COINS

THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL COINS… And One of the Rare Coin Market’s Best Values! Rare coins are hot! Prices are on the move. Auction action…especially for extreme rarities…is hot and heavy. Dealer-to-dealer action at coin shows is frantic. Dealer inventories are low and buyer demand is high. The rare coin market started heating up in 2003. In 2004 and 2005, the market heat

RARE

increased as inventories shrunk and demand accelerated. For the first three months of 2006 the market has heated up even more. But we still haven’t even begun to approach the heat of a rip-roaring Bull market we saw in 1978-1980 or 1987-89. By all indications, rare coins are in the midst of a major bull market. And both the external (inflation increasing, gold

HALL

prices soaring, the stock market waffling) and internal (cyclical behavior, dealer inventories, price to value levels) forces remain extremely bullish for rare coins. This market has tremendous momentum and should run for another 3 to 5 years. Bottom line…it’s a great time to be involved with rare coins.

DAVID

And we have a great group of coins to tell you about. But first, we have some thoughts to share with you about the right strategy for maximum “enjoyment” of a Bull market. OK, so prices have moved up and coins are red hot. What should you do? Where’s the value? Which coins have good potential? What’s the best strategy for this phase of the Bull market? Van and I have been to this movie before (many times) and we have some very specific strategic suggestions for you…and a group of coins you should seriously consider. First the strategy.

We have seen a lot of people have great success in the rare coin market during the past 40 years and we’ve also seen some people take a beating. Here’s the strategy that makes the most sense to us. 1. Build a set or sets of your favorite coin. The people we’ve seen have the most fun and make the most money…both very worthy goals…are the people who focus their purchases on an individual group of coins or several groups or sets of coins and avoid random purchases. If you’ve already started a set of your favorites, plow ahead…prices today, while certainly higher than 24 months ago in most cases, may just be a minor preview of things to come. If you haven’t started to focus on certain coins, give us a call and let’s talk about how you can get some focus into your rare coin purchasing strategy. 2. Buy top quality. It’s the top quality coins that have the most demand. And it’s the top quality coins that have always performed the best in bull markets of the past. 3. Be consistent. Have a plan…have a budget…and stick to it. If you bounce around without a plan or budget, you will probably not have as much fun as you could in this fascinating market and you almost certainly will not do as well financially. 4. Look for value. There are tens of thousands of different coins you can buy. Look for the most bang for your buck. Compare price to rarity…price to population…price to size of demand and popularity…price to numismatic importance. 5. Buy PCGS coins exclusively. Coins graded by other grading services usually do not meet the PCGS standards and they will bring less money at liquidation time. PCGS coins command the most respect in the market place. Aretha Franklin spells respect R-E-S-P-E-C-T. In the coin market, respect is spelled M-O-N-E-Y and PCGS coins bring the most money. Don’t settle for less than the best!

THE 1930S…GREAT VALUES AND BEAUTIFUL COINS! American coinage design reached an aesthetic high point in the early 20th Century with the minting of the Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, Walking Liberty half dollar, $10 Indian, and $20 St. Gaudens. These are some of the world’s most beautiful coins, and not surprisingly, these six series have been avidly collected for decades. They have also consistently gone up in price over the long term. But right now, the four non-gold series…Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Standing Liberty quarters, and Walking Liberty half dollars…are taking somewhat of a back seat to all the hot and heavy action in ultra rarities, early (pre-1840) U.S. coins, and rare gold coins. It’s created a situation where some of the best coins you could buy for the long term have become fantastic values. Don’t get me wrong, they haven’t come down in price…but they haven’t increased in price as dramatically in the past two years as some other areas of the market have. These classic issues now have great price to rarity relationships. Bottom line, top quality examples of these four classic coins are now one of the rare coin markets’ great values.

