Gerry Fortin Rare Coins - Gerry's Daily Blog

January 22, 2020

GFRC Makes Finest CAC Approved 1842-O Small Date, Rev 1839 Seated Half

and

New Jersey Collection - Value Liberty Seated Dollars to Consider

GFRC Makes Finest CAC Approved 1842-O Small Date, Rev 1839 Seated Half

CAC Green/Gold Population - Liberty Seated, No Motto (1839-1866)

New Jersey Collection - Value Liberty Seated Dollars to Consider

1863 NGC AU Details Cleaned $1 1865 PCGS EF Details Cleaned $1

1840 EF Details Cleaned $1 1857 AU Details Cleaned $1 1859 EF Details Cleaned $1

1859-S VF Details Cleaned $1 1867 EF Details Cleaned $1 1870-CC F Details Filed Rims$1

January 21, 2020

Awesome Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Duplicates

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Tuesday morning.

Today's Blog edition will be unquestionably brief as I've caught a nasty head cold. The Fortin's went out to dinner with friends at a packed Englewood Florida eatery on Saturday evening. Somehow, I picked up a virus at that venue. After sleeping ten hours last evening, there is energy to write the Blog and get the shipping out the door. Afterwards, I will probably head back to bed to speed the recovery.

Monday brought a chilly day to Florida along with cloudless skies. Much photography was accomplished with enough images captured to sustain the GFRC operation through end of month.

GFRC's demand and order rates have been exceptional since the 2020 FUN show. The quality of offerings continues to increase into terms of rarity and eye appeal. Multiple FRoR are arriving on many of the offerings. As a reminder, if you don't immediately hear from me on an emailed FRoR request, please don't worry. There is insufficient time in a day to respond to every email that appears. I'm working in good faith on every customer's behalf towards sorting out who is first on each coin posted in the Blog.

Finally, please don't overuse or abuse the FRoR priveledge. Please keep requests within your financial capabilities. I never intended the FRoR process to be a mass reservation system where multiple coins are reserved followed by a decision to pick a single coin. Mass reservations are starting to appear and if not self regulated by customers, I will be forced to deny these requests. Yes, collectors are passionate individuals and sometimes lose themselves in the moment when a host of great coins appear in the Blog. Please consider the workload amplification that multiple FRoRs generate. Time management self defense will soon dictate that these requests are rejected.

Awesome Newtown Liberty Seated Dime Duplicates

We wrap up the presentation of the latest Newtown Collection consignment with a lovely Liberty Seated dime display. I was able to load the 1866-S and 1867 dimes to the price list on Monday. Both coins are on hold as of this morning. There were four FRoR on the 1866-S dime. I'm uncertain when the balance will reach the price list; the rolllout will be based on how I feel later in the day.

Important Newtown Collection Seated Dime Duplicates

1867 F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 1868-S F-101 PCGS MS64 10C

1852 F-106 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 1866-S F-101 PCGS AU50 10C

1862-S F-101 PCGS VF30 10C 1879 F-104a PCGS MS66 CAC 10C 1887 Unlisted PCGS MS65 CAC 10C

1887-S F-112 PCGS MS65 10C 1891 F-136 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C

Global Financial News

One never knows when a rouge event will impact global equity markets. That is the case for the coronavirus that has emerged in China's major city of Wuhan. Asia markets are selling off with contagion spreading to Europe and the United States. The following Seeking Alpha headline brings us up to date.

Stocks dropped across the globe following a big selloff in Asia on concerns that a mysterious coronavirus emanating from China will spread through the region as travel heats up for the Lunar New Year holidays. The disease has already infected 224 people and killed six, and is reminiscent of the SARS epidemic that subtracted an estimated 0.8 percentage point from GDP growth in China in 2003. The World Health Organization will meet tomorrow to discuss whether to declare the outbreak an international public health emergency.

Shopping in a brave new world! Amazon wants to check you out with palm prints.

Amazon is working to allow customers to connect their credit card information to their hands, WSJ reports, creating retail checkout terminals that could work with the technology. The company recently began partnering with Visa to test out transactions, and has discussed the project with Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Synchrony Financial. Patent ready... Amazon has even filed an application for what it described as a "non-contact biometric identification system" that includes "a hand scanner that generates images of a user's palm."

Looking at our usual commodity prices and the long bond interest rate....

Crude oil is pulling back in sympathy with global equity markets. The current quote is $57.85/oz. Spot gold is holding steady and quoting at $1555/oz. Bitcoin is holding on to recent gains at $8642/coin. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is steady at 1.8%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, I will be at home the entire day with office time being unpredictable. I will do my best to respond to email and text message orders plus regular inquiries when in the office. If attempting to call me, please don't bew surprise if the call goes unanswered. Sleep and recovery are the imperative today.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog.

January 20, 2020

Important Liberty Seated Half Dime Die Varieties

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a holiday Monday.

Please note that USPS is closed for the Martin Luther King holiday observance which means outgoing GFRC shipping will be delayed by 24 hours. This holiday brings additional hours to rollout incremental consignments. The timing could not be more advantegeous as GFRC has a host of new consignments to bring to market in the coming week.

Envisioning the WikiVarieties Database Schema

Sunday evening brought a WikiVarieties development vision discussion with Clint Cummins with Greg Johnson on email copy. For Blog readers who are not familiar with Liberty Seated die variety research, Clint Cummins is presently the leading individual for Seated half dime die variety analysis and documentation. His efforts can be found on the LSCC website at this link. Clint has been graciously helping me with Seated half dime die variety attribution for GFRC consignments. Greg Johnson is well known for his Liberty Seated quarter die variety research as reported in the LSCC's E-Gobrecht. His monthly column entitled, Quarter of the Month, has been ongoing for years and captures broadbased information that every serious Seated quarter collector should be aware of.

I won't go into details concerning the discussion in today's Blog. Constructing a ground breaking application in the crowded software application space requires a bold concept that is pragmatic enough to be implemented. Building a Liberty Seated die variety platform that will engage future generations of collectors is the ultimate goal. Am I dreaming in my old age? I don't believe so considering my background in semiconductor yield management system development. Yes, another aspect of my semiconductor career was leading the development of Fairchild Semiconductor's factory yield management system. I built this platform during the 1987 through 1995 timeframe with a staff of programmers and yield analysis engineers. We insourced data from manufacturing and test operations in the United States along with adding packed unit test results from offshore sites in Asia. Custom data extraction and engineering analysis routines were developed to drive factory productions yields into the 98% range.

Based on personal observations and experience, die variety collecting is part of a natural progression for advanced collectors. Collectors will typical start with a type set followed by pursuing a date and mintmark set within a particular design and denomination. Interest in the historical context is important when selecting a collecting goal. A small subset of collectors will take their collecting careers to the ultimate level; die varieties. Collecting die varieties brings about an in depth understanding of die preparations and the minting processes for the period under consideration. A Mint is just another factory shop floor with equipment, management and employees. Product quality is a function of employee skills (training) and management's leadership on equipment maintenance, quality systems and shop floor disciplines. Die varieties are the result of tooling and production variances. Early 19th Century coinage is replete with variance as much of a die's content was hand punched. Screw presses were an additional source of variance. During the early 1830, the Philadelphia Mint saw production technology improvements including the steam press, closed collar equipment and more sophisticated preparations of working dies.

One of my goals for the WikiVarieties project is to create an information platform that will attract collectors directly to die variety learning and collecting without the need to go through the multi-year process of building a date and mintmark set. My vision is that of well defined die variety sets within each Liberty Seated denomination that will be supported by a powerfully quick information portal.

Conversely, die variety research is a painfully slow process with huge amounts of observation and data collections. Imaging coins and macro photography are serious challenges for researchers. Developing an attribution methodology is critical for measurement repeatability and communication with others. Catalogging die varieties requires some sort of database. My secondary goal for the WikiVariety project is providing each researcher with a simple platform for catalogging and publishing their die variety research online. All information would be "cloud-based" and dynamically updated. Gone would be the need for heavy and cumbersome die variety books.

The WikiVarieties project is a substantial undetaking but can be accomplished by building a passionate implementation team and securing development funding. Key will be the definition of a single database schema that will support all Liberty Seated denominations. Second is the definition of standard attribution systems for all denominations. Thirdly, is a single presentation format that can be used across all denominations. Whether interested in Seated half dime or Seated quarter die varieties, the information plaform will look identical and straight forward to navigate. Usage learning curve will be short and there lies my belief that a WikiVarieties platform could attract a new generation of die variety collectors.

As a reminder, this project will take several years to complete. However, the visioning and planning portion of the project is the most critical. Database schema definition has to be done right the first time.....

Important Liberty Seated Half Dime Die Varieties

The 2020 FUN show brought a small yet important Liberty Seated half dime consignment. I've known the consignor for several decades. Like many of us, he has decided to start divesting duplicates towards enabling a broader collecting community. His Seated half dime consignment is illustrated next. I posted these images during Sunday evening hours and immediately received many First Rights of Refusals via email. Demand for Liberty Seated half dime varieties is presently strong and appears to be growing. This is exciting!

This lot will be posted to the price list today followed by sorting out who has lead access based on last evening's FRoRs.

2020 FUN Show Consignment - Noteworthy Liberty Seated Half Dime Varieties

1840-O ND V-6 Transitional Reverse PCGS MS63 H10C - 2nd Finest

1839-O ND V-1 Large O PCGS G06 H10C 1841-O V-5 PCGS EF40 H10C 1848-O V-5 Small O PCGS VF20 H10C

GFRC Monday Activities - What to Expect as Blog Preview this Evening!

Today's goals are straightforward. I'm wrapping up image processing for a wonderful lot of Liberty Seated dime duplicates from the Newtown Collection. Those will reach the Blog as a client gallery preview this afternoon. Second is completing image processing for an eight lot of Liberty Seated dollars from the New Jersey Collection. If all goes to plan, those will also appear in Tuesday's Blog as a client gallery.

Lastly, a wonderful 50 piece Liberty Seated quarter partial collection is quietly sitting in the GFRC queue. I'm thoroughly pleased with the collection's quality and will be cutting the owner an outright purchase check today. This lot must be entered into the COIN database today along with photography. GFRC's staff catalogger, Len Augsburger, is ready to begin researching and write descriptions once I share the contents via Excel sheet.

This week also brings consignment shipments from the Upstate New York Collection and the Murphys Collection. Once these two consignments arrive, the GFRC consignment window will be closed until mid February, I still have a considerable amount of U.S. gold to post from the Sarasota Florida collection by Dan White along with many lower priced coins from Twin Lakes, Dr. Glenn Peterson, Cleveland, and other consignors. There are two double row slabbed boxes full of Liberty Seated dimes from my own reference collection to also process.

Wrapping Up The Blog

While writing today's Blog edition , Clint Cummins and I are discussing potential WikiVarieties database schema. This is a complex topic as there are as many approaches as there are software engineers.

Anyways.... I will be in the GFRC office all day and waiting for your purchase orders. If you call, please be prepared to wait while I close down the streaming music that keeps me company.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog!

January 19, 2020

Special Offerings from the GFRC U.S. Gold Department

and

Quality Newtown Collection Liberty Seated Half Dollar Duplicates

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog. A peaceful Sunday morning arrives and time to ramble on for an hour or so. Thank-you for checking in.

I would like to keep today's edition brief if you don't mind. There are little if any fresh thoughts to share other than business philosophies from Seth Godin. It is probably best to take a pass on Seth Godin to ensure his welcome is not worn out.

Let's keep today's preamble on the lighter side and focus on the origins of my email address; wuximems@hotmail.com. There is no question that this email address is unique. It was designed from the get-go to be memorable and indicative of a new career undertaking.

The year was 2005 and I was just about to make an exit from Fairchild Semiconductor during December of that year. For two years, I was caught up in the business trend of that time; offshoring! Offshoring meant moving United States based business management activities to Asia; Singapore to be specific. After two years of hiring replacement staff in Singapore and laying-off or relocating U.S. staff in Maine, Salt Lake City Utah, and Santa Clara California, I was burnt out and tired of the cost reduction attitude of the current Fairchild president. My German boss offered me a staff job at HQ writing and reading reports. You guessed it, I walked away after my employment contract was successful executed. After years of operating freely throughout Asia, I was asked to take a desk job in a corporate oversight role. Yeah, right.....not for me.

The new employment destination was a smaller semiconductor manufacturing company in Wuxi, China. I knew the management team inside-out as we had worked on a number of important business issues when functioning as a key China supplier. They had bailed me out of a critical problem with another semiconductor foundry in Shanghai and I had spent time teaching them the right way to execute quality systems and how to successfully survive supplier audits with IBM and other major names.

Back to the email address; wuximems@hotmail.com.

wuxi - the China location of Central Manufacturing Semiconductor Corporation (CSMC). Wuxi is a smaller China city with a population of only 3.5 million and growing to 6.5 million if counting the surrounding villages.

mems - Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems. MEMS for short. MEMS are mechancial devices constructed on a semiconductor manufacturing process. Instead of attempting to build smaller and lightning fast transistors, MEMS mean building microscopic physical structures like beams, posts and diaphragms. Common MEMS application can be found in a cellphone. Those include a silicon microphone and gyroscope.

I could not imagine any other person on the planet being a full on nerd and attempting to copy this email address. It was unique during 2005 and remains unique fifteen years later. I've often been advised to dump this email address and go with the typical gerry@gmail.com. You well know the answer; I enjoy traveling the less defined path in life......

Special Offerings from the GFRC U.S. Gold Department

Today's Blog edition marks a special event in the GFRC gold department; the first time handling of a U.S. gold proof strike, a Draped Bust gold piece, and a 1907 High Relief-Wire Edge Saint Gaudens. Call it a trifecta of a day thanks to Dan White locating an old time collection in the Sarasota Florida area. The following three offerings are the highlights of that collection. More offerings will be showcased in the Blog during the next 72 hours.

The 1876 NGC PF65 UCAM gold dollar was just awarded CAC approval and deservedly so. The fields are incredible mirrors and photographed a deep black. But there is more. The mirrors are so smooth that one can see every microscopic imperfection of the die finishing process. There are micro die polishing lines and one area of die roughness (upper right reverse field in the image) that could not be polished out. If you were in the GFRC office when I first placed a 10x on this piece, you would have heard a series of "Wows!"

The 1807 Draped Bust $2.5 quarter eagle is strictly original and so pleasing. There are a few ancient lines on the reverse if one looks closely, otherwise a great type coin with few known survivors.

The 1907 High Relief-Wire Edge $20 gold piece is just so cool to view and have in inventory. Sure, one can go to Collectors Corner and select an example from the many offered. The typical price for a PCGS graded MS63 example is $23,000. GFRC will be offering this piece well below that level.

Look for these three gold highlights to reach the price list after lunch time. Thanks Dan for upgrading GFRC's gold product line and taking us to new heights!

Special Offerings from the Osprey Collection - Old Sarasota Florida Estate

1876 NGC PF65 Ultra Cameo CAC G$1

1807 Draped Bust PCGS AU50 G$2.5 1907 High Relief-Wire Edge PCGS MS63 G$20

Newtown Collection is Back!

Yes indeed, the Newtown Collection consignor remains active as he constructs superior Liberty Seated dime and half dollar collections. This past week brought a duplicates shipment with a host of great Liberty Seated dimes and four Seated halves. Given time constraints, I've decide to showcase the four Seated halves first. All but the 1845 WB-1 are CAC approved; all are so choice. I could go into the reasons why you should immediately purchase any of these pieces. But time moves on with the images speaking for themselves.

Look for these Newtown Collection offerings to reach the price list later this morning. There is already a FRoR on the 1870-S with the others being free agents...at least for a few hours!

Quality Newtown Collection Liberty Seated Half Dollar Duplicates

1845 WB-1 PCGS EF45 50C 1870-S WB-1 PCGS EF40 CAC 50C

1876 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C 1884 PCGS MS63 CAC OGH 50C

Wrapping Up The Blog,

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day processing more images and pricing out yesterday's Capped Bust half dime lot. Sorry but I did not get to that latter task yesterday. Bright sunshine exerts an incredible gravitational pull when there are many coins in the photography queue.

Bottomline... I'm ready and able to sell lots of coins today. Please let me know how we can make some deals as the incoming volume dictates making space in the current inventory boxes.

Thanks again for visiting with me on a Sunday morning. I hope you've enjoyed the recent unpredictable preambles and fantastic new offerings.

January 18, 2020

Special Capped Bust Half Dime Die Varieties Offering

and

United States $10 Gold Offerings - CAC Approved Trio!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Saturday morning.

Mid January has passed with the end of the month looming shortly. New England and the Mid Atlantic states are feeling the brunt of winter based on conversations with friends in those regions. How fortunate we are to be in Florida during the coldest part of the year.

Today's Blog edition will be brief other than showcasing great new GFRC offerings.

I've not mentioned the WikiSeatedVarieties project since sharing a vision statement. Believe me, the project's approach and implementation are being mentally designed with much progress. This implementation will be ground breaking for our hobby. But first, Chinese New Year arrives in one week. Matt and the identified contractor live in Beijing and will be consumed by the annual holiday celebrations. Once they are back to work, our first project definition meeting will take place. Based on a recent discussion with Matt, an initial infrastructure project related to the COIN system must be first tackled. I will leave this topic here with new updates to come in the February timeframe.

GFRC Consignment Window Closed Until February 15th

Demand for GFRC consignment services has been robust during the past few weeks. Consignment backlog is growing faster than can be processed. Several more consignments are scheduled to arrive this coming week adding to the backlog. Purchasing a partial Liberty Seated quarter set also piles on to the workload. To further exacerbate the situation, I was approached this week with the possibility of taking on a 80-90 piece Liberty Seated coinage consignment in the near term. Discussions are underway with a potential numismatic property transfer taking place during mid February.

As a result of the many great opportunities that are queuing, the GFRC consignment window must be close for roughly four weeks. The Venice Florida coin show arrives in less than two weeks followed by the first 2020 trip to Shanghai. I will continue working long hours to process existing consignment backlog in a timely manner.

Special Capped Bust Half Dime Die Varieties Offering

GFRC is pleased to be showcasing a quality Capped Bust half dime consignment from a new client. This nineteen piece offering was transferred at the Winter FUN show and presents an important opportunity for die variety collectors of that series. Many pieces are CAC approved and for good reason. This consignment is high on the originality scale and worthy of careful inspection.

I worked until 11:00 pm last evening to prepare the following client gallery. The gallery is sequenced based on Logan-McCloskey rarity ratings rather than by date or numismatic value. At this time, the consignment has not been priced. This task will take place today along with buy-off from the new consignor. First Right of Refusals are beginning to arrive. If all goes to plan, this lot will reach the price list on Sunday.

Special Capped Bust Half Dime Die Varieties Offering

Logan-McCloskey R4 Rarity Ratings

1829 LM-7.1 PCGS AU53 CAC H10C 1831 LM-3 PCGS AU58 CAC H10C 1832 LM-1 NGC AU58 H10C

Logan-McCloskey R3 Rarity Ratings

1832 LM-8.1 PCGS AU53 H10C 1832 LM-13 PCGS AU50 H10C 1837 LM-4 PCGS VF35 CAC H10C

Logan-McCloskey R1-R2 Rarity Ratings

1829 LM-1 PCGS AU58 CAC H10C 1829 LM-2 PCGS AU53 H10C 1829 LM-3 PCGS AU50 H10C

1830 LM-3 PCGS AU50 H10C 1830 LM-7 PCGS AU55 CAC H10C 1831 LM-1.2 PCGS MS62+ H10C

1831 LM-1.3 PCGS AU50 H10C 1831 LM-6 PCGS AU55 CAC H10C 1832 LM-5 PCGS EF40 H10C

1832 LM-12 PCGS AU53 H10C 1834 LM-2 PCGS AU55 CAC H10C 1835 LM-6 PCGS VF30 H10C

1835 LM-8.1 PCGS AU53 H10C

United States $10 Gold Offerings - CAC Approved Trio!

GFRC continues to ramp U.S. gold inventories towards sustaining two full showcases at all major coin shows. Stocking 160+ pieces of quality U.S. collector gold (rather than bullion) takes much effort. Dan and I were active buyers at the FUN show and continue to search the entire numismatic marketplace for potential offerings.

I'm most pleased to be showcasing three CAC approved $10 eagles that are truly collector coins. The 1915-S Indian $10 becomes a significant rarity in Mint State. Collectors strive to locate choice examples at the AU55 and AU58 grade levels due to availability and price. The 1893-O $10 Liberty date has its own story; low mintage and very rare in choice Mint State. Collectors must settle for examples at the MS61-MS62 grades that have appeared in hoards during the past several decades. The problem is that most are heavily marked up and unattractive. GFRC was most pleased to have arranged the purchase of the below CAC approved example prior to the FUN show. The last offering (1932 $10) is super choice and would make an exceptional type set acquisition.

1915-S PCGS AU55 CAC G$10

1893-O NGC MS61 CAC G$10 1932 PCGS MS63 CAC OGH G$10

Saturday Happenings in the GFRC Office?

After the usual morning shipping and processing several consignment checks, attention shifts to unpacking the partial Liberty Seated quarter collection and closing that purchase.

Another fantastic Newtown Collection consignment is patiently waiting in the photography queue along with two smaller Liberty Seated quarter consignments that are heavy on CAC approvals. Sunshine permitting, these will be imaged today.

If I still have post dinner energy, next in the queue for image processing are two consigned lots. The first is a four piece Liberty Seated half dime lot with two substantial die varieties. The second is a nine piece lot of Liberty Seated dollars from the New Jersey Collection. There are many better dates in this lot though nearly all are in Details holders.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is best to secure an early start to the day's shipping as the Venice Post Office window closes at 12:00 noon. Afterwards, I will be in the office most of the day other than my typical evening health walk.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog. New purchase orders are solicited and will be warmly serviced!

January 17, 2020

Enticing United States $1 Gold Type Offerings

and

GFRC's Growing Interaction Debt

Greeting and welcome to the Blog on a Friday morning. It is difficult to believe that another week has quickly flown by.

Interestingly, I received several phone calls on Thursday that were primarily focused on business transactions. However, the conversations moved to GFRC's growth rate and the ability to sustain the workload. Those concerns are truly appreciate and frankly, accurate. One individual joked that he was afraid of calling me and having Diane pick-up and respond that I was in the hospital with a nervous breakdown. I laughed at the thought as I'm still far from that point. Working in the semiconductor industry was a multi-year time management boot camp. One learns to multi-task on a level that most individuals could not comprehend. The brain becomes trained to analyze issues concurrently. Decision making is a fast paced risk/reward analysis and trusting one's gut. This mental training has proven to be useful during pre-show buying events.

As GFRC's consignment and sales volumes continually increases, there is a customer service demand component that is or will be impacted. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day. The hours must be allocated to a variety of tasks. Photography, imaging processing, writing descriptions and shipping are time consuming tasks. So is writing the Blog each day. All are key parts of the GFRC business and why collectors enjoy visiting the website on a daily basis, or more frequently. GFRC offers unparallel services along with great coins. One of my key services is screening the good from the bad. When purchasing a coin from GFRC, there is a very high probability of a satisfactory transaction. My return rate is essentially nil.

