1783 Chalmers silver threepence PCGS AU53+ CAC. New-discovery coin. Sold for $37,375. Legend-Morphy Auctions image.

The Group Is Already Making a Name for Itself as a Boutique Auction House

DENVER, PA – A 1911 $20 PCGS Proof 66+ CAC –one of only 100 coins of its type ever minted–topped Legend-Morphy’s Oct. 10 premiere auction event with an above-estimate price of $143,750. An especially fine example, the coin offered by Legend-Morphy is the only 1911 $20 gold piece ever to be graded proof 66+ by either PCGS or NGC. With that distinction, it was entered in the sale with confident expectations of realizing $100,000-$110,000. Collectors felt it was worth every penny of that and more, adding another 30% to the high estimate by the time bidding had concluded.

“I knew that many coins would bring strong prices, but the sale far surpassed my expectations,” said Laura Sperber, noted coin expert and partner in the new Legend-Morphy venture. The 220-lot auction had a sell-through rate exceeding 80 percent.

Other coins that Sperber described as having achieved “super-strong” prices included a 1783 threepence Chalmers PCGS AU53+ CAC, which brought $37,375; an 1863 proof set PCGS PR64-PR66, which sold for $32,200; and an 1862 $3 PCGS PR63 CAC, which took in $23,000. All prices quoted are inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium.

Aside from coins, another collecting category that sparked bidder interest was gold nuggets. Several fine examples were auctioned, including a Peruvian nugget that sold to a U.S. private collector for $86,250. The specimen weighed 49.8 troy ounces and came with 35-year provenance from aTexas numismatic company

Another gold nugget sold to a bidder in China for $29,900.

“It had a unique look–it was shaped like a dragon,” said company partner Dan Morphy in describing the natural treasure. “All of the nuggets in the sale did well. Internet bidders seemed to go after them more than any other category. They were very competitive.”

Consignors seemed just as pleased as the buyers. Two sisters who had consigned the above mentioned Chalmers threepence–a privately minted coin made from Spanish silver coins seven years after the Declaration of Independence was signed–were present in the gallery to witness its sale.

“They were beside themselves with the result,” said Morphy. “They even brought along some other early coins to consign with us. We’ll be offering them in future auctions.”

Morphy said gallery attendance was sparse, but there was a good reason for that.

“I’d say 95 percent of the bids were left with us prior to the auction,” Morphy said. “There was a lot of excitement because the coins were fresh to the market. Those who had an interest didn’t wait to place their bids.”

Julie Abrams, president of Legend-Morphy, remarked: “This was a boutique sale of very choice coins. To generate so much interest with our first auction and to achieve such a high sell-through rate was very exciting for all of us at Legend-Morphy. This sale introduced our name to the hobby.”

Abrams said that there are already more than 200 coins and other numismatic items consigned to Legend-Morphy’s Dec. 13 sale in Las Vegas, with a total estimated value of over $2 million. Additional consignments are currently being accepted for this PCGS-authorized auction, which will be held during the PCGS Members Only show.

For consignment information or for any other queries, contact Legend-Morphy Rare Coin Auctions by calling 717-335-3435 or e-mailing juliea@legendmorphy.com

Well, depending on what form it’s in and how much you’ve purchased, you may need to look at storage options.

Some people like the idea of holding metals at home, but that creates security issues. They can be stolen, melt in a fire, or vanish in a tornado or flood.

Alternatively, safe deposit boxes at banks may seem like a good option. The metal boxes are locked up in a bank, after all. But they’re not always the best choice either.

Mike Clark, president and general manager at Diamond State Depository, said, “Owners of precious metals need to carefully consider the safest place to keep their bars or coins in the event of a financial collapse or other major event.”

Check out these pages for more information on Diamond State Depository’s storage options.

Gold looks more promising by the day because right now, the dollar and euro are both shaky. Investors believe that gold is safe for other reasons, too, and that belief is what’s driving up the price. But a different set of (believable) circumstances could cause the price to fall. For the entire story, check out this article by the Washington Post.

Slide in Silver Prices Could be Short Lived, Dillon Gage Experts Say
World demand for silver in coins, industrial uses and jewelry remains strong

ADDISON, TX — May 12, 2011– Silver’s drop could be only temporary after prices retreated from a 31-year high reached in late April as traders watched crude oil values decline. Prior to that, silver was a sizzling hot commodity favored by small investors and money managers, and Dillon Gage experts say not to write it off now.

Terry Hanlon, president of Dillon Gage Metals, the Dallas-based, precious-metals trading firm, said, “This year, silver had its biggest run in the shortest period of time in recent memory. Profit-taking corrections are to be expected when markets rally.”

How far will silver slide this spring? “Of course, we can’t say for sure, but we do see support at the $32 an ounce level,” he noted. Silver reached a peak of $49.84 an ounce on April 29.

“This recent price correction doesn’t change the basic fundamentals, which include good demand for silver to make coins in a number of countries,” Hanlon stated, adding that world demand for silver in industrial applications and jewelry grew last year.

