuburnNY Accordian Collection offerings and processing the West Texas lot of raw Liberty Seated halves.

I would enjoy selling a few coins from existing inventory as would consignors seeing the arrival of GFRC consignment checks. Please consider a purchase. I'm available via all forms of modern day communications. Please remember that GFRC will ship immediately for existing customers. Your numismatic joy is my command!

See you tomorrow at the Blog.

October 30, 2019

330 CAC Approved Coins on GFRC Price List

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog. Halloween arrives tomorrow!

About the only frightful thing on everyone's mind is the ongoing political mess in Washington DC. Do we really pay taxes to fund the salaries of these career politicians and consultants? Many should be fired immediately IMHO.

Closer to home, Diane was promptly delivered to the Portland Airport and is on her Southwest flights to Austin. Gerry is a bachelor for five days but not much will change. There will be long hours in the GFRC office followed by cleaning up leaves during the weekend. Maine is due for another "cyclone bomb" type storm on Thursday/Friday. Forecasted 50-60 mph winds will strip the remaining leaves from the late changing oaks. The gas generator is fueled along with an extra 5 gallons on hand for a prolonged power outage. Even with a power outage, I can power up the laptop and upload the Blog via Huawei phone hotspot capabilities.

Positive emails have been arriving concerning the rejuvenated Blog editions after a short writer's block event. Customers are raving about GFRC newly purchased coins along with feedback for improving the Open Set Registry.

330 CAC Approved Coins on GFRC Price List

One brief email arrived yesterday evening leading to today's headline. I'm in between client galleries leaving little for visual postings. A consignor rightfully points out that GFRC has 330 CAC approved coins in inventory. His assertion that GFRC is the leader of the pack with respect to CAC inventory size is not completely accurate. There is one major dealer located in Virginia with a much larger overall inventory including CAC positioning. Otherwise, when it comes to early type and United States gold, GFRC is one of the market leaders.

Gerry,

You have 330 CAC coins offered for sale. There is no dealer, none, that has that many CAC for sale with the exception of Heritage. I know it fluctuates but you should include that in your marketing material!

Stocking CAC approved coins is straightforward and consistent with my own collecting philosophy. One look at my Liberty Seated dime core set, in the Open Set Registry, should drive home the point. I'm willing to stretch on wholesale premiums to add CAC approved coins to inventory. CAC coins, on average, are superior in originality and eye appeal to non CAC approved coins. GFRC will buyback any CAC coin it sells at minimum 85% of purchase price. In some cases, I can do better.

Think about the market dynamics for a moment and how CAC approval fits in. As the numismatic marketplace becomes increasingly tiered, a subset of collectors are limiting their purchases to CAC only pieces. Premiums are increasing, especially on United States gold. Better date Liberty Seated quarters are grossly undervalued when CAC approved. Collectors who have an eye on the financial aspect or wealth accumulation potential of the numismatic hobby are sophisticated. Does it not make sense to pay current premiums and populate a collections with CAC approved coins? Sure, there are always certain dealers and some collectors who will deny the value of CAC. In most cases, the dealers who don't believe in the value of CAC approval lack CAC inventory. Ditto with collectors who can't understand the value proposition. Some of these collectors just can't grade properly or don't have sufficient knowledge of originality to begin with. Therefore, I can understand why CAC approval is not self evident.

Sellout of Dr. Peterson Seated Half Dimes Posted Yesterday

Late Tuesday morning, eight new Seated half dimes from Dr. Peterson's Dansco album were posted to the price list. All were accurately attributed thanks to the support from Clint Cummins. Clint has taken the leadership role for Liberty Seated half dime die variety research and cataloging. His website is a wealth of information and can be viewed here.

I'm pleased to report that the eight Peterson half dimes lasted less than an hour on the price list before being absorbed by two collectors. Sure, these were cool raw die variety pieces at inexpensive prices.

Based on yesterday's quick sale, I've pulled another twelve pieces from Dr. Peterson's Dansco album. They are sitting in the photography queue and hopefully will reach the price list by coming weekend or early next week.

AuburnNY Accordian Consignment Update

After posting the AuburnNY Accordian client gallery in the Blog, I spent the better part of Tuesday pricing the pieces and preparing the COIN system for today's price list posting. The consignor and I have exchanged comments and reached pricing concensus. FRoRs are arriving at a reasonable pace. Two of the twenty-two pieces will required Liberty Seated Dime web-book updates. The 1853 WA PCGS MS63 dime will be listed as a Hubbed Arrows & Date F-118. There is also a raw 1891-O dime in the lot with a massive reverse cud that will be listed as F-132a. Unfortunately, I failed to photograph the raw 1891-O dime while imaging the slabbed pieces. We must play catch-up on this raw offering.

Newtown Collection - Cool 20 Piece U.S. Gold "Grading Lot" Scores at CAC

Last month, the Newtown Collection made a decision to divest a really cool twenty piece PCGS graded United States $5 gold lot. All the coins were in PCGS OGH, Gen 4.3 or Gen 4.4 holders. Several pieces were low grade branch mint pieces ideal for a lowball set. Newtown purchased the lot as is and filed it away in a bank box. GFRC was selected to handle this Newtown divestment. Upon arrival, I immediately recognized the conservative grading and rich copper-gold patina on many of the lower grade circulated pieces. My first recommendation was CAC submission. Results arrived last week much to the pleasure of myself and Newtown. The twenty piece submission was awarded a 60% approval rate with one Gold CAC. Frankly, the eight pieces that were not CAC approved are also top quality and desirable.

Following are the CAC submission and approval results. Newtown and GFRC have decide to sell this twenty piece lot intact due to the consistent quality and old holders. It would be a shame to break this lot up! The lot has been offered to an important GFRC consignor and client. He is interested and presently waiting for images before rendering a decision.

Newtown's Old Time United States $5 Gold "Grading Lot"

CAC Results

New Consignments Wanted

Yes, I've managed to work down a substantial portion of the GFRC consignment queue since not traveling to coin shows. An incremental consignment is due to arrive today but that is it for the time being.

If considering a numismatic divestment, please consider GFRC as your agent for handling the project. Recent results should provide confidence with my ability to evaluate, market and sell your numismatic properties.

Global Financial News

Financial markets are treading water as they wait for the United States Q3 GDP report and whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again. The "economists" are forecasting an annualized Q3 GDP of 1.6% while the Fed is expected to lower rates to between 1.5% to 1.75%. Following are the two pertinent Seeking Alpha headines that provide more details.

The central bank's rate decision will come hours after the release of U.S. Q3 GDP data, which is forecast to show a further slowdown due to slowing business investment and recent weakness in retail sales. Economists are estimating gross domestic product increased at a 1.6% annualized pace in the July to September period, down from a 2% expansion in the second quarter. This morning's ADP private sector payroll is also expected to show job growth of just 100K, according to Dow Jones, but traders may hold their reaction to the numbers as they wait to see what the Fed is going to do.

Monetary policy will be front and center for investors today, and futures are trading sideways - after failing to make any major moves on Tuesday - before the big Fed decision. While divisions remain on the FOMC about the need to lower borrowing costs further, the committee is expected to cut interest for the third time this year (to a new range of between 1.5% and 1.75%), while signaling that it is done for now. Watch for Jerome Powell's presser to see if he takes a page from the Greenspan playbook. His mentor cut rates three times in midcycle adjustments in 1995-1996, and again in 1998, to counter economic risks.

Looking at commodities and the long bond interest rate.....

Spot gold remains in a tight trading range and is quoting at $1494/oz. Crude oil is also in its own trading range at $55.47/bbl. Some of the shine from the recent Bitcoin run-up is wearing off with a quote of $9240/coin. The 10 Year Treasury yield is flat at 1.83%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

You guessed it! I will be in the GFRC office the entire day either shipping lots or loading the AuburnNY According consignment to the price list. The photography queue is building, however there will be no sunshine today or on Thursday.

If considering a purchase, I'm just a phone call or email away. Thanks for the consideration.

See you tomorrow at the Blog!

October 29, 2019

Popular Liberty Seated Dime Die Varieties From AuburnNY Accordian

Greetings fellow numismatists and welcome to another Daily Blog edition. I'm pleased that you could stop by for a visit.

Today's primary display is a great Liberty Seated Dime die variety consignment from the AuburnNY Accordian Collection. But first, a first short segments to bring balance to the day's ramblings.

State of Affairs at GFRC Office and Austin, Texas

Another cloudy day is in the forecast while Wednesday looks promising for incremental GFRC photography. That's good news since another consignment will arrive around noon time that day. Southern Maine high temperatures are forecasted to be back in the low 60s which means the wood stove can be closed down. Another reason for stopping wood stove operation is Diane heading to Austin early Wednesday morning. Diane is becoming increasingly sensitive to cold temperatures and loves the wood stove's heat output. Our daughter Renee is returning to work at her veterinarian clinic after the birth of grand-daughter Ivy. Diane will serve as the official nanny during Renee's emotionally challenging transition. Renee faces a substantial workload at the clinic while giving up continuous mothering for Ivy.

