The Daily Blog

 

 

April 4, 2026

Matt and Darrell Meet in Person

and

Quality Ratings for Auction Lots Posted

 

Matt and I met in person for the first time since before Matt's trip to Aruba. We went to lunch at a pizza place that had large slices of pizza. When we go out for food, Matt usually outeats me though it is hard to tell as I am a much slower eater. Matt ordered one large slice and I ordered two. He thought I would be bringing some of it home, but I polished both slices pretty easily. The buffalo chicken slice was okay, but the sweet sausage, peppers, and onion slice was great!

After lunch, we reviewed the two larger consignments that were received to think about which ones should be submitted to CAC, the quality ratings and coin descriptions for those coins. The auction lots were also reviewed and we discussed the quality ratings for each coin. We were aligned on the majority of coins with just 8-10 coins requiring further discussion. Some of the "Choice" coins were close to "Gem" and we have indicated some as Near Gem. The quality rating results have now been posted on the auction page. It's likely that we will post the coin description and the reserve price at the same time for a particular lot.

Wrapping Up the Blog

With Matthew home for a few days, Saturday and Sunday will be a lighter numismatic schedule for me. We will still make some progress with more photos, coin descriptions, and packaging for a few hours each day. There are also some trade proposals that we will also keep an eye out for. Enjoy the weekend!

 

 

April 3, 2026

Busy Thursday

and

Trade Proposals

 

There was a slew of things to make progress on for Thursday. It was a non-stop day going into the late evening. The morning started with taking care of invoices for purchases that came in during the previous evening. Next Monday was already going to be our busiest shipping day yet as of Wednesday morning. With more orders coming in, next Monday and Tuesday mornings will be occupied with shipping packages. The pictures and photo editing were completed for the consignment of mostly Seated and Trade dollars and Matt will work on descriptions for those. I also provided Matt with my Quality Ratings for the auction lots. Matt and I are meeting on Friday to discuss the Quality Ratings among many things. In between all these things, I spent some time on the reserves and did a few coin descriptions.

A few people have inquired about trades this week to upgrade their collections. We are certainly open to trading. As we have said previously, one of our goals is to have you build the collection of your dreams. We are here to facilitate that and will do our best to make trading of duplicates and coins that are outside your core interests possible. We did a few trades this week, as well as some trades at the Baltimore show. Do not be afraid to ask us abuot your trade ideas.

Wrapping Up the Blog

We will keep it short today. With Easter weekend coming up, my son Matthew arrived home late Thursday night to celebrate the holiday weekend. It's good to have him home to see his friends and relatives. We are all going to be eating well these next few days. Have a blessed Good Friday!

 

April 2, 2026

New Consignment Received

 

A new consignment arrived in the mail filled with better dates and varieties in popular grades. Some of the coins consigned are pictured below. Matt and I will be reviewing the coins in the next few days to see if any coins merit a CAC submission as just about all of the coins were never sent in. Some of the coins that caught my attention include of course, the 1841-O half dollar WB-2R PCGS-AU50 with the coveted late die state baseball die crack. It has attractive rim toning on both sides and is the lead coin at PCGS in CoinFacts. There is also an 1862 cent with the repunched 8 variety (Snow-7) with Eagle Eye sticker. There are four AU Draped Bust and Capped Bust quarters, as well as an 1840-O No Drapery quarter in the popular PCGS-AU58 grade and a no-question original 1889 gold dollar in PCGS-67.

 

 

Wednesday morning was spent going back and forth with Hostway to troubleshoot the slowness on the website. Hostway kept on saying the slowness was due to the large number of files (mostly pictures) we have on the website. I kept reiterating the slowness only occurred starting Tuesday afternoon without a new file being added. After Hostway closed the ticket for the third time, I asked them to look at the disk and memory performance metrics. Once they did that, they found a problem and solved the performance issue in 15 minutes which was a relief.

The customer meeting was in Long Island and we enjoyed lunch at a local diner that was quite crowded. As we were finishing our lunch meeting, a tall older gentleman walked in and sat in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Looking at the gentleman, it was Bill O'Reilly dressed casually. Although I would think most people recognized him, it was nice that everyone left him alone. When I got back home, Matt and I met in the late afternoon to continue brainstorming ideas on how to better automate the back end operations and how to improve the user experience for our customers. After the meeting, it was working on the auction and doing a second pass with quality ratings for the auction lots. Matt and I are expecting to meet later this week and agree on the quality ratings. Today will be spent working on the the first cut of the reserve pricing and writing a few coin descriptions. Have a good day!

 

April 1, 2026

Thank You to Our Customers!

and

Firefox Issues

 

Although we did a shipping day on Monday and even a few more on Tuesday, the next shipping day early next week is shaping up to be the largest one for us yet and it is only Wednesday morning! A number of checks arrived on Tuesday and we closed March on a strong note. Matt and I wanted to take a few moments and thank all of our customers for a successful start of GFRC 2.0! The feedback we are getting from you on the daily blog, the pictures and the quality of our coins is tremendous encouragement. I cannot tell you how much work Matt and I are putting into this new endeavor. It's likely we will continue to be running full steam ahead through the first auction in early May as there is an incredible amount of work to complete.

If you are reading this daily blog, then Hostway has fixed the server performance experienced all Tuesday afternoon through to early Wednesday morning. A few of our customers have also made us aware of issues with how the screen is incorrectly rendered when using Firefox as their web browser. When those customers use either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, the screens render correctly for them. We will talk with our developer to see if it is something minor or major to remediate.

A new consignment has arrived that we will present in tomorrow's daily blog given the Hostway server issues we experienced.

Wrapping Up the Blog

I'll be doing a customer visit and lunch meeting on Wednesday. Matt and I have some meetings later in the afternoon. For our customers, we are wishing you a Happy Passover and an upcoming blessed Good Friday.

 

March 31, 2026

Matt's Vacation

and

New Offerings

 

Greetings readers and welcome to another edition of the daily blog.

Last week I spent a week vacationing in Aruba with my family. My wife and I purchased a timeshare at the Marriot Surf Club nearly 20 years ago when my two daughters were still little kids. We felt purchasing a time share would force us to take a nice vacation every winter, which we were not likely to do (especially me) if we had to plan it each year. Turns out it was a good idea since (1) we’ve used it almost every year, (2) the years we’ve not used it I’ve been able to rent it out at a tidy profit, and (3) I could sell it for more than I paid for it (which is not true for most timeshares).

As some of you may know, I love love love dogs. Last year, I volunteered at a pet rescue on Aruba called “Sargent Pepper’s Friends.” This year I volunteered 3 hours a day for 4 days during my one week stay. All the dogs are kept in outdoor covered pens. As a volunteer, I get the privilege of cleaning up the poo, sweeping, changing the water, feeding and best of all, walking the doggies. The best part is taking a bunch of dogs into a large separate play area. Below are a few of the friends I made.

 

                

                      

        

 

A few years ago, because of my love for dogs, I started collecting dog medals. I bought my first medal on a whim at a coin show. I was drawn to its design, its beautiful toning and I thought the dog was cute. It was also actually awarded (and engraved) during the 1890s at an Irish show. It is pictured on the right in the picture below. I only purchased medals that I think are cool looking and I usually have no idea what they are or what they should cost since it is difficult to find comps. If I like it and it seems reasonable, I buy it. If you have a hobby, a place you like to visit, you may consider collecting medals with a theme that interests you. It is amazing how attractive medals can be and they add another interesting element to your collection.

 

 

 

New Offerings

 

1840 Large Date 1c CACG-MS63BN (CAC) - $1,795                                    1841-O H10c CACG-VF25 (CAC) - $350    

        

 

1920 25c CACG-AU58 (CAC) - $425                                    1809 50c III Edge CACG-VF30 (CAC) - $995    

        

1817 50c O-110 PCGS-XF40 CAC - $695                                    1835 50c CACG-XF40 (CAC) - $450    

        

1838 Reeded Edge 50c PCGS-XF40 CAC - $495            

        

Wrapping Up the Blog

Matt and I will be working on various auction activities. We will also work on getting the Seated/Trade Dollar consignment photographed and photo edited. Have a good Tuesday!

 

March 30, 2026

What a Game!

 

Sunday was a rest day with the family though we did finish the descriptions for our next offering. Monday will be a shipping day as rain is scheduled for the rest of the week.

The big story today was the Duke-UConn basketball game to get into the Final Four. There was a lot of hype coming into the game and I was looking forward to the game. Duke went out to a huge lead at the end of the first half and I thought the game was just about over. But the Huskies played a great second half and clawed their way back into the game. Then with the ball and lead with 10 seconds left, the unthinkable happened. A bad turnover and a 30 foot shot that hit all net made me fall out of my chair. That is why I love live sports as you never know how a close game will end. I've personally been on both sides of games where a last second made shot or base hit determined the winner in a playoff game so I can somewhat understand the elation and dejection both teams were experiencing.

As a NY Mets fan (I was born in Queens near Shea Stadium/Citi Field), there was an interesting stat that was sent to me by my baseball friends. Their rookie pitcher, Nolan McLean, had more home runs in college than their new rookie outfielder, Carson Benge. Meanwhile, Carson Benge actually struck out more batters than McLean did in college. Interesting stuff for the baseball fan in me. The amount of stats available in baseball is overwhelming. How many average fans really know what UBR or wRAA is and does anyone besides scouts really care? The results of my first week of Scoresheet Baseball games come out on Monday afternoon and I expect to get a drubbing with the lousy pitching my fantasy players had.

 

 

March 29, 2026

Auction Lots and Pictures Posted

and

Sunday will be a Day Off

 

About four hours of work needed to be done on Saturday morning to prepare for posting the auction lots and pictures. Then it was a birthday brunch with Jenny and my mom to celebrate my Mom's birthday. My mom had just gotten back from walking a mile each way for a Tai Chi class with a number of her friends. She was not in a mood to walk another mile to the restaurant so we ended up taking a yellow cab to the restaurant. The food was very good and the staff brought out a tasty cheesecake with a lighted candle for my mom as the wait staff and patrons at the restaurant sang "Happy Birthday" to her. We also had dinner with my mom, but since she is on a low salt diet, she didn't want to go out again. Mom ended up cooking a noodle dish with some roast pork and plenty of vegetables. After dinner, it was back in the office setting up the auction lots and pictures. It is all set up now for blog readers to peruse and enjoy these coins. As you can see, there are nice coins of some really tough dates. Matt and I will work on the quality ratings, coin descriptions, and reserve price proposals in the coming week.

Wrapping Up the Blog

Sunday is going to be a day of rest as we haven't had a day off from coins since we went to Venice to meet up with Gerry and Diane. It is hard to believe that it has only been six weeks since we took over from Gerry. We plan on doing a shipping day on Monday. Enjoy your Sunday!

 

March 28, 2026

Lincoln's Lectern

 

Friday morning was spent back at Cooper Union for the inauguration of the school's 14th president, Steven W. McLaughlin. It was a crisp 50 degree sunny morning where I could walk with just my suit jacket on. I enjoyed seeing a number of my alumni friends that serve or served on various alumni committees with me. There were representatives from each of the major colleges in New York City as well as from throughout the east coast from Boston to Atlanta. The new president spoke about using Peter Cooper's own words to help drive the future of the school. We all want to return the school back to 100% scholarship in three more years which the president said we were trending towards that. One of his goals is to ensure it will be sustainable which we all know will require the president, school administration, and alumni to work together. The number of applications has already noticeably grown since the announcement that the senior year would be free starting in September 2024. The announcement was made at the first town hall of the 2024-2025 school year which made many students (and alumni) shed tears of joy. Another important goal is to further enhance the rigor of the school and give the students even more technical and soft skills to succeed after graduation. I'm sure I and other alumni will be asked to work with the students to help achieve this.

At these festive occasions, the school brings out one of its most cherished artifacts, the Lincoln Lectern. The school's Great Hall has been the scene for many famous speeches in the past 150 years. The most famous speech is Abraham Lincoln's speech in February 1860 before winning the Republican nomination in May 1860. It was a long speech and the text of it is available here. The key theme was that slavery should not be expanded to the western territories. Some historians believe this speech helped propel Lincoln to the party's nomination. At the inauguration, the school brought out the actual lectern used for Lincoln's speech and many other notable speeches stretching from Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Theodore Roosevelt, Carl Sandburg, and a number of US Presidents. The lectern has security officers keeping an eye on it. I asked the guards and some of the senior school administratiors if I could touch the lectern. They let me touch it which gave me goosebumps and made my day!

Back at the office, I finished some more consignment payments and had a discussion with the consignor of Mike's Seated Quarters on what we've seen in the Seated quarter market in the past few months since we received the consignment at the January FUN show. I was able to convey how much interest there is with his Seated quarters. The photos have been completed for the AU Early Walking Liberty halves and Seated quarters for the auction and are being reviewed this weekend for holder scratches and haze before being published. I did take a break and watch the Duke-St. John's basketball game.

Wrapping Up the Blog

There will be a few things to be done in the office in the morning before celebrating my mom's birthday later in the day. In the evening, we will work further to get the auction lots and pictures listed. Have a good weekend!

 

March 27, 2026

Busy Day in the Office

and

Cooper Union Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony

 

I went to sleep at about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening which is unusually early for me as I was exhausted. Waking up at 6:00 a.m., I needed to set up the new offerings and write the daily blog. From there, it was reviewing the bids from our completed test auction on the test website. I could tell the testers had a good time trying to outdo each other. Everything went well with the test auction from start to finish which means the real auction lots for the first auction will be posted this weekend. The last thing to do is to look at the completed photos to see if some need to be retaken due to holder scratches or haze. Many of you have emailed and called us on when the auction lots would be posted with pictures. Descriptions and reserve prices will be worked on next week.

The next item to handle was double checking the first set of consignment eChecks and checks that would be processed on Thursday afternoon. In the midst of doing this, we talked with a few customers on the new offerings and created some invoices. Then it was a subway ride to meet up with a customer for a meeting before heading back home. At this point, it was only 12:30 p.m.! Then it was time for lunch with my mother. My mother eats healthy so we had some chicken, kale salad, and a LOT of vegetables. Then it was back to the office to get the consignment checks taken care of and going to the post office to drop them off. When I got back home, it was time to take care of the eChecks and talk to Matt to put some bids in for the Heritage auction as neither of us could be online for the auction.

At 5:00 p.m. it was time to dress up and head to my alma mater, Cooper Union, for their annual Hall of Fame awards ceremony. For those that don't know about Cooper Union, it's a small college with three main disciplines: Architecture, Art, and Engineering. It was founded by Peter Cooper who initially made his money from producing glue, then designed and funded the "Tom Thumb" locomotive, funded the transatlantic cable multiple times, and created a gelatin that would later become "Jell-O." Peter Cooper always said that education should be "free as water and air." From its inception in 1859 until 2014, each and every student received a 100% scholarship which is why until 2014, it was one of the most difficult schools in the country to get accepted to. Since 2014, those students with the greatest need still get 100% scholarship. Those that can afford to pay tuition still get between a 50%-90% scholarship which is still a great deal. The school is currently in the seventh year of a ten year plan to return completely free which would be an incredible achievement. For the last two years, all seniors get 100% scholarship and the school is closing in on providing 100% scholarships to juniors. I am grateful that I received a great education at zero cost and help the school in whatever ways I can. I had sizable roles in the alumni association for about 20 years until the 2025-2026 school year when I took a break as it became increasingly clear that I would be a principal at a coin company whether it was GFRC or other companies that were courting me.

Since the school is only about 1200 undergraduates for the three disciplines and the student talent extremely high, the program can be made very rigorous exceeding the programs at just about any other college. There are plenty of famous alumni, but the two most famous are Thomas Edison and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The story is that Peter Cooper went to the shoe store that was owned by the father of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and saw Augustus' drawings and immediately invited him to attend Cooper Union. In the school's Alumni Roof Terrace, those two are among the handful of luminaries that are in the largest lettering. From a numismatic standpoint, there are many well-known engravers that you are all familiar with. Besides Saint-Gaudens, other numismatic alumni include Adolph A. Weinman (Mercury dime and Walking Liberty half dollar), Victor D. Brenner (Lincoln cent), Anthony deFrancisi (Peace dollar), and John Flanagan (Washington quarter).

