Is this THE sign of a market top? A Littleton ad in The Wall Street Journal!

[DaveG]

Yesterday I was happily reading my copy of the Eastern Edition of the WSJ, when what should appear before my eyes? A quarter-page ad on page B7 from Littleton! Now, as you can imagine, a quarter-page ad in the WSJ is a pretty serious investment (especially for a coin dealer)!

 

They were offering a dozen silver dollars - all raw, by the way. Here's a list of what they were offering, along with the latest Coin World Coin Values retail price in parentheses:

 

1800 XF-40 for $5850 ($4000)

1859 MS-63 for $6500 ($6000)

1877-S Trade MS-64 for $4500 ($4000)

1878 Trade PR-65 for $9750 ($14000)

1880 Trade PR-64 for $5300 ($5000)

1880-CC Morgan MS-65 for $2250 ($1800)

1885 Morgan MS-64 for $5300 ($3000)

1892-CC Morgan MS-65 for $10900 ($12000)

1895-O Morgan AU-55 for $3650 (CV doesn't price an AU-55)

1900-O/CC Morgan MS-64 for $2100 ($1700)

1921 Peace MS-64 for $1195 ($1000)

1924-S Peace MS-64 for $1550 ($1200)

 

Considering the high cost of the ad, I was surprised that the prices weren't higher. (I suppose the ad could represent a loss leader to bring in new clients.)

 

Is this the top of the market?

[JamminJ]

WSJ has coin ads from time to time.

Usually they're smaller and hawking stuff like gold eagles at spot +% or something like Binion morgans. I semi-recall a SS Central America ad too.

 

This does seem a new type of push but as to using it to call a peak I have no clue.

[michael]

advertising = lies

[James_OldeTowne]

First of all, those prices don't seem particularly out of line to me. Also, knowing Littleton, you can bet each of those coins is very choice for the grade. They do have a knack for selling (and buying) only top-of-the-line coins.

 

I doubt that any dealer makes any money off coins he advertises. I think it's the traffic and residual sales that really make an ad profitable, especially a national ad like that. And yes, I would be stunned to see a coin-related ad in the Wall Street Journal, too.

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

 

James