Seth Godin's Blog - "Get what you want without compromise"

Have you noticed that the 24 hours news media has become entirely polarized. The days of fairness and balanced reporting are long gone. We live in a "modern" world in which writers and reporters are measured on the number of online clicks (clickbait). This fact has transformed the media into spinning content for segmented or niche audiences. Feeding an audience what they wish to hear without any compromise for the actual truth is current operating mode. Godin offers his commentary on the importance of broad-based compromise in our lives.

“Get what you want without compromise”

That’s the call of our times.

Run a marathon without getting tired.

Lose weight without dieting.

Get ahead without working hard.

Earn big money without risk.

When you expose it this clearly, it’s obviously nonsense. Compromise is precisely what’s called for.

You can’t have everything you want. But, if you care enough and trade enough and work hard enough, you might be able to get some things that matter.

The real question might not be, “what do you want,” it might be, “what do you care enough to compromise for?”

Question and Answer of the Day!

It is my pleasure to respond to one of the many Oregon Beaver questions posed in a recent email. Let's take a look at this following question;

What is the coin(s) you really wanted to buy but didn't or couldn't and you still have regrets?

A great question which takes me back to the first year of collecting Liberty Seated dimes. I started collecting Liberty Seated dimes during the middle of 1988. My initial source for Seated dimes was Bob Levi, owner of Maine Gold & Silver in South Portland, Maine. Bob's coin shop was only two blocks from my Fairchild Semiconductor office. As you can imagine, I would frequent his shop several times per week. Bob had been a prolific collector and nearly completed a set of Redbook coins. Once Bob learned of my interest in Liberty Seated dimes, he made a portion of his collection available to me. The high end Mint State pieces had already been sent to PCGS for grading but the lowly circulated pieces remained. I was on the "buy a dime a week" plan as funds were limited at that time. We had moved back to Maine during 1985, purchasing 23 country acres and custom building a super insulated passive solar home. Renee had been born during 1987 with Diane not working and staying at home raising the children. Coin money was rather limited.

I walked into Bob's coin shop one day. Bob says....Hey Kid, I have a Seated dime you need to buy. Bob always call me Kid! He goes on to say...This one is an auction piece, but I like you. You can have it for $5000!

From a 2x2 paper envelope appears the 1874 Carson City dime from Bob's collection. The piece graded EF with a bold strike. I was taken back and shaking when holding this raw piece in my hands. How I wanted to own this one! But logic and not having a clue as to how I would rationalize spending $5000 on a Liberty Seated dime to Diane left me with only one response. I had to pass on the opportunity. There are regrets to this day.

Popular Liberty Seated Dime Die Varieties From AuburnNY Accordian

This latest consignment from the AuburnNY Accordian Collection should garner substantial attention among die variety enthusiasts. As a coin dealer specializing in Liberty Seated coinage, I see many key dates and rare die varieties across all denominations. Handling these become commonplace. But occasionally, a consignment arrives that catches my attention in terms of degree of difficulty. This is the case with the new AuburnNY Accordian offerings. Let's step back for a moment and conduct a quick walk-through of this client gallery.

The die variety gallery opens with an unlisted 1853 Hubbed Arrows & Date dime with bold die cracks that soon becomes the F-118 listing in my web-book. This PCGS MS63 piece is a near-gem with bold diagnostics and brilliant frosty luster. During photography, this dime just sparkled under a bright sun. This is quite an opening act, but there is much more!

Next are two 1839-O Small O dimes paired with the heavily polished Huge O obverse. I've occasionally seen the F-107 pairing but the F-109 pairing is a true rarity. How about an 1839-O F-109 graded PCGS VG10 with CAC approval to start your day? Amazing...

The AuburnNY Accordian consigment is replete with Top 100 Varieties. Next in the highlighted pictorial section are two important Top 100 Variety offerings. First is an 1854-O F-102 Shattered Obverse grading VG08 with CAC approved followed by an 1871 PR62 F-101 with heavily repunched 18 digits.

The balance of the consignment contains more great varieties including an 1875-CC In Wreath F-107c with reverse cud, an 1876-CC dime strike with Type 2 reverse and an in demand 1891-O O/Horizontal O dime grading PCGS EF40.

Not mentioned so far is the fact that the important die varieties have PCGS Fortin attributions on the labels. These die varieties are fully attributed and ready for a permanent home in an advanced collection.

At the moment, the unlisted 1853 WA PCGS MS63, 1871 Proof F-101 and 1891 O/Horizontal O have FRoRs. The balance are fair game. Look for this lot to reach the price list during Wednesday/Thursday timeframe.

Scarce Liberty Seated Dime Die Varieties - AuburnNY Accordian Collection

1853 Hubbed Arrows/Date - Unlisted (New F-118) PCGS MS63 10C

1839-O F-107 Sm O ANACS F15 10C 1839-O F-109 Sm O PCGS VG10 CAC 10C

1854-O F-102 Shattered Obv PCGS VG08 CAC 10C 1871 F-101 RPD PCGS PR62 CAC 10C

1858-O PCGS EF40 CAC 5C 1838 F-110a PCGS VF30 CAC 10C 1839-O F-105b PCGS VF25 10C

1842-O F-102b ANACS F12 10C 1853 Arrows F-107 ANACS AU55 OWH 10C 1853-O F-104a PCGS F15 10C

1856-O F-104 NGC AU55 10C 1872 F-105 DDR PCGS EF40 10C 1875 F-107 MPD PCGS AU50 CAC 10C

1875-CC IW F-107c PCGS VF30 CAC 10C 1876-CC T2 Rev ANACS VF30 OWH 10C 1877 F-105 MPD PCGS VG08 CAC 10C

1889 F-117 NGC MS61 10C 1891 F-112 Rev Cud PCGS F15 CAC 10C 1891-O F-109 O/Horiz O PCGS EF40 10C

Footnote to the AuburnNY Accordian Collection Consignment

If Blog readers are growing tired of seeing Liberty Seated dimes being showcased here and on the GFRC price list, how about helping me out with a new consignment of Seated quarters, halves or dollars? Capped Bust or Barber coinage would also be appreciated! Please consider my plea and call me at 207-329-9957!

Global Financial News

The S&P 500 breaks new record and the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates again! Let's open today's Global Financial News segment with an important Seeking Alpha headline.

There wasn't much movement for U.S. stock index futures overnight as traders held their breath after pushing the S&P 500 index to a closing high of 3,039.42 on Monday. The rise was propelled by expectations of a third consecutive rate cut from the Federal Reserve, which has started a program to purchase $60B/month in Treasury bills until the end of 2019 and took the extraordinary action to shore up overnight liquidity starting in September. Trade optimism is also in the air after the USTR said Washington will consider extending certain tariff exclusions on $34B worth of imports from China.

Will the United States housing market pick up due to lower interest rates?

A slew of data this morning will clarify whether the housing market is heating back up. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index is expected to rise 2% annually in August, the same as last month, while pending home sales for September are estimated to rise 0.7%, rebounding from August’s drop of 1.6% (consumer confidence figures will also be watched). Though marked with low supply, the housing market is further benefiting from outsized demand and lower mortgage rates.

Commodities and the U.S. long bond interest rate are showing slight movements.

Crude oil is quoting at $55.42bbl while spot gold decreased a tad to $1496/oz. Bitcoin is holding new gains at $9401/coin. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield decreased slightly to 1.82%,

Wrapping In the Blog

Can you feel the energy while writing today's Blog edition? It was written with a smile rather than being forced labor.

Yes, yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day waiting for your purchase order. How about buying a coin and treating yourself before Halloween? I'll ship immediately to those customers well known to me.

Otherwise, it is time to wish readers a great day. I'll be back tomorrow at the Blog with more of the usual ramblings. See you then.

October 28, 2019

More Dansco Liberty Seated Half Dimes From Dr. Peterson

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. A special welcome is extended to potential new E-Sylum readers.

For those interested in southern Maine weather, Sunday's rains have moved out leaving cloudy conditions for the upcoming 48 hours. Wednesday brings an opportunity for sunshine and GFRC photography.

The Fortin's twenty-nine year old Vermont Casting wood stove received a meticulous cleaning on Sunday morning and is performing flawlessly. The best heat source experienced in a lifetime is unquestionably a wood stove. Wood stove heat is continuous and comforting. The worst heat source is wall mounted heat pumps as found in China apartments. I've experienced both and feel blessed to have a Vermont Casting stove as company during the chilly late autumn months.

Feedback on Sunday's Writer's Block Segment

Sunday's Writer's Block segment was the combination of a plea for help while conducting a public discussion with myself. Blog readership feedback was overwhelmingly favorable towards shorter visual displays coupled with broader topics and more wide-ranging segments. Immediate action was taken. Instead of spending all of Sunday processing images for the AuburnNY Accordian Collection consignment without a visual presentation for Monday's edition, the emphasis shifted to a small Liberty Seated half dime lot from Dr. Peterson. There was sufficient time on Sunday to process the smaller lot and have ready for posting as a Blog preview by end of day. I will continue to format the AuburnNY Accordian images today with a potential client gallery debut on Tuesday.

Please allow me to share content from several well intended feedback emails. Each individual took the time to express their thoughts towards helping the cause. The first summarizes the majority opinion.

Hello Gerry,

Today's Blog was good stuff. Glad to see you will be making changes as needed to not drive yourself so crazy...or exhaust yourself!