Seth Godin nicely addresses a key issue that I am presently facing. "Interaction load" is a real problem that eats up precious hours. When first starting the GFRC business, there was ample time to spend conversing with customers and offering advice. All types of purchase terms were offered and customized to fit individual needs as is typical for a Mom & Pop business. This service customization brings an interaction and management load that does not scale with a growing business. I'm to the point of either working on consignments that provide sales/profit or provide special services that don't. The decision has become apparent. Special services must be scaled back. Requests for advice are responded to but with a few direct and brief sentences. Requests for CAC submissions of purchased coins will be slowly phased out. I've already terminated special TPG submissions for clients. Multiple emails for back and forth haggling on a coin's offer price are also a thing of the past; my best offer is pass or play.

Kindly read the following Godin blogpost as it accurate captures the interaction load that will be addressed and appropriately managed in the coming months.

I apologize for the direct nature of this morning's commentary but the time has come to explain the growing interaction workload that is squeezing out the core actions necessary to facilitate GFRC's primary mission; client set building, divestment and community coin trading. The Blog continues to be my vehicle for sharing news, ideas, and educational commentary. It is a most efficient instrument for reaching hunderds of readers with a reasonable amount of invested time.

Seth Godin - Interaction debt

Interaction debt

When a company is young, with few products and fewer customers, the phone doesn’t ring and customer service is a lonely job.

As more customers arrive, each one is made a promise: we’ll be here when you need us.

Add more products, and each one carries an interaction load as well.

Add shareholders, partners and retailers, and each expects an ongoing interaction as well.

The same is true for your social media accounts. While it only takes a minute to open one, it brings with it the promise of hours (or hundreds of hours) of future interaction.

And it adds up.

If a children’s book author commits to answering the mail she gets from classrooms, each book sold (and each book written) increases the interaction debt, until there’s no time to continue writing.

Interaction is a privilege.

But it doesn’t often scale.

Enticing United States $1 Gold Type Offerings

Demand for yesterday's Twin Lakes Standing Liberty quarters was outstanding with most being sold within hours of reaching the price list.

Once again, I worked late into the evening to process another lot of really cool coins. The focus shifted to United States gold and eight quality gold dollars that cover the Type 1 through Type 3 designs. It is rare that GFRC has several Type 2 offerings on the price list as these never last. I'm most pleased to be opening the following gallery with two pieces struck during 1855 that would be prizes for most gold type set collectors. The 1889 Type 3 housed in NGC MS65 Fatty holder was just awarded a Gold Bean during last week's submission.

United States NGC Type $1 Gold - New Purchases

1855 Type 2 NGC MS62 G$1 1855-O Type 2 NGC AU58 CAC G$1

1854 Type 1 NGC MS65 G$1 1889 Type 3 NGC MS65 Gold CAC G$1

At the FUN pre-show, I was offered a nice lot of quality Type 3 $1 gold pieces at the ideal AU55 through MS62 collector grades. Dan White graciously screened the lot resulting in the following four pieces being added to inventory. Hurry on these with a FRoR as they should not last long once reaching the price list.

United States PCGS Type 3 $1 Gold - New Purchases

1858 PCGS AU58 G$1 1870 PCGS AU55 G$1 1873 Open 3 PCGS AU58 G$1

1887 PCGS MS62 G$1

Friday Happenings in the GFRC Office

Today brings another busy day as more great coins are arriving. A Newtown Collection Express shipment arrived on Thursday and will be unpacked today. The purchased Liberty Quarter partial set is due to also arrive today.

If the weather is optimum, I will be photographing several significant United States gold pieces for tomorrow's Blog. All three coins are ground breaking in terms of GFRC's United States gold inventory expansion.

A lovely nineteen piece set of Capped Bust half dimes will move in the image processing queue later in the day.

Global Financial News

What an amazing period in United States and global equity market history! Each day seems to bring another record close for equity markets. This morning's global market futures are once again flashing green as are commodities. Let's jump quickly into commodities and the long bond interest rate before sharing many Seeking Alpha headlines.

Gold continues to perform well and is holding the $1557/oz level even as tensions with China and the Middle East subside. Crude oil has moved up slightly to $58.90/bbl. Bitcoin is once again increasing to the $8889/coin level. With all the optimism at hand, the 10 Year U.S Treasury bond yield has risen to 1.82%.

We open Seeking Alpha headlines with commentary on a slowing Chinese economy. Please remember that China's GDP reporting is controlled and approved by the Beijing Central Government. One must always view the China GDP number with a level of skepticism as speculative housing construction is an important component.

A bruising trade war with the U.S. and sputtering investment saw China's GDP growth expand by 6.1% last year, as a slowdown rippled through many sectors of the economy. While that was the lowest level in nearly three decades, the figure met expectations, falling within the government's target of 6% to 6.5% for 2019. Trade deal help... Beijing is counting on improving consumer confidence and consumption to play a major role in boosting growth this year, according to Ning Jizhe, China's chief statistician.

Google has become the fourth U.S. tech company with a valuation in excess of 1 Trillion dollars.

Despite heightened regulatory scrutiny, Big Tech is bigger than ever before. Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) became the fourth U.S. technology company to reach the $1T market cap level on Thursday, following Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, which has since slipped back to about $930B. FAAAM is replacing FAANG? Adding Facebook into the group, the five most valuable U.S. tech companies are now worth a massive $5.2T, accounting for over 17% of the S&P 500.

The United States will relaunch 20 Year Treasury bond during the first half of 2020.

The U.S. government will begin issuing 20-year bonds in the first half of 2020, as budget analysts expect years of continued growth in federal budget deficits. "We seek to finance the government at the least possible cost to taxpayers over time, and we will continue to evaluate other potential new products to meet that goal," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared. Offering a 20-year bond would be a reintroduction of a security last issued in March 1986.

Wrapping Up The Blog

For those of you concerned that I am sacrificing daily health walks for added time in the GFRC office, please don't worry. Even if not mentioned, I am exercising a full hour per day to sustain health and energy levels. My "China gut" is nearly gone along with some upper body muscle being slowly added/recovered.

Yes, I will be in the office the entire day processing consignments and always available for your purchase inquiry. Thank-you for listening to the "interaction load" discussion and recognizing why my response emails are non purchase orders are becoming brief or even delayed.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Blog on Saturday morning.

January 16, 2020

Twin Lakes Collection - Quality PCGS AU CAC Standing Liberty Quarters

Greetings again and welcome to the ongoing adventures of a numismatic entrepreneur; it's time for another Blog edition.

Wednesday brought a full agenda of activities ranging from a software development strategy discussion with Matt Yamatin (and a happy birthday wish) to processing images until 11:00 pm for the upcoming Twin Lakes Collection client gallery. FUN show new purchases were loaded to the price list. A substantial photography session captured the nineteen piece Capped Bust half dime consignment (announced yesterday) along with an eight piece Liberty Seated dollar lot.

While conducting all of the above tasks, I found time to close the deal on a 50+ piece Liberty Seated quarter purchase. That deal ships today via USPS Express. Deal contents will be announced early next week!

Today's must get done activity is issuing consignment checks after a successful 2020 FUN show sales event. Dan White visits the GFRC office this afternoon to drop off a few new U.S. gold pieces and to inspect his CAC results on the Sarasota area purchased gold lot.

Venice Florida Coin Show Upcoming!

It is difficult to believe but my favorite coin show on the annual circuit arrives on January 31! The Venice show is just two week away when considering dealer setup is on Thursday afternoon.

The Venice show is a small 40 table event held at the United Church of Christ hall about five minutes driving time from the office. The Venice Coin Club staff does an amazing job with organization and food. Each morning brings the most tasty yet unhealthy donuts on the planet and free coffee. The club coordinates a take out lunch service with a local Italian sandwich show. Friday and Saturday are busy show days as nothern snowbirds take the opportunity to enjoy their numismatic hobby in a small quaint setting.

GFRC has two of the 40 tables located immediately to the right of the entrance. We will be the only national dealer in attendance with our seven cases of quality early type and awesome United States gold. Whatever is left from the Twin Lakes Standing Liberty quarter offerings will most likely sell at that event.

Twin Lakes Collection - Quality PCGS AU CAC Standing Liberty Quarters

As mentioned in today's preamble, I worked until 11:00 pm om Wednesday evening to complete image processing for another great Twin Lakes Collection consignment. This is the first time that GFRC has handled such a wonderful lot of Standing Liberty quarters, most with CAC approval.

The lot arrived prior to the FUN show with insufficient time to take to the price list before leaving for Orlando. Instead the lot was loaded into the COIN system and placed in FUN show display cases. A fair number of the offerings sold at FUN. Their images have been processed and can be found in at the Twin Lakes Collection Galley display and also in the Sales Archive. BTW, if you are a new Blog reader and/or GFRC customer, please take some time to visit the Gallery application on the upper gray link bar. There are some absolutely incredible collections displayed at that link; Twin Lakes is just one of many.

Back to the Twin Lakes Collection of Standing Liberty quarters.... Look for these to reach the price list this afternoon with abbreviated descriptions for the time being. Hurry on these as I'm certain that many well sell quickly given the AU58 CAC demand trend in our hobby.

Twin Lakes' Awesome AU58 Standing Liberty Quarters

1919-D PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1927-S PCGS AU55 CAC 25C

1920-D PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1926-S PCGS AU58 25C

1917 Type 1 PCGS AU53 CAC 25C 1917-D Type 1 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1917 Type 2 PCGS AU55 25C

1917-D Type 2 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1920 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1923 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

1924 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1923-S PCGS AU58FH 25C 1924-D PCGS AU55 CAC 25C

1927-D PCGS AU58 25C 1928 PCGS AU58FH 25C 1928-S PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

1929 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1929-D PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1930 PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

Global Financial News

United States equity markets continued their record gains on Wednesday. The United States signed a historic trade deal with China while the House of Representatives conducted its made for TV impeachment parade to the Senate. I'm beginning to wonder; does the Democratic party control the 24 hours news media (sans FOX) or does the 24 hour news media control the Democratic party? That my dear friends is the extent of my commentary on the impeachment drama and a fair question to ask.

This Seeking Alpha headline captures the state of Wall Street given the historic trade agreement with China.

Wall Street will be looking for more record highs during today's session, as Dow futures point to a 75-point advance after closing above 29,000 for the first time on Wednesday. Investors are reacting to details of the U.S.-China "Phase One" trade agreement, a first step in ending an 18-month trade war between the world's two largest economies. President Trump said the deal restored "economic justice" as China committed to $200B in additional purchases of U.S. goods and pledged to "enhance" intellectual property protections. All U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will be removed as soon as the two countries complete a "Phase Two" trade pact.

The International Energy Agency assures us that there is sufficient crude oil supply to weather geopolitical tensions; more great news for the U.S. economy.

"Today's market, where non-OPEC production is rising strongly and OECD stocks are 9M barrels above the five-year average, provides a solid base from which to react to any escalation in geopolitical tension," the IEA said in its monthly report. "Even if they (OPEC+) adhere strictly to the cuts, there is still likely to be a strong build in inventories during the first half of 2020," the agency declared, adding that recently signed trade deals should "support growth."

Toyota is investing in flying taxis.

Toyota is the lead investor in a Series C funding round of Joby Aviation, a startup aimed at delivering safe and affordable public air travel while advancing the transition to sustainable transportation. The company already has a prototype with six electric propellers and is capable of flying 150 miles on a single charge, at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. "Air transportation has been a long-term goal for Toyota, and while we continue our work in the automobile business, this agreement sets our sights to the sky," said CEO Akio Toyoda.

Commodities and the U.S. long bond interest are all flat in the past 24 hours. There is no need to individually report each quote.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The time has arrived for a quick shower followed by shipping several lots and writing a host of consignment checks. Yes, I will be in the office the entire day and look forward to new purchase orders. With the current consignment backlog and another arriving consignment wave, there is a need to move out coins in the existing inventory boxes to make way for the new.

Please check back this evening for another client gallery posting. This posting will be surprise.

Thanks for checking in and I look forward to seeing everyone on Friday morning at the Blog.

January 15, 2020

Preparing a Wave of New GFRC Offerings

and

Another Round of FUN Show New Purchases!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Wednesday morning. A sincere thank-you goes out to the many new Blog readers who have joined the community after the 2020 Winter FUN show.

Before we move further in today's edition, a Happy Birthday wish goes out to Matt Yamatin!

2020 will be an exciting year for the GFRC community and our cherished hobby. The United States economy is booming leading to a host of collectors having higher disposable incomes to pursue numismatics. If only a small fraction of recent stock market gains are reallocated to early type coins, the impact on our hobby could be profound with increasing prices.

The AU58 CAC approved grade level is on fire with growing demand. More collectors are finding Liberty Seated coinage to be a historically significant pursuit while also providing an alternate path for amassing financial assets. It is truly an exciting time to be facilitating a robust collecting community. Each day brings increasing contacts and interactions with passionate collectors.

Closer to home, GFRC insourcing of new inventory is ramping at an unprecedented rate. The rate of new consignment proposals is well beyond my expectations. Unfortunately, I must push out the transfer of many of those requests by a week or two to allow time to process current consignments that are already in the queue.

Last evening brought the installation of Skype for communications with Matt Yamatin and a new candidate to take over GFRC website programming duties. Our ideas for commercializing the GFRC information platform are exciting. Those ideas have yet to fathom the WikiSeatedVarieties project that would be truly ground breaking.

The increasing number of CAC submission is also a testiment to growing volumes. CAC submissions are becoming a weekly routine as GFRC must "make" more CAC approved coins to service demand. A previously stated goal, in the Blog, of growing CAC approved inventory to 400 pieces is proving to be most elusive. CAC'ed coin sales continue to ramp with constant turnover; the result is a shrinking inventory position rather than growth.

GFRC's CAC News

Following is a list of newly CAC approved coins that will be returning to the GFRC office today. We start with United States gold offerings from a recently purchased old time collection in the Sarasota Florida area. Dan White located this collection via his network. We are particulatly excited with the receipt of a Gold CAC on an 1889 $1 graded NGC MS65. All of the following pieces are great candidates for type sets.

Gold $1: 1876 NGC PF65UCAM CAC; 1889 NGC MS65 Gold CAC

Gold $2.5: 1907 PCGS MS64 Liberty CAC; 1908 NGC MS64 Indian CAC

Gold $10: 1907 PCGS MS64 Liberty with Motto CAC; 1932 NGC MS64 Indian CAC.

Also submitted to CAC was another round of circulated Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection. I scored a 50% approval rate on multiple submissions from three dates; 1842-O, 1853 Arrows and 1891-O. All had been freshly graded at PCGS and include some better die varieties.

Tuesday brought a fifteen pieces CAC submission of 2020 FUN show new purchases. With so much consigned inventory in queue, the decision was made to ship potential candidates to CAC prior to price list posting. There is a significant Liberty Seated half dollar date in the lot that I am expecting to CAC among the many submitted.

Announcing a Wonderful Capped Bust Half Dime Consignment

The 2020 FUN show brought the insourcing of a wonderful ninteen piece Capped Bust half dime consignment. This lot was loaded into the coin system last evening. The consignor is new to GFRC and will shortly be assigned a collection name. Following are the contents for your consideration and FRoRs. All coins are attributed as to their Logan-McCloskey die varieties. Those with LM-x have the attribution on the PCGS label. Those marked as (LM-x) do not.

1829 LM-1 26622031 AU-58 PCGS CAC
1829 (LM-2) 26299038 AU-53 PCGS
1829 (LM-3) 26987937 AU-50 PCGS
1829 LM-7.1 27574862 AU-53 PCGS CAC
1830 (LM-3) 29142477 AU-50 PCGS
1830 LM-7 24997106 AU-55 PCGS CAC
1831 LM-1.2 35557036 MS-62+ PCGS
1831 LM-1.3 20786137 AU-50 PCGS
1831 LM-3 29831397 AU-58 PCGS CAC
1831 LM-6 31966554 AU-55 PCGS CAC
1832 LM-1 1721311-044 AU-58 NGC Dr. Peterson Pedigree
1832 (LM-5) 19959498 XF-40 PCGS
1832 (LM-8.1) 26987946 AU-53 PCGS
1832 (LM-12) 27577008 AU-53 PCGS
1832 (LM-13) 14170070 AU-50 PCGS
1834 (LM-2) 26869912 AU-55 PCGS CAC
1835 (LM-6) 26901808 VF-30 PCGS
1835 LM-8.1 30622426 AU-55 PCGS
1837 (LM-4) 19566708 VF-35 PCGS CAC

GFRC Issues an Offer on Partial Liberty Seated Quarter Collection

Tuesday was a downright busy day that included the discussion of a potential purchase of a partial Liberty Seated quarter collection. The offered lot totals over 50 pieces at the VG10 through AU55 grade levels. Many of those pieces are CAC approved with a few semi-key dates including an 1849-O. I worked late into the evening evaluating the lot and issued a proposal before heading to bed. The owner will have something to think about today.

Please do not send email inquiries on the contents of this lot or ask for FRoRs at this point. Those will be politely ignored! Once the deal is completed, I will announce the contents in the Blog and conduct a disciplined First Rights of Refusal process given the many individuals who will want access to these coins.

Reaching the Blog in Next 48 Hours

For those in the community that are passionate AU58 CAC collectors, I have some important news. The next 48 hours will bring a lovely Standing Liberty quarter client gallery from the Twin Lakes Collection. There are several semi-key dates in this lot. The overall offering is well balance and nicely matched.

Another Round of FUN Show New Purchases!

Following are more great new purchaese from the 2020 Winter FUN show. These pieces were located via three different avenues. First was the Tuesday FUN pre-show event. Second was dealer wholesale offers that walked up to the Table 535 during the show. Finally, I took in a fair number of coins in trade or outright purchase while on the bourse.

Please pay attention to three important pieces. The first is the 1867-S F-102a web-book plate coin. This piece was sold into a private collection during mid 2018 and returned to the market place at the FUN show. I definitely wanted this gem circulated 1867-S dime back in GFRC inventory as love the eye appeal and the greased filled die error on a higher grade San Francisco strike.

Second is the 1840-(O) Medium Letters Seated half that resides in an NGC EF Details holder. The issue is the single line in the upper right obverse field that is ancient. The balance of the coin is perfectly original and without other issues. NGC was really strict with Details grade assignment. The single line does not bother me and should not bother collectors who are missing the scarce 1840-(O) variety for their type sets or date and mintmark collections.

Lastly is the appearance of a rare 1872 F-109 Seated dime proof strike with misplaced 2 digit in the base. The F-109a circulated strikes can be located with patience. However, in proof, I've seen few examples during several decades of searching.

Special Liberty Seated Coinage Offerings and a Reeded Edge 50C

1867-S F-102a PCGS EF40 CAC 10C - Rare 1872-S F-101 NGC MS63 10C

1840-(O) Rev 1838 NGC EF Details 50C 1867 PCGS MS61 50C

1844 PCGS VF30 CAC 10C 1872 F-109 PCGS PR63 10C - Rare 1838 GR-9 PCGS AU53 50C

Global Financial News

World-wide equity markets are flashing red futures as the euphoria of the U.S. and China Phase One trade deal quickly fades. There are many execution details remaining that will take time to implement or verify. The 24 business news media has no patience for such non-clickbait worthy activities.

Despite the signing of a "Phase One" trade deal this morning, it looks like some tensions between the U.S. and China will persist, triggering stocks to dip across the globe overnight. Existing tariffs on Chinese imports will remain until the completion of a second phase trade agreement, meaning the duties are likely to stay in place until after the American presidential election in November. The period of review is intended to give the Trump administration time to verify China's adherence to the terms of the pact, which will likely require Beijing to buy at least $200B of goods and services over two years, and to go beyond prior commitments made on IP and technology theft.

U.S. Senators are working to rein in Huawei's 5G dominance per this Seeking Alpha headline.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is proposing the Utilizing Strategic Allied Telecommunications Act, which would steer more than $1B toward companies developing 5G to counter advances from China's Huawei. The money would come from auctions of wireless-spectrum licenses by the FCC, as well as a Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund. A draft version of the law didn’t name specific companies, but Huawei's closest rivals in the cellular radio market are Ericsson and Nokia.

Let's check commodities and the U.S. long bond rate to wrap up this Blog segment.

Spot gold prices have found some lift and moved up to $1554 during the overnight. Crude oil continues its slow retreat to $58/bbl while Bitcoin increased to $8746/coin. Monies are once again flowing into U.S. Treasury bonds with the 10 Year yield dropping to 1.79%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I need to quickly wrap up this Blog edition quickly as Matt Yamatin is waiting for a test run Skype call. It is already 9:00 pm in Beijing.

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day and available for phone and email purchase orders.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog!

January 14, 2020

Here Come Great FUN Show New Purchases!

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Blog. The GFRC office is back to normal operating conditions!

As a New Englander, I typical equate the term "digging out" with the workload after a substantial snow storm. That equation has changed with increasing GFRC success. Monday was spent "digging out" from the 2020 FUN show. There are sold coins to be photographed for the Sales Archive before shipments. Consignments must be loaded into the COIN database. Another CAC submission must be prepared. New purchases were staged for photography to kick start the 30 day new purchases price list. The fact that I travel to China in three weeks has arrived with those preparations.

Speaking of the upcoming Shanghai trip, GFRC is helping a Chinese collector complete a set of Buffalo nickels at the PCGS AU55-AU58 grade level. Not being intimate with the Buffalo nickel series, there was a lack of appreciation for the difficulty of certain branch mint dates at the requested grade levels. I sent Dan White onto the FUN bourse floor searching for 1917-S, 1918-D, 1919-S, 1920-D, and 1920-S dates. Surely GFRC could fill this order with limited effort. Was I wrong! Dan located a magnificent 1917-S PCGS AU58 nickel and that was it. Last evening, I searched Collectors Corner as a sanity check. All that was found were offerings up to EF40 followed by MS65. The AU through MS63 graded gap was a new learning; how I love this business!

Quickly shifting topics...

Matt Yamatin has located a JavaScript/SQL programmer in Beijing to continue GFRC website development. The individual is an expat and works at the Beijing International School. How fortunate for GFRC whereby Matt can remotely guide new software development projects. This week's task is to load Skype on the laptop and schedule an initial interview with this person.

Seth Godin's Blog - The perfect argument

Have you ever worked in an organization where individuals make a career in sabotaging progress? Yes, those individuals who second guess every decision ad infinitum. My Venice condo board association had one of these types who enjoyed long discussions and constant second guessing. I'm no longer on that board since my patience is limited for this behavior pattern. Non profits are replete with these types since there is little accountability for results. Goverment is also a breeding ground for those who wish to conduct endless debates, followed by finger pointing when desired results are not achieved.

