Waiting for bullion, or buying up bargains?

Overall, the market continues to show minor declines in such popular series as Morgan dollars regardless of scarcity, but there have been some modest increases in better-grade gold coins. It is entirely possible this could be the first sign of an upcoming bull market. We will still need a spike in the price of gold and silver bullion to bring on a broad-based rally. Silver continues to trade at a price lower than where it was at the beginning of the year, while gold is a tiny bit higher.

When you have a fixed supply of something and declining demand for it, doesn’t that suggest that the item is not as scarce as it had been, since there are fewer people who want it? Read the tea leaves.

This is what is happening with many scarce to rare coins. We have a decline in the number of collectors actively seeking these coins, but the population of these dates and mintmarks remains fixed.

I call this a buyer’s market. It is time to buy what you don’t have or to upgrade the coins you do have that can be better.

A recent examination of eBay indicated there were more than 40 1889-CC Morgan silver dollars being offered encapsulated by the three most recognized certification services. While some of these were problem examples, one was graded Mint State 63 by Professional Coin Grading Service. It doesn’t appear this coveted date might be as scarce as we might anticipate. This is only one example of how outside sources – the Internet – are changing the supply and demand equation as well.

More Collecting Resources

• Are you a U.S. coin collector? Check out the 2019 U.S. Coin Digest for the most recent coin prices.

• The Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money is the only annual guide that provides complete coverage of U.S. currency with today’s market prices.