Believe it or not, the Blogs I enjoyed the most were those from the early days (about 2014 - 2015) when you kept the content simpler, more personal, and usually only highlighted a few collector coins. Then larger collections with more valuable coins interspersed in were always welcome - they were icing on the cake - and naturally fit right in.

I've always wanted to say that I really have enjoyed the photos of the fall colors of your trees! You should post a gallery. I am no gardener, but my father was a regular Homes and Gardens type of guy so I can appreciate all the work that goes into your yard. Keep it up!

The Tenafly Collection consignor also came to the rescue with feedback. His suggestion for re-starting the numismatic questions of the week is well founded. The Blog can be an important numismatic education vehicle. Locating appropriate topics and/or questions will be broached within upcoming editions.

Hi Gerry, Sorry to hear about your recent bout with writer's block...this happens to all of us sometimes who write for a living. Like you said it's most likely other "interruptions", like marketing so many coins for sale, etc. (not that that's unimportant!). Your blog block apparently didn't effect any of the coin descriptions and marketing - something to ponder. I just imagine myself writing an "Appraisal blog" every day 7 days a week 365 days a year...I'd run out of subjects in the first week!

You know what I haven't seen lately in the blog? The "numismatic questions" or "question of the day/week" portions of the blog. For me (and everyone else) these are always informative as I find myself re-reading the past "collector education" entries. It's so informative to learn about these inside tracks from someone with so much experience & knowledge and not the typical pitch from some amateur who doesn't know anything .

By mid morning, along came the Oregon Beaver Collection consignor with a heartfelt email replete with advice and potential ideas for exploration. His list of questions will be addressed in the coming weeks. Yes, I would enjoy discussing the extensive Estes model rocket kit research that was performed in the 2010 - 2013 timeframe among other suggested topics.

Gerry,

I look forward to your columns each day. Today I clicked on the blog twice before it was up! And I live in a time zone 3 hours earlier than you!

Tidbits, feedback, & thoughts as to possible topics:

1. At a garage sale I found a 1936 "Buying Price Catalogue of Old Coins" published by National Coin Company in Springfield Massachusetts. They were willing to buy 3 seated liberty half dollars. The price for an 1878 "with S under Eagle" was a range from $5 to $10. They were willing to buy two seated dimes---the 1860 O and he 1885 S, each twenty five cents to $2.00. They were willing to offer "a small premium on all Liberty head gold pieces" and actually listed 13 with the 1854 D at $5.00 to $10.00 and the 1864 "without any mint mark" at $10.00 to $25.00. It might give you some comment material. It is not very long and if you are interested I will scan or send to you. Maybe others have price lists from in the mid 40s or so which might be interesting. The catalogue makes it easier to understand how Eric Newman was able to accumulate such a large fortune in coins over his long life span.

2. I enjoy a sentence or two about your family once in awhile. I don't hear much about Diane but I have a feeling that her behind the scenes work is very helpful. We don't hear much about your daughter except when they visit. Possibly a bit more would be in order.

3. What is this about rockets on your website?

4. What is the coin(s) you really wanted to buy but didn't or couldn't and you still have regrets?

5. While I certainly have heard of the E Sylum, I didn't know what it was or its purpose until today when I went to their website. I have never gone on the Newman portal. Maybe there are others who might be interested in the purpose and operation.

6. Who/how can I dispose of all those wheat pennies that I got in circulation. Name a company. Is there a difference between the 1920s ones and the 1940s-50s ones? Or disposition of average circulated liberty nickels and buffalo nickels. Your thoughts about collectors being encouraged to just release them into circulation on a mass scale with a planned program for publicity through ANA, coin clubs, or more?

7. Do you envision that another tier of grading, another third party certification will be created among the CAC coins in the future?

8. What inspired you to get into coin collecting?

9. How about encouraging relevant questions by readers but with the caveat that you may/won't be able to have the time to answer them?

10. Since you don't deal in currency, any thoughts on the future of collecting currency.

11. At the Portland MONEY show 6 years ago, my first and only big show, I asked Bill Bugurt his opinion about the most undervalued series in the half dollar line. He mentioned bust halves. Any thoughts as to under appreciated or under valued series in your lines?

12. Any ideas on what the ideal coin club should be doing to promote coin collecting? The agenda for my club (30 plus members attending monthly) is the pledge of allegiance, sometimes announcements as to coin shows, membership drawings of some noncollectable coins worth $5 to $15, a break with cookies, a drawing from tickets purchased before the meeting with prizes in the same range, another break, and then an auction of what are generally highly circulated non-collectible coins in the same value range (or less). It appears that there are no collectors of anything that wasn't sort of available in circulation during the late 50s. No emphasis on history or quality. Not much incentive to attend. What do other readers experience in their clubs. Maybe they could be encouraged to write in and there may be snippets that you could use as material.

Have a great day.

Oregon Beaver

As you may have surmised at this point, I'm feeling rejuvenated concerning the Blog and believe the coming editions will be a joy to compose and hopefully, worthwhile reading. Sincere thanks go out to each person who took the time to respond with their advice.

More Dansco Seated Half Dimes From Dr. Peterson

Excellent progress is being made in emptying Dr. Glenn Peterson's Liberty Seated half dime Dansco album. As of this morning, there are still thirty half dimes to go along with a separate group in a plastic 2x2 album. Several of the Dansco half dimes will be heading to PCGS for grading including a gorgeous 1858 AU50 double date. The Double Date is much scarcer than the Over Inverted Date and warrants holdering with variety attribution.

The following lot of Dr. Peterson half dimes was posted to the Blog on Sunday evening. Early this morning, an email arrived from Clint Cummins with precise attributions for each offering. For Blog readers who may not be aware of Clint Cummings and his Liberty Seated half dime attribution website, may I suggest that you visit his work-in-progress attribution resource by clicking here. Clint has volunteered to attribute die varieties during the divesting of the balance of Dr. Peterson's Seated half dime collection. His efforts are much appreciated and will improve the marketability of each offering. A second benefit is having accurate die variety records in the GFRC Sales Archive.

Another Offering of Dr. Peterson Dansco Album Seated Half Dimes

1857 Unlisted Retouched Hub Raw AU50 1857-O Unlisted Retouched Hub Raw VG10 1858-O V-8 Med O Raw F12

1858-O V-1b Lg O Raw VF30 1871 V-15 Raw AU50 1871 V-9a Raw EF40

1872-S V-5 (V-3) Raw AU58 1872-S V-6 (V-4) Raw EF40

Global Financial News

Another trading week arrives with expectations for a 50 basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve. There are mixed reviews among financial analysts for the rate cut. Positives include lower borrowing costs for United States corporations who may be on the edge of junk bond status. Lowering of U.S. bond rates will also help weaken the U.S. dollar and improve the competitive positioning of manufactured exports. Negatives include minimal returns for savers and forcing pension fund managers into higher risk assets.

Looking at commodities and the long bond yield....

Spot gold pricing has moved up slightly to $1509/oz while crude oil is holding the new $56.30 level. Bitcoin prices jumped upward during the weekend to $9,447 as a result of China's President Xi indicating that China must "seize the opportunity" of blockchain technology. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield has increased to 1.83%. Is the "repo" liquidity crisis in the United States banking industry a factor in the increase?

Looking at a few Seeking Alpha headlines, we find that China is wooing foreign companies as the U.S. trade war weighs on mainland growth.

Senior Chinese government figures are dialing up the charm in an effort to attract U.S. and other foreign companies to invest there. The ongoing tit-for-tat trade war with the Trump administration has created enough headwinds to concern Chinese leaders that, without foreign investment, they may fall short of President Xi's goal of doubling the economy in the decade from 2010 to 2020. Hence, the charm offensive.

The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. economic growth continues despite manufacturing woes

Weakness in the manufacturing sector, from a weary global economy and the U.S./China trade war, may not be much to worry about, at least in the near term, reports the Wall Street Journal. Domestic unemployment is a minuscule 3.5%, retail sales were up 4% last month, and the economy is projected to have grown ~1.3% last quarter according to a forecasting firm. Manufacturing represents ~11% of domestic output, down from ~16% 20 years ago.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Weekend sales were robust as a result of the price list posting of the 1875-CC In Wreath and Below Wreath Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection. The offering was a major event for passionate Seated dime die variety collectors. This morning's shipping queue is substantial and will keep me out of trouble until an early afternoon dentist appointment. I'm targeting to have the Dr. Peterson Seated half dimes posted to the price list by end of day.

Thank-you for visiting the Blog and please make a point of checking back throughout the week. I'm looking forward to exploring several of the Oregon Beaver questions.

As usual, your purchase orders are important as a host of consignors hope to sell their coins via the GFRC website. I'm constantly monitoring emails, text messages, and voice messages for potential orders. Reasonable offers are solicted and welcomed.

See you on Tuesday at the Blog.

October 27, 2019

E-Sylum Announcement - Newman Portal Adds Gerry Fortin Daily Blog

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

I believe the time has come to shake things up at the Blog. The personal challenge with writing a fresh and stimulating Blog edition each day is increasing. During the past week, days have started with a quick breakfast followed by staring at an empty laptop screen with little prepared content or ideas for exploration. My alternatives are typically Seth Godin's blogpost for content or returning to financial newsletters. Saturday's Blog edition was an example of visiting with John Mauldin for content, thought the subject matter was timely and pertinent based on reader feedback.