Social media and cable news have elevated the role of those with perfect arguments into stardom. Message boards have their trolls lying in the bushes, also with their perfect arguments. I'm please to see Set Godin confronting this issue and bringing about timely awareness in the following blogpost.

The perfect argument

Every political structure, every organization, every relationship has at least one.

The topic, that once you bring it up, must be addressed. An argument so existential that it cannot be left alone. An argument that gets to the crux of the matter, one that’s so fraught everything else pales in comparison.

I can’t even type an example from today’s world here, because if I do, the entire point of the post will be taken over by waves of urgent outrage.

Which is my point.

The purpose of the perfect argument is to make sure we don’t actually get anything done. The perfect argument is perfect because it never ends, because it is a trap for our focus and our energy. And the best reason to bring it up is that it permits someone to veto the forward motion that was about to happen somewhere else.

Perhaps the response is, “you’re right, that’s urgent, let’s discuss it after we fix the problem we’re currently working on.” Or maybe, “we need a forum to make real headway on the topic you want to discuss, but this isn’t it.”

FUN Show New Arrivals - The Tip of the Iceberg

The following gallery presents five top quality Liberty Seated coinage offerings with CAC approval. I posted this gallery during late Monday afternoon hours that brought an incredible FRoR frenzy for the 1840-O No Drapery quarter. By 9:00 pm, there were seven collectors requesting that coin. One person came forward on the 1886 NGC AU55 CAC Seated half. The balance are presently free agents and in need of a new home.

Noteworthy New Purchases - CAC Approved Liberty Seated Coinage

Hurry with your FRoRs on these!

1864 PCGS MS64 CAC 25C

1856 PCGS MS64 CAC H10C 1840-O ND PCGS AU55 CAC 25C

1886 NGC AU55 CAC 50C 1860-O PCGS AU55 CAC $1

Congratulations to the Newtown Collection!

The 2020 FUN pre-show event was a huge GFRC success. I could not believe that the following four rare dates were purchased within several hours of each other. The Newtown Collection instantaneous stepped up and purchases the lot. Each selection is a substantial upgrade for his Open Set Registry postings. All were photographed on Monday and ship today.

Look for the Newtown duplicates to be arriving to the GFRC office by the end of month.

Substantial Newtown Collection Upgrades - Congratulations!

These are sold!

1863-S F-101 PCGS MS64 10C 1866-S F-101 PCGS MS63 CAC 10C

1868-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C 1870-S WB-1 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C

Global Financial News

Equity markets are taking a breather after substantial gains to kick-off 2020. Are investors losing their risk sensitivity and simply piling into equities due to predictable gains with little efforts? The following Seeking Alpha headlines touches upon Big Tech and this question.

The recent Big Tech surge is good news for anyone chasing the sector higher, but several strategists highlight it's a sign investors have lost their risk appetite. The top five publicly traded American companies - Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook - now make up a record 18% share of the S&P 500 Index's capitalization. That ratio is higher than the tech bubble, according to Morgan Stanley, amid fears the economic cycle will slow.

China is no longer a currency manipulator and the Yuan is back below the critical 7.0 level. This is great news for GFRC's China sales which are once again ramping.

The Trump administration has officially lifted its designation of China as a currency manipulator, more than five months after the country was added to the list. The nation has made "enforceable commitments" not to devalue the yuan and has agreed to publish exchange rate information, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said ahead of the scheduled signing of a "Phase One" trade deal on Wednesday. The yuan strengthened to its strongest level since July in offshore trading on the news, punching past 6.9 per dollar.

Bitcoin becomes a more mainstream with CME options on exchange-traded futures. Today's bitcoin quote is up to $8507/coin.

Options on exchange-traded bitcoin futures launched Monday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, in response to growing crypto attraction and demand for tools to manage bitcoin exposure. While volumes and open interest on a rival exchange known as Bakkt have been "rather small," the new offering could be a game changer, said strategists at JPMorgan led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. "The first day of trading might be irrelevant - the first weeks and months might be more material," added Mike McGlone, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

Looking at gold, crude oil and the long bond interest rate; spot gold prices are holding the $1550/oz level while crude oil has dropped to $58.33/bbl. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is flat at 1.84%

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings another morning of order packing and shipping as GFRC recovers from the FUN show event. The afternoon hours will be dedicated to more photography and posting of new purchases to the Blog as an early preview.

Of course, I will be in the Venice office the entire day other than a health walk. Please consider a numismatic purchase. I will immediately ship orders via Quick Ship to vetted customers.

Again, thank-you for checking in at the Blog for the latest GFRC ramblings.

January 13, 2020

GFRC Breaks Through $5,000,000 Consignment Proceeds Milestone

and

A Delightful CAC Approved 3 Cent Silver Trio

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Monday morning. A sincere thank-you goes out to everyone who stops by on a daily or semi-daily basis to view these ramblings.

Get ready for a fast moving Blog edition as there are many items to share. Let's start with the lead headline.

GFRC Breaks Through $5,000,000 Consignment Proceeds Milestone

Following is an edited screen capture from the GFRC Consign webpage that highlights a long awaited milestone!

I could not be more thrilled to share this announcement. Building a business based on a unique idea is the dream of every entrepreneur. Just watch a few editions of Shark Tank and one walks away with a keen understanding of the efforts and risks taken by a typical entrepreneur pursuing a dream.

GFRC is no different. Back in the 2015 timeframe, I would discuss my vision for a community of collectors trading coins among themselves. Once top quality coins entered the community, they would remain within the "sphere" and move from one advanced collection to another. GFRC's role was that of facilitator with additional services that simplified financial ownership and provided online platforms for displaying one's collections.

At first, I believe that few customers and/or Blog readers understood my vision. Was I not explaining the vision sufficiently? Not really. The vision was sound but took time to implement and to be understood and internalized by the many who have joined the community since 2015. Today the GFRC community is vibrant and exciting. Our community is self sustaining. The GFRC Sales Archive simplifies purchasing decision for top quality coins. The Open Set Registry documents the superior collections being built without limitations for TPG holder brand. The Daily Blog is a constant news outlet for community happenings along with personal collecting philosophies.

Along the way, I've written a host of educational Blog segments to enhance collector skills and, at times, called out unfavorable situations towards protecting community members. Yesterday's Blog edition is an example.

At the 2020 Winter FUN show, GFRC achieved the $5,000,000 consignment proceeds milestone. What is the significance of this milestone? GFRC has or will be writing checks to consignors that total over $5,000,000 for returned monies upon selling their consigned coins. Actual GFRC consignment sales can be calculated by dividing $5,000,000 by 91%. That number amounts to about $5,500,000 in consignment sales since 2014. This milestone does not include sales of GFRC owned inventory.

After working diligently for six years, I'm finally to the point of believing that GFRC is no longer a start-up company. GFRC has matured and gained credibility in the numismatic marketplace.

Very special thanks and recognition go out to three individuals who helped enabled this milestone.

- First is my son Matt Yamatin. Matt developed the GFRC Information Technology system from scratch. He studied how his father conducted work and internalized his father's vision for the GFRC community. Over a period of several years, an environmental engineer acquired sufficient HTML and SQL skills to construct a host of applications that enabled a special vision while capturing my exact work processes.

- Second is Diane. She provided the space and understanding that allowed me to build the GFRC company. As a former business owner herself (Windham Paint and Framing), she recognized the workload and efforts being expended towards a special vision. We've taken few vacations during the past six years. Rather Diane has placed her energies in supporting our family and the two wonderful grandchildren. Presently, GFRC has grown to the point that Diane is actively involved on a daily basis.

- Third is Dan White. Dan is a very special person with outstanding interpersonal skills and international business experience. Dan and I quickly bonded once we met during the 2015 Winter FUN show due to our life changing overseas experiences. Dan spent a substantial portion of his life in Saudi Arabia while my life is China/Asia centric. Dan was searching for an approach to sell repatriated U.S. gold in the United States. I was searching for a special business partner to expand the GFRC business. A fateful evening dinner at the Denver August ANA cemented the relationship with a simple handshake deal. We defined the parameters for building the U. S. gold product line. At the 2020 FUN show, GFRC proudly displayed two cases of outstanding collector gold. Sales are ramping and we expect to become significant market players in the upcoming years.

A Snapshot of the GFRC Consignment Queue

I believe this quick snapshot of the GFRC consignment queue speaks volumes. There are weeks of work ahead of me to photograph and bring over 150+ consigned coins to the GFRC price list. This photograph does not include the two double row slabbed boxes of Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated dimes, about another 50 coins at CAC for review or the many raw coins in Dansco albums from the Dr. Glenn Peterson and Newtown Collections.

A Delightful CAC Approved Trime Trio

Those little trimes or fish scales have always been of special interest as a collector. Attempting to make a market in these collectibles was not advisable as Scarsdale Coins was already that entity. But my fascination with the denomination continued, especially in higher grades with beautifully toned surfaces. Call it the $5,000,000 consignment proceeds milestone gift to myself. At FUN, I bought two wonderful examples for inventory from my favorite wholesaler. Subsequently, the Winesteven Collection consignor dropped by the GFRC table on Friday with a single coin consignment; a wonderfully lustrous 1853 PCGS MS66+ CAC example that brought my high end trime inventory to three pieces. What luck! Look for these to reach the price list later today.

Quick update - The Winesteven Collection consignor sent along an email upon viewing my images of his magnificant 1853 Trime. Following is the unedited email.

Gerry - As great as your photos are, I’m sure you agree there’s absolutely no way to capture the phenomenal blinding luster of that coin. I would often warn people who are going to see the actual coin to first put on sunglasses (just kidding). But please include a comment in today’s blog about how the photos don’t really show the coins luster much at all. Not your fault - even with today’s technology, with hi-res photography, that’s too tough to capture.

2020 FUN Show Arrivals - A Delightful CAC Approved Trime Trio

1853 PCGS MS66+ CAC Silver 3C

1851-O PCGS MS63 CAC Silver 3C 1862/1 PCGS MS66+ CAC Silver 3C

Global Financial News

The world's equity markets continue to be in an upbeat mood after a turbulent week. There is no war with Iran while China and the United States are signing a historic trade deal. The United States Q4 jobs report was strong and supported the lack of recession fears for 2020. This morning's market futures are solidly green with more potential gains at hand. This Seeking Alpha headline summarizes the enthusiam.

After briefly topping the 29,000 milestone on Friday, the Dow looks set to firmly regain the level today as futures start the week with a 125-point advance. The blue-chip market benchmark has now racked up 10,676 points since election day 2016 as the historic bull market tears higher in the new year. More movement will likely be seen during the week. Earnings season kicks off with major Wall Street banks, while investors will get details of the "Phase One" trade agreement with China.

Let's wrap up this segment with a quick review of our favorite commodities and the long bond interest rate. Crude oil has begun its pricing pullback as events in the Middle East have settled down. The current quote is $59.20/bbl. Gold has also retreated slightly as fears of WWIII subside. This morning's gold quote is $1549/oz. Bitcoin has regained some mojo with a current quote of $8084/coin. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond year is up to 1.84% suggesting a risk-off situation as monies move back into equities.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is best to get on with a super busy day. First priority is a substantial amount of shipping following by GFRC photography of FUN show new purchases.

Of course, I will be the office the entire day and probably working until 10:00 pm this evening. Please don't be bashful with purchase orders.

FUN show new purchases should start appearing during the Tuesday and Wednesday timeframe.

Thank-you so much for sharing the special $5,000,000 Consignment Proceeds milestone with me. See you tomorrow at the Blog!

January 12, 2020

Recovering From 2020 Winter FUN Show

Greetings from the GFRC Venice office and welcome to the Blog. It is a peaceful Sunday morning as I recover from a long week at FUN.

Overall, the 2020 Winter FUN show brought an excellent start for another GFRC business year. We sold well into the six figures and I could not be more pleased. There is no question that the numismatic market is alive and prospering based on the past week's results.

In today's Blog edition, I will touch upon a variety of subjects and some FUN show observations about collector buying decisions. What I will not do in today's edition is provide details concerning new consignments or purchases. This is being done for a simple reason, namely the flood of First Right of Refusal emails that I am not prepared to service at this time. GFRC has a substantial amount of great new purchases and consignments. However, I will announce new offerings to the community in a systematic manner starting on Tuesday given the sustantial amount of administrative and shipping workload during the next 48 hours.

Winter FUN Show Day 4 Report - Typical Saturday Sales

Saturdays at the FUN show are always a hit or miss situation. This was again the situation yesterday.

Floor traffic was reasonable with many of the attendees more in a viewing than buying mode. The GFRC staff showed a fair number of coins to booth visitors but generated few sales. The usual Greysheet buyers were about and could not handle GFRC pricing for top quality coins. When finding myself explaining what the CAC green bean is about, it is apparent that these shoppers don't have sufficient market knowledge to comprehend the value of GFRC's quality coins.

GFRC's Saturday sales were primarily from the United States gold product line with Liberty Seated coinage being quiet. The passionate Seated coinage collectors arrived on Thursday along with some residual activity on Friday. By 2:30 pm, it was time to close down the booth and pack up. The GFRC staff and coins were loaded into the Acura MDX by 3:30 pm and off we went back to Osprey and Venice. Bedtime was early as I was quite exhausted after days of preparation, attending the pre-show followed by four days on the bourse.

Why Do Some Collectors Buy Inferior Coins Based on TPG Certification?

I suspect this topic will be a bit controversial but best to speak out and provide my insights on several FUN show events that warrant discussion. The goal of this segment is to share observations where I believe collectors made less than ideal purchasing decisions or worst, were taken advantage of. Like Warren Mills (Rare Coins of New Hampshire) whom I respect and support his outspoken nature, I absolutely love this hobby and believe that honesty and straight talk are paramount of protecting clients.

Case 1 - An Obviously Inferior Coin with Happy Ending

A GFRC consignor and active client arrived to the booth on Friday afternoon to show off a purchase made on the bourse. I've been working with this individual towards building a top quality U.S. silver and gold type set. The relationship has been mutually beneficial and I appreciate his friendship and trust.

The individual hands me a newly purchased higher circulated grade Draped Bust quarter housed in PCGS OGH. Upon viewing the purchase, my facial expression spoke volumes and the client immediately took note. He asked what was wrong with the coin and I obliged with an explanation. This piece had been stripped and had retoned a not so attractive yellow on the obverse with the reverse being even more splotchy and unattractive. This is one of those coins in PCGS OGH that was graded but should be in a Details holder.

After providing my insights, the GFRC client went back to the dealer and luckily received his check back on the coin. I was most relieved when hearing this news via text message. I am proud of the individual for heeding my advice and not being stuck with a expensive coin that was inferior.

Case 2 - A Poor Seated Dollar Key Date Purchasing Decision

An early GFRC customer arrived to the GFRC booth, again on Friday afternoon, to show off a new bourse purchase. He was proud to have completed his set of Liberty Seated dollars when acquiring an 1873-CC dollar in a SEGS holder. The coin had obviously been harshly stripped and was most unattractive with some surface pitting. This coin was so bad that it hurt my eyes to place a loupe on it. However, the coin was straight graded by SEGS and autographed by the grader. To help this individual understand what he had just done, I pulled out GFRC's PCGS VF25 example from my case and asked the individual to compare the two coins. This he did for about five minutes and then walked away. I just hope that he understood the difference between the two coins.

This collector also visited the LSCC club table to show off the same coin. Afterwards, two club member that were manning the club table came by to discuss the coin and agreed with my observations. We were all dissappointed with the dealer that sold this coin. This was a Details coin and should have been noted on the label.

Case 3 - Purchasing Better Date Coins Based on TPG Label

During the Tuesday pre-show, a large lot of high grade San Francisco mint Liberty Seated dimes reached the market. The lot was being handled by a well known California dealer. GFRC was second on the lot and made some significant purchases, three of which went into the Newtown Collection and a fourth that went into the Cleveland Collection. Many of the dimes were well known to me as GFRC had sold them into this collection. I bought back several including the 1867-S F-102a PCGS EF40 CAC web-book plate coin that will reach the price list in 48 hours.

However, there were a fair number of pieces in the lot that were not sold by GFRC and did not meet my quality standard even if they were high grade with low PCGS populations. These pieces feel into the not so attractive category and not a coin that I could bring myself to sell to a GFRC client. If I don't like a coin, I just can't bring myself to purchase and sell to clients towards making a profit. The profit is secondary as compared to maintaining credibility as a dealer in top quality coins. I passed on these. Sure enough, other dealers bought these coins and they appeared on the bourse. Several were purchased by GFRC clients and brought to the table for show and tell. What can I say when these pieces are shared with me? Should I just smile and say nice purchase or should I share my opinion of the coin? What would you do if placed in this situation?

Summary

I'm pondering how to allow you into my psyche concerning the decision process when adding coins to GFRC inventory. Let's just say that my selection approach is that of a collector with the idea of profit being subordinated to long term client relationships. Would I really want this coin in my personal collection? A second question often floating around in my brain, "Is this a coin I would buy back or be pleased to take on consignment knowing I had sold it to the client?" If the answer is an obvious no, I pass on the coin even if there is potential profit to be made.

My advice to GFRC clients is to be very careful when making purchasing decisions. If you don't routinely purchase coins in the mid four figure to low five figure range, leave the emotions at home and use a disciplined approach. Seek advice from other trusted collectors (with more experience) before rendering a purchase decision. Most dealers will allow you to take the coin to someone towards a second opinion. Leave your drivers license with the dealer if you are unknown to him/her.

Remember that superior collections are built through patience, self education and discipline. I can't stress this point enough.

Recovering From the FUN Show - The Next 48 Hours in the GFRC Office

Today's prior goal is catching up on the administrative outcomes after attending a significant coin show event. All sale transaction will be captured in the COIN database followed by the GFRC price list being updated to remove sold coins. The same must be done for Collectors Corner listings. Show inventory needs to be merged with those coins that remained behind in the GFRC office. The returning inventory must be screened for new purchases that will be queued for photography. Consignments must be separated and properly labeled.

Monday brings a huge shipping day including orders or payments that arrived immediately before departing for the pre-show this past Tuesday. We arrived back to the Venice office with a substantial number of check payments in the mail box. These will be packaged later this evening and shipped on Monday. Consignments checks must also be generated where warranted.

On Tuesday morning, I expect to start itemizing some consignments towards restarting the First Right of Refusal process. Tuesday will bring a substantial photography day.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The typical 8:00 am Blog publishing time has arrived and best to get moving on FUN show admin recovery.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog!

January 11, 2020

Final FUN Show Day!

Greetings from Orlando, Florida and welcome to the Blog. Today brings the final GFRC booth day at the FUN show.

Today's edition will be brief as we must join Dan and Rose Marie for breakfast in 45 minutes. Once again the FUN bourse opens at 8:30 am to dealers and there are still want list items to locate on the bourse for China clients.

Winter FUN Show Day 3 Report - A Decent Day

Friday's FUN show activity is best described as sleepy in the morning with decent booth traffic that arrived during the afternoon hours.

One could feel the lack of urgency to purchase coins on Friday as compared to Thursday. We saw a number of GFRC clients for a second time on Friday but their allocated coin monies were limited.

Morning floor traffic was sparse resulting in a fairly quiet bourse until about 1:30 pm. It felt like customer had taken the morning to visit local Disney attractions. The bourse came to life during the afternoon with a moderate "buzz". The flow of customers at our U.S gold display cases brought most of the day's sales activitity. Liberty Seated coinage sales were quiet.

Most important are the new consignments that arrived to the GFRC table including an incredible 1853 PCGS MS66+ CAC three cent silver piece from the Winesteven Collection. This little superb gem looks like it just fell off the dies with its brilliant frosty luster and perfect surfaces. Second to arrive was an 1842-O Small Date PCGS AU55 Liberty Seated half that has a 75%+ chance of being CAC approved. If it does sticker, it will be the finest in the CAC population.

Overall, GFRC attained its six figure show goal on Friday and I could not be more pleased. Fresh consignments will keep me busy through the balance of January before heading to Shanghai in early February.

The LSCC regional meeting was well attended. I felt relieved sitting in the back row and not having to worry about meeting preparations.

Silver Spring Stolen GFRC Coins Update

Julian Leidman stopped by the GFRC booth to provide an update on the postal theft situation at the Silver Spring office.

He was contacted by the Montgomery police once again and inform that police raided the home of the Silver Spring Post Office employeer who was fingered by the arrested woman at Julian's Bonanza Coin shop. Julian is now a hero! The police found evidence in the suspect's home that was associated with 48 unsolved theft cases. This individual had been on probation at the post office in the past but continued his illegal ways. The close cooperation between GFRC and Julian Leidman resulted in a theft ring being broken.

Len Augsburger is planning a video documentary of the entire affair in conjunction with the Newman Numismatic Portal. We start working on the video in the coming week.

Really amazing....

Wrapping Up The Blog

Please check back on Sunday morning for the final FUN show report. This edition will be written from the comfort of the GFRC office and will contain new purchase and consignment announcements. There are many, many new coins to be offered and I plan to start disclosing those in tomorrow edition. Why not? Let's get the First Right of Refusal process underway quickly! The GFRC January financial forecast is aggressive with many more sales needed before closing the month at the Venice Florida coin show.

Thank-you for checking in and sharing the GFRC perspective of the 2020 Winter FUN show. See you tomorrow morning.

January 10, 2020

Numismatic Hobby Firing on All Cylinders at FUN!

Greetings once again from Orlando, Florida and the home of the annual Winter FUN show. Thank-you for checking in on GFRC's perspective for this most important show that kick's off the 2020 numismatic year.

I arose earlier this morning towards preparing a more detailed Blog edition. Writing the Blog in a less hurried manner is important for capturing a broader range of thoughts.

Winter FUN Show Day 2 Report - An Amazing Opening Show Day...Really Amazing!

The opening day at any major national show is typical the busiest. Advanced collectors travel long distances to attend national shows and strive to have first shots at fresh dealer inventories. This was clearly the case for the opening day at the FUN show. Amazing is probably the best adjective for relaying what took place at the GFRC booth on Thursday.

The bourse floor opened to dealers at 8:30 am. Within 30 minutes, the GFRC booth was operational. I was looking forward to an hour of quiet time to catch up on email and Collectors Corners orders. That plan did not materialize as earlier bird collectors starting arriving to the booth by 9:00 am. This was a preview of what was to come for the balance of the day.

The FUN organization always conducts an official opening ceremony for their annual flagship show at 10:00 am. By 10:10 am, the general public arrived to the bourse. Many GFRC customers took me seriously and visting Table 535 first! From 10:10 am until 2:30 pm, the GFRC booth was literally mobbed with customers. There were times when four customers were concurrently viewing coins and making purchases. Diane became the "checkout counter' as she moved sequentially from customer to customer writing up receipts and thanking them for their purchases. Some of the purchases were complex as GFRC took in trades and made sales with credit card payments. Several payments employed Paypal Friends and Family money transfer. Thank goodness for a robust Information Technology infrastructure at the GFRC booth.

