Gerry Fortin Rare Coins - Gerry's Daily Blog

September 24, 2021

The Amazing Washington State Type Collection - Part 1

Please Email for Price Quotes - Loading to Price List During Friday/Saturday

1837 B-2 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C

1869 PCGS PR66RB CAC 2C 1875 PCGS PR64CAM 20C

1865 PCGS PR65 CAC 25C 1888 PCGS MS67 CAC 25C

1857 PCGS MS64RB CAC 1/2C 1865 PCGS PR65RB CAC 1C 1865 PCGS PR65CAM CAC 3CS

1860 PCGS PR65+CAM CAC 10C 1887-S F-107 EDS PCGS MS65 CAC 10C 1901 PCGS PR65CAM CAC 10C

1916 PCGS MS67FB CAC 10C 1869 PCGS PR64CAM CAC 25C

September 23, 2021

Welcoming Eclectic Offerings from the Westend Avenue Collection

Greetings again! Welcome to the morning numismatic continuum fondly known as the Daily Blog. Your visits are much appreciated.

Southern Maine weather continues to be quite unsettled with overcast and periods of light rain. According to Weather.com, this morning brings an absence of rain which will allow an opportunity to reinforce the pea stone pathway through the side lawn for dump truck traffic. Dave Wilkinson came by late Wednesday with a 6 yard load of new pea stone for that task. Once the pathway is more resilient to heavy traffic, Dave will be depositing another three loads of 1.5" stone and gravel. I've decided to start cleaning the northern trail and installing its walking path during the coming weekend. Though the southern trail has seen much progress, the incremental JD2025R transport time (for a single bucket load) is becoming excessive with limited trail lining progress for the time spent. Diane wishes to walk on an unencumbered trail free from protruding roots and muddy conditions. When Diane speaks, a good husband listens with a new emphasis on the northern trail.

Back in the GFRC office, much progress is being made with the Washington State and Westend Avenue Collection consignments. A ten piece new purchase deal arrived on Wednesday, was quoted and approved by end of day. Another new purchase lot (12 pieces) will also appear today. The incoming flow is steady and timely for rebuilding the 30 Day Price List. There is much ground to cover towards the 100 piece goal by end of the coming weekend.

Otherwise, it is business as usual here in Maine. Incremental consignments would be sincerely appreciated as the current incoming lots will not last long given today's strong market conditions. Those well familiar with the GFRC price lists will note the new product line expansion into proof coinage. Few dealers make a market in the proof realm which presents an opportunity for GFRC to grow its market share in that segment. That and handling beautiful proof coins is so much fun!

Welcoming Eclectic Offerings from the Westend Avenue Collection

A sincere welcome goes out to a new GFRC customer turned consignor on this Thursday morning. The Westend Avenue Collection is based in New York City with a flair for beautifully toned coins across all series and denominations. Acquiring the ability to perceive choice and gem original coins with natural toning is a skill that takes years to perfect. I could not be more pleased to have yet another numismatic connoisseur within the GFRC community adding selections to the supply chain.

Secondly, the following gallery presents my finest copper coin photography to date. Photographing copper is more difficult than silver and gold coinage. One must deal with uniformly dark coins and many with verdigris. Exactly matching the natural chocolate brown surfaces, without amplifying red tones, took multiple trial and error sessions until an optimum process flow was developed. Today's presentation reflects the end result from yet another operational progression and I could not be more pleased with the outcome.

I don't expect many of the Westend Avenue Collection offerings to last long on the price list. Already, there are five inquires for the gorgeous 1896 Morgan dollar, a real sweetheart! The 1909 VDB Lincoln also brings monster eye appeal at a reasonable price. The headline 1913 Proof Lincoln and 1884 Proof Seated quarter are worthy of careful inspection and consideration.

So please sit back and take the time to click on the below images towards enjoying the initial round of Westend Avenue offerings.

Eclectic Offerings from the Westend Avenue Collection

Please Email for Price Quotes - Loading to Price List on Thursday

1913 PCGS PR66BN 1C 1884 PCGS PF64 CAC 25C

1834 B-4 NGC AU53 25C 1896 PCGS MS65 CAC $1

1851 PCGS MS63BN CAC 1C 1906 NGC PF64RB 1C 1909 VDB NGC MS65BN 1C

1937 PCGS PR64RB 1C 1972 DDO PCGS MS66BN 1C 1873 PCGS PR65 Rattler 3CN

1893 PCGS PF66 CAC 5C 1945 PCGS MS64 Gold CAC Rattler 10C

GFRC Wishes to be Your Full Service Coin Dealer

The numismatic marketplace is composed of countless coins dealers, small and large. Collectors Corner lists 115 dealers as an example. Some are generalist handling all series and denominations while others specialize in certain metals or series.

GFRC is presently known for its Liberty Seated expertise with a growing U.S. gold presence. Those who know me well understand the restlessness and unending appetite for continuous learning. To feed that beast, I am not bashful about expanding the business into new areas. Proof coinage is the latest endeavor. Paramount for all coins sold by GFRC is premium quality. Since operating with a small staff, why not focus on premium coins that are a joy to photograph and illustrate?

Complimenting the premium coin focus is an unrelenting effort to provide quick operational turnarounds and personalize service. Every collector has a different personality and associated collecting style. Why not work with an expert collector and dealer who can adapt his services to your specific needs? If needing to sell duplicates or raise cash on a near term basis, GFRC can provide solutions. If wishing to sell a major collection at auction, GFRC Online Auctions can provide that service.

On the selling side, who else offers Quick Ship transport for new purchases? This service is based on trust and established relationships. I am fully aware that collectors wish to see new purchases arriving as quickly as payments are issued. Our efforts are beginning to be noted and appreciated.

Finally, GFRC provides personalized consulting. Those clients with open minds and a desire to expand knowledge and horizons will find that working with GFRC is a learning opportunity. I've coached many collectors out of buying generic marketplace dregs while shifting their attention to premium coins. Once collectors accomplish that transition, they typically exit a host of former purchases towards rebuilding a collection with superior pieces.

For all that I do and provide, the GFRC commission rate is quite fair as are the prices paid when buying out lots. Selling coins to GFRC is straightforward. If I don't like or wish to buy offerings, there is a reasons for that respond with not hard feelings. At my age, I enjoy being surrounded by better than average coins, plain and simple.

If you've been on the fence about liquidating a numismatic position, please consider GFRC as an alternative. Few in the business provide the quality images and personalize marketing available from yours truly.

Global Financial News

Global equity markets have turned optimistic after the Evergrande "media event". Day traders and those guided by short term emotions took markets down for several days. Cooler heads are back with morning market futures suggesting a second upbeat trading day.

Evergrande made its bond coupon payment and is climbing in Hong Kong trading. The Bank of China has added more liquidity into the banking system for mainland companies.

Back in the U.S., the Federal Reserve is forecasting an end to bond buying during 2020 and elevated interest rates during 2023. This news is bullish as the Fed sees continued growth for the homeland economy.

In Asia, Japan Closed. Hong Kong +1.0%. China +0.38%. India +1.39%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.52%. Paris +1.06%. Frankfurt +1.07%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.71%. S&P +0.73%. NASDAQ +0.71%.

I'm closely monitoring crude oil prices as there is a belief that higher prices are forthcoming. This morning's WTI crude quote has increased to $72.30/bbl. Paper gold continues to languish at $1768/oz while a Bitcoin is selling for $43862.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is flat at 1.34%.

All is well in the financial sectors, therefore please purchase more coins!

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be in the GFRC office for most of the day preparing an awesome Washington State Collection gallery for Friday's Blog.

A portion of the Westend Avenue Collection offerings are already on the price list with the balance to follow today.

Thanks again for visiting with me at the Blog. Be well!

September 22, 2021

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale - Bidding Starts Soon!

Washington State Collection - Superb CAC Approved U.S. Gold

and

New Price List Arrivals to Consider

Greetings on a dark and foggy southern Maine morning. Another Wednesday is upon us.

Yes, here I am sitting in the GFRC office at 6:00 AM looking into pitch black outside the office window. The official sunrise time is 6:29 but foggy conditions will delay the dawn and morning inspiration. We will do the best possible towards writing a reasonable Blog edition.

Tuesday brought a productive day in the office as the Washington State Collection was priced and submitted to the consignor for approval. This collection is downright awesome and should garner considerable attention. Four gold pieces are posted later in today's edition as a preview of what is to come.

Today's focus shifts to a newly consigned offering from the Westend Avenue Collection. Another GFRC customer has decided to move along duplicates or unwanted items via the consignment process. Some collectors hold on to coins for years while others will enjoy a coin for a year or two and decide to sell towards raising fresh numismatic capital. There are as many collecting styles as there are clients. On a personal note, my collecting style is probably the poster child for a humdrum collecting approach since holding on to Liberty Seated dime purchases for decades with maybe two or three upgrades in a year's time. Conversely, this collecting style recognizes that patience is a virtue. Purchases are made on an opportunistic basis when the cream of the cream is released into the marketplace.

Speaking of my personal collection, I must find time to visit the bank box and retrieve the 1860-S PCGS MS63 Gold CAC dime and compare with the recently crossed and re-stickered 1860-S PCGS MS64 CAC piece. My thought is to present both dimes in the Blog and seek advice on which to keep in the collection. This would be a fun exercise for all. The PCGS MS64 CAC specimen is also the Kamal Ahwash plate coin which adds an important historical twist to the decision process.

I'm pleased to report that "Bertha's" Peace Dollar collection quickly sold on Tuesday morning and was promptly shipped to the new owner. There will be more Whitman folder based silver collections forthcoming during the next week as we work through her collection.

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale - Bidding Starts Soon!

In a bit over 72 hours, bidding for the first of two Oregon Beaver Seated half dollar auction sales will begin. Demand for quality Liberty Seated halves remains fierce as the regular price list shrinks on a daily basis. The Oregon Beaver sale is an opportunity to acquire top end duplicates that will hopefully release some fresh consignments back to GFRC.

Washington State Collection - Superb CAC Approved U.S. Gold

The Washington State Collection is an important offering event. Since terminating the First Right of Refusal process, I'm unable to list the contents of the entire collection as there will be those who will request first shots. Trust me, this collection is a top end premium event that will garner much attention as it is brought to the Daily Blog and price lists.

This collection is actually four collections in one and will be released in that manner. Following are those four lots:

- Proof early type which is fully CAC approved. Highlights are the 1875 PR64CAM double dime and 1865 PR64+ Seated dollar.

- A run of quality Liberty Seated quarters

- Select U.S. gold that is featured today

- A quality lot of early silver commemoratives

The consignor has promised to confirm my pricing recommendations today. Once we cross that milestone, I will be loading this lot to the price list asap. The goal is to have the entire collection in inventory for next week's Manchester NH coin show. Certainly, many will sell immediately from the price list as this is an opportunity for GFRC clients to insource some fantastic items that have been off the market for an extended period of time.

It is with pleasure that GFRC presents the U.S. gold portion of the Washington State Collection. Quality and eye appeal reigns across these four offerings. Each has their special characteristics. The 1889 $1 gold piece brings intense frosty luster that is typical for the issue. The 1862 $2.5 offering is one of the few "affordable" Civil War era quarter eagles. How I love the pristine surfaces and overall preservation. The 1856-S and 1868 $3 Princess gold pieces are as expected. Both bring deep orange-gold coloring and frosty luster. Mintages are 34,500 and 4,850 respectively. I don't expect these gold offerings to last long once published on the price list.

Washington State Collection - Superb CAC Approved U.S. Gold

Please Email for Price Quote - Posting to Price List on Wednesday

1889 NGC MS65+ CAC G$1 1862 PCGS AU58 CAC G$2.5

1856-S PCGS AU53 CAC G$3 1868 PCGS AU58 CAC G$3

New Price List Arrivals to Consider

The GFRC office is a busy place with coins coming and going. Sometimes, single pieces are shipped on consignment and will be kitted into a small lot for presentation. Following are three important offerings for your consideration. The 1861 dime is a fully struck Type 1 example which illustrates the fine details of this short lived Longacre-Paquet obverse design. The 1916-D Mercury dime is a classic offering with perfectly original surfaces along with residing in a PCGS old green holder. Finally, the 1820/19 O-102 Capped Bust half dollar presents old time originality.

New Price List Arrivals to Consider

Please Email for Price Quote - Posting to Price List on Wednesday

1861 Type 1 F-102 PCGS MS65 10C

1916-D PCGS VG08 OGH 10C 1820/19 O-102 NGC VF35 CAC 50C

Global Financial News

Tuesday brought a classic example of where morning market futures failed to predict how markets would fair by day's end. The "buying the dip" crowd lacked conviction and was overwhelmed by selling during the afternoon hours. Today brings another Federal Reserve reporting session. The only thing for certain is the financial media working overtime on bond buying reductions and potential interest increase topics. How they love to raise anxieties with clickbait headlines.

For the record, it has been reported that China's Evergrande will make its bond coupon payment on schedule. The Monday market sell-off could be attributed to rumor amplification by the financial press.

Is it my imagination, or are the online and cable media a cesspool of lazy reporting that is dependent on Twitter or instagram headline? Frankly, I have become most cynical concerning anything posted online. Of course, the Daily Blog is excluded!

Following are morning market futures for their entertainment value. Let's see where the markets close at end of day with a 0.5% favorable bias at the 9:30 AM opening bell.

In Asia, Japan -0.67%. Hong Kong Closed. China +0.4%. India -0.13%.

In Europe, at midday, London +1.17%. Paris +1.10%. Frankfurt +0.58%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.59%. S&P +0.55%. NASDAQ +0.34%.

WTI crude has recovered for a recent swoop and is approaching the $72/bbl level. Paper gold is trading at $1775/oz while Bitcoin has lost further ground at $42,103.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has inched up to 1.34%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Dawn has arrived revealing overcast conditions with a light mist that is keeping the ground wet. The autumn color transition is quickly becoming apparent via the driveway maple tree.

Today brings another long day in the office working on the Westend Avenue Collection and loading price approved coins to the price list. For once, there is no morning shipping as an indication of the slowdown in order rates that is partially driven by an anemic 30 Day Price List.

That is all she wrote on a Wednesday. Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog. Be well.

September 21, 2021

1875-CC Below Wreath F-108a Plate Coin on Price List

and

Bertha's Peace Dollar Collection Offering

Greetings on a cool autumn southern Maine morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks for stopping by.

Another day in the GFRC office arrives with bright morning sunshine. The days are quickly growing shorter with long early morning shadows from a sun positioned much lower above the eastern horizon. In just two months, the Fortins will be migrating to Florida. I certainly wish to make the most from these final 60 days at the Maine homestead.

Today's Blog edition has little in terms of prior day preparations. I will give it my best to render your visit worthwhile.

The final shipment from the recent consignment wave will be delivered this afternoon. The GFRC office is chocked full with new offerings. Operations is now the bottleneck for bringing a host of new coins to the price list. Tuesday's focus will be 100% on operations; image processing, COIN database updates, and consignor pricing approvals.

If the recent consignment wave was not enough new inventory, two new purchase deals (totaling 20 or so pieces) are also intransit to the GFRC office. GFRC's buying rate continues to increase regardless of not attending coin shows.

For Blog readers who are observant, I've posted an updated GFRC Online Auctions advertisement that is soliciting consignments for the Winter of 2022. As mentioned in Monday's Blog, I would appreciate and enjoy the showcasing of a January 2022 auction lot at the Winter FUN show in Orlando, Florida. The FUN show is early during 2022, taking place on January 6 - 8.

1875-CC Below Wreath F-108a Plate Coin on Price List

Monday evening saw a few new additional to the price list including the 1875-CC Below Wreath F-108a web-book plate coin. Following is an extraction from the web-book to help illustrate this new offering. Most important is a long rim cud on the lower reverse which is not visible in the images due to the PCGS edge prong in that location. This is a choice original example of the more difficult Below Wreath mintmark placement.

1875-CC

CC Below Wreath - Variety 108a

Obverse 7: High Date, Slight Downward Slope

Reverse E.2: Rim Cud 5:30 - 7:00, Small CC, [mm Lt,L,TL2], Die Cracks In Wreath

Bertha's Peace Dollar Collection Offering

Again some background is necessary for this new Blog segment.

Today brings another installment from one of Diane's older brothers (Roger) mother-in-law's collection. "Bertha" passed at the wonderful old age of 91. Her collection was assembled from circulating coinage dating back to the 1940s and ongoing into the 1980s. There are a host of Whitman blue folders with everything from Lincolns to Peace dollars. Some of the Whitman folders have printed dates stopping at 1954 which indicates when a portion of this collection was assembled.

Today brings the sale of Bertha's Peace dollars in a single Whitman folder that has a 1941 copyright date. There are 27 pieces total with the 1921 Peace being a nice VF30. Yes, there are two 1921 Morgans to fill several holes. Below is an image of the dollars in their old folder. Clicking on the image brings access to a high resolution version for closer inspection. We are offering this lot at $865 shipped in a Medium sized USPS flat rate box for check or Paypal F&F payment.

Following are the dates in this folder: 1921 Peace, 1921 Morgan (2), 1922 (4), 1922-D, 1922-S (3), 1923 (2), 1923-D, 1923-S (2), 1924, 1924-S, 1925, 1925-S. 1926-S (3), 1928-S, 1934, 1935, 1935-S. All pieces appear to have been removed for circulation with many being nice original AUs. None have been cleaned which is consistent with how Bertha managed her coins. This lot bids out at $1000+ per the CDN guide.

"Bertha's" Partial Peace Dollar Set with 1921 Peace - $865 Shipped

Click on Image for High Resolution Image Access

Global Financial News

Monday's equity market losses were about 1.5-2.0% when the dust settled. Today's morning market futures are positive for a recovery of at least half or more of yesterday's losses. "Buying the Dip" has become all to familiar in the current market's ongoing run-up to new records. Seeking Alpha has published a second article on the Evergrande real estate situation in China that is intended to calm investor anxieties.

Following are bullish morning market futures courtesy of Seeking Alpha.

In Asia, Japan -2.2%. Hong Kong +0.55%. China +0.2%. India +0.45%.

In Europe, at midday, London +1.07%. Paris +1.40%. Frankfurt +1.44%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +1.1%. S&P +1.1%. NASDAQ +0.98%.

WTI crude pricing has also recovered with a morning quote of $71.20/bbl. I'm reading articles that suggest more upside for crude and natural gas prices heading into the winter months.

Paper gold is stuck in a funk with morning quote at $1764/oz. Moving deeper in a funk is Bitcoin which has dropped to $43,334.

We find the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield unchanged at 1.33%.

Following is the promised Seeking Alpha article on Evergrande.

The dip-buyers who stepped in during the last hour of Wall Street trading yesterday are back again today, pushing stocks higher around the world. S&P futures, NASDAQ 100 futures and Dow Jones futures are all up about 1%.

In Asia, Japan's NIKKEI is lower, catching up with trading after a holiday on Monday, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up more than half a percent. In Europe, the benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, London and Paris are more than 1% higher, with the broader STOXX 600 up 1%.

No Lehman moment: Jitters about the impact of China's Evergrande defaulting on interest payments have eased overnight. S&P Global Ratings says that a government bailout is unlikely unless there is systemic risk and "far-reaching" contagion from Evergrande. But the S&P analysts also say the property company "failing alone would unlikely result in such a scenario."

"The crisis at Evergrande and in the Chinese real estate sector was the catalyst (for a selloff) most people were talking about, but truth be told, the market rout we’re seeing is reflecting a wider set of risks than just Chinese property, and comes after increasing questions have been asked about whether current valuations could still be justified, with talk of a potential correction picking up," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid writes today. "Remember that 68% of respondents to my survey last week thought there would be at least a 5% correction in equity markets before year end. So this has been front and center of people’s mind even if the catalyst hasn’t been clear," he adds.

Time to buy?: Monday's tumble brought some bullish calls from Wall Street banks, where several strategists still see the path of the broader market moving up and to the right.

"The market sell-off that escalated overnight we believe is primarily driven by technical selling flows (CTAs and option hedgers) in an environment of poor liquidity, and overreaction of discretionary traders to perceived risks,” Marko Kolanovic, chief global market strategist at JPMorgan, wrote in a note yesterday. “Our fundamental thesis remains unchanged, and we see the sell-off as an opportunity to buy the dip.”

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another busy office day awaits me including morning shipping and a CAC submission.

There is a sense of urgency for rebuilding the 30 Day Price List during the balance of the week. The challenge falls on the operations side of the GFRC business therefore I will be wearing that hat over the next 72 hours.

Thanks again for being loyal Daily Blog readers.

September 20, 2021

Oregon Beaver Collection Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale - Part 1 Bidding on Saturday

Fantastic Consignment Offerings Arriving to Price List

and

GFRC Online Auction News

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Monday morning. I'm pleased that you could stop by.

Another fine weather day awaits those of us in northern New England. As a reminder that the autumn season has arrived, today's high will only reach 71F and drop to a cold 45F during the overnight hours. The seven day forecast looks miserable with rain forecasted for Wednesday through Saturday.

As you might expect, several Sunday afternoon hours were spent on further lining the southern walking trail with the last of the on-hand 1.5" gravel. While deep in the woods, there was Diane taking another perimeter walk for her daily exercise. This substantial project is coming together nicely!

Sunday also brought the photography of the entire Tennessee Seated Dollar collection. In the past, I've experiencing difficulties with imaging these large denomination pieces but not yesterday! The noon time overhead sun was at the perfect angle to properly capture colors without PCGS edge view holder lighting reflections.

There is little else to mention in today's opening commentary, so let's get on with GFRC updates.

Oregon Beaver Collection Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale - Part 1 Bidding on Saturday

After a long display period, bidding for the first session of the Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale opens this coming Saturday. Access to the GFRC Online Auctions catalog can be obtained by clicking on the auction banner.

There are a host of excellent Liberty Seated halves to consider. Might I suggest that you find time during the coming week to carefully inspect the 26 lots being offered?

Following are my top favorite pieces in the Part 1 Sale as a reminder of a substantial quality that can be found during the forthcoming auction.

Gerry's Favorite Oregon Beaver Part 1 Sale Offerings

1840 WB-1, Reverse of 1839, PCGS MS65 CAC 50C

1839 Drapery WB-7 NGC MS63 CAC 50C 1845 WB-2 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1846 Tall Date WB-13 PCGS MS63 50C 1849 WB-10 MS63 CAC 50C

1859-O WB-10 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C 1863 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1871-CC WB-6 NGC VF30 50C 1891 PCGS MS61 CAC 50C

Fantastic Consignment Offerings Arriving to Price List

Get ready to be treated to some fantastic new price list offerings in the next few days!

Yes, I am well aware that the 30 Day Price List is struggling of late. It seems that most of what is posted sells immediately. There was a consignment gap about two weeks ago that translated into a slower posting rate along with my distraction with the Ledge Hill Trails project. Last week's consignment wave has changed that situation with the arrival of multiple consignments. This weekend also brought an email from the AuburnNY Accordian Collection consignor forecasting his forthcoming Liberty Seated Dime die varieties and $10 U.S. gold consignment. Within days, the 30 Day list will be populated with a host of new coins, some being important pieces including 1875 20c and 1865 $1 proofs.

To substantiate my claim, following is the image processing status of the Washington State Collection and a consignment from an unnamed consignor that is making his first GFRC appearance. These images have received their color balancing mask and will see continued processing today. For those who are curious, clicking on the below image brings access to a high resolution version.

Washington State and To Be Named Consignments Preview

Click on Image for High Resolution Access

GFRC Online Auction News

Here comes important news from the GFRC Online Auctions sub-division of the GFRC business!

- The Oregon Beaver Collection's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Part 2 Sale lots and the Tennessee Dollars Collection will be on display at the NH Coin Expo (Manchester NH) from September 30 thru October 2.

- The GFRC Online Auctions platform is open for Winter 2022 consignments with the first auction planned for display at Winter FUN followed by bidding opening during mid-January 2022. Now is the opportunity to commit your collection and take the lead role for kicking off the 2022 GFRC Online Auctions calendar. Please call or email me to discuss a potential collection sale for headline exposure at the Winter FUN show.

Global Financial News

UGLY is the operative word to describe how U.S. equity markets will open in a few hours. Morning market futures are pointing to distressed markets throughout the globe. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail today and limit losses to several percentage points. One of the driving issues is the Beijing government finally cracking down on indebted firms in the mainland China and Hong Kong property markets. More on this topic shortly.

In Asia, Japan Closed. Hong Kong -3.4%. China Closed. India -0.4%.

In Europe, at midday, London -1.4%. Paris -2.1%. Frankfurt -2.1%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow -1.4%. S&P -1.2%. NASDAQ -1.4%.

Paper gold prices are holding steady at $1760/oz in the face of equity market turbulence. WTI crude is down to $70.55/bbl along with Bitcoin retreating to $45,077.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 1.33%.

Following is an important Seeking Alpha article that brings light to the basis for this morning's full point plus negative futures.

China Property Crisis

The possibility of China property company Evergrande collapsing and overall worries about China's crackdown on indebted firms is taking its toll on Hong Kong shares. The Hang Seng Index is down more than 3% with China and Japan closed for a holiday. The benchmark index hit an 11-month low earlier, with the index tracking construction and property off more than 6%. Evergrande is down more than 11% today and has fallen more than 80% this year as it struggles to meet debt payments. The company has more than $300M in debt and has warned about default. It has an $83.5M interest payment due on Thursday for a March 2022 bond, according to Reuters.

Domino effect: A collapse of Evergrande would have a domino effect on other China and Hong Kong property developers and a systemic effect on the rest of the economy, according to Jenny Zeng, co-head of Asia fixed income at AllianceBernstein.

“In the offshore dollar market, there is a considerable large portion of developers (who) are implied to be highly distressed,” Zeng said on CNBC. Developers “can’t survive much longer” if the refinancing channel continues to be shut. But she played down the possibility of Evergrande being akin to the collapse of Lehman Bros., noting the fragmentation of the China property market.