Let's face the facts; numismatic publication are inherently difficult to sustain unless there is an ongoing flow of fresh content that is broad based. The collecting community is wide ranging. There are early type collectors, die variety specialists, along with those exclusively focused on CAC approved items.

Guest blogs are important for balancing my limited creative bandwidth. Fresh coin images are critical for sustaining readership. Some will call the recent lack of creativity Writer's Block. How about visiting Wikipedia with me to explore the definition of Writer's Block? If Writer's Block can be understood, then we might be able to locate potential remedies. Wikipedia defines Writer's Block as;

Acondition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years. Throughout history, writer's block has been a documented problem.

Wikipedia follows the definition with a segment on potential casues. Let's explore those documented causes and see what we (I) might learn. In actuality, today's Blog is an attempt for self diagnoses in front of an audience along with seeking feedback from supportive daily readers. Wikipedia lists several potential causes; none are surprises.

- Writer's block may have several causes. Some are creative problems that originate within an author's work itself. A writer may run out of inspiration, or be distracted by other events.

- Other blocks may be produced by adverse circumstances in a writer's life or career: physical illness, depression, the end of a relationship, financial pressures, or a sense of failure. The pressure to produce work may in itself contribute to writer's block, especially if they are compelled to work in ways that are against their natural inclination.

- James Adams notes in his book, Conceptual Blockbusting, various reasons blocks occur include fear of taking a risk, "chaos" in the pre-writing stage, judging versus generating ideas, an inability to incubate ideas, or a lack of motivation.

Stepping back and digesting the list of potential causes leads me to several conclusions.

- GFRC has become a coin processing "factory" during the past several weeks. I've been wholly focused on bringing larger consignments to market in a rapidly structured manner. My semiconductor operations background took control of the GFRC business as Labelman87, Titan Collection, Mark Mattox Estate and Gerry Fortin Reference Collection Seated dimes lots were marketed and added to the price list. October sales results speak for themselves; it has been a fantastic sales period. However, the long hours and aggresive construction of coin images and description output limited the ability to read or explore outside of the "production factory". The substantial workload resulted in late evening chill-out session in the basement soundroom for mental comfort. Each morning arrived too quickly with the need to compose yet another Blog edition from scratch.

- Publishable Blog readership feedback and guest Blogs have been minimal. Those inputs are key for supplementing content creation and reduce the pressure for ongoing personal creativity. The issue here might be the lack of probing topics or routine Blog questions that solicit email feedback.

- Finally, I found one of the listed causes, by Wikipedia, to be most insightful. Quoting from the above list; The pressure to produce work may in itself contribute to writer's block, especially if they are compelled to work in ways that are against their natural inclination. Believe it of not, there is pressure to write every morning along with having prepared content. If I'm in between major consignments, there is a lack of coin images to visually dress up the Blog and a constant frustration. This bothers me to no end as I'm a visual person. There lies the potential reason for current writing struggles. Let's explore that thought further.

During the past month, I've attempting to shift GFRC's marketing efforts towards larger collections. Bringing 20 to 50 pieces collections to market requires substantial preparations that span days. Image processing requirements are lengthy as is description generation. In the past, I would structure consignment processing in smaller increments for consistent visual content in the Blog. Four or five piece consignments would be dovetailed with more sizable projects. These smaller consignments, or segmenting a larger offering into subsections, brought about daily content for the Blog.

Dear Blog readers.... there in lies the cause of the past week's Writer's Block. It was self inflicted by a change in the marketing and operations balancing within my brain and not considering the potential impact to a smooth flow of Blog content and its predictable generation. It looks like I will be returning to rolling out smaller consignments intermixed with larger efforts. Otherwise, there is insufficent content to sustain creativity and readership.

Newman Portal's Daily Blog Archives Addition Featured in Tonight's E-Sylum

Isn't ironic that today's Blog edition is about Writer's Block when the Daily Blog Archives transfer to the Newman Numismatic Portal is announced in the E-Sylum?

Len Augsburger sent along an email on Friday informing me of his forthcoming Newman Numismatic Portal announcement. The transfer of Daily Blog Archives will be shared with the numismatic community at large this evening via the E-Sylum publication. This was a benelovent gesture by Len with much appreciation by your author. Following is the forthcoming announcement, in its entirety, since a fair number of Daily Blog readers may not be routine E-Sylum readers.

NEWMAN PORTAL ADDS GERRY FORTIN DAILY BLOG

The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal is the Gerry Fortin Rare Coins Daily Blog. Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report. -Editor

Newman Numismatic Portal Adds Gerry Fortin Rare Coins Daily Blog

Recently added to the Newman Portal is the Daily Blog from Gerry Fortin Rare Coins (GFRC). After retiring from the semiconductor industry, Fortin launched GFRC in 2014 as a specialty dealer of Bust, Liberty Seated, and U.S. gold coinage. Fortin challenged himself to create fresh content on a daily basis, and the result today is essentially the business diary of a specialized, Internet-based coin dealer.

Today’s culture is less formal than that of fifty years ago, and the ubiquity of information has created an expectation of transparency. Professional secrets, once closely guarded by practitioners of any specific craft, are fewer are far between, and the occupational mysteries of nearly any profession can be uncovered with a simple Google query. Fortin embraces all of this and opens his business to daily scrutiny – consignments come in, clients are served, and the challenges of travel, IT, photography, accounting, and inventory control are on full view to the reader. Given such an approach, it is no surprise that Fortin agreed to contribute his archive to the Newman Portal repository. This is a unique view of a particular coin business in a numismatic market that is becoming more and more defined by the Internet Age.

Link to Gerry Fortin Rare Coins Daily Blog archive on Newman Portal:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/534276

Link to Daily Blog on Gerry Fortin Rare Coins site:

http://www.seateddimevarieties.com/DailyBlog.htm

Wrapping Up The Blog

Frankly, I'm feeling much more empowered now than just two hours ago. Daily Blog writer's block has been diagnosed to the point of actionable remedies. Today's GFRC plans will be immediately altered towards smaller visual displays leading to fresh content for Monday's edition.

Thanks for sharing in the self diagnosis process. I just needed time to think through a recent decision and its outcomes. The two hours spent composing today's Blog edition was sufficient to find root cause.

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day as rains are forecasted. Your purchase orders would be greatly appreciated. There are many consignors who wish to sell their unwanted numismatic properties and probably are in a dealing mood. If you've been considering a purchase but the asking price is taxing your budget, how about making an offer on price or sales terms? GFRC is not a large dealership with inflexibile sales policies. At GFRC, I can handcraft sales terms to suit buyer needs. Just ask!

See you tomorrow at the Blog with more structured ramblings. Is that an oxymoron or what?

October 26, 2019

1875-CC Reference Collection Dimes to Price List Today

Greetings and welcome to a weekend Blog edition. I'm pleased that you could stop by.

As forecasted, southern Maine weather conditions will be sunny today followed by rains on Sunday and throughout the coming week. The wood stove will be fired up tommorow and probably sustained until leaving for the Whitman Baltimore show in a few weeks. Welcome to late autumn in Maine as Halloween is just a few days away. My benchmark for first snowfall, based on past experiences, is Halloween. During 2018, there were three snow storms prior to Thanksgiving. This morning's fifteen day forecast takes us to November 9 without a snow event, though overnight temperatures will drop to the freezing mark.

GFRC October sales have been robust and beyond expectations. Ongoing efforts have produced desired results. As a result, I took the better part of Friday off, working outdoors and visiting the sound room immediately after dinner. Yes, it was time for pruning trees and cutting down a few birches that were being crowded out by larger maples and oaks. A chain saw with a fresh chain made a huge difference with cutting efficiency and is also much safer. The challenge is avoiding ground contact which will immediately dull the cutting bits.

Mauldin Economics Thoughts from the Front Line: China's Disturbing Vision

I'm a constant reader of John Mauldin's econonic newsletter for additional grounding concerning financial market and global events. His newsletters have been in depth and beyond the scope of the Daily Blog until this morning. While pondering today's primary Blog topic, an email arrived from Maudlin addressing growing insights into China's Communist regime and their insistence in silencing all who are non-compliant with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mandates and goals. Mauldin's newsletter is timely and is a Must Read if wishing to become current on Beijing's Central Government ambitions. I left China employment during early 2013 and could see growing efforts for dominance in Internet of Things and Broadband communications industries. The Belts and Roads initiative is not an act of benevolent on the part of the CCP. Rather it is a classic Trojan Horse ploy to start colonization efforts among China's regional neighbors and even in South America.

Many Chinese citizens would gladly leave the mainland but are held back by capital outflow restrictions. Individuals can freely leave the country but moving assets requires under the table planning and efforts to subvert the watchful eyes of government monitoring systems. Individuals cannot wire monies outside the country due to bank scrutiny of each transaction. The issue is pertinent to my own family; Matt and Chikae must be fully aware of this situation as they accrue financial assets while living and working in Beijing.

