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GoldFinger1969

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Posts posted by GoldFinger1969

  1. On 5/29/2022 at 3:45 PM, Alex in PA. said:

    I have bought quite a few, very nice coins from Northeast for years now.  I really can't say enough good about them.  The Wells Fargo was the first Saint I ever bought.  I also buy from Northern Nevada.  Thanks for the advice.

    Good to know, I'll keep them in mind for when I win MegaMillions or PowerBall. xD

  2. On 5/29/2022 at 2:21 PM, MarkFeld said:

    I feel a bit mean saying this, but you could have checked for yourself, rather than possibly spreading hearsay.

    https://coins.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?Nty=1&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Ns=Time|1||Lot+No|0&N=51+404+790+231&Ntt=1908+wells+fargo+cac&ic4=SortBy-071515

    That's OK, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. xD

    I think I relied on a dated CU/PCGS post that I reprinted in the WF Hoard Thread...at that time, apparently, CAC/JA had NOT stickered any WF Hoard coins or so few that it was still believable that the absolute number was zero.

    I'm going over your link from HA, Mark, and will scout for a WF Hoard CAC.  Even with their good interface, I sometimes have trouble narrowing the search to a reasonable list.  Getting better, though. (thumbsu

  3. Back To Prices:  A few auctions end tonight on GC....a pair of MCMVII HRs Flat Edges seeing active bidding but a Wire Edge MS-65 seeing no bids @ $45,000.  Some other interesting Saints for sale....I'll report back. 

    And I can't believe this....it's a Silver Commemorative tied to Saint-Gaudens.....7 days left and already over $200...wow.

    https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1165870/National-Park-Foundation-Saint-Gaudens-Commemorative-Double-Eagle-Indian-Ultra-High-Relief-Silver-1-oz-Private-Issue-Struck-2017-NGC-Proof-70-UC-Mercanti-Signed-Label

    I got one for about $100 only a year or so ago. 

  4. On 5/29/2022 at 11:15 AM, zadok said:

    ...true i got the jump on u....i was buying Ag at -$3 per oz n Au at $35 per oz...still have some DE bought for $40, n mint bag morgans $1000 per...i watched tom terrific, rin tin tin, howdy doody, soupy sales, yancy derringer, texaco theatre, QE II coronation, burns n allen, dorothy kilgallen,jack paar, still watch re-runs of paladin ( have st gaudin will travel)......u prob dont recognize any of those.....

    Aside from Tom Terrific -- #41, The Franchise (thumbsu -- most of those I never saw but have read about.  A few (Soupy Sales) I vaguely remember from "Wonderama" or the early-1970's.

  5. On 5/29/2022 at 10:53 AM, Alex in PA. said:

    Me neither.  CAC is out there and they aims to stay.  At this point in CAC's history I would call them Lucrative.

    What I find curious is that CAC is apparently busier today than ever....I would have thought they got most of the low-hanging fruit the first few years and business would slowly dwindle as most of the coins that could get the CAC sticker already got them.

    Guess not.......xD

  6. On 5/29/2022 at 10:19 AM, zadok said:

    precious metals have far outpaced everything else by gigantic margin but ive owned for over 50 years a lot of it...absolute value (not %) real property highest returns...actually my stocks r worst performance all dividends reinvested so no real income...but they too have been profitable....

    You bought early and you bought SMART because I can't come up with any average scenario where PM's -- even going back to 1970 -- beat stocks with dividend compounding.  Now, a few years earlier than 50 years ago can knock the prices down for PMs or numismatic coins a ton....but MOST of that outperformance HAD to have been in the 1970's which simply hasn't been replicated.

    Gold and other PMs have had nice rides but that was AFTER big declines.  In the 1970's, we had a 20-fold rise in silver and gold after they had been flat for decades (price-controlled, for sure).

    The PCGS U.S. Coin Index is light-years behind it's all-time highs:

    PCGS 3000 1970-2022.gif

    Zad, I'm not as old as you.  I didn't get those super-low prices of the early-1970's...I was too busy watching Saturday morning cartoons !!  xD

  7. On 5/29/2022 at 10:19 AM, zadok said:

    i also see my coin collections as a vital portion of my investment portfolio, comprising bout 40% of it.