I finally had a chance to enjoy a bowl of chili as a late lunch around 3:00 pm. But of course, the minute I took two bites, an individual arrives at the booth seeking consulting on Liberty Seated coinage. This individual was one of many hoping I might provide insights into a potential purchase from other dealers. It took an hour to eat my bowl of chili while servicing the ongoing booth visitors.

By 5:00 pm, the GFRC staff finally caught a breather. Some gracious long term customers saw how busy we were the entire day and waited until a break in the action for picking reserved coins from the price list. At 6:00 pm, we closed operations and headed to the The (English) Pub across from Rosen Pointe for a much needed dinner and pints of Bellhaven Scottish Ale. I was in bed by 9:00 pm and immediately feel asleep.

The first full day of the 2020 FUN show was downright amazing at the GFRC booth. I left the booth just two times to run to the restroom without having an opportunity to chat with other dealers to gain a sense of their show perspective. Diane did a quick check of the sales receipts before we closed down the booth. GFRC is on the cusp of six figures sales when considering the quick turnaround of Tuesday's pre-show purchases. We expect Friday sales to remain robust and taking us well into the six figures.

Somehow during the intense time on Thursday, I managed to insource five more consignments. One individual dropped off a 20 piece collection of Capped Bust half dime all uniformly graded PCGS AU55-AU58 with many being CAC approved. A nice lot of CAC approved Liberty Seated quarter duplicates was dropped off by the Iowa Collection. Another consignment included rare Liberty Seated half dime die varieties. These are the most notable but there are more.... Please don't send me emails asking what are in the consignments as I am unable to respond.

How did the individual GFRC product lines fair? Unquestionably, Liberty Seated coinage was the top seller and in strong demand. We sold all denominations from half dimes to dollars. GFRC's Liberty Seated half dime inventory has become quite exhausted and must be restocked in the next 60 days. I was most pleased with the rate of Bust coinage sales followed by U.S. gold. We sold Barbers and a reasonable amount of 20th Century offerings too.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is already 7:15 am and best to wrap up the Blog at this point. I must respond to several Collectors orders and head to the Rosen Centre buffer breakfast by 7:30 am. We are meeting Dan and Rose Marie promptly at that time. Booth setup takes place at 8:30 am followed by attending the LSCC meeting as a club member at 9:00 am. My days are incredibly structured to say the least.

Thank-you for stopping by and checking in tha the Blog. Yes, I will be back tomorrow morning with another FUN show report.

January 9, 2020

Great Start to FUN Show - Table 535!

Greetings from the Orlando Rosen Centre hotel and welcome to the Blog on a Thursday morning. The annual FUN show event tasks off today.

Today's Blog will be brief given the preparations necessary to open the booth and the associated work before the general public arrives at 10:00 am.

Winter FUN Show Day 1 Report - Table Setup

Wednesday Table 535 setup went flawlessly thanks to the great GFRC team of Gerry, Diane, Dan and Rose Marie. Everyone knows their roles during the setup process. GFRC was operational within one hour and open for buiness. Everyone likes the new case layout format; individual product lines in each case. Liberty Seated coinage is presented in three cases. Bust coinage has its own case. United States gold takes two cases while 20th Century coins are presented in one case. Finally, Barbers, Liberty Seated and Trade dollars are offered in one case. A substantial GFRC buyer arrived to the booth later in the day and commented on the ease of viewing products via the restructured layout. For Winter FUN 2021, GFRC will be expanding to two corner tables as the current eight display case/single corner booth configuration is just to limiting.

GFRC was also busy buying. A pre-arranged deal with a world coin dealer was retrieved and includes three new purchases. I'm also working on another Liberty Seated dime deal of better San Francisco pieces. Please check the Blog in a few hours to secure first shot on these. They will be significant offerings.

Wednesday sales, including pre-show items, are off to a fantastic start as we sold well into the mid five figures by end of day. I'm expecting the FUN show will take sales into the low six figures.

GFRC clients started arriving towards the end of the day. Unfortunately, we were in the booth closing mode and unable to spend time those individuals. It had been a long day already with transport from Venice to Orlando and booth setup plus photographing a host of Wednesday pre-show purchases for customers. As of this time, the following Wednesday pre-show purchased coins are on hold.

Seated 5c: 1849 V-6 PCGS AU58 gem bullseye toning, 1851 V-12 PCGS AU58 hammered strike, gun metal gray-blue, so choice; 1858-O PCGS AU58 gem original, center rose, peripheral blues

Seated 10c: 1863-S PCGS MS64 condition census, frosty luster; 1866-S PCGS MS63 CAC near condition census; 1868-S PCGS MS64 CAC near-gem, so tempting to place in my set; 1886-S F-102 R6 PCGS AU55 choice gray surfaces;

Seated 50c: 1850 PCGS EF40 CAC rare, old album gray-gold; 1870-S PCGS MS62 CAC satiny luster, fully struck, so choice for grade, hurry on this one;

Seated $1: 1846 PCGS AU50 CAC crusty original gray and so choice for the grade.

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will probably add a bit more commentary from the bourse floor after the booth is opened. It is now time for breakfast. Best to secure some energy for what should be a robust sales day.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog.

January 8, 2020

Awesome FUN Pre-Show Buying!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog. This edition is being composed on Tuesday evening due to an early driving start to Orlando on Wednesday morning. I'm still not completely packed and it is already 11:00 pm and time to secure some sleep.

Awesome FUN Pre-Show Buying!

Dan White and I returned to Venice and Osprey on Tuesday afternoon after an awesome pre-show buying session at the Rosen Center in Orlando. Our constant diligence in searching out top quality Liberty Seated, Capped Bust and U.S. Gold paid off today. Sometimes there is little to be found. Today was different. We discovered some fresh lots that just arrived to the market and decided to go all in and spruce up GFRC inventory for the FUN show.

Following is a complete and extensive list of new purchases. First Rights of Refusals will be honored immediately. All coins have been priced and will be placed into the FUN Show cases unless there are serious commitments towards purchases. Cellphone images will be provided along with asking prices. Please make certain that you are seriously interested as I will pull selected items from the FUN show cases once there are purchase commitments. My verbal descriptions will be accurate and factual.

Silver 3c: 1851-O PCGS MS63 CAC choice with light gray patina, so original

Buffalo 5c: 1913-S Type 2 PCGS AU55 CAC steely gray, choice original, difficult date; 1915-D NGC MS63 CAC Fatty steely luster, light gold toning; 1916-S PCGS AU53 CAC choice color coin; 1931-S NGC MS65 CAC gem with incredible mint bloom

Seated 5c: 1849 V-6 PCGS AU58 gem bullseye toning, 1851 V-12 PCGS AU58 hammered strike, gun metal gray-blue, so choice; 1853-O No Arrows PCGS VF25 so rare and crusty original; 1856 PCGS MS64 CAC hammered strike; 1858-O PCGS AU58 gem original, center rose, peripheral blues

Capped Bust 10c: 1821 JR-5 Large Date PCGS AU50 CAC gray-gold, so choice; 1831 JR-5 PCGS MS64 CAC rich frosty luster, near-gem

Seated 10c: 1838 F-104 PCGS AU53 choice gray; 1852 F-111 PCGS MS66 superb gem with late die state diagnostic, new web-book plate, amazing luster; 1863-S PCGS MS64 condition census, frosty luster; 1866-S PCGS MS63 CAC near condition census; 1868-S PCGS MS64 CAC near-gem, so tempting to place in my set; 1867 F-102 PCGS MS64 CAC near gem, frosty devices, lightly mirrored fields; 1872-S NGC MS63 steely gray luster, rare date and grade; 1886-S F-102 R6 PCGS AU55 choice gray surfaces; 1890-S F-108a Small S NGC MS65 web-book plate coin!

Seated 25c: 1853 A&R PCGS AU50 CAC light gray-gold; 1864 PCGS MS64 CAC striated fields, near-gem

Standing Liberty 25c: 1918 PCGS MS62 choice with light rose-gold

Capped Bust 50c: 1817 O-113a PCGS AU58 CAC gem for grade, gorgeous rose-gold; 1830 Small O PCGS AU55 CAC brilliant frosty luster, peripheral gold

Reeded Edge 50c: 1838 GR-12 PCGS AU55 CAC gem for grade, rich gray-gold patina

Seated 50c: 1840-(O) Rev of 1838 PCGS VF35 choice with gray fields, circulated cameo eye appeal; 1850 PCGS EF40 CAC rare, old album gray-gold; 1861-O CSA W-9 NGC AU58 so choice, hammered strike, steely gray-rose; 1870-S PCGS MS62 CAC satiny luster, fully struck, so choice for grade, hurry on this one; 1874-CC PCGS VG08 CAC choice gray surfaces, pretty for grade; 1883 PCGS AU55 OGH steely reflective gray, very choice

Barber 50c: 1901 PGS AU58 CAC rich frosty luster, subtle gold; 1914-S PCGS VF20 CAC choice original gray

Seated $1: 1846 PCGS AU50 CAC crusty original gray and so choice for the grade; 1860-O PCGS AU55 CAC choice with steely reflective luster, gray patina

Gold $1: 1855-O NGC AU58 CAC rare date/grade; 1858 PCGS AU58 frosty luster, orange-gold; 1870 PCGS AU55 tiny mintage, choice orange gold, should CAC; 1873 Open 3 PCGS AU58 frosty orange-gold, choice; 1887 PCGS MS62 OGH frosty orange-gold

Gold $5: 1835 NGC MS61+ incredible frosty luster, orange-gold eye appeal

GFRC Shipping on Hold Until Monday January 13

The GFRC staff is leaving early on Wednesday morning for Orlando which means that GFRC order shipments will be on hold until this coming Monday, January 13. My apology for the delay as several checks arrived today and we are unable to provide immediate shipping.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Based on the dealer to dealer trading energy at the Rosen Center, I'm expecting a robust FUN show. This is an exciting time to be active in the numismatic market.

Please check back daily at the Blog for Orlando FUN Show reports. GFRC always provides straight talk about show conditions and sales levels. More consignments have been committed and will be arriving at the show.

Thanks for checking at the Blog!

January 6, 2020 - Afternoon Update

Introducing Oakdale Collection U.S. Gold!

The Oakdale Collection - Wonderful Collector Quality U.S. Gold

1850 PCGS AU55 G$20

1854 Small Date PCGS AU58 CAC G$20 1892-CC NGC AU53 G$20

1843-O Sm Date PCGS AU58 CAC 25C 1854 NGC AU58+ G$3 1852 PCGS AU55 G$10

January 6, 2020

Orlando FUN Show Week Arrives!

and

A Significant Mountaineer Collection Consignment

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Monday morning. The Orlando FUN show week is upon us.

Diane's return trip to Tampa was nicely uneventful with pick-up on Sunday afternoon. Buddy the dog came along to Tampa and was ecstatic to see Diane enter the car. The bonding between the two during the drive back to Venice was so obvious. At some point, I will publish photos of Buddy. Buddy is a Cavachon which is a combination of a Bichon Frise and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is a gentle lapdog but also an incredibly vigilant watch dog sensitive to any stray noise or movement. At our Venice home, Buddy's perch is on top of a couch with wide view of windows and the entire condo.

Spot Gold Prices Jump to $1580/oz

The escalating threats between the United States and Iran are rapidly elevating gold prices. Last evening, spot gold prices saw another step function increase to $1580/oz. The bullion value of a $20 double eagle now stands at $1530. As a result, GFRC has raised all $20 double eagle prices to a minimum $1650. Common date Mint State $20 Libs and Saints are fairly priced at that level.

No Regular Tuesday Morning Daily Blog - Delayed Until Evening

Attending pre-show events at national coin shows is a key part of numismatic dealings. Pre-shows allow dealers to quickly view each others inventories towards locating coins on client want lists or expanding specialized inventories.The time at pre-shows is truly well spent as once the bourse floor opens, my emphasis shifts to selling and client relationships.

Dan and I will be leaving very early on Tuesday morning for Orlando. The traffic on I-75 to Tampa and I-4 to Orlando will be in morning rush hour mode and wholly unpredictable. We already have a scheduled 8:30 am appointment with my favorite wholesale dealer at the Rosen Center followed by time in the wholesale trading ballroom for the balance of the morning. As a result, there is no opportunity to prepare a morning Tuesday Blog edition. Rather, I will publish the day's new purchases on Tuesday evening.

A Significant Mountaineer Collection Consignment

Saturday brought the delivery of a 64MB flash card from Amazon. Yes, you read correctly, that is 64MB and not 64GB. The purchase of an old 64MB flash card was done as a potential first diagnostic step for my ailing Nikon Coolpix 995 camera. This ancient model has been known to be sensitive to flash card technologies and read/write speeds. Such was the case as the purchased flash card partially corrected the old camera's system fault. I was able to secure 6 to 8 images before the camera system fault took place. Once the camera has a system fault, the battery must be removed and the photo operation restarted. Yes, this is most annoying but with some patience, I was able to photograph two new consignments; the Mountaineer Collection (high grade type) and Oakdale Collection (U.S. Gold).

Today brings the delivery of a used Nikon Coolpix 995 followed by another this coming Friday. With two used cameras and several 64MB flash cards, I should be in a position to accomplish post FUN show photography. Clint Cummins wrote this morning with advice for migrating to a Canon T2i. This project will be taken on at some point in the January/February timeframe. Moving to a higher resolution camera will greatly improve the clarity of GFRC images.

Let's get back to the Mountaineer Collection, a debut at GFRC this morning.

The Mountaineer Collection consignor first made contact with GFRC during the early 2015 timeframe. This contact was concerning a recently purchased 1854 dime and its die variety. During late December 2019, this individual emails concerning a potential consignment that contains several Eric P. Newman Collection pieces residing in their original NGC brown label holders (circa 2013). Five coins were identified as an initial consignment for GFRC. Those shipped quickly and arrived just in time for my Nikon camera to fail. But here we are, two days before FUN dealer setup with the Mountaineer Collection client gallery.

The highlight of the Mountaineer Collection consignment is an 1864 Judd-386 Liberty Seated quarter pattern directly from the Eric P. Newman collection. This offering and superb NGC photography can be found on the Eric P Newman section of the NGC website by clicking here. The 1864 Judd-386 is a transitional pattern produced at the U.S. Mint likely in the 1869 or 1870 timeframe. The obverse bears the regular 1864 date but the stars appears slightly larger than expected. The edge has regular reeding. Most obvious is the reverse motto IN GOD WE TRUST, which did not appear on regular U.S. coinage until 1866. The reverse image will be added today as it was partially corrupted by another Nikon camera fault during Sunday's photo session.

The 1877-S/Horizontal S is a marvelous offering and already on hold. The 1900 and 1908-O Barber quarters are substantial offerings that warrant serious consideration given their strict originality and eye appeal. The lot wraps up with a near gem 1849 Liberty Seated half graded NGC MS62.

If all goes to plan today, I will find time to post these offerings to the price list and include in Orlando FUN show inventory.

Let's Welcome the Mountaineer Collection - Eclectic High Grade Type

1864 Judd-386 Pattern NGC PF67 Ex. Eric P. Newman Collection

1877-S/Horizontal S NGC MS64 CAC 25C 1900 PCGS MS66 25C

1908-O NGC MS66 25C Ex. Eric P. Newman Collection 1849 NGC MS62 50C

Global Financial News

The United States and Iran tensions are having an impact on commodity prices and global equity markets. Across Asia, Europe and the United States, stock markets are flashing red futures with about a 1% drop being projected.

As mentioned earlier, spot gold prices jumped during the overnight to $1580/oz. Crude oil has also reacted with an increase to $63.72/bbl as a first step to $70/bbl. Once a strong upward trend is detected, commodity traders will seize the moment for quick profits. Bitcoin is also reacting in unison with an increase to $7557/coin. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is flat at 1.78%.

Seeking Alpha headlines are capturing the same news as 24 hours financial media. There is little fresh information to share this morning and best to get on with another busy day in the GFRC office.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a substantial CAC submission and final customer order shipments prior to attending the FUN show. The afternoon sees the final posting of new offerings to the price list. Once evening arrives, I will be pulling inventory and preparing for FUN show dealer setup on Wednesday. There is not question that this week will be another blur in time.

Please don't be bashful about online purchase orders. This is your last chance to secure GFRC offerings before they are potentially sold at the FUN show later this week.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog and checking in. Pleae remember that Tuesday Blog edition will be published after I return to the Venice office afternoon. The contents will be the outcome of the Orlando pre-show buying event.

January 5, 2020

A GFRC 2019 Stakeholder's Report

and

Paul Kluth's First E-Gobrecht Issue as Editor

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

After the GFRC Venice office being a bachelor pad for nearly two weeks, Diane returns home today. Somehow, Buddy the dog and Gerry managed to keep our home in reasonable condition. "Reasonable" is highly gender subjective and only Diane can be the judge when she walks through the door.

We open today's Blog with a lovely selfie of three generations taken in Austin; Meme, Renee and Mike, and of course, Ivy. Ivy is probably wondering, where are my teeth?

A GFRC 2019 Stakeholder Report

For those of us who own stock in publicly traded cooperations, the receipt of an annual report takes place after the end of each fiscal year once the company's financials are closed and audited. The company president presents a summary of financial performance and the usual outlook for the coming year.

GFRC is far from a public cooperation, rather a basic Limited Liability Company (LLC). However, GFRC does serve the numismatic public and has a host of stakeholders. I believe that the same accountability is warranted regardless of being a small LLC. The GFRC community rapidly expanded during 2019 with over 180 consignors and countless customers. Accountability is important as a growing number of clients are counting on GFRC's ongoing business prosperity towards handling the continuing divestment of collection duplicates or sadly, the liquidation of a client's coin collection per instructions within their estate. From a market perspective, GFRC has become well known as a leading dealer for Liberty Seated coinage along with CAC approved quality coins.

Len Augsburger mentioned to me yesterday, in an email, that a 2019 GFRC business recap might be of interest to Blog readers. This is unquestionably a ground breaking step as private coin dealers don't place their financials or business strategies in the public domain. But then again, GFRC is far from a traditional coin dealer. Rather, GFRC is managed as a large cooperation thought the staffing is diminutive.

It is my pleasure to share the following GFRC 2019 highlights along with some 2019 vs. 2018 comparisions in today's Blog.

Overall, GFRC's 2019 sales revenue growth by 40% over that of 2018. GFRC consignment sales accounted for 76% of 2019 revenues and were a primary driver for a successful business year.

Next, let's review sales revenue by major product lines.

GFRC 2019 Sales Revenue Breakdown

Product Lines	2019 % Revenue	2018 % Revenue

Liberty Seated	63%	66%
U.S. Gold	22%	13%
Draped/Capped Bust	5%	8%
Barber	6%	3%
Others	4%	10%

During 2019, GFRC spent considerable time and resources in ramping the United States gold coinage product line. That effort resulted in a 70% growth in U.S. gold sales while the core business, Liberty Seated coinage, remained strong and consistent on a year on year basis. Expanding GFRC's core product lines to include Barber coinage took place in earnest during the second half of 2019. As a result, GFRC doubled its Barber coinage sales revenue on a year on year basis. I expect that Barber coinage sales will continue to expand during 2020.

With most attention and investment within the Liberty Seated, U.S. Gold and Barber product lines, Draped and Capped Bust coinage sales saw a reduction. 2020 will bring a return to investment and marketing of the Draped and Capped Bust coinage product line to recover the 2019 reduction.

Finally, Others captures all other product lines in the GFRC portfolio including 20th Century coinage and Morgan dollars. Morgan dollar were purposefully deemphasized during 2019 as the numismatic marketplace is awash with these coins and prices are dropping. GFRC is unable to provide differentiated service for Morgan dollars, therefore best to limit time and financial investments.

GFRC CAC 2019 Sales Remained Steady

	2019 % Revenue	2018 % Revenue

CAC Approved	44%	46%
Non CAC Approved	56%	54%

CAC approved coins play an important role in the GFRC business model given my commitment to offering the highest quality coins possible to clients. Regardless of ramping the U.S. Gold product line during 2019, GFRC still maintained emphasis on CAC sales across all product lines. The sourcing of CAC approved coins at competitive prices remains an ongoing challenge. GFRC was also quite active during 2019 in "making" CAC approved coins to supplement its purchased inventories. Finally, securing CAC approved consignments is conducted by marketing GFRC as a leading retailer of CAC approved coins. Several notable consignments (Tenafly, Mountain View, and Labelman87) were primarily CAC approved coins. I expect this trend to continue during 2020.

GFRC PCGS 2019 Sales Continue to Grow

PCGS is clearly the market leader for grading United States coins. NGC has some United States market share with U.S. gold remaining a strong point. GFRC continues to focus on marketing accurately graded coins with CAC approval. Purchased and consigned inventory sales during 2019 continued to strongly favor PCGS certified coins.

GFRC continues to support raw coin sales as a courtesy to larger consignment clients only. I am NOT ACTIVELY purchasing raw coins for sale on the GFRC price list.

TPG	2019 % Revenue	2018 % Revenue

PCGS	80%	75%
NGC/ANACS	16%	20%
Raw	4%	5%

Summary

In summary, the GFRC business is being strategically managed with distinct product lines and marketing efforts. Sourcing larger consignments remains an ongoing challenge. The availability of larger consignments, during 2020, will have a material impact on 2020 sales results.

If existing clients believe that GFRC is provides excellent services, your aid with incremental duplicates divestments or referrals (for larger collections) would be most appreciated.

Paul Kluth's First E-Gobrecht Issue as Editor

Saturday brought the arrival of the first E-Gobrecht issue of 2020. This issue is the first with Paul Kluth taking over the Editor's role from Bill Bugert. Some changes were immediately noted within E-Gobrecth Issue #180 including an opening President's Message from Len Augsburger. The Liberty Seated Collectors Club latest E-Gobrecht issue can be downloaded by clicking here, or on the below headline page image.

LSCC E-Gobrecth #180 Headline Page

Wrapping Up The Blog

The Orlando FUN show arrives this week with Dan White and I heading to Orlando on Tuesday for the pre-show event at the Rosen Center. This leaves only two days to wrap up order shipments, FUN show order retrievals, and staging GFRC inventory for display across eight cases.

Please remember that GFRC will be located at Table 535 at the FUN show. Again that is Table 535, Table 535, and Table 535.........

I will do my best to continue processing the Twin Lakes Collection's Standing Liberty quarter lot that is nearly all CAC approved. At a minimum, this lot will be priced and available at the FUN show.

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog. Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day waiting for your purchase orders. Please consider a review of the vast offerings on the GFRC price lists before many are sold at the FUN show.

Also, Consignments Wanted! Please call 207-329-9957 or email at Wuximems@hotmail.com

January 4, 2020

Twin Lakes' Barber Quarters On GFRC Price List Shortly!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog. Is it already Saturday morning?

Yesterday was pretty much a blur leading to an early time to bed. Shipping consumed most of the morning followed by a long afternoon phone conversation with the Montgomery Police for completing their police report. I was told that the person inside the Silver Spring USPS office, who stole the GFRC shipment, has been identified and no longer works there. Criminal prosecution is underway. For once, the good guys win a battle with the less scrupulous members of our society.