Following are a few opening paragraphs from today's John Mauldin article that provides a disturbing but realistic background. During my 2006 - 20012 years in Wuxi and Shanghai, I met many citizens who shared sad stories of how the Cultural Revolution impacted their childhoods including the untimely death of parents and/or relatives. Many remained scarred. Please click on this link to read the entire newsletter.

I have been writing about China for almost the entire 20-year history of this letter. We have had multiple intense and focused sessions on China at the Strategic Investment Conference. It is highly likely that we will do so again next year.

China’s growth has been one of the most important economic events in human history. It has moved more than 300 million people from what was essentially a medieval bare-bones existence to fabulous cities, built one of the most incredible transportation and railroad systems in the world, all the while allowing entrepreneurs (what a concept for a communist regime) to create some of the world’s largest and most creative companies. All this is staggering.

On the other hand, China did this on an incredible mountain of debt raised in just the last few decades while generating some of the worst pollution in history. Their monetary system is a potential nightmare. Two-thirds of the population still lives in utter poverty. Over one million Uighurs are locked up in what are, for all intents and purposes, concentration camps. Citizens are routinely arrested and tortured for resisting government edicts. The stories coming from China are frightening to Western minds.

This sort of thing isn’t new. Millions died of starvation because of bureaucratic ineptitude and fear during Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward.” Not to mention the purges of intellectuals who disagreed with Mao.

And then came the Cultural Revolution:

The movement was fundamentally about elite politics, as Mao tried to reassert control by setting radical youths against the Communist Party hierarchy. But it had widespread consequences at all levels of society. Young people battled Mao’s perceived enemies, and one another, as Red Guards, before being sent to the countryside in the later stages of the Cultural Revolution. Intellectuals, people deemed “class enemies” and those with ties to the West or the former Nationalist government were persecuted. Many officials were purged. Some, like the future leader Deng Xiaoping, were eventually rehabilitated. Others were killed, committed suicide or were left permanently scarred. (NY Times)

China's Vision of Victory

Mauldin shifts his newletter to the present day and introduces a new book entitled China's Vision of Victory. The book is written by Dr. Jonathan Ward with the following introduction of the author.

One of the best current books on the topic is Dr. Jonathan Ward’s brilliant and well-written analysis in his book, China’s Vision of Victory. Jonathan is the founder of Atlas Organization, a Washington DC- and New York-based consultancy focused on the rise of India and China, and on US-China global competition. He is a frequent guest on numerous TV shows talking about China. A US citizen, Dr. Ward studied philosophy, Russian, and Chinese at Columbia University as an undergraduate. He earned his Master’s in Global and Imperial History and his PhD in China-India relations at the University of Oxford. He speaks Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic.

At this point, Mauldin provides a summary of several key points from Ward's book. Please remember that the CCP is an elitist organization with unquestionable control of the Chinese citizenry via police state and the People's Liberation Army. When living in a democracy, it may be difficult to fathom the Chinese governmental monitoring of daily lives and internet actions. One would expect Ward's book to be banned in China as much too revealing.

I’m going to summarize a few of his thoughts and then expect we will go into more detail next week, along with discussing other experts. That being said, there is a growing consensus that behind the Chinese economic colossus is a threat to not just the United States and other Western democracies, but the very concepts of free speech and personal liberty, not to mention property rights and the rule of law, that we consider the foundations of civilization.

If something so utterly meaningless as a tweet about Hong Kong rises to the level that it requires “thought control” then what is next? Let’s look at a few of Jonathan’s main points:

China’s leaders envision a world in which China becomes the dominant global superpower—and breaks apart the US-led rules-based order.

China’s leaders, from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping, have passed along a vision of “national resurrection.” This is known today as “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

This “rejuvenation” is an ideological vision in which China’s premodern position as the world’s dominant empire will at last be restored. This will end what China’s leaders call “the century of humiliation” at the hands of other imperial powers. This concept and its variations have been communicated for decades to the Chinese public, and it remains the guiding ideology of the CCP.

The CCP’s ambition is not regional, but global. It wants to create a new global order with China at the center, known as the “Community of Common Destiny for Mankind.” This means breaking apart the US and Allied world order and replacing it with a system in which China’s values, power, and restored national glory emerge victorious.

The core of China’s global strategy is economic and industrial power

China’s strategy is built upon economic and industrial power. China’s leaders have exploited decades of engagement with the advanced industrial economies to harvest technology and make advancements on a grand scale.

The result has been the creation of an industrial base that now holds competitive advantages against the rest of the world economy. China has become the entire world’s manufacturing base. It has a $14 trillion GDP that some think will surpass the US economy in real terms within a decade. It has already surpassed the US in terms of total global trade volume.

There is much more information in this newsletter. I hope that Blog readers can find the time to click the link and read the entire article. I guarantee the time will be well spent.

Gerry Fortin's 1875-CC Reference Collection Dimes to Price List Today

Today's primary goal is the price list posting of thirteen 1875-CC Liberty Seated dimes that are nearly all web-book plate coins. This is essentially the grand finale of the recent forty-two piece rollout with several clients having a large number of FRoRs.

Please check back by evening time for the posting.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Thank-you for checking in today. My apology to those of you who expected numismatic commentary. The sharing of the John Mauldin newsletter was important as a grounding exercise for Blog readers. Sunday will bring regular numismatic ramblings.

Time to move directly into the shipping department given a noon time deadline at the Windham post office.

See you tomorrow at the Blog.

October 25, 2019

Fresh Newtown Liberty Seated Dimes to Consider

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Friday. Thank-you for visiting and making the Blog a regular part of your day.

For those interested in northern New England weather, the long streak of warm days and sunny conditions is coming to an end. Friday sees generally overcast conditions while Saturday is the last chance for sunlight prior to Halloween. The coming week is forecasted to bring continuous clouds and rains. On a positive note, temperatures remain warm enough to avoid any chance of snow though evening lows are settling in at the 34-35F mark.

In anticipation of a dismal forthcoming weather, more GFRC photography was conducted on Thursday. The Mark Mattox Mercury dime collection was imaged and totals 54 pieces. That consignment along with the Liberty Seated dimes from the AuburnNY Accordian collection should keep me busy throughout next week. Once November arrives, attention shifts to a potential buying roadtrip followed by the Whitman Baltimore show. The week after the Baltimore show brings the GFRC office transition to Florida.

What are the contents of the Mark Mattox Mercury dime collection? Glad that you asked. An itemized list will be provided shortly.

Gerry Fortin Core Liberty Dime Set Upgrade

I must say that it is a thrill to be back in the hunt! After several years of off and on considerations for breaking up or selling the core Liberty Seated dime set outright, I'm pursuing upgrades again. However, there is no rush or anxiety with the process. The same selective criteria that has served me well since 1988 continues to be strictly followed. For new Blog readers, that selection criteria requires that candidates must be strictly original, completely struck, and having outstanding eye appeal. Determining strict originality at the MS65 through MS67 grade levels can be challenging; I don't trust the grading services for this determination. One must have a keen understanding of natural silver toning colors and current state of the art with respect to coin doctors and their chemistry kits. Strike is straightforward. A candidate is either fully struck or it is not; end of question. Liberty's head must be full with bold reverse wreath leaves or upper left wheat grains present on With Legend strikes. Eye appeal is entirely subjective. Years ago, I preferred frosty dimes with light creamy gold toning. Today, that preference is for old album toning.

The following 1880 F-102a PCGS MS67 CAC dime appeared on the market about a month ago. The current specimen in my core set is an F-103 graded PCGS MS65 with CAC approval. The upgrade was not a difficult decision from a cost perspective. Though the 1880 date has a low mintage, many survived in Mint State and are well preserved. The challenge lies in locating the absolutely best possible upgrade for the monies spent. For several weeks, I considered purchasing this 1880 dime and finally pulled the trigger last Friday. This upgrade arrived on Tuesday and was photographed yesterday. I'm proud of the acquisition. The current MS65 CAC F-103 duplicate will be consigned to GFRC and is heading to the price list shortly.

Gerry Fortin Core Liberty Seated Dime Set Upgrade

1880 F-102a PCGS MS67 CAC

New Newtown Collection Duplicates on Price List

The Newtown Collection consignor is most passionate about constructing a top level Liberty Seated dime date and mintmark set. It is no secret that GFRC is working with this individual to help build that collection. Duplicates, from my own collection, have a habit of being placed into the Newtown set.

For Blog readers who might be inclined, the GFRC Open Set Registry is a excellent venue for viewing the Fortin and Newtown Liberty Seated dime collections and their current status. Just click here to gain access!

Recently, the Newtown Collection shipped along three duplicate Liberty Seated dime for the GFRC price list. Those pieces were posted on Thursday with two of the three immediately finding new homes. Great coins don't last long at GFRC.

