Will NCS get a bump in business due to the disaster?

[nwcs]

There was certainly a numismatic loss among all the other losses in Katrina's wake. Do you think we'll see a rise in coins being sent in for conservation? What do you think the market's reaction might be?

[Oldtrader3]

Surely there will be some coin losses or damage because of the flooding, fires and looting. The extent of this problem is totally unknown at this point. We will have to wait and see the extent of losses to collectors from these affected areas. My heart certainly goes out to all those who were caught in this huge tragedy.

[AlixTCat]

When I see all those homes destroyed completely, (my mother was in coastal MS but her house was miraculously not harmed by the 30+ trees that fell around it) I can't help but thinking there are some mighty nice coin collections buried in that rubble. Will the folks who owned them go digging for them? Will the people who do the clean up, clean up? Only time remains to see if coins start showing up at NCS.

 

Jonathan

[supertooth]

nwcs-----I think a lot of coins will be lost forever--- probably a lot of truly rare coins and antiques of all shapes and sizes. Paper money will be hit the hardest no doubt. But much of it we will never find out about. I do think that some people will look for their stuff----but more than likely not find it. I doubt the banks suffered a lot of physical damage to their vaults but humidity and moisture might be another matter. I watched a Pharmacist and a couple of friends pick up his safe and put it into a pickup truck the other day on TV. It was the only identifiable thing anywhere around. I guess it was just soooo heavy that it stayed pretty much where it was put. So, all in all, I guess that NCS will benefit to a degree. But it might be hard to put a percent on it. Bob [supertooth]

[nwcs]

I'm hoping that many coins weathered the storm. I started this thread thinking about the stories of various industries (like construction) that tend to get a bump duing these kinds of disasters and wondering if there would be something akin to it in coins. Might be that the biggest work of NCS is ahead of them.

[Oldtrader3]

I'm sure that the later TGP slabs are pretty hermetically sealed. I do not know whether earlier generations of holders were because I have had cents tone in them. This makes me wonder if they were hermetic?

[cpm9ball]

I'm sure that the later TGP slabs are pretty hermetically sealed. I do not know whether earlier generations of holders were because I have had cents tone in them. This makes me wonder if they were hermetic?

 

I thought that the current slabs are sonic-sealed, not hermetic. Unfortunately, most of the bank vaults are not impervious to water damage. That lesson was learned from Andrew in '92. I'm wondering how many banks along the coastal waters have even considered upgrading their vaults after so many hurricanes. I really doubt that very many have.

 

It's sad that so many treasures may be lost forever.

 

Chris

[supertooth]

I would like to continue another thought that I had. Many of us are upper middle class----or higher--- in this coin collecting business. We tend to think in terms of "at home" safes and safety deposit boxes and vaults. But I can tell you that we lost an awful lot of valuable stuff among the poor of this tragedy. Being a doctor who made house calls---I have seen the homes of the poor. Many times I was taken aback by what I saw. Some of the most beautiful antique lamps that I have ever seen---just as one example. These people keep their "treasures" at home---passed down from gereration to generation. My son had a very poor and very old lady on his postal route here in Maryland. In the Summer heat, these old folks fix him iced tea and such as he walks his route. He stops and talks as he says to me, "Dad, I am their only outside contact with the real world---on many days". This one old lady had but one old coin----given to her by her grandmother. As she told Dave----"it"s the only thing that I have from her". Guess what it was? When he saw the date, he told me he almost dropped the coin. When he saw the mint mark, his hands shook a little. When he graded it, he was really excited. My son is an honest kid [29]. That coin now sits in an ANACS holder graded an honest XF45---no deductions---- The coin is an 1893 S Morgan. You all know what it is worth. And, thanks to my son, so does the old lady. Now, I tell you these things just to let you imagine what we may have lost in New Orleans and Mississippi coastal areas. What did we loose in Homestead, Fl. a few years ago? Probably more than any of us want to think about. I kept this as coin related. A much greater story does, however, take on our concerns and our prayers. Bob [supertooth]

[Oldtrader3]

Slabs are sonically sealed but it is not difficult to design the sealing beads to hermetically seal when energized by the sonic horn. When I was an engineer, we used to design ultrasonic sealing horns to hermetically seal medical product components.

[AlixTCat]

nwcs-----I think a lot of coins will be lost forever--- probably a lot of truly rare coins and antiques of all shapes and sizes. Paper money will be hit the hardest no doubt. But much of it we will never find out about. I do think that some people will look for their stuff----but more than likely not find it. I doubt the banks suffered a lot of physical damage to their vaults but humidity and moisture might be another matter. I watched a Pharmacist and a couple of friends pick up his safe and put it into a pickup truck the other day on TV. It was the only identifiable thing anywhere around. I guess it was just soooo heavy that it stayed pretty much where it was put. So, all in all, I guess that NCS will benefit to a degree. But it might be hard to put a percent on it. Bob [supertooth]

 

Banks and their vaults were completely destroyed in some areas, according to my mother over in coastal MS. It's a real shame what happened there.

 

 

Jonathan

[supertooth]

AlixTCat-----When you say the vaults were totally destroyed, do you mean that they were displaced or do you mean that they could not find them or do you mean that they were actually physically damaged and their contents destroyed?? Reason I ask is that for them to be "not found" or the contents "not recovered" would just seem to be almost unimaginable----due to their tremendous weight. I could see them suffering water or humidity damage but a total loss without finding them----even for that storm----seems beyond belief. Most banks are brick structures and I can see them heavily damaged. But I would find it difficult to fathom a large vault within that brick building not being found. If you could, would you ask your mom to be a little more "specific" if she could be in this matter. I am just curious as this has been talked about by other board members. Thanks. Bob [supertooth]

[michael]

i think biz as usual maybe some blip here or there for ncs but for the most part biz as usual

 

unless blanchard had their vaults on the bottom floor and the coins are still there