Charity Auction Grabs Headlines

If you look at the business of coins, it appears there are two well-defined sectors that are now going in totally different directions. Prices are consolidating, which is never a good thing be it for stocks, bonds, precious metals, commodities or for collector and investor-oriented coins. Intrinsically valued circulation-strike coins, gold and silver American Eagles are impacted directly by this trend towards consolidation. This usually suggests that stagnant to declining prices are ahead.

On the “other side of the coin,” rarities are about to go into orbit. The finest known 1795 silver dollar, ex-Lord St. Oswald Collection, grabbed headlines when it was announced it would sell at public auction. The late Utah Jazz basketball team owner Larry H. Miller’s collection of 1,600 truly rare coins will be next. There is lots of good publicity surrounding this collection, not because the public cares about the 1794, 1804 and 1884-S silver dollars or the 1894-S dime up for sale, but because the proceeds will go to charity, to the Intermountain Healthcare to build a second campus of Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi, Utah.

Add to all this that, despite the coronavirus forcing the postponement of the November Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo, the show is still planned to return to Baltimore in March 2021. Other coin shows are cautiously re-opening, while coin clubs are meeting virtually or in open areas deemed to be reasonably safe from possible infections. The coin community is proving it is resistant, not only to downward trends and the declining use of physical cash, but to social problems including pandemics as well.

As an Amazon Associate, Numismaticnews.net earns from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links.