After a two-year Covid hiatus, the ANA resumed their Summer Seminar in June and I was thrilled to be able to return as an instructor in the Advanced Grading and Problem Coins course for the 10th time!! It was also a privilege to share the event with Jeff Garrett for the second time. Jeff is the senior editor of the "Guide Book of United States Coins," otherwise known as "The Redbook." since its first publishing in 1947. Together we were able to hold the attention of 18 enthusiastic students and our reviews came back extremely positive. As a side note, we also shared an evening of dinner and discussion with Ken Bressett, who is Editor Emeritus of the Redbook and at age 93, is still very active and has a world of stories in his repertoire. I'm looking forward to next year already!
It's certainly been a challenging couple of years for the entire world, but after a two year "hiatus," I will be returning to the Long Beach show on February 16-19. This time my table number is 820 and we are in Hall C, rather than the traditional Hall A.
I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and clients once again! My trip to Southern California will include several stops along the way performing a couple of appraisals and other services, so inventory-wise, this show will be sparse or non-existent. This is an excellent opportunity for you to stop by and potentially obtain valuations for any numismatic material you might have, time permitting. I will always do my best to accommodate any request, but quite often at a busy convention, extensive appraisals are just not feasible. For those, we can certainly set up an appointment at a mutually convenient time and location. Again, looking forward to reuniting with the coin world!! See you then! Here we are in 2020 at the famous Long Beach Coin Show. If you're visiting, stop by table 934 and say Hi. The show ends on Saturday, but I will be leaving that morning. If you have a few coins you'd like to get appraised, mention that you read this message and there will be no charge, time permitting on the bourse floor.
The metals are showing strength with promises to stimulate business. It remains to be seen if the momentum continues. Our next scheduled show will be Central States in Schaumburg, Illinois in April. Standby for details and a show report. The New Year kicks off as usual with the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention in Orlando, Florida. Dates for public attendance are Thursday January 9 through Sunday January 12. If you're planning on attending, please stop by my TABLE 529. I will be arriving Tuesday afternoon and can be reached by phone at 818-632-2352.
As I write the metals are in a mini bull-market with gold closing Friday at $1552.30 and silver at $18.01. This is apparently due to the instability in the Middle-East and the rise of tensions between Iran and West. Let's hope this doesn't escalate into serious levels. What this means for the rare coin market remains to be seen. Opinions vary greatly among experts as to where and what the new year holds for coins, but the one unanimous conclusion is that, as always, quality is king and even in a down market, nice coins will sell while marginal quality items are hard-pressed to find a buyer. I hope to see you at the show and am happy to discuss your goals and challenges for the upcoming year. 2020, it's hard to believe!! It's been a busy Fall and Winter for me. Business continues brisk in terms of appraisals and my brokerage services as people continue to inherit coin collections or retire and decide it's time to sell. This is a trend I expect to continue for the next decade and is a sign of the times. I had the privilege of being asked for a ninth time to contribute to the "Rosen Numismatic Advisory" and the "Crystal Ball Survey" wherein a half-dozen of us prognosticate on what the year ahead holds for the rare coin marketplace. The other contributors were John Albanese, David Hall, Warren Mills, Laura Sperber and Scott Travers. If you'd like to read the results contact [email protected] or 516-433-5800. I think you'll find the opinions lively and thought-provoking. I continue in my role as Treasurer of the National Silver Dollar Roundtable (NSDR) and we are consumed with the upcoming annual Banquet to held at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Orlando, Florida on January 10 in conjunction with the F.U.N. show. I am also on the board of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) and concurrently the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) which oversees the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (ACTF) spear-headed by Doug Davis. If you aren't aware of the incredible strides that have been achieved since its founding back in 2016, I urge you to go to www.acefonline.org and look into the issue of counterfeiting which threatens our hobby, industry and economy. Targets for these criminals not only include coins, but bullion and certified holders. The combat efforts include law enforcement on national and local levels along with federal agencies, a network of expert dealers along with both major grading services. Once you see the seriousness of the situation, I hope will consider donating to the foundation as we are ALL threatened with this menace which comes mainly from overseas entities. You can call directly to ACEF at 951-587-8300 or email to: [email protected] . As I write, we have the precious metals looking strong with gold in particular, up 20% on the year at $1527 per ounce. Even though we still have a physical glut of gold coins on the market, the promise of gold continuing to rise adds energy to the overall market.