Tonight's honorees were vey impressive. The Engineering awardee helped develop the process of producing high quality glass much more economically for transmitting pulses through fiberoptics. The typical glass can only transmit pulses about 250 feet, but with the purity of the glass that this person helped develop the process for, pulses can be transmitted for 50 miles. As a former Alumnus of the Year, I always attend this annual event to welcome the new group of alumni.

Wrapping Up the Blog

I'll be back at the school Friday morning to attend the inauguration of the new president of the school. I spoke with the new president on Thursday night and he indicated that the event planning committee didn't give him the program for the inauguration yet which I thought was amusing. Once I get back to the office, I'll take care of the next set of consignment payments, go to the post office to pick up a consignment, and work on posting the auction lots. Matt is finishing up a few more coin descriptions for our offerings next week. Once the auction lots are posted, we will work with the consigner of the group of Seated and Trade dollars to prepare that offering to the blog readers. Have a good Friday.

 

March 26, 2026

New Offerings

and

Closing In on Posting Auction Lots

 

We received some confirmations from consignors on whether they wanted eChecks or a check mailed to them. It was a good mix of both methods. We will start fulfilling these checks today. Auction testing continued with a test auction wrapping up on the test website. We are going through the process of closing the test auction and testing out what needs to be done post-auction. Everything has been going well with understanding the process. Additional pictures and photo editing were completed and we only have a handful of pictures remaining until all the pictures and photo editing is completed. This means we are getting closer to posting the auction lots and pictures for the first auction for all to see and enjoy.

Today brings some new offerings. It is mostly gold coins, but a tough 1845-O dime in PCGS-VF35 with CAC is included along with a beautiful toned 1864 Large Motto 2c piece.

 

1864 2c CACG-MS64BN (CAC) - $450                                    1845-O 10c PCGS-VF35 CAC - $1,295    

        

1876 10c CACG-PF64 (CAC) - $925                                    1870 G$1 PCGS-AU58 CAC - $1,300    

        

1807 $2 1/2 PCGS-VF20 - $10,950                                    1871 $5 PCGS-MS64+ CAC - $9,750 

        

1907 $5 PCGS-MS64+ CAC - $1,595                                    1911-S $20 PCGS-MS64 CAC - $5,300    

        

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Thursday will be for consignment payments and more auction preparation work. There is also one customer meeting midday to look at our recent offerings. Be well!

 

March 25, 2026

Consignment Payment Planning

and

Further Auction Planning

 

 

Tuesday was another long day working on multiple items. The first item was starting to reach out to consignors to let them know what amount they will be getting and if they want an eCheck or check mailed. There are quite a few consignors to reach out to and this will continue for another day or two. Next was a couple of hours to work on coin descriptions and photo editing to prepare for the next offerings later this week and next week. Once that was completed, we needed to work on further auction testing which is going well. We are closing in on having the individual auction lots for the first auction posted with pictures. These items kept me occupied through after dinner. I decided to take a break and go to bed early.

Wrapping Up the Blog

Wednesday will be another busy day. The E-Gobrecht ad deadline is approaching and our ad needs to be completed. More consignor reach outs will also occur. Further auction testing will continue. Matt and I will review each other's coin descriptions and prepare the next group of offerings. Of course, I'll watch a few innings of tonight's opening game of the regular baseball season. I had to forego spring training with my baseball buddies. Have a good Wednesday!

 

March 24, 2026

Seated Quarter Day

and

Monday was Shipping Day

 

Working on the Daily Blog after setting up the Auction pages, I completely forgot to mention that Monday was going to be a shipping day. It was raining in the morning, but cleared up in the afternoon and all the packages were brought to the post office. Where we can, we are doing ship aheads to avoid having too many packages to ship out at the same time.

Today brings a nice selection of scarce date Seated Quarters in unusually nice condition for the grade with each one being endorsed by CAC. It is noteworthy when a dealer lists just one of these coins, let alone seven in one day. The eighth coin is a beautiful gem quality 1843 half dime. Matt and I love better dated CAC Bust, Seated, Barber, and gold coins. If you are looking to sell these coins, you will be pleasantly surprised at what we will pay for them.

Darrell spoke with another consignor and those coins will be heading to us in the next few days. Be on the lookout for the consignment announcement coming soon.

As discussed yesterday, the major sports card auction house delivered the auction lot items won late on Sunday night to me during Monday evening. I'm not sure if I am conveying how impressive this is.

 

1843 H10c PCGS-MS66 CAC - $2,750                                    1840 Drapery 25c PCGS-XF40 CAC - $695    

        

 

1852 25c CACG-VF30 (CAC) - $895                                    1857-S 25c PCGS-XF40 CAC - $2,850 

        

 

1859-S 25c PCGS-VF25 CAC - $4,250                                     1860-S 25c PCGS-F12 CAC - $5,850    

        

 

1869 25c PCGS-VF25 CAC - $2,000                                    1891-O 25c CACG-VF30 (CAC) - $2,900    

        

Wrapping Up the Blog

We are hoping to make further progress on the backlog of photos and photo editing that needs to be done. Most critical will be continued testing of the auction module to get us in position to post the auction lots and photos later this week.

 

March 23, 2026

Continued Auction Preparation

 

After further testing on our test website, we felt comfortable setting up the lead auction page under the Auctions tab, as well as preparing the auction page. You can see the updates to the auction pages we have made to the production website. We were a little nervous about making these updates to the production website so we did it late in the night when fewer people are looking at the website.

This week we will list the auction lots, pictures of each lot, certification numbers, and grades. Next week the focus will be to publish the coin descriptions and reserve pricing.

Sunday morning was spent doing more photo editing and writing some coin descriptions for the coins being offered later this week.

As has been previously discussed I also love sports cards and have been opening packs of cards for 55 years that my parents and grandparents purchased at toy stores or the neighborhood grocery store. My cousins and I played and absolutely wrecked those cards. I sure wish I had not opened up the 39 cent three pocket rack packs and saved them as 1971 Topps Baseball Rack Packs routinely sell for around $10,000 each. I am certain I opened up quite a few of those rack packs. As a youngster, my grandparents would take me to the neighborhood grocery store where I befriended the storeowner's son. At 15 years old, the two of us would periodically walk to the biggest sports card shop in Queens that was a 4 1/2 mile walk each way. From 15-18 years old, every penny I had went to buying sports cards and was fortunate to save all those cards. Most importantly, my sports card friend and I still attend sports card shows together to this day. It's hard to believe our friendship is 50 years now!

Fast forward to Sunday night and there was a sizable auction of 4000 lots from an auction house all closing at the same time. Sports card auctions are run completely different than coin auctions. All the big auction firms including Heritage Auctions run what I would call an "overtime" auction. At a certain time on the closing evening, only bidders who bid on a lot can continue bidding on it which encourages early bidding. At the closing time, bidders who have previously bid on the lot can continue bidding if they wish to. If no bidding occurs within 30 minutes, the lot closes. If a lot is bid on, the clock resets to 30 minutes until no bid is placed for 30 minutes which means most lots close in 30 minutes, but popular lots could be open for another 3-5 hours. By the time the lots I was bidding on had all ended, it was already Monday 1:00 a.m. ET. The service at this auction house is extraordinary as I usually receive the lots I won in my hands by Monday evening.

There are definitely some mutual benefits being very knowledgeable in two different pastimes. Sports card dealers that purchase coins or have customers that have coins to sell are reaching out to GFRC for assistance. Have a good Monday!

 

March 22, 2026

Auction Preparation

and

Preparing Photos and Photo Editing

 

Today we continued doing more auction preparation work in the back end. As the auction module is quite different than the For Sale lists, there is a lot to consider and plan.

We took care of some of the backlog of photos and photo editing for about 25 coins today. Matt and I are working on the coin descriptions next. When those get completed will determine which day next week, we will start to offer more coins. There are some nice type coins, gold, Bust halves, and some Seated quarters that will be offered. At least 90% will have a CAC endorsement.

Let's keep today's blog short as I need to rest my eyes to do more photos and photo editing on Sunday, as well as write coin descriptions. Have a good Sunday.

 

March 21, 2026

Show Applications Completed

and

Full Weekend of Work

 

Friday morning was spent with Gerry on a Zoom call to discuss Collector's Corner and consignment reporting. There are still a few hours of prep work to be ready to update Collector's Corner. Matt and I handled some queries regarding the latest consignment pictured in yesterday's blog.

We submitted the bourse applications for the June Baltimore and August ANA shows. The June Baltimore show will return to the regular Halls A and B which is better. If attending the show, book your hotels early as the Baltimore Orioles will be in town the entire week so the downtown Baltimore area will be crowded.

For the late August Pittsburgh ANA, we listened to Gerry's advice and opted for an Ultra Premium corner. For ANA, Gerry and Rich Hundertmark will be joining us. If you haven't been to Pittsburgh before, the area has improved dramatically since the 2004 Pittsburgh ANA. I had a very enjoyable time at the 2023 Pittsburgh ANA show with so many good restaurants in walking distance and easy public transportation (28-X Bus) from the Pittsburgh airport 20 miles away to the downtown area for $2.75 each way (pay with quarters). If you didn't already realize, Matt and I are foodies and love good food which we had plenty of in Pittsburgh!

Precious Metal Volatility

The precious metals have been way down this week due to the Iran War and increasing oil prices. Oil is up about 43% in 2026. Higher oil is expected to increase the cost of producing goods which leads to inflation and potentially higher interest rates. Since precious metals don't yield any interest, it becomes more desirable in a lower interest environment and less desirable as interest rates increase. As I am writing this, gold is at $4,507/oz. and silver at $68.62/oz. which is down 19% and 44% respectively from the all time highs earlier in 2026.

Wrapping Up the Blog

This weekend we are trying to catch up with photos and coin descriptions. With the Baltimore show consignments/purchases, the recent Seated dollar consignment and the later dates in Mike's Seated Quarters, we are behind at least 50 coins. We are also working on the auction pages to get ready for the first auction. It has been very enjoyable taking pictures of the auction lots as there are a lot of great coins being offered with 80% endorsed by CAC. The coins presented in yesterday's blogs are now in the 30-day Price List. Have a good weekend!

 

 

March 20, 2026

Heeding the Call for Seated Dollars

and

Offering Preview Below

 

We asked for some help with Seated dollars and a consignor came to the rescue with a group of Seated and Trade dollars among other things. Below is a picture of part of the consignment. For a mostly Bust, Seated, and Barber collector, the 1652 Pine Tree Shilling is very cool! We ran into some personal things and weren't able to talk regarding coin descriptions and pricing on Thursday evening so we will postpone the coin descriptions and pricing until later on Friday, but the coin previews are below. Come back to the blog later in the day to see the descriptions and pricing. If interested, you can email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com to get in line first.

 

 

 

 

Friday's Coin Preview

1840-O No Drapery 10c NGC-XF40 CAC                                    1840 Drapery 10c CACG-VF20 (CAC)    

        

 

1876-CC Type 2 Reverse 10c PCGS-XF45 CAC                                    1877 20c PCGS-PF66 CAC  (Obv. holder scratches)  

        

 

1878 25c PCGS-AU55 CAC                                     1900 25c PCGS-PF66 CAC    

        

 

1812 50c PCGS-XF45 CAC                                    1906-D 50c NGC-MS62 CAC    

        

 

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

If anyone noticed on Thursday at about 11:30 a.m. ET, there was a 20 minute period where the website was always showing "insecure" due to the company that manages the domain (GoDaddy) updaing their chain certificate. This chain certificate is mapped to our local server's SSL certificate and provides the secure connection. When GoDaddy made their chain certificate update, it impacted up to 250 different websites by breaking the mapping to the server SSL certificate. No email is sent to website owners for this update. When the Hostway support team was contacted, they immediately knew what happened and fixed it within 10 minutes as it occurs commonly.

Thursday and Friday are two of my favorite days of the college basketball season with the first round of the NCAA Men's College Basketball tournament. Even the top seed of the tournament, Duke, had some difficulty with the lowest ranked team. There are all kinds of upsets with 16 games being played which makes one go channel hopping frequently. There was still plenty of office things going on with one ear listening to the TV. Friday brings a meeting with Gerry in the morning to try out the process and populate Collector's Corner and discuss the consignment payment sheets. We will keep the blog short today and double check the New York State quarterly sales tax submission before submitting it on the Friday due date.

 

March 19, 2026

The Start of New Coins

and

LaSalle Collection Price Reductions

 

More work was needed today to prepare to start the consignment check process next week. We are meeting with Gerry on Friday to work on updating Collector's Corner offerings and consignment reports. The LaSalle Collection has reduced prices on the best dates remaining in his Seated qiarter consignment. Take a look at the price adjustments made to the 1856-S, 1861-S and 1875-CC quarters in the 30-day Price List. Today brings a small group of new coins we are offering. There will be another group on Friday and a few more times in each of the following two weeks. As discussed, we are expecting a consignment arrving later this week. Let's move onto the new coins. The originality of these coins really stood out for the two of us. Enjoy!

 

1837 H10c LM-4 Small 5C PCGS-AU55 CAC - $1,695                                    1880 10c PCGS-MS64 CAC - $1,095    

        

1881 10c PCGS-MS66 CAC - $4,500                                           1841 25c PCGS-MS62 CAC - $3,600   

        

1849-O 50c NGC-AU53 CAC - $1,395                                           1798 $1 B-23a, BB-105 PCGS-AU53 - $7,750    

        

1866 $1 PCGS-PF64 CAC - $8,500                                           1855-O G$1 PCGS-XF45 CAC - $2,600    

        

 

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Thursday looks to be a busy day with meetings, auction preparation, and new purchase photos. We still have room for another consignment or two before going to the Central States show. Have a good day!

 

March 18, 2026

Central States Convention Planning

and

Preparing for Consignment Checks

 

Today was another day to get more photos and photoediting done to prepare for the offerings for the next few days. Matt and I are working on the descriptions for the new offerings that will span the next few weeks. The draft for the New York State Quarterly Sales Tax form has been completed and we will submit it in the next day or two. A new consignment has been shipped to us containing Seated dollars and a few other items. It's expected to arrive in the next day or two so be on the lookout for that.

Central States Convention Planning

We have been told that our table number will be 1111 at the Central States convention in Schaumburg, IL starting on Thursday, April 23. Looking at the online map of the bourse floor, we will be somewhat in the center of the room. We will create a drawing of how to get from the entrance to our table as it gets closer to the show. Please note that we will be at the show for only Thursday and Friday. We have some things to do back home on Saturday afternoon and will not be at the show on Saturday. Matt and I are planning to get to the show on Tuesday to do Heritage auction lot viewing before show setup on Wednesday afternoon. If you would like us to review lots for you, please contact us by Monday, April 20.

Preparation for Consignment Checks

With the Baltimore show a week and a half ago, we have changed the coins sold at the Baltimore show from Hold to Sold and will go into the Sales Archives. Coins that were sold online before the Baltimore show will be in various states. Some have been marked as Sold while others may remain on Hold due to lay-a-ways, payment hasn't arrived yet, shipping is on hold due to business travel/vacations, etc. Consignment checks will be prepared starting next week. For consignment checks, we can send a Deluxe e-Check or mail a physical check. To get an eCheck, we will confirm your email address and then send the eCheck to your email address. You can immediately print it out on your printer and deposit it like any other paper check in Deluxe as a guest. If you want to do an ACH deposit or put the payment into PayPal, a personal Deluxe account needs to be set up and is required to do those deposits. We will start with consignors where everything is Sold and contact you if you want an eCheck or physical check mailed. For consignors that may have items that are either on Hold or Shipped status, we will know what the situation is in each case and let you know.