“Despite Evergrande’s size, we all know it is the largest developer in China, probably the largest in the world, (the company) still accounts for only 4% and now it’s even less of the total annual sales market,” Zeng says. “The debt, particularly the onshore debt, is well collateralized.”

Regulatory crackdown: Along with Evergrande, pressure is on the Hong Kong market as China's leaders look to rein in what it calls monopoly behavior, much like it has taken aim at the tech sector. But also like the moves against big tech companies, the exact actions the government will take are unclear. It is part of President Xi Jinping's "common prosperity" plan to address inequality.

“People may be worried about whether they have to take up extra responsibility to build more subsidized housing,” Philip Tse, head of Hong Kong and China property research at BOCOM International, says, according to Bloomberg. "Foreign investors will be concerned if administrative matters in China will lead to a price cap, more stringent purchasing limits, or some tax-payment proof is required in order to pay for buying a flat.”

Wrapping Up The Blog

I hope that you've enjoyed today's Daily Blog edition.

I'm heading to the shower followed by the usual morning shipping duties. Afterwards, the central focus is image processing and bringing a host of new consigned pieces to the price list. The neglected 30 Day Price List certainly needs some TLC.

Be well!

September 19, 2021

Jim Laughlin Questions Timing of 1870 and 1871 Seated Dime Proof Strikes

Autumn 2021 - Initial Coastal Horizon Foliage Report

and

Dark Thunderstorm Clouds From the Northwest!

Greetings on a peaceful Sunday morning and welcome to another Daily Blog edition. I hope that today's visit will be worthwhile.

Yesterday's offering of the 53 piece Walking Liberty half dollar collection for $600 shipped brought five requests. Roger Theriault, Diane's older brother, is most pleased with the sale and looks forward to GFRC presenting more of Bertha's Whitman folder silver coinage collections. He reports finding yet another box of coins and will be dropping those off during the coming week for our evaluation.

Saturday brought a bright sunny day which means coin photography! The entire Washington State Collection consignment was photographed along with another twelve piece consignment from a new client. Image processing is underway today as I wish to have all these pieces posted and available for the upcoming NH Coin Expo that starts on September 30. As a quick reminder, GFRC will be located at Table 606. Here is the NH Coin Expo bourse floor layout and GFRC's corner table location.

GFRC Table 606 at Fall New Hampshire Coin Expo

September 30 - October 2, 2021

Jim Laughlin Questions Timing of 1870 and 1871 Seated Dime Proof Strikes

Jim Laughlin, a well known LSCC member and West Coast numismatic newspaper researcher, sent along an email concerning the reuse of an easily identified Liberty Seated dime 1870 and 1871 proof reverse die that was also employed for 1870 dated circulation strikes. The entire affair begs questioning as no plausible explanation has been offered to date. Here is Jim's opening thesis.

Been thinking that a question could be raised as to whether the 1870 and 1871 proof dimes were struck in a similar time frame considering the reuse of the same reverse die; comment from your web book page for the 1871 F-101. My question is ...Do you think the circulation strike 1870 F-101a coins were struck prior to, or about the same time, or after the Proof 1871 F-101 and F-102 pieces?.....guess asking a real hens teeth question, but kind of curious as had never heard of a proof die (albeit just the reverse die) being placed in service to strike circulation pieces, and then is resurrected to strike Proof coins once again in 1871.

For Blog readers who are not intimidatingly involved with Liberty Seated dimes, following is a pictorial sequence for all known die pairings with 1870 Proof Reverse A with continued usage for 1871 dated proof and circulation strikes. A single reverse die has been found for multi-year proof and circulation strikes. How can this be?

1870 F-101 Proof Strike

Obverse 1: High Date, Slight Downward Slope

Reverse A: Die Crack Through Ribbon Ends

1870 F-101a Circulation Strike

Obverse 1.2: High Date, Slight Downward Slope

Reverse A.2 : Die Crack Through Ribbon Ends

1870 F-103 Proof Strike

Obverse 3: High Date, Slight Downward Slope

Reverse A.2: Die Crack Through Ribbon Ends

1871 F-101 Proof Strike

Rarity: R5

Obverse 1: Repunched 18

Reverse A.2: Die Crack Through Ribbon Ends, Reverse of 1870 (A)

1871 F-102 Proof Strike

Obverse 2: Medium Level Date

Reverse A.2: Die Crack Through Ribbon Ends, Reverse of 1870 (A)

1871 F-102a Circulation Strike

Obverse 2.2: Medium Level Date

Reverse A: Die Crack Through Ribbon Ends, Reverse of 1870 (A)

Jim shares his newspaper research though insufficient to provide a definitive explanation:

Checking my fiscal year reports and newspaper published mintage figures (which I have real trouble finding more than half of), it appears that the total mintage of dimes in the July 1870 to December 1870 period was only between 250 and 525 total pieces. I suspect the 250 are proofs, as these match the corresponding figures minted for some of the other denominations the same month, the remaining 275 which is the number of unaccounted dimes I came up with, checking the fiscal year mintage July 1870 thru June 1871 of 10,675 dimes, against my tally of newspaper reported monthly mintage for the same period of 10,400.,,,so the unaccounted 275 coins could be from 1870 or 1871.

Guess the short of it. I was hoping to find in late 1870 a few thousand dimes or so that would represent the F101a 1870 circulation strike dimes, thinking that once the Mint employees realized they were through with Proof dime striking for the calendar year 1870, that they may have decided to use the ex-Proof 1870 dies to strike circulation examples. If that is true, the mintage must be incredibly small like 275 pieces at most, or they weren't recorded at all. Otherwise if the 1870 dated Proof dies were used during the calendar year 1870 to strike circulation strikes, it had to have been in the first half of the year, not the second.

Also, as I don't have any mintage records for December 1870, it is seemingly possible that the Mint had on hand both 1870 and 1871 Proof dies...and its possible both Proof dates of 1870 and 1871 were struck at or about the same time during December 1870 (maybe to the maximum extent of 275 pieces). .But this did not occur in January 1871, as the newspaper report no dimes were struck at all that month. It is possible also that 275 Proof dimes were struck in February 1871 as I have no newspaper records for that month either, and maybe both 1870 and 1871 Proof dies would still be both on hand. Only in March 1871 were 10,150 dimes struck (I suspect 400 of these were Proofs as that matches the corresponding mintages for some of the other silver denominations struck that month, that would leave 9750 circulation strike for the month). Again it is possible that 1870 dies had been held till March 1871 and were used alongside the 1871 Proof dies, but it seems an awful long delay.

Still looking for something regarding when the 1870 F101a circulation strikes were made, but theres no smoking gun at the end of the year 1870 that I expected to find.

Oh well, have to keep looking for those other monthly coinage reports.

All the best, Jim

Jim's email and research brings attention to one of the great unsolved mysteries for the Liberty Seated dime series.

Autumn 2021 - Initial Coastal Horizon Foliage Report

During Autumn 2020, I published weekly images of the coastal view from the back deck to illustrate the foliage color transition. This Daily Blog segment was very popular with much positive feedback. Why not do the same for 2021 given a much better Samsung Galaxy S21 camera and substantial progress with the Ledge Hill Trails development effort?

Today brings a baseline back acreage image to kick-off the Autumn 2021 color transition showcasing. The picture was taken slightly after noon time without shadows. Already, some crimson and yellow shades can be detected. Dave Wilkinson's excavator can be seen parked along side the main pathway.

All images will be presented in 4Meg high resolution. Simply click on the Blog sized image to access the high resolution version.

Autumn 2021 - Initial Coastal Horizon Foliage Report

Click on Image for High Resolution Enjoyment!

Dark Thunderstorm Clouds From the Northwest!

At 1:30 PM, the GFRC office was placed on hold to allow time to continued layering of the southern walking trail with 1.5" gravel. Down I went into the back acreage on the JD2025R to find Dave driving his excavator outward for loading on a transport trailer. Early next week brings another job on Great Diamond Island so best to remove the excavator on Saturday was shared by Dave.

I worked for about three hours lining the southern trail and making decent progress. Diane came down for a visit and walked the entire perimeter loop for the first time. She is very pleased with the progress and hopes that the rough northern trail can be quickly converted into a level walking path to enable walking the perimeter trail on a daily basis. How I enjoy that type of encouragement that translates into many more hours on the JD2025R!

Given Diane's wish, I contacted Dave for another 6 yard load of pea stone to further build up the lawn's lined path (originally installed for the JD2025R) to better accommodate his dump truck traffic. We are looking at 20 or more loads of 1.5" stone and 1.5" gravel to completely convert the cut trails into smooth walking paths. Once again, building infrastructure ahead of planned usage is a necessary step.

By 4:30 PM, I called it a day and relaxed on the new back deck with an adult beverage. The view was compelling as a coastal fog bank could be seen in the distance moving on shore. More importantly, dark thunderstorm clouds were approaching from the northwest towards the coastline. The below image captures the event. When living on top of a 950' hill, the approaching clouds appear to be moving direct on top of the homestead. Note the darkness of the below image from the arriving cloud cover.

Dark Thunderstorm Clouds From the Northwest!

Wrapping Up The Blog

Thanks for checking in a the Blog. I hope that you have enjoyed this edition.

I will be in and out of the office today as the weather is conducive for incremental lining of the southern trail with 1.5" gravel. I still have another 6 yards available and hope to consume that material today.

Be well!

September 18, 2021

CAC Approved Better Date Morgan Dollars on Price List

Selling Partial Walking Liberty Half Dollar Set

and

Presenting the Expanded First Natural Spring

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Saturday morning. Another autumn weekend is upon us.

The front yard landscaping is beginning to exhibit the early stages of the seasonal autumn foliage transition. Crimson coloring is now apparent across the driveway maple since being the first tree to move through its annual color change and early loss of leaves. The burning bushes are already at 50% down the path of their bright crimson transition.

Thick fog encases the homestead and back acreage as the Blog is composed. Cloudy conditions will be the rule for the day. During the afternoon hours, I am planning time on the JD2025R towards adding more "icing on the cake" for the southern trail. I would love to have that trail fully graveled and converted to an effortless walking path before heading to Florida. Though possible, the current GFRC consignment backlog and sales rates might delay this milestone until next spring.

Friday brought another twelve piece consignment that wraps up a substantial consignment week. This final consignment, from a new client, is mostly 20th century proof coinage and will be showcased in tomorrow's Blog.

CAC Approved Better Date Morgan Dollars on Price List

Reloading the 30 Day Price List is proving to be a daunting task as new offerings are selling as quickly as posted. Of course, this is excellent news for a coin dealer. Last evening and Saturday early morning brought new offerings with three pieces selling immediately. I make a point of pricing quality coins fairly which is apparent with current sale levels.

Here are three lovely CAC approved Morgan dollars for consideration. The 1879-CC dollar brings classic natural gray eye appeal and has already sold. Once thought to be a great rarity, the release of bags during the 1950s has made the 1885-CC date available in Mint State. Few 1885-CC dollars were released into circulation when minted. This new offering is quite sweet at the certified grade. Finally, I've gone with a JUST BUY IT NOW for the 1891-S Morgan as this one is quite impressive with brilliant luster and dancing cartwheels for an MS63. CAC approval is certainly accurate for these three offerings as all are premium examples.

CAC Approved Better Date Morgan Dollars on Price List

1885-CC PCGS MS63 CAC $1

1879-CC PCGS VF30 CAC $1 1891-S PCGS MS63 CAC $1

Selling Partial Walking Liberty Half Dollar Set

Some background is necessary for this new Blog segment.

One of Diane's older brothers (Roger) asked us to review a substantial coin collecting that was left behind after his 91 year old mother-in-law recently passed. As expected, the collection was amassed from circulating coinage dating back to the 1950s and ongoing into the 1980s. There are a host of Whitman blue folders with everything from Lincolns to Peace dollars. Some of the Whitman folders have printed dates stopping at 1954 which indicates when a portion of this collection was assembled. With my guidance, Diane has been sorting through half dollar rolls of Kennedy halves to remove the silver bullion pieces. There are the usual proof and mint sets too, but only for copper-clad coinage.

Rather than bring all the silver pieces to a local coin shop as 90% junk silver, let's try something new in the Blog. I'm sure that someone will be interested in the silver coinage sets in Whitman folders if priced at silver spot along with better dates priced well back of retail. There was much effort placed into building these sets and we wish to see these go to a collector at a fair price for all involved.

Today brings the Walking Liberty halves in two Whitman folders. There are 53 pieces total with the 1921-S being a reasonable VG. Below is an image of the halves in their old folders. Clicking on the image brings access to a high resolution version for close inspection. We are offering this lot at $600 shipped in a Medium sized USPS flat rate box for check payment.

Partial Walking Liberty Half Dollar Set

Presenting the Expanded First Natural Spring

After publishing the Blog on Friday, I took a stroll down the southern walking trail to check on the status of the first spring after being expanded and dug deeper on Wednesday. Here is a status image taken with the new Samsung Galaxy S21 5G+ phone. Please feel free to click on the image for accessing the high resolution version.

We've completed expanding the right side of the spring (southern side) and installed a fairly substantial rock retaining wall to protect the pool for ground erosion. Come 2022, Dave Wilkinson will be back for two days to cut out the back left side with two trees and stumps to be removed to further expand the pool area and constructing a dam further down the outlet. The goal is to raise the water level by another 1.5' - 2' and add goldfish to the "pond" as a test for survivability in the forest. Forthcoming will be several benches and a tenting platform that have been promised to Matt and Natsumi for their summer 2022 homestead visit.

Today's image is quite beautiful as the green forest shades are nicely reflected by the pool's surface. The lifer patches are sunlight peeking through the overhead canopy.

Presenting the Expanded First Natural Spring

Click on Image for High Resolution Enjoyment!

Wrapping Up The Blog

I hope that you've enjoyed today's visit. Each day and edition beings a new chapter in a life.

I will be in the GFRC office for most of the day with a 2 hours graveling session on the back southern trail. There have been requests for a walking video tour of the southern trail. Once more progress is made, an attempt will be made to capture this walking path via video presentation.

Today's office session will focus on loading the many new consignments into the COIN system. This is one of those necessary tasks to ensure that all consigned coins are properly captured for business insurance coverage.

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

September 17, 2021

Part 2 of the Consignment Wave Arrives - Tennessee Seated Dollar Collection

and

An Exciting Late GFRC September

Greetings on a Friday morning and welcome back to the Blog. My sincere thanks go out to those who frequent these ramblings.

Every day brings goals and surprises. I had planned to have a new purchases gallery ready for today's edition. However, other needs appeared that required attention. Purchasing a replacement cellphone was a top priority to ensure business accessibility. A quick trip to a Windham AT&T store resulted in a fantastic Samsung Galaxy S21 5G+ phone being configured and returning to the Raymond office. Since not upgrading cellphone for four years, the technology and application leap was a joy. The immediate challenge is becoming familiar with the Samsung ring tone as compared to Huawei. Sorry, I've been an Android fan since day one and have no desire to entertain an iPhone.

Thursday morning also brought a long phone chat with another dealer offering a wholesale deal. When the conversation ended, twelve coins were purchased based on trust with the other dealer's eyes and transparency. We shared the same understanding of surfaces and originality which made the deal possible. The afternoon hours brought a long phone call with Brenda Wyen from Coin World. Yes, Brenda does read the Blog too. We discussed a new GFRC Online Auctions marketing strategy for the upcoming end of year dealer directory.

In between these activities, more new purchases and a fresh Sooner Collection consignment were photographed and partially processed. Dinner time saw yet another important discussion with Diane concerning the upcoming Whitman Baltimore show. I've not made mention in the Blog, but Buddy the Dog as blown out an ACL on a rear leg. I can empathize since severing an ACL back in 1986 during beach volleyball. Buddy is scheduled for reconstruction operation during mid-October and cannot jump for eight weeks afterwards. We agreed that Diane must stay behind to nurse Buddy while I attend the Baltimore show. I've already reached out to a trusted friend for table assistant duties along with Dan and Rose Marie.

Part 2 of the Consignment Wave Arrives - Tennessee Seated Dollar Collection

Thursday also brought a personal visit from Linda, our Raymond Postmaster, with the delivery of the Tennessee Seated Dollar Collection along with a registered package with a wonderful Morgan dollar consignment from yet another GFRC consignor. I took these Morgans on due to the toning and old holders that will certainly garner attention. These are far from your average "product" that one sees in many dealer cases.

As is tradition, following in an image of the Tennessee Seated Dollar Collection on my world map desk. The superior Samsung S21 cellphone camera has already proven itself when capturing the below image. Color matching and fine resolution are most accurate. Already, several individuals have registered via email to bid at the forthcoming GFRC Online Auction that takes place during November. This Seated dollar collection auction will certainly garner substantial interest.

GFRC Online Auctions - Tennessee Seated Dollar Collection - Coming November 2021

Click on Image for Accessing High Resolution Version

The Samsung S21 has proven to be most effective with image capturing, therefore following is a snapshot of the fresh Morgan dollar consignment. Sorry, I will not be accepting First Rights of Refusal. Everyone should understand this point by now.

Arriving to the GFRC Price List Shortly

An Exciting Late GFRC September

Hold on to your numismatic hats as the coming two weeks will be quite exciting for GFRC clients. With the Ledge Hill Trails project seeing substantial progress for 2021, attention returns to the GFRC business. Here are forthcoming happenings to consider.

- GFRC Online Auctions - Oregon Beaver's Part 1 Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale bidding starts on September 25

- NH Coin Expo September 30 thru October 2 - Please make a point of visiting with Gerry and Dan at Table 606 to view the best and widest ranging inventory on the bourse floor.

- Rebuilding the GFRC 30 day price list back to the 100 coin threshold. This effort starts today and will continue through end of the month.

Global Financial News

The big new of the financial day is paper gold dropping to as low as $1754 during Thursday's trading. U.S. retail sales are trending above expectations which might incentivize the Federal Reserve to act sooner than later on an interest rate increase. Higher interest rates are not supportive for gold prices.

On the other hand, inflation is not transitory as is being lauded by the Federal Reserve and politicians. Overseas supply chain issues and U.S. port workforce shortages (unloading container ships) are limiting the delivery of merchandise for the upcoming holiday season. As consumer demand returns, component and product shortages will limit suppliers allowing retailers to charge more for their limited inventories. This is no different that what we are seeing in the numismatic market with demand for CAC approved early type and U.S. gold.

Morning market futures are forecasting a slight negative bias for Friday's opening 9:30 AM trading.

In Asia, Japan +0.6%. Hong Kong +1%. China +0.2%. India -0.2%.

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

Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.3%. NASDAQ -0.3%.

WTI crude is holding on to recent gains at $72/bbl. Paper gold has recovered slightly to $1764/oz but the technical trend looks awful. More on this topic in a forthcoming Blog edition. Bitcoin is flat at $47485. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has ticked up slightly to 1.34%.

This brief Seeking Alpha article captures one aspect of Covid's impact on overseas supply chains.

Supply chain issues have been roiling the globe since the coronavirus pandemic began last year and retailers are still facing challenges with volatile production, COVID business restrictions and shortages of numerous goods. A great example of this can be seen in Vietnam, where many manufacturers had moved production during the trade war years of the Trump era to diversify and avoid tariffs. However, Vietnamese authorities this week announced an extension of restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's business hub and COVID outbreak epicenter, sending shockwaves down the supply chain.

Snapshot: Factory shutdowns in Vietnam led Wall Street research firm BTIG to downgrade Nike shares last week, while high-end furniture chain RH had to delay the launch of its contemporary furniture collection until next spring. Some companies have even gone as far as to announce they are bringing production back to China, like footwear producer Designer Brands, which said six years of supply chain work was undone in six days. "When you think about the amount of effort everyone was putting into getting out of China, and now one of the only places where you can get the goods is China," CEO Roger Rawlins declared. "It really is crazy, the roller coaster everyone has been on here."

Commodity prices and trading have also been a hot topic given the constraints seen in Vietnam. The nation is the No.2 coffee producer in the world, but is battling its worst COVID outbreak since the start of the pandemic. In August, Vietnamese coffee exports fell 8.7% from July to 111,697 tons, continuing a downward trend seen since January. As a result, benchmark arabica coffee futures have jumped by nearly 47% this year, a price that has also been affected by waves of frost and drought in No.1 producer Brazil. Coffee prices could stay "relatively high" through 2022 due to the constrained supply, according to Fitch Solutions.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Other than a stroll down to the first natural spring, my plan is to be in the GFRC office the entire day loading new consignments into the COIN database along with image processing and adding offerings to the price list.

There will be no outgoing shipments today, instead we will ship accumulated orders on Saturday.

Purchase order emails and phone calls are most welcomed.

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

September 16, 2021

Part 1 of the Consignment Wave Arrives

and

Mission Accomplished - Ledge Hill Trails Walking Path

Greetings and welcome to a much slower pace edition of the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning. Thank-you for checking in.

Before I start rambling, a courtesy notice is important. My old Huawei cellphone will no longer charge due to a worn out connector issue. I've powered down the phone to save on battery life to enable the purchase of a new Samsung Galaxy S21 later today. With a worn out connector, the probability of moving the address book and saved images to the new phone is unlikely but will try. If attempting to call GFRC this morning, the call will go to voice mail and will be responded to once the new cellphone is online.

Now back to our regular Blog edition as no preamble is necessary given much content to share.

Part 1 of the Consignment Wave Arrives

I was very serious about the consignment wave that is arriving this week. Wednesday brought the arrival of two shipments as presented in the below photograph. The consignments are from the Washington State and Sooner Collections with the Washington offerings being the much larger of the two.

Once returning back from the back acreage project (more on that topic later), I took a shower and immediately went through the Washington State pieces. Wow, wow, and more wows could be heard coming from the sunroof as this consignment was inspected. Following are a few Washington State Collection highlights to whet your appetite. This consignment is a fantastic type set with expansion of some series including Seated quarters and early silver commemoratives. Sorry, but I am firm that no First Rights of Refusal will be entertained by those who still attempt to go out of bounds for securing first shot. A decision to market and sell the Washington State Collection via the regular consignment route or a GFRC Online auction must be thought through.

Copper 1/2c - 1857 PCGS MS64RB CAC

Indian 1c - 1865 PR65RB CAC

3 Cent Silver - 1865 PCGS PR65CAM CAC

Seated 20c - 1875 PCGS PR64CAM CAC

Draped Bust 25c - 1806/5 PCGS VF35 crusty original

Seated 25c - 1869 PR64CAM CAC, 1888 PCGS MS67 CAC

Flowing Hair 50c - 1795 PCGS VF25 crusty original

Draped Bust 50c - 1806/5 PCGS VF25 CAC crusty original

Seated $1 - 1865 PCGS PR64+ CAC with monster colors

Gold $3 - 1856-S PCGS AU53 CAC, 1868 PCGS AU58 CAC

Washington State and Sooner Collection Consignments

Today brings the arrival of a nearly complete Liberty Seated Dollar collection with all pieces, except the 1870-CC, being graded PCGS AU53 through AU58. This set has been published on the PCGS Set Registry with TruView images. GFRC Online Auctions will be offering this impressive opportunity as the Tennessee Dollars Collection.

Friday brings the arrival of an eclectic offering of smaller denomination coinage with most being CAC approved. This has been quite the week for fresh inventory!

Mission Accomplished - Ledge Hill Trails Walking Path

I am so pleased to report that the Ledge Hill Trails project has achieved a notable milestone effective Wednesday noon time. After over a year of effort with outstanding support from Dave Wilkinson (Wilkinson's Seasonal Services), the entire back acreage perimeter path has been linked into a continuous loop.

It was fitting that the last 50 feet of trail cutting was the worst of 2021. We hit a dense rock field that took an extended period to traverse and clear out. A huge birch tree stood in the way and was dropped and partitioned with my trusty Husqvarna chain saw.

Below is the final presentation of the Ledge Hill Trails project map for this year. As Dave so well said as we wrapped up the day, "we've baked an impressive cake, now it is your turn to add the icing on the cake with the JD2025R". I questioned Dave on where this project stood in terms of size and challenge for his smaller excavator. Unquestionably, this was the largest project that Dave has taken on in his career. What a great guy he is! The story does not end here as Dave will be transporting countless loads of 1.5" stone and 1.5" gravel as I apply the "icing" on the trails during the remaining 2021 time in Maine and throughout 2022.

Ledge Hill Trails Project Status - September 16, 2021

This image accurately summarizes the project and the exact point at which we reach the perimeter trail loop closure. Again it was so fitting that a huge boulder was removed to complete the perimeter cutting project. Once Dave found a location to deposit this monster boulder, there was fist pumping and congratulations.

The balance of the day was spent further expanding the size and depth of the first natural spring's pool area. Once the digging as completed, we built a rock wall to enclose the southern side of the pool edge for ensuring no washout or cave-ins. The final step was locating a dam on the outlet towards raising the pool water level to 4-5'. Dave will be back in 2022 to further expand this pool on the northern side along with cutting a trail to the second natural spring.

How Fitting! Dave Removing Massive Boulder at Perimeter Trail Closure

Global Financial News

Major U.S. market indices are little changed this week. After several months of continual new records, U.S. equity markets are taking a break and consolidating. Morning market futures indicate a flat opening at 9:30 AM.

In Asia, Japan -0.62%. Hong Kong -1.46%. China -1.34%. India +0.76%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.47%. Paris +1.06%. Frankfurt +0.48%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.07%. S&P -0.12%. NASDAQ -0.24%.

WTI crude pricing has been increasing to $72.52/bbl during the past 48 hours. Energy demand for crude oil and natural gas are rising as the globe appears to be recovering from the Covid Delta variant. Life is returning to "normal" as the U.S. population has been vaccinated or has acquired natural immunities. The 24 hour media and some governments will not let go of the topic however.

