Not-So-Slow Summer for Coins

There is usually a slowdown in activity during the summer. Vacations and outdoor activities divert time and resources otherwise earmarked for coin collecting. The anticipated slowdown this year appears to be muted, with dealers reporting minor interruption in sales, but not anything significant. Likewise, the spot price of gold, silver and platinum has been getting soft throughout the past two months. However, sales in bullion and intrinsically valued coins continue to do well.

Recently released U.S. Mint products are being well received, although as might be expected the secondary market for much of this material is soft. Even here this is only partially true. While some non-circulating legal tender commemoratives are plentiful, others are almost impossible to find. U.S. Mint figures for 2023 clad proof sets available at the time this commentary was being written indicated that the 219,181 sets sold within the first six days of issue made the proof set the Mint’s top selling product for that week.

Quality coupled with rarity continues to be a major factor in what sells and what doesn’t. Bullion investors aren’t as active as they were several weeks earlier, but investors treating significantly rare coins as an asset class remains firm.

Several important auctions will be coming soon, with strong prices being anticipated. The August American Numismatic Association convention is expected to draw large crowds and, as in the past, will likely kick off the fall buying season.

Coin collecting remains in strong hands, with significant demand for many items in short supply.