NumismaticBlog.com

Browsing the listings of ebay you get a sense of a coin frenzy. The collector grade coins seems to be drying up and the prices of higher grade coins have skyrocketed above the Red Book value. I ask my self "what is going on here?".  So I do a little comparative shopping. I have noticed that the coins dealers in our local community are much lower than the ones found on e-bay, and the quality is just as good although the selection is limited. But, that is to be expected from a local shop. They don’t have the resources that e-bay does.

So then what is the deal? Why are the prices on  e-bay going so high?  A 1909 S V.D.B is not any rarer than it was 10 years ago. I think a couple of things are happening; I believe that sellers are becoming angry at e-bay for it’s last round of price increases, and people are listing fewer coins. I am also seeing more "power sellers" and fewer collectors and dealers listing their coins.  E-bay is loosing it’s "rummage sale" feel and it looks more and more like big business trying to make big profits.  They are loosing the small shops that have a few, but , very nice coins to offer. This is causing your selection of good quality coins to diminish, loss to the mass market frenzy that is the new e-bay. Buyers are also getting cought up in this, because they are seeing fewer high end coins, so a feeding frenzy starts to develop that causes the price to skyrocket.

Everyone shopping e-bay needs to take a step back and take a reality check. I believe e-bay is creating a market "bubble" in coin collecting. Similar to the housing market or stocks. These bubbles have a nasty habit of popping. My advice to anyone shopping for coins; Look beyond e-bay, go to a local dealer or coin show and see what is happening in the real world. We can get caught up with on-line buying because it is so simple and easy to do. Many of us also look to e-bay for the current value of our coins which can give us a false sense of value. Between e-bay, and it’s power sellers and it’s high fees. e-bay is shaping the market this is a dangerous president. Do you really want one company and the way it does it’s business shape the way we look at the value of our coins?

Please replay below I look forward to your responses.

   Chief Engraver for the U.S. Mint from 1965-1981. His initials (FG) appear on many coins we use today. His designs on our circulating currency reflect a more modern less inspired approach to coin art. I don’t blame him for the lack of inspiration when you have Ike as a portrait subject. Let’s face it Eisenhower was a great general but he was not the most photogenic person. Frank Gasparro designed coins in a time when we started to remove lady liberty from our coins and we began to immortalize some of our great presidents.  He continued the tradition started with the Lincoln cent designed by Victor D. Brenner. Most of his designs were based on other statues , busts or paintings and not wholey created on his own. I think these restrictions either self imposed or congressionally imposed made it difficult to be creative during this time. Below is a medal created by Frank Gasparro of John Wayne.  When Gasparro was able to explore art and be more creative in his designs.  You can see his ability as an artist. If you want examples  of his best artistic endeavors you might want to purchase a few of the medals he designed. This metal is currently available from the U.S. Mint.  I know it sounds like a commercial, sorry about that, I just want to provide a link for anyone interested in his art. us mint John Wayne medal  The medal is based on other art that was made of John Wayne.

Frank Gasparro died at age 92 and his last circulating design was the Susan B. Anthony dollar. Oddly enough he was born the same year that the Lincoln penny was introduced in 1909.

I feel sorry for him. He entered my life when I got him in change. I was surprised that I even got him in change from a gas station in Indiana. I really did not even notice him until I opened my wallet (yes I put change in my wallet) and saw the coin. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to spread the joy of coin collecting to a fellow co-worker. I was going to sell it for the face value of one dollar.  Well I still have him, nobody wanted him;

Employee 1; I don’t like the feel of the coin, I want the paper dollar unless it is real gold, Is it real gold? - me, No.  Him - Well then it is just junk.

Employee 2; Are you trying to scam me, this is a piece of junk, it is not a real coin.

Employee 3: I don’t care about this stuff, It doesn’t have a date on it, so it cannot be real. Me- the date is on the edge. Him; that is stupid, that shows you that it is a fake.

Employee 4: Is it gold ? Me -No.  Him - I will give you a quarter for it.

Employee 5: Yea, I have seen these before, I don’t like them.

Employee 6: I don’t collect coins, it will just get lost, or I will spend it for a quarter.

Employee 7: (He collects coins), I have a couple but I don’t think much of them, I don’t need it.

Employee 8: She asks-Is this like the Susan B. Anthony dollar, Me - No it is like the Sacagawea dollar, her- What is that? Me (rolls eyes and leaves)

So President James Monroe, is still in my possession. Looking good but sadly un-wanted. Not even worth the value stamped on it. People are slow to change, and cannot seem to accept a new form of currency. The old greenback is still king, and as long as we associate wealth with that paper dollar it will never change. The interesting thing about this is back in the 1800’s the opposite was true. Hard currency was preferred to paper currency. It was simply because when you got a coin it was made of metal equal to it’s face value. People worried about paper currency because it had no real value. Oh, how ideas of what is valuable has changed. Remember when the government started to panic when the value of a penny’s metal actually started to equal the value of a penny. (then exceed it). I am sure many normal working Americans, could not see what this meant about their money.  As long as they can go to Wal-Mart and buy your food, they are in a blissful world.