Spot gold has pulled back to $1778/oz while a Bitcoin can be purchased for $47964. I'm starting to face the reality that Bitcoin is the new "gold" for many younger individuals who have a need for an alternate store of wealth.

The 10 Year U.S Treasury bond yield stands at 1.32%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a full day in the GFRC office other than heading into Windham and purchasing a new Samsung cellphone. There is much to catch-up on in terms of shipping and posting new offerings.

The southern Maine five day weather forecast looks quite promising for photographing the many new consignment pieces that are arriving this week.

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

September 15, 2021

More GFRC New Offerings to Consider

and

Excellent Progress on the Northern Ledge Hill Trails Perimeter Walking Path

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks for staying abreast of GFRC happenings.

Tired and sore best description how I feel this morning after eight hours in the back acreage project on Tuesday. My deal with Dave Wilkinson is simple. He stays in the excavator and maximize his heavy lifting and digging capabilities while I work on the ground handling the chain saw workload along with moving smaller branches and logs. This arrangement bore substantial fruit on Tuesday and we made excellent progress on the northern path and rebuilding the adjacent stone wall. As I've mentioned before, boulder and rock material is not an issue on the property.

Today's Blog will again be brief as Dave is back again at 7:45 AM for the final day of trail cutting.

I was up at 4:00 AM to ensure that there is a coin galley for today's edition. Daily Blog editions without coins can be a dull online destination.

In terms of fresh consignments, over 100 coins will be arriving to the GFRC office in the next 72 hours with about 60% CAC approved. The combined value for these shipments is roughly $200,000. You will want to stay close to the Blog in the coming week as new arrivals are processed and announced.

If the 100+ consigned coins were not enough, I have an appointment during the next 36 hours with a preferred supplier to review a large wholesale deal. This is another exciting development as the GFRC team prepares for the forthcoming Manchester NH coin show on September 30 through October 2.

The clock is ticking so best to move along with numismatic and back acreage commentary before fueling the chain saw for another busy day.

More GFRC New Offerings to Consider

Following is a bit of an eclectic coin gallery with both new purchases and consigned offerings. All pieces have been priced and will be posted to the price list on Thursday.

Seated dollar collectors will immediately appreciate the importance of the 1862 PCGS AU50 offering. This piece is untoned and features a bold strike along with reflective surfaces. The 1828 1/2 cent has been accurately captured by GFRC photography and resides in old PCGS Rattler holder. Strike is complete with choice surfaces. The superbly toned 1874 Arrows dime has been pulled from my personal reference collection boxes. This piece is unlisted, in terms of die variety, and has not been to CAC. It will be added to the web-book as part of the sales process.

The balance of the new offerings including a fully struck and pleasing 1838 F-112 dime, a scarce 1851 PCGS EF40 quarter with natural coloring, and finally an 1812/1 O-102a Capped Bust half that is crusty original.

More GFRC New Offerings to Consider

Please Email for Price Quote - Posting to Price List on Thursday

1862 PCGS AU50 $1

1828 PCGS MS63BN CAC Rattler 1/2C 1873 Arrows Unlisted NGC MS62 10C

1838 F-112 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C 1851 PCGS EF40 25C 1812/1 O-102a PCGS VF30 CAC 50C

Excellent Progress on the Northern Ledge Hill Trails Perimeter Walking Path

I could not be more pleased with Tuesday's progress in the back acreage project. Dave and I hit the trail immediately after the Blog was published and worked straight from 8:00 AM until 4:20 PM without lunch or breaks. We were on a mission to get this portion of the project done to allow time for further expanding the first natural spring's pool area on Wednesday, weather permitting.

Below is an updated map of Tuesday's progress on the northern trail. The white line with overlaid red marks the trail cutting status. It should be apparent that we are close to connecting to last year's uphill cutting effort that was abandoned due to time and rocky terrain. I quickly learned that Dave can move more rapidly when working downhill rather than uphill. The remaining white line will be cut today with a celebration once the full perimeter trail is in place.

Ledge Hill Trails Project Status - September 15, 2021

This image was taken as a baseline of where we started trail cutting on early Tuesday morning. I am standing close to the northern point of the property and looking downhill (southeast) into the forest. Every brown boulder and rock has been freshly removed from the ground and added to the original settler's stone wall. The path is about 8' wide with a host of residual roots that must be manually cut.

Tuesday's Starting Point, Northern Corner Looking Downhill

This image was taken at 4:30 PM Tuesday as we exited the project. I am standing a tad lower on the path as compared to the above image. The progress was amazing given the number of trees that was dropped along with stump removal. Dave extracted a huge amount of rocks and boulders and rebuilt the stone wall as we moved along. There was old barb wire to contend with and dead trees that could drop branches on top of us when being cut.

Dave said it well when he commented that the northern trail will be the most eye appealing walking path within the entire project.

Tuesday End of Day, Northern Corner Looking Downhill - Amazing Progress

Click on Image for High Resolution Version

This image was taken at the bottom of the cut trail before heading back to the top of the property and calling it a day. The original stone wall was not in the best of shape and partially buried by over a century of composted leaves and sediment. Dave did his best to dig out the front on the old wall while adding new rocks.

Tuesday End of Day, Bottom Looking Uphill - What a New Stone Wall!

This image was selected among many taken to illustrate the day's challenge. The foreground shows the condition of the original stone wall and the amount of trees that required removal. Let's remember that we are working in a dense forest with every cut tree becoming hung up against existing trees. My role was to cut trees well ahead of Dave's excavator to ensure that no branches or tree tops would fall on his machine. This image shows three leaning trees that are awaiting the excavator's arrival. Dave will carefully push the trees down with his powerful bucket followed by yours truly cutting up the trunks into 8' sections. Dave then using his thumb to pick up the large trunk pieces and drop into the forest on the left. Talk about plenty of firewood if I needed such. Instead, the logs will be left in the woods to decompose and feed the earth.

This image also finds Dave manhandling a huge boulder and placing on the stone wall. His rock wall building experience was readily apparent throughout the day.

Sawn Trees and Adding Boulders to Stone Wall

Click on Image for High Resolution Version

Wrapping Up The Blog

Though the weather forecast is assuring me of dry conditions, a light rain is currently falling and will make today's final push a bit wet and muddy since my role of that of being the boots on the ground.

There will be no shipping today given the lack of time for staging such. All pending orders with check arrivals will be shipped on Thursday.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog. Tomorrow will bring a regular edition.

Be well!

September 14, 2021

A Fresh GFRC Consignment Wave

and

Completing the Ledge Hill Trails Perimeter Walking Path

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

Dave Wilkinson arrives at 7:45 AM for the final push to complete the back acreage perimeter loop. Therefore today's edition will be brief as the Husqvarna must be prepared with fuel and chain oil. Yes, there is a brand new chain bar and fresh cutting chain for today's effort. Southern Maine weather will be ideal with a daytime high of only 69F. Yes, the autumn season has arrived with slowly decreasing high temperatures.

My apology for the lack of fresh coin images into today's edition. More new purchases were photographed on Monday and will be posted this evening as a Blog preview once i am out of the woods.

A Fresh GFRC Consignment Wave

After announcing the commitment of a Liberty Seated dollar collection for the GFRC Online Auctions platform on Monday, incremental good news arrived during the afternoon hours. Discussions with a GFRC consignor have resulted in a commitment to ship his substantial Liberty Seated coinage holdings to the Maine office in the next 48 hours. Substantial is the operative word here. Marketing details will be released once I have a shipping invoice and the lot arrives and is carefully reviewed for next steps.

In addition to the above, I will be approving the shipment of a lovely twelve piece consignment from a fairly new GFRC client. This shipment is 50% CAC approved with a number of proof specimens.

Finally, the Sooner Collection has shipped a small consignment that will arrive on Wednesday.

In total, these numerous shipment will bring over 100 quality coins into the Raymond office during forthcoming week.

Completing the Ledge Hill Trails Perimeter Walking Path

If there appears to be a sense of urgency to move the Ledge Hill Trails project to completion, you are correct in that assessment. Our remaining time at the Maine homestead is dwindling as November approaches. Come early November, Maine weather can be unpredictable with snow arriving at any time. My attention also shifts preparation for the Whitman Baltimore show, the Florida migration, and once again winterizing the homestead for the winter of 2021-2022.

The next two days bring the final push to complete the back acreage perimeter trail. I'm expecting some rough going through downward sloping terrain and a thick rock field. While cutting through forest and rocks, Dave and I will be rebuilding the northern property line stone wall as well.

Following is an updated project map that captures progress with lining the southern trail with 1.5" gravel. I've turned the bottom southern corner and now working on the trail section that leads to the natural spring. The overriding challenge for this project is material transport that is becoming painfully apparent. Given the nature of the narrow trails, it is not possible to stage 1.5" stone and 1.5" gravel mix other than at the intersection point between the main pathway and the entrances to the southern and northern routes. Dave's smaller dump truck is unable to fit in these trail let alone a large enough space for turnaround and load dumping. Lining the walking trails means considerable time on the JD2025R to move one bucket of material to its destination point. Already, the tractor has 105 usage hours since delivery in May. That number will climb quickly due to the long material transport distances. Without walking trail lining, it is not feasible to move the tractor about given the uneven terrain and the many subtle depressions left by large rock removal. Again, Dave's excavator is a crude instrument and not designed as a trail finishing machine. The gravel is critical for executing a smooth walking trail for family and friends.

Ledge Hill Trails Project Status - September 14, 2021

Wrapping Up The Blog

Time is such a precious commodity. It is best to wrap up the Blog at this point.

Please check back tomorrow morning as I will be sharing more images of the final push down the northern rock litter trail section and the obstacles that were encountered.

I will have my cellphone with me and will respond to phone calls if not handling the chain saw. Purchase order emails will be answered during the later afternoon hours.

Thanks again for checking in at the Blog. Be well.

September 13, 2021

A New Artwork Prescription from Dr. Durazo!

and

GFRC Online Auctions Awarded Liberty Seated Dollar Collection

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to another Daily Blog edition. An important week lies ahead!

Sunday afternoon brought about a special occasion; an outdoor block party that featured the reunion of Raymond friends from years past.

Our hosts were Steve and Joyce Crockett who own a substantial piece of land in Raymond. Through their "backyard" flows a creek that eventually empties into Sebago lake. During the past few years, Steve sold his retail furniture business and has retired. Other than spending more time on his boat off the coast of Maine, he decided to convert the creek into a large pond. Five days with a large excavator brought about the end result which we celebrated yesterday afternoon. There were kegs of Shipyard and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, a Portland area rock band and the gathering of old neighbors we had not seen in years. There was Raul and Christina, Steve and Lou-Ann, Terry and Lynn, Mark and Patti, and others with much catching up on lives and grand children. Raul is a fantastic guy and Cuban immigrant who played in bands in south Florida before moving to Maine. We had Raul and his local band play at our homestead block party during 1988. Raul shared stories of playing in the Miami clubs with Rudy Sarzo (another Cuban immigrant) who later went to Los Angeles and became famous with White Snake, Dio, Quiet Riot, and Ozzie Osbourne. Steve Milton and I were Little League baseball coaches together when sons Matt and Brandon were growing up. There are many stories to tell. Raul and I have made an appointment for a basement sound room session next week. He will be bringing his favorite Cuban music for the Focal/Naim system.

Monday means back to work at the GFRC online coin shop, at least for today. More to follow as we proceed through today's Blog.

A New Artwork Prescription from Dr. Durazo!

Dr. Durazo continues to read the Blog and watch over my mental health as a close Tenafly friend. This weekend brought the arrival of Susan's latest artwork and prescription. Indeed, I will "Continue Paving the Way" on the back acreage project this week and taking time off from the daily GFRC office grind. It is straightforward to follow the good doctor's orders.

Dave Wilkinson and I will be trail cutting on Tuesday with Wednesday as an additional day if required to complete the back 20 acre perimeter loop. Seeing Steve Crockett's pond project in its full glory brings renewed motivation to further expand the first natural spring and maybe redirect water flow from the second and higher spring. Please keep reading the Blog to learn of forthcoming ideas.

GFRC Online Auctions Awarded Liberty Seated Dollar Collection

I'm pleased to report that the GFRC Online Auctions platform has been selected to handle a substantial Liberty Seated dollar collection during the November-December time frame. The GFRC client made a careful decision to sell his well prepared collection and cited the ongoing Daily Blog educational content as a key reason for selecting GFRC. Details will be held in confidence until the lot ships to the GFRC office during the next two weeks. Once on site, the full scope of this important Seated Dollar auction event will be shared.

Global Financial News

U.S. equities closed last week's short trading period on a down note. The DJiA has pulled back to 34,607 while the NASDAQ is still above 15,000. Morning market futures bring optimism as a new trading week arrives.

In Asia, Japan +0.22%. Hong Kong -1.5%. China +0.33%. India -0.27%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.55%. Paris +0.55%. Frankfurt +0.84%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.55%. S&P +0.48%. NASDAQ +0.4%.

There is little to discuss concerning the 10 Year Treasury bond yield and commodities. Paper gold continues to trade between $1785-1820/oz. WTI crude has moved up to $70.61 while a Bitcoin can be purchased for $44631. The 10 Year bond yield stands at 1.33%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Since I will be working in the woods all day Tuesday, today brings a full day in the GFRC office.

Morning shipping is substantial with the afternoon bringing photography of newly purchased CAC approved Seated half dimes, Capped Bust halves, and Morgan dollars. The balance of the Osprey gold will also be posted to the price list.

Please don't be bashful with consignment proposal or a major collection for the GFRC Online Auctions platform.

Also please remember that bidding opens in just twelve days for the Part 1 offerings of the Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Daily Blog. Be well!

September 12, 2021

Eclectic U.S. Gold from the Osprey Collection

and

Presenting the Remodeled Homestead Back Deck

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a peaceful Sunday morning. I hope that the imagery in this edition is worth the visit.

September is moving along much too quickly, but this happens during a busy life. A few Saturday morning hours were spent on the JD2025R in the back acreage after morning shipping was staged for Diane. The afternoon saw a trip to Windham for new Husqvarna chain saw bar and fresh chain for the upcoming week's trail cutting. Speaking of trail cutting, I walked the remaining undisturbed forest along the northern stone wall on Friday and came to the realization that cutting the final trail section will take two days of effort. The remaining perimeter path takes us through a downward sloping rock field that is quite uneven. A huge downed pine tree must be cut apart for movement with Dave's excavator. Some back and forth text messaging with Dave Wilkinson brought a commitment for a Tuesday and Wednesday excavator appointment to complete the perimeter loop and reconstruction of the northern stone wall. Of course, I am excited to think that the vision of a perimeter walking trail will be taking a major step forward during the coming week.

Saturday afternoon also saw the assembling of new wood rocking chairs for the remodeled back deck and time in the GFRC office to process today's U.S. gold image gallery. The exceptional 1870-CC PCGS VF35 CAC Seated half also sold during the afternoon hours after a pleasant chat with the new owner.

Once this Daily Blog edition is uploaded, the balance of the morning sees me back on the JD2025R and continuing gravel application on the southern trail that leads to the natural spring aka. a 2022 goldfish pond project.

Eclectic U.S. Gold from Hound Dog Dan

Dan White does it again with an eclectic offering of $3, $5, and $10 gold for your consideration. This lot features some very low grade CAC approved $5 gold that would be ideal for Lowball set builders. The balance is wide ranging from an 1855-S $3 gold piece to a gorgeous 1907 Liberty $10 piece that is housed in a 1989 Gen 2.1 holder with CAC approval.

All offerings in the following gallery have been priced. If there is potential interest, please send along an email for a price quote. This lot will start posting to the price list this evening.

Eclectic U.S. Gold from the Osprey Collection

Please Email for Price Quotations

1855 NGC F15 G$3 1856 PCGS AU55 CAC G$3

1880-CC NGC VF25 G$5 1892-CC NGC EF45 G$5

1847-C PCGS FR02 CAC G$5 1867-S PCGS G04 CAC OGH G$5 1880-S PCGS VF35 G$5

1881 PCGS AU53 G$5 1887-S PCGS AG03 CAC G$5 1896-S PCGS AU50 G$5

1901-S PCGS EF40 G$5 1907 PCGS MS61 CAC OGH G$10

Remodeled Homestead Back Deck is Completed

Quality workmanship is a given when Pete Theberge tackles an improvement project at the homestead. This past week brought the completion of the composite back deck along with modern see through railings. Diane ordered classy wood rocking chairs which were assembled on Saturday afternoon. The grill was moved to its new location resulting in this photo opportunity. The new deck projects 12' from the house and brings a substantial amount of usable space. The railing system will facilitate the full enjoyment of the coming foliage color transition.

I'm certain that Len Augsburger will wish to return to the Raymond office for auction cataloging and 5:00 PM time on this new back deck with an adult beverage...

Our final step for populating the new deck is procuring a table fire pit fueled by a well disguised propane tank. The fire pit will come in handy during cool October evenings along with doubling as an eating table during the warmer summer months.

First Remodeled Homestead Back Deck Images

GFRC Online Auctions Update

Discussions continue with two past/current consignors concerning potential GFRC Online Auction events for the November and December time frame. If either of the discussions produce an agreement to move forward, my calendar will be completely booked through the end of 2021.

November brings a very busy month given the Whitman Baltimore show and the annual Florida migration. Let's not forget Thanksgiving and the traditional Black Friday Sale event for slower moving consigned items.

The hunt is already underway for incremental auction consignment proposals that would be targeted for the January and February 2022 time frame.

Wrapping Up The Blog

As today's Blog edition comes to closure, there are seven large black crows hanging out in the front landscaping. How I enjoy living in the country.

Now that the Blog is published for another day, I'm heading directly to the back acreage with the JD2025R until lunch time. Please understand that I will not be responding to email pricing inquiries for the posted U.S. gold, or regular price list orders, until the noon hour.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday. Be well!

September 11, 2021

GFRC Attains $9,000,000 Consignment Proceeds Milestone!

Two Superb Gem Original Seated Offerings

and

Important Liberty Seated Dime Varieties and Plate Coins Find New Home

Greetings on a lovely southern Maine autumn morning and welcome to yet another Daily Blog edition. As always, thank-you for stopping by.

Yes, the front landscaping view outside the office window has begun its annual color transition. How I love the September and October months during each year. Starting with Sunday's Blog, the autumn foliage shift from greens to crimson, yellows, and orange shades will be captured from the newly constructed back deck. Much positive feedback arrived during the 2020 weekend back acreage foliage updates. So let's conduct a repeat performance for the 2021 Fall season.

There is much to discuss in today's edition but first, let's go to a new Seth Godin blogpost that garnered my attention. The following blogpost was a reminder that the Daily Blog effort is worthwhile for a host of reasons. Godin reinforces the day by day efforts (drop by drop) to bring a unique difference to the numismatic market while influencing individual collector journeys.

Seth Godin Blogpost: We are not astronomers

Unlike most of the sciences, astronomy is always done at a distance. You can see the stars, but you can’t do anything about them.

Sometimes the media would like us to believe that we’re all astronomers, simply passive witnesses in a world out of our control.

But the world is never out of our influence.

Remembrance, connection, possibility, invention, empathy, insight, correction, care and justice are all up to us.

We not only observe, but we make changes happen. Our participation (or apathy) leads to a different future.

The ocean is made of drops. And the drops are up to us. Who else is going to care enough to make an impact?

GFRC Attains $9,000,000 Consignment Proceeds Milestone!

I'm pleased to report that the GFRC business has reached yet another noteworthy milestone; $9,000,000 in consignment proceeds since inception during 2014.

This milestone crept up on me. I was a bit surprised at how quickly this achievement was reached but should not be considering the impact of the GFRC Online Auction platform on sales. Client acceptance of the new auction platform has been beyond expectations with nearly continuous monthly auction presentations. Currently, I am in discussions with two individuals who are contemplating the sale of multi-year collecting achievements. If either gentleman decides to move forward, the November through January time frame could be quite exciting.

The next $10,000,000 milestone will be a huge vote of confidence for the GFRC business. Maybe, a special give-away prize event is in order for the client that can predict the day of that achievement? This is just an idea that is floating about in my mind. Please stay close to the Blog as we start approaching that seven figure milestone.

For those who are new to the Daily Blog and GFRC, the Consign link presents a real time counter of the number of consigned coins sold and total proceeds returned to consignors. Shortly, GFRC will also reach the 10,000 consigned coin plateau. Who would have thought these sales levels would be possible when a tiny Liberty Seated dime hobby business was launched during 2014?

Two Superb Gem Original Seated Offerings

The past week has seen some downright awesome new purchases. Highlighting several new purchasing events are the following two gem Liberty Seated coinage pieces. We start with an amazing 1870-CC WB-4 Liberty Seated half dollar with superb coloring and residual semi-proof like fields. This is a coin that I am falling in love with and wish that it could hang around in inventory through the Whitman Baltimore show. CAC population is only three at VF35 grade and a single AU50 finer. This gem probably won't last long given the exceptional preservation state and eye appeal. This is one of those silver pieces with multiple visual personalities depending on the viewing angle and lighting conditions. In-hand coloring is an illustrated below. Tilting the coin forward under a bright light melts the darker shades into center rose surrounded by peripheral light gold. Experienced collectors know exactly what I am seeing. If placing the coin on the desk with just angled office window lighting, the coloring is rich rose and blues. This key date has been keeping me company on the desk since its arrival. As a final note, I shared this piece to Diane without bright light. She immediately reverts with the question as to why only a VF35 assigned grade as the coloring and overall eye appeal is that of a higher grade piece. Way to go girl!

Also arriving this week and already sold is the finest mid-circulated grade 1842-O Small Date quarter that I've had the privilege of handling. The gray-blue coloring is simply stunning. The images speak for themselves.

Two Superb Gem Original Seated Offerings

1870-CC WB-4 PCGS VF35 CAC 50C

1842-O Small Date, PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

Important Liberty Seated Dime Varieties and Plate Coins Move to the Cleveland Collection

As time goes on, it is becoming more difficult to release the remaining web-book plate coins. There are several reasons behind this difficulty. First is the "moving to the top of the ladder" situation where the final Liberty Seated dimes are some of my favorites and nearly impossible to replace. Once these are gone, the chance to own another equivalent example of that die variety is close to impossible. Secondly, the GFRC business and back acreage project are consuming most of my waking hours and providing an good excuse to not sell the "top of the ladder" varieties. I must give a shout out to the Cleveland Collection consignor for his unwavering persistence for constructing a top Liberty Seated Dime Ultimate set in the Open Set Registry. He has been requesting these pieces for over six months and I finally relented this week. Congratulations go out to the Cleveland Collection on two wicked good acquisitions.

Important Liberty Seated Dime Varieties and Plate Coins Find New Home

1845 F-106a PCGS MS63 Gold CAC 10C 1862 F-105 NGC MS63 10C

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yesterday brought a full day in the GFRC office. If I am not careful, everyday could be spent in the office as business levels continue to expand.

The planned trip to Windham to secure a replacement Husqvarna chain saw blade will take place today. Once morning shipping is arranged for Diane, I am heading into the back acreage with the JD2025R for a few hours of relaxation spreading more 1.5" gravel on the southern trail. It has been a busy week with several hours of personal time being overdue.

Thanks for visiting with me at the Blog. Wishing everyone a lovely mid-September weekend.

September 10, 2021

Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Catalogs are Available!

Be the First to Get Your Oregon Beaver Part 1 PDF Catalog

Greetings and welcome to a Friday Daily Blog edition. Much has transpired since we last met just 24 hours ago.

Southern Maine has been blessed with consistent rains this summer with the same weather pattern holding through September. Last evening, Diane noted that our landscaping and lawns have remained green throughout the summer months. Forest green is a soothing color for one's psyche and probably why I thoroughly enjoy residing in a rural forest setting.

Thursday brought another rainy day that was conducive for bringing the Oregon Beaver Collection auction sale to reality. After brief morning shipping, the balance of the day saw me in the office carefully preparing the Oregon Beaver PDF catalog and finalizing Part 1 sale reserve prices. I am most pleased to be presenting both the online and PDF Oregon Beaver catalogs for your end of week viewing enjoyment. A promise made (September 10 publishing goal) has been a promise kept. Did another important person use this line?

While keenly focused on Oregon Beaver's Collection offerings, FedEx and USPS each brought express packages with a total of ten new purchases. The highlights are a beautifully original 1842-O Small Date PCGS VF25 CAC Liberty Seated quarter that is 100% fresh to the market and a glorious gem 1870-CC PCGS VF35 CAC Liberty Seated half dollar that also has been off the market for years. I am simply blown away by the quality of these new purchases and thankful to those who sold the coins to me. Relationships, relationships, and relationships are an imperative in our hobby. I'm certain a few GFRC clients will go out of bounds and request First Rights of Refusal since I dare mention these new purchases in the Blog. I'm sorry to disappoint but these pieces are so strong that they will be placed with those clients who have supported the GFRC business on a long term basis. Again, relationships do matter when exceptional pieces arrive to the market.

Kudos go out to GFRC Online Auctions staff cataloger, Len Augsburger, for yet another round of professionally prepared Oregon Beaver auction descriptions. There is no one better in the business than Len! As a teaser for the forthcoming Oregon Beaver Collection Part 2 sale, following is Len's commentary for a gorgeous 1875 Seated half.

Oregon Beaver's 1875 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C - Part 2 Sale

Throw out the price guide on this one. For certain pieces, the traditional process of gathering published pricing data, along with auction prices realized, simply doesn’t get the job done. Pricing guide publishers are stymied when it comes to quantifying the superb eye appeal of examples such as this, and a single number simply can’t characterize the range of aesthetic appeal that one might find across one numerical grade. Indeed, it would not be hard to find a washed out, white example of this coin in a PCGS or NGC holder on a bourse floor, and yet that piece will sell for a fraction of the price, even if the same technical grade. This piece exhibits frosty centers that contrast strongly with the mirrored fields, all framed by electric blue and russet patina at the rims. Surfaces are semi-proof like, with intense, reflective luster. Coins with this level of eye appeal are difficult to price, and GFRC will be watching along with everyone else to see where the bidding takes this gem. Housed in a PCGS Gen 5.0 (2015) Dupont hologram holder with CAC approval.

Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Catalogs are Available!

That's right! Please visit the Auction link to access the Oregon Beaver Collection's online catalog. Reserves have been finalized and posted with ample time for research and developing a bidding strategy come September 25.

For those who have decided to start collecting GFRC Online Auction PDF catalogs, the Oregon Beaver Collection Part 1 catalog is now available. Be the first to download and review the newest Liberty Seated coinage offerings. You will immediately note a format change for auctions with smaller lot sizes. I've increased image sizes which results in two offerings per page. Numismatics is a visual hobby, therefore why not place the emphasis on coin images when a PDF catalog provides for unlimited publishing space?

Be the First to Get Your Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Catalog

Click on Catalog Cover to Download PDF File

Are We Living in the Numismatic Hobby Golden Days?

The darkest of clouds can sometimes have a golden lining...

Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a terrible event in modern history. However, the forced isolation from the pandemic has unleashed a new golden age for numismatics. Baby Boomers with countless hours of free time turned to a long ago hobby to find satisfaction within a life. The result has been unprecedented demand for quality coins. The "CAC effect" has further solidify the investment value of top tier premium coins. CAC prices continue to climb as demand far outstrips supply. When compared to NFTs, premium early type coins and U.S. gold remain undervalued at current guide levels. The issue is locating someone who wishes to sell their holdings.

The response to my question is yes, we are living in the numismatic hobby's golden days. Instead of being driven by speculatory bullion prices, the current hobby is focused on value with the age old rule of supply and demand. There are too many financial enabled collectors pursuing a limited number of top tier coins. The thrill of the hunt is back with a vengeance!

Now is the Time to Work with GFRC

Every collector moves through a life with financial cycles. There are times of excess disposable income that can be applied to hobbies. There are other times when hobby assets must be sold to fund a second retirement home or other important needs. If finding one's self in the latter category and needing to sell numismatic holdings, why not consider GFRC as your partner?

Selling valuable numismatic holdings during a period of heighten market demand translate into top prices for your coins. Please add in GFRC's very competitive commission rates and one on one consulting into a divestment consideration. GFRC is not close to being the largest dealer and auction house in the market, however, our online presence and reputation expand by the day for a simple reason; trustworthiness and fair dealings. No one in the hobby takes the time to write a daily blog with complete transparency of a life. Who else is straight on problematic coins and not bashful about protecting clients from a deceitful purchase?

I would enjoy hearing from you...

Global Financial News

We find U.S. equity market traders in an upbeat mode as a short trading week closes. Morning market futures are pointing to a 0.5% gain at the opening 9:30 AM bell.

This week has been notable for Bitcoin volatility with 10% daily price movements. On the other hand, traditional money aka. physical gold, has been rock steady at the $1800/oz level give or take a few dollars.

Following are morning market futures courtesy of Seeking Alpha.

In Asia, Japan +1.3%. Hong Kong +1.9%. China +0.3%. India closed.

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

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.5%. S&P +0.4%. NASDAQ +0.4%.

WTI crude oil pricing is flat at $69.39/bbl along with the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield at 1.33%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a partly cloudy southern Maine day after a bout of heavy rain. I will be in the office for most of the day but don't be surprised if I skip out during the mid afternoon hours for a trip to Windham for a new Husqvarna chain saw blade and maybe even a drive to Trader Joes to load up on spicy Asian dishes. And you thought I was going to spend time on the JD2025R in the back acreage, right?

Seriously, there is always so much to do in a life with time being precious. I'll find a balance with supporting GFRC client request while still meeting personal needs.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog. Be well!

September 9, 2021

Important Seated Dates Posted to the Price List

GFRC Online Auctions Debuts New Bourse Table Runner

and

Publishing Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale PDF Catalog

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Thursday morning. Your daily visits are appreciated.

Yours truly slept in this morning and is finally composing at 7:00 AM. As a result, the topics will be quick given an 8:00ish publishing target.

I'm pleased to report that Diane sailed through Wednesday colonoscopy procedure and is the model of health. While the procedure was underway in Portland, a new first in my life took place; a visit to Trader Joes. With an hour for contemplation, I walked the aisles multiple times and studied their alternative food offerings. In particular, the spicy Asian dishes captured my attention. Spicy sauces, pecans, and ginger candies were purchased as a starting point. Plans are underway to drive the 35 minutes one way for a larger purchase of frozen Asian dishes. Visiting a Trader Joes may become as important as a trip to the Maine/NH state line for adult fun at the NH Liquor Store.

Wednesday was pretty much a blur with GFRC shipping before and after Diane's procedure. Once back in the office, a wave of purchase emails were responded to and coins pulled from the safe. Dan White's latest U.S. gold consignment was delivered and photographed. Pete Theberge completed the back deck which resulted in a large amount of construction debris being organized and transported with the JD2025R to the top of the driveway for trash pickup day.

Finally, the post dinner hours were allocated to posting two important Liberty Seated coinage offerings to the price list.

Important Seated Dates Posted to the Price List

For clients who only check the price list each morning (which is rather amazing and could not be more pleased), the following two coins were posted.

The 1846 dime lasted all of an hour before being requested by two collectors. The 1855-S half remains available with the following price list description.

Rare First Year Issue, Frosted Luster, Well Above Average Strike, Slider AU. First year of San Francisco mint half dollar issue with only 129,950. As you can imagine, the pent up demand for smaller denomination every day currency (as compared to gold) resulted in the entire mintage being placed into circulation. Choice survivors are no where to be found in today's market. Being offered is an important 1855-S survivor that is a slider AU in terms of wear and strike. Most 1855-S survivors are seen with weak obverse denticles and center devices. The strike on this offering is well above average and quite pleasing. Frosted surfaces are covered with light speckled gold. The lower right obverse fields has faint tooling that appears to be a spot removal effort. Afterwards, this piece was dipped. It is highly plausible that PCGS net graded this offering down to EF45 given that dipping is acceptable to this TPG. Housed in PCGS Gen 6.0 holder with WB-4 Arrows Large S attribution on the label.

1846 F-101 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C 1855-S Arrows PCGS EF45 50C

GFRC Online Auctions Debuts New Bourse Table Runner

At the forthcoming November Baltimore and Winter FUN shows, GFRC has expanded its bourse footprint. I've reserved a double corner presence at the Baltimore show with the full GFRC staff including Gerry, Diane, Dan, and Rose Marie. The same staff with be present at Winter FUN within a three 8' table layout.

Diane was tasked to order more table covers and a new advertising banner for the GFRC Online Auctions business. The new table covers will be black colored with the following runner that arrived this week. Yes, the creases must be ironed out before the first public display.

Posting Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale PDF Catalog

Today's primary office goal is completing the Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale online and PDF catalogs.

As usual, I'm experimenting with the preparation process and have decided to post the PDF catalog first followed by the online version, which illustrates reserve prices. Hopefully, today brings a full day in the office as rains are forecasted. That time will be dedicated to the auction project including publishing the PDF catalog and making reserve recommendations for the client's approval.

As a not so subtle reminder of the fantastic Oregon Beaver Part 1 Seated half dollar offerings, following are highlights.

The Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Part 1 Highlights

1840 WB-1, Reverse of 1839, PCGS MS65 CAC 50C

1839 Drapery WB-7 NGC MS63 CAC 50C 1845 WB-2 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1846-O WB-5 Medium Date PCGS MS64 50C 1846 Tall Date WB-13 PCGS MS63 50C

1849 WB-10 MS63 CAC 50C 1850 WB-2 PCGS MS63 50C

1852 WB-2 NGC AU55 CAC 50C 1863 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1871-CC WB-6 NGC VF30 50C 1873-CC WB-4 NGC AU58 50C

Global Financial News

Days have gone by without checking in on the equity markets and commodity prices which should be the mindset for longer term investments. A spot check of U.S. markets revealed the DJIA at slightly above 35,000, the S&P 500 at near record 4515, and the NASDAQ at 15,286. Morning market futures indicates a negative bias come the 9:30 AM opening for another day's trading.

In Asia, Japan -0.6%. Hong Kong -2.3%. China +0.5%. India flat.

In Europe, at midday, London -1.3%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt -0.3%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.3%. S&P -0.3%. NASDAQ -0.3%.

We are once again facing a deficit ceiling battle between Congress and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Markets typically don't like these events with traders become cautious.

WTI crude is trading sideways at $69.42/bbl. Ditto for paper gold at an even $1800/oz. Bitcoin took a dip down to $43,000 earlier this week and is recovering at $46,121.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 1.33%, a slightly elevated number of no concern.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It appears that today's edition was written in just an hour's time.

Next up is a quick shower, responding to overnight orders, and the usual morning shipping duties. Afterwards, I'm wearing the GFRC Online Auctions hat for the balance of the day.

Of course, consignment and auction proposals will garner my full attention if being tendered. These types of "distractions" are always welcomed.

Thanks for checking in at the Daily Blog. Be well!

September 8, 2021

GFRC Buys Two CAC Approved Key Seated Dates

and

Back Acreage Trail Cutting Report

Greetings on an early Wednesday morning and welcome to another Blog edition. Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday brought a particularly long day here at the homestead. I'm doing my best to continually convince my body that calendar age is not relevant. A sharing heart and continual aspirations influence how we age. My belief is of a relationship between strenuous outdoor work and a fit body to do such.

The day started at 5:00 AM with GFRC shipment preparations. Next came Blog composition followed by preparing the Husqvarna chain saw just in time for Dave Wilkinson's arrival at 7:45. By 8:00, the excavator was on the job with noble goals for the day. Like the best made plans, adjustments were required as we faced the realities of a thick forest and hidden rocks.

Though we did not come close to reaching the first natural spring, I am most pleased with yesterday's trail cutting progress. More on that topic shortly with several images.

Oh, Pete Therberge was also at the homestead on Tuesday to wrap up the back deck construction. He will be here again today to install the last of the see through railings.

By 5:30 PM, I was back in the house and made my own dinner since Diane has a colonoscopy procedure today. Afterwards, the GFRC business took priority with order responses, invoice generation, and buying a special key date Liberty Seated coinage deal at 9:00 PM. Here I am again on a Wednesday morning composing another Blog edition.

GFRC Buys Two CAC Approved Key Seated Dates

A long term GFRC client made a decision to raise numismatic funds prior to the upcoming Long Beach show. Emails appeared in my Inbox with images of six important Liberty Seated dimes, quarters, and halves for consideration along with asking prices. How I enjoy doing business in the this manner. The offer prices were play or pass and that I did purchasing four of the six offerings for roughly $15,000. Three of the four pieces are CAC approved.

Unfortunately, I can no longer provide previews or share the dates for new purchases in the Blog. The old First Right of Refusal habit dies hard with aggressive clients. These four pieces will ship today via overnight Express and should arrive tomorrow. Rainy southern Maine weather will preclude photography until Saturday.

As a teaser, two of the pieces are low CAC population key dates that will be quickly absorbed by advanced collectors as pricing will be fair.

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Part 1 Auction Sale Update

I'm still targeting the publication of the Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Part 1 Auction Sale online catalog by this weekend. Remaining is preparing a reserves proposal for the consignor followed by his approval.

Consignments Being Solicited "Again"

It is my job to solicit consignments. The GFRC online price list would be a boring internet destination without consignments.

Enough said with your considerations appreciated.

Back Acreage Trail Cutting Report

Again, I am pleased with yesterday's trail cutting progress and realistic concerning the challenges that we encountered.

Please reference the following back acreage Google map and the white line that marks the final trail cutting push to the top most corner of the property followed by heading southeast to the natural spring. I've overlaid the white line with red to illustrate Tuesday's progress.

Ledge Hill Trails Project Status - September 8, 2021

Tuesday started with cutting through about 70' of forest towards an 8' wide settler's stone wall that is mind-blowing. Once reaching the wall (top left of property line on map), Dave and I just stared and contemplated the man-years necessary to build such a structure with wood sleds and horses or mules. Since construction, two paths had been punched through the wall with one being wide enough for a small roadway. In Maine, we call these "tote roads". Given the amount of time and investment in this project, I made a decision to close those wall openings to ensure that no motorbikes or ATV could gain access to the walking paths. This decision took precious time away from the push to the natural spring but was necessary for my peace of mind.

Here is an image of Dave closing the larger "tote road" opening. Clicking on the image provides access to the high resolution photograph for inspection of this amazing settler's wall. Dave marveled at how beautiful this wall would have been circa 1880's when these woods were open pastures.

This image attempts to convey the appearance of the settler's wall as I am sitting on the wall and looking northward to the top corner property line. The wall is roughly 8' wide and 4' high. The construction has larger boulders as the outside "frame" with smaller rocks placed in the center section. After 120+ years, the granite rock has weather to a natural gray with much grown vegetation.

We reached the top most point of the back acreage property at roughly 12:30 PM with notably thick tree and rock density. While attempting to cut down a doubled trunk maple tree, the chain saw blade was bent and further slow our progress. Cutting tall trees in a forest leaves no room for error. Dave must use his excavator to push the tree in the direction we wish for it to fall. One of the two double trunks became hang up on adjacent trees with a bound saw blade. We had no choice but to push the trunk down with the excavator at the expense of the chain saw blade.

This image illustrates Dave turning the corner southward at the top of the property. Note the sharp incline and the boulder density. The area adjacent to the northern settler's stone wall is a thick rock fields. This path was constructed immediately adjacent to the wall in the hopes that the rock density would allow easier passage. This was partially the case once turning the corner and heading south. Clicking on the image provides access to a high resolution version for those who wish to inspect the details.

Our progress slowed along the northern wall due to being without a chain saw and another decision to rebuild that wall. This northern wall is sparse and anemic as compared to the prior wall that took us to the top of the top corner of the property. With ample amounts of raw material available, once not slow down and build up this wall to ensure that no motorized vehicles will be able to access the walking paths? As Dave said, "you will only do this once in a lifetime.'

This final image captures the construction of the northern wall. The brown boulders have been extracted from the ground as part of the path clearing process. There was no need to search and mine rocks outside path construction as the rock field was quite dense.

We closed shop at 5:00 PM as Dave was running low on fuel. Both Dave and I were pleased with the day's outcome. Other than a bent chain saw blade, this was one of out best project outings.

Dave will be back next week for the final push to the natural spring. I hope that you have enjoyed this presentation.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I must wrap up the Blog at this point. A shower is in order before taking Diane for her colonoscopy procedure. Peter Theberge also arrives in a few minutes to finish the deck project while we are away for the morning.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. I will be in the office this afternoon and making ever attempt to catch-up on shipping.

Be well!

September 7, 2021

The Warm-Up Act - Oregon Beaver's Newest Consignment

and

Trail Cutting Day - Naturally Aged Stone Walls to Uncover

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on an early Tuesday morning. Thanks for checking in.

I'm up quite early this morning given a full day of trail cutting that starts at 8:00 AM. The Blog must be composed along with staging shipment preparations for Diane to manage while I'm in the back acreage.

This will be a brief Blog that will be balanced with a longer edition on Wednesday morning.

Much feedback arrived concerning yesterday's personal sharing on Labor Day. Much of the commentary was from similar aged individuals who shared comparable life experiences.

Publishing the Oregon Beaver Collection's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale online and PDF catalog are this week's primary deliverables to the GFRC community. Len Augsburger's usual authoritative descriptions are done and are awaiting transfer into the COIN system. Wednesday brings catalog preparations so please make a point to check the GFRC Online Auctions link on Thursday to view some mighty fine Seated halves.

The Warm-Up Act - Oregon Beaver's Newest Consignment

Along with the large Seated half dollar auction lot, Oregon Beaver also transferred yet another consignment for the online price list. Offer prices for those pieces were approved during the weekend and enabled their addition to the price list on Monday. Below is a gallery that illustrates the consignment contents.

As usual, Oregon Beaver is able to release early $2.5 gold pieces due to the continual upgrading of his core set. This release contained low mintage 1845 Dahlonega and 1872 San Francisco issues for consideration. The 1877 Philly date has a crazy low mintage of 1,632 with semi-PL surfaces. Sorry, but the 1886 example is already on hold and goes out the door today on a Quick Ship basis. I'm certain the balance of the $2.5 gold will sell quickly once being posted on Collectors Corner.

Wrapping up the latest consignment are several non-gold pieces including a 1931-S Lincoln and two Barber halves. The 1914 PCGS F15 CAC Barber is already on hold. CAC coins continue to see heightened demand once arriving to the price list.

Quality Offerings - Oregon Beaver's Newest Consignment

1845-D PCGS EF45 G$2.5 1872-S PCGS MS61 G$2.5

1877 PCGS AU55 G$2.5 1886 PCGS AU58 CAC G$2.5

1931-S PCGS MS64RB 1C 1911 PCGS AU55 50C 1914 PCGS F15 CAC 50C

Consignments Being Solicited "Again"

This week brings the arrival of a new Osprey Collection U.S gold consignment along with a few new purchases. These will be sufficient to keep the price list fresh into the coming weekend. Afterwards, I will be processing some low priced raw Capped Bust half dimes and Liberty Seated dime web-book plate coins from my reference collection.

Bottomline, the consignment backlog has been consumed. If you've been considering the divested of unloved duplicates or an entire collection, the balance of September is wide open for quick turn processing of your items. The numismatic market continues to be hot with GFRC September sales being well ahead of prior years. To maintain that momentum, an ongoing flow of fresh inventory is necessary.

Trail Cutting Day - Naturally Aged Stone Walls to Uncover

Below is a detailed Ledge Hill Trails project map that presents current status and today's trail cutting goals. Unquestionably, the construction of a full perimeter walking trail loop is a huge undertaking. But persistence, on a multi-year basis, will bring this dream to reality.

Let's walk through the various color codes that illustrate current and planned progress.

Red - the existing southern trail that takes us to the first natural spring. This trail is in decent shape and easily walkable.

Red with Tan Overlay - the section of trail that has been fully cleaned and overlaid with a 1.5" stone/gravel mix. This is the end goal for the project; a comfortable walking trail with no trip hazards.

Aquamarine - the fresh trail section that was cut on August 25th. This section is rough with protruding roots and depressions everywhere.

White - the September 7 (today's) cutting goal. I am so excited as we will be cutting directly adjacent to naturally aged settler's stone walls that have been undisturbed for over a century. The land direct adjacent to these stone walls appears to be fairly free of boulders and should allow for smoother passage with the excavator. Let's hope that my assumption comes true!

Ledge Hill Trails Project Status - September 7, 2021

Please check back on Wednesday morning to learn how far the trailblazing team was able to move along with images of two beautifully aged stone walls. These walls will be yet another important highlight for those who enjoy the upcoming walking trails.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Time dictates that the Blog be ended here as Dave Wilkinson arrives in one hour. My job is to get the chain saw ready for tree cutting duties before his arrival. The excavator is fueled and ready to go at 8:00 AM.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Daily Blog!

September 6, 2021

Labor Day 2021 - Celebrating the Value of Work in Our Lives

and

Confronting the Steepest Incline Within the Ledge Hill Trails Project

Greetings on Labor Day 2021 and welcome to the Daily Blog. I'm pleased that you could make time for a visit.

The weather and daylight transition is upon us in southern Maine. It is a bit before 6:00 AM with darkness outside the office window. During the summer months, birds would be chirping as the day had already been underway for an hour or more. The cycle of life is readily apparent on this Labor Day morning.

My apology for a Blog edition that is devoid of numismatic items. It is after all Labor Day and a holiday that honors the millions of great Americans who built this wonderful country. Why not stop for a moment and contemplate the importance of this holiday?

Labor Day 2021 - Celebrating the Value of Work in Our Lives

It should be obvious to those who follow the Blog ramblings that I enjoy working. A honest day's work gives life meaning and provides much more than monetary benefits. At the most basic level, having a job provides self esteem. Sharing time with fellow workers teaches life skills and operating in a community with peers. Work enables self reliance with an income to support the basic facts of life; bills for housing, food, clothes and transportation. Work also, by default, enables maturity. As a parent, one of the most important things to teach our children is the relationship of work with securing basic needs and the occasional personal treat.

I've told my personal story, concerning work, to close friends but have never shared in the Blog. For whatever reason, it feels appropriate that I share one of the most important moments of my life today.

Growing up in Lewiston Maine with parents of very modest means meant handling chores. A third of our small property lot was a garden that supplied vegetables on a year round basis. Whatever was not consumed fresh during the summer and autumn months, was canned for storage and consumption during long Maine winters. I worked in the garden as best as I could as a young boy. When becoming a bit older, I would shovel neighbor driveways after every snowstorm. My grandfather had a small lawn mowing business with yours truly being the partner in the adventure. Most summer evenings and Saturday's were consumed working along side my grandfather. While other kids were watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, I was picked up at 7:00 AM for a full day's work. In hindsight, I was so blessed to have my grandfather as a role model and teacher.

When turning 12 years old, my mother sat me down with a stern message. If there were aspirations for a college education, then I must work to raise the monies. In other words, I was going it alone as the family did not have the funds to support such an expense. My father's formal education ended at 6th grade while my mother reached the 10th grade. As second generation French-Canadian immigrants, it was necessary to go to work in the mills at a young age for self support.

In hindsight, that conversation was a transformational moment. Yes, I badly wished to leave Lewiston and a life of texture mills and shoe shops. I walked away for baseball and other after school activities and found jobs throughout high school years and the summer vacation months. More time was allocated to my grandfather's business along with working as an after school janitor. Sadly, my grandfather had a major stroke when I turned 14. There were short stints in non air-conditioned shoe shops and at Bates textile mill unloading cotton bales from train freight cars. Unfortunately, I was allergic to cotton dust and had to quit that job much to my father's disgrace. During the latter high school years, I landed a dream job working in a record shop after school and on Saturdays,

By the time I was 18 years old, I had amassed all of $2000 and applied to a single college; University of Maine at Orono. I planned to become an electrical engineer and move away from Maine. My high school grades were near the top of the class therefore accepted. The $2000 would last only two years which dictated finding work on the college campus. I immediately found a position in the dining hall washing dishes and pans to help pay for room and board. I worked in a retailer chain store warehouse for several summers unloading tractor trailers. Transport was riding my bike three miles one way in sun and rain. To fund my final two years of college, I secure a Resident Assistant position which paid for room and board expenses. Tuition was funded by summer work and a little borrowing. Come January of senior year, I was hired by IBM. However, I was out of money and worked as a university janitor cleaning and painting buildings during school breaks that final college year.

There is no question that my mother's stern conversation made the man that I am today. Hard work brings self esteem and allows for reaching for whatever goal you believe is attainable. I truly feel sad for the many in our society who shun work and have an entitlement attitude. Being born does not mean entitlement. Being on this planet requires adding value to society to survive.

Hopefully, this monologue will aid the many readers comprehend the intensity by which I manage GFRC and now, building the Ledge Hill Trails project. Workers can reach for the stars. It is up to each of us to make the most in a life without blaming others for mistakes, misfortunes, or setbacks. We are in control of our destiny.

Happy Labor Day 2021.

Confronting the Steepest Incline Within the Ledge Hill Trails Project

After publishing Sunday's Blog edition, much of the day was allocated to the Ledge Hill Trails project.

The day's challenge was confronting the steepest incline on the southern trail and building a level pathway for back and forth JD2025R movement.

During Dave Wilkinson's last visit, he was asked to clear out the pathway with his excavator. Excavators are brute force machines and not capable of finish work. Dave's effort was notable and enable the construction of a solid 1.5" stone and gravel lined path.

When facing the steep incline with the JD2025R, there were concerns and quiet fears. Rolling a tractor deep in the woods was to be avoided at all costs. I approached the day's work with utmost caution. First came the application of a 1.5" stone base to smooth out the terrain and provide solid footing for the tractor. Next came the application of 1.5" gravel to fill in over the base. Bucket load by bucket load, the pathway was constructed.

Below is an image taken as I am about to descend down the incline. One can see the initially applied 1.5" stone base with the overlaid gravel in front of the tractor.

Confronting the Steepest Incline Within the Ledge Hill Trails Project

Looking Up from the Bottom of Incline

The above image does not accurately communicate the test being faced by a new tractor owner. To drive home the point for my caution, the below image was taken at the top of the incline and illustrates the challenge from the JD2025R's driver's seat. Not only was the cut trail steep but also sloping downward to the right. Not shown in the image are random holes created when Dave removed large rocks and did not completely backfill those depressions. Dropping a loaded back wheel into one of those holes could bring about a rollover.

View from the JD2025R Driver's Seat - Full Attention Required

I worked on this trail segment from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM and pleased to share an image of the finished product. This image captures a subset of the lined trail as I nearly reached the southern property line before calling it a day. Yes, basic tools like a rake and root cutters were critical given the limited maneuvering room on the steep incline. It was quickly learned to employ the rake for completing the pathway edges rather than employing the tractor.

The Finished Product!

Dave Wilkinson is back today with another load of 1.5" gravel. Tuesday brings a full trail cutting day with the excavator. We will complete the northern trail and head southeast towards the natural spring. Who knows how far we will move in one day's time but hopefully, the trail cutting will be simplified by staying close to two addition large settler's stone walls. There will be many images of these walls come Wednesday's Blog.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a nearly full day in the GFRC office. The weather will be conducive to working in the back acreage but attention must be placed on the GFRC business given Tuesday's full day in the woods.

I hope that you've enjoyed today's Blog edition. Be well!

September 5, 2021

Important S-Mint Liberty Seated Halves from the San Jose Collection

Greetings once again on a Labor Day weekend and welcome to more numismatic ramblings.

