I attended the NY International Show last week to meet the major dealers in the world numismatic market, as well as pick up some, fresh new material. Happily, I succeeded in both and had a great time at the American Numismatic Society's (ANA) annual gala too boot. More at that later.
As DLRC grows into the world coin market, I have found it very interesting to see other dealer's inventories and reaction to our presence. For starters, most collectors of world coinage are just beginning to warm to third party grading. Most collectors of world coinage feel that a coin is circulated, AU, or unc. It reminds me of a 1970's-era Redbook approach. From a technology standpoint, most of these dealers are also behind the curve. I find very few good world-coin web sites on the Internet. At DLRC, we believe in both technology and the importance of third-party grading and I firmly believe that the hobby cannot grow without the acceptance of both. Of course, pricing high grade mint state world coins is difficult given that there are no price guides for gem coins. If Krause lists a certain coin at $25 in 'Unc.', what is an MS67 worth? $75? $150? If this were a Buffalo nickel, the value would be $1000 in MS67! To say the least, there is some tremendous value in world coinage right now and I don't think it's going to be this way for long. In a few years, collectors may indeed look back and wonder how they passed up a Swiss 1810 5 Batz graded MS66 PL for $310!!! A comparable US coin is worth... well, add a couple zeros at least. There are many such examples like this and we're excited about it.
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