 

March 17, 2026

Busy Day in the Office

 

There was a lot going on today. The day started with putting a few packages together to mail. Next was getting the auction banner prepared. Then it was a discussion with Matt to figure out what features we want to improve with our system which lasted some time and a long list of what needs to be done for both the front and back end features. Then it was putting together a list of all our current consignors to reach out to in the next few weeks. Once that was done, the ad for the Barber Coin Collectors Society Journal needed to be finalized. Lastly, it was taking more photos and editing in preparation for the auction and the upcoming offerings. Let's start with the auction banner. I couldn't resist putting the 1851-O 25c in PCGS-XF45 CAC as the banner coin. Any 1851-O 25c with a CAC sticker is hard, then add the wonderful color on both sides and you get an unbelievably attractive and rare coin.

 

 

 

 

The pictures and photo editing are coming along nicely. These pictures came out too nice not to post them in the daily blog. We have previously pictured 12 of Mike's Seated Quarters in the February 23 blog, as well as the 1871-CC 25c CACG-G4 on March 10.

 

1840-O Drapery 25c PCGS-AU58+ CAC                                           1850 25c PCGS-AU50 CAC    

        

 

1856-O 25c PCGS-AU58                                             1858-O 25c PCGS-AU58 CAC    

        

 

1871 25c PCGS-AU55 CAC                                            1877 25c PCGS-MS64 CAC    

        

 

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Tuesday brings further discussions on how to improve the website. Our quarterly New York State sales tax filing is due at the end of the week so we will work on the draft today. We will also be working on more pictures, auction preparation, and coin descriptions for the upcoming offerings. As you can see, there is no shortage of things to do. Have a good day!

 

 

March 16, 2026

Gamesmanship to the Max

 

I needed more preparation time than I thought going into my baseball draft at noon today. The banter over text started between the owners at 9:00 a.m. The stakes are enough to warrant thorough planning. The first thing I do is to create a team list that I can quickly see what every team has and needs for their lineup. There is a space where I put the total number of players needed and dollar amount remaining for each team. To fit all the teams on one legal size piece of paper, I write small which is getting harder each year. At this time, I have to leave my reading glasses on for the entire draft. The next thing is to fill in the players a team is keeping from their team last year with a 50% increase in price or $5 whichever is higher. Then I put together a positional list of who the primary player is (minus the keepers), as well as the backup player. While I am writing the players down, I put them in order of how much I like the players so I can see exactly what players are available at each position to figure out what options I have for the position.

Everyone gets into the online draft room about 5-10 minutes before the start to congratulate the winners from last season. Then the winning team from last year gets the honor to bring up the first player for auction. At the beginning rounds of the draft, when it is my turn to bring up a player for auction, I typically bring up the most expensive player I don't really want or need and let another team drain the amount of money they have remaining to fill out their roster. Some teams like to bring up players they like first so they know if they will get who they want or need an alternative plan. I will usually try to get one or two superstars at $30-$40 and fill in my roster with good players throughout my team for $10-$15 at many positions. Some teams like to get four or five superstars and fill out the roster with less expensive players. That is what makes the auction format fascinating. Since I have been in this league for at least 25 years, the other owners know my tendencies well. You have to strike a balance between how much money you have remaining for your roster and the players remaining. Don't spend enough early on and you end up with a lot of leftover money after you fill in your team which is not good. Spend too much early on and then you are relegated to filling in your team with $1-$3 players and not being able to bid on good players that are $8-$20. An auction for a player takes 30-45 seconds so it requires very quick thinking to assess the situation. Teams usually overspend at the beginning as superstars are brought up. Some owners will drive the price up without having any intention of getting the player which can backfire. Having each team's roster at my fingertips gives me a sense quickly of an owner's intention when bidding. There was one team that was holding back their spending in line with mine which was a little frustrating. I noticed that we both needed a first baseman with one superstar left at that position. I brought him up to see what would happen as surely we were the two teams to be able to bid the highest. It got to $29 for a player I thought was worth $32-$34. I looked at what the other team needed and realized that if I let him have the player, they would still have a good amount to spend, but the positions they needed to fill were mostly different than mine. This would give me free reign over most of the positions I still needed so I let the other owner have the player at a little bit of a discount in exchange for control of the rest of the draft. It worked out well as I was getting all the $10-$16 players I wanted at good discounts. Although I had the most money available for most of the draft, I ended up being among the first to complete my roster and had to wait half an hour for the rest of the auction to finish. After the end of the draft, some owners congratulated me for playing the middle and end of the draft well and didn't recognize how much control I had until it was too late. Of course, if the players I have get injured or perform below expectations, my team will do poorly regardless of how well my draft went.

Wrapping Up the Blog

Monday will be a busy coin day as there is much to do to release the next offering of coins on Thursday. There is also much work to do with the auction and you will start seeing it be set up early in the week.

 

March 15, 2026

First Concert of the Year

 

Saturday was spent reviewing the financials from the past few weeks as there were many purchases, sales, and expenses at the Baltimore show. I also tried a few things on the test website for the auction module to see how it works. In the evening, Jenny and I headed out to that foreign place called Brooklyn for a nice dinner. Then we went to our first concert for the year at the Barclays Center. I've been hesitant to get any concert tickets earlier in 2026 due to the GFRC transition and not knowing how much work it would entail which was a good decision. Our first concert took us back to 1980's and 1990's R&B with the triple superstar combo of New Edition, Boyz II Men, and Toni Braxton. Not many single acts can fill up an 18,000+ arena throughout the country which is why acts team up to be able to play these larger venues. Jenny and I have a special affinity for Toni Braxton. We attended an Autism Speaks gala at Carnegie Hall about 20 years ago where she was the lead performer. Typically stars of her stature perform one or two songs at these galas. She was gracious meeting attendees before the concert and we expected her to play a song or two. Instead, she ended up playing a full concert with all her backup singers and musicians flown into NYC at her expense which we really enjoyed. Since then, whenever she is performing in town, we try to attend.

The concert was excellent. It was sold out a long time ago and everyone attending was having a great time. We really enjoyed that all three acts were interspersed throughout the three hour concert and assisted each other on some songs. New Edition, who is on the short list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, can still do their dance moves and are charismatic. Between their group and solo hits they have enough hits to play for hours. The vocals from Boyz II Men were extraordinary. The audience was touched when their bass singer, Michael McCary, appeared for their last song. Michael has been dealing with MS for at least 20 years and cannot move too well. There are plenty of YouTube videos of this concert tour online for your enjoyment.

Wrapping Up the Blog

Sunday morning will be spent in the office doing some more things in preparation for the auction. At Noon, I will be having my annual baseball rotisserie auction draft with a number of my former co-workers and other friends that will last about four or five hours. Auction drafts are far more interesting than "snake" drafts as there is a dollar limit that can be spent for an entire team. The goal is to make other teams pay as much as possible for their players and as little as possible for your team. There is a lot of strategy and gamesmanship which is why I enjoy this format very much. It is going to be done online with an audio conference call if a break is needed or there are any issues. Before Covid, we had live drafts that were even more fun as you can see their expressions and body language when bidding got out of control. On the Scoresheet Baseball draft, I made my 30th pick at the concert with my next pick on Monday morning. Have a good day!

 

March 14, 2026

Handling Opportunities

and

Enjoying My Coin Club

 

Matt's blog on Friday generated some thoughts from a few blog readers. I'll say a few words myself. Opportunity is a bigger factor than most collectors realize. As I looked at my collection, the rarer the date, the more likely I went through three or four coins to get to my present coin. For more common dates, I felt I could more patient and only went through one or two coins. The last 1879-1890 quarter I needed was the 1882 quarter. They are available, but I wanted the right one for my taste. I found one in auction that I liked about 20 years ago, but even after fending off all the dealers, I still ended up losing it to a well known collector who saw exactly what I did - an extraordinary coin for the grade. The amount paid was a staggering amount for the grade at the time. The coin ultimately upgraded and became a tremendous bargain! I needed to wait another 12 years, and several dozen examples, for one that I liked in the price range I was seeking. With generations of shared experiences, Matt and I know when to push each other when a rare opportunity arises. The third party population reports help distill some of the dates that are unusually difficult to find nice that took us more than 25 years to figure out. There are going to be some of these rare opportunities when our first GFRC 2.0 auction of Mike's Seated Quarters and the AU Early Walking Liberty Half Dollar group takes place after the Central States show.

Some customers have said they have not been getting tracking information over email from USPS even though we are always choosing that option when creating the mailing label. Going forward, we will email the tracking info for mailed packages to you.

Friday was my monthly coin club meeting. I initially had a conflict with this meeting which cleared up a few days ago. The presentation was regarding what the process is from taking a concept to the actual striking of the coins by the US Mint. For the American Women Quarters program, I learned quite a few things about the design process. As an example, I didn't realize that Maya Angelou's first love was dancing. That is why on her quarter, her arms are outstretched in a dancing pose. Her family provided that input which the engraver incorporated into the design. Discussed was also the inclusion of Laura Gardin Fraser's Washington portrait in this program and other subjects in this program. This month's fish option was cod with a tasty sauce which was very enjoyable, better than the overcooked branzino I had the previous month.

There were more US coin collectors at this club meeting than usual. Many felt that sending an email with the Daily Blog, especially when new coins are offered, would be beneficial. Matt and I have discussed this and could be something we implement once we get further settled in with the business. We are currently dealing with some of the newer nuances in running this business and think we will need to get through Central States and the first auction before implementing more noticeable changes.

One thing Matt and I have said during the transition is that we want to make the Daily Blog fun. We are throwing ideas around to create periodic contests where blog readers can all participate, win a neat item and bragging rights. Stay tuned as we are thinking of doing something in May.

 

March 13, 2026

Should I Buy (or Try to Buy) that Coin?

Coin Talk

Ever since Darrell and I decided to take over GFRC, I have thought about potential blog topics. One set of topics involves coin collecting. This is my first blog of what might be many. It was inspired by a gentleman who asked me and Darrell to look at a coin in the current Stack's Bowers auction. This blog is entitled “Should I buy (or try to buy) that coin?”

We were asked to look at lot 4208 of the Spring 2026 Showcase Auction that ended March 11th. I didn’t receive his email until after I had reviewed the sale but here’s what I replied:

“I didn't see your email before I reviewed the Stacks auction but I did look at the 1858 over inverted 1858 half dime. I didn't write any notes but I do remember the coin. It looked pretty much like the pictures Stacks has. It's original white with a fair number of surface marks. There is really nothing special regarding eye appeal but it does have nice luster. If you need the variety, like white coins and want a CAC mint state specimen, you should consider bidding on this coin since there is only one CAC coin in 63 and 4 in 64 (which will cost you double). $1250 hammer would be a reasonable price. However, a choice AU CAC coin with nice toning (if you can find one) will cost you less and might have more eye appeal. Of course, you could buy this one if the price is right and wait for another you like better (whether AU or MS) and sell this one if you get it. You'll notice there's a lot of considerations when buying a coin! No charge for these suggestions.”

As you can see, there are many factors one must consider when deciding whether to purchase a coin. Is the coin exceptional or just average? (This applies even to CAC coins, maybe even more so than non-CAC coins. This will be a future topic). Does the coin fit my set (in terms of grade, toning etc)? Will I have a chance to buy a similar one in the near future? (This goes to availability). Is the coin worth stretching for? (Again, this is another topic in and of itself). Is the coin reasonably priced for what it is?

Let’s discuss the last question. If you can obtain a coin at a reasonable price, the coin is nice, doesn’t appear often and fills a hole in your set, you might consider purchasing it even if you don’t think it is the final coin for your set. First, if and when you find a better one, you can sell the coin. Every collector should not only purchase coins, but should get a feel for selling coins. Selling coins is really a test for your skill at buying coins. If you bought a nice coin, you will find there are multiple willing buyers when you go to sell. If you purchased it at a reasonable price, you should be able to sell at or near where you bought it.

Second, you might be surprised that the coin you bought doesn’t appear as often as you might hope and it remains in your collection coin for years. When you buy that incredible coin for your collection years later for a stretch price, you might find that your duplicate has increased substantially in value. This will lessen the financial commitment required to purchase the amazing coin.

Wrapping Up the Blog

Darrell and I have been purchasing coins from auctions (and dealers) for decades. We have learned a lot about coins that we lost and those we ended up purchasing. Purchasing a coin in an auction is not simply about evaluating the coin. If you engage us to look at auction coins for you, we will not only evaluate a coin but we will talk you through all the additional personal considerations in determining your bids.

 

 

March 12, 2026

Consignments Forthcoming

and

Gerry's Baltimore Show Report

 

Wednesday was a calmer day with shipping of the coins purchased using PayPal being completed. The prices for the nicer coins in the Stack's Bowers auction of copper and silver coins were quite strong. If you haven't heard yet, Stack's Bowers announced that their Buyer's Premium will increase from 20% to 22% on April 1 matching Heritage Auctions doing the same on January 1. Typically, when one of those compannies increases the Buyer's Premium, the other firm follows suit shortly after. At GFRC, we are not going to be increasing the consignment rates. Consignments are being planned in the next few weeks which is good timing as we have enough new coins for next week and one or two additional groups. Gerry sent us his latest Fortin Family Blog which includes Gerry's Baltimore Show Report. The link to the entire Fortin Family Blog can be found on the left side of the Die Varieties tab.

Gerry's Baltimore Show Report

The Spring 2026 Whitman Baltimore show was pretty much as expected. Thank goodness that I flew instead of driving those onerous 14 hours on a Tuesday only to arise on Wednesday to immediately head to the dealer trading rooms. In hindsight, this prior behavior is incomprehensible now that I've savored the retirement fruit. What was I thinking? Honestly, to operate GFRC on a competitive level with other national dealers, there was no choice but to suck it up and do what was necessary. Call it gritty determination as failure is not an option in the Fortin playbook.

I arrived early in Baltimore on Wednesday morning via a smooth Southwest flight. Let's remember that point. Once on the ground and traveling without coins, the light rail from BWI to the convention center was taken for a $4 round trip ticket. This rail has improved since last riding it back in 2014-2015. I immediately went to the convention center to check on the dealer rooms out of habit, but let's face, there was nothing else to do until hotel check in. Walking around and chatting with dealer friends kept me occupied followed by checking into the Renaissance Hotel at noon. This was the first time I selected the Renaissance and what an nice alternative to the overpriced Hyatt and the rundown Days Inn. I just can't bring myself to stay at the Days Inn anymore. Life is too short and one needs to respect oneself when traveling. I have a long history with the Marriott international chain during the semiconductor days with retirement bringing me close to that brand again.

Darrell and Matt had a strong show given the weak Friday attendance and not attending Wednesday's dealer session. Anytime that I could walk out of a Baltimore show with six figures in sales, it was deemed a victory as this venue can be erratic for retail traffic. GFRC has a reputation for handling premium coins at retail numbers, therefore selling to other dealers was tough. If having a decently aged consignment inventory that can be sold around bid, then the show could be made with some wholesale business. One needs to adapt strategies based on the type of on hand inventory.

I believe that Darrell was spot on when suggesting that my presence at the Baltimore show was "critical" in the regular GFRC Daily Blog. Since dealing with other professions and their own working styles, I could not take charge but rather played the role as an assertive adviser and cleared up stuff that was hampering their bourse table efficiencies. One needs to have all coins sorted and loaded into double row boxes for a quick transfer to the cases so that other dealers and view the product during Wednesday setup. This was not done during setup. I re-organized the bourse case layout creating two cases dedicated to a silver bullion deal that the boys bought immediately before the show. Finally, a table space was created for viewing walk up coins from other dealers. Lastly, the back table was organized providing Darrell with a bourse office to work with the COIN database and an unencumbered security case. Darrell also recognized the need for a faster laptop for coin shows! The afternoon was spent as former owner chatting with several local clients that resulted in purchases. Darrell and Matt might not have noticed, but I was also providing background security as it is a natural reflex once in a bourse corner booth. There were also several strategy feedback sessions, no details here, that seemed to be well received.

