THE CRAZY MARKETS-MID OCTOBER

by Legend Numismatics

LEGEND AND ITS BUSINESS ARE SOLID

First, Legend would like to clarify the last email everyone got from us. We were surprised to hear some people took our "no cash buying" as desperation selling. Wrong!

What we were trying to do is move old inventory and get something we badly needed-gold. Dealers close to us had incredibly strong orders for generic Saints and Liberties and we felt it might be wise to suggest some profit taking. Thanks to that email we did 2 transactions for generic gold and have 2 more on hold. Plus, we simply have too many physical coins. We prefer to control our inventory at certain levels.

SINCE OCTOBER 1ST LEGEND HAS SPENT $3,000,000.00 WITH COLLECTORS! This is NOT getting consignments, NOT placing coins into auction, not anything else but writing checks! We have had everything from a small Pattern Collection to a million dollar collection sold to us this month. We've even purchased a $1,000,000.00 coin that we promptly sold to a collector! The collectors who we knew for a long time and had given us Want Lists had a few holes in their collections filled. We were never kidding when we said we could sell up to $10,000,000.00 in coins -if we could find them. Since Oct 1st, we have found some and the buyers were still there. They especially loved the fact they didn't have to contend for them in an auction and end up overpaying possibly.

Legend can easily handle ANY size deal-still. Unlike many other dealers, we manage our cash flow very well and are well financed.

Our only concerns are about our older inventory. We deem the auction process too risky and slow for today’s daily changing financial marketplace (plus if your coin does sell, you have to wait another 45 days to be paid). We don't want to have an huge inventory being neglected. So we are eager sellers of any coin that has been in our inventory for more than 60 days. $3,000,000.00 (in 2 weeks) buys you a lot of coins-and you forget about your older coins very easily!

An FYI about who was selling and why: not everyone was dumping because they needed money or were panicked. One substantial deal had nothing to do with anything financial. Another deal happened because the collector felt they could not improve their set. Yet another collector was retiring from his business. One collector sold us his duplicates so he had more money to work on his main sets. Only a small handful told us they needed money.

LEGENDS CURRENT SALESWe read one dealer who wrote that its a lie if someone says they are selling a lot of coins. Well, they need a better customer base! A substantial part of the $3 million we purchased is now in collectors hands. Included are coins such as: A choice/GEM PCGS group of PR Half cents, $10 1801 in high grade, an 1808 $2.5 in high AU, several GEM PR Seated Dollars, and one very special coin we will have an announcement on shortly.
These coins all went to different buyers-NOT the usual suspects.

At the new slightly lower levels, coins are indeed trading on the retail level. Not everyone is staring a stock screen trying to figure which window to jump out of. The correction in coins actually happened months ago when collectors realizing things were going to change and the financial world was shifting. At that point, they started to demand ONLY true quality. The lesser material immediately fell at least 10-20%. Up until now, "better" coins have been strong. We see only minor weakness so far-but the coins we are handling are the best of the best and manage to out last (financially) widgets, generics, and general product. The upcoming Stacks and Heritage auctions will be major bellwethers as to where the general market is at. Both follow each other at the end of the month.

THE STOCK MARKET AND THE COIN MARKETThe stock market is pure insanity at this point. Traders have made sure to drive a wedge into every investors thoughts and create a potentially harmful psychology. Even great companies have had their stocks become worth less than their book values! Investors still do have money, but thanks to the loser hedgies (slang for hedge funds) giving them super wedgies, they are sitting on the sidelines confused or plain scared.

Our government is working hard to clean up the mess. Clearly, it will take time to heal. The coin market is NOT spooked. Values have NOT collapsed. Collectors and the general public have bought so much gold bullion there is virtually none available. The major telemarketers are slowly starting to transfer that demand into rare gold coins. The potential for a turn around just based on new collectors who couldn't get gold bullion is staggering.

We have no prediction on how the coin market will now end the year. The stock market is on too wild of a ride to do any serious calculating on. We will say it is a buyers market for many coins-save for the classic rarities. There is NOT a flood of coins to choose from (which is a VERY good sign). Again, all the coins we wanted to sell last week SOLD. Only our older inventory (yes, we'll make deals) is sluggish.

A HUGE POSSIBLITY OF POTENTIAL We are fed up with stocks. Some of our holding have dropped as much as 76% since July! Shame on us for not having the bulk of our assets in a field we know best-coins. No more playing the stock market. We'll put a minimum amount into stocks, and the rest into rare coins. We doubt that over the next few months as things stabilize we'll be alone. Even if a fraction of a fraction of the investor money that’s out there came into coins-we'd be right back in a raging bull market. If this happens it will happen virtually overnight and it will be one heck of a herd coming in. Prices could dramatically shoot up.
Unlike the stock market, coins do not have 1000 point daily stomach churning sessions. In the end you have a beautiful historical hard asset, not a worthless piece of paper.

THERE DEFINATELY IS A COIN MARKET THAT IS STILL ACTIVE. THE SKY IS NOT FALLING!

Gold Picks

By John Kamin

John Kamin, author of The Forecaster, has recommendations for those who want to buy rarer or scarcer coins:

"$1 gold Type 2 1854 or 1855 small Indian princess head in Ms-60 or MS-62;"

"$3 gold 1879 through 1889 in MS-62;"

"1915-S Panama Pacific $2.5;"

" 1917 $1 McKinley

Kamin advises avoiding the $1 Pacific Rim and 1916 $1 McKinley because they are too common.

