Active Bidding Promises Positive Growth
The competition for these specimens is an indicator of just how much money is chasing truly rare coins.
The results from the Feb. 8-11 Long Beach (California) Expo U.S. Coins Signature® Auction conducted by Heritage once more demonstrate that the business of coins continues to perform as a strong bull market.
The $7,009,931 realized is impressive, as is the more than $1.7 million hammered down for 41 lots from the Eric Lane Collection of Early U.S. Dollars, but it is the more than three dozen bids received for a 1798 Draped Bust Dollar Small Eagle, 15 Stars, B-2, BB-81, R.3, Mint State 61 PCGS silver dollar that should grab everyone’s attention.
The sheer number of bids the coin received, coupled with the $216,000 hammer price realized, is impressive. The previous auction record for the same coin was $129,250, realized 11 years earlier. The competition for such a coin is an indicator of just how much money is chasing truly rare coins. Likewise, 35 bids were received for a 1798 Draped Bust Small Eagle, 13 stars silver dollar.
Setting price records is important, but the number of bidders and bids tells much more about the overall market. Bullion-impacted coins are in a similar mode to that of true rarities. A significant number of buyers are not coin collectors but investors. With the spot price of gold continuing to hold in excess of $2,000 an ounce and silver holding relatively steady at about $23, investors disappointed by the Federal Reserve not yet lowering interest rates are looking for safe havens other than equities. And they are willing to compete to get these coins. The market for coins appears to be moving from several angles at once, and each one of these moves is positive.
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