Spot Gold Prices at New Breakout Point

The killing of General Soleimani will have negative consequences in the Middle East. Revenge is unquestionably an important part of that culture. When, how and the magnitude of revenge to be extracted is driving the fear trade. Gold prices have moved up slightly overnight to the $1553/oz level and are poised for a new near term breakout to the $1600 level. Gold's pricing movement will have implications for numismatic trading at the Orlando FUN show.

Also note how gold's all time pricing record ($1895/oz) is within reach during the present rally.

Kitco 8-Year Gold Technical Chart

Twin Lakes Collection - The Barber Quarters

The recent Twin Lakes Collection consignment is huge totaling 80 pieces. Contained in the consignment are twelve lovely Barber quarters and a super lot of CAC approved Standing Liberty quarters. My image processing bandwidth has been limited this week due to Diane remaining in Austin through today. She returns on Sunday. This will allow more time to focus on FUN show preparations and wrapping up the image processing of Twin Lakes' Standing Liberty quarters. The Standing Liberty quarters are fantastic and will definitely be in the FUN show display cases come Wednesday setup.

Below are all of the Twin Lakes Barber quarters for your consideration. There are a few First Rights of Refusals dating back to the original announcement of the Twin Lakes Collection consignment in the Blog. Those with FRoFs will be contacted once the offerings reach the price list this afternoon. I hope that Blog readers will enjoy this attractive client gallery and many better dates.

Twin Lakes Collection - Lovely Barber Quarters

1895-S PCGS AU58 25C 1914-S PCGS AU58 25C

1892 PCGS AU58 25C 1893 PCGS AU58 25C 1893-S PCGS AU58 25C

1894 PCGS AU58 25C 1895-O PCGS AU58 25C 1898-O PCGS AU58 25C

1900-O PCGS MS62 25C 1903-O PCGS AU58 25C 1903-S PCGS AU58 25C

1909-S PCGS AU58 CAC 25C

Osprey (Dan White) Buys Substantial U.S. Gold Collection

Yes, Dan was most fortunate to start the new decade and the new year 2020 with an opportunistic purchase. Through some old contacts in the Sarasota Florida area, Dan was able to purchase a twenty piece United States gold lot with many better dates. The highlights include an 1876 NGC PF65 gold $1, 1807 Turban Head PCGS AU50 $2.5, and a 1907 High Relief $20 St. Gaudens. This lot has been off the market for years and is absolutely fresh. This is a quality lot that was carefully assembled by the prior owner. Our first step is shipment to CAC for review.

Unfortunately, this lot will not be available in time for the FUN show. We plan a debut in early February in the Blog and at the Atlanta ANA show that month.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It appears that today will also be another blur with morning shipping and afternoon image processing of the Twin Lakes Standing Liberty quarter lot. Evening time brings the posting of today's featured Barber quarters to the price list. On Sunday, my attention shifts to invoice preparations for the many GFRC lots to be picked up at the FUN show.

Please remember that GFRC will be located at Table 535 at the FUN show. We are located deep into the bourse. I hope that clients will make every effort to located us. Below is the Orlando FUN show bourse map as a continuing reminder. Please remember Table 535, Table 535, Table 535!

GFRC at Booth 535 - Orlando Winter FUN Show

Thanks for stopping by at the Blog! I will be in the office the entire day and look forward to your pre-FUN show purchase orders.

See you on Sunday morning with more ramblings!

January 3, 2020

Missing 1871 Liberty Seated Coins Recovered By Julian Leidman!

and

More Great Twin Lakes Collection Offerings

Greetings a welcome to the Blog on a Friday morning. There is much to share, so let's move directly into news items.

Spot Gold Jumps to $1551/oz

As I've often mentioned in the Blog, events in Asia and the Middle East are the primary driver of gold prices. This was made apparent during the overnight hours once Iran's General Soleimani was killed at the Baghdad airport. Events are escalating in that region with gold prices reacting.

Missing 1871 Liberty Seated Coins Recovered By Julian Leidman!

A huge shout out goes to Julian Leidman for recovering the 1871 NGC MS62 25c and 1871 PCGS MS62 CAC 50c that went missing in Silver Spring, Maryland before Christmas. The two coins, still residing in their holders, walked into Julian's Bonanza Coin Shop on Thursday morning. Julian quietly called 911 with the Montgomery County police arriving shortly there after. A woman was arrested.

I received a phone from Julian and Officer Kevin Christmon (Montgomery County Police) from the Bonanza Coin Shop. Julian was calm and simply said, "I have your coins, here is the police officer." While on the phone, Office Christmon confirmed the PCGS and NGC serial numbers against the email alert that I had sent to Julian. This police officer was top notch and immediate inquired as to who was the victim of the crime for subsequent legal actions. I made clear that the victim was the GFRC customer as the two coins had been paid for and stolen during delivery to his home. The officer took the customer's contact information and promptly called this individual after wrapping up with me.

Within an hour, I received a follow-up call from Officer Christmon. He had contacted the GFRC customer and learned that he lived only three blocks away from the Silver Spring police station. The customer went to the police station to retrieve his coins while the officer interrogated the woman.

The woman initially claimed that the coins were discovered on a sidewalk in College Park. Of course, the story made no sense. I shared with the officer the date of the coin's attempted delivery by Silver Spring USPS carrier (USPS Tracking evidence) which appeared to negate the woman's story. Later in the day, the GFRC customer called me to report the events in the Silver Spring police station. The woman was book and charged. After a two hour interrogation, she confessed to the coins being stolen by a worker at the Silver Spring Post Office. The police will be launching an investigation.

The GFRC customer had made several visits to the post office to speak with postmaster and his carrier. No one knew anything and eventually, they refused to speak with my customer on subsequent visits.

Both GFRC and my customer are so relieved with this development. I'm sure this is not the first time that Julian Leidman has called the local police when stolen coins appeared in the Bonanza Coin Shop. I can't thanks Julian enough for his quick actions.

Thank-you Julian Leidman!!!

Recovered GFRC Shipment - Silver Spring, Maryland

1871 NGC MS62 25C #1795229001 1871 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C #34045343

More Great Twin Lakes Collection Type Coin Offerings

Thursday was another non-stop busy day in the GFRC office. By 10:00 pm, I completed image processing for another lot within the huge 80 piece Twin Lakes Collection consignment. These new offerings are posted next for your consideration. The opening four pieces are either better grades or dates. Most Blog readers will appreciate the difficulty in locating an 1851 Seated quarter at the AU55 grade level. The 1873 No Arrows Closed 3 Seated half is perfectly original at the AU58 grade level and fully warrants its CAC green bean. Both the 1820 and 1833 Capped Bust dimes are well struck with generous original luster. Look for the below offerings to post to price list by end of day. As usual, FRoRs are being accepted.

New Twin Lakes Collection Type Coin Offerings

1820 JR-11 PCGS AU58 10C 1833 JR-6 PCGS AU58 10C

1851 PCGS AU55 25C 1873 No Arrows, Closed 3 PCGS AU58 CAC 50C

1856 PCGS AU58 OGH 3CS 1879 PCGS AU58 G$1 1856 PCGS AU58 G$2.5

Twin Lakes Collection - Morgan & Peace Dollar Offerings

The Twin Lakes Collection consignment also contained four silver dollars. These offerings are illustrated next. The 1934-S PCGS AU58 Peace dollar is not as heavily toned as the GFRC images might suggest. There is an original skin on both sides with the coloring being amplified by my photography.

Twin Lakes Collection - Morgan & Peace Dollar Offerings

1934-S PCGS AU58 $1

1900-S PCGS AU58 CAC $1 1921 High Relief PCGS AU58 $1 1928 PCGS AU58 $1

Global Financial News

The killing of Iran's General Soleimani is a game changer in the Middle East. Already, gold and crude oil prices are reacting in anticipation of a potential wider military conflict. Seeking Alpha opens its daily newsletter with the following headline.

A shot of Chinese stimulus triggered global stock markets to leap at the start of 2020, but the New Year's party has come to an end. A 400-point opening decline is in store for the DJIA after the U.S. took out one of the most senior and revered generals in Iran, Qassem Soleimani (top Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes was also killed). Oil is moving in the opposite direction amid supply disruption fears, with crude futures ahead by 4% to $63.61/bbl, while safe haven gold is up 1.5% to $1551/oz to its highest level in almost four months. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed that "severe retaliation" awaits Soleimani's killers, while the U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged all citizens to depart Iraq immediately.

Norway is leading the world in transitioning its nation to electric vehicles.

Fully electric cars made up 42.4% of sales in Norway last year, a global record, rising from a 31.2% market share in 2018 and just 5.5% in 2013, according to the Norwegian Road Federation. The Nordic nation currently exempts battery-powered vehicles from the taxes imposed on petrol and diesel engines as it seeks to become the first country to end the sale of fossil-fueled cars by 2025. The country's best-selling car in 2019 was Tesla's Model 3 sedan (with an 11% market share), though competition is expected to accelerate from rival automakers in 2020.

As for commodities and the long bond interest rate, there is signficant movement due to the late Thursday event in Iraq. Crude oil prices have jumped to $63.61/bbl. Spot gold is quoting at $1551/oz. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield dropped substantially to 1.71% as there is a global rush to the safety of U.S. Treasuries. Bitcoin is up slightly to $7314/coin.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The Orlando FUN is approaching much too quickly as there is still a ton of work to get done in the next four days. GFRC will be attending the FUN pre-show on Tuesday before returning on Wednesday with entire staff for dealer setup.

Yes, I will be in the GFRC office the entire day. This morning brings about a huge amount of shipping followed by incremental afternoon image processing of the Twin Lakes Collection contents. Next up will be a wonderful Barber quarter lot.

Thank-you for stopping by and being part of the GFRC community. Who said that numismatics is a boring hobby?

January 2, 2020

GFRC Optimism to Start 2020!

Greetings on the second day of 2020 and welcome to the Blog.

The past two editions have been a bit on the heavy side with the discussion of Permission Marketing and yesterday's vision for a Liberty Seated Coinage Die Variety Marketplace. Today's edition will be on the lighter side and reflects optimism for the coming year and our hobby.

I could not be most positive about the state of the United States numismatic market as more and more new collectors discover GFRC and the Daily Blog. Yesterday's Blog edition saw over 700 visitors checking in. This readership rate would previous equate to the debut of a major collection rather than just a foreward looking essay. I continue to be surprised by the number of new clients appearing on the GFRC door step and seeking to start consignment relationships. Many have made a few purchases via Collectors Corner and quickly learn of the Daily Blog. Once engaged with GFRC and learning the business model, there is comfort with initiating the divestment of long held duplicates.

There is nothing prepared in advance for today's edition. Last evening brought an invitation to a small New Year social event at an adjacent condo unit. These fun people are from Michigan and love to host at their home. After several hours of wonderful conversations and a little tequila, there was no motivation to prepare more Twin Lakes Collection images. Worst is the promised posting of Twin Lakes half dimes and dimes to the price list that did not happen. Those will post to the price list this afternoon.

GFRC Photography on Hold

Unexpected equipment failure took place on December 31 as my last Nikon Coolpix995 camera developed an internal electronic fault when writing to the flash card. Luck was on my side as the failure occurred immediately after photographing the entire 80 piece Twin Lakes Collection consignment. Two incremental consigments arrived at 1:30 pm on Tuesday and were instantly unpacked and moved into the photography department. Once outdoors, the camera failed on the first coin photographed; oh crap! Yesterday, I placed the camera in the freezer as a diagnostic step. Integrated electronics in the camera would most likely be temperatures sensitive as a premise. I was correct. Once out of the freezer, the camera operated properly for a few images, but then faulted as it warmed up in Florida sunshine.

GFRC photography is on hold until after the FUN show. I've order two used replacement cameras via Amazon. Their scheduled arrival is by the end of next week.

It appears that 2020 will bring an upgrade to the GFRC photography department. I must locate a modern replacement camera that has a screw type bayonet mount for the photo dome.

Seth Godin Blog - A box of infinity

Godin starts 2020 with a wonderfully optimistic blogpost that challenges each of us to find our hidden potentials and run with our newly discovered capabilities. Godin has a gift for translating ideas and emotions into understandable down to earth concepts. How I love the idea of a box of infinity......

A box of infinity

It’s hard to look right at it.

The possibility that lies before us, the chance to connect, to lead, to be heard–it’s bigger than it’s ever been.

Tempting indeed to avert your eyes, because staring into infinity means embracing just how small we feel. We avert our eyes because to realize how much potential we have to contribute puts us on the hook.

But whether we ignore it or not, the infinity of possibility remains.

Dance with it.

Global Financial News

Global equity markets are quite upbeat as a new decade arrives. Asia and European markets are posting strong gains along with advancing futures for United States markets. Let's open this segment with an optimistic Seeking Alpha headline.

Equities are starting the new year on the right foot, with Dow futures pointing to a 150-point advance at the open following a market boom in 2019. The festivities kicked off in Asia overnight, where the PBOC slashed its required cash reserve ratio for commercial lenders by 50 basis points, unleashing about 800B yuan ($115B) of liquidity into the financial system. The move to shore up the local economy saw the Shanghai Composite Index end the session up 1.2%, adding to the overall positive sentiment ahead of the signing of a 'Phase One' U.S.-China trade deal on Jan. 15.

Checking in on our favorite commodities and the long bond interest rate....

Physical gold is holding current gains and is quoting at $1523/oz. Those $1600 priced $20 double eagles on the GFRC price list should appear attractive to anyone wishing to salt away quality numismatic gold at a small premium to the bullion value.

Crude oil prices are holding at $61.24/bbl while a Bitcoin can be purchased for $7143. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield stands at 1.93%

Wrapping Up the Blog

If GFRC's January 1 sales are an indication, 2020 will be a great numismatic sales year. Yesterday brought seven coin orders totaling over $10,000. United States gold is popular given the huge on hand inventory.

Yes, I will be in the office the entire day other than a quick run to the UPS outlet to drop off the day's shipping. My whole focus will be on the Twin Lake Collection consignment and posting at least ten new offerings to the price list. This lot has many FRoRs. Those individuals will be sent an email once their requested coins are posted to the price list.

Please don't be shy. Top quality coins are just a phone call or email away.

Please remember that GFRC's post FUN show operations bandwidth is sufficient to handle a large collection consignment totaling 100 pieces or more. If you would like to kick off 2020 with some extra cash in pocket or finally take a step towards liquidating a pile of duplicates that no longer excite you, GFRC can help achieve that goal. Working with GFRC is straightforward as each consignor quickly learns during their first engagement.

Thanks for checking in at the Blog. Tomorrow's edition will have another nice client gallery from the Twin Lakes Collection. See you in 24 hours....

January 1, 2020

Happy New Year 2020!

and

Liberty Seated Coinage - A Die Variety Marketplace Vision

Happy New Year 2020 as a new global decade arrives. I'm most optimistic for the numismatic market in the coming years given the state of the United States economy and transformational information technology. If course, there are always challenges in life but the American spirit has proven itself able to overcome the many challenges faced.

Liberty Seated Coinage - A Die Variety Marketplace Vision

The internet is an incredibly power medium that influences and impacts all aspects of life. My humble business would not exist without the internet's ability to reach a wide range of GFRC clients. Collectors have a thirst for knowledge and secondly, a passion for gaining access to the historical items they so enjoy. Online information access and shopping have transformed our hobby. I could name a long list of online resources that have had an impact on numismatists and how they collection. Some that come to mind are Heritage's Auction Archives, the PCGS Set Registry, CoinFacts and the Newman Numismatic Portal. Closer to home is the GFRC Open Set Registry project. Once collectors learn to navigate each of these platforms, endless hours of enjoyment are possible. Each platform has played a significant role in transforming our hobby towards a brighter future.

One important numismatic genre or realm that remains under appreciated is die variety collecting. The opportunity for learning intricate details of the minting process await those who take the plunge into die varieties. But there are challenges for die variety collectors. Information access is highly fragmented. Collecting die varieties without proven pricing guides requires a leap of faith that this emerging market will be sustained over the longer term. The financial expense for collecting die varities can be substantial as multiple die pairing examples, within a date, are pursued.

Focusing closer to home, let take a look at the state of Liberty Seated coinage and die variety collecting.

Fragmented is probably the best description. Die variety research has been taking place since the launch of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club during the mid 1970s. Early research was published in the Gobrecht Journal. The early 1990s brought three DLRC Press guidebooks by Blythe, Greer, and Wiley-Bugert. Briggs self published his encyclopedia on Liberty Seated quarters. Each reference was individually assembled with its own nomenclature and researcher style. There is little overlap between each guide requiring users to learn multiple attribution system. Each reference was obsolete the day it was published as new popularity and incremental research uncovered more die varieties.

The year 2004 brought the ground breaking release of The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors, an online resource that was easily accessed via the internet for free. Crowdsourcing of new die varieties immediately followed with the Seated dime "web-book" capturing those discoveries up through the present day. Unfortunately, no other researcher followed the 2004 online break through until Brunner and Frost published their Double Dimes - The United States Twenty-cent Piece during 2014 followed by Osburn and Cushing with their Register of Liberty Seated Dollar Varieties during 2016. Bill Bugert has done outstanding die variety research on the Liberty Seated half dollar denomination in hard bound with PDF version available for downloading. Clint Cummins is in the process of assembling a long overdue online reference on Liberty Seated half dimes. Greg Johnson continues to research the Liberty Seated quarter series and publishes his findings in the LSCC's E-Gobrecht via endless Quarter of the Month articles.

Again, all of the mentioned efforts are fragmented if one steps back and studies the numismatic "pie" rather than each slice.

For Liberty Seated coinage die variety collecting to become a prosperous mainstream endevour, consolidation and standardization of the information resources is necessary. Basic pricing guides must be developed. Reuse of attribution methods must be accomplished to simplify die variety indentifications and bring the genre to the masses rather than being an exclusive pursuit for specialists and cherrypickers.

To kick off 2020, I wish to share a vision for the construction of a comprehensive Liberty Seated coinage die variety online platform. This vision can only be accomplished by recognizing several guiding principals that must be adhered too for the platform to be widely accepted. It is a strong possibility that that the availability of this platform would bring die variety collecting into the mainstream market.

My vision is that of a Wikipedia like platform (WikiSeatedVarieties) for the four main denominations that make up the bulk of today's Liberty Seated coinage die variety collecting. Those are half dimes, dimes, quarters and half dollars. Double dimes remain a type coin while Seated dollars have insuffient supply to support die variety collecting. These could be added to the project but not as a leading priority.

Following are core principals for the construction of a WikiSeatedVarieties plaform.

- The WikiSeatedVariety platform will most likely be a commercialize product since the implementation cost will be substantial. The platform must consolidate current research into a simplified portal that will attract a broader collecting audience. Finally, the plaform becomes the mechansim for enabling a vibrant marketplace

- Simplified attribution methods across the four denominations must be developed. Individual denomination attribution methods are presently a barrier for increasing popularity. The 19th century mint engravers and die sinkers were not organized by denomination. Die preparation anomalies are consistent across all denominations and possibly could be cataloged via die anonaly rather than uniquely within a denomination.

- Attribution accuracy is paramount for die variety collecting to become mainstream. PCGS and NGC require a simplied information platform for accurately attributing not only the top or popular varieties, but also the more commonplace. The TPGs will play a critical role with attributions and certifications. 99%+ attribution accuracy will be necessary for confidence building.

- A vibrant die variety marketplace requires a pricing guide. Without buying and selling confidence, mass market collectors will not be likely to pay premiums for individual die varieties.

- The platform must be designed to scale from handheld mobile devices to desktops. This presents a substantial change with presenting attribution images. PDF files and mobile do not work well together.

- Continuing education on 19th century die preparation, maintenance, and striking methods that resulted in die varieties will be instrumental. The education can be accomplished via online resources and by offering classes at the annual ANA summer seminar plus other venues.

The construction of the this vision will be a multi-year effort. I'm sure there will be some resistence to this type of project. Consolidating attribution methods across four different denominations that thave been pursued by different researchers/authors presents challenges. However, common attribution standards are necessary to simplify die variety nomenclature and attribution accuracy.

A die variety pricing guide can only result by recording the sale prices of accurately attributed coins. The database for assembling a pricing guide will be years in the making and require access to multiple online resources.

Summary

My vision is broad but implementable. There would be project definitions challenges including standards setting, designing universal layouts and database schema. However, there are no new innovations necessary to accomplish this vision. Rather, the vision will require teamwork with a shared purpose; assembling a team of numismatists coupled with an HTML/SQL application specialist. Gaining access rights to existing die variety information will be crucial. Including the the Liberty Seated Collectors Club in the process should be contemplated for synergy. Incremental die variety cataloging will require much photography and data organization. We cannot ignore the broad range of die variety data inputs necessary for the core WikiSeatedVariety platform.

Funding the project will be an issue. GFRC is ready to sponsor the project and brings about the commercialization of Liberty Seated coinage die variety collecting as my last contribution to the numismatic hobby that I so love. However, volunteers will be necessary as the entire project scope could be beyond GFRC's reasonable funding expectations.

Much has been offered in this essay. Your quiet contemplation will be appreciated as I am no position to engage with one on one discussion in the near term. There is much work to do before next week's FUN show.

Coming to the GFRC Price List Today

I'm pleased to be showcasing a wonderful lot of Liberty Seated dimes from the recent Twin Lakes Collection consignment. Remaining is the pricing of each offering followed by posting to the price list by evening time. There are a host of First Rights of Refusals on the following items. Once posted to the price list, I will revist the email Inbox and identify who was first on each piece.

Twin Lakes Collection - Wonderful Liberty Seated Dime Lot

Arriving to Price List on New Year Day 2020

1838-O F-102 PCGS AU58 10C 1871-S F-101 PCGS AU55 10C

1869 F-106a PCGS MS62 10C 1869-S F-101 PCGS AU55 CAC 10C

1860 F-106 PCGS AU58 10C 1861 T1 F-106 PCGS AU58 10C 1890-S/S F-107 PCGS AU58 10C

Final Osprey Collection Consignment Prior to FUN Show

I'm pleased to report that all of Dan White's repatriated gold from his September 2019 buying trip has been loaded to the price list along with a few other divested offerings. Below is the last of the Osprey Collection offerings prior to the Orlando FUN show. Come the FUN show, I'm sure that Dan and I will be actively buying and bringing more great coins to the GFRC price list.

Another Quality Osprey Collection Consignment

1839-O NGC AU55 G$2.5 1888 PCGS MS66+ CAC $1

1873 PCGS VG10 CAC $1 1913-D PCGS AU58 G$20 1924 PCGS MS63 G$20

Wrapping Up The Blog

Again, a sincere Happy New Year 2020 to everyone in the GFRC community. 2019 brought a fantastic year for the growth of our community and the GFRC business.

I'm most optimistic for the numismatic hobby during 2020.