As for bullion coins, Kamin recomments the 2008 quarter ounce and half ounce gold coins because they are lower mintage than the $1 American Eagle and can be purchased for a few percent over melt value.

Kamin suggests avoiding junk accumulations, cable TV pitches, 1 ounce gold Eagles, one-tenth ounce gold Eagles, circulated $20 Liberty and circulation St. Gaudens.

"These are much too common, with too high mintages and I can't see any significant numismatic premiums for them for a number of years," he says.

Wicker Praises In God We Trust Relocation

By CoinNews.net

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker has more reason to celebrate than most for the new 2009 Presidential Dollar designs the United States Mint released on Wednesday. He introduced the amendment calling for the motto "In God We Trust" to be relocated from the edge of the $1 coin to its face. (View up close 2009 Presidential $1 Coin design images.)

"The words of these two phrases symbolize who we are as Americans and should not be relegated to the rim of this new, high-profile coin. They should continue to be proudly and prominently displayed," said Mr. Wicker in 2007 when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives."

In late 2007, Congress passed Mr. Wicker’s amendment within the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included a provision directing the Secretary of the Treasury to move the inscription “In God We Trust” from the edge of the Presidential $1 Coin to the obverse (heads side) or reverse of the coin.

After the U.S. Mint’s revelation of the new 2009 Presidential Dollar designs with the motto on the coin’s obverse, Sen. Wicker commented,

"The words ‘In God We Trust’ symbolize who we are as Americans and should not have been relegated to the rim of the new $1 coins. It was wrong to obscure these important, symbolic words from view.

I am glad my amendment received the support it did to ensure these important words will be displayed on the face of future presidential $1 coins, starting with the coins the U.S. Mint revealed today."

Mr. Wicker said the phrase has been prominently displayed on U.S. currency since 1864, and it was important that it continued with the new $1 coins.

The Presidential $1 Coin Program started in 2007 and features a series of four different designs each year, with each honoring a former President in the order they served. The 2009 Presidential $1 Coins honor William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor.

To date, more than 1.3 billion $1 coins have been minted for circulation that bear the images of the first seven Presidents. The 2008 Martin Van Buren Presidential Dollar is scheduled for release on November 13.

Austrian Railways Fourth Silver Commemorative

"Empress Elisabeth West Railway"

By Austrian Mint

The Austrian Mint has issued the fourth 20 Euro silver commemorative coin within the "Austrian Railways" six silver coin series. The coin is dedicated to the "Empress Elisabeth West Railway" from Vienna to Salzburg, which was constructed between 1856 and 1860. It features locomotive "kkStB 306" steaming across an iron railway bridge and a superbly crafted scene depicting the platform hall of the West Railway Station in Vienna.

In the Austrian Empire the railway lines north to the coalfields and factories of Bohemia or south to the harbour of Trieste and the Adriatic shipping lanes were by far the most important. A railway line from Vienna westwards parallel to the Danube River was of less consequence.
However, the Kingdom of Bavaria was very anxious to see such a line between Salzburg and Vienna, which would enable trains from Munich to travel eastwards through Hungary and down to Constantinople. Plans by the government to build such a line were subsequently abandoned in 1856 to a private consortium, the Empress Elisabeth Railway Company.

Construction began in 1856 and by late 1858 the line had reached the city of Linz. In the next two years the line was extended to Salzburg, the first train from Vienna arriving on 26th May, 1860. The official opening was not until 12th August. On that day the Emperor Franz Joseph coming from Vienna and King Maximilian II of Bavaria coming from Munich arrived in the Salzburg Railway Station at precisely the same time. The official opening was followed by celebrations first in Munich and then in Vienna. The new line would also be used by Franz Joseph to travel to his beloved Bad Ischl in Summer, and by the Empress Elisabeth herself to travel home to see her family in Bavaria.

The locomotive 306 which appears on the obverse of the new coin, was designed and built in 1908 by the chief engineer Karl Gölsdorf. Unfortunately, it proved insufficiently strong to move the new heavy express trains and consequently only three engines of this model were constructed. The locomotive 306 was then employed in pulling the imperial court trains which Emperor Franz Joseph and members of the imperial family used on their frequent journeys throughout the Empire. Each line placed such a special train at the disposal of the imperial family, although the journeys themselves were billed to the court.

In 1881 the Empress Elisabeth West Railway, which had been struggling with financial problems, fell victim to the government’s plans to bring all the railways under the control of the Imperial State Railways. The entire network of lines and the running of all trains were incorporated into the state system. In 1884 the Empress Elisabeth West Railway was officially nationalised. After the First World War with the dismemberment of the Habsburg Empire, the North and South Railways declined in significance. The West Railway became (and remains) the most important line in the Republic of Austria.

The new silver 20-Euro coin shows the locomotive 306 steaming across an iron railway bridge. The reverse side depicts the platform hall of the West Railway Station in Vienna. A train has just arrived and the passengers begin to disembark. A railway official stands with a timetable in hand to assist passengers with inquiries. To the right is the statue of the Empress Elisabeth, who gave her name to the line. This figure was in the entrance to the old station, and although damaged in the Second World War, it stood until recently in the entrance hall of the new West Station.

The new coin is struck in 900 fine silver in proof quality only and to a maximum mintage of 50,000 pieces. Each coin is issued in an attractive box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. A prestigious collection case for the entire series can be purchased separately.

The new "Empress Elisabeth West Railway" coin has already been received with enthusiasm by coin collectors and railway fans the world over.