GoldFinger1969

Didn't notice anything except the login glitch.  Just opened up a new tab incognito.....logged in.....got to this section no problem. 

On 9/18/2022 at 3:43 PM, World Colonial said:

Compare PCGS Coin Facts estimates to the TPG data.  Maybe most of the most expensive (and highest quality) coins you follow are now graded but I don't follow it that closely.

I just think that most of the holders of pre-1950 coins (and especially pre-1933 gold)....have to have either passed on OR sold in their old age if they needed $$$...and if they DIDN'T need $$$ then they are probably savvy financially and either got their coins graded/appraised or gave them to someone who did.

Not an exact science, I admit.  I'm trying to be logical here.  

Let's fast-forward 20 years....let's assume we're all still here and on these forums (QA will be the Moderator by then !!  )....by then you figure EVERYBODY (or at least 99% by the actuarial tables) who was born BEFORE 1950 and certainly 1930 has passed on.  Their estates or kids or whoever got their assets has no interest in coins unless they're a coin collector....if they are, they almost certainly would get them graded or take them to a dealer....if they just want $$$, they sell ASAP.

Either way, the coins make their way to the public or their existence is made known. 

On 9/18/2022 at 1:36 PM, zadok said:

...theres probably 80 million morgan dollars still out there in gem bu that remain uncertified....

Wow...amazing.  Hope you are right.

Still hoping there's some hidden Saint hoards in some 3rd world banks. 

On 9/18/2022 at 1:32 PM, zadok said:

...definitely in both cases...there r more uncert coins than cert coins by far....

QUALITY coins in top condition and/or rare coins (maybe in lower grades) like Saints, Morgans, etc ?

You think there's still lots out there ?  I respect your opinion, could be lots of folks out there in the shadows.  Look at all the holders of MCMVII High Reliefs...probably more than half of the 8,000-10,000 of them out there are unaccounted for.

On 9/18/2022 at 1:18 PM, VKurtB said:

The low hanging fruit has been plucked, and this is a key point, what remains unplucked is very unevenly distributed. There are vast deserts and a relatively few overwhelmingly lush oases. 

Brilliantly stated and I agree. 

Sort of like oil finds the last 100 years....tons of elephant fields found ALL OVER the world, including the Middle East....the last 50 years, very few such fields but still nice giant fields here-and-there.

On 9/17/2022 at 8:52 PM, VKurtB said:

Those who operate on the theory “all the good stuff is already in slabs”, even when it’s Jeff Garrett saying it, are simply wrong. There is so incredibly much stuff that has never been to Sarasota or SoCal, that it’s amazing. You have to stop assuming it’s not there and go where it is. 

But has the BULK -- the low hanging fruit -- been plucked ?  I think so.  Certainly relative to 1980 (PM bubble spike) and 1990 (coin bubble spike) and then you have 30 years since 1990 of folks needing cash, dying, inheriting, liquidating, etc.

On 9/18/2022 at 12:17 AM, Quintus Arrius said:

  [With the OP's indulgence, What enquiring minds want to know--okay, mainly mine--is who can provide a breakdown of major coin attendees... by age?  Me thinks, judging by the photos roving correspondents have taken and transmitted via posts while on site, that the "population" is noticeably older and grayer. I realize this information is of the highest security classification attainable, but I am curious as to any extrapolations that may have been done. With many of the numismatic greats having retired, how much of an infusion of comparatively experienced new blood is needed to carry the hobby well into the mid-point and toward the end of this century?  Is it really true, the Greatest Collectors of all time can now be counted on one hand?  🤔

I paid keen attention to the last major show I went to, FUN 2020.  I would say the median/average age was in the 50's.

On 9/17/2022 at 7:25 PM, zadok said:

...u would be shocked at the number of collections n hoards i see in a year including pre '33 gold n pre 1900 proof issues...i appraise these collections for the county probate court prior to disposition, i probably see 15-20 major groupings of coins in any given year including maybe 200 or more of ur "classic" saints, usually in unc-gem bu, seldom any r circ n virtually none r certified....

