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Auctions & Coin Shows

In a normal year, there would have been a few very large coin shows since the ANA, and a myriad of small coin shows. This year however, there was a smattering of very small shows (with lots of masks and the like), and no big shows at all since March when the ANA in Atlanta, Georgia was held.

As a result, the market has been unusual to say the least. Dealers have had to find inventory in different ways than normal since coin shops have less activity than normal and coin shows have been nearly non-existent, and as a result, auctions and dealer’s websites have taken on a more prominent roll in both the buying and selling of coins since they are not "in person" events (most bidding occurs online for auctions.)

There are a number of major auction houses, as well as the sites such as eBay among others. But as dealers have run low on fresh inventory, so also it seems to be more the case with auction houses having trouble getting fresh material in.

The bottom line is that until there's a greater interaction with the “public”, all "venues" for coins will be slower. It's not to say that amazing, fresh, wonderful coins aren't coming in to all these venues and dealers (and us!), but the supply is smaller. Instead of 100 coins, for example, it might be 25 or 50, etc.

The smaller supply of fresh inventory has generally caused the low end coins to be generally pretty hot. It has been amazing to to see the often sky-high prices achieved in some auction venues for low priced coins (say under $1k value.) On the other hand, higher end coins have been mixed. Some have brought unbelievably high prices double, triple or more of what they should, while others seem to have littler demand and fall through the cracks, selling for half of what they should. So it's a mixed picture, but the "right coins" are bringing some of the highest prices I have seen, while some of the other rare error coins are more soft (always exceptions, of course.)

Retail Buyers

So are collectors still buying? Yes, but with fewer coins to offer collectors, coin dealers generally are not selling as much as they have been pre-covid. It’s not a lack of demand as much as a lack of supply of fresh coins. However, although there seems to be as much “demand” for collector coins as prior to covid, sales are lower for dealers because the normal venues of coin shows, coin shops, etc, and the give and take of the buying and selling of inventory that happens between the public, middle men, auctions, coin shops, dealers, wholesalers, etc is not there with the nationwide varying degrees of shutdowns.

The good thing is everyone is “ready” for the post shutdown market. Dealers are ready, the collecting public seems to be ready, and we foresee a boom in activity once things start to reopen. Collectors want to collect, and dealers want to deal in coins, so it’s just a matter of time.

For Now

We have the online opportunities, coin clubs to participate in, club journals to read, coin books to catch up on, and the enjoyment of our collections to stay involved in. We are optimistic for the year ahead, and look forward to seeing our customers when the coin market is able to open up at full throttle once again.