So what’s behind silver’s recent retreat? Many commodities have climbed since last summer because of expectations that improving national economies will boost demand for materials. And with most commodities priced in dollars, the greenback’s decline against other currencies since August made raw materials cheaper for foreign investors to buy. U.S. investors bought silver and gold as a way to hedge against further erosion in the dollar’s buying power.

But in the first week of May, the dollar had its strongest rally of the year, undercutting commodity prices. Crude oil traded in New York sank $10, closing below $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months. Silver followed and relinquished nearly a third of its value from a late-April high of $49.84.

News of the death of Osama bin Laden eased terrorism worries a bit and prompted investors to sell precious metals. And weak U.S. economic data released in early May, including higher-than-expected jobless claims, raised doubts about the pace of economic recovery and hurt precious metals.

But Hanlon noted that silver’s rally to its late-April high represented a 60% move in 2011 to date. “So it wasn’t surprising to see profit-taking from those levels,” he said.

Then, too, the initial margin money or deposit required by the Comex to trade silver futures swelled from $4,250 per contract a year ago to $16,200 per contract in early May.

“I look for investors and money managers to take a brief breather on the sidelines before getting back into the silver market on the buy side,” Hanlon commented.

Dillon Gage deals in one-ounce, 10-ounce, 100-ounce and 1,000-ounce silver bars, along with silver coins, including American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs and Austrian Philharmonics. For prices of those products, visit Dillon Gage’s electronic trading system at FizTrade.com.

For orders submitted to Dillon Gage, the only additional fee is the shipping charge. Immediate confirmation is provided on real-time orders, which are processed by Dillon Gage traders. All buy or sell orders entered with Dillon Gage should total $5,000 or more.

For more information on Dillon Gage Metals, please visit www.dillongage.com/metals or phone 800-375-4653. Follow Dillon Gage on Twitter @DillonGage and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dillongage.

Without any further introduction or commentary on my part, the following article is an edited reprint of a story that originally ran in aTexas paper. This version comes from the Brattleboro Reformer of Brattleboro, Vermont. The information is valuable and warrants repeating.

By JERRY JORDAN, The Examiner
Tuesday January 4, 2011

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the Texas newspaper The Examiner, last year. We are running an edited version of the piece since the Treasure Hunters Roadshow will be at the Quality Inn today through Jan. 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

BEAUMONT, Texas — With full-page ads in newspapers across the country, coupled with live promotions on local radio stations promising to pay “top dollar” for unwanted gold and silver, an Illinois-based company has returned to Beaumont but is paying only a small fraction of the actual value of precious metals and other items, a month-long investigation by The Examiner has found.

The newspaper began looking into Treasure Hunters Roadshow (THR), also known as Ohio Valley Gold and Silver Refinery, on Dec. 9, 2009, after it set up shop in a hotel in town. Using three newspaper employees and with help from Universal Coin & Bullion’s Mike Fuljenz, one of the leading numismatists in the country, the newspaper took thousands of dollars worth of collectible gold and silver coins to four THR events in two states.

The findings revealed that the money offered was nearly a third of the actual value of the items being presented for sale. In one situation, where $1,550 in coins was offered for sale on the same day at two separate THR events 40 miles apart, the second buyer from THR offered less than half of what the first buyer did, and the first offer was still 60 percent lower than the coins’ actual market value.

During THR’s first visit to town, the newspaper brought in 2.35 ounces of gold bullion in the form of Double Eagle gold coins. At the time, the spot price of gold was about $1,138 per ounce. The floor manager offered 8 percent below spot gold prices or $2,466.71. The newspaper also brought in a 14k gold 22-inch rope chain that weighed 22 grams, valued at $418 and a 1923 Gorham 12-inch round sterling silver platter that weighed 505 grams, worth $283.

A THR buyer offered $42.30 for the gold chain and $71.71 for the sterling silver platter.

Later that same day, another employee from The Examiner visited the THR event and asked if the company was interested in buying six gold and silver collectable coins, valued at $4,921. Included in the cache of coins were a 1937 Buffalo Nickel NGC-graded MS66 condition ($50); an NGC-graded MS69 Silver Eagle coin, ($27); a 1902-O PCGS-graded MS64 silver dollar ($50); a 1899-O PCGS-graded MS64 Silver dollar coin ($50); a 1928 Indian Head $2.5 gold coin in PCGS-graded MS64 condition ($1,300); and a 1903 MS64 $20 gold Liberty coin in PCGS-graded MS64 condition ($3,450).

After about 30 minutes, The Examiner’s employee was offered $1,400 for all six coins — 72 percent less than their actual value.

“They aren’t even offering the scrap value for some of these coins,” Fuljenz, whose company does more than $56 million a year in gold and silver transactions, said. “They were way below what the melt value was.”

Later that week, Fuljenz brought in dozens of coins including proof sets from 1974 through 1990, a 1984 Olympics Prestige six-coin silver set and an 1887 Prestige 6-coin silver set — all of which THR refused to buy.

