We are back from the annual February Long Beach Coin Expo. We had a busy show with lots of buying and selling. Many of the pieces we purchased there will soon be up in auction on our eBay site.
The coin market as a whole has been very weak for the last few years, so it was great to see so many people coming through the door. I would attribute many of the casual visitors to an exhibit of the S.S. Central America treasures, which were heavily promoted prior to the show. After folks checked out the display of gold bars and coinage from the Central America, which wrecked off the coast of North Carolina in 1857, they walked the show floor and gave a buzz of business lacking from previous shows.
There is still a lot of caution in the market as a whole. Better coins are still selling, as are unique or hard to find items. Common material languishes on the market and is bringing lower and lower prices. Everything has a price, but the price is much lower than it was ten years ago.
We will return to Long Beach in June. It will be interesting to see if the momentum of this show carries over into the summer.
S.