From the Desk of Q. David Bowers: Summer is Coming to an End

By Q. David Bowers, Chairman Emeritus

Summer ended on Labor Day, not officially according to the calendar, but actually in terms of much of the local activity that surrounds us here at the Wolfeboro office of Stack’s Bowers Galleries. Tourists were here all summer long and have now returned to work, school, and other activities. “Normalcy” as Calvin Coolidge once said, is now the situation. That will change next month when autumn foliage will attract countless thousands of visitors with cameras. Numismatically, the summer has been memorable. Our World’s Fair of Money sale in Philadelphia in August broke records left and right, our Hong Kong sale provided excitement, and a lot of other interesting activities took place. In New York City at 123 West 57^th Street the new Gold to Go was a centerpiece of news attention, dispensing gold coins and small ingots automatically upon receipt of money. The Bison silver medals in two sizes, half ounce and one ounce, have attracted a lot of interest as well.

Across the Stack’s Bowers Galleries organization we are preparing our spectacular auction for the Whitman Coins & Collectibles Expo to be held in Baltimore in November. This is probably the third most dynamic show of the year, after the World’s Fair of Money (annual summer ANA convention) and Florida United Numismatists. Draw a 500-mile circle around Baltimore and you encompass probably 60% or more of all active coin buyers and sellers. If you have coins, tokens, medals or paper money for sale, contact us today and arrange for a position in what is sure to be a record-breaking event. The sooner you do this the better, as scarcities, rarities, and other items can be included in pre-sale publicity. The entire numismatic world will focus on the auction as it takes place. Beyond that, if you are planning your future travel, add the Expo to your personal events. Although bidding on the Internet is as easy as pie, attending a sale in person and also experiencing the other pleasures of the Expo is very desirable.

For the first time the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4) will be holding their annual meeting with the November Expo. In connection with this a special auction presentation is planned to feature colonial and early American issues. Give this some thought if you have interesting items to sell – perhaps a collection that is near completion, perhaps duplicates, perhaps other items of interest.

My best wishes to you until we meet again next week in this column.

Dave Bowers