Friday brought a slower day as silver spot dropped with Matt Mayers being primarily focused on moving junk silver and other silver products to larger dealers. GFRC enjoyed a decent amount of retail traffic on Friday with a moderate walkup yield. My Venice return flight, again on Southwest, was at 8:40 PM so there was plenty of time to take the light rail back to BWI. Around 3:00 PM, I thought to check on my flight status and was annoyed to learn of a delay past midnight. A quick good-bye to Darrell, then I was off to the airport to try to fly standby on other flights to Ft Mayers, or Tampa. Once at BWI and checking the departure boards, it was obvious many flights to the Florida area were delayed along with flights being fully booked on a Friday evening. Everyone wants to get home. Long story short, my flight was delayed until 1:15 AM arriving into Venice a tad before 4:00 AM. Poor Diane was a kind soul to come get me that early.

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is hard to believe that a month has transpired since Matt and I went to Venice. Time sure moves quickly when very busy. Thursday brings a few planned discussions with customers and some time working on photos and coin descriptions. Have a good Thursday!

 

March 11, 2026

Attending Central States on Saturday

and

We have a Great Community!

 

 

There were a lot of little things accomplished on Tuesday. Shipping went smoothly as we are getting faster with generating the labels and sealing the packages. We also had a discussion with our tax accountant to answer the questions he had with our paperwork. We are working on getting the pictures and descriptions prepared for next week. Matt and I discussed our plans for the April Central States show and wanted to get input from our community. At the March Baltimore show, there were hardly any customers looking at our graded coins on Saturday. Fortunately, there were a number of bullion buyers that kept us busy on Saturday. It's likely we will not have much bullion left when we get to Central States. The question we have is if you can only attend the Central States on Saturday, please send us an email at teamgfrc@gmail.com to let us know. Our families would like us to return earlier that Saturday if possible.

I also had another lengthy discussion with PayPal about using the vendor invoice functionality. The text confirmation for invoicing still doesn't work for our account. PayPal investigated further and discovered that a range of accounts including ours is impacted with the invoicing feature not working. They did tell us that customers can still make payments to our PayPal account which was tested and worked. Everyone who was waiting for making a PayPal payment completed their payments on Tuesday evening so we will ship out the packages on Wednesday. I was in shock that this invoicing feature has already been down for 10 days and it doesn't seem like there is any urgency from PayPal to fix it. Where I previously worked, if there was an important technology feature not working for external customers, it would be all hands on deck to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. We wouldn't leave until it was fixed or it was clear that our area of responsibility was not needed.

An interesting conversation I had with a collector was regarding pedigrees. I love the old time pedigrees like Eliasberg, Pittman, Brand, Newman, and a few others. For the coins I own from these collections that have extensive pedigrees from the late 1800's to around 1950, I have acquired all the catalogs and fixed price lists my coins have been in which is harder than you think. That is why I was excited when Stack's Bowers announced the recent sale of coins from the James A. Stack collection that has locked away in safe deposit boxes for the last 70 years. The James A. Stack catalogs produced in the 1990's were epic sales. Apparently so did others as the prices realized for some of the better gold and territorial coins went for far more than I would have guessed. For Bust and Seated coinage, I have been fortunate to personally know many of the major collectors with important pedigrees who attended shows over the last 30 years. That is one of the benefits of attending national coin shows. I'm always learning some tidbits from these collectors which makes me a better collector.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Tuesday's blog included my hay fever allergies that started up at Baltimore when it got warmer on Friday. A few blog readers reached out to me to give me advice on how to better manage the allergies which I am very thankful for. I will be listening to the advice and make some changes. What a great community! Wednesday looks like a busy numismatic day. We will be able to take it a little easier on Thursday. If you were thinking about sending us a consignment in time for giving blog readers a chance to purchase the items before the Central States show or at the show, please give us a call. Thanks for reading.

 

 

March 10, 2026

Tuesday is Shipping Day

and

One Special Auction Lot Addition

 

 

Monday was a busy day trying to take care of the paperwork from the Baltimore show. It was a good busy as there were a lot of invoices to enter into the system. Looking at some of the metrics, we were able to sell over 30 consignor coins at the show. In the afternoon, we had phone calls with various clients including some new ones that saw the quality of the coins that we offered in the last two weeks. I personally enjoy helping out newer collectors that need some guidance on how to build a superior collection. Matt and I have been collecting for over 30 years and have certainly made our share of mistakes (and still do), but we can shorten the learning curve for newer collectors. Some quick things are the differences between die clashing and scratches, looking at the rims of a coin, understanding what original luster looks like and decidng what is real or questionable toning. In the late afternoon, our tax accountant called to let us know that the filing deadline for a partnership is March 16 which neither of us were aware of. Fortunately, our 2025 year was quite simple to put together. After dinner, we spent a few hours to verify all the numbers and submitted the info to our tax accountant. Tuesday will be a shipping day with a few packages being mailed. We also need to do the expense accounting for the Baltimore show.

One special additional lot has been added to the first auction. This lot is an 1871-CC quarter in CACG-G4. It is debatable if the 1870-CC quarter or the 1871-CC quarter is rarer. My personal opinion is the 1871-CC, especially if you include surface quality in the equation. Looking at the CAC population report, there are 12 examples that have been endorsed by CAC or graded by CACG. Four coins are VF or better. Three of those are locked up long term and the AU55 coin was recently auctioned as part of the Palos Verdes collection for over $110,000. That leaves the remaining eight examples that include 4 Good, 1 About Good, and 3 Fair. With at least four letters of Liberty visible, this would have been called a VG coin 10-20 years ago. If you were looking for one of these with CAC, here is your opportunity.

1871-CC 25c CACG-G4

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

With the warmer weather comes my annual hay fever allergies. Baltimore was warm on Friday and I started feeling the allergy which made me have some fits of coughing where I needed to drink some water or have a cough drop. Monday was bad enough that I had to put my large air cleaner on for the day. I'll be in the office most of Tuesday afternoon. Be well!

 

 

March 9, 2026

Spring Comes to New York

and

Introduction for Mike's Seated Quarters

 

Sunday was a relaxing day after a busy Baltimore show. All the coins that sold at the show were moved to Hold in the Sale Lists in the morning. Today was a beautiful day in New York with temperature in the low 60s. Jenny and I took care of a few errands and we walked a few miles in the afternoon. We took our elderly relatives out for a tasty Italian dinner. At night, I started working on the accounting for the show. Between table fees, hotel, food, and transportation costs, it is certainly not cheap to do a show. It will take a day or two to get all the info entered into the system. I saw John Frost at Baltimore and fortunately for us, he is a little occupied and is a few days behind laying out the next issue of the Barber Journal. I have a few more days to finalize the ad. I also saw a sample issue of the next Gobrecht Journal and saw our ad advertising the first auction highlighting Mike's Seated Quarters.

By the middle of the week, the focus shifts to setting up the auction page and layout for the auction. Mike has completed an article on his journey on building his Seated quarter set that is included below.

Parting with my Seated Liberty Quarter set was not an easy decision, but I felt the timing was right in 2026. It took many years to build the collection into what it is today. Along the way, the search for these coins became just as meaningful as the coins themselves. What follows is a little history of my collecting journey and some highlights from the set.

My coin collecting journey began when I was about nine years old. One day I found a partially filled Whitman folder of wheat cents in my parents’ closet. The excitement of filling the empty holes in the album for each date and mintmark quickly got me hooked. Before long, I had searched through every change jar in the house. Eventually I realized that the tougher dates would not come from pocket change. That meant a trip to a coin shop. That first visit opened my eyes to the many other series and denominations in U.S. coinage.

I collected coins through my younger years, but during my teenage years my interests moved elsewhere for a while. After college, once I started my first full-time job, I happened to be browsing eBay and began looking at Indian cents at auction. That was all it took to bring me back into the hobby. Within a few weeks I had finished my Indian Cent Dansco album and soon started collecting a new series every few months.

After a couple of years, I decided I wanted a bigger challenge. I studied the different denominations looking for the next series to pursue. Seated Liberty Quarters caught my attention because the TPG and CAC population numbers were much lower than most other series. I noticed how rarely many of the dates appeared at auction. The more I studied them, the more I realized how rare many of these coins truly were. I knew collecting Seated Quarters would take years to complete a date and mintmark set and decided to take on the challenge.

From that point on, I made a habit of checking auctions, searching dealer websites, and attending coin shows whenever I could. I was always looking for Seated Quarters, especially the many rare dates in the series. Along the way, I met several other collectors who shared the same interest. Over time, I also developed a better eye for quality. I learned to stay away from problem coins and focus on pieces with original surfaces.

As the collection grew, eye appeal became the most important factor. Price became less important than finding coins that truly stood out. One thing learned over time is that great coins will bring strong prices, and they are the best long-term investments.

After years of searching and upgrading, I was finally able to complete my 108-coin Seated Liberty Quarter date and mintmark set in May of 2017. By that point I had gained a deep appreciation for how rare many of these coins really are. After completing the set, I continued working to improve it by upgrading coins both in grade and in quality. Over the years, I sold duplicates to help fund new additions.

Many of my Seated Quarters were bought and sold through Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and can still be found in their archives today. GFRC has long been one of the key sources for high-quality Seated coinage. When it came time to sell my collection, it was an easy decision to work with them. Gerry, Darrell, and Matt are true professionals and well respected in the numismatic community.

CAC approval also became more important to me over the years. Today the collection stands at close to 80% CAC approved. Several of the dates in the set have CAC populations of twenty coins or fewer. In many cases, finding a CAC example requires years of patience.

Some of my favorite coins in the set are the Carson City quarters, especially the early dates. These are the rarest coins in the series and are very difficult to find with original, problem-free surfaces. Many of the San Francisco mint quarters are also very challenging to locate, especially the 1872-S, 1871-S, 1867-S, 1866-S, and 1860-S. These coins have very low TPG and CAC populations that rival the early Carson City issues. The New Orleans mint coins may not always be as rare as the Carson City and San Francisco issues, but many of them have excellent eye appeal. One of my personal favorites is the 1855-O. In my opinion, it is the most underrated date in the series. Finding one in high grade with CAC approval is extremely difficult. I was fortunate to purchase my example, graded CACG MS-63, from a dealer’s website in July 2025. I happened to see the listing soon after it appeared and knew I had to buy it immediately before someone else would. Several collectors made offers after the purchase, but at the time I was not ready to let it go so soon.

Some of the highlights in the first auction include:

• 1840-O Drapery PCGS AU58+ CAC – Stunning AU 58 with plus designation.
• 1851-O PCGS XF 45 CAC – Extremely difficult to find in XF/CAC with rainbow toning and superb eye appeal.
• 1852-O CACG XF 40 – Extremely difficult to find in XF/CAC with great eye appeal. Looks more like an AU grade.
• 1853 No Arrows PCGS VF 30 CAC – Excellent eye appeal with very low CAC pop.
• 1860-S PCGS VF 30 CAC OGH – Key San Francisco date, very nice CAC original in an old green PCGS holder.
• 1864-S PCGS XF 40 – Tough date with excellent eye appeal.
• 1866-S PCGS VF 20 CAC – Tough date that's impossible to find with CAC approval.
• 1871-S PCGS MS 62 – Key San Francisco date in an Uncirculated grade.
• 1872-S PCGS VF 25 – Rarest San Francisco date in nice VF grade.
• 1872-CC PCGS F 15 – Tough Carson City in an eye appealing mid-grade.
• 1873-CC Arrows PCGS VG 10 CAC – Rare Carson City that’s extremely difficult to get with CAC approval.
• 1891-O PCGS XF 40 CAC – Tough date seldom seen in higher grades with CAC approval.

Thank you for your interest in my Seated Quarter collection. I hope these coins bring as much enjoyment and satisfaction to their new owners as they did to me. Building this collection was a long journey that took many years of searching and waiting for the right coins to appear.

While parting with the set is bittersweet, I am happy to share this opportunity with other passionate Seated Quarter collectors. I hope the next owners enjoy these coins as much as I have.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Besides the after show work, we will work on the pictures and photo editing for the auction lots. We also have some coin descriptions to take care of for the remaining coins that we haven't had the time to post yet. Those coins will not be posted until early next week. We haven't been the PO Box since last Tuesday and will make a trip. Stack's Bowers also has their auctions for the next week and a half that Matt and I will be looking at. It does sound like a busy Monday for us. Have a good day!

 

 

March 8, 2026

Back Home

and

Jenny is Honored with Award

 

Saturday was the first time we were able to eat at our favorite breakfast place together, instead of having Matt bring food back to me to the hotel. I had the stuffed cinnamon French toast which is always excellent. Note that the whipped cream on the top of the French toast had just fallen while I was taking the picture.

 

The vintage coin side was relatively quiet on Saturday. There were a few bullion sales that were entertaining and made the trip home lighter. We started to break down our booth around noon and finished by 1:30 p.m. On the ride home, we agreed that we had a very good show in general. We acknowledged that every show will not be like this. There were some things that we did very well such as not having both of us at the booth for most of the show. One person stayed at the booth and the other scoured the bourse floor to purchase and sell coins or do lot viewing. The attendees also liked that we had prices on the front for much of the inventory. There were other things that we need to improve upon including being more organized setting up the table. Matt and I had to set up the order of coins multiple times as we forgot to include various coins in different boxes as well as allowing the many dealers that wanted to look at our boxes before setting up the booth. We also went into the bullion purchase not knowing how quickly the big players change their tune from one afternoon to the following morning.

Looking at the new coins we were consigned or acquired, the blog readers will be pleased with the offerings. There are also another 25 coins that we didn't have time to release before we left that we held off bringing to the show as many would have sold. We were also pleased that a good number of consignor coins also sold. Gerry helped with the negotiations knowing what each consignors situation was. Matt and I will work on talking with the current consignors in the coming few weeks.

Sunday brings much accounting work as we sold and acquired at least 100 coins. We should be able to show all the coins that sold at the show by the late morning.

While the show took our attention for the entire week, I wanted to acknowledge Jenny's award she received on Tuesday from the Association of Asian American Yale Alumni for her civic and professional leadership. We met many younger alumni that had many questions for Jenny on career guidance and how to find opportunities to volunteer to help the underserved. She gave a nice award acceptance speech that was met witih loud applause. It was a banquet dinner with a heavy 12 course meal that I had to be careful to not overeat and get sleepy as I still had a lot of preparation work to do for the trip early in the morning to Baltimore.

 

 

 

 

March 7, 2026

Successful First Show!

 

Thanks for visiting us this morning. Matt did the daily blog the last two days as I was exhausted and went to bed right after dinner. Even though there was no buzz in the room like at January FUN, we had a very good Thursday as dealers were specifically seeking us out and eagerly waiting to see our new coins and bought quite a bit. Friday had smaller attendance and it really thinned out after 1:00 p.m. Yet, we forged on and had a solid Friday boosting sales to above $100,000. We want to thank Gerry's customers for stopping by and wishing us well.

If you noticed, we have been having some technology glitches with the website on Friday. We tried to do a coin upload at ths show to put the items on hold that sold. Bad idea! It took forever to do the upload and then it didn't work properly so the website showed zero coins for 15 minutes. We were able to go back to the previous version and brought the coin lists back. Gerry told us he never updated the website during the show and now we learned the hard way why. That means we will not be updating the list of coins that are on hold (and there are many) until we get back to New York.

Having Gerry help us at this show was critical. I can't tell you how many times Gerry would let us make some mistakes on our own and then smile and laugh and then let us know how we should go about it. As I have already said before, until you have to handle all the different things that Gerry was juggling to maintain this business, the more I can appreciate how much effort Gerry needed to expend on the business.

