Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes. Time flies, as always, and in the back office at Stack’s we are still working on updating our listing of books for sale. In the meantime, the holiday season is upon us, the ideal time for gift giving, and you can take up to a 30% discount! This is one of the best deals on the planet! I should also mention that the books we offer are brand-new, not lightly handled, not demonstration copies. I say this as we recently learned that a well-known discount Internet seller was shipping goods that were not first class.

Last week I was in Baltimore attending the Whitman Coin and Currency Convention, a dynamic event held three times a year at the Convention Center. Stack’s auction did very well, with the sell-through rate for “collector” coins, medals, tokens, and paper money being excellent, with many record prices realized. Some of the more expensive pieces in the regular U.S. series did not find buyers due to consignor reserves, a situation that is true for all coin auction houses. As consignors adjust to the market, that will change, for the demand for museum quality coins is still very strong.

The Ernest Keusch Collection of Assay Commission Medals broke all records, bringing multiples of pre-sale estimates. They were absolutely sensational, as can be verified by checking the prices in our auction archive. I remember Ernie as a fine fellow, in the securities business, but with a deep hobby interest in numismatics. On one visit to see him in New Jersey we called upon William Simon, Secretary of the Treasury, who was a friend and neighbor, and had a nice time. Ernie liked items that were unusual and rare, ranging from the Assay Commission medals, as noted, to unusual Proof strikings of commemoratives and other coins and medals not seen often.

Have a great upcoming Holiday Season. We all have a lot to be thankful for as citizens of the United States and also as numismatists. I have always maintained that coin collecting is the world’s greatest hobby.

Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes. I am composing this in Baltimore, having spent two days at our auction sale and now set to participate in the Whitman Coin & Currency Show. Despite what Wall Street is doing, the coin market is holding its own (which is saying a lot for any market). In our auction sale, there was a lot of interest, and along the way records were set in several different areas.

For the Ernie Keusch Collection of Assay Commission Medals, all bets were off, and the sky was the limit! Many pieces opened at what were thought to be current market prices, only to soar to three times, four times, and even more than the starting bids. Reference books will need to be rewritten. Paper money was strong. General United States "type" coins did well. The American Bank Note Company archival items mainly sold to the Internet, many at multiples of what we expected.

Our listings of books for sale is still in the process of being expanded and revised. In the meantime, right now you can get best-selling titles for up to a 30% discount. These are fresh, new copies (we mention this, as some Internet offerings are slightly used or "display" copies). There is no better investment in numismatics than in a shelf of interesting, informative books. For $100 to $200, you can buy enough books to keep you busy and happy with a month of reading. And, for the holidays, a book is truly a gift that keeps on giving - a gift to be savored, enjoyed, and treasured. Think about it.

Have a nice week, and Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Stack's. We all have a lot to be thankful for in the United States of America.

Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes. The numismatic season continues to be busy, actually, I have never seen it otherwise. I will be stopping by at the Colonial Coin Collectors Club meeting at the Radisson Hotel in Boston, this Friday, November 14th, to meet, greet, and say hello. I am the keynote speaker there on Friday evening, the topic being "Collecting and Enjoying Colonial Coins Since the 1950s." This field, once rather sleepy, has become dynamic in recent years. Still, the "bar" to entry, if one calls it that, is knowledge. Some reading and contemplation is required in addition to simply writing checks. Rather than being an obstacle, this actually contributes to the excitement of the field.

Then it's off to Baltimore where we'll be conducting a marvelous auction, the sale of the Keusch, Snow, & Del Zorro Collections. What a varied offering this is-ranging from a collection of Proof large copper cents gathered generations ago, to extremely rare Assay Commission medals, to Proof coins of Hawaii, to incredible patterns, to, of course, a wide selection of United States coins from half cents to double eagles. In a way this is a "discovery sale," as there are so many varied things in it. No matter what your interest, you're bound to find something you already collect and, perhaps more important, discover a new series to explore.

After the sale comes the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention at the Convention Center. Stack's will be set up in the bourse, and you are certainly invited to come by and say hello to me and the staff. This is one of the most active shows on the circuit. Baltimore is one of my favorite cities to visit.

Enjoy the numismatic week to come. There are many great things to do. And, don't forget to review our books for sale section and order titles of interest. This may be the last time we are offering our 30% discount schedule. If not next week, then the week after we're changing the format. Take advantage now, and order the titles you'd like.

The holiday season is upon us. There is no better gift than an interesting book about coins, tokens, medals, and paper money. And, if you pick one of my books I'll be happy to personalize it to your gift recipient. It would be difficult to imagine a more appreciated present that costs, say, $15 to $30. I especially recommend The 100 Greatest American Currency Notes and The 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens. Everybody loves these!

If your gift recipient likes to read and has the potential to become a numismatist, my recommendation is The Expert's Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins. Everyone who has read it and reported back to me has said it was either the best coin book they have ever read, or it was on a very short list.

See you next week!

Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes. Now that the election is over, mainstream America can concentrate on other things. Wall Street has some more adjustments, it seems. Perhaps investing will go back to emphasis on value, rather than speculation. Do we really need derivatives, strips, tranches, and other such things I never heard of when I studied finance? Stocks and bonds were valued on the dividends they earned, either at present or in terms of what was supposed to be a carefully calculated outlook of the future.

And so it is with coins, tokens, medals, and paper money. As they do not pay dividends, any investment evaluation of them has to be based on supply, popularity, present market value, and anticipated future demand.

A spectacular article by David Ganz in Numismatic News traced prices of coins over a long period of time, in comparison with the stock market indexes and other data. Coins scored very high, indeed spectacularly - and along the way offered little in the way of downward "surprises." Although David is busy as an attorney and a coin writer, he did find time to go to Machu Picchu in Peru a while ago, and sent us some pictures.

As I see it, in today's worldwide economy, numismatics should continue to occupy a comfortable niche. Coins are easily described by universally understood terms, are small and can be easily shipped or stored, and they are basically interesting to own. Although there are no guarantees, history shows that a carefully formed collection usually increases in value over the years, sometimes spectacularly.

$100,000 spent on a spiffy sports car or sleek power boat 10 years ago is probably worth, say, $20,000 or so today. $100,000 spent on a basic type set of colonial coins, say in VF and EF grades, is probably worth $200,000 today. A coin is not a substitute for a Porsche and the pleasure it yields in driving and status. Nor is a Porsche a substitute for a coin in terms of long-time store of value. The answer is not one or the other, but for those who can afford it, some of each.

Or, at a lower level of expenditure, $5,000 spent on a computer system 10 years ago may be worth $1,000 today, while that $5,000 spent on colonials might take $10,000 to replace today. It does make sense to balance your expenditures for items beyond the necessities of life. Not wanting to miss out on the latest thing, I invested in two hedge funds some time ago. Today they are worth half that. If I had spent the money in one of our auctions, I would probably have a nice profit awaiting me.

Anyway....

There are many things to contemplate. I hope that in the coming year Americans unite to form a new era in the quality of life and that worldwide the United States will lead by illustrious example, not by threats. We do live in a wonderful country.