Today's edition will be brief as I've spent the early morning hours preparing an important San Francisco Liberty Seated half dollar consignment from the San Jose Collection. Diane and I went out to dinner on Saturday evening, and once back home, I just could not bringing myself to conduct image processing and die variety attributions. Instead, an early bedtime seemed to make sense to enable a 5:00 AM time back in the GFRC office. The plan did work as demonstrated by yet another fine Liberty Seated half dollar offering.

The San Jose Collection consignor was an early GFRC client dating back to the 2015 time frame. After a consignment hiatus that spanned years, our dear friend is back with another noteworthy Seated half dollar release that should garner attention. These pieces have been off the market for at least 15-20 years based on the old TPG holders and dealer stickers that I still can recognize from my own collecting days.

There are several important die varieties in this offering.

Let's start with the 1861-S PCGS AU55 offering. The consignor has attributed as WB-11 R7, a new variety identified by Bugert. My own assessment sees the obverse diagnostics matching WB-11 (clashing), but the reverse lacks late die state die cracks. Interestingly, this piece does not match any listing by Bugert.

The 1874-S WB-2 is listed an R5 rarity by Bugert with the attribution confirmed. The 1877-S half, that is housed in NGC EF45 holder, has been validated as WB-25 which is a Type 1 over Type 2 transition reverse. Bugert also lists this die variety as R5 rarity.

Let's not forget the rare 1857-S WB-3 offering that is missing from many date and mintmark collections. This example is nice and original with frosted luster as the certified grade. The images are accurate other than some slight amplification of the green hues.

Important S-Mint Seated Halves from the San Jose Collection

Please Email for Price Quote - Loading to Price List on Monday

1857-S WB-3 PCGS EF45 50C 1861-S Unlisted PCGS AU55 50C

1863-S WB-3 NGC AU58 50C 1868-S WB-3 PCGS AU58 50C

1859-S WB-7 Raw AU58 50C 1861-S WB-3 Raw AU55 50C 1872-S WB-3 NGC AU50 50C

1874-S WB-2 ANACS EF40 OWH 50C 1877-S WB-2 Raw AU58 50C 1877-S WB-25 NGC EF45 50C

All pieces are currently available for price quotations. Pricing the unlisted 1861-S AU55 example will be challenging and will take time. All other offerings are straightforward.

If there is interest, please send all an email request. Your requests will be responded to during the later afternoon hours.

Ledge Hill Trails Development Day!

Once today's Blog is uploaded, the plan is to spend the next six hours working on the Ledge Hills Trails project. With about 15 yards of 1.5" gravel and 1.5" stone, there is ample material to extend the southern trail further towards the first natural spring. Let's remember this is a Sunday during Labor Day weekend with a reasonable expectation for some time away from the GFRC office.

Therefore, I am wrapping up at this point and will return to the office about 3:00 PM to catch-up with email correspondence including price quote requests for the above San Jose offerings.

Thanks again for checking in at the Daily Blog. Wishing everyone a pleasant Labor Day weekend.

September 4, 2021

Does the Numismatic Market Need Another TPG Approval Company?

Greetings on Labor Day weekend and welcome to the Blog.

Little was prepared for today's edition as most of Friday was spent working in the back acreage. Upon checking morning emails, a customer responded to a recent request for numismatic questions. Talk about timely! But first, a brief report on yesterday's adventures.

Have you ever attempted to burn a substantial brush pile with swirling 10-12 mph winds? That was the dilemma faced yesterday morning. As mentioned in Friday's Blog edition, northwest winds are ideal for burning as the smoke is blown directly into the forest and not bothering Diane in the homestead and neighbors. I was on the fence during the morning hours as winds were gusty. Why not let the Raymond fire department make the decision? That I did and drove down to the fire house where they promptly granted my burning request. Armed with a piece of paper, the next step was risk mitigation. Buckets of water were brought down to the settler's stone wall at 12:30 PM. My gut still said the winds were too brisk to burn. Instead, the next two hours were spent hauling more gravel down to the southern walking trail. Upon one of the return trips to secure another front loader full of gravel, I noticed that neighbor Rick was home mowing the lawn with his Kubota tractor. Rick works at a large outdoor camp on Sebago Lake (a retirement job) and is a pro at dropping trees and burning brush.

Rick is a daring individual with respect to burning brush and is a bigger the pile, the better type of person. Even he was concerned with the wind speed but agreed to help monitor the burn and chase down any flying ambers. Luckily, the brush pile was mostly hardwoods and a few stumps with hardly any leaves that could be captured by the winds. We cautiously started the fire opposite the wind direction to ensure a slow controlled burn. To make a long story short, the burning event was uneventful as the fire spread through the pile slowly and required more kerosene to ignite the hardwoods.

The only casualty of the day was a piston fitting on the front grapple. The fitting were experiencing a very slow leak that erupted into a hydraulic spray towards the end of the afternoon. Many branches had been pulled for the acreage and dumped on the fire. The heating of the fitting probably brought metal fatigue and a crack. A new fitting will be ordered from Hall Implement and replaced in the coming weeks.

Does the Numismatic Market Need Another TPG Approval Company?

Last evening, an email arrived from a GFRC client with a link to a new "sticker approval" company launched by Barry Stuppler. The service is named "PQ Approved" with Don Kettering as the Chief Grader. The website can be found at this link.

https://www.pqapproved.com/

A review of the website revealed a first pass attempt at population reports that are unpopulated except for a few U.S. gold entries. There are submission links, of course.

The approval criteria is quite restrictive and listed as follows:

Great Eye Appeal!
Only PCGS and NGC Certified Coins!
Excellent Strike!
Great Mint Luster!
No Major Copper Or Carbon Spots!
Above Average for the Grade!
No Major Mint Defects!
No Ugly Toning!

Sure, the evaluation of coins is a subjective exercise but when seeing terms like "great", "excellent", and "no major" in the evaluation criteria, I was immediately leery. The next step was reviewing the explanation of each criteria. I had to laugh when reading the "Great Mint Luster" criteria with the word "shine" is employed instead of luster. Yes, we all love shiny coins! I wonder who wrote this description and their experience in the hobby? It should be obvious that neither Stuppler or Kettering took the time to document their evaluation parameters.

Ever wondered if a coin still has its original shine, or if the reflection is better than a typical coin from that same mintage? You’ll be happy to know that all PQ coins have passed our PQ Approved Mint Luster Standards. Each coin is individually reviewed and compared to similar coins from the same mintage to make sure all PQ coins have a shine you can be proud of!

My first impression is that Stuppler and Kettering are attempting to leverage the market and branding that John Albanese has already constructed with CAC. Why not start another evaluation service that reviews CAC approved coins and stickers a subset? Let's be realistic here. Nearly all of the traded coins in the marketplace have already been to CAC at least once. Those that are approved by CAC are the top end of the distribution with just a few outliers that are unavoidable when reviewing millions of coins.

Reading the PQ Approved criteria, I noted two criteria that Stuppler and Kettering can leverage. Those are strike and ugly toning. We are well aware that the TPGs and CAC are not interested in strike. CAC will also sticker heavily toned silver coins that are crusty and without eye appeal. I see few coins with major mint defects so this criteria is mostly a filler.

Bottom line, PQ Approved appears to be attempting to sticker a fraction of the CAC approved coins in the market followed by becoming a market maker for those coins. That is where the real money is for these individuals.

Are Stuppler and Kettering attempting to solve a numismatic marketplace issue? Doubtful, and I'm not impressed. Again, be leery of solutions in search of problems.

Working on a Fresh Liberty Seated Half Dollar Consignment

Today's focus shifts to a fresh San Francisco minted Liberty Seated half dollar consignment from a 2015 era GFRC consignor. The pricing stickers indicate that the coins have been off the market for 15-20 years. The consignment totals ten coins and includes these dates; 1857-S, 1859-S, 1861-S (2), 1863-S, 1868-S, 1872-S, 1874-S, and 1877-S (2). One of the two 1861-S is a rare WB-11 and one of the 1877-S is WB-25 with transitional reverse. Grades are all EF45 through AU58 with seven of the ten being TPG graded. These are solid quality coins.

The processing will go quickly as southern Maine weather will bring bright sunshine along with the consignor giving me authority to price the coins without his approval.

Consignments Being Solicited

Just an ongoing reminder that there is ample consignment processing bandwidth during September if you wish to divest coins. I would be pleased to speak with you concerning this topic and how GFRC can be of service.

Wrapping up the Blog

Today brings a heavy shipment morning. After the ill fated FedEx experience, I've become sensitive to Friday shipments that spend an extra day in the USPS system over the weekend. Friday shipments are being delayed until Saturday as a new policy. At GFRC, we are constantly fine tuning the service parameters to ensure the best possible customer experience.

Wishing everyone a fantastic Labor Day holiday weekend! Be well.

September 3, 2021

New Consignor Joins GFRC - Superbly Toned Type!

and

The Boys Hanging Out for Monday's Trail Building

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

The Labor Day weekend is upon us which marks the official end of summer here in the northeast. During past years, I would be attending the Central Ohio coin show during the Labor Day weekend. However, the road trip from Maine to Columbus, Ohio and back takes too much time away from the office and the back acreage project. GFRC's next show will be NH Coin Expo that takes place in Manchester at the end of the month. Dan and I are certainly looking forward to that event.

Now that Ida has passed through southern Maine, the wind direction has shifted to the northwest. Why is this important? Northwest winds are ideal for burning the huge brush pile. The resulting smoke will be directed into the forest and away from neighbors and the homestead. Therefore, I will be taking the afternoon off from the GFRC office and burning the existing pile along with other dried out branches that still litter the primary pathway within the back acreage project.

Another Gem Seth Godin Blogpost

Before we move forward with numismatic news and other ramblings, let's share a blogpost from Seth Godin that accurately explains what has happened to society as a result of technology advancements and corresponding business model changes during our lifetimes. The key point is that businesses adapt to technology developments to survive. Capitalism is a never ending race among participants. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your perspective, those viewing the race are caught up within ever changing information delivery and the impacts on core culture.

Sometimes, it is important to thoroughly understand what is happening to us as a basis for coping or modifying our expectations. Personally, I have become much more cynical of online content and any email that appears in the Inbox. Cynicism is important in an age where we are overrun by content issued by a host of companies and individuals with for profit motives. Click-bait headlines are just one example. True altruism is a precious commodity.

Seth Godin Blogpost - We get what the business model wants

The model for TV in the 1960s was three major networks supported by mass advertising. And so the shows that were produced were banal, reassuring and fairly inexpensive to produce. The goal was simply to keep someone from watching the other two channels.

The business model in the Netflix age, with multiple streaming channels racing to gain market share among affluent consumers with a surfeit of choice, is fundamentally different. And as a result, so is the content being produced.

It’s not that the TV people wanted to watch suddenly changed–it’s that the economic model for delivering it did.

The business model for news has changed, and so the news has. Not what’s happening in the world, but the way the internet reports it.

The business model for all the lifestyle (health, gossip, etc.) filler we see has changed as well. And so it goes…

And for many people, the biggest change is this: the business model of social networks has replaced the simple act of being in community.

New Consignor Joins GFRC - Superbly Toned Type!

This week marks another GFRC client transitioning from customer to consignor. The following initial consignment brings superbly toned type pieces with awesome eye appeal. Last evening order rate was impressive with multiple requests for many of these offerings.

Please note that the 1939 PCGS MS66 Mercury dime IS NOT a Full Band piece. The below title line is accurate while the listing on the price list was the victim of Excel auto fill when I typed in the MS66 certification. Excel auto filled MS66FB and I did not catch this error until five individuals ordered the coin last evening. As a result, we will start over for this piece with the first person having the option to play or pass as an MS66 only. If taking the time to look at the images, it should be apparent that this dime is not FB as is the offer price. There is no Santa Claus in numismatics....

All that remains available from these offerings are the 1876 PCGS MS63 double dime (a bargain for the eye appeal and strike) and the 1956-D Washington quarter.

New Consignor Joins GFRC - Superbly Toned Type!

1876 PCGS MS63 20C 1807 PCGS VF30 CAC 25C

1926 PCGS AU58FH CAC 25C 1882-S PCGS MS65 CAC $1

1939 PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1956-D NGC MS66 CAC Fatty 25C

The Boys Hanging Out for Monday's Trail Building

The Fortin's are blessed to have long term relationships with outstanding contractors. Pete Theberge and Dave Wilkinson are capable and trustworthy individuals that became friends during the course of their working events at the homestead. There is never a question about workmanship and timeliness. These individuals share the same goals as we do and work accordingly.

Yesterday brought the realization that Dave Wilkinson had brought the excavator back to the property. There were no phone calls, just the tool appearing on the property at his convenience for staging Monday's next round of trail cutting. I could not resist snapping an image of the "boys" hanging out by the second homestead entrance waiting to be called into action. Of course, the John Deere will be outfitted with the grapple today for the brush pile burning event (if burning permit is granted).

The Boys Hanging Out for Monday's Trail Building

Hound Dog Dan Buys Another Early $5 Gold Lot

I'm pleased to report that Dan White has managed to secure another eleven piece early $5 gold lot that is mostly mid-grade circulated pieces. We are working hard to sustain the U.S. gold price list at the 100 offering threshold with these reinforcements being most timely.

The lot will ship to the GFRC office next week. Please keep checking the Blog for updates.

Global Financial News

Today brings the last trading day before the long Labor Day weekend. U.S. markets continue to perform a slow upward trending dance as economic indices reflect a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 presents stands at 4,537 and appears poised to achieve the 4600 milestone during early fourth quarter, if not sooner.

Following are morning market futures courtesy of Seeking Alpha. U.S. markets will open with an upward bias to close out the trading week.

In Asia, Japan +2.1%. Hong Kong -0.7%. China -0.4%. India +0.6%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris -0.4%. Frankfurt +0.1%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.2%. NASDAQ +0.2%.

WTI crude has jumped to $70.13/bbl during the overnight. My expectation is for higher crude prices by end of year unless we suffer another significant Covid-19 mutation.

Paper gold continues to hold the $1815/oz level while Bitcoin is back over the $50,000 mark, but barely.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is quoting at 1.3%. All appears economically fine as we enter the autumn season.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Initial September orders have been beyond expectations and I could not be more pleased.

The morning hours bring shipping and several lay-a-way invoices along with responding to overnight orders. Hopefully by 11:00 AM, I will be heading to the Raymond Fire House for a burning permit.

Wishing everyone a pleasant Labor Day holiday weekend. Yes, I will be at the homestead and composing Blog editions throughout the weekend.

Thanks again be checking in. Be well!

September 2, 2021

Announcing Oregon Beaver Part 1 Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Lots

Final Installment of Twin Lakes' PCGS MS64RB CAC Lincoln Cents Posted

and

No Jury Duty Through September - Consignment Window Is Wide Open

Greetings on a wet southern Maine early morning and welcome to another Blog edition. Thanks for stopping by!

Yes, Ida has made its way into the Northeast and still packing a decent wind speed and ample amounts of rain. As the Blog is written at 6:00 AM, dawn has arrived with the large front yard oaks swaying in 15 mph winds. This is shaping up to be a cold wet day with temperatures only reaching the mid-60s. What a perfect day to spend in the GFRC office.

Luck was on my side on Wednesday during the Federal District Court jury selection process. One astute GFRC client sent along an email suggesting that I wear a full suit to jury selection and I did. Talk about feeling out of place among the other 60 or so individuals who were casually dressed. Your host stood out like a sore thumb but was not selected for the first round of 14 potential jurors and sequentially not selected as a replacement. The forthcoming case is a civil matter; unlawful termination due to racial discrimination. The jury selection process and questioning was communicated as being completely unbiased. However, potential jurists who are/were managers and have placed a subordinate on a correct action plan or dismissal didn't do well during the screening process. I would have been a terrible jurist given my years of managing large organizations and terminating a fair number of non-performers.

Dismissal from the court occurred at noon and by 1:30 PM, I was back in the office working through the last installment of the Twin Lakes PCGS MS64RB Lincoln cents and handling a fair amount of orders. Let's just say that September is off to a great sales start. The evening hours brought Oregon Beaver graphics duties with the end product being today's featured GFRC Online Auctions banner and a newly formatted advertisement for the September E-Gobrecht.

Even Linda, the Raymond Postmaster, worked late and personally delivered an Express shipment to my door at 6:15 PM. Does anyone need an 1855-S PCGS EF45 Liberty Seated half dollar that is freshly graded? How about a beautifully toned 1876 double dime graded PCGS MS63? Yes, these are new purchases coming soon to the price list.

Announcing Oregon Beaver Part 1 Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Lots

I am most pleased to announce the forthcoming Oregon Beaver lots that will be offered in the Part 1 auction sale. Frankly, there are a host of awesome halves that would provide excellent upgrading potential for your advanced collection.

The online and PDF catalogs will be published on September 10 with bidding opening on September 25. The two week preview period is by design and allows those among us in the community to prepare monies. If you need to raise cash on a near term basis, please consider offering GFRC your duplicates or unwanted items. I will do my best to pay fair and establish a trading desk credit balance for the upcoming Oregon Beaver sales.

Clearly, the 1840 WB-1 PCGS MS65 CAC half is the highlight of the combined Oregon Beaver sales. This beautiful piece has been selected as the plate coin for the Part 1 auction sale banner. Below is a highlights gallery for consideration. All Part 1 sale lots are listed in the scrollable table at the top right of the Blog page. Are there any other questions concerning this sale? If so, please email me. Reserves will be posted on September 10.

The Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Part 1 Highlights

1840 WB-1, Reverse of 1839, PCGS MS65 CAC 50C

1839 Drapery WB-7 NGC MS63 CAC 50C 1845 WB-2 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1846-O WB-5 Medium Date PCGS MS64 50C 1846 Tall Date WB-13 PCGS MS63 50C

1849 WB-10 MS63 CAC 50C 1850 WB-2 PCGS MS63 50C

1852 WB-2 NGC AU55 CAC 50C 1863 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1871-CC WB-6 NGC VF30 50C 1873-CC WB-4 NGC AU58 50C

Final Installment of Twin Lakes' PCGS MS64RB CAC Lincoln Cents Posted

Lincoln cent fans might wish to check the price list as the last eleven Twin Lakes Collection PCGS MS64RB offerings are posted. Most are CAC approved with some nice gems intermixed in the group. These are inexpensive items for your shopping enjoyment. Below are two highlights that showcase different copper metal colorings.

Final Installment of Twin Lakes' PCGS MS64RB CAC Lincoln Cents Posted

Several Highlights

1920 PCGS MS64RB CAC 1C 1922-D PCGS MS64RB CAC 1C

No Jury Duty Through September - Consignment Window Is Wide Open

I'm a free man with respect to jury duty in September and must report back to the court on October 4 for another selection process. You can bet that I will wear a full suit again!

Seriously, September is a wide open month for working in the GFRC office and the Ledge Hill Trails development project. Life could not be any better.

The consignment queue is meager as this point. There is a raw 20 piece Capped Bust half dime lot that will be processed next week along with whatever arrives in the coming days. If there are no near term consignments, I will be back to offering Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection.

GFRC is is need of quality consignments, plain and simple. Your consideration of this request is appreciated.

Updates from the Homestead

Pete Theberge is making good progress with the construction of the expanded back deck. Wednesday brought the nailing of nearly all the composite flooring. Remaining is the installation of the side railings followed by removing the ceiling materials under the sun room.

Once the construction is completed and just in time for the autumn foliage season, the landscaping effort shifts to yours truly. The old 1985 vintage paver blocks will be removed and relocated someone in the Ledge Hill Trails project as a base for storing JD2025R implements. New modern paver blocks will be selected by Diane and installed followed by finishing the edges with 1/2" stone. Thank goodness for the John Deere tractor to speed along these incremental projects.

Homestead Back Deck Construction Progress

While walking behind the homestead to capture the above picture, I noticed a rafter of turkeys hanging out on the main pathway just beyond the settler's stone wall. I was able to move fairly close for the below image.

Did you know that a "flock" of turkeys is properly referred to as a "rafter"? One does learn something new each day when preparing the Blog.

A Rafter of Wild Turkeys Hanging Out in Back Acreage

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are flashing a consistent green this morning with U.S. markets showing a slight upward bias for the opening 9:30 AM bell. Wednesday's trading action saw markets holding at or near record levels.

In Asia, Japan +0.3%. Hong Kong +0.2%. China +0.8%. India +0.9%.

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

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.2%. NASDAQ +0.2%.

Bitcoin is the morning star having increased to $49,817. WTI crude continues to trade sideways at $68.79/bbl while paper gold is holding current gains at $1819/oz.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield stands at 1.28%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Are there any numismatic questions that you wish to have answered in the Blog? If so, please send along via email. I will do my best to respond during the month of September.

While sitting around for jury selection, I read the latest Gobrecht Journal issue from cover to cover. Kudos go out to LSCC President Len Augsburger for taking over the editorial and publishing helm along with writing several well researched articles. I found the article on 1838-O Liberty Seated dime mintage to be most interesting. Guide book are indeed that, guides. They may not be 100% accurate given the enormous amount of content that is difficult to properly vet.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Be well!

September 1, 2021

Jury Selection Commitment Today!

Noteworthy Oregon Beaver Consigned Offerings

and

Ledge Hill Trail Building in the Back Acreage

Greetings on a Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, I must report for jury selection to the Portland Federal District courthouse on Wednesday morning at 8:00 AM. This means writing two Blog editions in a single day with not much news to report across a twelve hour period.

After working in the GFRC office from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM, a short break on the JD2025R was in order. For those who called between 4:00 and 6:00 PM, I was down in the back acreage continuing to make progress with the southern trail that leads to the first natural spring.

It was a busy day at the homestead as Peter Theberge framed out the new back deck and returns on Wednesday to start applying the composite flooring.

Dave Wilkinson also brought 12 yards of 1.5" gravel along with another load of pure 1.5" stone. Delivery was down inside the Ledge Hill Trails job site to minimize material transport time on the JD2025R.

A reminder that I will be off line today with respect to cellphone and internet access. Emails and phone calls will be responded to this evening.

Oregon Beaver's Latest Consigned Offerings

In addition to Monday's 54 piece Liberty Seated half dollar forthcoming auction, the Oregon Beaver consignor is also divesting more $2.5 gold and a few random other offerings.

The highlights of the $2.5 duplicates release are an 1845 Dahlonega struck example along with a rare 1872-S PCGS MS61 $2.5 at grade. 1877 and 1886 PCGS AU58 $2.5 specimens round out the gold offerings.

Noteworthy Oregon Beaver Consigned Offerings

Please Email for Price Quote - Posting on Thursday

1845-D PCGS EF45 G$2.5 1872-S PCGS MS61 G$2.5

1877 PCGS AU58 G$2.5 1886 PCGS AU58 CAC G$2.5

1931-S PCGS MS64RB 1C 1911 PCGS AU55 50C 1914 PCGS F15 CAC 50C

Ledge Hill Trail Building in the Back Acreage

Slow incremental progress continues to be made lining the southern trail that takes us down to the first natural spring. Allocating two hours daily from a busy GFRC office schedule is beginning to bring about notable progress.

I stepped out of the office today at 4:00 PM and worked until a bit before 6:00 PM. Trail lining with 1.5" gravel and supplemental stone continued on the steeper portion of the trail. The following image accurately captures the trail condition after Dave Wilkinson's leveling process and incremental rock removal. His actions saved me countless hours on the small JD2025R backhoe attempting to dig out large rocks and shifting dirt on a sloping grade. Protruding roots are a constant issue in the forest. The southern trail is being lined with several inches of gravel followed by being packed down by the JD2025R ongoing movement of incremental gravel further downhill. The outcome is a nicely compressed surface for a hiking path. Hopefully the embedded "bone" or 1.5" stone will hold the gravel together during heavy rains and the spring snow melt.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Diane will be handling GFRC outgoing shipments on Wednesday since traveling to Portland for an 8:00 AM jurist appointment. I was up early staging the shipments to ensure customer service continuity. Thursday brings a second day of potential civic jury duty. As a result, I will be responding to email and phone orders once back home each day.

Your patience is appreciated while placing this commitment behind me.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Be well!

August 31, 2021

Best Shortcut is the Long Way Forward

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Update

and

Old Homestead Back Deck is Gone!

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to another edition of the Blog. I'm pleased that you could check in.

The day starts with considerable optimism as the GFRC business is firing on all cylinders while still finding time to work in the back acreage. Yesterday brought a fair number of post Tenafly Collection Part 2 purchases from the retail price list. A surprise phone call appeared from an early GFRC consignor. This individual is retiring outside the United States and will liquidate a substantial numismatic collection. GFRC is his choice for handling the properties. The extent of the collection will be revealed next week as he empties his bank box and takes inventory. The initial thought is a GFRC November 2021 auction along with the lower priced items going to the retail price list.

Many of you are aware that Alexa.com is employed as a usage and popularity monitor for the www.seateddimevarieties.com website and GFRC applications. Alexa.com ranks every website in the world based on a series of algorithms including number of unique pageviews, time on site, and bounce rate. Feedback and benchmarking are ingrained in my psyche for assessing what is going well and not so well with the GFRC platform. I am absolutely thrilled to report that the GFRC website has become one of the top dealer and auction house destinations in the numismatic industry. If you believe this is just marketing glitz, please visit Alexa.com and benchmark the online rankings of GFRC against others. The results might be surprising.

How did a former semiconductor industry executive turned inexperienced coin dealer reach this point? Today's opening headline speaks volume; the best shortcut is the long way forward. This line is an extract from today's Seth Godin's blogpost which is shared next. As Godin points out, one must anticipate and locate a market niche that services the preferred needs of collectors. GFRC brought many client centric ideas to the market as part of its business model. They include the Trading Desk, the Daily Blog as a marketing and information channel, the Open Set Registry, Quick Ship, and now the Online Auction platform with no buyer's fee and one commission rate for auction and retail sales. Along with creativity and an unrelenting persistence, trust, transparency, and accountability have become the basis for how GFRC markets and sell coins.