This first show was quite the experience and we learned many things, as well as knowing that we still have much to learn. The market for Seated dollars is especially strong. Whether it is a scarce date or common date, there were a lot of requests for them. Matt and I were also pleased at how serious the collectors who were looking at the auction lots were. Universally, everyone said these were nice coins. Once we get back, we will be working on setting up the auction page, start posting the photos, and work on the descriptions and opening bid prices.

We got a quick hard education on how the bullion market works. It was eye opening how fast the bullion market changes from one day to the next. We dealt with American silver eagles, Morgan and Peace dollars, 90% silver, and US Mint products and no single company wanted all of this. Fortunately, we found different companies that wanted components of this deal and was able to sell a sizable portion of what we purchased.

Matt and I went through several thousand coins at the show and purchased a very small percentage of them. We have about 40 new coins coming back with us that we both liked that we will present to our blog readers in the next few weeks. These coins were not cheap to acquire and we are willing to pay strongly for nice coins. Some of the comments we received were that a number of our "Choice" coins are really "Gem" coins for just about anyone else which we take great pride in. Matt and I are obsessed with quality and eye apeal for the coins that we buy as we try to purchase coins that we would proudly put into our own collections.

Many dealers have already left Baltimore. We will have our booth open until early Saturday afternoon when we start breaking down and head back to have dinner with our families.

Time to get some rest before another hectic day on the bourse.

 

March 6, 2026

First Day at Baltimore

 

Thanks for visiting.

Yesterday, Darrell and I completed our first day at the Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo. It was our first official day as coin dealers at a show. As might be expected, we were not very efficient at setting up our cases. It took a lot of time and we did not make the most of our table space.

We arrived late at the show because we spent the prior evening purchasing a large silver deal consisting of hundreds of ounces of silver eagles, Morgan and Peace dollars, 90% junk and miscellaneous silver mint products. We knew the deal would be challenging, but also fun and a learning experience. It was all of that including a time sink. We didn't complete the deal till late at night and stayed up even later organizing it.

On the bourse, we sold pieces of the deal to several dealers, bullion players and to a bunch of retail buyers who got great deals because we wanted to move the nearly 100 pounds of stuff so we don't have to take it home. We are hoping silver goes up while we sleep so we don't lose money and a deal we've spent too much time on.

When we arrived at the bourse, Gerry was already there. He is graciously attending this show as an honored guest. At set up, he smiled as he watched us spending way to much organizing our coins in the cases and doing a pretty bad job at it as well. He politely offered his help and we (i.e., he) efficiently arranged the cases and we had way more room to put out our coins and mounds of bullion. He also helped us show and sell coins all day to his longtime clients and new faces. The operation would not have run as well without him. Thanks Gerry!

During the day, we were busy selling a ton of coins and roaming the floor to buy what we could. We bought some excellent Seated and Bust coins which we'll post after the show but not nearly enough to fill the major holes in our inventory. Our consignors will be happy as we sold lots of their coins. (Please give us a call to discuss consigning your coins so we can well them at Central States).

We left the show at closing and had dinner at our go to Italian restaurant La Tavola. Everyone at our table ordered the lasagna as usual and we had a great bottle of Aglianico wine. We are hoping to get a good night sleep and to buy and sell a ton of coins again tomorrow.

For those of you that have not attended a large, multi-day coin show, it is a great experience. Not only will you see a ton of great coins and sharpen your eye, you will make lifelong friends. Darrell and I have roomed together as collectors to attend 5 shows a year for more than 25 years and now we have a business together doing what we love and what we've been doing on a daily basis anyway. Come join the fun.

 

March 4, 2026

Baltimore Here We Come

 

This morning we are heading to Baltimore for our first show as GRFC 2.0. Darrell and I packed up our table aprons, extention cords, locks and other show stuff. I'm sure we'll forget a bunch of things since this our first show. One thing we will not forget are the coins. We will be bringing the coins we have listed on the website over the past week plus a whole slew of new coins which will make their first appearance at the show. We will be at table 341. Please stop at our table first if you are coming to the show so you don't miss out.

 

 

 

 

March 3, 2026

More Consignment Coins Released

 

As discussed yesterday, today brings the release of coins from the New Orleans Collection and a new consignor. There are some important New Orleans coins throughout this offering. The three stars for today are the highly lustrous 1851-O dime in PCGS-62 that was formerly in Gerry's core collection, the 1901-O dime in PCGS-66+ CAC that was formerly from the Bob Simpson collection, and the 1850-O dollar in NGC-AU55. Another interesting coin is the 1867 dollar in PCGS-AU50. The picture doesn't reflect it, but if you rotate the dollar under a light, marvelous cobalt blue and magenta toning on both sides can be seen.

 

1851-O 10c PCGS-MS62 - $13,500

1901-O 10c PCGS-MS66+ CAC ex. Simpson - $7,500

1850-O $1 NGC-AU55 - $5,750

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's keep it brief today. Monday was a very busy day for us. Shipping went well. Then it was coin photography and writing descriptions. A few orders came in to handle. We still need to figure out how to get PayPal to send invoices and hopefully that gets done today. As you can guess, there is much preparation before traveling to Baltimore tomorrow through Saturday. Gerry, Matt, and I are looking forward to seeing some of you at the show this week. Be well!

 

 

 

March 2, 2026

Working on Consignments

and

Shipping Day

 

 

Matt and I took a bit of a break today. The puzzle pieces are coming together for the Baltimore show. Our business cards arrived late Saturday. We wanted the QR card for the website to be on the card so we only submitted the order once the production website was ready last week. With snow now scheduled for Tuesday, all looks good for shipping on Monday. The packages are ready to be mailed and we will prepare the prepaid shipping labels on Monday morning.

One of the things Matt and I spoke about was how the coin pictures look on different devices. As we were planning the transition, the photo editing in Adobe Photoshop was painfully slow on my five year old computer and I had to purchase a new one to speed things up. I ended up getting a graphics card, plenty of RAM and a large gaming monitor to make it faster and easier to see for my aging eyes. On my screen, the coin pictures look accurate. On Matt's Mac, it is a little darker, but still reasonable. On smartphones, the pictures are definitely darker than the coin in hand. Certainly email us if you have any questions on how a coin looks versus the pictures. When we take pictures, there are always "hot" and "cold" spots on the coin, especially with highly lustrous coins.. We move the lights to be able to reduce these "hot" and "cold" spots as best as we can. The raw images from the camera are 42 Mb each! Once the holders are cut out, the final Photoshop file with the obverse and reverse are still 20 Mb each. We then convert them to a JPEG (.jpg) low resolution file (that is suitable for a website) that you see in the Sale Lists that are 200 Kb. If you click on that picture, then a higher resolution picture of 500 Kb is rendered.

Besides shipping on Monday, we are working on the descriptions for our consignments to be posted on Tuesday's Daily Blog. The New Orleans collection returns with more high grade Seated and Barber New Orleans coinage of some popular dates. There is also a small group of coins from a new consignor with a few better date Seated dollars and a Trade dollar. We will round out the consignments with a few more of our new coins. For those coming to the Baltimore show, we will also have another 100 lower priced coins that are not on the website. I estimate that about 65% of the coins available in Baltimore at our booth are new since the January FUN show. That is how dramatic the inventory has changed. As we get closer to releasing all the coins we have been holding back in preparation for the transition, now is a good time to consider a consignment. Everyone have a Happy Monday!

 

 

March 1, 2026

Laptop Ready for Baltimore

and

Thank You to Neil Sedaka

 

 

Today was more preparation work for Baltimore. The biggest milestone was to get my laptop ready to do coin uploads and write the Daily Blog on it. That was accomplished after a few hours setting up software and making all kinds of configuration changes to get things working properly. Even getting everything working, I am still dreading updating the sale lists with the laptop as the process is very tedious and the screen is not wide enough to manipulate the data somewhat quickly. The placement of price stickers on the front of our coins was also taken care of. We are also working on getting the note sheets for the auction lots ready and printed for lot viewing in Baltimore. We also took more pictures of Mike's Seated quarters and the seven better date AU early Walking Liberty half dollars that are part of the first auction and look to complete that process by Monday. All these auction lots are coming from first time consignors with GFRC. Sunday brings continued work on the pictures and getting the packages ready for shipment on Monday. We will work on completing the photo editing of the auction lots soon after returning from the show.

I was saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Neil Sedaka on Friday. I had to listen to some of his songs on YouTube while working on the computer on Saturday. Neil, thanks for all the great songs! The Brill group of songwriters which also included Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil made some fantastic music. If you haven't seen Carole King's story in Beautiful, go see it.

If you don't already know, music is important to both Matt and I. I love popular music from the 1950's to today. My father was a huge fan of Elvis and we also listened to the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin, Aretha Franklin, Frankie Avalon, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra. the Supremes, the Ronettes, Righteous Brothers, and plenty of others. He exposed me to Rock, R&B, Country, Jazz, and Disco which is why I enjoy a wide range of genres. My personal favorite are the Beatles with the Beach Boys and Journey further back. Even 60 years later, the Beatles music still maintains its inventiveness. Whenever Paul McCartney is in town, it is always a must see. At the last Rosemont ANA show, I attended BeatlesFest that occurred on the same weekend. I had a fun time though the first few performances were not too good. The last group also had Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees help sing some of the songs and the band was pretty good. After the live concerts were completed, there were multiple small groups of attendees getting their guitars out in the hotel lobby and playing music well past midnight.

Jenny and I love going to concerts when we can both go. We have a number of other couples that we go to concerts with and we always have a lot of fun together. Thinking about 2025, we saw Bryan Adams/Benatar-Giraldo, Keith Urban, Air Supply, Amy Grant, and Earth Wind & Fire. The only popular music that doesn't appeal to me are songs where the entire song is noticeably autotuned. I'm also not a big fan of pitch correction which just about every popular song in the last 15 years is. That is why I enjoy live concerts so much.

 

 

February 28, 2026

Preparing for Baltimore

 

 

After three days of non-stop photos and description writing, Matt and I started preparation for the Baltimore coin show next week. It is going to be our first show since the transition and there are some logistics we need to plan for. I spent some time walking over to a local art store to get supplies and display items for our booth. I also had some time to pay some bills and plan for Central States and the June Baltimore show. Matt continued writing coin descriptions for the consignments that will be featured on Tuesday's daily blog.

Thursday brought out snow clearing operations from last weekend's large snowstorm in the neighborhood. Several sets of sanitation vehicles stopped incoming car traffic throughout the neighborhood for about 30 minutes per intersection while a few Bobcats and large dump trucks hauled the snow. I did watch some of the Bobcats in action and didn't realize how fast and maneuverable they are. It looked like the operators were having fun collecting all the snow as they were moving and spinning very quickly. We had at least 12 inches of snow on the sides of the streets and sidewalks. It was all gone quickly and now it looks lke we barely got any snow now.

Saturday and Sunday brings more logistic planning for the show including getting the auction lots photographed and setting up lot viewing sheets for attendees to take notes on.

On a personal note, I need to put some focus on my next few fantasy baseball picks this weekend. Now that teams have just about drafted enough players for their lineup, five starters, and a reliever by round 15, this is the part of the draft where you really need to know the prospects and who could have an outsized role with their teams this year. Everyone's draft list changes dramatically now and it is an interesting time to see what players come off the board with the banter among owners increasing. Since we are playing real games, the counting stats (Runs, RBI, Wins, Saves) mean zero in this game. It's all about player performance against each other. Home runs, stolen bases, errors, strikeouts and walks do matter. If a pitcher throws a shutout in real life, depending on how the other team's offense performs, they could give up zero, one or two runs in the fantasy game which makes the weekly game results fascinating and frustrating. Enjoy your weekend!

 

 

February 27, 2026

More Coins and More Next Tuesday

 

 

Thursday was another busy day in the office. There was some photography and photo editing done in the morning to prepare for this group of coins. We still have roughly 25 more coins of new consignments and our coins to post on Tuesday's blog before the Baltimore coin show. We appreciate everyone's comments over the phone and through email on how nice our coins are. If you were thinking of purchasing a coin or two from what we have posted so far, don't hesitate before we bring these to the Baltimore show. The first lead coin today is an 1839-O H10c NGC-MS65 that is brilliant white with a hammered strike. The 1840-O Drapery H10c NGC-MS62 is very tough in Uncirculated condition and is original. The 1860-O 50c has very nice eye appeal. The 1872 $1 was difficult to photograph and doesn't do the coin justice. If you are at Baltimore, check out this coin under a light! Please remember that we will also be showing the contents from the first auction in early May which includes the first part of Mike's Seated Quarters and a small group of early date Walking Liberty Halves in AU condition. We are certain these auction lots will put a big smile on your face. Have a good day!

1839-O H10c NGC-MS65 - $11,300

 

1840-O With Drapery H10c NGC-MS62 - $9,950

 

1860-O 50c PCGS-MS63 CAC - $2,300

 

1872 $1 CACG-AU53 (CAC) - $1,995

 

 

February 26, 2026

It's CC (Carson City) Day

 

 

Wednesday was a balmy 40 degrees in New York so I decided to walk about 2.5 miles from where I needed to go. There is always something to see on most blocks and I go to my destination one way and return on a different route. Outside of that errand, a few pictures needed to be done and edited for today's coin release as well as continued description writing. Matt was also writing descriptions. Today's group brings a few nice and rare CC coins. What drew me into Seated coinage was my affection for Carson City coinage. I've read Rusty Goe's Mint on Carson Street from cover to cover. No, I haven't tried to read the magnificent three volume encyclopedia of Carson City coinage that is Rusty's masterpiece. The 1871-CC is the second rarest Seated dime behind only the 1874-CC Arrows. Getting a nice CAC example doesn't come up often with only 16 getting stickered in all grades. With five letters of LiBERTY showing, this coin would be a VG all the time when I learned grading 30 years ago. The picture of the 1879-CC doesn't give the sense how tremendous the color is when rotating it under a light. It's a coin you have to see if you are in Baltimore as it is amazing. The 1889-CC is the second best date in the Morgan dollar series. This coin is unusually choice for the grade, even among different CAC examples. Remember to email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com to secure these coins. All the coins for today are now posted with three highlights below. There will be another new group of coins tomorrow.

 

1871-CC 10c PCGS-G6 CAC - $6,950

1879-CC $1 PCGS-AU58+ CAC ex. James A. Stack - $12,750

1889-CC $1 PCGS-XF40 CAC - $5,400

 

 

 

February 25, 2026

The Start of New Coins Galore

 

 

Tuesday brought an early morning meeting with Gerry to teach us more of the back end operations and little nuances on how the website works. Gerry is similar to me with his attention to detail. After the meeting, I had some breakfast and worked on creating labels. It was a new experience for me trying to navigate the USPS website with the numerous package types and then reviewing the many additional options to customize the delivery. It took some time to read the different options and found features such as not putting the postage amount on the labels to be useful. The walk to the post office wasn't bad as the weather wasn't too cold, but there was a lot of slush at the intersections which required me to take a rather circuitous route to avoid soaking my snow boots. Then it was a good number of hours writing description and then we reviewed what each other wrote. We definitely have a backlog of coins that we would like to display at Baltimore next week, but wanted our blog readers to get first shot on these which is why we are working tirelessly to get the descriptions completed to post coins for the next three days. We are proud of these offerings and hope you enjoy them. Remember to email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com to secure these coins. The coins for today are now posted with three highlights below.

 

1844 H10c NGC-MS66 CAC (Old Fatty Holder) - $3,600

 

1842 Medium Date 50c PCGS-MS64+ CAC - $5,495

 

1799 $1 B-5 PCGS-XF40 CAC - $7,250

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings more writing to finish up the offerings through Friday. The Barber Journal ad needs to be completed as well as further work on the laptop. Have a good day!