Newtown Collection - Freshly Upgraded Liberty Seated Dimes

1876 Type 2 Rev F-105 PCGS MS66 10C

1869-S F-101 PCGS MS61 10C 1890-S F-114 PCGS MS64 10C

Mark Mattox Estate - Mercury Dime Collection Coming Soon

Along with building a quality United States gold type collection and the Pleez B. Seated set of Liberty Seated halves, Mark Mattox was also pursuing a complete set of Mercury dime as a legacy for his daughter. The latter set has been sitting in the Mattox's bank box since his untimely passing several years ago. When Rhoda consigned Mark's gold type set to GFRC, she emptied the bank box and shipped all of the contents. Included in the shipment was the 54 piece Mercury dime set. As mentioned earlier, in today's Blog, that set was photographed yesterday. The time has come for a formal annoucement of the individual pieces. Please understand that none of the pieces have been sent to CAC for review. First Rights of Refusal will be accepted thought I don't anticipate having a complete client gallery prepared until end of month.

Mercury 10c: 1916 PCGS MS63FB; 1916-D PCGS G04 and very choice; 1917 PCGS MS63FB; 1919 PCGS MS64FB; 1919-D PCGS AU58; 1920 PCGS MS63FB; 1920-S PCGS MS62; 1923 PCGS MS64FB; 1924 PCGS MS64FB; 1924-D PCGS AU58; 1926 PCGS MS64; 1927 PCGS MS64FB; 1929 PCGS MS64FB; 1931-S PCGS MS64; 1934 PCGS MS64FB; 1934-D PCGS MS65FB; 1935 PCGS MS66FB; 1935-D PCGS MS64; 1935-S PCGS MS64; 1936 PCGS MS66FB; 1936-S PCGS MS65FB toner; 1937 PCGS MS66FB; 1937-D PCGS MS65FB; 1937-S PCGS MS66FB; 1938 PCGS MS66 FB; 1938 PCGS PR65+; 1938-D PCGS MS66FB; 1938-S PCGS MS66FB; 1939 PCGS MS67; 1939 PCGS MS67; 1939-S PCGS MS66; 1940 PCGS PR67 CAC; 1940 PCGS MS66FB; 1940-D PCGS MS66FB; 1940-S PCGS MS66FB; 1941 PCGS MS66FB; 1941 PCGS MS63 toner; 1941-D PCGS MS66FB; 1941-S PCGS MS66FB CAC; 1942/1 PCGS VF30; 1942 PCGS PR66+; 1942 PCGS MS66 toner; 1942-D PCGS MS66FB; 1942-S PCGS MS66 a superb gem; 1943 PCGS MS66; 1943-S PCGS MS66FB; 1944 PCGS MS66FB; 1944-D PCGS MS65FB GOLD CAC OGH; 1944-D PCGS MS64FB; 1944-S PCGS MS65FB; 1945 PCGS MS67; 1945-D PCGS MS67FB; 1945-S Micro S PCGS MS66; 1945-S PCGS MS66

I would not be opposed to selling the entire set for one price. Many of the MS66FB pieces are consistently housed in old PCGS Gen 4.0 holders and may have been purchased as one lot by Mark.

Global Financial News

Q3 earnings reporting is in high gear with corporate results a bit on the underwhelming side. Dow, S&P and Nasdaq opening futures are flat. Global equity markets are mixed.

Beijing is negotiating hard towards a Phase 1 trade deal. In exchange for committing to buy $40-50B in U.S. agricultural products over several years, President Trump must back off on a host of incremental tariffs and increases. On the surface, the proposal substantially reduces the U.S. leverage for bringing about structural changes in Chinese business practices. The Chinese are assuming that President Trump needs to solidify his midwestern voting block before the 2020 election. Following is the Seeking Alpha headline that captures the state of negotiations.

Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials reportedly will discuss plans today for China to buy more U.S. farm products, but in return, China wants cancellation of some planned and existing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He plan to speak by telephone today as the two sides try to hammer out the text for a "Phase 1" trade deal announced earlier this month by President Trump. So far, Trump has only agreed to cancel the Oct. 15 increase in tariffs on $250B in Chinese goods, but Beijing is expected to ask Washington to drop its plan to impose tariffs on $156B worth of Chinese goods plus 15% tariffs imposed on Sept. 1 on $125B of Chinese goods.

Checking the long bond interest rate and commodities...

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield increased slightly to 1.78%. Spot gold prices are back over the $1500 mark and quoting at $1508/oz. Crude oil prices also rose to $56.12/bbl while Bitcoin is flat at $7490/coin.

Not being mentioned in the new media or even financial press is a growing crisis in the United States banking "repo" market. The interbank trading system lacks available cash resulting in the Federal Reserve moving into a quiet QE mode again. The Federal Reserve finds itself buying bond towards injecting cash into the banking system and allowing the repo market to function normally. It is very strange that no one in the media or U.S. government is calling out this fact or the reasons for Federal Reserve intervention. There is a quiet liquidity crisis in the United States banking system and no one appears to be concerned.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Alright, I've probably shared enought content for one day and hope you've enjoyed the visit.

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day waiting for your purchase orders. What else is there for a coin dealer to go? While waiting to sell you a coin, I will be writing the balance of the descriptions for the new Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime reference collection pieces and posting those to the price list.

See you tomorrow at the Blog.

October 24, 2019

Consignments Wanted for 2020 Orlando FUN Show

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to another Blog edition.

Fall 2019 continues to be memorable in southern Maine. Yesterday's heavy rain and winds cleared out in the morning leaving partly cloudy skies during the afternoon hours. The comfortable outdoor conditions facilitated a health walk break while loading the White Pine Collection consignment to the price list. Today's forecast is for clear blue skies with an afternoon high of 64F. I have a feeling the chain saw will make an appearance today. But first the Mercury Dime collection from the Mark Mattox Estate will be photographed along with an amazing 1880 PCGS MS67 CAC Liberty Seated dime that just arrived. This superb gem Liberty Seated dime will be posted at my Open Registry Seated Dime Collection by days end and featured in tomorrow's Blog.

Have you checked the GFRC 30 day price list yet? As of late last evening, there were 173 new offerings on the 30 day price list including the entire White Pine Collection consignment and better date United States gold from an anonymous consignor. The White Pine consigned items are selling well as collectors recognize the overall quality being offered at competitive pricing.

What surprised me on Wednesday was the ability to research and write descriptions for 23 coins in a single day. Again, if visiting the 30 day price list, you will note the descriptions to be lengthy, accurate and well prepared. There is a saying that practice makes perfect. I wholeheartedly agree given the improved image processing skills and description generation capabilities. It has taken years of effort and practice to reach this efficiency level and I'm quite proud this morning.

With Wednesday's emphasis on loading coins to the 30 day price list, the image processing department was idle. As a result, today's Blog lacks cool coins images. That matter will be rectified for Friday's edition as GFRC rolls out additional Mark Mattox Estate type coins and select Liberty Seated dime duplicates from the Newtown Collection.

Consignments Wanted for 2020 Orlando FUN Show

It is hard to believe, but the Winter 2020 Orlando FUN show is just 2.5 months away. The 2020 event is being held in Orlando at the familiar Orange Country Convention Center on January 9 through 12. The Winter FUN show is typically one of the best attended numismatic events of the year. GFRC will have its usual corner booth and eight cases of top quality early type and United States gold on display. The best part is that Orlando is only a two hours drive from the Venice office! Dan White and I will travel to Orlando on Tuesday January 7 for pre-show buying too.

By the end of October 2019 (yes, just one week away), GFRC will have processed all recent consignments. My focus will return to unloading Dr. Glenn Peterson and Newtown Collection Dansco albums as a source of new offerings. When attending the Whitman Baltimore show, I will be insourcing Dan White's latest round of United States gold that was purchased during his September European buying trip. Hopefully, there will be fresh Baltimore new purchases and a few consignments arriving at the show.

December brings an opportunity to take on a major collection divestment of 100 pieces or more. GFRC will be working in the Venice office with bright sunny skies and not much else to do but focusing on the GFRC business. If you've been considering divesting a substantial collection or even a subset of duplicates, I would enjoy working closely with you towards a 2020 FUN show debut. As many have come to realize, the GFRC business model is unique with rapid consignment turnaround times and aggressive marketing in the Daily Blog. All coins consigned to GFRC are also marketed on Collectors Corner and Collectors.com. Most importantly, is the fact that consignors work as partners with GFRC and are involved in all aspects of the divestment process. I'm sure that the Labelman87 Collection consignor could attest to this fact is you require a reference.

Thoughts on Divesting Substantial Life Long Collections

I'm well aware of life long collections being built by select GFRC clients. Some of these collections are huge with over 500 pieces for a single denomination. When launching GFRC back in 2014, my own Liberty Seated dime reference collection totaled ~ 1550 pieces. Therefore, I have first hand knowledge of the incredible challenge that a 1550 piece collection presents when the time comes to divest.

Today's numismatic market is incapable of absorbing massive early type collections that are single denomination or series centric. Please consider that there is a limited amount of available monies in the collector community at any one time. If collectors are unable to support a large collection hitting the market, then dealers will step in at wholesale prices. Take for example the Eugene Gardner Collection sale by Heritage in the 2014 - 2015 timeframe. It took two years and four Heritage auctions to divest a $60 million collection. Greg Rohan, Heritage President, was well aware that the numismatic market could not absorb Gene's collection is a single year and devised a strategy to spread the sale across a longer time frame. Gene Gardner's collection was broad based and attracted a substantial pool of collectors. Lower value specialty collections will not be so fortunate.

