Welcome to this edition of my Market Notes. Activity continues to be strong most areas in the numismatic market. Some niches such as tokens, medals, and obsolete paper money are hot! Who would have ever thought this a few years ago? Of course, basic United States coins are active as well, with collector buying being stronger than investor purchases, although investors are still very active. This bodes well, as collectors are the foundation of the hobby.

Here at Stack’s we are all looking forward to our 75th Anniversary Sale to be held in Baltimore in the first week of November. The sale is on line now, and you can preview it. If you are on the subscription list, you will also be receiving a printed catalogue.

It is always interesting to find something new to collect. Our 75th Anniversary Sale will give you a good opportunity to do this. Perhaps if you are specializing in Morgan silver dollars now, you might consider building a type set of all coins from copper to gold. Or, if you are presently building a type set, then a niche area might be of interest. Right now the market is rather quiet on a number of interesting 19th-century series that are quite affordable in high grades such as MS-63 and MS-64 and related Proofs of the same numbers. The reason for this is that investors who have no particular interest in numismatics tend to buy MS-65 and higher coins, leaving perfectly nice coins in the 63 and 64 range for serious collectors, often at a very deep discount.

19th-century collections such as Indian Head cents 1859 to 1909, two-cent pieces 1864 to 1873, nickel three-cent pieces from 1865 to 1889, and Shield nickels from 1866 to 1883 are very interesting, contain no “impossible” rarities, and offer a challenge to collect. Flip through the Guide Book of United States Coins and contemplate the many other possibilities.

Cherrypicking is the order of the day if you want good buys—meaning to go beyond the grade imprinted on a holder and seek good eye appeal. It is very often the case that a Proof-64 with excellent eye appeal can be much more attractive than a Proof-66 that is dull, stained, or has other problems.

Our 75th Anniversary Sale contains opportunities in just about every American series from colonials to patterns and territorial gold. Spend some time reviewing the contents, and see if you can find a new series. A nice way to begin would be by bidding on a few such pieces. Or, use the opportunity to add to the sets you are already forming.

All good wishes for your success at the auction.

Sincerely yours,

Dave Bowers, Chairman