 

 

February 24, 2026

Snowed In

and

Releasing the Next Group of Coins Starting Wednesday

 

 

The snow kept on coming down from Sunday late afternoon through Monday early afternoon. When all was said and done, we had about 16 inches where I am. Further east on Long Island, my friends got 29 inches which is more than I can ever remember. The reaction to Monday's blog showcasing the better coins from the first auction of Mike's Seated Quarters was very positive with some Seated collectors emailing or calling to discuss the contents of this session. There were enough phone discussions that I started my lunch at 1:00 p.m. and finally finished it at 4:00 p.m. including reheating it twice in the microwave. There were plenty of things to do for GFRC on Monday besides emails and phone conversations. The packages for Tuesday shipping were completed and the USPS labels will be generated Tuesday morning. There were some technology things that needed to be fixed including making all the links in the Die Varieties tab go back to Gerry's seateddimevarieties.com web book, instead of our local website. We also fixed the issue with new accounts being created and not sending an email to the submitter and to our email box. Business cards were ordered which includes the QR code for the new website that should arrive by this weekend in time for next week's Baltimore coin show. Lastly, the ad for the Barber Coin Collectors Society Journal was started. As you can see, there is no shortage of things to do. The only thing that didn't get done were coin descriptions. Matt was able to write up a few. Our plans are to release 15-20 coins each day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday so watch the Daily Blog for the next few days to see the new offerings.

With the snowstorm, Stack's Bowers called me to let me know that there will no longer be lot viewing in New York this week, and all the auction lots will be sent directly to Baltimore. This is problematic for many of us that can focus on lot viewing in New York and just double check interested lots at Baltimore. Now it will be a struggle for Matt and me to get through 2,200 lots for the first time at the Baltimore show. We've asked Stack's Bowers to open lot viewing earlier and/or end later to provide some time outside of show hours to look at the coins.

Finding Us on the Bourse Floor

With the Baltimore show next week, below is the bourse floor layout and the directions to our booth. Gerry, Matt, and I are looking to seeing many of you at the show.

 

 

Payment Methods

In general, we prefer checks or Zelle. PayPal is available, but an additional 3% fee will be applied. GFRC will no longer accept credit cards as usage is too small to justify the backend monthly charges.

Fortin Family Blog Established

Gerry has created a new location on seateddimevarieties.com for his Fortin Family Blog.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Tuesday will be another busy day in the office kicking off with a training session with Gerry to teach us more of the backend processes. Shipping will occur midday. After lunch, more coin descriptions need to be written followed by finishing up the Barber journal ad, and doing further testing of managing the business from a laptop while in Baltimore. It's very tedious to do the data manipulation to prepare for uploading the sale lists and I am not looking forward to doing it on a laptop with a much smaller screen. It is quite easy to do the data manipulation incorrectly and remove all the coins from the website, only to have to go through the process again to repopulate the coins. Please be on the lookout when the new coins are posted in the next few Daily Blogs and remember to email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com to order coins. Have a good day!

 

 

February 23, 2026

Introducing Mike's Seated Quarters - Part 1

 

 

Welcome to a new week of the daily blog. We want to highlight our lead consignment for our first auction, Part 1 of Mike's Seated Quarters. I've known Mike for a few years and knew he was building a tremendous Seated quarter set. We've always had great conversations about our favorite series at Central States or at the Summer ANA shows so I was humbled when Mike asked me to auction his pride and joy. I don't think there are more than 25 complete Seated quarter sets (not including the 1873-CC No Arrows) in any grade as many of the 1870-CC, 1871-CC, and 1873-CC Arrows quarters are with Carson City collectors. The time and effort needed to build a set like this is extraordinary. For today, we want to present pictures of the better coins for the first auction to whet your appetite. Clicking a picture will bring up a larger picture that you can further enlarge. Please come visit our table at the March Baltimore or April Central States to view these and many other wonderful coins in hand. There are some coins in this group that you may not see again for years.

Mike's Seated Quarters

      1860-S 25c PCGS-VF30 CAC OGH                                           1873-CC Arrows 25c PCGS-VG10 CAC    

        

 1851-O 25c PCGS-XF45 CAC                                                            1852-O 25c CACG-XF40 (CAC) 

        

 

  1853 No Arrows 25c PCGS-VF30 CAC                                                            1864-S 25c PCGS-XF40 

        

1866-S 25c PCGS-VF20 CAC!                                                            1871-S 25c PCGS-MS62 

        

1872-CC 25c PCGS-F15                                                             1872-S 25c PCGS-VF25     

        

 1889 25c PCGS-MS66 CAC OGH                                                            1891-O 25c PCGS-XF40 CAC 

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Looking out the window as I write the blog, there appears to be about 7 inches of snow so far. It's hard to believe that the website only went live five days ago as it feels like a month for Matt and I with how busy we are. Tomorrow will be a snow day inside. I'll be working on more descriptions, preparing for the first group of shipments, and testing my laptop to see if I can write the daily blog, maintain the website, create invoices, and access the various tools we need when we are in Baltimore. Thanks for tuning in. You will want to follow the daily blog every day this week as there is a lot going on.

 

 

 

February 22, 2026

Reconciling Inventory and Preparing for Snowstorm

 

We hope you are enjoying your weekend. There is certainly no shortage of things to do for the two of us. We talked with a number of collectors today, took some orders, and reconciled the inventory of coins on the website. We received an order for an older inventory coin on the website that we didn't have and neither did Gerry. Frankly, Matt and I felt embarrassed by the situation. We decided to spend about five hours tonight to clean up the website inventory to match what we really have. Fortunately, there were only a few discrepancies that are now taken care of. As we were reviewing the inventory, one thing we discussed was putting prices on the front of the holders instead of the back, for at least for the lower priced material. Most dealers don't put prices on the front of the holder at shows. But as collectors ourselves, we think it is beneficial to know what an item will cost, especially for casual collectors. For the Baltimore coin show, we plan to put price stickers on the front of every coin less than $3,000 and see how it goes. We also plan to place the better coins we have into a single showcase. When you stop by our tables, let us know if you like or don't like these changes.

Besides what is on the website, we will have a nice group of lower priced coins to offer. The New Jersey collection has consigned about 40 AU Barber dimes and quarters which includes some coins with CAC stickers. Matt and I have another 50 lower priced coins that are quite nice. With CAC stickering costing roughly $30 each when you include postage fees to and from CAC, there will be coins in this group that may not have a CAC sticker, but are worthy CAC candidates.

There will also be one showcase dedicated for auction lot viewing. Currently, we have about 60 coins consigned to the auction. We will do a Daily Blog in the coming week formally announcing the consignments with some photos. It was previously mentioned after the FUN show that the lead consignment is a stellar group of Seated quarters with 80% having CAC endorsements. A few collectors have already called to ask about the contents of this group and are excited to have an opportunity to acquire these beauties. Also consigned is a small group of early date AU Walking Liberty halves that are all CAC! These coins will be available for lot viewing at the March Baltimore and late April Central States shows.

Wrapping Up The Blog

The weather forecast in NY for Sunday and Monday calls for 15 inches of snow. Due to the snowstorm, shipping of coins will move from Monday to Tuesday. My wife, Jenny, and I walked over to the local supermarket to get food for the next few days. When we got there, there must have been 150 people waiting in line to pay. It was certainly the longest line at that supermarket that I have ever seen. We went to get the heavier and bulkier items together and then my wife and I took turns getting items while the other waited on line. Eventhough the line was long, the wait was 20 minutes which wasn't too bad.

For those impacted by the snowstorm, please be careful and stay safe..

 

February 21, 2026

Another Full Day of Numismatics

 

 

It's been only a week, but hopefully you are getting a glimpse of our personalities through the Daily Blog and how similar yet different Matt and I are. Yesterday was a continuation of fixing minor issues with the website. We also noticed that a few coins that were part of the initial 50 coins were not listed at all due a bug in the data manipulation process. Once we realized it, it didn't take long to remediate the issue. These were the missing coins: 1840-O with Drapery half dime in PCGS-XF40, 1868 25c CACG-VF35, 1896-S 25c CACG-G4, 1889-S $20 PCGS-AU58 CAC ex. James Stack, and a 1927 $20 PCGS-MS65 CAC. During the weekend, we will work on getting the packages of coins ordered in the past few days ready to ship on Monday. Some purchasers have opted to hold off shipment until after we post another sizable amount of coins next week. Others will pick up their purchases at the Baltimore coin show from Thursday, March 5 to Saturday, March 7. We have been assigned Table 341 at the show and will include a map of the show floor in a future blog.

In the evening, I (Darrell) attended my monthly New York Numismatic Club meeting. It was the first meeting at the club's new venue as the previous venue changed ownership and more than doubled the fee. The meeting was well attended, the food and drinks were very good, and there was much comraderie in the room. The club is the oldest numismatic club in the US and holds ANA club membership #1. There has been a monthly meeting since the club was founded in December 1908. Members collect all kinds of numismatic items with not many collecting US federal coinage. That helps me get exposure to ancient coinage, colonials, world and US paper money, tokens, and medals which broadens my knowledge. There is a monthly presentation that I always learn a lot from. I love the history and stories and really soak in the information. There are plenty of traditions the club follows including wearing a jacket and tie, not discussing the value of objects, and a show and tell related to the presentation topic where the best exhibit wins an award medal engraved with their name. We had a new member to vote on today and the club's ballot box that dates back to the late 1800's was used. The person being voted on is escorted out of the room. The club secretary then walks to all the attending club members and each member casts a vote using round white balls and square black cubes. Fortunately, the person did not get any square black cubes and received a club membership pin to the applause of those in attendance.

Many people asked about this new venture and provided good advice on managing a coin business. Universally, they said it was a lot of work, but would be enjoyable after we settle in for a few months. So far, Matt and I have interacted with quite a few of you in the past few days. Keep the feedback coming as you are discovering some of the bugs we have on the website.

Wrapping Up The Blog

Next week brings lot viewing at Stack's Bowers for their auctions after the Baltimore show. Besides taking want lists, we are differing from Gerry in that we can do lot viewing for those that cannot see the items in hand. In general, the fee is 5% of the hammer price for lots that you win. When you use us, you get two sets of eyes looking at the lot. Besides U. S. coins, we can do colonials, territorial gold, medals, tokens, and even currency. The real value of having someone look at an item in hand is to steer you away from coins with issues that are not apparent in pictures. Please let us know by Monday if you would like to take advantage of this service. In the past, Matt and I used Jim McGuigan as he had a tremendous eye. The coins that we got through Jim are some of the best coins we have. We miss Jim a lot!

I am looking forward to watching a few hours of the Winter Olympics this weekend as I've been too busy this week to turn on the TV.

 

 

February 20, 2026

First 50 Coins Posted for Sale

 

 

 

Thank you for visiting the blog today.

After months of preparation and after many late nights (mostly Darrell’s) of working out the many kinks found on the website, yesterday we finally debuted our first round of coins – consisting of 50 mostly CAC’d coins from many denominations and grade ranges. We posted the coins at 1pm ET and waited not knowing what to expect. Which coin would be ordered first? Would we get inundated by emails and phone calls? Several minutes went by and we received our first order!  Care to guess which coin? 

The 1881-O $10 in CACG XF45.  This coin proved to be the most popular as we received three more orders for the same coin over the next couple of hours. Which caused us to discover another bug in the system. We tried to put this coin and others that sold “on hold” in the system but rather than list the coin as being on hold it took the coin down entirely. We decided to leave the sold coins up and ask our developer to fix the problem. Two more coins sold in the next 30 or so minutes including the 1844-O Doubled Date 50c in PCGS AG3 CAC, which both Darrell and I thought would sell fast since (1) the doubled date was easy to see with the naked eye even with the AG 3 grade, (2)  the surfaces were very choice, (3) the coin was affordable for this scarce and desirable variety and (4) the Seated half series is a very popular and well collected series, especially in collector grades.

While the phones didn’t ring off the hook (in fact all coins sold via email, which is the best way to order from us), we sold 8 coins in all on our first day.  Plus, we had many emails pointing out some glitches with the website (which we will attempt to correct, pronto) and many more emails wishing us well and congratulating us on our launch, all of which we greatly appreciate.

We will be posting another 50 special coins sometime next week so stay tuned.  Like the batch posted yesterday, they will run the gamut, the vast majority will be CAC’d (one Seated half being gold CAC’d) and you as blog readers will get first shot since you’ll know exactly when the coins will be posted.

If you are considering any of the coins we posted yesterday, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about a coin or simply send us an email to order.

We will have all unsold coins at the Baltimore Whitman Expo at Table 341 which is only a week and half away!  Plus, we will be bringing many additional and very fresh coins that will not be posted on the website but will only be sold at the show.  If you are attending the show make sure you stop by our table first when you arrive. 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As of 12:30 a.m., our developer has fixed the issue with the "Hold" functionality and you can see which coins have sold. Also fixed was the Featured Coins (formerly Just Buy It Now!) list that needs some cleanup later today.

Thanks again for reading the Daily Blog on the GFRC 2.0 website.  We hope you’ll continue to visit as we post more coins and hopefully some entertaining and maybe even informative content in the days, weeks, months and years to come.  

 

 

 

February 19, 2026

First Day of Operation

and

Heritage Auctions Sports Event

 

After a marathon Tuesday night, one might think Wednesday would be a restful day. But that was certainly not the case with our first day of operations. Going to bed at 6:00 a.m., I was awakened at 9:30 a.m. by Matt to let me know the website was up and running. Thanks, buddy! Matt and I were both very busy juggling different things. We spoke to a few potential consignors, reviewed feedback from you on various parts of the website, received packages of coins in the mail, did plenty of administrative work, and wrote descriptions for coins that will be posted later today. Now that the first 50 coins are done, we need to work on the next 50 coin descriptions for next week. We are certainly getting a good taste of switching over from collectors to coin dealers and having a fun time.

In the middle of the day, I had to take a break from coins to make my next draft pick in the seventh round for my fantasy baseball National League team in Scoresheet Baseball. The draft lasts for 35 rounds and doesn't finish until a few days before the regular season begins. This is my 33rd season playing this game which I enjoy immensely, but does take time to maintain. I play with some advanced players so you really need to know the entire 25 man rosters and the up and coming minor leaguers. You play real 9 inning games and you control every aspect of the game from different lineups against lefty or righty pitching, who bunts starting at which inning, when to take out pitchers, what is the order of the relief pitching, when to substitute a better defensive player late in a game, etc.. Of course, the best part is the banter that comes from the other owners on how they like or dislike your picks throughout the draft. My pick today ended up being Blake Snell who is battling a tired shoulder so the comments from the other owners were all over the place.

In the evening, I attended a Heritage Auctions sports reception at their Manhattan office. It seems that every time there is a sports reception, it always rains and last night was no exception. I always have a great time at these events talking with their specialists and meeting other collectors. There was a lot of interesting sports cards and memorabilia on display. My two favorite items were Wilt Chamberlain's 1959-60 rookie jersey and an altered, but authentic example of the holy grail of all sports cards, the T206 Honus Wagner card. This card belonged to former player and broadcaster, Joe Garagiola and is pedigreed on the holder as such. Looking at Wilt's jersey up close, the jersey would drop down close to the top of my knee and I am six feet tall! I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

February 18, 2026

Welcome to GFRC 2.0

and

Happy Lunar New Year

 

Welcome to our website! We want to thank the many of you that emailed and called to provide encouragement these past few weeks as we worked crazy hard to complete the transition. Matt and I really appreciate it!

Tuesday is turning out to be a 21-hour work day. It seems like for every issue we fixed, we broke two other things. I might be dating myself, but it feels like Whac-A-Mole. By the time you see this, all the website issues have been remediated by Wednesday, 3:00 a.m. and www.GerryFortinRareCoins.com has been repointed to this website by approximately 6:00 a.m. Thank goodness for M&Ms to keep me going.

Everyone who has an account should sign into their account and verify that their list of coins purchased previously is correct. Please email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com if you see any issues anywhere on the website.

Please bookmark and use the direct link to https://212collectibles.com as it is an encrypted connection between your browser and the website.

