The Bret Leifer Rare Coin Letter
Spring 2004 NEWSLETTER
Professional advice you can trust
Dear Collector,
The US dollar is falling. This means that the standard of living in America is going to go down if we continue to consume imported goods. After a 20-year hiatus, gold has started increasing dramatically, in large part because of the falling dollar. Tangible assets, gold and silver coins are having another run here, and we think this will last 4-6 years. There are many serious collectors buying coins.
All the coin dealers I speak with say the same thing. It is much easier to sell nice coins than to buy nice coins. "There are so many common, inferior coins available, it makes me sick," one dealer told me. "I only want to handle nice coins." That is exactly what Bret Leifer Numismatics does and it is getting more difficult for me to find the high-end gold coins that we are known for. Many of my clients like to amass $20 gold pieces. Most others want choice gold pieces and choice gold sets. Some clients have hundreds of $20 gold pieces.
One axiom has been to buy the best you can afford, and buy fewer pieces. If you are bent on more silver and gold, buy uncirculated, certified $20 gold pieces and rolls of silver dollars at our great prices.
Remember:
- If you have purchased coins from us in the past, you have nice coins.
- If you need to sell for any reason, let us know. We need coins.
- If you are sitting with coins that don't fit your goals, trade them and use the proceeds to buy different coins. I will select the coins personally.
If you don't have any coins, you should own some now because they are good insurance. Everyone should possess a few gold coins for insurance.
Rare coins did very well in the late 1970's, late 1980's and late 1990's. Many of the same economic conditions exist today that spurred the economic expansions of the previous decades.
During 1972-1974, Arthur F. Burns was in charge of the economy, when the seeds of inflation were sown. Gold and consumer prices had gone up a little, then stabilized and were ready to soar. All prices seemed to keep rising in the late 1970's during the Carter years. Rare coins and gold also took part in these huge price gains.
In 1973-1974, food prices climbed almost 15 percent each year, while the 1973 Arab oil embargo caused severe shortages, energy prices skyrocketed, and the rate of inflation was 6.2 percent. The average salary was $7564.
In 1974, a choice $20 double eagle gold piece had increased in value to $200 while at the same time the economy faced the worse recession in years, and the inflation rate had escalated to 11 percent!
To battle inflation, Carter appointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Volcker put the nation through an intentional recession and then flooded the economy with money in 1982 to fuel economic expansion for the next 7 years. This ended in a blowoff top characterized by real estate speculation and bank failures from 1989-91.
The same thing was done in the early 1990's, when Alan Greenspan flooded the economy with money from 1991-94, which helped expansion during the mid- to late 1990's, ending with the massive high tech stock market bubble of 2000, and a similar severe blowoff.
Let's take a look at what's happening now. It seems the same to me since the economy has been and still is being flooded with money to prop up business and trade. The next 4-6 years could show growth fueled by all the money being pumped into the economy, until there is another peak.
The good news is that it's all ahead of us. We will have years to get our assets in position and benefit from these coming events.
Whether you are looking to own one important, magnificent coin or you are building a world-class collection (and everything in between) I will personally help you in your endeavor.
Regards,
Bret Leifer