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1933 TO 1939 WALKING LIBERTY HALF DOLLARS… FANTASTIC COINS AVAILABLE NOW! Van and I have always been aggressive buyers of Gem quality 1930 to 1939 coins. They are great coins and they are always quick sellers. They are a good deal for us and a great deal for our clients. We recently were able to purchase a fantastic mini-hoard of 1934 to 1939 Superb quality Walking Liberty half dollars. We bought them “right” and we can offer them to you at a really good price. But first, let’s take a look at the individual issues. I’ll give you my comments on each date. Walking Liberty half dollars were minted from 1916 to 1947. They have been a collector favorite for decades and they have always been solid bull market performers. They are considered one of the most beautiful coins ever made and they are also one of the most popular. The Walking Liberty half dollar series basically breaks down into three sections. The “Early Dates” were minted between 1916 and 1928 and they are very rare (and expensive) in Gem condition. The “Middle Dates” were minted between 1933 and 1939. They are not as rare (or nearly as expensive) as the Early Dates, but they are much rarer than the “Late Dates.” The Late Dates were minted between 1940 and 1947. The Late Dates were saved in significant quantities (the Depression was over) and they are fairly available in Gem condition. It’s the Middle Dates that seem to have the best value to me. They are rare, yet affordable. The rarest Early Dates in Gem condition are the 1919-D and 1921-S and they are both six figure coins. But the Middle Dates sell in the $300 to $4000 range. They aren’t as rare as the 1919-D or 1921-S, but they are rare and they are great values at today’s prices. I think of the Middle Dates as three groups. They are the “Rarities”: 1933-S, 1934-S, 1935-D, and 1935-S; the “Scarce Dates” 1934, 1934-D, 1935, 1936-D, 1936-S, 1937-D, 1937-S, and 1938; the “Value Dates”; 1936, 1937, 1939, 1939-D, and 1939-S. There is also one date…1938-D…that’s sort of an anomaly, and I’ll discuss it separately. Here is a review of each of the dates in the Walking Liberty half dollar Middle Date series. For each date I have included the current price as listed in the PCGS Online Price Guide. I have included the prices for Gem quality (MS65) and Superb Gem quality (MS66.) As always, all comments only apply to PCGS graded coins.

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THE RARITIES The four “Rarities” of the 1933 to 1939 Walkers are all very important coins in this classic coin series. They are good long term deals, with the 1935-D being very attractively priced at current levels. If you can afford them, they are great coins. 1933-S (MS65 $4,250, MS66 $6,500) No half dollars were minted between 1928 and 1933. Evidently, in the depths of the Great Depression there was little need for silver half dollars. Only the San Francisco Mint issued half dollars in 1933 and the 1933-S is quite rare in Gem MS65 or better condition. The value is there, but at $4,250 in MS65 this is no bargain coin. 1934-S (MS65 $4,750, MS66 $6,500) Half dollar production began in earnest again in 1934 with all three Mints (Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco) issuing coins starting in 1934 and continuing through most years thru 1947. The 1933-S and 1934-S are definitely the rarest of the 1933 to 1947 issues. Like the 1933-S, the 1934-S is worth the money, but is no real bargain. 1935-D (MS65 $2,800, MS66 $8,750) The 1935-D is the lowest priced of the four major 1933-1947 rarities and is probably the best value. It is nearly as rare as the 1933-S and 1934-S in MS65 condition and it is actually quite a bit rarer in MS66. This is because the head of Ms. Liberty is usually very weakly struck on this issue. Interestingly, the 1935-D is the only 1933 to 1947 Denver Mint half dollar with significant strike problems (1934-Ds sometimes come with weakly struck dates.) The rarity and difficulty of acquiring this issue in MS66 makes the MS65 examples an even better deal. Highly Recommended in MS65! 1935-S (MS65 $3,600, MS66 $5,500) This is definitely a rare coin in Gem condition, but it takes a little bit of a back seat to the more high profile 1933-S and 1934-S. It’s almost as rare and it is pretty good value at current prices. Recommended.