I'm writing today's commentary from my own personal experience. Starting in 2014, the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime reference collection has been continually sold. This collection is full of important die varieties along with regular date and mintmark offerings. In five years, approximately 500 pieces have been sold with another 100+ pieces sitting in GFRC inventory. Two factors are limiting the divestment rate. First is my ability to prepare and sell pieces from the collection given other client consignments having a higher priority. Second is the ability of the collector market to absorb all of the divested offerings. I'm proud to report that none of the reference collection Seated dimes have been sold to other dealers. All have been sold directly to collectors. If one does the math, that still leaves about 900+ Liberty Seated dimes to divest during the upcoming years.

What would happen if a 1000 piece collection of a single Liberty Seated coinage denomination were to reach the market at one time? The results would be predictable. The most desirable offerings would bring strong monies as collectors chased those for their collections. Let's assume that the collector community was capable of absorbing 25% of the collection at retail level. What happens to the remaining 75%? The remaining 750 pieces would be sold at incrementally lower levels into the dealer wholesale market. Unfortunately, a flood of lower wholesale prices would appear on CoinFacts if the sale was conducted by any of the major auction houses, DLRC, or GC. All of their sales records are currently captured by CoinFacts. The end result would be a severe impact to retail pricing levels. The sale of a single massive collection would have negative ramifications for the entire collecting community.

Those of us who have accumulated substantial collections have a responsibility that is not often discussed or considered. The divestment approach is critcial for sustaining the value of numismatic collections held by our friends and peers. It is very possible that a 1000 piece single denomination collection could be taken to market by heirs. Most heirs don't share the same knowledge as the collector. As a result, they would not understand or care about disturbing the overall market. They simply wish to extract monies from their inheritance in a timely manner. I don't blame them. The heirs are not the individuals who built massive collections and should not bear the same responsibilities as those who made life long accumulations. The same is true for the auction companies. Their mission is sales and generating profit. Managing a niche portion of the numismatic market is not a core issue.

Just something to think about on a Thursday morning. I've been dealing with this issue for five years and still have a long road to travel before the entire Liberty Seated Dime reference collection is divested.

Global Financial News

Q3 earning reporting is underway for U.S. equities. Earning are generally inline with expectations with the usual misses and surprises. Tesla issued a great earnings report and jumped 17% yesterday as an example. Boeing is in trouble due to the 737 Max's software MCAS malfunctions and two crashes.

Checking in on the long bond interest rate and commodities, there was a substantial drop in Bitcoin pricing overnight. Bitcoin fell to $7498/coin. The Facebook Libra project continues to face governmental hurdles in the United States and Europe.

Crude oil prices continue to be flat at $55.63/bbl while physical gold pricing remains in its tight trading range. The current quote is $1492/oz. The 10 Year U.S Treasury bold yield is holding at 1.76%

Let's have a look at a few pertinent Seeking Alpha headlines.

Great news from Telsa as a surprise profit is announced.

Tesla racked up a double-digit gain after posting an unexpected profit in Q3 and delivering more than 96K cars. Looking ahead, Tesla says it's highly confident it will deliver more than 360K vehicles this year (down from prior guidance). Positive quarterly free cash flow is anticipated going forward, with possible temporary exceptions around the launch and ramp of new products. The Model Y is on track to be released by summer 2020 and limited Tesla Semi trucks are expected to be produced sometime next year. On the post-earnings conference call, Elon Musk said Tesla Insurance will be expanded to other states and possibly other countries. Shares of Tesla are up 17.2% premarket after being up by more than 20% in the after-hours session.

Zuckerberg's Capitol Hill testimony concerning the Libra project is not playing well with speculators.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg sounded a defiant note amid six hours of questioning on Capitol Hill over his company's plans for its Libra payments system, suggesting he's sticking it out even as Libra faces increasing pushback from lawmakers. He repeated assurances that Libra wouldn't launch anywhere in the world without an OK from U.S. regulators. Meanwhile, representatives took on everything from payments particulars to Facebook's reputational problems and its (light) approach to policing political ads.

Saying goodbye to the ECB's Mario Draghi.

Mario Draghi's last meeting as European Central Bank chief is set for later today with his eight-year term due to expire at the end of the month. Draghi's last meeting could be a lively one due to the division among policymakers over renewed asset purchases that threatens the effectiveness of the central bank's policy measures. While economists predict no major changes to the ECB's post-meeting policy statement from the September meeting blast, there could be more details on planned asset purchases and technical issues around the restarting of quantitative easing. What will Draghi's parting shot be? "His sign-off message is likely to be that things would have been much worse had the ECB done less," predicts Societe Generale's Annenkov. Christine Lagarde replaces Draghi as ECB chief on November 1.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The 8:00 am publishing time has come and gone. It is best to conclude here and start another busy day with a host of order shipments.

Yes, I will be in the office most of the day. Your purchase orders are critcial for GFRC consignors, therefore I am regularly watching emails and phone messages if not sitting in the office chair.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog and making this publication a regular part of a day's reading. See you tomorrow morning at the usual time.

October 23, 2019

White Pine Collection Consignment - The Top of the Ladder!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog. Thanks for stopping by.

Rainy conditions will dominate southern Maine weather on Wednesday. We are looking at close to two inches before the latest weather system moves off into the Canadian Maritimes. The homestead is toasty warm after starting the wood stove last evening. How I enjoy working in shorts and t-shirt.

Please don't expect a long Blog edition today. GFRC is incredibly backed up with new offerings that must be posted to the price list. I've gotten ahead of myself with consignment client galleries and need to close the gap between product marketing and sales execution.

Most of Tuesday's office time was spent processing the White Pine Collection images, setting prices for the Anonymous United States gold consignment, fine tuning the Whitman Baltimore dealer badge list at Booth 818, and working with Nina for GFRC's booth at the 2020 Venice Florida coin show. Adding in the need to exercise, bathroom breaks, and eating two meals consumed the day. I was in bed by 9:00 pm. Another new day arrives finding me at the laptop composing the ongoing Blog saga.

Seth Godin's Blog: Two buttons on offer

To ensure that readers don't feel cheated during their Blog visit, here is a piece from Seth Godin. Those of us who have worked in large companies or functioned on corporate staffs can empathize with Godin's blogpost. Office politics is such a waste of precious human capital. Operating GFRC with the second "I'd like to help" button is refreshing and enjoyable.

Two buttons on offer

Every person in your organization needs to wear a button.

And they can choose one of two. The choice is up to them, but they have to own it.

One button says, “I don’t care.”

The other button says, “I’d like to help.”

It’s entirely possible that you’ve managed your way into a bureaucracy that acts like it’s wearing the first button. If that’s true, admit it and have you and your team put on the buttons. You’ll save a lot of heartache by telling us and your co-workers the truth.

On the other hand, if you want the satisfaction that comes from wearing the second button, you’ve got to keep the promise.

White Pine Collection Consignment - Awesome Early Type Coins

I have a saying concerning working with consignors. It is called "walking up the ladder" and please allow me to explain.

Most new GFRC consignors will provide a lot of less than spectacular coins as their first consignment. There are two reasons for this behavior. First is that collectors wish to divest their least desirable coins. Second, collectors wish to validate GFRC's ability to sell those least desirable coins. Does this ring true with you?

In the case of the White Pine consignor, we've been "walking up the ladder" since GFRC's inception. His latest consignment is "the top of the ladder" release! Organizing the latest White Pine client gallery has been a rewarding activity as the offerings are downright awesome. Please have a look and I believe you will agree. We open with an amazingly original 1867-S Liberty Seated quarter graded PCGS VF30 with CAC approval. This date is so elusive with CAC approval; there are three FRoRs on the coin with the second and third collectors being despondent at missing the opportunity. The 1852-O quarter is another difficult date with CAC approval while the 1878-S quarter is rare across the board. Those of you who are selective, and will only accept CAC approved coins in your Seated quarter collection, are missing an opportunity with the 1878-S offering. It is perfectly original but does not have the John Albanese preferred look. We round out the top five White Pine highlights with a charmingly original 1873-CC Trade dollar and gorgeous 1843 $2.5 gold quarter eagle. Both will carry JUST BUY IT NOW recommendations.

There are many great coins throughout the White Pine Collection consignment. Please have a close look. If all goes to plan, I will start listing these to the price list by evening time.

How sweet it is to have a consignment from "the top of the ladder!" Are you old enough to remember Jackie Gleason?

White Pine Collection Consignment - The Top of the Ladder!

1867-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C

1852-O PCGS VF20 CAC 25C 1878-S PCGS VF35 25C

1873-CC PCGS VF35 CAC $1 1843 PCGS AU58 CAC G$2.5

1837 Lg Date PCGS AU53 CAC 5C 1840 ND PCGS AU58 CAC Rattler 5C 1838-O F-102 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C

1843-O F-101 PCGS F15 10C 1843-O PCGS VF35 25C 1844-O PCGS EF45 25C

1862-S PCGS VG10 25C 1869-S PCGS VF25 CAC 25C 1870 PCGS EF40 25C

1871 PCGS EF45 25C 1814 O-105a PCGS VF30 CAC 50C 1845-O No Drap Raw AU53 50C

1872-S Raw EF45 Cleaned 50C 1844 Raw EF45 $1

Global Financial News

United States stock markets are predicted to open flat while global markets are mixed. It is earnings reporting season for United States corporations and so far profits are generally soft placing stock prices under pressure.

