The coin business and hobby remains on solid footing. Truly rare coins continue to come out of storage as their owners consider the current climate to be when coins should fetch their best prices if offered. Even the market for these parts is changing. Rarities no longer need to be offered at public auction to realize a high price. Some of these coins are bought and sold privately between dealers and collectors, while others appear in online auctions rather than traditional public auctions.
Quality rarities also sell well, but the focus is on classic rarities. The rarity of grades continues to be particularly important for modern issues, especially non-circulating legal tender commemorative coins and gold and silver American Eagle coins designed for collectors.
Not everything popular has to be rare. There are many collectible but reasonably available pieces that are also a focus for collectors. Morgan silver dollars, usually the symbol of the coin trade, continue to be in high demand. Virtually anything that’s valued in part or in whole for its intrinsic value keeps coming out almost as fast as dealerships can stock such inventory. Another significant development is the increased interest in antique and foreign coins, with the Asian coin market becoming almost as bubbly as the domestic demand for US coins.
If anyone is alarmed about the future of coins versus cryptocurrencies, those fears should be dispelled as well. The recent stock market correction has illustrated how vulnerable these cyber currencies are compared to physical cash. Moreover, El Salvador, the only country in the world to give legal tender to these “currencies”, is now under pressure to reverse this decision.
Cash is still king. So goes numismatics.
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