THE SCARCE DATES The “Scarce” dates have it all…rarity, importance, and great relative value at current prices. This is prime area for anyone that wants to buy fantastic coins at a reasonable price. 1934 (MS65 $700, MS66 $1,100) The Philadelphia Mint Walkers of 1934 to 1947 are generally the most available of the Walkers in Gem condition. There are two dates that are significantly rarer than the others…1934 and 1938. The 1934 was the first Philadelphia half dollar minted since 1921. It’s scarce in Gem condition and currently very attractively priced. Recommended. 1934-D (MS65 $1,595, MS66 $3,250) The 1934-D is the rarest of the coins in this group. It is nearly as rare as the “big four” 1933-S, 1934-S, 1935-D, and 1935-S, and an argument could be made that the 1934-D should be included in the “Rarities” group. A great coin at a very attractive price. Highly recommended. 1935 (MS65 $675, MS66 $1,000) The 1935 Philadelphia is definitely rarer than the later Philly issues and deserves both its price and its inclusion in the “scarce dates” category. A good value at current prices. Recommended.

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1936-D (MS65 $845, MS66 $1,750) The 1936 and 1937 Denver and San Francisco issues are rare and reasonably priced. They are tremendous values at current prices. The 1936-D usually comes very well struck and with great luster. This issue is both beautiful and rare. Highly recommended. 1936-S (MS65 $1,150, MS66 $1,850) This is a tough coin to find in Gem condition and a great value at today’s prices. Highly recommended. 1937-D (MS65 $1,040, MS66 $1,675) The 1937-D and 1937-S Walkers are long time favorites of mine. They have it all…rarity, importance, and beauty…and at today’s prices they are tremendous values. Highly recommended. 1937-S (MS65 $1,100, MS66 $1,800) See 1937-D…Highly recommended. 1938 (MS65 $680, MS66 $1,100) This issue is probably the rarest of the 1934 to 1947 Philadelphia Walkers. It’s been a sought after date for as long as I’ve been a coin dealer. It’s actually somewhat underrated and under priced at today’s levels. Recommended.

THE VALUE DATES The five dates that follow…what I call the “value dates”…are among the best values in today’s coin market. They have a great rarity to price ratio. With these five coins you get a lot of numismatic importance, beauty, and rarity for a very reasonable price. 1936 (MS65 $350, MS66 $595) The middle of the Depression and not that many coins were saved. Gems are much rarer than their price indicates. Highly recommended. 1937 (MS65 $390, MS66 $610) The 1937 Philadelphia is a little tougher to find in Gem condition than the 1936. They are both tremendous values. Highly recommended. 1939 (MS65 $270, MS66 $525) A great coin and a super bargain price. Tremendous relative value. Highly recommended. 1939-D (MS65 $310, MS66 $600) This issue is way rarer than the price indicates. A beautiful coin at a bargain price. Highly recommended. 1939-S (MS65 $400, MS66 $700) The 1939-S is the rarest of the three 1939 issues, but all three coins are very reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

THE ANOMALY 1938-D (MS65 $1,495, MS66 $2,150) The 1938-D has a much lower original mintage than any of the 1923 to 1947 Walkers. It is consequently much rarer in lower circulated grades than the other issues. However, in Gem condition it is not as rare as you might suspect. By 1938, some dealers and collectors were paying attention to mintages and a number of 1938-Ds were probably saved at the time of issue because of their very low mintage. Today, the price for Gem examples is fair and this is an OK buy if you are building a set. However, I feel the other 1933 to 1939 issues are better deals.

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THE GREAT COINS WE HAVE FOR YOU… We’ve been buying the 1933-1939 Walkers for a while now (actually, I’ve been buying them for over 30 years.) We have a nice accumulation of really high quality coins, and now we have enough of them that I can write this letter and tell you about it. Remember, we can’t send a letter like this to our clients if we just have a few coins. If we did that then we’d make a few people happy, but we’d make a few hundred people angry. But we’ve been buying these coins aggressively and while we have a limited supply, we do have enough of each of the coins listed below to make a good number of our clients happy! The coins we have for you are all GEM quality MS65 and MS66 coins. I personally examined and handselected each coin. All of these coins are blazing white, totally original Gems. They have clean surfaces and all are very well struck. As I said, I hand-selected each of these coins myself. This is the nicest group of 1933 to 1939 Walkers we’ve ever had and, in fact, I’ve never seen this many of them before in one place at one time. And every coin is PCGS graded!!!! The good news is we bought these coins “right.” We didn’t find them on the floor so we did have to pay real prices for them, but we’ve been buying them for a while and we’re in them at a level at which we can pass them on to our clients at a good price. Below is a list of what we have. Be sure and give us a call right away at 800-759-7575 as this letter is going out to all of our clients so the coins will sell out quickly. Here are the individual coins, grades, and prices per coin. Call us today at 800-759-7575 to reserve the coins of your choice. Or check the special price deals that follow: COIN GRADE