I'm sensing a slight amount of investing concerns based on news from Chile. Another South America country is facing economic headwinds and serious protests. This Seeking Alpha headline captures the situation.

Emerging market investors trading the Chilean peso have taken a hit as the worst protests in decades hit the country, leading to thousands of arrests and 15 deaths. Some European companies are exposed, like miners with operations in the copper-rich nation, while JPMorgan has turned bearish on the country's domestic stocks, lowering the country to underweight from neutral. Chile's President Sebastián Piñera acknowledged government failures overnight and announced economic reforms intended to restore calm to the country.

Looking at commodities and the long bond interest rate.....

Spot gold pricing increased to $1497/oz during the overnight while crude oil remains flat at $53.90/bbl. Bitcoin took a hit and is sub $8000 at $7996/coin. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield dropped to 1.74%

Brexit continues its path through the U.K.'s political fog... I feel for Theresa May and Boris Johnson, who have given this political issue their best efforts.

Brexit is set to be delayed for a third time after U.K. lawmakers accepted the principles of Boris Johnson's deal but rejected his timetable for implementing it by Oct. 31. Reports in Britain now suggest that Downing Street will push for an election if Brexit is delayed until January - as indicated by European Council President Donald Tusk. Sterling slid below $1.2850 on the news, but with the final outcome still up in the air, the decline was contained overnight.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The 8:00 am Blog publishing time is approaching and best to hit the upload button followed by several rounds of proof reading. This morning's shipping is light which means I can immediately move into price list loading mode.

One White Pine Collection offerings are loaded on the price list, those with FRoRs will be contacted for play/pass decisions.

Wishing everyone in the GFRC community a great day! See you tomorrow.

October 22, 2019

GFRC's Booth 818 at Whitman Winter Baltimore Show

and

CAC Approved U.S $10 Eagle Gold from Anonymous Consignor

Greetings and welcome to another edition of the Blog. It is Tuesday and all is well in Raymond, Maine.

I can't remember such a perfect southern Maine Autumn season as being enjoyed during 2019. Monday brought warm seasonal conditions with highs in the low 60s and clear blue skies. The GFRC photography queue was empty, therefore outdoor time was a vigorous health walk. Given the huge GFRC consignment backlog, I resisted Mother Nature's calling to head outdoors to prune trees. The end of October is approaching with the wood stove being used only twice to take the chill out of the home. Weather conditions will start to degrade into this evening. Rain and colder temperatures arrive during the balance of the week. All is fine by me as long as snow remains outside of the weather forecast.

Speaking of snow and efforts to avoid the white stuff, GFRC will embark on its annual Florida migration early this year. Current plans are for a transition prior to Thanksgiving to enable the GFRC Black Friday Sale to be orchestrated from the Venice office. 2018 brought three snow storms before the end of November. As a result, the office migration will be moved up on the 2019 calendar. Stay tuned for more details.

GFRC's Booth 818 at Whitman Winter Baltimore Show - November 14 - 16, 2019

It is difficult to fathom that the Whitman Baltimore show is only three weeks away!

Monday brought the Whitman announcement that I had been anticipating. I've been working closely with Lori Kraft and staff to re-establish Booth 818 as the traditional location for Gerry Fortin Rare Coins along with W.David Perkins, Numismatics. For GFRC clients who frequent the Spring and Fall Whitman Baltimore shows, our location at Booth 818 has become well known. Booth 818 is located a short distance from the entrance and positioned between Stacks and Heritage auction companies. Please see the below Whitman bourse map as the layout has changed slightly for the Winter 2019 event.

GFRC will occupy two corner tables with 13 display cases of quality inventory. The Baltimore show location enables GFRC with the opportunity to transport a substantial amount of its consignor inventory for review and purchase. The double corner configuration will be hosted by the traditional staff that consist of Gerry, Diane, Dan and Rose Marie. Greg Johnson will also be hanging out and making those great Jimmy John's lunch runs.

The balance of Booth 818 will be occupied by W.David Perkins Numismatics and other special guests.

If in the market for 19th Century silver type and United States gold, you must visit GFRC and DPN at Booth 818 first. Our inventories will be chocked full of top quality offerings at fair collector prices. GFRC plans to display two full cases of United States gold including new inventories acquired by Dan White during a recent European buying trip. The remaining offerings, from the Mark Mattox Estate, will also be available for purchase.

Whitman Baltimore is also an important opportunity for the transfer and insourcing of new GFRC consignments. Since driving to/from the show, I will be in a position to take on several large consignments before heading to Florida shortly thereafter. Please contact me during the next three weeks to discuss your potential divestment ideas and how we can work together. The Winter Orlando FUN show takes place in early January 2020 and would be the ideal venue for showcasing a major collection.

GFRC's Booth 818 Location at Whitman Baltimore Show

LSCC Regional Meeting - Whitman Baltimore Show

A reminder that the Liberty Seated Collectors Club will be meeting at the Whitman Baltimore show (club's traditional home base). Our regional meeting will be held on Friday November 15 at 9:00 am in Room 301.

This will be the final meeting with Gerry Fortin as club president. The meeting will focus on the upcoming LSCC transition from Gerry to Len Augsburger as the new incoming President effective January 1, 2020. I'm looking forward to taking the floor, in lieu of an educational presentation, and discussing the club's dramatic changes from the McCloskey Era (ending 2013) to the Modern Digital Era, currently enjoyed by present day membership.

More CAC Approved U.S $10 Eagle Gold Offerings

Great consignments continue to arrive at the GFRC Maine office. Late last week brought a wonderful three piece $10 U.S. gold consignment from a collector that wishes to stay anonymous. All three pieces are CAC approved with an important 1893-CC PCGS AU53 CAC $10 being the highlight. Please see the following image gallery. If all goes to plan, prices will be established during the next 24 hours followed by price list posting on Wednesday or Thursday.

CAC Approved U.S $10 Eagle Gold from Anonymous Consignor

1893-CC PCGS AU53 CAC G$10

1901-O PCGS MS63 CAC G$10 1915-S PCGS AU58 CAC G$10

GFRC's Tuesday Agenda

Today brings another busy day in the office with two primary goals. Of utmost importance is processing White Pine Collection images, loading the consignment into COIN, and setting asking prices. If that were not enough, the second priority is loading another ten or so pieces from the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime reference collection to the price list.

It is recognized that the White Pine Collection consignment has heavy First Right of Refusal demand and will be executed as quickly as possible. Look for the entire lot to reach the price list on Wednesday or Thursday with a full client gallery display later this evening.

Global Financial News

Financial markets are mixed to start the day as all eyes continue to focus on China - U.S. trade talks and Brexit status. Seeking Alpha captures market sentiment with this opening headline. Please note the commentary concerning a recovering U.S. Treasury yield curve.

U.S. stocks wavered between slight gains and losses overnight as traders continue to assess whether the two major themes dominating sentiment all year – the U.S.-China trade war and Brexit – will turn out all right. Early indications also suggest S&P 500 companies might avoid a first annual aggregate profits contraction since 2016, for the third quarter in a row. What's going on in the bond market? 10-year Treasury yields are at their highest level in almost a month as the yield curve between three months and 10 years moves further back into positive territory.

Crude oil, spot gold and Bitcoin remain flat and in tight trading ranges. Crude is quoting at $53.77/bbl, gold can be bought at $1491/oz and a Bitcoin will cost you $8260.

Onward with more Seeking Alpha headlines! First is JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon making a strong case for avoiding negative interest rates in the United States.

Negative interest rates have "adverse consequences which we do not fully understand," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC-TV18. "I think when they did it earlier on, there was a notion that we are saving the EU, the monetary union, which is one thing. I think as a permanent part of policy, it is a really bad idea... If you want to have growth you better really think through with the policies, not just on negative rates but capital allocation et cetera," he added. "So, I hope it doesn’t happen in United States."

Is Brexit finally coming to a decision point as October 31 approaches?

Boris Johnson will finally put his Withdrawal Agreement to a vote in Parliament today, in the first test of whether he has won over enough lawmakers to his plan to pull the U.K. out of the EU. The agreement lays out conditions for an orderly exit from the bloc, detailing treatment of citizens, a financial settlement and a plan to avoid a border on the island of Ireland. While many hurdles still lay ahead, the long-term case for the pound appears strong, while U.K. stocks are "investable" again, according to Morgan Stanley.

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to say at this point. My day will be fully consumed with consignments, image processing and price list postings.

Of course, I will stop all activities to respond to purchase inquiries. How about it? Please consider a purchase from the many quality coins in GFRC's inventory.

Wishing everyone a great Tuesday. Again, look for the White Pine Collection client gallery to be posted to the Blog later this evening. See you tomorrow.

1872 F-103 NGC MS62 10C Jim Poston $1075	1887-S F-110 PCGS MS64+ CAC 10C Tenafly $710	1886 F-105 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C Cleveland $1225
1882 F-106 PCGS AU55 10C Jim Poston $380 HOLD	1887 PCGS MS65 CAC 10C Tenafly $785	1839 F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C Newtown $1350

Gerry's Daily Blog

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