Yes, I will be in the office the entire day working on FUN show preparations. Center stage will be the Twin Lakes Collection. Please feel free to make purchase inquires as I would love to start 2020 with a substantial sales day.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog.

December 31, 2019

On the Cusp of a New Numismatic Decade!

and

Permission Marketing

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on the final day of 2019. Your ongoing patronage is sincerely appreciated.

The New Year holiday typically brings a time of reflection along with new resolutions. This holiday reminds me of a signpost when traveling. The signpost reaffirms that a certain point in a jounrey has been attained. The same signpost provides a bearing for launching the next phase of the traveling experience.

In the business world, the end of a fiscal year brings about the closure of an annual business plan. How did the company perform against it 12 month prior forecast? What were key accomplishments and conversely, what did not work out according to plan and why?. This introspective analysis becomes the basis for the formulation of yet another annual business plan.

After years of working in corporate America, the annual business planning process is well engrained in my pysche. Regardless of the size of the GFRC business, an annual business plan is created based on prior year performance. 2019 turned out to be a great year for the GFRC business due to growing recognition of the numismatic offerings provided along with personalized services. Higher value collections were consigned as the numismatic community comprehended the power of the Daily Blog as a unique marketing tool. With more experience as a dealer, my personal confidence for expanding into higher value inventory also grew. The results quickly become apparent as GFRC inventory quality expanded into four figures as regular business; new growth into the five figure realm also appeared. Becoming a strong proponent of CAC approved coins also brought considerable community attention. During 2019, nearly 40% of GFRC volume sales were CAC approved coins.

2019 also brought a substantial expansion of the GFRC U.S. gold product line. As of this morning, there are 169 offerings featured in the U.S. gold price list. Dan White has played an instrumental role in the development of our gold product line. On a personal basis, I've learned much about the various appearances of strictly original gold. These insights are priceless when moving forward with further expansions into earlier date gold.

Finally, GFRC launched its Barber coinage product line in earnest during 2019. The arrival of the Labelman87 Collection was a godsend. There is no better approach to learning an incremental product line than handling the physical coins along with supporting research. Each product line expansion brings about a broader customer base with incremental cross selling opportunities.

Those of you who are avid Blog readers have seen the growth and transition during 2019. How did my humble business fare during the past year? Sales revenue grew 40% year on year. The average price of a sold coin rose by 32%. The balance of the sales growth was a function of higher shipped volumes.

2019 was a fantastic year and was made possible through the incredible support of the entire GFRC community. That community includes passionate collectors and those who decided to divest significant collections while believing in the GFRC sales model. Speaking of the GFRC sales model, I found a Seth Godin blogpost that concisely explains the GFRC marketing philosophy. Up unitl this point, I could not put my hands on a title for the marketing approach that is the Blog. Permission Marketing is an accurate description. Following is Seth Godin's blogpost on that topic for your consideration.

Seth Godin - Permission Marketing

Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.

It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.

Pay attention is a key phrase here, because permission marketers understand that when someone chooses to pay attention they are actually paying you with something precious. And there’s no way they can get their attention back if they change their mind. Attention becomes an important asset, something to be valued, not wasted.

Real permission is different from presumed or legalistic permission. Just because you somehow get my email address doesn’t mean you have permission. Just because I don’t complain doesn’t mean you have permission. Just because it’s in the fine print of your privacy policy doesn’t mean it’s permission either.

Real permission works like this: if you stop showing up, people complain, they ask where you went.

Indeed Permission Marketing well describes the Blog's evolution towards a unique marketing approach for quality coins and personalized collection divestments. I don't keep a customer mailing list and don't conduct broadcast marketing via CoinWorld or CDN. The GFRC philosophy is to treat customers with respect; my time is incredibly precious and so is your's! You are always welcomed at the GFRC online venue but visiting with me is a personal choice.

Commercializing Liberty Seated Die Variety Collecting - A 2020-2021 Vision

The New Year Day Blog will be an ideal opportunity to share an idea that has been floating around in my head for the past six months. This "vision" was briefly discussed at the LSCC regional meeting held at the 2019 Winter Baltimore show. Up until this point in time, Liberty Seated coinage die variety research and collecting has been fragmented and mostly advanced through personal efforts by several key numismatists. For die variety collecting to grow and become mainstream, it must be commercialized in the same manner that PCGS set numismatic industry standards for third party grading.

Please check back tomorrow for my "vision" essay on this topic.

Twin Lakes Collection Consignment Rollout

Starting today, my attention shifts to an 80 piece consignment from the Twin Lakes Collection. The goal is to have the entire collection prepared and posted to the price list prior to the Orlando FUN show.

You might find this difficult to believe, but West Coast Florida weather has been cloudy with period of rain for the past ten days. I'm struggling with the task of photographing the Twin Lakes Collection. To date, about 25 of the 80 pieces have been imaged. I'm hoping that today is the day for an hour of bright sunshine to complete the photography portion of the rollout.

Below is a sampling of the excellent quality being offered by Twin Lakes. Just imagine, if these pieces are being divested, what does his core collection look like? Please keep checking the Blog twice a day (evenings and mornings) to secure First Right of Refusal access to Twin Lakes offerings.

Twin Lakes Collection Half Dime Highlights

1829 LM-5 PCGS AU58 CAC H10C 1838 ND V-10 PCGS MS65 CAC H10C

1842 PCGS AU55 CAC OGH H10C 1873-S PCGS MS62 CAC H10C

Global Financial News

United States equity markets have enjoyed a banner year during 2019. The following Seeking Alpha headline provides a summary of the positive financial news for the past year.

It was another exciting year for investors in 2019 amid a stock market rally that saw the S&P 500 surge 28%, for the biggest gain since 2013. Easing trade tensions with China, a shift in monetary policy at the Fed, and improving economic outlook all renewed investors' faith, while safer assets like gold and bonds also soared. Other notable highlights: Tech domination, M&A activity, streaming wars, vaping crackdown, American energy independence, hot IPO market, the EV revolution, 737 MAX crisis, record holiday shopping and getting Brexit over the line.

Tesla Shanghai is ramping production. Matt Yamatin continues to push me towards a Tesla purchase; 2020 might be the year to take that plunge.

Tesla has delivered its first batch of made-in-China Model 3s to 15 of its Chinese employees. The Shanghai plant now produces 28 or more Model 3s every hour and works about 10 hours each day, meaning that it produces more than 1,000 cars each week (output of 3,000/week is expected "in the near future"). About 30% of the Model 3 parts are currently sourced in China and the car will be totally localized by the end of next year.

Gold pricing continued to climb on Monday and is currently quoting at $1526/oz. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is flat at 1.9% as 2019 comes to a close.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The time has come to wrap up another Blog edition. I truly hope that you've enjoyed today's visit. Please check back tomorrow for my die variety "vision".

I will be in the GFRC office the entire day working on the Twin Lakes Collection consignment. Year ending purchase orders would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank-you for a fantastic 2019!

December 30, 2019

Announcing Two Exciting New Consignments for the FUN Show!

and

Liberty Seated Dime Die Variety Smorgasbord

Greetings and welcome to the Blog. The waning days of 2019 are upon us.

Another day starts in the GFRC office. The Smashing Pumpkins are streaming on the Bose speaker box after Cherub Rock was floating around in my head since awaking. Buddy the dog has been fed and awaits his morning bio relief walk. I'm stalling for time and hoping for creative inspiration while the coffee has its effect.

GFRC is Bullish on Gold

United States equity markets having been on an amazing run during the past five years. The "experts" are predicting that economic optimism will continue to drive markets to new record levels during 2020. All is great until it is not. The 24 hour media will easily panic at the first signs of a healthy equity market pullback. Diversifying an estate or portfolio is always wise as markets or commodities can bring about surprising shifts in sentiment when least expected. Today's economy is fueled by debt at all levels; credit cards through ongoing government deficit spending. If an economic hiccup occurs, certain debts will become difficult to repay. The media will ensure amplification or help increase fear levels.

Asia financial markets are struggling as compared to the United States. Physical gold remains an important investment option for a significant portion of the world's population. As prosperous Americans, we might forget this point. Gold is a relic as we are often told by American financial institutions. Even my own Merrill Lynch money managers are frustrated with my ongoing gold related stock positions. Many times, I have been advised to dump those positions and jump on the equity market gravy train. After several long conversations with these financial "experts", they admitted that their understanding of gold's behavior is limited and best to avoid a financial instrument that is not understood.

Gold is traditionally seen as a fear trade. When a global crisis arises, there is a rush for the safety of gold; the oldest form of money. During 2019, gold saw a substantial multi-year breakout due to fears of a war in the Middle East. Hong Kong saw massive democracy protests raising anxieties. The U.S. - China trade war took its toll on the China Yuan resulting in an unofficial devaluation of the currency to 7.0 RMB to 1.0 USD. Not often mentioned, is the United States usage of "sanctions" to punish our enemies; Russia, Iran, Turkey, North Korea and to some extent, China. To circumvent sanctions, these countries are moving back to trading among each other with settlement in physical gold.

As of this morning, gold spot is quoting at $1515/oz and experiencing a quiet breakout above the $1500 towards its 2019 highs. Below are the 2-Year and 10-Year Kitco trendcharts. The 2-Year clearly illustrates the near term breakout above the 30 day moving average. The 10-Year chart shows the parallel behavior between the 2010 runup and today's trend. During 2010, gold prices would move up and experience a consolidation period followed by another upward break-up to higher levels. I'm expecting gold to behave the same way during 2020 with a $1600 - $1700/oz level by end of year based on the technical charts. The underlying fundamental in Asia are just too compelling to avoid owning a reasonable gold position. My Merrill Lynch money managers will have to put up with me for another year....

Kitco 2-Year Gold Chart

Kitco 10-Year Gold Chart

Announcing Two Exciting New Consignments for the FUN Show

Last week brought emails from two individuals who are Blog readers and decided to take an initial consignment step with GFRC. The possibility of having their coins on display at the FUN show was enticing. Quick discussions and coordination brings USPS Express shipments in the upcoming 24 hours. Both shipments are expected no later than Wednesday which allows sufficient time for their processing prior to the FUN show.

The two consignments are most complimentary. The Mountaineer Collection consignment is a bit eclectic with an important 1864 Seated quarter Judd-38 pattern and an 1877-S S/Horizontal S Seated quarter that is in the condition census. Already, there are two FRoRs on the 1877-S/S quarter.

Mountaineer Collection Consignment

Seated 25c: 1864 NGC PF-67 Seated Liberty Quarter Pattern Judd-38, ex Eric P. Newman Collection; 1877-S NGC MS-64 CAC S/S FS-501 (FS-007)

Barber 25c: 1900 PCGS MS-66; 1908-O NGC MS66, the NGC plate coin

Seated 50c: 1849 NGC MS-62

The second consignment is wholly focused on United States gold and complimentary to GFRC's substantial gold offerings. Early date CAC approved gold is always in strong demand if fairly priced.

Unnamed Collection Consignment

Gold $2.5: 1843-O Small Date PCGS AU58 CAC; 1878 PCGS MS64

Gold $3: 1854 NGC AU58+

Gold $10: 1852 PCGS AU55

Gold $20: 1854 PCGS AU58 CAC; 1892-CC NGC AU53

Liberty Seated Dime Die Variety Smorgasbord

Talk about a cool offering! I'm most pleased to be showcasing a quality lot of Liberty Seated Dime die varieties this morning. Demand for Seated dime varieties continues to be strong with supply being the ongoing issue. This lot brought a new 1853 With Arrows die pairing; heavily cracked Repunched Date obverse with a fresh reverse die. An 1853 A&R quarter with rotated reverse was added for good measure. Orders for this lot have been furious after posting a portion late last evening.

Liberty Seated Dime Die Variety Smorgasbord

1853 Arrows F-126 Raw AU55 10C - New Die Pairing 1874 Arrows F-114 Raw F15 10C

1839 F-105a Raw VF20 10C 1842 F-103a Raw EF40 10C 1849-O F-104 Raw F15 10C

1851-O F-101a Raw VF35 10C 1853 Arrows F-119 Raw F15 10C 1854 Arrows F-104a Raw AU58 10C

1869 F-103 Raw F12 10C 1875 F-123a Raw VF25 10C 1876-CC T2 F-101 VF25 10C

1876-S T2 F-101 Raw AU55 10C 1884-S F-102 NGC VF30 10C 1853 A&R Raw VG10 25C - Rotated Rev

Global Financial News

American equity markets continue their upward march as 2019 comes to a close. Looking at commodities and the long bond interest rate, crude oil prices have slowly climbed to $61.74/bbl. As previously mentioned, spot gold is priced at $1515/oz. Bitcoin is bringing $7367/coin. The 10 Year U.S Treasury bond yield is flat at 1.91%.

This Seeking Alpha headline is worth noting. American shale oil output is not measuring up to forecasted expectations. The huge amount of new American oil supplies could be a relatively temporary event as drilled well outputs drop off quickly. Global implications are substantial.

A WSJ analysis shows that shale wells are not producing as much oil and gas as producers forecasted when they were raising capital. Earlier this year, the WSJ reported that recently drilled wells in the four largest U.S. oil regions are expected to produce 10% less oil and gas over their lifetimes as claimed by fracking companies. Now the gap is closer to 15% per a comparison of productivity forecasts from 29 of the largest shale producers between 2014 and 2017 to estimates from analytics shop Rystad Energy. The potential shortfall represents ~1.4B barrels over 30 years or more than $60B at current prices. Excluding new wells that began producing this year, output in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico would have declined by ~40% according to IHS Markit.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, today is another office day. The balance of the Liberty Seated Dime die variety lot will be posted to the price list. Twin Lakes Collection image processing begins in ernest. A large order just arrived from a leading China customer to add to the workload.

I will be available the entire day via phone or email and look forward to your purchase orders.

I'm also seeking a large collection consignment to keep me busy during the January timeframe after the FUN show. If contemplating a collection liquidation, GFRC is ready to provide unmatched personal service.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog!

December 29, 2019

GFRC's New Offering Pipeline Continues to Ramp Up!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Sunday morning. Just three days remain in the 2019 calendar year.

If involved in the numismatic industry, the beginning of each calendar year means attending the Orlando Winter show. This year's event is scheduled quite early and takes place on January 8 through 11. If setting up a booth at the show, dealers will begin arriving on January 6 for pre-show buying activities. Considering the robust United States economy, I am expecting a real humdinger event as many collectors use the time in Orlando for coins and family theme park visits.

The coming week in the GFRC office will be wholly focused on FUN show preparations. Just yesterday, two new GFRC clients moved from being exclusive buyers to becoming consignors. They were responding to my call for $1000+ coin consignments immediately prior to the FUN show. Already, one USPS Express with U.S. gold is committed to ship on Monday while a second is being finalized. The second consignment contains a very rare 1864 Liberty Seated quarter pattern offering from the Eric P Newman Collection among others.

Today's priority is posting a group of raw Liberty Seated dime die varieties to the price list along with loading the 80 piece Twin Lakes Collection into the COIN database and wrapping up photography. Come Monday, I will be solely focused on Twin Lakes offerings and the two new high value consignments for FUN show debut. The Twin Lakes consignment will reach the price list prior to FUN and should sell quickly given the amount of First Right of Refusals.

GFRC at Booth 535 - Winter Orlando FUN Show

"Huge event" may not be adequate to describe the 2020 Winter FUN show. Below is a truncated bourse floor map with Booths 535 and 634 highlighted in red. Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and David Perkins, Numismatics will be sharing these double corner booths as done during the 2019 event. We are located in the middle of the bourse but please come visit us first if wishing to view outstanding early silver type coins and United States gold. I recognize how easy it is to become distracted when walking through rows of dealer tables.

The GFRC Booth 535 will be hosted by our wonderful staff. Diane and Rose Marie are so elegant and will glady help you shop through our eight cases of offerings. Dan will be manning the two United States gold cases while Gerry will be operating the windowless office. My roles are quoting prices, meeting customers, insourcing consignments, and buying coins. The FUN show is an ideal venue for insourcing large and small consignments. We have unlimited space for transporting coins back to the Venice office.

Experimenting with GFRC Inventory Presentation - Feedback Please?

Given my desire for continuous improvement, I'm toying with the idea of changing the way GFRC displays its inventory. GFRC gold inventory (172 pieces as of this morning) has grown to the point that two dedicated cases will be employed for that inventory. Why not do the same for Draped/Capped Bust, Liberty Seated, and Barber product lines? What do you think? How would you react if walking up to the GFRC booth and seeing all half dime through half dollar Draped/Capped Bust offerings clustered together. The same approach would be employed for Seated and Barber inventories. Current Barber coinage inventory would fit in one case leaving five cases for Bust and Seated. Again, I'm toying with the idea at this point.

GFRC at Booth 535 - Orlando Winter FUN Show

Missing USPS Shipment in Silver Spring, Maryland

Much supportive feedback arrived after posting the two missing 1871 Seated coins in Saturday's Blog. I made immediate contact with Julian Leidman at Bonanza Coins and Rob/Robbie at Reeded Edge to raise their awareness for the missing pieces. Julian was most helpful with advice for dealing with local post office staff on the matter. I've spoken with the customer and he is quite motivated to get to the core issue for his missing package. He will be visiting with carrier and the postmaster again to secure an investigation on the package's whereabouts. Let's hope the renewed efforts will bring about some USPS action.

More Osprey European Gold Reaches Price List

Saturday evening brought another round of U.S. gold postings to the price list. This time, the offerings were mostly $10 Indians repatriated by Dan White from his September buying trip throughout western Europe. Today should bring the last of the Osprey gold postings allowing me to move on to other consignments. With spot gold prices back over the $1500/oz mark, I can already sense the increased interest in GFRC gold inventory.

Quality European $10 Eagles - Osprey Collection

1926 PCGS MS64 G$10 1926 PCGS MS64 G$10

1914-D PCGS MS62 G$10 1926 PCGS MS63 G$10 1932 PCGS MS63 G$10

Rare 1865-S PCGS AU58 Half Dollar Offering by Seal Beach

Saturday also saw the arrival and posting of a single coin consignment from the Seal Beach Collection. The 1865-S Liberty Seated half dollar date is rare at the AU58 grade level. PCGS has certified nine pieces while CAC has yet to approve any. The new Seal Beach offering reached the price list by mid afternoon and was on hold several hours later.

Seal Beach Collection Consignment - Rare 1865-S Grade!

1865-S WB-8 PCGS AU58 50C

Wrapping Up The Blog

My Sunday plans are focused on adding more new offerings to the price list and getting a head start on Monday morning shipping. Consignment checks also need to be written to keep the cash flowing back to consignors.

It goes without saying that I will be in the GFRC office the entire day other than the usual Buddy walks. Diane remains in Austin as Ivy's nanny during the coming week, therefore I have dog care duties.

New purchase orders would be sincerely appreciated to close out the 2019 fiscal year. If contemplating a collection divestment during 2020, I would drop what I'm doing and gladly engage on that topic. Consigned collections are the life blood of the GFRC business and my primary focus when proposals or inquiries are made.

Thank-you for stopping by at the Blog.

December 28, 2019

GFRC's New Offering Pipeline Ramps Up!

and

Missing USPS Shipment in Silver Spring, Maryland

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Saturday morning. Thank-you for following the adventures of a passionate coin dealer.

We often hear the term of operating or staying within one's comfort zone. A quick Google check of comfort zone will produce several hunderd quotes concerning stepping out of a comfort zone, taking risks and exploring new facets in a life. I won't bore you with those quotes. The topic came to mind as the GFRC office has become a personal comfort zone as each day's activities are predictable. A typical day starts at 6:00 am with coffee and healthy breakfast. By 6:30 am, composing the Blog becomes the day's first mental activity. Once the Blog is published (with a sense of relief), emphasis shifts to packaging orders followed by transport to the local drop-off station when in Venice. Afterwards, morning orders and email correspondence are addressed. Lunch brings a salad and time to read news or benchmark activities in the numismatic industry. Afternoon brings photography, image processing and the posting of new offerings to the price list. Yes, daily GFRC operations can be considered a comfort zone and one heck of a great "retirement" career. I feel so blessed when stepping back and considering the alternatives.

Missing USPS Shipment in Silver Spring, Maryland

The Christmas season always brings anxieties when shipping valuable coins to customers. The USPS system become overwhelmed with volume. Temporary workers are added and mistakes occur. At GFRC, I am torn between provides rapid shipment service and the probably of losing a package during the holiday rush.

All appeared to go smoothly during the 2019 holiday season until a phone call on Friday afternoon. A package sent to a new customer located in Silver Springs, Maryland was lost by USPS during carrier delivery. The USPS tracking history is quite clear that the package went out for delivery with the carrier returning to post office without signature confirmation documentation. The customer did not receive the package and made an inquiry to his postmaster. Instead of launching an investigation, the postmaster simply told the customer to file a claim.

The sad part of the story is the contents of the shipment being lost or stolen. Below are the images of 1871 NGC MS62 25c from the Sunset Point Collection and a gem 1871 PCGS MS62 CAC 50c from the Seal Beach Collection. GFRC's Hugh Woods business insurance will cover the shipment's value less a $200 deductable. The $200 loss becomes a business write-off. These two Liberty Seated coins are quite distinctive and should be easily noticed if offered for sale online. I'm asking for help from the GFRC community. If you see either of these coins appear on eBay or a dealer price list, please contact me. I also plan to send Julian Leidman an email advising him to be on the look out for these two coins if they wander into his Bonanza Coin shop in Silver Spring.

Missing GFRC Shipment - Silver Spring, Maryland

1871 NGC MS62 25C #1795229001 1871 PCGS MS62 CAC 50C #34045343

GFRC's New Offering Pipeline Ramps Up

Since taking a few days off for the Christmas holiday, a gap in new price list offerings took place. That situation was remedied on Friday as seven new coins reached the price list along with two notable price reductions also posted to the 30 day list. Following are images for four wonderful half dollars ranging from Flowing Hair to Liberty Seated design types. Each half dollar is of particular interest in its own right. The 1794 O-101 half is first year of denomination issued at first Philadelphia mint. The 1823 O-103 Capped Bust half is a piece of gem eye candy that will please the buyer for years to come. I've always had a special attraction to the Reeded Edge design and this 1837 GR-13 offerings does the design justice with its mirrored fields. I really like the 1874 Arrows Seated half due to its steely luster and antique gray coloring.

Wonderful U.S. Half Dollars for Type

1794 O-101a NGC VF25 50C 1823 O-103 PCGS AU55 CAC 50C

1837 RE GR-13 NGC MS62 MS62 50C 1874 Arrows PCGS AU53 OGH 50C

The Rascal is Back with Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

Another round of PCGS grading and CAC submissions was concluded prior to the Christmas holiday. To spice up today's Blog, here are three important Liberty Seated dime die varieties that also happen to be plate coins at The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors. All three offerings are special with some seller's remorse. However, the divestment process must go on. These new offerings are posted to the price list and should not last long.