This past June, I taught the "Advanced Grading and Problem Coins" class at the ANA Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs for the ninth year in a row. This year, I had a new crew with me and it promises to continue to be one of the most in-demand courses at the Seminar. Esteemed numismatist Jeff Garrett is now co-instructing along with numismatic prodigy, Maxwell Gregory and we are looking forward to next year's class already! Currently I'm in Long Beach for yet another convention beginning tomorrow. It will be a good one with gold continuing to rise (today 9/3 close was $1546.70), however with all the bad weather on the East Coast the boost ia likely to be mitigated. If you're coming to Long Beach for this one, be sure to stop by table 934 and say "Hi." When you visit the DH Ketterling website, one of the first things you'll see is our new video in the middle of the page. The purpose of the video is to detail at a glance the reasons why it's important for any serious coin buyer, seller or collector to do business with an experienced numismatic consultant rather than your neighborhood coin shop. As the video explains, throughout my career I've worn many hats. About 10 years ago, I decided to transition from a coin dealership to a numismatic consultancy. We now offer a number of valuable services that can make a big difference in all of your coin-related transactions. Simply put, there is no substitute for experience when you're negotiating the numismatic landscape. I hope the video gives you a variety of reasons to put my knowledge, credentials and experience to work for you. I have been negligent in posting to the site. Several coins shows have passed including the Central States Show in Schaumburg, Illinois. Coming up on June 5-8 is the fabled Long Beach show where you'll find me at TABLE 934, as usual.
Later in the month I will be travelling to Colorado Springs for the ANA Summer Seminar where I will be teaching "Advanced Grading and Problem Coins" for the 9th consecutive year. I always look forward to this event and this year we are starting out with a new team of instructors, making me the "senior" of the group. If you're looking to sharpen your already competent skills both in grading and detecting problems on coins, this class comes highly recommended. While the beginning and intermediate classes have two sessions, ours is only offered in the 2nd session from June 22-27. There's still time to signup and there are only a few vacancies left. More information can be found at www.money.org. Finally, be sure to check the new video on my home page! I think you'll find it informative and will explain some of the services I offer. I've been doing this so long that it's hard to pile on the superlatives, but here we are in 2019 and another Long Beach Show will shortly go into the books. We are in the midst of a mini-bull-run in the metals and I predict this will be the beginning of one of the last upturns in the rare coin market. After several years of a basic side-ways market, we will now see an upturn that many will look back on as a bargain period that should have been obvious to all who witnessed it.
If you have the nerve and the capital, now is a great time to take a chance. I cannot guarantee anything; I can only give you my opinion and that is that this could be one of the last great bull-market beginnings for those who are willing to step out and take some risk. Beyond that, this could be one the rare Long Beach weeks wherein the bullion market shows a positive gain. At any rate, if you're in town be sure to stop by and say hello at TABLE 934. Best wishes in all your endeavors! It's hard to believe, but it's 2019, a date which somehow seems futuristic to me!! This week will mark the first (and some say, "The Best") show of the year. Florida United Numismatists (FUN) will be putting yet another world-class coin convention in Orlando, Florida. It will be held in the convention center on International Drive in halls WA1 & WA2 which is across from the old Peabody (now Hyatt Regency Hotel).
My table is virtually in the center of the floor at #628, so if you're attending, please stop by. This promises to be a busy and active show which will kick off the New Year and I hope to see you there! |