But more than 20 years ago ?  40 years ago ?

On 9/13/2022 at 12:18 PM, RWB said:

Here are composite and detail photos of a new 1922-S double eagle variety. 

Roger, you have posted many times that you think the marketing stuff on labels is just that -- marketing.  Even if true, you think it is insignificant in many cases.

Curious as to how significant you think this coin's pedigree is.

On 9/16/2022 at 5:34 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Anyone else enjoying that the Dollar is on par with the Euro? What's it been, 20 years since that was the case? I'm loving not having to pay an additional 10-20% due to the exchange rate. 

If the Euro implodes, or Italy has problems refinancing debt, then you're looking at a huge drop in financial assets in the U.S.

Only Cheerios I know....

deleted

On 9/15/2022 at 11:47 PM, VKurtB said:

No, it’s as big as ever. It is THE WAY most high end collections are built. I’ll give you a recent example. At Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. of Chicago, a large accumulation (not really an organized collection) recently “walked in”. Many of the larger denomination coins were in 2x2 Manila colored envelopes, some with Max Mehl labels. The employee handling the material noticed an envelope that said 1895 Morgan Dollar. Another said 1895 proof Indian Cent. In a “junk bag of silver”, the 1895 proof V nickel, dime, quarter, and half were found. It was a complete 1895 proof set. There was also an 1893 proof Morgan. They sold the material. Brick and Mortar. Never saw Heritage. Never saw Stacks Bowers. Never saw Great Collections. You greatly underestimate the amount of material handled by the “face to face” dealer network. Oh by the way, this accumulation, well into seven figures, contained not a single graded coin when Harlan Berk got it. 

Very informative, thanks for the info. 

Max Mehl died in 1957 so someone -- probably in their 20's or 30's if not older -- has to be in their 80's or 90's today.  My point being that the oldest generation of collectors who wanted pre-1933 Gold and other coins from the 1900's - 1950's should be getting up in age, if they haven't passed on already.  

So while I accept your statements as fact, I would still think that the supply of said walk-ins should be DROPPING today relative to 10 or 20 or 40 years ago.  I could be wrong, but I would think that by the early-1980's after a decade-plus of inflation and economic ups-and-downs, that most people who had hoards would have liquidated or sold.

Could be wrong, but hard to see how.

On 9/15/2022 at 2:51 PM, VKurtB said:

Many dealers today operate off of “want lists” from even prospective clients. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told, “send me your want list, no obligation.”

They can't be as numerous as pre-internet, right ?  Also, lots of the Big Hitters and even Medium Hitters now gets folks at Legend, Heritage, and GC to keep them posted on stuff, right ?

Can someone expound on "die state" vs. variety ?

On 9/13/2022 at 2:27 PM, DWLange said:

Eliasberg ceased acquiring USA coins around 1950, when he finally secured the 1873-CC No Arrows dime. He considered his collection complete at that point. 

Wow....so he finished very early.  And back then, no internet or coin shows to grab hard-to-get coins.

I think he showed his coins in his later years, maybe he did in the 1950's, too.  I don't know.

Thanks DL ! 

On 9/13/2022 at 10:16 AM, zadok said:

ur first question bit confusing, there would not be any late 1970's coins from the Clapp collection he bought in 1942??....

Thanks Zad...no, I meant that I presume he finished his collection by the late-1970's (maybe earlier) since I thought he died in 1981 or 1982.  In fact, he died in 1976.  

So....I would change that inquiry to....what % of his collection by the early-1970's did the Clapp estate comprise ?  In other words, when his collection was finished or pretty much finished.

On 9/13/2022 at 8:56 AM, Quintus Arrius said:

You've made an admirable use of our host's band-width... 544 posts spread over 19 pp.  Looks like you're a contender!  

I guess I'm off the hook for dominating the RWB Saints DE Thread !!  

On a more serious note, I do wish more newcomers and already-registered veterans were inquiring here and contributing on the more established threads in the US COINS section.  I hope they are not "afraid" to post -- I am sure many are beginners with limited knowledge, as was I only 5-10 years ago.  

