Jim Bisognani: Gold Rushes On

Well, the change of season is definitely at hand. Cooler temperatures are here, and the leaves are beginning to fall in earnest. Yet, there seems to be no fall in the numismatic sector. Courtesy of another record-eclipsing precious metal blitz, there has been continued and heightened activity in numismatic circles.

As I type away this afternoon, gold spot is trading at more than $2,650 per ounce, and the white soulmate silver is pushing more than $32 per ounce.

As always, any sustained movement in the metals area — either up or down — spurs more activity. While the influence is negligible, especially on the scarcer gold coins, it is more mixed for pre-1933 US gold coins, especially Half Eagles, Eagles and Double Eagles, that are common (or considered Type).

With gold spot seemingly rampaging to new record levels every day, the premiums between grades of some US gold coins have now been regulated to semi-numismatic. One well-known West Coast dealer explained it like this:

"Jim, with gold trading now over $2,600 per ounce, the melt value of a $20 Liberty or Saint is over $2,500, so US gold such as the 1924 $20 Saint-Gaudens and 1904 Liberty really have no ‘spread’ in Circ. to AU grades. At present, there is barely a $50 spread between the raw XF coin and an NGC MS 62 grade! Then, if you look at an MS 63; well, there is little more than $100 difference between them and an MS 65."

The dealer went on to say, "The surge in price for gold spot will eventually help the sale of the scarcer or rarer coin within those series, as there is bound to be some natural elevation to set apart the scarcer coins from their more common brethren."

Another trader said, "I think that with such little spread in Double Eagles the demand will automatically target Mint State coins, and there is bound to be significant melting for those in lesser grade."

Initially, I was hearing minor distress calls from many average coindexters who are longing for a pre-1933 US gold coin in their collection, who are feeling squeezed out with gold spot pulling further away from their respective budgets. Yet, there is a silver (or should I say "golden") lining here. As mentioned above, spreads between many popular pre-1933 US gold coins are currently nonexistent. While a $20 gold piece selling near $3,000 may be out of budget, coins like Liberty Half Eagles are certainly in play.

As Joey — who goes by the moniker "Pickles" — said, "Heck, the melt value of a $5 Liberty is nearly $650. A dealer I trade with said I could buy a nice VF / XF circulated example for $700, or — get this — I could buy an NGC MS 63 for just $775! I mean, it's like a gift. I mean, who wouldn't go for an MS 63 for a measly $75 over the cruddy VF coin? There is a base value of nearly $650 here, to boot."

An 1886-S $5 graded NGC VF 30 (top) and an 1886-S $5 graded NGC MS 63 (bottom) Click images to enlarge.

With silver spot trading at over $32 an ounce, there, of course, is heightened demand for the precious white metal. And let's face it: If your budget is more limited, you can presently acquire over 80 ounces of silver for the price of one ounce of gold.

Yvonne, the Budding Coindexter

As I've said many times before in this column, silver, to me, is a great value at this level. I like to scout on eBay and search values for it when I can. Just the other day, I picked up a handful of 1965 .800 fine silver Canadian Prooflike sets. Each of those sets, by the way, contains 1.11 ASW. During the transaction, I communicated with the seller and she shared an interesting tale about how she got involved in numismatics.

Hailing from Chino, California, Yvonne is truly a budding coindexter. She explained to me that her dad was an ardent collector of coins and truly loved them. He attended a lot of shows, went to estate sales and formed quite the collection, all while building a reputation for being a tactful trader.

Yvonne said that her grandfather, who was a gunsmith, also enjoyed coins immensely and also collected them. As she put it, "Back in the heyday, he would go to various Goodwill stores and other thrift stores to satisfy his hobby and cravings."

Thus, Yvonne grew up surrounded by numismatics. Her father Robert's first love was coins, period. As she said, "Always and forever." As a youngster, Yvonne's dad would always try to show her coins and say, "Look at this, look at that!" As a kid, she didn't really care. It was interesting to her, but she didn't really comprehend the significance of the history surrounding the coins, or the coins themselves.

So the years passed, Yvonne married and had children, and her dad continued to actively buy and trade coins, both gold and silver.

An Armed Robbery Changed Everything

Then, a sudden twist of fate got Yvonne's husband, Charles, into numismatics. Yvonne relayed the story: "Well, I don't know how to really explain it, but my husband's workplace was victim to an armed robbery. As a result of that crime, the business was shut down."

Ultimately, it was Yvonne's dad's passion that allowed them to make ends meet afterwards. Now, with Charles out of work and with a family to support, it was numismatics to the rescue. "That's why my husband got involved with coins, gold and silver," said Yvonne. "It was because of my dad."

Since Robert had recently retired, he had begun taking his son-in-law around to estate sales and local shows, all while making connections with dealers and setting up a larger network. Before they knew it, a viable business venture was born! As Yvonne put it, "My husband was a good talker, and my dad was a good talker, if you know what I mean. They really enjoyed it."

They went everywhere together. Yvonne said that her dad never thought that his son-in-law would get into coins with the same passion that he had. So, this dynamic duo made the rounds traipsing through southern California buying coins, gold and silver.

As the years passed, Charles would take his aging father-in-law to all the local shows, and they would still do business at shows such as the Long Beach Expo. Unfortunately, Charles unexpectedly passed away in June 2016, and Robert passed in September 2017. Yvonne said, "Someone upstairs had a different path for me."

I asked Yvonne if, prior to this, she had really gotten involved with coins at all, or if it was just a matter of bookkeeping or business. She answered, "No, I wasn't ready for it." For nearly 40 years, she had worked in the financial industry, and after retiring after her husband's death, Yvonne said, "I just had to pick myself up and get going."

Then, one day, her friend — whose husband had done business with Charles — called and said she was going to start going to estate sales and wanted Yvonne to help and work with her. "So I started going to estate sales," she said, with a bit of a laugh. "It truly just blossomed from there."

Now, the lady from Chino, California is a coindexter, as she puts it. She has found the passion that was once her dad and husband’s. She is still weeding through what she inherited from her husband and is learning the ropes.

In her own words, she said, "After setting up and going to a few estate sales, let's put it this way: There are some coins I wouldn't get rid of."

Yes, Yvonne is truly a Type One coindexter! She's become fond of — and is even collecting — coins from Great Britain. "When I pick up a group of really nice Type coins, I'll set aside one for each grandchild and child, then sell the rest." In the course of business, she has also been picking up large accumulations of world coins. "I can't believe some of the stuff that people had collected and just stuffed into huge Ziploc bags!" she exclaimed.

"Some of the British coins I did purchase — I can't believe they were from the 1800s," Yvonne said. "Because to me, it was like it was impossible for these coins to be so bright golden, bronze and full red color." So she found herself saying, "These are nice."

"So I just take some of the bags of coins back into my little office and cherry-pick the nicer-looking coins. Occasionally, I set them aside for my children and grandchildren, along with some for sale."

Yvonne also possesses a keen eye for counterfeit and otherwise fake coins. "I have a pretty good sense when something just isn't right," she said. She even saved some dealers the potential embarrassment when she found a group of fake Morgan Dollars in a dealer showcase.

Now, Yvonne is ready to acquire a membership with NGC to further her standing and understanding in the world of numismatics. Welcome aboard, Yvonne!

Until next time, be safe and happy collecting!

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