You may also continue using http://www.GerryFortinRareCoins.com if you wish and you will be forwarded to the website. Once you get to the website, place your cursor at the end of the URL in the Address Bar and then press Enter to establish the encryption.

I did take some time to relax and enjoy a sizable Lunar New Year dinner with family on Tuesday evening to celebrate the year of the horse. The year of the horse runs from Feb. 17, 2026 to Feb. 5, 2027. Those born in mid-January to mid-February need to look at the Lunar New Year calendar of the year you were born to determine your animal in the lunar zodiac. In general, those born after mid-Feb. in 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, or 2014 are all in the year of the horse.

Per Google AI, people born in the year of the horse, "are energetic, independent, and highly social individuals who value freedom and adventure. Known for their charming, witty, and optimistic nature, Horses are driven to succeed but can be impatient, impulsive, and sometime stubborn. They thrive in crowds and are active, resilient leaders." It does sound a bit like Matt!

Matt has been working on descriptions for the first group of approximately 50 coins. He is about halfway done and working together today, we should have no problem finishing up the remaining half in a few hours. A few people like that we are posting coins on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. ET and some do not. For the first posting of coins on Thursday, we will keep it at 1:00 p.m. ET as we want to be fair to our community in the time zones further west. This time will also provide us with ample time to prepare for our first posting. Matt and I are thinking if there is a better time to post new coins regularly and want to hear from you. Note that while Gerry is a very early morning person, neither of us are.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous Lunar New Year!

February 17, 2026

Almost There and Some Coin Talk

and

Precious Metals Update

 

Greetings once again and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning. Gerry is back at the keyboard this morning as your Blog editor while Darrell continues to iron out the final challenges with the GFRC Gen 2.0 website launch. Thank you for the return visit.

Following is the new ownership team's blogpost and updates.

 

Almost There and Some Coin Talk

We’ve worked about 18 hours on Monday to make the website more secure by making it an “https” website which adds encryption between your internet browser and the website. The front-end portion (what you see) looks good, but our developer needs further time to do some verifications on the back-end portion to ensure that the production website is only using the production database and not the test website database. Some additional maintenance work on the back end is required which is why we need one more day before we move the gerryfortinrarecoins.com URL pointer to our production website.

Now, back to coins. While Darrell has been working diligently on the website, we have both been working on putting together our first batch of coins. Isn’t that why we are here?

Currently, we intend to list 50 or so coins on Thursday with the assumption that the website will be ready for business. The coins offered will include “soup to nuts” so there should be something for everyone. Of course, we’ll have a nice group of Seated and Bust coinage (both circulated, uncs and even a proof or two and almost all CAC’d), which you should expect for GFRC 2.0. But we’ll also have some Barbers (including some nice circs and a high-grade key date), Morgans, coppers, nickels and even some gold. Again, almost all the coins will be CAC’d.

To give a fair shot to our west coast customers, we will be listing the coins at approximately 1:00 pm ET on Thursday. Given this is our first time listing coins on the website (and we’ve only done a small amount of testing), there may be some time lag. We will be selling the coins on a first come first serve basis, so please email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com as early as possible if you are interested in a coin to reserve your place in line. We are pretty sure that many of the coins will have multiple orders and we will give first shot to those that email first.

 

Precious Metals Update

For the many among us who have taken positions in gold and silver, the current volatility can be quite unnerving unless understanding what is taking place behind the scenes.

Let's start with gold which has held recent gains quite well and has been bouncing at or close to the $5000 level. As I've mentioned in the past, gold is an asymmetrical trade given the strong buying by central banks. Gold's global demand is an impediment for those that wish to attempt manipulation. Current forecasts for 2026 year end by major banks and analysts range from $5800 to $10,000. Holding gold makes sense given the reshuffling of the global world order.

Silver is different due to its lower price per ounce and higher availability. For decades, silver pricing was manipulated on the COMEX and LBMA by major banks with JP Morgan even being fined for these actions. Its a real shame that JP Morgan is the current custodian for silver bar holdings in the SLV ETF. The recent smash down of silver prices was a classic attack by one of the major bullion bank with JP Morgan being the prime suspect. The attack takes place on a Friday when Asian trading has closed. Large quantities of metal are sold with few buyers in the global pool. The result is an air pocket that brings the price down through multiple sell stop levels until the attacker decides that the price drop is sufficient for their goals. Would you believe that JP Morgan took the price drop to $77 as an opportunity to add 37 millions new shares to the SLV ETF? It really is criminal.

The counterbalance to western price manipulation is the Shanghai Gold Exchange. This exchange has become a physical trading platform rather than the paper manipulation that continues in the western exchanges. The COMEX and LBMA players can only continue their manipulation if there is physical metal in the vaults by which to write paper contracts. During 2025, the demand for physical deliver was so strong that the western exchanges were nearly bleed dry. During early 2026, the remaining physical inventories continue to shrink and at some point, the western manipulation will be forced to terminate.

Currently, China is celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, therefore the Shanghai exchange is closed for business which results in the western bullion banks to have free reign with silver price manipulation until the holiday week is over. We can see the outcome of China traders being on holiday with silver dropping to $74/oz. If having available cash, I would be taking silver positions at current levels.

My advice is to hold onto your gold and silver positions and wait out the turbulence. This is what I am doing on a personal basis.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

So ends another Daily Blog editor appearance on behalf of Darrell and Matt. They are very close to launching the GFRC Gen 2.0 website and price lists with some serious new offerings.

Thanks again for the visit and staying current with the GFRC transition.

Be well!

 

 

 

February 16, 2026

Welcoming GFRC Gen 2.0 - A Busy Week

and

First Retirement Hobby Project is Way Cool!

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a mid-February Monday morning. I'm glad that you've returned to the GFRC website towards staying current with the business transition.

Actually, I'm making a guest appearance this morning as the Daily Blog editor. The technical challenges associated with porting the original Fortin website to the new management team's Hostway server have been substantial and resolved, though the timing requires my aid for posting the February 16th edition. Since being at the keyboard, this is also an opportunity to provide an update on how retirement life is going so far. Spoiler alert.... it is fantastic!

Following is a blogpost from Darrell and Matt that arrived to my Inbox last evening. I truly hope that you enjoy today's content. It feels great to be back in the Daily Blog cockpit.

 

Welcoming GFRC Gen 2.0 - A Busy Week

It’s been a very busy week for Matt and myself.  With our developer, we were able to get all the back office functions completed on the test site late Tuesday.  With the trip to Sarasota on Wednesday and Thursday, we wanted to build in some extra security to the production website, but could only focus on it when we got back to New York.   We were dependent on the hosting and domain companies to add in some security functions and it took them until Sunday afternoon to complete the tasks.  Given that our developer was having his young son’s birthday party on Sunday, we decided to take a break on Sunday afternoon and finish the work on Monday which is why you are reading this blog from Gerry’s website. You will find out that family is very important to us and there was no way we were going to get in the way of our developer enjoying the birthday.  Children grow up way too fast!

This past Wednesday, Matt and I left for the airport before 5:00 a.m. to catch an early flight.  I stayed up all night figuring out what needed to be done to add the extra security features and then crashed asleep on the plane.  I don’t remember taking off.

After landing, we headed directly to Gerry’s office and headed out to the wonderful lunch that Gerry previously mentioned.  New York was about 34 degrees and Sarasota was about 67 degrees so my thick sweater came right off when we landed.  We spent a few hours going over the coins before heading to the hotel to get some rest before dinner.

Arriving at the hotel, Matt and I saw a few cookie jars and made a beeline to the chocolate chip and butter cookies. We received our room keys and headed to the elevator where we met another family dressed in Amish clothing.  They were very friendly and we exchanged pleasantries.  When we got on our floor, the pictures on the walls were all of Amish people. The hallways were unusually wide. We saw a few more people on the floor and they were all Amish.  They were very friendly and it was refreshing that during our stay, everyone said “Good afternoon”, “Good evening”, and “Good morning.” Leaving the hotel to go to dinner, we saw many riders on bicycles, as well as some with bicycle sidecars, throughout the sidewalks for several blocks away from the hotel.  Turns out Matt booked us into an Amish hotel!

 

As previously mentioned, we had a great time with Gerry, Diane, Dan, and Rose Marie. The avgolemono soup, spanakopita, and moussaka were all very good and we had a lively discussion after a few drinks.

 

Seeing that all the guests were Amish, except the two of us, we were guessing that breakfast would be very good.  Whenever we are at the Philadelphia Convention Center, we have breakfast at the Amish restaurant inside the Reading Terminal Market which is phenomenal. Breakfast didn’t disappoint though I did make a mess with my oatmeal in a too soft paper bowl that bowed and caused the hot water to spill throughout our table.

If all goes well on Monday, our website should go live sometime in the evening or wee hours.  Ideally, we can post Tuesday’s blog on our website in the morning, but it might be later in the day.

We hope to have our first batch of mostly CAC coins listed on Wednesday or Thursday but we will give you prior notice in our Tuesday blog.  Please note that we will be taking orders on a first come first serve basis.  We encourage you to email your interest in any coin to teamgfrc.com rather than calling so you can get first shot since an email will time stamp your interest better than a call.  We are guessing many of the coins will not last long.

Thank you for everyone's patience.

 

First Retirement Hobby Project is Way Cool!

Many retired friends have shared the same perspective, namely that retirement brings an opportunity to finally do things that you've always wished to do without constraints or responsibilities. That advice was proven correct during the past week as my tenured GFRC responsibilities wound down with limited time required to support Darrell and Matt. The extra hours in a day were a godsend. Now that I've tasted what retirement life is about, I can't imagine going back to the hectic GFRC schedule of photography, image processing, description writing, and all the associated admin tasks including morning shipping.

I'm fundamentally a builder of things, organizations, landscapes, or whatever. There is this internal need to be actively constructing something as a mental challenge. To satisfy that personal need, my first retirement hobby project was the ROKR Space Shuttle, a mechanical model of a dynamic space launch base. The model contained 446 pieces and is rated a skill level 5 out of 6, therefore challenging with two small motors, multiple switches, and an internal LED lighting string. During the past week, I've been actively working on this initial model a few hours each day. Overall, I've probably spent 16 hours or so in the former GFRC office carefully assembling and testing this really cool model. Sunday brought a full afternoon towards wrapping up the build in time to publish in today's Blog edition.

Here is an image of the completed model that I'm rather proud of.

 

Since being a mechanical model with motors, the movement of the space station arms and the space shuttle itself is quite cool. Rather than upload my own video of the model's mechanical movement, following is a short YouTube video that illustrates the mechanical movements and lighting effects.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/whwHeccOqKs

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Thank you again for returning to the Daily Blog and the GFRC website. Shortly, the www.GerryFortinRareCoins URL will be pointing to the new GFRC Gen 2.0 website with a smashing release of great new offerings. The links on the www.seateddimevarieties.com website will also be updated to point to Darrell and Matt's Gen 2.0 rendition of the GFRC sales platform.

Be well!

 

 

 

 

February 12, 2026

Getting Ready for GFRC Gen 2.0

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. As promised, I am documenting the transfer of the remaining GFRC inventory to Darrell Low and Matt Mayers. Come Monday February 16, GFRC Gen 2.0 will arrive at a new URL that can be access via GerryFortinRareCoins.com being placed in your browser of choice. Furthermore, the GFRC links at www.seateddimevarieties.com will be updated to point the GFRC Gen 2.0 website at its new location. If there any issues with locating the new website, simply email me for support.

Wednesday brought a busy day for Darrell and Matt as they flew from a NYC area airport into SRQ (Sarasota). After landing, they drove down to the Venice GFRC office for the final steps in the official ownership transfer. Diane and I took the fine gentlemen to a nearly restaurant for lunch followed by spending three hours working through official business and much coaching from Gerry concerning the GFRC business philosophy, a review of top clients, and how to launch the traditional Black Friday, St. Patrick's Day, and Christmas in August sale events. At this point, the remaining GFRC owned inventory along with residual consignor coins are now in the possession of the new team. Yes, these coins are fully insured with their new insurance carrier.

During our three hour session, we also reviewed the images of the new GFRC 2.0 inventory that will be posting to the price lists come Monday. Darrell and Matt have done a great job is securing a substantial number of CACG holdered or CAC approved pieces across all designs and denominations. Their initial offerings will be most noteworthy, therefore current customers should pay close attention come Monday. My suggestion is to mark your calendar for the GFRC 2.0 launch!

Here are two images taken while Darrell and Matt were working in the Venice GFRC office.

The first image was captured when the new owners were conducting a detailed transferred inventory check per our contract. Each inventory item was validated by TPG holder serial number along with GFRC vs. consignor ownership.

 

Once the inventory was verified, we moved to the contract signing stage and final payment for the GFRC business. At that point, multiple milestones were achieved for these three men. I am now officially retired and will continue to act as a consultant to Darrell and Matt to ensure that GFRC 2.0 launches successfully through the balance of 2026. After 12 years of building and operating these business, there are a host of unwritten subtleties to be shared at the appropriate times. I will be on call through the balance of the year to aid both Darrell and Matt as necessary.

Darrell and Matt also achieved their milestone of officially taking control of GFRC and becoming full fledged coin dealers after years of operating as passionate collectors.

This image captures the moment after the contrast signing was executed and the new owners taking inventory possession. There are smiling faces with Diane capturing the happy moment.

 

However, the day was not over at this point. Matt and Darrell hosted a wonderful dinner in Sarasota yesterday evening at the 1592 Wood Fired Kitchen. In attendance were Matt, Darrell, Diane, Gerry, Dan White, and Rose Marie to celebrate the transfer of GFRC to the new owners. Both the food and company was top notch to wrap up a historic day in a life. Pictures of that event will be shared by Matt and Darrell when they publish their first Daily Blog on February 16.

The next GFRC 2.0 milestone arrives in just three weeks with the team reuniting in Baltimore for the Spring Baltimore show that takes place March 5 -7. I will be working as a table assistant at the GFRC booth and looking forward to meeting local clients from a different perspective.

Thank you so much for staying close to the GFRC transition!

Be well.

 

 

 

 

February 8, 2026

The Daily Blog Gen 2.0

Welcoming Matt and Darrell

 

Greetings on a Sunday morning and welcome to a very special Daily Blog edition. Simply stated, today brings the debut of the Daily Blog Gen 2.0 with Matt Mayers and Darrell Low as the primary bloggers. A sincere welcome to both of them as I believe that you will agree that these fine gentlemen have easily moved into my shoes based on their initial content. My role is take of editor today and holding together the Gen 1.0 version of Blog until Matt and Darrell launch their GFRC website port from a new Hostway server.

Matt:

Welcome to all readers of Gerry’s Daily Blog.   Darrell and I intend to keep up Gerry’s tradition of writing a daily blog.  Personally, I’ve read Gerry’s blog each morning on an almost daily basis over the last several years and will be at a bit of a loss without it.  I’ll have to check Kitco or APMEX myself to find out what’s happening with the precious metals market although I won’t have the benefit of Gerry’s fine commentary.  (Yes, I bought some of the silver miners stocks Gerry recommended and have made some good coin money from doing so.  Thanks Gerry!).  We hope Gerry will write some guest blogs for us so we can keep up to date on the progress on his homestead and hear about how he might have to come out of retirement when he has to pay for repairs when his new Porsche needs repairs.     

Following in Gerry’s footsteps will be difficult as he has developed his own style of writing an entertaining and informative blog over many years.  It will take some time for us to develop our own style and we hope you will bear with us while we do.  We might not focus on the precious metal market but we’ll develop our own topics.  We hope you’ll take the time to see our style and topics development by visiting the Blog.  I’m sure we’ll make some blunders but we hope you’ll be entertained and maybe even get some helpful (or not) information about our great hobby -- numismatics.  We welcome your feedback on the Blog, whether it be our style or specific feedback on topics (numismatic or otherwise) we write about.    