However, they did buy a 1925 silver dollar valued at $16 for $9; two sets of two-coin silver proof U.S. Constitution coins valued at $560 for $490; a 1983 $10 gold Canadian Maple Leaf coin valued at $280 for $275 and a 1908-D $5 Indian Head gold coin in PCGS-graded MS63 condition valued at $1,800 for $450.

“They have to be fairly close on the bullion prices because that is easy to check out, but when they look up these collector coins, which are worth a lot more than their actual gold value, they are offering people pennies on the dollar,” said Fuljenz. “That package of coins was valued at about $2,656 and they wrote me a check for $1,224.”

Photos courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries.

Fuljenz, who taught courses for 18 years on how to grade coins, said, “I have not seen competence in their appraisals of the coins that I brought in. If you are going to have your coins appraised, go to someone who knows what they are doing. These people are not specialists or experts in this field.

Fuljenz said prospective precious metal sellers should ask for a list of the company’s awards and memberships.

“Does it make you feel better when you walk into a doctor’s office or a lawyer’s office and you see that they are board certified?” he said, adding people should get a second opinion prior to selling.

The Examiner conducted similar investigations in Marshall, Texas, Shreveport, La., and again, in Beaumont, each time with similar results. At a local pawn shop, it was offered three times what THR was giving as its best deal.

“I hold back about 20 percent because I have to make a profit,” said Carl Heartfield, owner of Heartfield’s Fine Jewelry in Beaumont. “I have been here for 30 years and I would tell people that they need to sell stuff locally. You have to shop it. You can’t just go run to a hotel. We are here to make money, but we are not here to take advantage of people.”

Matthew Enright, THR’s vice president of media relations, said it was great that the newspaper was able to get three different prices from three different events using the same coins at each event.

“Everything varies upon markets so it depends on the day of the week,” Enright said. “It depends on who you are talking to and who has more knowledge and who doesn’t. So, things are going to be different. Each person is going to be different so that is great news. That just goes to show you that we don’t buy the same way every single time we go to a town.”

Even Enright said that people should shop around, but he believed his organization had the resources and the ability to “pay more than anybody else in the country.”

Coin World Magazine editor Beth Deisher said she encourages people to use every possible resource to find out how much their items are worth.

“There is plenty of information for consumers to find out what the daily spot price of gold and silver is that can be found on the Internet at 20-minute intervals,” Deisher said. “Typically people like this will ask, ‘Well, what do you want for it?’ And if you don’t have a clue, then you are probably going to get taken.”

Jerry Jordan is the managing editor of The Examiner.

COINage

So I did a little bit of research and found an article that directly answers the question much quicker than I can. Besides, I’m an accumulator, remember?

The anwers to all of your questions–to those two, at least–are here.

Read the details of the offer.

These coin launches are always big events. The local media is often present. Kids 18 and younger receive the new coin, and adults exchange their own money for new rolls. A town hall meeting-style Q and A usually takes place, too. As part of this ceremony, a satellite feed of B-roll of the new Lincoln cent being produced was available at two different times.

But before then, as early as mid-January, the new cents were already appearing in online auctions. The first sellers promised rolls of the new cents, obtained at exchange ceremonies like the one in Springfield, Illinois. Prices ran anywhere from $25 for one roll from the D.C. ceremony, to $35 if the roll came from Springfield.

Sellers also guaranteed that each 50-coin roll would be stamped with a commemorative Lincoln postage stamp and canceled by that city’s local post office on the day of release.

I’m no math whiz, believe me, but that means that buyers at the high end were paying up to 70 cents for each coin. They’re also banking on the 2010 cent’s collectibility—with the complete roll and proof of release on launch day—being high.

Collectors have seen these elevated prices before. Recently. Like with last year’s Lincoln cents. Those 2009s are going for anywhere from $3.30 to $5—for all four designs w/ the stamps.

Dips like that sort of make you feel like the lowly cent really is worth nothing. Maybe the question shouldn’t be, “What’s it worth?” Maybe it should be, “What’s it worth to you?”

Still need affirmation? Take at look at Need a Penny, Take a Penny,  about a place where the cent is priceless.

The Los Angeles ANA convention was right in my own backyard, yet I’m still recovering from what feels like jet lag. Two and a half hours to travel 54 miles, even in a city with some of the world’s busiest freeway interchanges, was a longer drive than I was prepared for.

My room had no Internet access for two days, so I spent a fair amount of time being overly caffeinated, just so I could attempt to stay connected to reality. “Reality” included meeting the production deadline for COINage and saying “good morning” to my daughter via webcam.

The show itself didn’t have that big-convention feeling. It wasn’t like a New York, San Francisco or Baltimore show. It felt more like a very large local show, not the international exhibition it’s intended to be.

By the way, Facebook and Twitter are great ways to stay connected, but they may not give you all the news you need. For instance, while I was sitting in traffic or surfing from the local cafe, the precious metals market was moving right along.

On August 11, Harry Miller wrote for Numismatic News, “The precious metals market has certainly added a bright spot to pre-ANA convention activity.” Read the entire article here. At last, some good news, even if it was delayed.