A Nice Lot of Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

1891 F-109 DDO PCGS AU58 10C

1841-O F-109 PCGS EF45 CAC 10C 1853 Hubbed Arrows F-105 PCGS AU53 10C

Twin Lakes Collection Consignment Arrived on Friday

I'm pleased to report that the Twin Lakes Collection consignment has arrived and is already unpacked and positioned in the photography queue. This is a significant consignment that will nicely fill in the wide ranging GFRC product lines. FRoR activity was intense on Friday morning with requests focused on Liberty Seated dimes and Barber quarters. There was not a single request for the CAC approved Standing Liberty quarters. This will change once GFRC also ramps up its Standing Liberty quarter product line during 2020.

If Venice weather is supportive, today's plan is to photograph the entire Twin Lakes Collection consignment in one long session. Afterwards, I will return to posting more Osprey United States gold that was recently repatriated from Europe along with some miscellaneous offerings. That should be enough for another busy day in the GFRC office.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It goes without saying that I will be available the entire day for your purchase orders or inquires. Only four days remain during 2019 with GFRC poised to achieve a substantial business milestone. Please consider a post holiday purchase or treating yourself to a first 2020 purchase.

Again, thank-you for checking in that the Blog.

December 27, 2019

A Huge GFRC Shipping Day

and

Twins Lakes Collection Consignment Arrives!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Friday morning. It is nice to be back in the Venice office.

Thursday's return trip to Tampa and Venice was uneventful. My first outgoing trip through the Austin airport proved to be delightful with fast security lines and a host of local eateries. I arrived back to the office by 3:30 pm and retrieved Buddy from the dog sitter. I have a feeling that Buddy enjoyed living with the dog sitter and her dogs more than watching me working in the office.

Recognizing the substantial amount of GFRC orders that had been committed to ship on December 27, I spent the balance of the day up through midnight writing invoices and packaging boxes. Before heading to bed, there were twelve 2 Day USPS Priority ready to be transported to the Venice Island office leaving today open for photography and posting incremental coins to the price list.

Also on my mind is the forthcoming vision announcement for an integrated Liberty Seated die variety platform. A project of this magnitude requires deep contemplation as the resourcing will be expensive. I'm presently developing a mental image of the end product and its functionality. Translating that image into a descriptive essay for the January 1 Blog edition is a near term deliverable.

Seth Godin: Is optimal the point?

While contemplating ground breaking projects, my mode of operation is to solicit multi-sourced inputs and carefully consider alternative perspectives. Matt Yamatin proved to be an effective resource for shooting holes through my initiative thoughts and allowing some reformulation of guiding concepts. I also view Seth Godin writings as important inputs. Godin is a wise sage for entrepreneurs. In this short blogpost, Godin brings attention to the difference between optimal and resilient for project or application outcomes. My interpretation is that of simplicity is beautiful. Simplicity for gaining access to information typical ensures a higher usage rate as long as the information is useful to users.

Is optimal the point?

As soon as competitive people start to measure something, there’s pressure to make it better. And once better reaches the maximum level, it’s optimal.

But perhaps that’s not really the goal.

What about resilient?

Or perhaps we could value delightful, stressless or reliable instead.

Optimal is ultimately sterile. It leaves no room for much of anything else, including joy.

New Twin Lakes Collection Consignment Arrives Today!

I'm most pleased to report that a substantial Twin Lakes Collection consignment is presently intransit to the GFRC office and arrives this afternoon. The consignor shared the contents via Excel last evening just in time for posting in today's Blog edition. Following are the forthcoming offerings for your potential review and First Right of Refusal considerations. Please remember that these offerings are from an individual who exclusively collects the AU58 grade level with all pieces being PCGS holdered. There are a few exceptions including a wonderful 1838 FS-901 Seated half dime graded PCGS MS65 with CAC approval and also, an 1869 Seated dime graded PCGS MS62 with CAC green bean. Please note the better Liberty Seated dimes in this lot.

Also of mention are the Barber and Standing Liberty quarter lots with the SLQs being quite noteworthy for their CAC approvals. This Twin Lakes Collection has something for everyone in the GFRC community.

Indian 1c: 1862 PCGS AU-58; 1862 PCGS AU-58; 1865 Fancy 5 PCGS AU-58; 1880 PCGS AU-58; 1892 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1902 1C PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1908-S PCGS AU-58

Silver 3c: 1856 PCGS AU-58

Capped H10c: 1829 PCGS AU-58 CAC

Seated H10c: 1838 No Drapery FS-901 PCGS MS-65 CAC; 1842 PCGS AU-55 CAC; 1862 H10C PCGS AU-58; 1873-S H10C PCGS MS-62 CAC

Capped 10c: 1820 Small 0 PCGS AU-58; 1833 PCGS AU-58

Seated 10c: 1838-O No Stars PCGS AU-58; 1860 PCGS AU-58; 1861 PCGS AU-58; 1869 PCGS MS-62 CAC; 1869-S F-101 PCGS AU-55 CAC; 1871-S PCGS AU-55;
1890-S/S RPM FS-502 PCGS AU-58

Barber 10c: 1899 PCGS AU-58; 1907-S Barber PCGS AU-58; 1908 PCGS AU-58; 1909 PCGS AU-58; 1910 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1910 PCGS AU-58; 1911-S PCGS AU-58;
1912 PCGS AU-58; 1913-S PCGS AU-58; 1914-D PCGS AU-58

Mercury 10c: 1926-D PCGS AU-58; 1931-S PCGS AU-58; 1936 PCGS AU-58 CAC

Seated 25c: 1851 PCGS AU-55

Barber 25c: 1892 PCGS AU-58; 1893 PCGS AU-58; 1893-S PCGS AU-58; 1894 PCGS AU-58; 1895-O PCGS AU-58; 1895-S PCGS AU-58; 1898-O PCGS AU-58;
1900-O PCGS MS-62; 1903-O PCGS AU-58; 1903-S PCGS AU-58; 1909-S PCGS AU-58; 1914-S PCGS AU-58;

Standing Liberty 25c: 1917 Type 1 PCGS AU-53 CAC; 1917-D Type 1 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1917 Type 2 PCGS AU-55 CAC; 1917-D Type 2 PCGS AU-58 CAC;
1918-S PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1919-D PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1920 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1920-D PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1920-S PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1923 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1924 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1924-D PCGS AU-55 CAC; 1924-S PCGS AU-58; 1925 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1926-S PCGS AU-58; 1927 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1927-D PCGS AU-58;
1927-S PCGS AU-55 CAC; 1928 PCGS AU-58FH; 1928-S PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1929 PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1929-D PCGS AU-58 CAC; 1930 PCGS AU-58 CAC

Seated 50c: 1873 No Arrows, Closed 3 PCGS AU-58 CAC

Morgan $1: 1900 PCGS AU-58 CAC

Peace $1: 1921 High Relief PCGS AU-58; 1928 $1 AU-58; 1934-S S$1 AU-58

U.S. G$1: 1879 PCGS AU-58

U.S G$2.5: 1856 PCGS AU-58

Global Financial News

Global equity markets continue to be in rally mode as more new records are being realized. Seeking Alpha captures the present state of enthusiasm for equity investments.

U.S. stock futures all point up, following rising equity markets in Europe and Asia that brought global benchmarks to new records. S&P futures gained 0.2%, the Nasdaq rose 0.3% and the Dow added 0.3%, following a record-setting session on Thursday that was buoyed by strong holiday sales reported by Amazon and Mastercard’s SpendingPulse. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 1.3% and Taiwan’s TPEx 50 rose 0.4%, led by communication services and tech stocks. Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% in early trading in Europe; the FTSE gained 0.3% and Germany’s DAX increased 0.4%.

Looking at our favorite commodities and the long bond rate...

Physical gold continues its recent rally with a quote of $1516 to start the day. What is impressive is the fact that gold prices are increasing in alignment with equities rather than being a "fear" trade. Crude oil also continues a slow rally and is currently priced at $61.89/bbl. Bitcoin is flat at $7216/oz. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield is holding steady at 1.89%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It goes without saying that I will be in the GFRC office the entire day other than a quick trip to the Venice Island post office.

Five days remain during 2019 to make final numismatic purchases for the year. The Orlando Winter FUN show arrives in a little under two weeks to kick-off the 2020 numismatic year. There is still time to ship high value consignments to GFRC in time for the Winter FUN show. I would entertain consignments with an average value of $1000 retail/coin on a Quick Turn Around Time basis. Please contact me if there are potential divestments on your horizon in the near term or upcoming during 2020.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog on a Friday morning. I will definitely be back in just 24 hours with more ramblings.

December 26, 2019

GFRC Office is Open!

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

Yes, the GFRC office is open and ready for another business day. The two day vacation was a delight with a family reunion in Austin Texas. In particular, the time with Ivy Fortin, our new grand-daughter was priceless. Following is an image of daughter Renee and Ivy taken on Christmas Eve. Ivy has a striking similarity with Renee at the same age.

Diane remains in Austin through early January to continue her role as Ivy's nanny. She returns to Venice just in time for the Orlando Winter FUN show with dealer setup on January 8th. There is no question that the Fortin's have a busy schedule to kick off the 2020 decade!

GFRC Sales Archive - Preparing for Die Variety Sorting

For those who attended the Winter Baltimore show and the LSCC regional meeting, there may be an awareness of the next strategic project that is currently being contemplated. That project is the development of a commercial Liberty Seated coinage die variety platform to hopefully stimulate a substantial increase in the collecting interest for Liberty Seated die varieties. The project will take several years to develop and implement as part of GFRC's online presence. After securing inputs from a number of individuals including Matt Yamatin, a broad vision is beginning to coalesce into a implementable solution. Come January 1, 2020, I will provide details concerning that vision in the New Year edition Blog for raising community awareness and securing potential support.

As a first step, I've taken the two day Christmas opportunity to clean up the GFRC Sales Archive, in particular, Liberty Seated dimes and die variety attribution accuracy. Please consider a visit to the Sales Archives and the Liberty Seated dimes to view the improved information.

Some JavaScript must be written to enable the sorting of Sales Archive outputs by die variety. This programming is beyond Matt Yamatin's capabilities. We are currently searching for an individual with JavaScript/SQL knowledge to become part of the GFRC website development team. Matt's consulting career in the Sustainability and Environment Engineering realm is growing rapidly. As a result, there is no available time to support larger GFRC website development projects. 2020 will be a transition year in terms of locating and adding a new software development resource for the GFRC business.

VF30 Barber Quarter Set Finds a New Owner!

I'm thrilled to report that a long term GFRC customer made a command decision to purchase the VF30 Barber Quarter set that I've been marketing for several weeks. The purchase arrived on Christmas Day and I'm so pleased to know that this wonderfully original set will not be broken up.

Huge AU58 Twin Lakes Consignment Announcement

Regardless of the Christmas holiday, GFRC is working with clients for pre-FUN sgow consignments. The GFRC community should be aware that the Twin Lakes Collection has staged an 80 pieces consignment after a successful CAC onsite visit. Amazingly, this 80 piece consignment is consistently graded AU58 with a fair number of CAC approval offerings. The consignment spans the full range of United States coinage from Indian cents to U.S. gold. Within 48 hours, I will provide a detailed list of the Twin Lakes consignment for First Right of Refusal selection. It is best for GFRC customers to make their selections prior to this lot reaching the FUN show.

GFRC U.S. Gold Sales are Hot!

During the Christmas break, spot gold prices returned to the key $1500/oz threshold. GFRC U.S. gold sales have been strong after posting a host of Dan White's repatriated European gold to the GFRC price list. China gold orders have also returned after a quiet period during the second half of 2019. Yes, I will be returning to Shanghai, China during the first quarter of 2020 to sustain renewed demand from existing customer base.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today's Blog has been written on Christmas evening due to a very early flight back to Tampa on Thursday morning. Once back in Venice, the GFRC office will be functional and preparing for a huge shipping day on Friday morning.

Thank-you for returning to the Blog after a much needed 48 hour break. A host of items were accomplished while still spending precious time with family.

2020 will be an exciting year for the GFRC business as I have significant development plans. Locating the right skilled resources to bring about those plans will be the immediate challenge. If I can bring about the current vision, GFRC will have a notable impact on the numismatic hobby. During my years in the semiconductor industry, I had a reputation for being able to transition concepts into operational realities. 2020 brings another one of the major initiatives, but this time the venue is the numismatic industry. Please wish me luck and I pray for everyone's support.

December 23, 2019

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from GFRC!

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to the Blog.

Christmas Eve arrives in less than 24 hours. I would like take this opportunity to wish the entire GFRC community a wonderful holiday season. 2019 has been a flourishing timeframe for the GFRC business. That good fortune is due to huge support from the entire community that frequents the GFRC website along the never ending consignment flow. An initial vision has become reality thanks to the many who have found renewed happiness with their hobby.

A reminder that the GFRC office will be closed on December 24 -25 for the Christmas holiday. I'm also taking a break from writing a Blog edition during those two days. The office will re-open on December 26 with shipping backlog heading to the Venice Post Office on December 27.

Feedback From December 21-22 Daily Blog Ramblings

Since I've been rambling on in the past few Blog editions, feedback and comments have been arriving at a steady pace. In today's edition, it is my pleasure to let the community take the stage. We open this segment with Tenafly's thoughts on recent ramblings.

Hi Gerry,

The blog entries of Saturday and Sunday are very thought provoking. I always wondered about the miniscule differences between certain grades, particularly the high AU's to the low MS's (once called "sliders"); raising the grade a couple of points only helps ones registry score and doesn't change the coin. Home appraisers have a quote, "Five different appraisers will value the same property five different ways with five different values". It must be similar with professional coin graders.

Remember those "slider" days? Today I see some of them straight graded, although many reside in "details" slabs. Looking at the assigned grade first and not the actual coin in the holder and "collecting to win a prize" can be recipes for disaster.

The Labelman87 Collection consignor could not resist sharing a few quick thoughts. He touches upon the addition of plus grades. Indeed, eight AU "shades of grade" border on the ridiculous when considering the limitations of each grader's subjective evaluation process and skills history.

Hi Gerry,

I felt the need to mention two quick thoughts after reviewing this morning’s blog. First, no matter the TPG grader, grading is subjective …period. Second, (I have said this a “million” times since it began) eight “shades of grade” within the AU grade (50,50+,53,53+,55,55+,58,58+) …I don’t think so. Prior to 1986 (plastic) grades were alpha only; somewhat earlier a beautiful EF was probably somewhere between 55 to 62 today.

Buy what you like and like what you buy.

A fairly new GFRC customer wrote the following that makes what I do each day so worthwhile...

Good morning Gerry. I just wanted to wish you and your family a very blessed and safe Holiday Season! Merry Christmas!

I also wanted to say thank you for bringing back a cherished memory of my childhood of being a part of the numismatic community! My Dad (who passed 5 years ago) introduced me to the hobby of both stamp and coin collecting. The stamp collecting was his passion because he could afford “new” sheets of stamps and the coin collecting was all about putting books together of circulated pennies, nickels and dimes. It was fun to chase the dates and mint marks but it was something we did together which made it a very cool part of my childhood days.

It is fun to find that passion again and I now have the opportunity to enjoy the numismatic field at a higher level financially. Honestly, you have been a big part of bringing this back. Thank you! I actually have two grandchildren who also enjoy collecting and I am trying to bring them along in a way that they will enjoy coin collecting and always remember their great grandfather and me for the things we passed on to them!

Love your blog! I look forward to reading it every day! I almost wrote you back when you were contemplating writing every day. My input was to take the weekend off but I knew if you did I would miss those two days. Sorry for being selfish. I wish you would go one more step on your political views but I understand from the business side of things you have to draw the line.

I really enjoyed the investor/collector thoughts a few days back. I’m the collector with a sliver of investor mixed in (maybe a 90/10 split).

Sorry for the long email. It’s a beautiful morning here a little north of San Antonio. Keep up the great work and thank you for being the type of business person that you are! I look forward to shaking your hand one day at one of the shows you attend but promise not to take up too much of your time.

Merry Christmas!

More Quality U.S. Gold from the Osprey Collection

Progess is being made with the processing and price list additions for the final portion of Osprey's recent European gold purchases. Today's showcase is a nice lot of Liberty and St. Gaudens $20 double eagles. Nearly all of the below pieces can be found on the price list at fair prices.

United States $20 Double Eagle Gold Courtesy Osprey Collection

1899 PCGS MS64+ CAC G$20 1905 PCGS MS62 G$20

1904 PCGS MS62 G$20 1906 PCGS AU58 G$20 1907-D PCGS MS62 G$20

1908 NM PCGS MS63 G$20 1914-S PCGS MS62 G$20 1924 PCGS MS64 G$20

Global Financial News

More United States equity market record highs appear to be possible in the near term. This morning's futures point to continued gains given China's announcement for cutting import tariffs with trading partners. Let's open this segment with the following Seeking Alpha headline.

Wall Street futures are starting a holiday-shortened week ahead by 0.2% on the back of easing geopolitical risks and China's plans to cut import tariffs for its trading partners. "The Phase One agreement and U.K. elections have cleared up tail risks, but the market is now transcending that euphoria," said Stephen Innes, strategist at AxiTrader. "With plenty of capital yet to be deployed, markets could even push significantly higher supported by the global growth rebound."

This headline summarizes the Chinese import tariff announcement. Please note that frozen pork leads the list of items that will see reduced tariffs. Prices for pork goods have doubled in just a year or two due to disease being a substantial issue for China's pork farmers.

China said it will reduce tariffs from Jan. 1 on more than 850 goods, including frozen pork, high-tech components and vital medicines, leading the Shanghai Composite Index to tumble 1.4% overnight. It will also cut import levies for more than 8,000 products for 23 countries and regions that have free-trade agreements with China, known as "most favored nation" rates. While the tariff reduction is not directly linked to the American trade war, it will likely guarantee that the coming Phase One trade deal with the U.S. doesn't invite complaints from other trading partners.

Looking at our usual commodities and the long bond interest rate, physical gold has moved up sligthly to $1487/oz; the upper end of its current trading range. Crude oil is holding steady at $60.37/bbl. Bitcoin is in recovery mood from a recent swing below the $7000 mark and presently quotes at $7400/coin. The U.S. 10 year Treasury bond yield is also holding steady at 1.92%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Once again, a sincere thank-you to everyone who stops by the Blog as a regular customer or a lurker. Happy Holidays to you and your families.

I will be monitoring emails throughout the Christmas holiday period just due to habit. Purchases orders will be acknowledged and loaded into the COIN system. Office activity will begin in ernest on December 26 with the next Blog edition appearing that morning.

December 22, 2019

A Wonderful Gold CAC 1876 Double Dime Plus More!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a wet rainy morning in Venice.

The final 2019 holiday season is upon us as Hanukkah arrives this evening followed by Christmas Eve on Tuesday. The GFRC office will be closed on December 24 through 25 for some much needed peaceful time with family. The office will open with regular operations on December 26th.

I'm struggling to find a discussion topic at the day's early hour. I hope that yesterday's essay entitled Importance of Half Grades vs. Choice/Gem Original Surfaces? was thought provoking. As humans, we tend to gravitate towards the easiest or most comfortable path in life; the path of least resistance. Making changes often prove to be difficult whether for improved health or financial well being. The pursuit of numismatics is no different. Once a collecting habit is established, it may be difficult to recalibrate our evaluation and buying habits. Yesterday's essay, and the conversation with the new GFRC customer, were designed to stimulate alternate thinking. I can't stress enough how powerful the third party graders have become in controlling our hobby, specifically PCGS.

Let's consider a few of the PCGS developments, over the years, to sustain their revenue stream.

Probably one of the finest ideas hatched by David Hall was the Set Registry. PCGS created an online application whereby collectors could display their PCGS graded coins on a competitive basis. Understanding the human psyche, David Hall knew collectors would strive to purchase PCGS graded coins at the highest possible grade levels for placement in the Set Registry. Previously, cracking out coins in the attempt for the next higher label grade, had been the role of dealers seeking profit. With Set Registry, there was a new incentive for collectors to join the crack out game towards higher grade point averages and rankings. Unfortunately, the hobby wide crack out game brought a downside. Coins were graded to the point where they just made the grade rather than being conservatively graded. Then grade inflation arrived as a new incentive for additional crack-outs and resubmissions. Eventually, CAC was launched to bring the TPG beast under control.

More third party grading "innovations" appeared towards stimulating submissions rates. The 70 point grading scale was expanded to include minor grading levels. Many older collectors still remember the days when the Very Fine grades were limited to VF20 and VF30. The About Uncirculated grades were traditionally AU50, AU55, AU58. Along the way, the TPGs added smaller grading increments. If those were not enough, the plus (+) grades were introduced for further resubmissions or "reconsideration". NGC also brought about the "Star" designation for coins with superior eye appeal.

Predictably, if there is profit to be made or an ego to be stroked, dealers and collectors responded to the TPG innovations with waves of resubmissions. In my mind, there is an obvious downside to the ongoing TPG innovations; becoming a slave to the grading services and forgeting how to evaluate surfaces and grade in the first place.

In any business, there is always a gap between those who are creative and design products (or complex systems) and those who must run operations and support the fabrication of the products (systems). The human mind is an incredible platform for creativity. The challenge is turning creative ideas into repeatable products with minimal manufacturing variance. There in lies the challenge for the third party graders.

Human variance within third party grading ranks is the enemy....

As much as the TPGs attempt to further delineate the grading scale to smaller and smaller increments, one seriously ponders if TPG graders are truly capable of grading at those finer levels with consistent repeatability. Has anyone ever asked the question of how the TPGs vigorously train and retest the grading skills of their graders across all United States denominations and base metals? In the semiconductor industry, equipment operators where required to be re-certified on a periodic basis to ensure they knew the intricate details of their operating specifications and any updates that might have been made. Do the TPGs have such a program given how subjective the grading process is? My own experiences with PCGS submissions and repeatability have witnessed fairly broad amounts of variance. They probably get 70%-80% of the coins "acceptably" graded with the remaining requiring another attempt. Fortunately for the TPGS, the market self corrects their under grading with resubmissions. Some of you will probably say that I'm just another whining dealer. That is OK, but please consider the amount of time it took to write this essay and my reputation for offering straight talk.

Once again, these ramblings are food for thought. My years of managing and developing semiconductor manufacturing operations has left a mental scar. It is difficult to view the TPGs without some level of scorn as I come from a world of zero defects being allowed. It is difficult to accept grading variability seen as a dealer. The TPGs are now well established and a key part of the marketplace. The've brought about many positive changes for our hobby. But are they the end all on grading opinions? I don't think so!

Every collector shares in the responsbility of learning how to grade and how to recognize truly original coins.

A Few New GFRC Offerings

Every Blog edition needs some eye candy to make the visit worthwhile. Following are some new offerings that will reach the price list today. I'm in love with the 1876 Gold CAC double dime and the new buyer will be too. The coloring on the 1914-S Buffalo is just awesome.

