Collector’s Market Watch
The evolution of U.S. coin investment market
By NEIL S. BERMAN

(Note: This is the second part of a series on investing in rare U.S. coins.)

Click here for the first part

Once circulating coinage ceased to be a viable source of coin-collecting material, new collectors who had taken up the hobby in the 1960s were forced to turn to dealers. Type coins, rare date and territorial gold coins, patterns, colonials and commemorative coins were scrutinized and found to be vastly under-priced. Prices climbed steadily.

The Coin Dealer Newsletter, the industry’s standard wholesale pricing reference, began to devote space to type and gold coins. Two columns in the “uncirculated” category appeared, one for basic uncirculated (MS60) coins and the second for choice/gem uncirculated (MS65) coins. Price differences were slight, but it signified the birth of a new generation of collectors – interested in quality, not quantity.

Gold bullion fueled the coin market between 1975 and 1978; the market paused in the mid-1970s. There were few declines; the rate of increase simply slowed. In early 1975 the last restrictions on the American public’s right to own bullion-related gold coins were lifted, and suddenly Krugerrands were in favor. The price of gold shot up from $100 to $200, and demand began to grow for U.S. Saint-Gaudens and Liberty $20 gold coins. A $10,000 investment in four sets of 10-piece common date MS65 gold coins increased to $14,569 from 1975 to 1978. The rate of return was 13.36 percent a year.

The nation celebrated its bicentennial with special reverses on the quarter, half and dollar, and the general level of sophistication among collectors continued to grow. A new grade, MS63, appeared, reflecting the increasing scrutiny of the coin-buying public. Some dealers questioned the need for such an “in between” grade, as price spreads between MS60 and MS65 coins were still relatively small. Such would not be the case for long. read more

Recent Guests:

Gauging the market in the short- and long-term
By CRAIG HOELZER and JAMES C. STEELE

Will the stock market be higher five years from now? Ten years from now? What will make it rise?

Collector’s Market Watch
Profits lie in U.S. rare coin investment market
By NEIL S. BERMAN

The most serious problem that once plagued the coin industry – coin grading – is now past. There had been no reliable means for a non-professional to determine the actual grade of a coin short of the buyer and seller actually looking at it, as grading was a matter of opinion between dealers.

Collector’s Market Watch
Perspectives on collecting clocks
By NEIL S. BERMAN

A clock – the word is derived from Medieval Latin – is an instrument for measuring, indicating or maintaining the time. The time, in physics, is a fundamental unit of measure and in common use by people is a component to measure the sequence of events. The first known water-driven clocks appeared in Babylon and Egypt as early as 4000 B.C.

Collector’s Market Watch
Perspectives on collecting military decorations
By NEIL S. BERMAN

The Victoria Cross, a rare Gallipoli “V” Beach award, and accompanying four campaign medals that were awarded during World War I to Petty Officer George Samson, British Royal Naval Reserve, were sold in December 2007 at auction by Dix Noonan Webb for $458,850 plus a 15 percent hammer charge. The group was purchased on behalf of the Michael Ashcroft Trust. A Victoria Cross is the British equivalent of a U.S. Medal of Honor, only much rarer.

Collectors’ market watch
Perspectives on collecting quilts: Baltimore Album
By NEIL BERMAN

Early man slept on the ground or floor, often between furs or, later, woven cloth blankets. The quilt is a basic form of bedding, which started in 3400 B.C. when the Egyptians first moved off the floor and onto a raised surface. The Romans were the first to make the bed into the form as we know it now, and rudimentary woven and decorated beddings can be occasionally traced back to these early cultures.

Collectors’ market watch
Perspectives on collecting exonumia
By NEIL BERMAN

Exonumia is the study and collecting of medals and tokens, both privately made and government issued. There are several kinds of exonumia, but this column will focus on the privately issued Society of Cincinnati medal owned by George Washington. A more remarkable piece of American memorabilia does not exist. Owned by two of America’s most respected war heroes, it may very well qualify for the title of “sacred relic” given it by the cataloger.

Collectors’ market watch
Perspectives on collecting ephemera: The Magna Carta
By NEIL BERMAN

Ask any collector of ephemera – antique, hand-written documents – what the most collectable documents ever written are, and you will hear: the American Declaration of Independence and the English Magna Carta.

What you don’t know about qualified plan loans can hurt you
By NORMAL G. GRILL Jr.

Among the risks of offering workers a “qualified” retirement plan (one that follows certain rules to qualify for beneficial tax treatment), such as a 401(k), is that the arrangement may allow participants to take loans from their accounts. Although employees often appreciate this feature, taking out a qualified plan loan can get workers into trouble – and hurt your company as a whole.

How employees commit fraud via cash schemes
By DENNIS B. KREMER

Most cash fraud schemes involve cash currency, checks or wire transfers. Cash losses, according to the 2006 National Retail Security Survey, amounted to over $2 billion! This category of losses is probably what the reader hears about most. Removing cash from an organization includes making unauthorized payments for fraudulent purposes, disbursements to nonexistent vendors or employees, false expense reports and physical misappropriation of cash, involving skimming or larceny.

Collectors’ market watch
Perspectives on contemporary art: Willem de Kooning
By NEIL BERMAN

Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) was a Dutch-born American abstract expressionist painter. Sometimes called an “action painter,” the expressionist’s style is to apply the paint to a surface in any manner other than carefully – for example, by dribbling or splashing paint directly onto the canvas or using a painter’s knife.

Building a collection of fine things with measurable value
(This is the first installment of a new column that focuses on investing in collectables.)
By NEIL BERMAN

Those of us who live on the East Coast live in a blessed world of wealth. For better or for worse, an unprecedented, staggering amount of money sits within the investment banks and other containers of our successful struggle for the legal tender. According to the Federal Reserve, one in 12 of us have a million dollars and there are more than 600,000 American families worth $10 million or more. And more than a fair share of these families live in New York City, Westchester and Fairfield County, Conn.

Got disposable income?
New columnist offers different take on investing
By NEIL BERMAN

Neil S. Berman suggests investing in collectible arts. They might have value like a T-bill, he says, but these you can hang on a wall and admire.

top of page