Q. David Bowers
From Paris the next stop was London, where Abe Kosoff saw more ancient coins than in all of Rome and Greece put together! Visits to the establishments of Baldwin, Spink, and Seaby were first on the schedule. Then came conversation with other numismatists. By that time, the Kosoffs had been away from home for three months. Still facing them on their itinerary were stops at Copenhagen, Stockholm, New York City, and Boston. In Abe's words:
"I returned to the London Hotel one day at noon, looked at Molly, and said, 'You know, I'm ready to go back.' She admitted she had been feeling the same way for more than a week but was reluctant to say so. The problem was that Steve had so wanted to go to Sweden. We decided to leave it to him. Curiously he, too, was tired and would leave 'Sweden for the next time,' a phrase we used frequently to console ourselves for having to pass up some city or other location.
"I phoned TWA, and within hours we were winging our way westward to New York City While Molly remained there to visit with her family, Steve and I left for Boston to attend the American Numismatic Association convention there, then we went back to New York, and the: it was 'California, here I come' -and the tune never sounded better, even when my favorite, Al Jolson, sang it!"
In 1968, Abe Kosoff wrote for his Coin World. column many reminiscences of his 1960 trip taken eight years earlier, noting that in the intervening time he had revisited most of the cities on the 1961 itinerary but did not enjoy them nearly as much as the first time around. He also noted that the Virzi Collection purchased in Zurich in 1960 was brought back to the United States, kept in his inventory, and then sold to a buyer-back where it came from, in Zurich!
After a hiatus of two years following the June 1958 issue, the next Kosoff's Coin Bulletin appeared with a November 1960 dateline. Things were busy in Abe's life. He was doing much business behind the scenes with private customers and the placing of consignments, and numerous other activities, including golf and travel, occupied an increasing part of his schedule. He was certainly entitled to rest on his laurels if he wanted to, but s it was he kept quite busy-but not through the retail price list route.
In November 1960 'a selection of coins was offered, including a set of Uncirculated Lincoln cents through 1953 for $1,600, a set of Proof Shield nickels (including the extremely rare 1867 with rays) for $5,000, a set of Proof and Uncirculated Liberty Head nickels for $800, and an Uncirculated et of Buffalo nickels for $2,000.
Proof sets were offered at the following prices: 936 $355, 1937 $145, 1938 $68.50, 1939 $57, 1940 45, 1941 $31, 1950 $63.50, 1951 $33, 1952 $24.50, 953 $14, 1954 $12, 1955 $11, 1956 $7, 1957 $4.25, 958 $9, 1959 $4.75, 1960 Small Date $20, and 960 Large Date $4.50.
Among 20-cent pieces, an 1875-S Uncirculated cost $35, an 1875-CC in the same grade was available for $65, a Proof 1876 cost $70, while roofs of 1877 and 1878 cost $265 and $175 respectively.
Up to this time in the coin hobby, and continuing for the next decade or so, Uncirculated coins were Uncirculated and Proof coins were Proof. Such distinctions that would become popular later. Typical Uncirculated, Select Uncirculated, choice Uncirculated, Gem Uncirculated, and perfect Uncirculated-were not dreamed of, although occasionally a dealer offering a particularly nice piece might refer to it as "choice" or gem, "with no particular definition of those terms given.
In 1960 investment was taken for granted. Collectors who had held coins for a long period of me invariably made a nice profit when their holdings were sold. Occasionally Abe Kosoff and others encouraged people to buy because the market was rising and the pieces might prove to have investment merit, but this was an incidental selling point. Years later, the situation was to become reversed, the tail was to wag the dog so to speak, and the theme of investment pervaded le entire hobby, which by that time was often called an industry. But, back in November 1960 things were more tranquil.
Undoubtedly the response to the November 1960 issue of Kosoff's Coin Bulletin was excellent, for the market was rising, the 1960 Small Date cent had fascinated the public all across America, Coin World had made its debut earlier in the year, Numismatic News was expanding its coverage and was laying the groundwork for an illustrious series of reference books, and many other things were going on. Soon, the coin market would never be the same. In fact, in 1960 the coin hobby was far different than it had been scarcely over a decade earlier in the quiescent years of the later 1940s. By 1960, offerings of 10 to 20 years earlier seemed like unbelievable bargains. Little were participants in the 1960 market to realize that a quarter century later, in 1985, the 1960 market itself would in retrospect contain coins priced at tiny fractions of later values.
Abe Kosoff's "Crystal Ball" feature in the January 1961 issue of the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine discussed the current market situation:
"Analysis of the market reveals that coin prices have been maintained at high levels. There has been a resistance, however, and sales are not as ready nor as frequent as was true a year ago. The 'big money' buyers are still buying the rarities and choice coins, and in this area prices have continued to rise. In my opinion they will rise further. The roll speculator has been hit hard and, perhaps, will refrain from this type of activity. Large holdings of Uncirculated rolls are still stored away but not available at present low prices. This reflects the healthy base upon which a sound operation in rolls may grow.
"While the following reflection is at a tangent, it is still pertinent in that the logic reflects a train of thought which will or may induce purchases. A 1909-S V.D.B. cent sells in Fine condition for about $70 and in Uncirculated condition at $100. The 1914-D cent in Uncirculated condition brings over $300, three times the price of the 1909-S V.D.B.-yet the circulated 1914-D sells for half the price of the comparable 1909-S V.D.B.
"The reason is simple: rolls of 1909-S V.D.B. cents in Uncirculated condition were put away when released. This was not done to the same extent in 1914. Hence, the Uncirculated 1914-D is rarer than the 1909-S V.D.B.
"The point is that today's collector can buy the 1909-S V.D.B. at a comparatively reasonable price because rolls were hoarded. The roll hoarder, therefore, did perform a service benefiting today's collector. This logic removes the stigma and encourages the activity in rolls, all of which will be reflected in sales and volume.