The Business of Numismatics: August 2026 Greysheet Editor's Letter

The numismatic version of the "midsummer classic" (although a bit later in reality), the World’s Fair of Money®, held this year in Pittsburgh, brings together a large array of collectors, professionals, and scholars. As always, a multitude of seminars, ceremonies, and dinners await the attendees. The buying and selling activity is expected to be lively, with demand for quality rare coins still holding strong, despite gold and silver both cooling off. Gold has fallen to near the $4,000 per ounce level with the last time it has seen the $5,000 level coming back in mid-March. Meanwhile silver has slipped to below $60 an ounce as of this writing, after spending the first five months of the year well above $70 per ounce. This softening has largely been blamed on the chatter about new leadership and policy direction at the Federal Reserve, but it is not all negative. The lower prices have liquidated some speculative money and brought in buyers of physical product. As to the rare coin market itself, it seems that money is finding its way to legitimate rarities wherever and whenever they show up. Back in June Stack’s Bowers sold an esoteric coin, an 1841 No Drapery Proof Seated Liberty Dime of which there is only two known, for $341,600. This bested is first public sale back in 2013 when it was part of the massive Newman Collection. As experienced market observers know, the excitement and fervor were such for the Newman sales that many pieces that returned to the market in subsequent years sold for lower prices. Heritage had a special mixed sale titled Liberty & Legacy: 250 Years of the American Spirit in which a silver Continental Dollar brought $1,312,500, in line with expectations. By the time this issue is in the mail, Heritage will have also held their Summer FUN auction, which features a broad array of scarce to rare gold coinage, especially Double Eagles. Another exciting piece from that sale is a PCGS/CAC MS66+ 1932-S Washington quarter, the finest certified. This same coin without the Plus designation from PCGS brought $52,800 last year.

As can be read in this month’s Coinversations (page 5), the Mint has been busy as well. In addition to the special privy marked Declaration of Independence quarter and the upcoming Liberty Bell shaped silver medal and gold coin, the Mint has recently released three coins commemorating the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With World Cup fever sweeping the country over these past four weeks, it will be interesting to see how these coins do from a sales perspective. June also saw the release of the Mint (Uncirculated) Set and the Silver Proof Set, both of which sold out extremely fast. The Silver Proof Set has a somewhat interesting mintage of 271,520 and is certainly in demand right now in the secondary market.

Going back to the World’s Fair of Money®, Whitman will have a large presence, with our latest titles for preview, along with samples of some upcoming works. The launch of the 2027 Red Book is in full swing, and we hope collectors enjoy the various special covers we have made for this important Semiquincentennial year.

Sincerely,

Patrick Ian Perez, patrickp@whitmanbrands.com