You are invited to check with Seth Godin's thinking. His words ring so true today.

Seth Godin Blogpost: Great ideas always sound like they're far too soon

Good ideas feel early.

And late ideas are acclaimed by most of the reviewers with opinions that don’t actually matter.

Part of our challenge is that the lousy ideas get a very similar pre-launch response as the great ones.

If you wait until the market is telling you exactly what it wants, you’re almost certainly too late.

On the other hand, if you can find the resources to stick it out through the trough of skepticism, you’ll be around to discover if your idea was any good or not. The best shortcut is the long way forward.

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Update

Much was accomplished during the last 24 hours concerning the forthcoming Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale.

I'm pleased to report that the 54 lots have been divided into two auctions sales with approval from the consignor last evening. Len Augsburger's description writing template has also been created and is in good hands.

The Oregon Beaver auction schedule has been set as follows;

- Part 1 Sale - Bidding Opens September 25, closing October 2. Look for the online catalog to post about September 10.

- Part 2 Sale - Bidding Opens October 16, closing October 23

Today brings the GFRC Online Auctions banner creation for the Part 1 Sale along with advertising graphics for the LSCC's September E-Gobrecht issue.

Oregon Beaver has also consigned an addition eight coins including $2.5 gold that will be processed and posted to the price list during the balance of the week.

Jury Duty or Not?

The balance of the GFRC business week lies with potential jury duty starting tomorrow. I have been instructed to call into the Federal Court hot line this evening to determine if my presence is required tomorrow morning at the Portland, Maine court house. Let's hope for a pass to allow more consignment processing and retail price list posting. If required to appear in Portland, tomorrow's Blog will be very brief with notice that I am out of office.

Old Homestead Back Deck is Gone!

Pete Theberge is one of the finest southern Maine contractors in the business. Our relationship with Pete dates back to 1986 when he finished the basement area that is today's sound room. Last year, Pete worked with Diane to remodel the upstairs bedrooms including a completely new master bedroom bathroom.

Yesterday saw Pete removing the old back desk leaving a clean finish per the below image. Hammond Lumber arrived with a large delivery of structural pressure treated wood, composite decking, and railings. The JD2025R mounted with fork frame came in handy for unloading the materials and staging close to today's construction project.

Former Back Deck is Gone - Let the Construction Begin

Global Financial News

Tuesday's U.S. equity market trading saw inter-day record levels set for all three major indices; DJIA, S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. Morning market futures indicate another positive open with opportunity for yet another day with new indice records. As the markets continue their ascent without a major correction, the cries from the bears grows louder and louder. This Seeking Alpha piece summarizes the situation.

A Winning August

The calls of a stock market melt-up are getting louder as the major averages posted another round of solid gains on Monday. The S&P 500 has rallied more than 20% this year after scoring its 53rd record close in Monday's session and is set to close out its seventh consecutive winning month later today. In fact, the benchmark index has scaled the big wall of worry without seeing a 5% pullback for all of 2021.

Adding to the sentiment, U.S. stock index futures climbed higher overnight: Dow +0.2%; S&P 500 +0.2%; NASDAQ +0.4%. Many are banking on an economic recovery, low rates through 2022 and stellar corporate earnings to continue to support the bull market. As earnings season winds down, the S&P 500 is on track to post a Q2 earnings growth rate of 95.4% (compared to the pandemic year in 2020), which would be the fastest pace since Q4 of 2009.

Analyst commentary: "Despite rising geopolitical risks, peak economic growth concerns, and the Federal Reserve moving closer to tapering its asset purchase program, the steady ascent of stocks continues," said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist. The market has also been impervious to other bad news, like the Delta variant, higher inflation, Hurricane Ida and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which just wrapped up evacuation efforts from Kabul and effectively ended America's longest war.

Alarm bells? "Be very much aware of the fact that if and when it reverses, the consequences could be severe," warned long-term bull and BTIG equity and derivatives strategist Julian Emanuel. The market's record price action is mimicking late 1999, he adds, and could spark a 10% to 20% correction within the next month. "If we had said inflation would be at 30-year highs and [10-year Treasury note] yields would be at 1.3% while the S&P would be at this level a year ago, no one would have believed you, me or anyone else."

Following are morning market futures for those who are interested in the global numbers.

In Asia, Japan +1.1%. Hong Kong +1.3%. China +0.5%. India +0.8%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.1%. Paris +0.3%. Frankfurt +0.7%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.2%. NASDAQ +0.4%.

Paper gold appears to be consolidating its recent upward move and is holding at $1817/oz. WTI crude oil is flat at $68.56/bbl while Bitcoin is trending sideways at $47,486. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield stands at 1.28%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Monday saw about 50% of the Tenafly Part 2 Sale lots being shipped on a Quick Ship basis. More will be shipped today as we ran out of time given the construction activities and time on the JD2025R unloading materials and transporting to the backyard job site.

Quick Ship is another perk for sourcing coins from GFRC. I wish to always ship coins ahead of payment receipt as collectors desire to secure their purchases asap. Your role as a GFRC client is simple. Please send an email stating that the check payment is in the mail box. Once a client has given this assurance, their newly acquired coins are shipped.

Let's end the Blog at this point as there is much to get done today under the assumption that I will be down at the Portland Federal Court building tomorrow morning and potentially on Thursday. I will do my best to ensure that I am not selected for a jury trial. Maybe a red MAGA hat might do the trick? Just kidding.

Thanks again for making GFRC a leading numismatic destination on the web. Be well!

August 30, 2021

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Gallery

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Press Release

and

Replacing Homestead's Back Deck Week

Greetings on another cloudy southern Maine morning and welcome to the ongoing life of a numismatist turned coin dealer.

September is just 48 hours away but who needs a calendar? The homestead foliage is already signaling the pending September arrival. The crimson shades in the driveway maple and burning bushes are evidence of the pending autumn season. In just 30 days, the autumn foliage transition will be well underway along with the arrival of the NH Coin Expo in Manchester, NH. Driving to the Manchester show via Rt 101 will be a pleasurable journey given the treed landscape.

Yes, I managed to sneak out of the GFRC office on Sunday for two hours. Whereabouts was the back acreage project and the application of more gravel on the initial natural spring trail. Progress is becoming apparent with another 20 yards of 1.5" gravel and 1.5" stone being delivered this week.

Sunday afternoon saw our neighbors Rick, Sharon and family walking through the developing trail system and coming over for a brief chat. Rick was amazed at the amount of gravel fill being brought into the project. Sharon loved the new expanded natural spring. I hope to have the southern trail to the natural spring in reasonable walking condition for the height of the autumn foliage season. That time frame is just six weeks away.

The balance of Sunday was spent preparing invoices for the Tenafly Part 2 Sale. I'm relieved to report that all winning bidders have been invoiced and the residual unsold lots are posted to the GFRC price list and Collectors Corner.

This coming week may be crazy busy with Pete Theberge on site for new construction and the potential for Cumberland County Petit Court jury duty. More on those topics shortly.

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Gallery

It is with great pleasure that GFRC introduces the full complement of Oregon Beaver Collection lots for the upcoming Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sales.

My wish is that you take the time to carefully review and enjoy the forthcoming offerings. When preparing this 54 piece lot, quality consistency become personally apparent to me. Essentially all offering were assigned Choice and Near-Gem quality ratings with a few Gems and Original on the tail ends of the distribution. Those Choice pieces without CAC approval fall into the borderline category as I would submit in a heartbeat. Consistency is the sign of an astute collector who is carefully selective with acquisitions. This is the case with Oregon Beaver and not surprising since being a GFRC client since 2015. Many pieces were sourced from my humble business.

There are a host of eye appealing Liberty Seated halves in the forthcoming sales if your taste lie in the strict originality realm. There will be much more time to ramble on concerning these Oregon Beaver offerings. Again, please take the time to appreciate a sophistic-ed collector's duplicates release.

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Sale Gallery

1840 WB-1, Reverse of 1839, PCGS MS65 CAC 50C

1841-O WB-1 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C 1842-O WB-2 Small Date PCGS AU50 50C

1846 WB-7 6/Horizontal 6 PCGS AU55 50C 1846-O Medium Date PCGS MS64 50C

1848-O WB-15 PCGS MS64 50C 1850 WB-2 PCGS MS63 50C

1851-O WB-4 NGC MS64 50C 1866 Motto PCGS MS63 50C

1871-CC WB-6 NGC VF30 50C 1873-CC WB-4 NGC AU58 50C

1839 No Drap WB-2 PCGS EF45 CAC 50C 1839 Drap WB-7 NGC MS63 CAC 50C 1840-O WB-7 PCGS AU53 50C

1841 WB-1 PCGS AU55 50C 1842 SD WB-5 NGC MS61 CAC 50C 1842 MD WB-8 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1842 MD WB-12 PCGS AU53 CAC 50C 1842-O MD WB-3 PCGS EF45 CAC 50C 1843 WB-18 MS62 CAC 50C

1843-O WB-17 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C 1844 WB-9 NGC MS62 50C 1844-O WB-12 MS62 CAC 50C

1845 WB-2 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C 1845-O WB-14 PCGS AU53 CAC 50C 1846 DDO MD WB-10 AU50 CAC 50C

1846 TD WB-13 PCGS MS63 50C 1847 WB-6 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C 1849 WB-10 MS63 CAC 50C

1850-O WB-6 NGC MS62 50C 1852 WB-2 NGC AU55 CAC 50C 1852-O WB-1 AU55 50C

1853 A&R PCGS AU53 CAC 50C 1854 Arrows PCGS MS63 CAC 50C 1854-O Arrows WB-2 MS63 50C

1855/54 Arrows PCGS AU55 CAC 50C 1855-O Arrows PCGS MS62 CAC 50C 1857-O Arrows WB-1 AU53 50C

1858-O PCGS AU55 CAC 50C 1858-O PCGS AU55 50C 1859 PCGS AU58 50C

1859-O PCGS AU55 CAC 50C 1861-O W-15 PCGS AU58 50C 1862 PCGS AU55 50C

1862-S WB-5 PCGS AU53 CAC 50C 1863 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C 1865 PCGS AU50 50C

1870 PCGS AU55 50C 1872 PCGS AU53 50C 1875 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C

1878-CC WB-1 PCGS AU50 50C 1881 PCGS VF30 CAC 50C 1888 PCGS AU55 50C

1891 PCGS MS61 CAC 50C

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Press Release

The number of record prices realized for CAC approved Liberty Seated quarters in the Tenafly Part 2 Sale suggested external communications.

Sunday brought an email to Michelle at CAC advising her of the auction price realized that indicated that a CAC Price Guide update might be warranted. I've offered to send a prices realized table if the staff in interested.

Secondly, I asked that GFRC Online Auction's staff cataloger, Len Augsburger, prepare a press release and issue to his numismatic publication channels. This was accomplished quickly with the press release appearing in last evening's E-Sylum edition. Following is that press release.

Collector Grade Liberty Seated Quarters Shine in GFRC Online Auctions

While the post-ANA convention auctions featured any number of multi-million dollar rarities such as the Childs-Pogue 1804 dollar, which realized $7.68 million, or the Simpson 1794 dollar ($6.6 million), collector-grade material is also drawing exceptional interest among Liberty Seated set builders. Struck in widely varying quantities from 1836 to 1891, the Liberty Seated series presents a number of challenges to collectors building date and mintmark sets of these 19th century economic workhorses. The dime, quarter, and half dollar series are particularly extensive, with Guide Book sets consisting of over a hundred examples. Many of these are lower mintage issues that do not trade at significant premiums over “type coin” prices, making the Liberty Seated series especially attractive for fans of rarity.

Following the trend of the overall numismatic market, eye appeal has become more of a determinant of value in recent years, especially with the advent of the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC), which certifies PCGS or NGC-slabbed coins as premium for the grade. Collectors and dealers are noticing higher prices for CAC-certified examples, and published price guides for CAC-approved coins fulfill demand for the latest market data. This is especially important for Liberty Seated coinage, small change which generally saw extensive circulation. Many survivors are lower grade or exhibit surface problems such as scratches or environmental damage.

As a result, the Liberty Seated coinage market is beginning to exhibit bifurcation, with exceptional pieces drawing increasingly strong premiums. A recent sale of CAC-approved Liberty Seated quarters, featuring the Tenafly Collection and conducted by GFRC Auctions is illustrative. This sale, which closed on August 28, included a nearly complete set of CAC-certified, collector grade Liberty Seated quarters with an average grade in the EF40 range. A noteworthy example was a CAC-approved 1867-S quarter graded VF20 by PCGS, which sold for $3,250, vs. a CDN CAC valuation of $1,800. The appeal of this example is obvious, with smooth, coin-grey surfaces and even, natural toning. While PCGS has certified 87 pieces in all grades, CAC has approved only ten, and bidders responded accordingly, driving the price to a record level for the grade.

Another notable example from this sale was the 1872 quarter, graded AU50 by PCGS and certified by CAC. The mintage of this issue was ample, at 182,000 pieces, of which PCGS has certified 142 examples. CAC, in contrast, has been much more selective and includes only 14 examples in its census. This piece sold for $1,113, vs. a CDN CAC value of $673. A Civil War issue, the 1863 quarter, with a similar mintage (191,600 coins), also sold strongly. Certified AU53 by PCGS and CAC-approved, this piece sold for $1,450, while the CDN CAC guide lists it at $568. Again, a low CAC population, 29 pieces in all grades, appears to be an important factor in the auction result.

GFRC Auctions president Gerry Fortin noted “our consignor was pleasantly surprised with the strong bidder interest in choice Liberty Seated quarters. Attractive pieces are hard to come by, and substantial bidder engagement demonstrates that the market has a healthy appetite for scarce and eye appealing collector-grade examples. This sale was rightfully seen as an unusual opportunity to acquire better pieces, and collectors responded accordingly with aggressive bidding activity, especially toward the end of the sale.”

Replacing Homestead's Back Deck Week

Today brings yet another homestead improvement project. The old pressure treated back deck will be replaced with an expanded composite material alternative. Gone will be the need for power washing and staining every two years to preserve wood that is constantly being beat down by the sun. The back deck size dates back to the homestead's construction during 1985 including closely spaced vertical slates and a thick railing that blocks viewing of the back acreage.

Following is a baseline image of the current deck and decaying ceiling coverage of the sun room's floor. All will be improved during the next two weeks. Note that the sonotubes for the new support columns are already in place.

Baselining Homestead Back Deck Before Removal

With the expanded footprint, Diane is already shopping for a coffee table with propane fire pit and a swing. The railing will be transparent with a horizontal wire solution. Please keep checking back for daily progress.

Global Financial News

Equity markets continue to be in rally mode after a benign report out from Fed Chair Powell. It appears that low interest rates will continue for at least another year and maybe more. Frankly, low interest rates are here to stay on a permanent basis when considering the growing national sovereign debts throughout the world. Central banks cannot raise rates as economies have become addicted to low debt carrying costs. This fact is bullish for equity markets are the remaining high yield alternative for investors.

Morning market futures indicate an upbeat opening of U.S. equity markets are 9:30 AM.

In Asia, Japan +0.5%. Hong Kong +0.5%. China +0.2%. India +1.4%.

In Europe, at midday, London closed. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt +0.2%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.1%. NASDAQ +0.2%.

Unfortunately, the EU is expected to announce new air travel restrictions and a complete halt to air travel to the United States. The globe continues to struggle with the latest Covid-19 Delta wave which is weighing on crude oil prices. WTI crude has pulled back slightly to $68/bbl.

Paper gold retained Friday's gains through the weekend and is quoting at $1818/oz. Bitcoin is mostly stagnant at $47932.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has dropped to 1.3%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's end this Blog edition at this point. Pete Theberge is set to arrive soon and I must move the JD2025R out of the driveway to facilitate material passage through the driveway.

Thanks for checking in. Be well!

August 29, 2021

A Wild GFRC Online Saturday Evening Auction Closure

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Results

and

Oregon Beaver Collection's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Gallery Arrives on Monday

Greetings on a cloudy southern Maine morning. Thank-you for returning to the Daily Blog.

Hurricane Ida has the makings of another natural disaster to hit the deep south coast line. Our thoughts are with all clients who are in harm's way during the coming 48 hours.

Autumn temperatures have arrived on schedule in the upper New England region. Saturday found me in the back acreage for two hours given the cool working conditions. Continued but slow progress is apparent on the southern property trail to the first natural spring. I dream of the day when being able to walk the entire path without concerns for uneven ground and trip hazards. That vision will be realized during the summer of 2022.

Today's focus is the Tenafly Collection Part 2 Sale admen workload. The auction sale results will be captured in the COIN database followed by issuing email invoices to all successful bidders. A portion of the lots will be staged for Quick Ship transport come Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday brings the potential for in person jury selection. Let's hope the court docket is bare and I am not needed.

A Wild GFRC Online Saturday Evening Auction Closure

I could not be more pleased with how far the GFRC Online Auctions platform has progressed during 2021. Last evening's Tenafly Part 2 Sale closing was a wild ride with extensive bidding up through the final seconds.

This auction brought roughly 150 bids across 63 lots from a host of Liberty Seated quarter and type set collectors. Bidding for the two Gold CAC offerings was an intense battle.

This Google Analytics plot illustrates the substantial amount of Saturday pageviews that exceeded that of the Part 1 sale. Yesterday brought over 500 pageviews for the auction.html webpage. During the closing hour of the auction, the number of GFRC website users peaked at 36 for a minute or so. These results continue to validate that the GFRC Online Auctions platform is a credible options for the selling of noteworthy early type collections.

GFRC Online Auctions Pageview Trendplot - July 1 to August 28, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Results

I'm certain that the Tenafly consignor is quite pleased with the Part 2 Sale final outcome.

CAC approved early type continues to experience robust demand with collectors willing to pay well above the CAC price guides for quality rare dates. This fact was apparent after the dust settled on a wild Part 2 Sale finish. Following are the closing statistics after making adjustments for those who still placed maximum bids on top of existing maximum bids:

- 50 of the 63 offered lots sold including the 1861-S PCGS VF30 CAC that was purchased immediately after the auction close since the bidder had be skunked on a host of other lot bids. That is an impressive 79% sell through rate with many lots trading at what are consider to be record prices.

- Total sales amounted to $58,917. Combining the Part 1 and Part 2 sales results provides a total auction outcome of nearly $103,000 for the wonderful Tenafly CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Set Sale. Bidding was spirited during both sale events.

- Overall, the Tenafly Set Sale brought a 77% sell through rate with additional post auction sales taking place via the regular GFRC retail price list.

Let's take a look at several lots that sold for what I believe are record prices. These results confirm the importance of CAC approval as validation of choice original surfaces and conservative grading. These results should also demonstrate why I am not discounting CAC approved coins on the retail price list. We are indeed in an inflationary market cycle for premiums early type coins.

1863 PCGS AU53 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $568 - GFRC Realized $1450

1864-S PCGS G06 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $1310 - GFRC Realized $1750

1866 With Motto PCGS VF25 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $1680 - GFRC Realized $1950

1867-S PCGS VF20 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $1800 - GFRC Realized $3250

1868 PCGS AU50 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $1250 - GFRC Realized $2450

1869-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $994 - GFRC Realized $1511

1872 PCGS AU50 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $673 - GFRC Realized $1113

1873 No Arrows Open 3 PCGS AU50 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $673 - GFRC Realized $1500

1876-CC PCGS AU53 CAC 25C - CAC Guide $448 - GFRC Realized $700

A sincere thanks to all the bidders who participated in both Tenafly Collection sales. These events were fun to prepare and coordinate from the GFRC perspective. Let's hope that these sale results will provide other collectors with an incentive to select GFRC Online Auctions for their future numismatic divestment needs.

Oregon Beaver Collection's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Gallery Arrives on Monday

I'm pleased to report that the entire Oregon Beaver auction gallery has been completed effective Saturday afternoon. Already, Len Augusburger has begun his review towards lot description generation.

The Oregon Beaver sale will follow the path of the Tenafly Collection events. There will be two auction sales taking place in September and mid October. Remaining is the dividing up the 54 lots into the two auction events. This task will take place this coming week.

Please check back on Monday at the Blog to view the entire Oregon Beaver Collection's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale offerings.

Wrapping Up The Blog

A long GFRC day is in store to capture the Tenafly Part 2 Sale particulars into the COIN database followed by preparing invoices. Please have patience with respect to the invoicing process as it is recognized that many wish to promptly take receipt of won lots.

Thanks again for being a wonderful numismatic community. Without you, the GFRC retail and auction businesses would not exist.

Let's hope that Hurricane Ida is not a powerful as the media is projecting. Be well!

August 28, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale - Bidding Closes at 9:00 PM

and

Quality Liberty Seated Consignments to Consider

Greetings and welcome to another Daily Blog edition. The final weekend of August 2021 is upon us.

Yes, the summer of 2021 is quickly coming to a close as Labor Day weekend is just one week away. There are mixed feeling concerning this calendar progression. Autumn is by far the best season of the year in southern Maine as temperatures abate along with the insect population. One does not need to be covered with Off or Cutter spray when strolling in the woods. On the opposite side of the coin, the arrival of September foreshadows a Florida migration that is less than three months away. Residing in Florida to escape the Maine winters certainly brings an easier life but the homestead and its amenities will be missed.

There is little fresh content to discuss in today's edition. A new CAC approval consignment arrived on Friday along with a commitment for a ten piece Liberty Seated half dollar lot from an early GFRC client who is returning back to the fold.

Progress continues to be made with Oregon Beaver's auction lots. I've delayed Dave Wilkinson's return to the week after Labor Day as next week is already consumed with the closing admin and shipping of the Tenafly Part 2 auction, Pete Theberge building a new back deck, and potential jury duty at the Cumberland County court house in Portland. Being busy is a good thing which keeps the mind sharp. Being overloaded only brings about avoidable stress.

Today's major GFRC event is the closing of the Tenafly Collection's Part 2 Sale. Let's move on to that topic along with several new consignments to consider.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale - Bidding Closes at 9:00 PM

Get ready for a wild conclusion to the Tenafly Collection's Part 2 auction this evening. Predictably, I will be at the laptop with a glass of my favorite adult beverage to watch the final bidding hour. Does anyone have a prediction on how many of the Tenafly lots will sell by auction close? Let's take a glance on the auction stats as a clue.

- 36 of the 63 lots have met reserve. The auction stands at a 57% sell through rate as of 6:30 AM.

- Total bids amount to $32,000 out of the auction's $78,350 starting reserves. The large gap is a function of many semi-key and key dates not receiving bids.

The success of the Tenafly Part 2 auction comes down to the wire in about twelve hours. Will bidders emerge during the final hour for ten higher priced dates that account for an additional $35,000 in auction reserves? That dear readers is the primary question that will be answered. Following is a gallery of those unattached better dates that Tenafly and I will be watching throughout the day.

Available Tenafly Part 2 CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Collection Set Sale Better Dates

1860-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C 1861-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C

1864 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C 1867 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C

1869 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C 1871-S PCGS VF35 CAC 25C

1872-CC PCGS G06 CAC 25C 1872-S PCGS VG10 CAC 25C

1878-CC PCGS MS62PL 25C 1891-O PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

It goes without saying that holding CAC approved key and semi-key dates in any early type series is a wise financial strategy. Low populations will stay low given so few choice survivors. Procurement of key dates is an expensive undertaking for single pieces. Wise collectors budget accordingly and understand that a collection's importance is a function of the key and semi-key dates rather than PCGS blue boxes replete with common dates.

Good luck to everyone who places a bid today, especially those who tender a number in the final five minutes. Sunday's Blog edition will bring an auction wrap-up summary followed by invoicing all successful bidders. Quick ships will begin promptly on Monday and Tuesday.

Quality Liberty Seated Consignments to Consider

Two smaller consignments arrived this week and are illustrated next.

Liberty Seated dimes include a challenging 1869 Short Flag 1 F-103 graded PCGS EF40 and an important 1872 F-109 proof misplaced date specimen graded PCGS PF64 CAC.

Three strictly original Liberty Seated dollars make up the balance of the offering. These pieces are top quality and have not been sent to CAC by the consignor. Please be aware that the 1859 and 1859-O pieces are already on hold and ship out today to a client building a premium AU dollar set.

Quality Liberty Seated Consignments to Consider

Please Email for a Price Quote - Loading to Price List on Saturday

1872 F-109 MPD PCGS PF64 CAC 10C 1859 PCGS AU53 $1

1860 Short Flag F-103 PCGS EF40 10C 1846 PCGS AU53 $1 1859-O PCGS AU55 $1

85% CAC Buyback and Consignments Being Solicited

An additional reminder is in order that the 85% CAC Buyback option continues to be available for coins purchased from GFRC via the regular price list. Unfortunately, I am unable to extend that commitment to coins purchased via the GFRC Online Auctions platform due to the variability of the winning bids.

Of course, handling fresh consignments is a top priority throughout the months of September and October. Once the Oregon Beaver auction preparations are concluded, there will be amble time to process new consignments.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It appears that the Blog will be published early today which is a good thing. The extra time provides for an early morning Miata drive to downtown Raymond to secure five gallons of diesel fuel for the JD2025R. With lower predicted afternoon temperatures, I plan to spend a few trail beautification hours on the tractor after yet another busy week.

Morning shipping and Oregon Beaver auction lot preparations will consume the balance of the day. I will be in the office for most of the day to appreciate your weekend purchase orders and consignment proposals.

Thank-you for being dedicated Daily Blog visitors. Be well!

August 27, 2021

I Can't Keep a Secret - Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Highlights

Presenting an Upgraded Natural Spring #1

and

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale - The Finale Arrives

Greetings on a Friday and welcome to the Daily Blog.