    As a CFA and CFP, I would NEVER include someone's coin or art or car collections as part of their investment portfolio.  Not even real estate.  Extra assets in case of difficulty, sure.

    But not investments suitable for an investment portfolio:  no dividends or income paid....not liquid....highly volatile.

    On 5/29/2022 at 10:19 AM, zadok said:

    to date (40+ years) my coins have out performed my stocks over the same period by multiples...my US portion has produced approx 450% return over past 12 years...world portion only doubled

    You're either very lucky or very smart -- or both.xD  Going back a bit over 40 years gets you into the rise of the 1970's but then you had DECADES of flattish returns.  And U.S. stocks the last 10-12 years were in a bear market until Covid-19 and whether it's a bull market or a bear market rally it's too early to tell.

    Did you SHORT coin prices to make those returns ? xD

    You are obviously like the daytrader who makes $$$ going in-and-out....one of the 1% who actually makes $$$ doing it.  Most fail.  Ditto coins, especially U.S. coins the last few years/decades.  Check out the PCGS U.S. Coin Index...still probably down 50% from decades ago.

  8. On 5/27/2022 at 1:32 PM, Alex in PA. said:

    I've read a 'few' comments from ATS where some challenged the awarding of the CAC sticker to coins that appeared not to warrant it.  There's some folks ATS that really get hyped up when they don't get the coveted 'bean'.  CAC has been here since 2007 and, whether I like it or not, doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

    There will be disagreements.

    Most of those disputes on gold/Saints or small denomination coins ?  The one "discrepancy" that folks say about JA/CAC is that he is much tougher on gold/Saints than other coins.  Of course, the coins are bigger, too.

    Not sure if it still is true, but at one time I read that JA/CAC had never stickered a single coin from the Wells Fargo Saint-Gaudens Hoard.:S

  9. On 5/29/2022 at 10:16 AM, Alex in PA. said:

    In their first years CAC bought up at least 1 million of their stickered coins.  You do know what they call this in the Stock Market when a person puts out his stock then buys it himself in large quantities to up the price.

    In fairness, it's a bit different because CAC/JA is acting like a market maker and being willing to buy the coins they sticker, much like a specialist on the NYSE or a market maker is the Buyer Of Last Resort to keep the stock price orderly.

  10. On 5/29/2022 at 9:13 AM, zadok said:

    ...diff to point just one finger....dealers definitely pushing/driving the premium cart, also collectors with excess money greasing the wheels...not sure that CAC, the entity, is premium orientated however agree that CAC, the sticker, is smoothing the road...personally, i dont see having to live with it i see it more as having to deal with it in buying decisions or even using it in buying decisions...just my take on it, one size doesnt fit all though....and sometimes carts run off the road n into a ditch, best to know when to jump off....

    I just think there are FEWER collectors who are sure of their grading skills....they like seeing CAC (especially for coins that cost $$$) because it confirms the underlying grade and then some.....it's like buying a warranty for a car. xD

  11. On 5/28/2022 at 6:43 PM, Alex in PA. said:

    Here's where I agree with you but..........  It is not the ordinary, run of the mill collector that is causing this premium but the coin dealers and CAC itself. 

    At the high-end, you have price-insensitive buyers with hundreds of millions or even billions who will pay a 300% premium for a CAC coin at the high-end even if "the market" would normally say the premium should only be 50% or 100% or even 200%.

    If you are putting together a world-class collection and are worth 9 or 10 figures, you don't care about a few hundred thousand dollars, let alone tens of thousands of dollars.

    I know I wouldn't. (thumbsu

  12. On 5/28/2022 at 6:17 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

    FWIW, I wholeheartedly agree with your basic premise. Oddly, whatever the reason, the "or coq Marianne" [🐓] appear to be commanding much higher prices lately than I remember paying for them in 2019. Also, there are 7 times as many Set Registrants here at NGC than on the P- circuit. I don't have the luxury of resting on my laurels. I regard the rumored sighting of any grade finer  than mine for any year as a personal challenge that cannot go unanswered. One can make of this whatever one will. Great thread! 👍 

    People remember the past.  The 1970's saw people make so much $$$ that the newsletter writers and others who talked PMs and coins were able to keep on selling subscriptions for another 20 years despite LOUSY performance.  Gold going up 20-fold....silver going up 30-fold.....gas lines...inflation....it was 10 years of that, and for many, it stuck in their brains (but maybe not Jerome Powell ?xD  Inside joke.....).