Wonderful 1876 PCGS MS60 Gold CAC

1876 PCGS MS60 Gold CAC 20C

Lots of Eye Appeal on a Saturday Preview

1861 NGC MS63 CAC 5C 1914-S PCGS MS62 CAC 5C

1873 WA F-114 PCGS AU58 OGH 10C 1891-S F-101a PCGS AU58 5C

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, I will be in the office the entire day processing many more images. Today's targets are another round of Osprey U.S. gold and a group of raw Liberty Seated dime die varieties. All should be posted to the Blog this evening as new client galleries.

How many CAC approved coins has GFRC sold this year? Please check back tomorrow morning for the answer.

I'm still looking forward to your year ending purchase orders. Shipments will resume on December 27.

Happy Holidays to everyone who takes time out of their day to check in at the Blog. 2019 has been an exciting year.

December 21, 2019

Woodbridge Collection Seated Quarters and More!

Greetings and welcome to a Saturday edition of the Blog. Thank-you for checking in.

I'm faced with a substantial amount of packing and shipping as the day starts along with a host of other holiday season preparations. Therefore, let's keep this edition brief with a primary topic and a client gallery.

Importance of Half Grades vs. Choice/Gem Original Surfaces?

Friday brought a long conversation with a new customer interested in the 1815 PCGS EF40 CAC Capped Bust quarter on the price list. This piece is an absolute gem with natural gun metal gray patina and steely fields. The individual has decided to start collecting the Capped Bust quarter series by date and at better grades. In order to properly refine his budget against potential expectations, the individual was seeking my advice.

What I thoroughly enjoyed about the conversation was the indivdual being proactive towards a long term goal. Many phone calls are attempts to beat me up on pricing with comparision shopping against whatever price guide; I have little patience for these type of calls. This was not the case with this person. Pricing was a given, rather he wished to make the correct initial purchasing decision when launching a substantial project.

One of the key points made, and worthy of sharing in today's Blog, is the importance of starting a collection with choice to gem original coins for properly establishing the collection's foundation. It is intuitive that an improperly laid foundation leads to a house with cracking walls and floors. The same is true for a significant coin collection. Training eyes in terms of strict originality along with strike and overall eye appeal takes time and practice. We do not wake up one day and have these insights. Rather, the eyes and mind must be trained via comparative analysis of hundreds of coins to learn the visual appearance of above average pieces.

It was at this point in the conversation that I became rather direct and told the collector to stretch his budget and purchase choice to gem original pieces at his target grade level as the foundation for his set. Once he had these pieces in hand, they could become the visual benchmark to judge the subsequent purchases. In the long term, he would be much wiser to build a set at a choice level rather than being economical and starting with inexpensive additions that will require upgrading. Upgrading can be expensive! One loses monies on the low quality piece when the time comes to sell. Those monies could instead be saved by investing in a top quality specimen that will be much easy to divest and provides a superior visual set baseline.

The conversation wrapped up with a final question on the GFRC 1815 PCGS EF40 CAC quarter. This individual asked if I thought the coin's grade was closely to EF45 than EF40. At that point, I shocked the individual and his traditional thinking. My response was, "it does not matter on a gem coin of this stature." Frankly, when handling gem coins, a slight difference in a grade level is not the driving factor for value. Gem coins are typically priced at a full grade level or higher as compared to an average coin for the grade. The subtle grade differences, for example AU50, AU53, AU55, and AU58, were developed by third party grading services to generate more submissions and revenues. The idea that an AU55 coin is always worth more than an AU50 or AU53 graded coin is linear thinking associated with pricing guides. My point was that surfaces and preservation state, when dealing with gems, are much more important than a half grade level of wear.

The conversation ended at this point with the individual probably having his traditional approach to numismatics being a bit upended. There was much food for thought.

Woodbridge Collection - Some Great Liberty Seated Quarter Duplicates

Believe me, it is shear luck that the Woodbridge Collection consignment immediately follows the Tenafly Collection Seated quarter offerings. Both consignments arrived to the GFRC office the same day. The Tenafly quarters were processed first since most were previously purchased from GFRC. Re-use of images and description brought a short cut to the price list. On the otherhand, the Woodbridge Collection quarters are fresh to GFRC other than the 1864-S.

The below client gallery was posted last evening resulting in many FRoR emails. At this time, there are FRoRs for all except the 1859-S and 1869-S offerings. Some pieces already are three deep in requests.

After the morning packaging and shipping, my attention will shift to settling down the asking prices with the consignor. Once that is accomplished, the Woodbridge quarters will post to the price list and those with initial FRoRs will be notified.

A Friday Evening Seated Quarter Offering from the Woodbridge Collection

1857-S PCGS VF35 CAC 25C 1864-S PCGS F12 25C

1844 PCGS EF40 CAC 25C 1859-S PCGS F12 25C 1869-S PCGS VF25 25C

1890 PCGS AU50 CAC 25C

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, it is another office day here in Venice. Sunny skies are forecasted which means more noon time photography as there are always incremental fresh coins in the processing queue. A CAC submission returned yesterday with some interesting offerings for the price list.

Please don't hesitate to call or email with purchase orders. The 2019 end of year is approaching and I wish to sell as many pieces as possible in the final ten days to make room for new inventory.

Again, thank-you for stopping by at the Blog. See you on Sunday morning.

December 20, 2019

New Tenafly Collection Consignment Arrives!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on the Friday before Hanukkah and Christmas week. I hope that everyone's holiday shopping is close to being wrapped up.

My mind is a void today in terms of a meaningful preamble. It is difficult to not pay attention to the Washington DC circus. More difficult is not providing a personal commentary in the Blog. My thoughts will remain private with respect to this public forum other than pointing out that position power easily corrupts certain elements within government or any organization including something as simple as local HOA governance. Using position power within governance for self gains is as old as the pyramids. In 21st century life, information technology has transmitted that corruption onto our desktops. For some, the corruption is disgusting. For others, the behaviors may be a role model for how to advanced one's self interests at the expense of others. Enough said....

GFRC's Extra Service Benefits

GFRC is unlike other numismatic dealers. Rather than being wholly focused on a transactional business, GFRC's goal remains centered on building a numismatic community and facilitating trading among those in the community that have a passion for similar collectibles. The Blog is a daily reporting instrument for those in the community. Each evening, new offering galleries are posted for those who wish to learn of the latest GFRC consigned pieces or new purchases. The morning Blog edition expands on the evening galleries and includes other topics along with the regular Global Financial News.

But there is more...

The GFRC Sales Archives are unique in the numismatic business. Sure, one can find auction house sales information on CoinFacts. Heritage has an amazing auction archive. But is there a dealer in the numismatic market that provides full transparency to regular transactional sales? I don't think so. This fact has historically driven speculation about dealer motives and operating methods. In some cases, the lack of transparency leads to ill will among customers who feel they might have been exploited.

At GFRC, every transaction is placed in the public domain. Every sold coin can be seen in terms of sale date, condition and sale price. If I purchase a coin from a customer, that person will eventually learn the sale price for that coin and my profit margin. I'm of the firm belief that business transparency raises customer confidence. Every dealer requires profit margin to remain in business. Every fair minded collectors recognizes this point and the fact that dealers provide liquidity to thinly traded markets. Placing GFRC sales information in the public domain leads to credibility and trust. Establishing a vibrant community of like minded collectors is predicated on trust.

The GFRC Quick Ship program is another service based on community trust. Some GFRC customers are amazed that I will ship coins ahead of payment after a customer makes three or four timely purchases. My vetting process is biased towards trust rather than fear. My point of accountability is so simple. Just commit to mailing a check (a simple email), and I will ship out purchases based on that commitment. So far, no one has abused this trust.

It appears that GFRC 2019 sales revenue has increased 40% over that of 2018. This growth rate did not happen by chance. A combination of attention to details, great coins and extra service benefits are likely reasons for the strong year on year growth rate.

New Tenafly Collection Consignment Arrives!

The GFRC Venice office remained busy on Thursday as the Tenafly and Woodbridge Collection consignments arrived and began processing. By the end of day, the recently upgraded Tenafly duplicates found their way to the price list. I'm pleased to be presenting the following client gallery for your consideration. There are presently FRoRs on the 1877-CC dime along with 1862 and 1890 quarters.

CAC Approved - Tenafly Seated Duplicates Seeking New Homes

1861 PCGS AU53 CAC 25C 1890 PCGS EF45 CAC 25C

1876-CC F-111 PCGS VF35 CAC 10C 1877-CC T2 F-107 PCGS EF45 CAC 25C 1858-S PCGS VG08 CAC 25C

1862 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C 1874 PCGS EF45 CAC 25C 1875 PCGS AU50 25C

Global Financial News

United States equity markets set another record on Thursday and are showing flat futures to start the day. This Seeking Alpha headline presents an update.

Wall Street stocks rose to all-time highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 index pushing past 3,200 for the first time, after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. and China would sign their "phase one" trade agreement in early January. However, there wasn't much movement from futures overnight, as investors begin winding down their books in the days leading up to the year-end holidays. Later in the session, we'll get consumer spending figures, key inflation measures and the third estimate for third-quarter GDP.

Amazon's in-house delivery network is growing rapidly and is projected to exceed UPS and FedEx in two years. Is this the Amazon strategy for battling Walmart's online business? If Walmart is stuck with UPS and FedEx deliveries at higher costs, this could be a major point of differentiation.

Amazon's in-house delivery network, which operates 150 U.S. delivery stations and employs more than 90,000 people, is "on track to deliver 3.5B packages by the end of the year," according to a new press release. Oh yes, wait a minute... Morgan Stanley estimates the Amazon delivery network will move 6.5B packages by 2022, more than UPS at 5B and FedEx at 3.4B, dealing a potential long-term threat to the rival shipping firms. While Amazon already ended its relationship with FedEx, UPS continues to handle delivery for about half of its global packages.

Looking at our usual commodity prices and the long bond interest rate....

Physical gold is essentially flat at $1481/oz along with crude oil at $60.83/bbl. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yields is also holding at the higher 1.94% level. Bitcoin is tradiing at $7130/coin. The lack of movement in these financial indices and the ongoing Wall Street records highs indicates investors and traders are not overly concerned with the Washington DC circus.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another day arrives in the GFRC office. There are a few packages to ship this morning followed by a day of image processing and more new listing. Not much changes here in the Venice office.

Of course, I will be in the office the entire day, other than a health walk, and look forward to potential purchase orders.

See you on Saturday morning at the Blog.

December 19, 2019

Last Call for Circulated Barber Quarter Set - Breaking It Up Soon!

Greetings and welcome to the Blog on a Thursday.

Where do I possibly start with today's edition as the Blog is an oasis for many from the nuttiness that is Washington DC. There is no question that 24 hour online and cable news media are dependent on the circus for ratings.

The 2019 holiday seasons of Hanukkah and Christmas are upon us which means time with families. Ultimately, families are a fundamental part of our legacies. Our loved ones should be carefully nutured with our beliefs and core guiding principals; whatever those might be. Enough said....

Let's quickly move back to numismatics and GFRC happenings.

Excellent U.S. Contemporary Counterfeit Reference Published

At the Winter Baltimore show, Winston Zack appeared at the GFRC table with a proud look in his eye. His long effort to document the history of United States circulating contemporary counterfets had been completed for the copper and nickel denominations. Most important, in the new reference, are the initial chapters on how contemporary counterfeits were fabricated. These initial chapters are worth the price of the book with the attributions of known copper and nicket counterfeits being a bonus. Given the short time for writing today's Blog, I'll leave this topic here but highly recommended that readers consider purchasing a copy. Winston Zack can be contacted at <stoneman10@gmail.com>. Winston's book is a must have reference for any significant numismatic or exonumia library.

Following is a quick illustration of the book's cover.

Bad Metal - Circulating Contemporary Counterfeit U.S. Coins

Winston Zack

GFRC Offering Choice Original Barber Quarter Set

Back in the December 4th Blog, I announced the purchase of a nearly complete Barber Quarter set with individual pieces being choice and with an average grade of VF30. I was not kidding. Since that announcement and posting on the price list, there has been no interest in the set. To help the collecting community appreciate the significance of this offering, the past 24 hours brought the photography of the first twenty pieces in the set. Last evening, images for the 1892 through 1895 dates were processed and are showcased next. Was I hyping this set too much? I don't think so based on the PCGS grading consistency and the original gray surfaces. There are obvious candidates for CAC approval as many of the illustrated coins have the obvious John Albanese "look". Financial viability is a different issue.

The balance of the set looks just like the 1892 through 1895 dates. If there might be interest, please constact me. If not hearing from anyone, the set will be broken up and sold individually between Christmas and New Year timeframe. I will however require a minimum dollar purchase for those accessing coins in the set. The workload to package and ship coins valued under $50 makes no sense when there are high value consignments in the queue waiting for my attention.

Choice Original Circulated Barber Quarter Set

1892 - 1895 Dates - Note the Original Toning

1892 PCGS VF30 25C 1892-O PCGS VF35 25C 1892-S PCGS VF30 25C

1893 PCGS VF30 25C 1893-O PCGS VF30 25C 1893-S PCGS VF25 25C

1894 PCGS VF35 25C 1894-O PCGS VF35 25C 1894-S PCGS VF30 25C

1895 PCGS VF30 25C 1895-O PCGS VF35 25C 1895-S PCGS VF30 25C

Oregon Beaver Consignment Update

I'm pleased to report that pricing for yesterday's featured Oregon Beaver Collection consignment has been settled. The United States $2.5 quarter eagle and Liberty Seated half dollar lots will be posted to the price list today.

Global Financial News

Equity markets are essentially yawing at the political theatre that is Washington DC. U.S. market futures are flat to up a tiny 0.1% to start the day. This Seeking Alpha headlines provides a crisp summary of where the impeachment process stands.

Market reaction has been relatively muted so far as the Democrat-led House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The case will now go to the Republican-controlled Senate, where the trial is likely to be dismissed or end with Trump being acquitted. Wall Street fell short of extending its five-session winning streak on Wednesday, as stocks reversed gains late in the day, though futures are now pointing to a slightly higher open.

Lost in the impeachment news shuffle is the fact that Sweden has abandoned negative interest rates per this Seeking Alpha headline.

Despite a weakening economy, Sweden's Riksbank has swum against the tide of global monetary policy by hiking its benchmark repo rate by a quarter point to 0.0%. The move, which ends half a decade of negative rates, may have other central banks admit to some downside amid fears of penalizing good savers, supporting companies that might otherwise collapse and inflating bubbles in the property market. Kicking the unconventional addiction is not easy, however, with rates still negative in the eurozone, Hungary, Japan, Denmark and Switzerland.

Looking at commodities and the long bond interest rate, two items are worth noting. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield has increased to 1.94% and reflects ongoing optimism for the U.S. economy and the dollar's resilience. Bitcoin prices jumped back over $7000 per coin and quoting at $7160. I have no idea what is fueling that increase. Crude oil prices continue to inch up as they have for several weeks; current quote is $60.83/bbl. Finally, physical gold is range bound at $1479/oz.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another busy day in the GFRC office awaits me and best to get to the shower along with shipping several orders. The balance of the day will be focused on loading the Oregon Beaver Collection offering to the price list followed by photographing the Tenafly and Woodbridge Collection consignments that have arrived.

I will be in the office the entire day and look forward to your purchase orders or regular inquiries.

Thank-you for checking in at the Blog!

December 18, 2019

Rockin' Around the Xmas Tree - Oregon Beaver Collection

Greetings and welcome to another edition of the Blog. Thank-you for taking time away from a busy schedule to check in.

Is it my imagination or are recent GFRC consignments continually growing better? As promised in yesterday's edition, the day's priority was wrapping up the posting of a strong Liberty Seated dime offering from an anonymous collection followed by preparing images for a new Oregon Beaver Collection consignment. Commitments were met and both items took place on schedule.

The response to the new Liberty Seated dime and quarter consignment posting has been most positive. Of the eight coins added to the price list, five are on hold as of this morning. The market for better date Liberty Seated dimes and important die varieties remains vibrant.

Before moving on to the Oregon Beaver Collection client galleries, please allow me to divert the discussion to several brief topics.

VF30 Barber Quarter Set Offering

In the December 4th Blog edition (please scroll down to read that blogpost), a nearly complete set of choice circulated Barber quarters was offered. I purchased the set since the average grade was VF30 and nearly all pieces were toned a natural gray without issues. The presentation consistency of the set was special. In consideration of how long it might have take to build such a set, I wished to sell it intact. So far, there has been no interest. The set is taking up space in the safe and the purchase price has raised my inventory cost position come the end of year tax reporting.

Not every purchase decision works out in a retail business. I bought this set using a collectors heart rather than trusting my intuition on how difficult the sale process might be. Therefore, the set will be broken up and offered during the week between Christmas and New Year holidays. There are many low priced coins to photograph and process. Let's face it, VF30 Philadelphia dates are not worth much more than regular PCGS grading fee. But when perfectly original and obvious CAC candidates, some premium should be warranted. To whet everyone's appetite, my plan is to showcase the 1892 through 1894 dated pieces for all mints in the upcoming days. This may sway someone into considering a purchase of the entire set once more pieces are seen. We can discuss purchase price as necessary. If no one steps forward, I might sell the set in date blocks....anything to avoid selling and packaging up individual $40 coins.

Holiday Mail Rush - GFRC Shipping Strategy

With a booming economy and the migration to online shopping, the 2019 holiday season will bring unprecedented demands on USPS, UPS and FedEx. Just yesterday, I spent 30 minutes in a line at a local Venice UPS store to drop off six GFRC shipments. Rather than just walking in and dumping the boxes, I waited to secure drop off receipts as evidence of possesion being transferred. It is just my nature to be proactive as things that can go wrong sometimes do go wrong.

The holiday mail rush will reach its crescendo by Thursday or Friday. I'm fearful to place more GFRC shipments into this overburdened system as losing even one package is unacceptable. To that end, my current plan is to hold shipments until December 26 unless going out via USPS Express Priority. Regular orders arriving today will see shipment immediately after December 25th.

Rockin' Around the Xmas Tree - Oregon Beaver Collection

What a fantastic consignment from the Oregon Beaver Collection! It was a pleasure to process images and build the following two client galleries.

By now, Blog readers should be aware of the Oregon Beaver Liberty Seated half dollar collection in the GFRC Open Set Registry. If not, his top rated set can be viewed by clicking here. This individual is also pursuing a quality set of U.S. $2.5 quarter eagle gold with a passion. Fortunately, GFRC has been selected to market and sell his Seated half dollar and $2.5 quarter eagle duplicates. Today's posting features substantial lots from both sets. There are many special pieces to view and consider.

If all goes to plan, look for these offerings to start reaching the price list by this evening with the entire posting to be completed by end of day Thursday. First Rights of Refusal are encouraged. For example, someone has already laid claim to the 1862 PCGS AU53 CAC $2.5.

So without further ado, GFRC is pleased to be presenting a wonderful $2.5 quarter eagle offering from the Oregon Beaver Collection as today's main act. The encore performance is a delightful group of quality Liberty Seated halves.

The Special Oregon Beaver Collection Act - $2.5 Quarter Eagle Offerings

1858-C NGC AU58 G$2.5 1873-S PCGS MS63 G$2.5

1834 NGC AU55 G$2.5 1862 PCGS AU53 CAC G$2.5 1882 PCGS MS61 G$2.5C

Followed by Liberty Seated Half Dollar Encore - Oregon Beaver Collection

1856-S WB-5 PCGS Genuine 50C 1859-S WB-6 PCGS MS63 50C

1841 WB-4 PCGS EF45 50C 1848 WB-4 PCGS AU55 50C 1877-CC WB-4 PCGS AU55 50C

Global Financial News

U.S. equity markets remain in a full forece rally that is becoming the norm. This morning market futures are pointing upward to more gains. Let's open with this Seeking Alpha headlines for an update.

The S&P closed higher for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, notching its longest winning streak since November. Stronger-than-expected housing data continued to support the bullish case for stocks as investors await more details about a preliminary trade agreement between the U.S. and China. Futures contracts linked to the DJIA are now up by 24 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are ahead by 0.1%.

The international car manufacturing industry is undergoing consolidations to comprehend the upcoming EV and self driving vehicle development and production challenges. Just yesterday, Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler announced their merger. In the United States, Ford has announced a large investment in Michigan per this headlines.

As part of a new four-year labor contract with the UAW union, Ford said it will invest nearly $1.5B in two Michigan assembly plants, creating about 3,000 factory jobs. Part of the money will be spent on retooling for electrified versions of its top-selling F-150 pickup truck, the company’s profit engine, as well as battery-assembly operations. Across European equities, shares in Volvo advanced 4% after the company agreed to transfer its Japanese truck business to Japan’s Isuzu Motors in a deal worth $2.3B.

Supersonic travel may be making a comeback in our lifetimes...

NASA officials have approved the final assembly of the X-59 QueSST, the supersonic X-plane designed and being put together by Lockheed Martin. A long pointed nose and sharply swept wings ensure that the individual pressure waves created by an airplane surpassing Mach 1 never converge, resulting in a soft "thump" rather than a loud sonic boom. Test flights are scheduled for 2021 and will help establish new rules for commercial air travel (the boom had led U.S. authorities to ban supersonic passenger flights over land in 1973).

As mentioned earlier in the Blog, China's President Xi will punish Hong Kong for recent democracy riots by moving its financial center to Macau.

Casino stocks could see some volatility as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Macau to mark the 20th anniversary of its handover to China. A slew of supportive policies are expected to be announced, aimed at diversifying Macau's casino-dependent economy into a financial center, including a new yuan-denominated stock exchange. They're widely seen as a reward for the territory's stability and loyalty, unlike the former British colony of Hong Kong, which has been rocked by six months of anti-government protests.

How are commodities and the long bond interest rate fairing?

Crude oil prices continue to inch higher with today's quote at $60.45/bbl. Gold prices are holding steady at $1484/oz. But Bitcoin is taking it on the chin and has dropped further to $6622/coin. The 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is flat at 1.87%.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, not much changes here in Venice. I will be in the office most of the day working up pricing for the Oregon Beaver Collection offerings followed by processing some images from that VF30 Barber quarter collection. Once the Oregon Beaver Collection offering are posted, attention shifts to a lot of raw Liberty Seated dimes from the same anonymous collector who just enjoyed a substantial first day sales rate.

I'm also expecting the arrival of Tenafly and Woodbridge Collection consignments in the next 48 hours. These two consignments will bring a fresh round of Liberty Seated quarters to the Blog and price lists.

Thank-you again for your ongoing patronage during December and throughout 2019.

See you tomorrow morning at the Blog.

1873 PCGS MS63 CAC 25C $1385	1824-/2 B-1 PCGS VF35 CAC 25C $3650	1842-O PCGS F15 CAC 25C Mountain View $1150
1818 B-4 PCGS AU50 CAC 25C $1950	1860-O F-101 PCGS VF25 CAC 10C $2975	1867-S F-102a PCGS EF40 CAC 10C $1600

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