Today's edition is written with a heavy heart and sadness. What took place yesterday was predictable given American efforts to harden U.S. airports and air travel against terrorism. We've taken our shoes off countless times at TSA checkpoints as a preventative measure. Watching videos of massive crowds attempting to exit Afghanistan through the only egress point (the Kabul civilian airport) announced the softest targets for a terrorist attack to the world. How could the U.S. leadership team not see this attack and carnage coming? Sadly the word "proactive" is a missing concept among these supposedly professional individuals.

Enough said, but I feel guilty on a Friday morning writing a personally positive Blog. Our country is hurting and mourning at multiple levels. Please forgive me for communicating positive GFRC business developments and back acreage project progress.

I Can't Keep a Secret - Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Auction Highlights

Southern Maine temperatures continued to soar on Thursday which kept me in the homestead office in front of a floor fan. The primary focus was building the entire Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated half dollar client gallery for the upcoming GFRC Online Auctions sale events. Along with the gallery, each lot was carefully attributed and assigned a quality rating. The end goal is a product that will enable Len Augsburger's authoritative descriptions.

Constructing a client gallery is a two step process. First come the marquee offerings followed by the balance of the auction lots. For the Oregon Beaver forthcoming auctions, there are a substantial number of marquee pieces to showcase.

I am excited to be showcasing the following eleven Liberty Seated half dollar lots as a preview of the remaining pieces to be sold at auction. The current plan is to complete the full client gallery for display within Monday's Blog edition. As the headline indicates, I'm not good at keeping secrets....

Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated Half Dollar Sale Highlights

1840 WB-1, Reverse of 1839, PCGS MS65 CAC 50C

1841-O WB-1 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C 1842-O WB-1 Small Date PCGS AU50 50C

1846 WB-7 6/Horizontal 6 PCGS AU55 50C 1846-O Medium Date PCGS MS64 50C

1848-O WB-15 PCGS MS64 50C 1850 WB-2 PCGS MS63 50C

1851-O WB-4 NGC MS64 50C 1866 Motto PCGS MS63 50C

1871-CC WB-4 NGC VF30 50C 1873-CC WB-4 NGC AU58 50C

Presenting an Upgraded Natural Spring #1

Before temperatures became too elevated on Thursday morning, I hiked down to the newly dug out first spring to check on the outcome. Following is an image that captures my joy with the findings.

Digging the inlet area down an additional 4' worked like a charm. Water flow has increased substantially with a 3" to 4" inlet hole clearly defined in the initial pool. The pool water was clear and reflective. The goal of turning this spring into a small goldfish pond appears plausible by installing an outlet dam that will raise the water level by an additional 1.5'. For those who are curious, the whitish spot within the initial pool is sunlight that is peeking through the overhead tree canopy.

Next week brings the possibility of expanding the new reservoir section a bit further and also digging that section deeper. Afterwards, the pool walls will be constructed with large rocks and the surrounding area leveled for maintenance access with the JD2025R.

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

Presenting an Upgraded Natural Spring #1

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale - The Finale Arrives

The Tenafly Collection's Part CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Set Sale has officially exited the contemplation period and moves into the finale. Bidding rate is increasing as the day starts.

Let's recap where the auction event stands with 36 hours to go.

- 33 of the 63 lots have received at least one bid.

- Total value for lots meeting reserve stands at ~ $30,000.

Please don't let the Tenafly opportunity pass you by leaving collector's remorse. When top quality CAC approved early type coins arrive to market, astute collectors should take advantage of the opportunity. Let's remember that we are still in an inflationary numismatic market with minimal fresh collector coins available to satisfy overall demand.

Also, please remember to carefully set your maximum bids once. Adding a maximum bid on top of an existing maxim bid without an interim bid from another collector creates incremental workload for Matt Yamatin and myself to clean-up.

Global Financial News

Global equity markets will be all ears concerning Fed Chair Jerome Powell as he speaks this morning at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole. The financial media will be in hyper drive analyzing his every word concerning future monetary policy.

Thursday's U.S. equity market action saw slight profit taking if we can call it that. Markets continue to hover at near record levels with a favorable bias going into Friday trading. Following are morning market futures.

In Asia, Japan -0.4%. Hong Kong flat. China +0.6%. India +0.3%.

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

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.3%. NASDAQ +0.4%.

Crude oil pricing has moved up given another terrorist attack. WTI crude is priced at $68.51/bbl to start the day. Paper gold is once again flirting with the $1800 mark at $1797/oz. Bitcoin is flat at $47,418.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is unchanged at 1.34%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today's southern Maine temperature will only reach the 84F mark with a northern breeze through the office window. It should be a pleasant day in the office for handling a host of new consignments and making incremental progress with the Oregon Beaver auction event.

Yes, I will be in the office for most of the day and welcome purchase inquiries and consignment/trade/buying opportunities. Dealing with GFRC is straightforward unless someone tries to low ball on a coin. This happened yesterday with a $1200 phone offer on the newly discounted 1807 PCGS VF20 Draped Bust dime. 90% back of CDN Bid is a low ball in my book and was met with a brief response. What was this person thinking? Desperation to sell a coin at a loss to pay for lunch?

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Be well and let's pray that U.S government leadership develops a common sense reality with respect to the situation in Afghanistan.

August 26, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale - The Finale Approaches

and

Ledge Hill Trails Northern Route Nearly Complete

Greetings from southern Maine on a Thursday morning. Thank-you for staying connected while I took a few vacation days in the back acreage.

The final days of August are upon us which is a good thing for those who cherish the New England autumn season and color transition. Already, the burning bushes are beginning to exhibit obvious crimsons and yellow hues among the bright green leaves. The driveway maple has also begin its color change with crimson and yellow shades emerging. This maple is the first to change colors and drop its leaves.

As said repeatedly in the Blog, September is the slowest order month of the numismatic year. During 2021, GFRC will attempt to change that September reputation with a fantastic Oregon Beaver auction sale along with rolling out more consignments. In just the past week, three clients have committed new consignments for the month of September. More are required however to sustain a full onslaught of fresh new offerings going into the Manchester NH coin show that kicks off October.

Wednesday was spent in the back acreage and by 5:00 PM, the weariness of working a full day in the woods was apparent. I was Dave Wilkinson's guide and chain saw person allowing him to remain in the excavator cab the entire day. I'm certain not accustomed to being on my feet the entire day in hot weather. Many smaller trees were cut as we moved through dense forest with temperatures hovering in the low 90s. More on this topic shortly.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale - The Finale Approaches

By now the passionate Liberty Seated quarter collectors in the community have had sufficient contemplation time. The Tenafly Collection's Part 2 Seated quarter sale is closing in a few days. Saturday evening will bring a spectacular finale with the destination outcome for the 63 offered lot. Where will each be heading come 9:00 PM?

Let's recap where the auction event stands currently.

- 30 lots have bids with 11 having multiple bids

- Total value for lots meeting reserve stands at $27,537

Noteworthy is the fact that the key dates are still unattached along with several gorgeous Mint State pieces. Yes, I get it that buyers for these pieces wish to stay on the sidelines until the final minutes of the sale. This is predictable but I do need something to talk about in the Blog.

Following are Tenafly Collection Part 2 Sale highlights that remain unspoken for. This sale presents an opportunity to secure quality dates that will substantially augment an advanced collection.

Unattached Tenafly Part 2 CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Collection Set Sale Highlights

1860-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C 1861 PCGS II/II MS64+ 25C

1861-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C 1864 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C

1869 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C 1871-S PCGS VF35 CAC 25C

1872-CC PCGS G06 CAC 25C 1872-S PCGS VG10 CAC 25C

1873 Arrows PCGS AU55 CAC 25C 1875-S PCGS VF35 CAC 25C

1878 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C 1878-CC PCGS MS62PL 25C

1890 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C 1891-O PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

Ledge Hill Trails Northern Route Nearly Complete

After fueling Dave's excavator, the trailblazing pair headed into the back acreage at 8:15 AM and wrapped up at 5:00 PM. The day's effort proved to be most challenging as we cut through an undisturbed forest and confronted several smaller rock fields. The last few hours were particularly difficult as we moved uphill towards a beautiful settler's stone wall that marks the left property line. When 5:00 PM arrived, we were roughly 80 ft from reaching that wall. Once attaining the wall, the going will be much easier as the area adjacent to the wall was previously cleared of large stones to construct that wall. It is my expectation that we can attain the top most property corner point with several hours of effort. Once reaching the corner point, we turn southeast for the final leg of the perimeter trail. Our plan is to stay within feet of yet another settler's wall as the area immediately below (our right going downhill) is a massive rock field that feeds the two natural springs at the bottom of the property. To execute this strategy, tree cutting and stump removal could be the primary issue as all paths must allow egress with the JD2025R for years of forthcoming maintenance.

Below is the updated property Google satellite map with Wednesday's progress marked with an aquamarine coloring.

Our next trail cutting session takes place on Monday August 30 and Tuesday August 31.

Here is an image that is typical of Wednesday's trail cutting, The whitish area to the right of the excavator is sunlight poking through the overhead tree canopy.

Consignments Wanted - Buying Too!

Just a quick reminder that GFRC is in need of consignments small and large. If needing quick cash, I can also make an offer on what might be for sale. Key is that the offerings be consistent with current GFRC product lines and quality levels.

Thanks in advance for considering this ongoing request for inventory support.

Global Financial News

A few days have gone by since we took a look a the equity and capital markets along with commodities and the 10 Year bond.

Little has changed in terms of U.S. equity markets that remain at or near record levels. The Federal Reserve's Jerome Powell makes an important speech on Friday at the annual Jackson Hole financial conference. Market watchers and the financial media will be scrutinizing his every word concerning news of bond buying tapering.

South Korea has taken the honor of being the first industrialized country to raise interest rates post Covid-19 pandemic.

Following are morning market futures courtesy of Seeking Alpha. U.S. markets will open flat at 9:30 AM.

In Asia, Japan +0.1%. Hong Kong -1.1%. China -1.1%. India flat.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.4%. Paris -0.4%. Frankfurt -0.7%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.1%. S&P flat. NASDAQ -0.1%.

WTI crude oil pricing has changed little in the past few days with a quote of $67.74. Paper gold has been unable to hold the $1800 level and has drifted down to $1789/oz. Bitcoin is priced at $47,018 to start the day.

Interestingly, the 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has climbed to 1.34%

Wrapping Up The Blog

Unquestionably, today brings a full day in the GFRC office. Enough said here.

Please check the 30 Day Price List this evening as there might be some new offerings to be had. Ditto for the evening Blog status.

As always, thank-you for checking in at the Blog. I will be in the office through Sunday.

August 25, 2021

Noteworthy Ledge Hill Trails Progress with Dave Wilkinson

and

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Contemplation Period Continues

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to a brief Daily Blog edition.

Tuesday brought one of those well planned days for the Ledge Hill Trails project. With the power of Dave Wilkinson's excavator at hand, four major tasks were sequenced to secure as much progress as possible in an eight hour period. That we did in the back acreage with Dave commenting at 4:00 PM that he was nearly out of fuel. The excavator ran non-stop across eight productive hours.

The four tasks includes digging out problematic tree stumps, moving brush into position to enable my transport to the burn pile, leveling portions of the southern trail to enable quick path gravel application (with the JD2025R), and finally, digging out and expanding the first natural spring.

I thrilled to report that all of these items were completed in just eight hours on a hot humid day.

Dave is back at 8:00 AM with one goal; cutting the northern trail through fairly thick forest. My role is that of surveyor and scout with on the spot decision making on where the trail is placed. Considerations include placement near yet another settler's stone wall while avoiding steep slopes, boulders, and large trees.

The GFRC office will be back to normal operations on Thursday.

Noteworthy Ledge Hill Trails Progress with Dave Wilkinson

Though Diane has overruled me concerning the name of the back acreage project, my mindset is still that of creating a nature's park for family and visitors. Once basic trails are cut, there is infrastructure building requirements for moving material and equipment through the trails along with removing downed trees, brush, and stumps. The term "beautification" rings true once all the construction is completed. Offensive stumps are removed to increase JD2025R mobility. Boulders are carefully placed along the trails to allow easy tractor passage while being aesthetically pleasing for hikers.

Below is a cellphone image of Dave manhandling a huge multi-trunk maple stump at the intersection of the main pathway and the entrance points for the southern and northern trails. This intersection is a primary "beautification" target as I wish for the area to be inviting to those who pass through.

Dave Manhandles a Huge Maple Tree Stump

Cellphone images of Dave leveling the existing trail are boring. Therefore, let's jump to the final task of the day; digging out and expanding the first of two natural springs. The following image documents the status of the first spring before our efforts began. Several trees had already been cut and removed by me before Dave arrived and this baselining photo-op. The mound area below his bucket is where the pool expansion would take place.

First Natural Spring - Baseline Image Before the Big Dig

The first spring continues to flow though the water amount has been limited this summer. When first uncovered during Fall 2020, the water flow rate was higher.

A decision was made to dig the spring inlet down another five feet towards increasing water flow potential. Dave required an approach area for the excavator while still keeping the existing boulders walls in place. A decision was made to double the size of the spring's pool while digging deep. With the larger pool area and at least six feet of water, once properly damed, it might be possible to place goldfish into this hiking destination.

Below is a cellphone image of the expanded water area as Dave is digging out rocks and mud.

Digging Deep to Increase Water Flow

This photography captures the resized pool that quickly filled with water. Let's remember that there is four to five of depth under the pool's surface at this point. I'm feeling positive that we were successful with the goal to increase water flow rates. Here Dave beginning the task of boulder placements towards constructing the new side wall. Accessing boulders in not a problem.

Expanded Natural Spring - Adding Border Boulders

Before Dave arrives at 8:00 AM, I hope to take a quick walk to the spring and see if the water level has increased enough to flow down the outlet that is about one foot higher than the pool in the above image. Hopefully, the water will have cleared enough for a cellphone image for Thursday's Blog.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Contemplation Period Continues

The Tenafly Part 2 Sale contemplation period continues today and into Thursday. One bid was placed on Tuesday for which I am most appreciative. Come the Thursday morning Blog, I will showcase unattached lots that definitely deserve to be placed into an advanced collection.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's end the Blog at this point as morning shipping must be queued for Diane along with a quick shower. Time is so precious on these types of busy days.

Thursday's Blog will be back to normal along with a regular GFRC office day to continue progress on the upcoming Oregon Beaver Collection auction.

Thanks for checking in with me. Be well!

August 24, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Enters Contemplation Period

and

Full Day With Dave Wilkinson's Excavator

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

Now that Henri is in the rear view mirror, Dave Wilkinson arrives at 7:30 AM for a full day of excavator work within the Ledge Hill Trails development project. Today's Blog will be brief as chain saw preparations must be made along with moving the JD2025R tractor out of the way of the first stump removal effort. I will be keeping the cellphone in my pocket to ensure that progress is capture with pictures for Wednesday's Blog edition.

Monday saw the posting of the last of the West Coast Collection's Liberty Seated dimes to the price list. Initial sales have been positive.

Also important to report is the promise of several small consignments that will be transferred this week. One consignment is a five piece type lot with all items being CAC approved. The highlight is an 1807 Draped Bust quarter previously purchased from GFRC. The second consignment is a three piece Liberty Seated dollar consignment with an 1862 PCGS AU50 dollar being the marquee offering.

Preparations for the forthcoming Oregon Beaver's Liberty Seated half dollar auction sales are moving along nicely. This sale will be heavy in high grade AU and Mint State halves so please prepare your budgets accordingly. Once the Tenafly Collection's Part 2 auction sale closes on Saturday, Sunday will bring a gallery display of the entire Oregon Beaver Collection auction offerings.

Following is a screen capture of the Paint Shop Pro desktop application with a status report of the Oregon Beaver image processing. Clicking on the below image will provide access to a high resolution version to those who might wish to secure a sneak peak at the forthcoming lots.

GFRC Online Auctions - Oregon Beaver Image Processing Status

Yes, there are also four consigned $2.5 gold pieces, a 1931-S Lincoln cent, and several Barber halves to compliment the auction lots. Also, there are several Liberty Seated dimes from another consignor at the tail end of the display. When conducting image processing, working in a large batch mode is the most efficient use of my time.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Enters Contemplation Period

Contemplation Period is the new term to describe the Tuesday through Thursday time frame for week long GFRC Online Auctions.

The contemplation period provides the collector community time to reflect upon bidding results, during the opening days, towards formulating their final bidding strategy for Saturday. Other collectors don't get seriously involved with the auction until the Friday time frame. They patiently sit back and assess current bidding and how that will mold their maximum bid placements come Saturday evening.

With Dave Wilkinson arriving shortly, there is not time today to showcase available lots. This will be done on Thursday morning. So far, Diane and I are very pleased with the initial bidding and believe Saturday evening's bidding will be another wild ride.

Wrapping Up The Blog

My apology for the lack of a Global Financial News segment in today's edition.

The time has come to head outdoors and prepare two chain saws with bar oil and ensure that the chains have the proper tightness for a day's work. The JD2025R is fueled with enough diesel to get through the day. It will be a long busy day with stump digging, downed tree sawing, and trail leveling to accomplish. Hopefully the first natural spring will also be expanded and flowing more water by end of the work day.

If wishing to make a GFRC coin purchase, email will be the better ordering vehicle than a cellphone call. Come end of day, all emails and phone orders will be responded to and confirmed. Morning shipping is already staged for Diane to take over and pass along to Doug the Mailman.

Please check back tomorrow morning for images that capture today's progress.

Once again, thank-you for checking in at the Blog.

August 23, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Bidding Continues

Balance of West Coast Collection's Liberty Seated Dimes Arrives

and

Homestead Improvement Week or More

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

I'm pleased to report that Henri was a meteorological non-event in southern Maine. Thick fog encases the homestead and surrounding landscaping as the Blog is composed while the local weather forecast calls for on and off showers throughout the day. Other than some moderate windy conditions late Sunday afternoon, one would have never suspected that a named topical depression was passing through. Typical Nor'easter cyclones that form in the Gulf of Maine pack a much harder punch than Henri.

A multiple home improvement event period begins this week. Readers are well aware that Dave Wilkinson's excavator is already on the property and positioned for more back acreage work. Also starting this week is the removal of the pressure treated back deck and replacement with a larger composite material structure that will improve viewing of the woods and coastal view.

Today's inclement weather delays project work until Tuesday. This delay will provide for a full day's effort on the upcoming Oregon Beaver auction lots. I hope to have most of the images completed before retiring this evening.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Bidding Continues

I am most pleased with the continued Tenafly Collection auction bidding on Sunday. Seventeen bids were registered resulting in 28 lots generating a bit over $24,000 in met reserves. A Google Analytics review indicates that the first two days of Tenafly Part 2 bidding (and online pageviews) are consistent with the Part 1 sale. Past GFRC Online Auction experience indicates that the lower priced lots are popular during early bidding while the high priced lots will be picked-off during the final day of the auction. Those individuals that will be chasing the semi-key and key dates don't wish to show that hands too early.

A GFRC client took yesterday's Blog advice and placed a bid on the 1868 PCGS AU50 CAC lot. However, no one stepped forward on the 1875-S. Let's remember that the 1875-S Seated quarter date is unlike the dime, double dimes, and halves. The quarter is a legitimately challenging date while common in the other denominations.

Let's look at two other Tenafly lots that remain unattached but are worthy of their reserve prices.

The 1877-S S/Horizontal S die variety is a consistently popular die variety that is listed in the Top 25 Seated Quarter Varieties set and also broken out separately within the PCGS and CAC price guides. I remember selling this piece into the Tenafly Collection during January 2020 after being part of a small consignment. This example is close to condition census with mirrored fields and frosty devices. Surfaces are essentially untoned with bright reflective luster. If in the market for a top end 1877-S S/Horiz S, this example should serve the winning bidder well without need for another upgrade.

1877-S S/Horiz S Briggs 4-D NGC MS64 CAC 25c

Selecting a client's auction banner plate coin take serious contemplation. Eye appeal is the top priority as is the case for this near-gem 1878 PCGS MS64 quarter. Little needs to be said. If assembling a top end collection, this proof like piece will fit in nicely.

1878 PCGS MS64 CAC 25c

Balance of West Coast Collection's Liberty Seated Dimes Arrives

Today brings the balance of the most recent West Coast Collection consignment to the price list. Unquestionably, the West Coast consignor enjoys the dime denomination, and especially the Liberty Seated type. Following are eleven fresh offerings with all being in older holders. Many are CAC approved. The 1841-O F-104 is a fully choice AU58 that should not last long on the price list. Most of these dime have been posted to the price list with the balance appearing at some point today.

Balance of West Coast Collection's Liberty Seated Dimes Arrives

1841-O F-104 PCGS AU58 CAC 10C 1861 Type 1 F-105 PCGS MS65 10C

1838 F-105 PCGS AU55 10C 1853-O F-107 PCGS EF45 10C 1856 SD F-115 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C

1874 Arr Unlisted PCGS MS61 CAC 10C 1877-CC T1 F-102 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C 1887-S F-113 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C

1887-S F-108 PCGS AU53 10C 1888-S F-102 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C 1891-O F-131 PCGS AU53 10C

Homestead Improvement Week or More

Starting Tuesday, Dave's excavator will be busy in the back 20 acres. Since becoming proficient with the JD2025R, I understand the capabilities/limitations of my tractor and can employ Dave's excavator for those tasks that require greater lifting capacity, longer backhoe reach, and more aggressive stump digging capability. Tuesday's task include digging out several large pine and maple tree stumps, leveling a particularly steep portion of the southern trail and digging out the first natural spring. Afterwards, cutting the northern trail and attempting to reach (through a rock field) the second spring become the priorities.

While I'm in the woods with Dave, Diane will be overseeing the back deck replacement project conducted by Pete Theberge. I suspect that this project will take two full weeks of effort.

Global Financial News

U.S. equity markets closed out last week on an upbeat note and are forecasted to begin a new week with more optimism. A look at morning market futures indicates green throughout the planet as the Covid Delta variant works through its cycle.

In Asia, Japan +1.8%. Hong Kong +1.1%. China +1.5%. India +0.4%.

In Europe, at midday, London +0.4%. Paris +0.9%. Frankfurt +0.2%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.3%. NASDAQ +0.3%

The commodity complex is also sharing in economic optimism with WTI crude priced at $64/bbl. Paper gold continues to dance just below the all important $1800 level. Morning quote is 1793/oz. Bitcoin is once again in rally mode at $50298.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has risen slightly to 1.28%

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point and best to wrap-up.

Please remember my plea for new consignments regardless if a major show is not in the near-term. Large national shows have a way of motivating collectors to part with coins. My challenging is dealing with multiple consignments that arrive within a week or two of a major show. Handling consignments during a seasonally quiet market period is much preferred. As mentioned often in the Blog, September is the slowest sales month on the numismatic calendar and ideal for insourcing fresh consignments.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Be well!

August 22, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Bidding Is Underway

and

Consignments Being Solicited

Greetings on an early Sunday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog.

All eyes are on tropical storm Henri as it approaches the New York City and lower New England region. A check-in with Dan White and Rose Marie in Essex, CT last evening found them well prepared for the event. The backup generator is ready to go and the outdoor furniture has been moved indoors. There is little else to do but wait for the storm's arrival.

Raymond, Maine is roughly 3.5 hours north of Dan's home in Essex. Our weather forecast calls for rains to start around noon time and will last through early Tuesday. Accumulated rain is forecasted to be only 1-2 inches. I'm prepared for several days of showers and thick clouds with outdoor homestead projects being delayed.

Saturday brought a full day working outdoors. How I wish there was more time to spend in the woods as being close to nature is so satisfying. The existing back acreage walking trail saw considerable progress on Saturday. Since loaded with 30 yards 1.5" stone, gravel, and road sand positioned inside the Ledge Hill Trails project, the application when smoothly. This mixture packs nicely from the weight of the JD2025R. Diane even paid a visit to the project as portions are moving into the beautification stage. The lawn was also mowed, followed by a pleasant taco dinner and an early 8:30 PM bedtime with complete confidence that the Tenafly Part 2 Sale would open promptly at 9:00 PM. That it did with much early bidding.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Biddings Underway

I'm most pleased that the Tenafly Collection's Part 2 Sale is off to a robust start. This GFRC Online Auctions event offers 63 CAC approved Liberty Seated quarters with dates ranging from 1860 through 1891. Total reserve for the sale is nearly $74,000. There are a host of semi-key dates in ideal collector grades to consider. Strict originality abounds throughout the offered lots with reserve prices being market competitive.

I awoke early and promptly checked the email Inbox and was delighted to see a substantial amount of early bidding. Frankly, this Tenafly auction sale is opening quite strong and signals a well subscribed closing come Saturday August 28th. As of 5:00 AM, one third of the lots have already met opening reserves with $15,600 in bids.

There is one lot is the sale that does not have an early bid but should. Let's do a shout out for the 1875-S PCGS MS63 CAC quarter as the date is very challenging to locate in any grade. A visit to the Sales Archive will confirm this statement as GFRC has only sold two Mint State examples (one being the offered Tenafly example) and two AU58s. One of the AU58s was CAC approved and sold for $1000 at the Hoosier Collection auction during December 2020. Individuals building an advanced Liberty Seated quarter set should carefully consider the Tenafly offering as attractively priced at opening reserve. Following are images to whet your appetite.

1875-S Briggs 4-D PCGS MS63 CAC 25c

Another "no-brainer" offering is the 1868 PCGS AU50 CAC lot. Mintage is only 29,400 with 15 CAC approved. The Tenafly example is a gem with semi prooflike surfaces and attractive toning. It is a certainty that this offering would be an important improvement for many Seated quarter sets under construction.

1868 Briggs 1-A PCGS AU50 CAC 25c

Consignments Being Solicited

The surprise arrival of Henri translates into three solid days in the GFRC office. That time will be wisely spend processing residual consignments and preparing Oregon Beaver images for his upcoming Liberty Seated half dolalr GFRC Online Auction events.