PRICE

1934 MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625 1934 MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $925 1934-D MS65 . . . . . . . . . $1,595 1935 MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $595 1935 MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $895 1935-D MS65 . . . . . . . . $2,650 1935-S MS65 . . . . . . . . . $3,350 1936 MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $345 1936 MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $575

COIN GRADE

PRICE

1936-D MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . $775 1936-D MS66 . . . . . . . . . $1,625 1936-S MS65 . . . . . . . . . $1,050 1936-S MS66 . . . . . . . . . $1,750 1937 MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $385 1937 MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $595 1937-D MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . $925 1937-D MS66 . . . . . . . . . $1,525 1937-S MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . $975

COIN GRADE

1937-S MS66. . . . . . . . . . $1,675 1938 MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625 1938 MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $975 1939 MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $265 1939 MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $525 1939-D MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . $295 1939-D MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . $585 1939-S MS65 . . . . . . . . . . . $395 1939-S MS66 . . . . . . . . . . . $685

Give us a call today!!!!! 6

PRICE

A FEW SPECIALS… Here are a special combo deals if you want to buy a few different dates. Obviously we have a limited amount of these mini-sets available but call us and ask for these specials by name. Rare Date Special… Buy two of the rarities (1935-D & 1935-S) in MS65 condition for only $5895 (save $105) All Eight Scare Dates Special… Buy all eight of the scarce dates (1934, 1934-D, 1935, 1936-D, 1936-S, 1937-D, 1937-S & 1938) in MS 65 condition for only $6,975 (save $190) All Five Value Dates Special… Buy all five of the value dates (1936, 1937, 1939, 1939-D, & 1939-S) in MS65 condition for only $1,650 (save $35) Or, Buy all five of the value dates in MS66 condition for only $2,875 (save $90) The Big Fifteen Special… Buy all 15 coins we have available (1934, 1934-D, 1935, 1935-D, 1935-S, 1936, 1936-D, 1936-S, 1937, 1937-D, 1937-S, 1938, 1939, 1939-D, & 1939-S) in MS65 condition for only $14,475 (save $375) The 1940 Special… As a final special, we also have a small number of 1940 and 1940-S Gems. These aren’t as rare as the 1933 to 1939 issues, but they are tougher than the 1941 to 1947 issues. And these are really beautiful coins. We can actually give you a really super deal on these coins. Here are the coins and prices… 1940-S MS65 . . . . . $395 (2 coins available) 1940 MS65 . . . . . $175 (18 coins available) 1940 MS66 . . . . . $245 (40 coins available) 1940-S MS66 . . . . . $1,375 (one coin available) 1940 MS67 . . . . . $845 (3 coins available)

ONE LAST THOUGHT… The 1916 to 1947 Walking Liberty half dollar series is one of the greatest groups of coins ever issued by our country. If your interested in a two or three year project that when completed would be a significant numismatic accomplishment…and a lot of fun and a great place to put some money…then consider building a complete set of Walkers. Give Van a call if you’d like to do this special project. However many Walkers you acquire I am sure you’ll have fun with these great coins and I know they are great values for you. Have fun with your coins!

David Hall

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P.O. Box 6220, Newport Beach, California 92658 (800) 759-7575 • (949) 567-1325 • Fax (949) 477-5874 E-Mail: [email protected] • www.davidhall.com