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The FUN coin show in Tampa FL, January 3-7th, 2018, was one of the best shows we've attended in years, in terms of overall, healthy market activity. There was a good amount of buying and selling for us, but also just for the coin market (errors and U.S.), the activity and buzz was visible everyday we were at the show. Even Saturday, when the show started to wind-down, there were dealers and collectors eagerly doing business--it's good to see a fast paced show! We think this bodes well for 2018, and are looking forward to see what the year will bring to the coin market, and the hobby as a whole.

One of the big stories of the show was a 1943 copper cent (the finest known, and the only "red" example known), which sold for $1,000,000 in a private transaction. This is the most that a 1943 "P" mint copper cent has ever sold for, with the most expensive example being the 1943-D that fetched $1,700,000 a few years back. Here is a link to the PCGS article about the transaction: https://www.pcgs.com/news/bronze-1943-lincoln-cent.

Although we purchased many errors at the show, its inevitable that it takes a while for them all to show up on our website. Many go off for certification, and don't return to us until weeks or months later. Other coins are sold immediately to collectors with want lists on file with us (if you don't have a want list with us, you should do so if you want 1st shot at fresh coins, or at a minimum, join or email list.) We have a number of coins off being certified, and as those come back, they will appear on the website or be offered to our customers. Also, we have 3 major shows in the next 2 months or so, and as shows go, we expect to acquire a lot more errors at those shows--we'll be working hard to track down all we can!

Sometimes we do add the coins that were sold to our want list customers, to our archives, that way we and other collectors can see some of the coins, even thoguh the coins are off the market, since some are unique or really incredible major mint errors that we rarely get a chance to see. So many really incredible errors never make it on to the open coin market. This is true for U.S. coins, errors, and all collectibles really. People who are actively buying a particular error type, or are wanting a certain rare coin, may be directly offered a coin buy a dealer, they buy it, and then no one except the two of them ever really know about the coin or the sale. We do this all the time, and we've seen this happen numerous times with other dealers as well. 

In the coming months expect to see a busy coin market, since collectors get back into the swing of building their collections after the holidays and as they figure out their tax situations (and how much extra spending money they have for the year.) Additionally, for the year ahead of the hobby, with the economy on the upswing, and the stock market at record levels, we think more and more collectors will find the time (and money) to acuire coins for their collections. A good economy and cash in people's pockets, and an upward trajectory in the coin market are all excellent signals that 2018 will be a good one for the hobby. If the FUN show is any indicator of the direction the year is going to go (and it should be to some degree), we are excited to see what it has in store for us and the hobby as a whole.