Come the second week of September, the consignment queue will be substantially depleted and requires new shipments. Sure, I can work through a double row box of Liberty Seated dimes from my own collection to keep the 30 Day Price List populated. However, product offering diversity is paramount to sustain interest in the many product lines.

GFRC is in need of all Capped Bust denominations along with Barber coinage. More Liberty Seated halves and dollars are also requested as collector demand remains robust. I'm also open to better 20th Century coinage with Standing Liberty quarters as a priority.

If you've been mulling over the thought of liquidating a collection or doing some bank box house cleaning, please give me a call or send an email inquiry to discuss possibilities.

Let's not forget that the national coin show circuit kicks in during November with the Winter Baltimore show. The great Whitman staff are promising a "mega event". GFRC has already booked two corner tables that will be staffed with Gerry, Diane, Dan, and Rose Marie. Diane is presently working on a new GFRC Online Auction table cover too. Soon after the Baltimore show, Winter FUN arrives in Orlando, Florida. GFRC has booked a corner and regular table booth configuration for the event.

GFRC is Also Buying Quality Type Coins

If the traditional consignment route just does not work for you, I've also open to an outright purchase of your coins including a collection. The 85% CAC Buyback program continues though not recently advestised. If near-term cash is an imperative, I'm sure that we can work mutually agreeable terms.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Good luck to Blog readers in New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and the geater New York City area today as Henri makes landfall. Hopefully, the wind speeds will be reasonable with mininal damage.

Otherwise, breakfast time arrives here in southern Maine with thick fog at hand.

Thanks for being loyal Daily Blog readers. Be well!

August 21, 2021

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Biddings Opens at 9:00 PM

Collector Grade Liberty Seated Dimes - West Coast Collection

and

Notable Mint State Liberty Seated Dimes - Massachusetts Collection

Greetings on a Friday evening and welcome to the Saturday Daily Blog edition.

Why in the world am I writing the Blog on a Friday evening? Scheduling issues due to the pending arrival of tropical depression Henri to northern New England.

Saturday brings an opportunity to secure a full day of work on the homestead property before Tropical Storm Henri's rain arrives at midnight. Sunday and a good part of Monday will be wet from the storm keeping me indoors. After several inches of rain, the back acreage trails will be soft and not in the best of condition for working with a tractor. Therefore Saturday brings an opportunity to get landscaping and back acreage tasks done before Dave Wilkinson arrives next week. Along with Dave appearance, Pete Theberge also appears next week to tear down the existing wooden back deck. Afterwards, Pete will install a larger deck with see through railing and composite materials that do not require annual maintenance. While Diane is overseeing the back deck replacement project with Pete, I will be in the woods with Dave cutting the northern trail.

I'm currently planning to be outdoors by 6:30 AM Saturday as an early start to a busy day. Being proactive means that the Daily Blog must be written on Friday evening.

Please check the 30 Day Price List as I've posted many new offerings during the Friday afternoon hours. To be exact, fifteen new coins are posted for your consideration. August is turning out to be a slower sales period that is consistent with pre-Covid years. Given the slower order rate, rebuilding the price list has become a priority along with preparing the Oregon Beaver auction lots. My goal is to move into the busy October and November coin show time frame with a large amount of fresh inventory. Key to that goal are incremental consignments.

Consignment Wanted!

It is rapidly becoming apparent that the current GFRC consignment backlog will be consumed by mid-September. Now is the time to consider a consignment as I will be in a position for quick turns processing during the latter part of September and through October.

Tenafly Collection's Part 2 CAC Approved Seated Quarter Set Sale Biddings Opens at 9:00 PM

Bidding for the second installment of the Tenafly Liberty Seated Quarter sale opens at 9:00 PM. The long awaited second half of the Tenafly Sale has arrived. There are a host of great lots from the Civil War 1860s to the final year of Liberty Seated design ending in 1891. Early bidding is always appreciated as it provides comfort to the consignor that the GFRC community will be active participants in the sale. Please click in the following banner to access the Tenafly online catalog and reserve prices.

Collector Grade Liberty Seated Dimes - West Coast Collection

By now, it should be apparent that I did not burn the back acreage brush pile on Friday afternoon. Temperatures had climbed into the mid to high 80s and not ideal for standing in front of a hot fire for 3-4 hours.

Instead, attention was placed on the Liberty Seated dime portion of the West Coast Collection consignment after posting the four Capped Bust dimes to the price list. The below gallery illustrates the initial offerings including a scarce CAC approved 1889-S dime at the MS64 grade level plus an R5 1838 F-104a dime graded PCGS EF45 with CAC approval. All but the 1876-CC and 1886 dimes have been posted to the price list, so please consider a purchase at your convenience.

Collector Grade Liberty Seated Dimes - West Coast Collection

Posted to the Price List

1889-S, F-105 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C

1838 F-111 PCGS AU50 CAC 10C 1841-O F-104a PCGS EF45 CAC 10C

1876-CC F-123 PCGS AU53 CAC 10C 1886 F-116 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C 1887-S PCGS MS61 Gold CAC Rattler 10C

Notable Mint State Liberty Seated Dimes - Massachusetts Collection

Along with the West Coast Collection Seated dimes, the Massachusetts Collection has also decided to release "supplanted' dimes back to the GFRC price list. Below are two pieces from a six piece consigned lot. The 1869-S PCGS MS62 CAC dime is a truly important opportunity for the advanced collector. Pricing for this dime has moved up substantially during a three year period due to CAC approval and an inflationary market. The 1875 dime is a beautifully toned piece and unlisted in the web-book.

Notable Mint State Liberty Seated Dimes - Massachusetts Collection

Posted to the Price List

1869-S F-102 PCGS MS62 CAC 10C 1875 Unlisted PCGS MS65 10C

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be certain to take many pictures during Saturday's Ledge Hill Trails project work for posting in Sunday's Blog edition.

Otherwise, the time has come to say goodnight on a Friday evening. Come Sunday morning, the regular GFRC office schedule will be at hand given the wet outdoor conditions.

Please don't be bashful with purchase inquiries. Thanks for checking in. Be well!

August 20, 2021

Specialty Holdered $10 U.S. Gold - Osprey Collection

Collector Grade Capped Bust Dimes - West Coast Collection

and

Tenafly Part 2 Auction Biddings Starts in 36 Hours

Greetings as another traditional work week comes to a close. Welcome to a regular Blog edition.

Overnight rain has ceased in southern Maine leaving cloudy conditions for the next 48 hours. The day after a rain event, with arriving northwest winds, is typically ideal for burning the ongoing accumulation of brush in the back acreage project. This wind direction guides the smoke plume into the woods and away from the homestead and neighboring homes. That will be today's consideration after morning shipping is completed.

Thursday brought healthy progress with preparations for the forthcoming Oregon Beaver auction event. Image processing is about 40% complete for the entire offering. Len Augsburger is on board for writing lot descriptions once the image gallery is available.

It was wild turkey day in the backyard and acreage on Thursday. A turkey flock hung out for most of the afternoon. It appears that Wednesday's coyote had moved on as these turkeys would be quite the meal.

There is little else to share other than to remind readers of the many information links located on the GFRC website. Some clients have described this website as a numismatic playground for those who wish to delved into Liberty Seated coinage. Here is a brief recap of the many informational options available.

The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors - Yes, the web-book has been around since its release during 2004. It took time, but eventually NGC and PCGS recognized the Fortin die varieties and internalized the classification system into their in house databases. The Fortin attribution system has been pervasive for years within Heritage and Stacks auction catalog.

Consignor Gallery - If being a GFRC consignor with at least $25,000 in closed sales and current inventory, your coins are illustrated at the Consignor Gallery link. The thought process behind this link was a living testament to the many clients who have divested their collections via GFRC. Active inventories are also showcased among the previously sold coins.

Sale Search - This link provides access to a menu driven search function for coins in current inventory. If on a mission to locate a particular denomination and date, this link provides the fastest interrogation of available inventory.

Auctions - Little needs to be said here. GFRC Online Auctions is a new sales platform that is fully integrated with the balance of the website. Coins that do not meet reserve at auction immediately move to the retail price list. Coins sold on the auction platform move directly into the Sales Archive with special designation.

Sales Archive - My ongoing belief is that transparency is the best policy for the numismatic market place. Understanding a coin's prior sales history better enables the collector decision process when that coin reappears on the price list. At a macro level, the Sales Archive continue to grow in importance as a valuation tool for early type coins.

Open Set Registry - The Open Set Registry provides clients and friends with a simplistic avenue for displaying personal collections without TPG restrictions. This is the reason for the "Open" in the application title. Raw and holder coins can be listed at will. For coins purchased from GFRC, their images will auto-populate when building your registry set. GFRC was the first entity in the numismatic market to list CAC approved only sets and provide incremental scoring for CAC approved coins.

CAC Price Research - This is another cool search function that facilitates the extraction of CAC approved sold coins from the substantial GFRC database. The extraction is displayed in an easy to read format that illustrates sale price results across grade levels.

Consignor Link - Surprisingly, the Consignor link remains popular not only as a marketing tool for describing the GFRC consignment process but also for real time tracking of GFRC consignment sales. As of this morning, GFRC has sold 9,756 consigned coins, since 2014, with total consignor proceeds approaching the $9,000,000 level.

Specialty Holdered $10 U.S. Gold - Osprey Collection

The past week has brought daily offerings from the latest Osprey Collection consignment. Hound Dog Dan's $5 gold offerings have sold well along with other pieces. Today brings the final installment with a gold CAC approved 1847-O $10 eagle housed in a PCGS old green holder. This is a difficult No Motto date in AU grades and better. Sorry, but this offering is already spoken for.

How about not one but two $10 Liberty gold pieces housed in the rare PCGS Doily holders? The "Doily" holder was a short-lived PCGS offering during September and October 1989. The revised PCGS label provides the appearance of an old table doily covering, thus the nickname. The Doily was the predecessor to the well known Old Green Holder that saw a long life from October 1989 through September 1998.

Both the 1897 and 1898 PCGS MS61 CAC $10 offerings are priced at $1800 each. The Doily holder premium is reasonable while the offered gold pieces are conservative graded and pleasing.

Specialty Holdered $10 U.S. Gold - Osprey Collection

Please Email for Price Quote

1847-O PCGS EF45 Gold CAC OGH G$10

1897 PCGS MS61 CAC Doily G$10 1898 PCGS MS61 CAC Doily G$10

Collector Grade Capped Bust Dimes - West Coast Collection

Along with processing the Oregon Beaver auction lot images, time was allocated for preparing the balance of the West Coast Collection consignment offerings that consist of Capped Bust and Liberty Seated dimes. Following are the Capped Bust dime portion for your consideration. All are found at the affordable collector grades of VF35 and EF40 with most CAC approved. Prices are available. If interested in a quote, simply send me an email. These will post to the price list during the next 48 hours.

Collector Grade Capped Bust Dimes - West Coast Collection

Please Email for Price Quote

1820 Lg 0 JR-6 PCGS VF35 CAC 10C 1820 Lg 0 JR-13 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C

1830 Med 10c JR-7 PCGS VF35 10C 1831 JR-1 PCGS EF40 CAC 10C

Tenafly Part 2 Auction Biddings Starts in 36 Hours

I'm certain that the Liberty Seated quarter collecting community is anxiously awaiting the opening of bidding for the second installment of the Tenafly Collection's CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Set Sale. Bidding opens in roughly 36 hours, of course dependent on when today's Blog edition is viewed.

The first installment of the Tenafly Collection realized $44,000 and a 74% sell through rate. I'm expecting the second installment to match the 74% sales rate given a host of challenging dates that are fairly priced.

A final auction reminder will be published in Saturday morning's Blog.

Global Finance News

The trading week ends on a pessimistic note. Morning market futures are negative throughout the globe. Beijing continues to issue new regulations and laws to crack down on information fraud and online theft. Fears of more government control over technology companies is steering Shanghai and Hong Kong markets lower.

Across the Pacific, U.S. markets are pulled back from levels with volatility increasing. This is a sense of pessimism in the air given the uncertainties of Covid and an effective national government.

In Asia, Japan -1%. Hong Kong -1.8%. China -1.1%. India -0.5%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.2%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt -0.5%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.5%. S&P -0.5%. NASDAQ -0.4% .

There is little to discuss concerning commodities and the long bond interest rate. WTI crude is priced at $63.36/bbl while paper gold is holding at $1784/oz. Bitcoin has increased to $47,201. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is flat at 1.23%.

Why do I keep worrying about Xi JinPing making a move for Taiwan? This new Seeking Alpha article on a global semiconductor shortage and the impact to the globe's automotive industries is one example. As car markets shift to EVs, the electronic content will continue to climb. Without a rigorous semiconductor supply chain, EV makers will be in serious trouble, Taiwan island is home to TSMC and UMC. TSMC is the third largest semiconductor company in the world with a contracted foundry business model.

Second sourcing electronics for the automotive industry is a huge issue as the reliability qualification cycle can last up to three years. Sourcing agreements are predicated on long term relationships with suppliers. Once a major semiconductor company is "designed into" an automotive platform, there is a sign of relief. The challenge is maintaining supply to that automotive giant else end production is impacted. Things can get intense when a $20 chip holds up the fabrication of a $60,000 truck.

No sign of abating

The chip shortage hobbling the auto industry is worsening, with several of world's largest automakers facing renewed shortages of silicon. The problem is being compounded by a wave of COVID cases sweeping across southeast Asia, where many of the semiconductors are made. The new disruptions could eventually factor into prices at the dealership and the used car market, as well as weighing heavily on the recovery plans of the manufacturers.

Ford: One of its plants in Kansas City is pausing production of the popular F-150 pickup truck due to chip-related parts shortages.

General Motors: The company is halting assembly of its all-electric Chevrolet Bolt as it adds extended downtime at production lines in North America.

Volkswagen: The German owner of brands including Audi and Porsche warned on the potential for another output cut, saying VW's chip supply for Q3 would be "very volatile and tight."

The biggest news: Toyota is slashing global production in September by 40%, which will affect 14 factories in Japan and overseas plants. The new plans will translate into 540K vehicles next month, down from the 900K it had originally forecast. While Toyota is keeping its previous annual sales and production targets in place for now, shares of the Japanese carmaker fell 4% on Thursday and are down another 3% premarket.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I hope that you've enjoyed today's Blog edition. It is time for a shower followed by the usual morning shipping. Afterwards, I will tender a decision to burn brush or work in the GFRC office during the afternoon hours.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Be well!

August 19, 2021

First Coyote Sighting in Back 20 Acres

and

Twin Lakes Collection's CAC Approved PCGS MS64RB Lincolns to Consider

More Noteworthy Osprey Collection Offerings

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning. Thanks again for being regular readers.

My day starts in southern Maine will high humidity and a 72F temperature reading. The current cloud cover will shift to thunderstorms and rain as Tropical Storm Fred moves through northern New England. It appears that most of today and Friday will be washouts which is just fine. Rainy conditions have a way of keeping me in the office and focused on the GFRC business.

As today's opening headline indicates, Wednesday brought the first sighting of an impressive coyote in the back acreage. Why was I working in the woods when the day's plan had been to be in the GFRC office? Here comes another story...

Dave Wilkinson was conducting a job just two lots over from the homestead. My neighbor wished for Dave to remove 1.5" stone and the remaining road sand between the asphalt roadway and his newly restored stone wall. Just a month ago, Dave had reconditioned the wall and applied 1.5" stone in front of the wall as there is no good solution for an area that is piled with salted road sand each winter. The neighbor was not pleased with the outcome and demanded Dave remove the stone and strip this area to the bare ground. As Dave said yesterday, "I live the good life" since the most cost effective solution for the removed materials is transport into the Ledge Hill Trails project free of charge. Dave's initial projection of 12-14 yards of sandy 1.5" stone morphed into 30 yards of stone and considerable amounts of road sand. As Dave worked through the neighbor's project, it became apparent that I would need to prepare another material staging area in the back acreage. Let's remember that the back acreage is essentially a granite rock mining operation. There are huge rocks everywhere. By 1:00 PM, there I was on the JD2025R clearing out a second 15x15 area of surfaces rocks in order to take receipt of the last two of five loads.

While on the tractor, a large coyote appears on the edge of main pathway no more than 100' from me. This was a beautiful lean animal about 50% larger than a regular German Shepard. The coyote stopped to gaze at me and then trotted off across the path and into the woods to my right. This was one of those memorable moments and a reminder of the importance of maintaining a natural habitat for the indigenous species.

Here is a picture of the JD2025R's new playmate during the coming week.

Seth Godin Blogpost: Mollified

I could not pass up sharing today's Seth Godin blogpost entitled Mollified. The commentary is applicable to business leaders and also politicians who are in charge of large pieces of society.

We are presently witnessing a substantial fire drill at the global level. Investing in contingency plans might have been a wise precaution rather than making speeches without questions or giving interviews with favorable news outlets. Individuals who make customer satisfaction a priority understand the need for what if planning when initial strategies go awry. Rapid service recovery and honest admission of mistakes will retain customer loyalty. Pushing blame on others and making excuses are the signs of an ineffective management team.

Enough said....

Mollified

If your customer service strategy consists of mollifying angry customers, you’ll always be behind.

Life becomes a fire drill and work becomes an endless chore.

The alternative is to invest in cycles that lead to better systems.

Because better systems put out the fire when it’s really small.

And to invest in design, because better design leads to clearer promises, which are easier to keep.

And to invest in quality as the focus of production, because keeping your promises creates delight and lowers costs so much it pays for itself.

Twin Lakes Collection's CAC Approved PCGS MS64RB Lincolns to Consider

Yes, I deviated from yesterday's original plan and processed another installment of lower priced Lincoln cents from the Twin Lakes Collection. All eleven posted offerings are consistently graded PCGS MS64RB with many being CAC approved. These offerings are top quality examples with several garnering Gem Original quality ratings.

The posting took some customer by surprise followed by a host of purchase requests. I've made a point of updating the price list to flag sold pieces to halt the multiple orders. Following is an illustration of two of the eleven new offerings.

Twin Lakes Collection's CAC Approved PCGS MS64RB Lincolns to Consider

Eleven Pieces Posted to the Price list

1927 PCGS MS64RB CAC 1C 1930-D PCGS MS64RB CAC 1C

More Noteworthy Osprey Collection Offerings

Today brings me back to the original new offerings roll out plan. There are still a few important Osprey Collection consignments to post to the price list. Below are two special pieces that warrant some advanced marketing in today's Blog.

More Noteworthy Osprey Collection Offerings

Please Email for Price Quote - Posting to the Price List Thursday

1838 F-113 NGC MS66 CAC 10C 1923-D PCGS MS64 CAC G$20

Global Financial News

Tapering blues appears to be the new theme driving the pullback in U.S. equities. The Federal Reserve has come to the conclusion that the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand the eliminate of $120B month bond buying stimulus. The Fed is proactively signaling the end to stimulus with investors becoming nervous. September being just around the corner does not help either as markets traditional struggle during that September-October period.

Markets saw a reasonable pullback on Wednesday with morning market futures signaling more losses today.

In Asia, Japan -1.1%. Hong Kong -2.1%. China -0.6%. India closed.

In Europe, at midday, London -2%. Paris -2.4%. Frankfurt -1.8%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow -1.2%. S&P -1%. Nasdaq -0.8%.

Paper gold and Bitcoin are the bright spots for the moment. Spot gold is quoting at $1791/oz while Bitcoin is fairly steady at $44,497.

WTI crude pricing took a substantial fall during the overnight hours and is priced at $63.31/bbl. If this trend holds, the reduction in gasoline and diesel prices will help dampen current inflation levels.

The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield has dropped to 1.23% as demand climbs for the security of United States treasury bonds.

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is no chance that Dave Wilkinson will alter today's GFRC office plan. I'm staying put in the office the entire day just waiting for your purchase orders!

Seriously, there are many more consigned offerings that need attention in the image processing and price list posting departments. This will be today's focus. But if wishing to tender a purchase, I'm all ears.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Be well!

August 18, 2021

GFRC Acquires 1800 $10 Turban Head Gold Piece

and

Countdown for Tenafly Collection Part 2 Bidding

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to another 1.5 hours of daily rambling. I'm glad that you continually stop by and check in. Thanks much!

Southern Maine weather is in the process of migrating to wet conditions with on and off rain being forecasted for the balance of the week. Rain is good for two reasons. First is the nourishment of the ground. Secondly, I don't feel compel to work on the Ledge Hill Trails project and will remain in the office. When it rains in Maine, the result is an increased amount of consignor galleries. This situation does not apply to Florida office as I work all the time given condo living.

Tuesday brought a particularly long day on the JD2025R that was prompted by a Dave Wilkinson schedule change. Dave's plan was to conduct a local job on Friday removing about 14 yards of stone from a neighboring property and depositing into the back acreage with his smaller dump truck. This is the first attempt to transport project materials directly into the acreage saving considerable tractor transport time. At 1:00 PM, a text message appeared from Dave indicating that he is removing the stone on Wednesday rather than Friday. This schedule change might appear trivial until one realizes that there is roughly 10+ yards of gravel and 1.5" stone at the base of the second entrance. This material is blocking Dave's access and must be transported into the acreage by end of day. That I did working until 7:00 PM. The result is a lack of a fresh consignment gallery for today's Blog.

Today brings a solid office day with a substantial amount of image processing leading to an exciting Blog display by evening time.

GFRC Acquires 1800 $10 Turban Head Gold Piece

Adding an 1800 Turban Head $10 gold piece to GFRC inventory is consistent with where I wish to take the GFRC business. Tuesday brought the USPS Express arrival of a newly purchased example from an important client. This individual made a command decision that the gold piece was not longer core to his collecting goals and did a trade with GFRC for a purchase and cash.

Handling an early Bust $10 gold piece is truly exciting given the low mintage (1800 is only 5,999) and survival rate. PCGS price guides estimates 200-300 pieces are known with the date being rarer than 1797, 1799, 1801, and 1803 Heraldic Eagle counterparts. With the 1800 date comes a combination of rarity and type at a reasonable price point.

This offered example brings classic green-gold coloring and reflective luster from partially mirrored fields. Already, there has been one price inquiry. Look for this piece to post to the price list during the afternoon hours.

GFRC Acquires 1800 $10 Turban Head Gold Piece

Please Email for Price Quote

1800 PCGS AU50 G$10

Countdown for Tenafly Collection Part 2 Bidding

Hold on to your hats as bidding for the second installment of the Tenafly Collection's CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Set Sale begins on Saturday. The second sale brings a host of semi-key and key dates that are infrequently seen in the marketplace with CAC approval. Reserves are consistent with the CAC price guide and/or prior purchase history that can be checked in the Sales Archive. As usual with a GFRC sale, transparency is the rule.

I'm certain that Blog readers have already reviewed the online catalog and have made preliminary bidding decisions. As a reminder to all in the GFRC community, following are important highlights from the forthcoming Tenafly Sale. Reserves for these pieces are fair given the current state of the numismatic market. As reported by many who attended the Chicago ANA, quality Seated coinage was not to be found on the bourse. Now is your change to acquire popular rare dates with CAC approval. Low CAC populations abound in this auction.

Tenafly CAC Approved Liberty Seated Quarter Collection Set Sale - Part 2 Highlights

1860-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C 1861 PCGS II/II MS64+ 25C

1861-S PCGS VF30 CAC 25C 1864 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C

1866 Motto PCGS VF25 CAC 25C 1867-S NGC VF20 CAC 25C

1868 PCGS AU50 CAC 25C 1869 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C

1871-S PCGS VF35 CAC 25C 1872-CC PCGS G06 CAC 25C

1872-S PCGS VF35 CAC 25C 1875-CC PCGS VF35 CAC 25C

1877-S S/Hoz S NGC MS64 CAC 25C 1878 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C

1890 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C 1891-O PCGS VF25 CAC 25C

What to Expect by End of Day

Today's office time brings parallel attention to three consignments. The remaining Osprey Collection gold offerings will be wrapped up and posted to the price list. The Massachusetts Collection consignor has transferred six supplanted Liberty Seated dime from his collection. Finally, the remaining circulation strike Liberty Seated dimes and a few Capped Bust dimes from the West Coast Collection will receive attention. There is more than enough to keep me business for several days. Afterwards, my focus shifts to the GFRC Online Auctions platform and the Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated half dollar offerings.

Global Financial News

U.S. equity markets were down slightly on Tuesday with the blame assigned to a weak retail sales report and fears that the Federal Reserve will stop its $120B per month bond buying program. Investors face a conundrum. If the U.S. economy is healthy enough to stand on its feet without Federal Reserve intervention, why are investors so worried about tapering? An analog might be a sports athlete who has suffered an injury and used banned drugs to speed up the healing process. That drug obviously increases body recovery and performance during non injury periods. The decision to forgo this elixir is difficult given the enhanced performance. The same is true for U.S. equities. Much of the Fed bond buying is employed for equity market investments. Remove the stimulus at your own risk!

U.S. morning market futures are flat to start a new day.

In Asia, Japan +0.6%. Hong Kong +0.5%. China +1.1%. India -0.3%.

In Europe, at midday, London -0.4%. Paris -0.4%. Frankfurt -0.2%.

Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.1%. NASDAQ flat.

WTI crude oil, paper gold, and Bitcoin are essentially flat to Tuesday's opening numbers. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yields stands at 1.27%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

As mentioned earlier, today brings a full office day. Light morning shipping will be followed by a day of image processing and price list updates.

Today would be a good time to contact me concerning future consignments, if interested.

Thanks again for making the Daily Blog a regular part of your online reading experience. Be well!

1864 NGC MS64 CAC 1C $765	1849 WB-9 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C Newtown $1600	1926-D PCGS MS66+ CAC $1 Osprey $15500
1871 NGC AU58BN CAC 1C $785	1798 B-8 BB-125 PCGS VF35 CAC $1 Osprey $4000	1853-O Briggs 1-B PCGS MS64 CAC 25C Denver $24000

Gerry's Daily Blog

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