Fake Morgans Hit Market Ahead of Genuine Coins

By Richard Giedroyc

The interest in the rare coin market continues to accelerate. GreatCollections recently announced its August sales exceeding $51 million, making this the company’s best month in its 10-year history. Collectors should be aware that only about 31 percent of these sales were through auctions. The balance were sales made directly to clients "over-the-counter."

Even the British Royal Mint is getting into the act, offering trial strikes from its inventory in a public auction.

The market for collectible coins remains sufficiently hot that fake 2021-CC Morgan silver dollars have already been detected, the announcement being made prior to the official release date of the real coins! Traditionally, U.S. Mint non-circulating legal tender products had been a market laggard. I use the past-tense "had been," since this illustrates that there is currently keen interest in new coin issues among collectors. 

The Numismatic Stock Index of publicly traded companies involved in the business of coins and numismatics has been holding at about 80 percent of its 52-week trading high since April. Is a break-out on the horizon? 

Gold and silver are off their recent highs, but demand for bullion and bullion-impacted yet collectible coins composed of these metals continues to surge. Dealers are for the most part able to continue to restock no matter where the spot prices goes, accommodating as much of this demand as possible. The fear of inflation is real, bringing additional speculators into this market area as well. 

It appears coin shows and coin club meetings will remain open despite the persistence of the coronavirus pandemic. Attendance at shows is reported to be strong, another indicator of the enthusiasm the hobby continues to generate.