    Imagine making the playoffs in your 3rd year as coach and manager and then your team is last or next-to-last every year going forward....and you stay on as coach/mgr. for another 15-20 years. xD  You get 1 or 2 years of bad play if you have a good year...MAYBE 2-3 years if you win the World Series or Super Bowl....nobody gets another 15-20 years without putting up some winning numbers.

    Maybe ancients or some other niche will generate double-digit returns, I dunno.  I think it's best to keep coin collecting a hobby...ignore the financial results of what you put into it..... and look to the financial markets for your investment returns.

  13. 1933 Saint & Ernest Kehr  EC, besides reading some of the in-depth coverage of the trial from CoinWeek, I was wondering if you had read the stuff on the 1933 in Roger's book ?  What about the original Stacks 2002 auction catalog (David Tripp's piece) on the 1933 when Weitzman won the coin  ?

    I was re-reading the 1933 section in RWB's book....one curious/funny thing that threw me (a little)....maybe it's because the 1st name sounds like it should be for an older person (like my grandfather, also named "Ernest" xD) but I just assumed that Ernest A. Kehr, the guy who worked for The New York Herald Tribune, was some older coin/stamp collector now writing about them and was probably in his 50's or 60's (if not older).  Actually, he was only 33 years old when he got involved in the 1944 dustup involving the sales of the 1933 Saints.

    It also appears his column was syndicated, not exclusive to the NYHT.  He was on the radio alot....and really promoted stamp collecting (where it appears he spent most of his time/efforts).  Wikepedia says he did 2,000 shows on radio AND TV (but I bet they don't have copies) promoting stamp/coin collecting.

    He died in NYC (where he lived) in 1986 aged 75. 

  14. On 5/27/2022 at 4:31 PM, DWLange said:

    This thread has veered so far astray from Roger's book that it may be time to start a new one having a more germane title.

    Dave, things get slow at times and this SS Republic and the prospect of an influx of thousands or tens of thousands of Saint seemed to energize the thread (I never heard or read about it, even with the Saint-Gaudens possibility).  Maybe the SS Republic should have had its own thread but a member posted it here (I had no objection and I created this thread) and we went a few pages on it.

    No harm...no foul. xD

    I think it's mostly played out so if folks have questions or comments (RWB, CatBath, myself, and Alex seem to be the ones most active here) on Saints in general or the book specifically......happy to discuss Saints/The Book.

    If anything material on the SS Republic hits in coming weeks or months (years ?xD), I'll create a dedicated thread unless someone beats me to it.(thumbsu 

  15. On 5/27/2022 at 1:06 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

    Here's a question one can ponder over the long Memorial Day weekend... About how many times can a Mint State, or Uncirculated coin, be touched or handled or carried in a pouch of pocket before it loses its irreproachable virtue and earns circulated status?

    Well...since we don't really care about that for modern coins...and since we can't really tell with classics like pre-1933 gold if they were ever in a pocket, handled with human fingers, in a velvet pouch, etc....I'm not sure it's that critical.

    It's a good question, as Mint State implies you can get dinged or gouged so long as you never circulated....but if you have a pristine, near-flawless MS coin and then you HANDLE IT....it goes to AU...even though it still may look light-years better than the MS coin.

    It's one of the glitches in the coin rading system we have to live with.  Still better than pre-1986 without TPGs, IMO, by far.

  16. On 5/26/2022 at 11:59 PM, RWB said:

    If the ship had hit bottom upright, the chances were very good that anything in the mail vault would have remained inside the wreck. I checked my available Ex/Im records and do not find anything of the magnitude claimed in popular articles. The diver's comments imply that proper salvage protocols were ignored, and the first group of divers merely ripped through everything they could hoping to find gold. It also seems that what they found was largely junk.

    Sure seems like it.....yet that guy with legal claim to the haul apparently still believes and is raising $$$.  Maybe something comes of it, who knows.

    The higher gold price today vs. most of the last 35 years makes it a now-or-never thing, IMO.