Thought there'd be more posts on the older Morgan, Saint, and gold coin threads in that section.  Hopefully, it comes.

On 9/11/2022 at 1:39 PM, VKurtB said:

Gold has an irrefutable pattern that I expect to continue. It gradually falls in value over large expanses of time, and then when a crisis occurs, it zooms up for a short period of time. To profit, it requires selling into an overheated bubble, which I did in August 2011. I gave a talk at the 2011 ANA show telling everyone gold was in danger of a collapse. People laughed. By the time I got home from Chicago, the collapse had begun. Immediately after my talk, literally within an hour, I had sold every gold coin I had, aside from two sentimental pieces. Now, 11 years later, I have three sentimental pieces. 

Gold was up 6-fold at the time and had SPIKED on the European Debt Crisis and the U.S. (bogus) downgrade by S&P.

Today, gold has been basing and the rise is much less than 6-fold in 10-years.  The next $500 and $1,000 are UP !! 

On 9/12/2022 at 6:44 PM, DWLange said:

Eliasberg acquired the greater part of this collection in his single purchase of the Clapp Estate in 1942. A few additional coins were added one or two at a time, but most of what he didn't have from the Clapps (post-1913 issues) were purchased for him by dealers who sold him complete sets of those issues in block purchases. Eliasberg was not a great numismatist, just a wealthy and well connected one.

What % of his late-1970's collection did he get from the Clapp 1942 sale, Dave ?

Also, what was Eliasberg's line of work/business...how did he accumulate his wealth ?

On 9/12/2022 at 8:42 PM, Oldhoopster said:

But will the admins do anything?  This childish nonsense has been going on ever since he's been reinstated.  Did you notice how he keeps taunting the moderators?  How many times has he commented that he's in trouble with admins?  Unfortunately, I don't want to engage him very much because I don't want to risk getting bounced from this forum, but this bizarre, insulting behavior is not needed.  

Look, I get that not all of us agree all the time.  Sometimes we get on one another's nerves.  We'd probably feel differently about one another and our foibles or likes and dislikes if we had all met one another in person.  But for the most part, we haven't.

That said, I would just ignore this thread -- as I ignore threads on topics I have no interest in or coins I have no interest in -- at this site.

Let's help one another with interesting posts and spend the time contributing to active Coin Threads that can help us and others who come to this site.  I'm waiting for another 5 new pages on the RWB Saint Gaudens DE Thread to get to Page 70 and let me backup, so anybody....feel free to post over there.   

On 9/12/2022 at 4:59 PM, Oldhoopster said:

STOP THE NONSENSE!! There is no entourage or cabal out to get you and no grand conspiracy against you on this chat board. You aren't getting any kudos by constantly posting the bizarre false praise and worship comments. I consider posts like this to be insulting.  In my opinion, It's juvenile and immature.  QAPLEASE STOP IT NOW!

QA marches to his own beat....but he is NOT a troll and has contributed lots of useful information.  

For the record, I do like resurrecting old threads IF they have useful information on coins or themes I like.  Obviously, this thread is a bit off the beaten path from most of the forum threads.

On 9/11/2022 at 12:35 AM, VKurtB said:

Well, my gold holdings have recently almost doubled, so there is that. The attractiveness of them has far more than doubled.  

You ?????  

GOLD ????? 

On 9/10/2022 at 3:37 PM, World Colonial said:

Your statement is a contradiction.  Negative interest rates are a contradiction, as no one would voluntarily pay anyone to borrow.

Various mortgages in Europe did just that. 

On 9/9/2022 at 5:24 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

I would not know whether they know or not, but one of the last stories I heard on TV (before I pulled the plug on the cable) was a presentation on the descendants of slaves that had unwittingly bought a house on a plantation that was worked by their ancestors. They even interviewed the descendants of the family who owned the former plantation.  I think it safe to assume the records, possibly moldering somewhere, are there waiting for enquiring minds so disposed, to discover.

That was from "60 Minutes" a few months ago.  Available for free on the website.