<br></br>Coin show is as good as gold

by Joseph Bakes/For The Star-Ledger Wednesday May 27, 2009, 1:20 PM

Gold coins such as this American Eagle gold bullion coin have been attracting greater interest from collectors and investors due to the recession.

"Gold is really strong," said Tom Hyland, a coin dealer from Sussex who was chairman of the show. "Anything gold is selling.. There was a gold frenzy going on here yesterday (the first day of the three-day convention)."

The rare coin auction saw a total of $225,000 in sales, quite a bit of it for gold. A 1796 $10 gold coin brought in $61,000. An 1889 $3 gold piece sold for $21,000.

Some of the more expensive coins, including an 1881 $20 gold piece that was estimated at $20,000 to $25,000, did not sell. But Chris Imperato of New World Rarities, the auctioneer, said 85 percent of the inventory found a buyer.

The gold market, of course, is being driven by the recession and people's desire to put their money into a commodity, something tangible, and gold has been valued throughout history.

This emphasis on gold even drew a company that sells safes to the convention. Jaime Torrejon of Lacka Safe in Carlstadt said the demand for home safes is high.

Unfortunately for collectors, the recession also is affecting the availability of new so-called circulating coins, which just don't seem to be circulating any more. According to collectors at the convention, the demand for coins at banks is down, so they're piling up in federal vaults instead of getting into the hands of the public.

"The Federal Reserve is full," said Jim Majoros of the Ocean County Coin Club. "They have too many coins in their vault."

Collectors, many of whom have developed relationships with bank employees to facilitate their hobbies, are being told that the banks aren't ordering new coins because of slackened demand. So the new quarters, Lincoln pennies and dollars are sitting in vaults.

But young collectors at the GSNA convention were in luck. They each were given a new Lincoln penny that Majoros was able to obtain from a friend in California.

New coins: The Guam quarter and the John Tyler presidential dollar have been released. More on them in future columns. To order, go on the mint's website, usmint.gov, or call (800) 872-6468.

The For Collectors column appears weekly in H&G Today, alternating between stamps and coins. You may reach Joseph Bakes at collectorscolumn@yahoo.com.

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