Darrell and I would like to thank Gerry for all his help in transitioning the business to us.  It was a lot more work than we envisioned.

 

Darrell:

Our plans remain to launch the new website by Monday, February 16 with a Daily Blog edition.  We expect to post the first group of coins for sale on Wednesday, February 18. We will let blog readers know a day or two in advance of what time on Wednesday the new coins will be posted. The best way to get at the front of the line for a coin is to email us at teamgfrc@gmail.com as we could get multiple incoming phone calls.

Matt and I have been working really hard to prepare for taking over the business in the coming week.  We are excited and are looking forward to talking and meeting with many of you in the coming months.

When we get back from Florida, we will work on forwarding the www.gerryfortinrarecoins.com traffic to our new website.  Gerry will also have the link on www.seateddimevarieties.com providing access to our website. Either way you will find us.

For me, it’s almost a surreal moment. I’ve always loved history and coins ever since my parents took me from our home in Queens into Manhattan to Macy’s and Gimbels on 34th Street every few months starting about 50 years ago. My dad and I would go to the discount book stores in lower Manhattan and he would get me 5 older Coins or Coinage magazines for $2.00 that I would read from cover to cover. My dad and I have had a subscription to Coinage magazine since 1979! Fast forward to 1995 when I rekindled my passion for coins stumbling into a newspaper article for a Metropolitan coin show in midtown Manhattan. As I have said in previous blog posts, I would have never guessed how life changing for the better that first show turned out. Now it comes full circle as Matt and I embark on this new journey.

I have to give Gerry a lot of credit. I couldn’t imagine being able to run a business this size with one person for so long. The discipline Gerry has is amazing and inspiring! Now that I am working on the finer details of the business, it certainly has given me a much deeper appreciation of the effort that Gerry puts forth in building the community here.  Matt and I certainly want to continue and broaden that. Matt and I have had plenty of phone/email conversations and met up with a few of you for lunch/coffee in the NY/NJ/CT area.

When we had an agreement in place with Gerry at the August ANA show, the first thing we could work on was the photography.  Neither of us are photographers so we did much research on the features we wanted with the quality of pictures we wanted. We wanted pictures with no need to do any adjustments and opted to get a Canon R7 camera. We gave the blog readers a glimpse of the newer photos on the January 5 blog a few days before the FUN show.  We certainly wanted and got all kinds of feedback via emails and at the show to further improve the pictures.  Now that we have done a few hundred photos, the pictures seem better. You will soon see them on the blog as well as in ads for the Central States Centinel and Gobrecht Journal.  It’s an evolving process and we expect the pictures to get better. Darker coins and nicely toned proof coins have been particularly very challenging to photograph as the light source needs to be right on top of the coin to capture the color best but causes a large spotlight reflection. Any other angle and you can’t capture the color you can see twirling a coin under a light. Scratches and haze on the plastic holders are annoying, especially when our camera produces such detailed photographs and we have had to shoot some coins multiple times.

It certainly has been harder than either Matt or I thought getting the website ready. Note that web development is completely foreign to me as my specialty is networking.  Think datacenters, cloud computing, fiberoptic communications, firewalls, traffic load-balancers, routers, and network switches.

The front-end portion (the part that you see) of getting the website to look like Gerry’s current website took a few weeks to develop with no major hurdles and we were done by mid-December in our test environment. The back-end portion (the operational part that you don’t see) was far more challenging and complex than we would have ever guessed. The biggest issue is that the older Hostway server with older versions of software that Gerry is using is very different than the newer Hostway server and newer versions of the database server and PHP (PHP Hypertext PreProcessor - the scripting language for web development). There are two big differences that we have been working non-stop for the past month. I’ve been working at least 10-12 hours each day, seven days a week for the past month to tackle them. 

The first and biggest issue is that Hostway puts limitations that are not documented in the PHP tool used to administer the database on newer servers.  We had numerous issues doing the upload to empty and repopulate the database that Gerry does several times a day.  With over 23,000 coins in the archives, the database is too large for what Hostway allows on the new servers.  Hostway would not tell us the limit for security reasons, but it looks to be roughly one eighth of the existing database size. The developer and myself have tried multiple ways for the past two weeks working late into the night (2:00 am ET regularly) to try different things out.  The developer was able to get the upload working on his local machine/server this past Monday using his development tools which Matt and I cannot use as we don’t know PHP well enough. We were able to get to a process on Friday that while not elegant, Matt or I can implement. The developer feels the process can be further refined on Monday and we will be working on it together tomorrow.

The other issue is that the database software handles blank (NULL) fields differently in Gerry’s older version than the newer version we are using which necessitated some data manipulation when preparing the file to repopulate the database. I won’t bore you with the technical details, but it did take some time to realize this issue and a few days to handle it.

The photos are completed for about 150 coins that we have and we are now working on the descriptions for those. There are already another 80 coins consigned at FUN that we will work on once we pick them up from Gerry.

 

Honestly, I've mentioned to Darrell on several occasions that their decision to acquire the GFRC business was a godsend for everyone involved. The port of the current website, as developed by Matt Yamatin during 2016, has experienced the typical challenges of a technology migration as platforms and applications evolve rapidly across a decade. Once understanding the hosting platform challenges being tacked by Darrell, I'm so grateful that Hostway has maintained the server that is hosting the current website and supporting applications. Darrell brought the necessary skills to tackle the modernization of the current website though he is humble about being a "network" person.

Bottom line, I hope that today's Gen 2.0 Blog convinces the readership that Darrell and Matt are playing long ball here and are working through the technical challenges that new ownership typically faces. That commitment to holding the February 16th new website launch is notable and appreciated. Both of these fine gentlemen are professionals and motivated towards numismatic excellence.

Please put a visit to www.gerryfortinrarecoins.com on your calendar for February 18th to secure first shot at some mighty fine new inventory. I've previewed this material and you will be disappointed if not planning for early access.

Good luck to Darrell and Matt moving forward. The community is in good hands...

Please check back on February 12 as I will be sharing one more Blog edition that documents the arrival of Darrell and Matt to the former GFRC Venice office and the physical inventory transfer. Come that evening, the new owners will be hosting us along with Dan White and Rose Marie for a dinner celebration in Sarasota.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

 

 

February 7, 2026

The Alpha and The Omega

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Saturday morning. Thank you for returning for the umpteenth time and taking in these personal ramblings.

I've been struggling during the early morning hours on what to say in today's Blog edition. The significance is obvious. Looking back in time and reviewing the Blog archives on my laptop, the Daily Blog was launched during early July 2014 in a rather unpretentious manner. Following is the earliest Blog listing that I have on record. It is dated July 5th, 2014. The launch was without fanfare and without expectations as to what had been initiated.

 

The Alpha...

July 5, 2014

Arthur has passed east of Maine and we hope the balance of weekend will be sunny. Spent the 4th posting Gene Gardner's Liberty Seated proof quarter images onto the LSCC website and also catching up on a portion of Open Registry backlog. Even though it was the 4th, still sold 1855WA PCGS45 quarter and 1847 half dollar. Today's images are from the Eugene Gardner collection; 1868 NGC PF68 Star Cameo 25c....simply an amazing piece and you are invited to visit more Gardner/Newman proofs at LSCCweb.org.

        

 

There is a substantial back story to what appears to be an innocent post on July 5 concerning the presentation of Eugene Gardner's Liberty Seated quarters on the LSCC website. I was on a mission to aid Eugene Gardner with his candidacy for the Liberty Seated Collectors Club's Hall of Fame. The story originated back in October 2013 when "Gene" and I exhibited our Liberty Seated Dime collections at the New Hampshire Coin Expo. At that time, I was transitioning into the LSCC presidency and was dealing with internal political matters along with defining the future direction of the club. On a Saturday morning, at the Manchester NH show, Gene and I sat down for breakfast at the Double Tree hotel. The conversation evolved into Gene's aspirations to be selected for the LSCC Hall of Fame given his $60 million collection and being the leading collector of that period. There were challenges however, as Gene faced substantial resistance for attaining his goal. The prior president, John McCloskey, was adamant that Gene did not deserve election into the LSCC Hall of Fame since not submitting article contributions to the Gobrecht Journal. The Gobrecht Journal was the Liberty Seated Collectors Club in McCloskey's mind. Gene's candidacy was predicated on his vast wealth and ability to purchase the finest Seated material that was arriving to market and not a result of basis numismatic research or prose. There were others on the Hall of Fame selection committee that agreed with John.

There I was on a Saturday morning having breakfast with the numismatic giant of that period and just starting my journey as LSCC president. Everyone was well aware that Gene was fighting a battle with cancer and his days were limited. During that breakfast, I was fully transparent with Gene and explained the resistance to his candidacy. It was direct feedback that stunned Gene as he was not aware of how John McCloskey judged those who were viable for Hall of Fame selection. I could see the distress and disappointed in Gene's eyes. At that moment, it was decided that I would do what was necessary to ensure that Gene would ultimately win acceptance and selection into the Hall of Fame as it meant everything to him. During the balance of that breakfast, I laid out an action plan and the steps that Gene must take to win over the hearts of the LSCC Hall of Fame selection committee. One of those steps was Gene providing images of his collection to be posted on the LSCC website as a "gift" to the club. I took it upon myself to coordinate the image transfer and do all the posting work as promised to Gene. There were other requirements that Gene met and eventually, with the help of Heritage's Greg Rohan, Gene was elected to the Hall of Fame before his death. I can clearly remember the Summer ANA meeting where Gene was inducted into the Hall of Fame with a host of Heritage staff in attendance.

The short July 5, 2014 blog post triggered memories that had not seen the light of day in years.

 

The Omega

Today brings the final solo edition of the Daily Blog as I have been communicating for weeks. Within tomorrow's Blog edition, the tapestry will be filled by Darrell Low and Matt Mayers as they share an update on the second generation GFRC platform and the Daily Blog.

The end of a nearly twelve year journey arrives today. What was innocently started during early July 2014 has evolved into a powerful communication portal that has enjoyed community support and readership for over a decade. The Daily Blog became both an example of marketing excellence while being a transparent window in one person's life. If one sits back and considers the amount of content that has been shared during those twelve years, the effort is consistent with writing a book and then some. The Daily Blog evolved into a lifestyle of personal exploration and topic discoveries for content creation. But these was much more...

The Daily Blog was a personal planning tool as daily GFRC work commitments were extended in the public domain. It was a teaching tool on a host of topics. There were days of joy concerning substantial accomplishments while other days brought transparency into the unpleasant aspects of the zero sum experience when operating as a coin dealer.

Overall, my vocabulary, composition, and publishing skills have seen a dramatic improvement across those twelve years. The idiom practice makes perfect is certainly justified.

As I sit at the keyboard typing what is the final, or very close to final Daily Blog edition, there are mixed feelings. I will miss the personal relationships that the Daily Blog has spawned along with the feedback. There is anticipation of missing the ability to share personal adventures and accomplishments within a platform that has organized my life. In anticipation of that fact, the Fortin Family Blog will be launched in April and will focus exclusively on personal activities at the Raymond, Maine homestead. I am adamant about constructing a final legacy for my children and grandchildren. That legacy will be a Maine retreat for the family to gravitate to during the coming years. Now that GFRC is behind me, the only limitation for constructing something truly special is time and health. The Fortin Family Blog will document that journey.

Finally, a sincere thank you is extended to the Daily Blog readership and the GFRC community. Your positive feedback and sharing of personal stories consistent with my life transparency has been highly motivating. The "omega" arrives today with a few more casual editions before the reigns are turned over to the new GFRC management team. I wish them all the luck in the world for carrying on a differentiated numismatic legacy.

Be well!

 

 

February 6, 2026

Explicit Assurance on the GFRC Transfer

and

The Fortin Family Blog Arrives in April

 

Greetings on a Friday morning and welcome to one of the final Daily Blog editions as presented by the legacy author on behalf of Gerry Fortin Rare Coins. Thank you so much for staying connected.

Moving through a period of change can be unsettling while also rewarding. It is just a matter of perspective and expectations. Case in point is my personal transition from working seven days per week to having abundant free time to pursue whatever tickles my fancy. For some individuals, the destruction of a daily habit coupled with the lost of personal identity would be viewed as an unbearable hardship. For others who are well versed at taking risks and dealing with outcomes, the transition opens a host of potential new exploration avenues. I'll give you a few personal examples that might seem totally trivial for urban dwellers but are important for those who prefer the peace from self reliance in a rural setting. There are two items on my personal mastery list that will be tackled soon. The first can take place in the Venice condo while the second is best accomplished at the Maine homestead.

Drum roll please....

Honestly, I am naive with respect to tying knots. Yes, I can construct a basic knot but not much else. Come the March time frame, I'm heading to the local Tractor Supply Company store and will purchase a quality piece of rope and will spend time learning how to tie varies knots. The plan is to practice each knot repeatedly until there is mastery. Sound boring, heh? To me, this is a skill that I've longed to master for years.

Second is starting a fire without matches in the woods. This feat takes me back to my Boy Scout days and watching a troop leader start a fire during a camping trip. There are different approaches with the most common being scrapping a flint to generate sparks into a ball of highly combustible material. Again, this might seem incredible trivia given that carrying matches is an obvious alternative. This desire is not about practicality, but about personal mastery of new skills even at the age of 70.

What I am trying to communicate, via these simple examples, is that I plan to be enthralled with continuous learning once fully retired and having the time to pursue exploration avenues at will.

Let's move to today's headline topics.

 

Explicit Assurance on the GFRC Transfer

Thursday brought a lovely conversation with the Evergreen State Collection consignor, who by the way, has relocated to Las Vegas, NV. During the conversation, a number of online structural questions appeared concerning the GFRC transition to new ownership. The thought arrived that those responses should be shared on a broader basis. So here goes...

GFRC Account Sign-In Login and Password - These will not change thus the reason for moving every client's sign-in credentials to the new owners for reference.

GFRC Gallery Link - The Gallery link and its historical collection displays will not change.

GFRC Sales Archive - The Sales Archive and the decade plus of GFRC sales history will be maintained and subsequently augment with incremental sales by Darrell and Matt.

GFRC Open Set Registry - The plan is to maintain the Open Set Registry as is. The only hiccup I can foresee is the migration of the Open Set Registry data to the new Hostway server being employed by new management.

It should be apparent to the community that the goal is to maintain the current GFRC online offerings as a starting point for the new management team. Once they are well established, improvements and innovations may appear.

 

The Fortin Family Blog Arrives in April

I've received a considerable amount of feedback concerning the Daily Blog and topics of interest beyond the usual numismatic content. Readers wish to stay engaged with the back acreage park building process and frankly, I enjoy sharing the progress online. To that end, I will be launching the Fortin Family Blog on the www.seateddimevarieties.com website come April. This blog will focus mostly on my early transition into full retirement and how that process is moving along. Of course, the primary topic will be homestead property and the back acreage park expansion. Now that I will have much more time to work in the woods, the park construction will become a much more serious effort with involvement from Matt and Renee, our children, towards creating a true family retreat for the grandchildren.

I am so looking forward to returning to Maine during the second half of April and securing a head start on several projects. One of the priority projects is cutting a bisecting trail from the location where we are currently depositing 3/4" stone and gravel piles and securing a new access path down to the pond. The logic is simple, namely not disturbing the existing peripheral walking trails while moving heavy equipment down to the pond area. The new bisecting trail will also double as another path for Polaris UTV riding fun through the back acreage. Come late April, I will be marking a potential path through the woods with bright red tape. Afterwards, Dave Wilkinson and I will review the proposed new trail to discuss potential approaches to speed up material deliver down to the pond area. One idea being proposed is that we cut the bisecting trail wide enough for Dave to drive his smaller dump truck directly down to the pond area for material delivery. This would save me weeks of material transport with Johnny2.

The goal is to document, for the Fortin family legacy, the upcoming park construction efforts while sharing with the legacy Daily Blog readers who have interest.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Since today is Friday, there are only two regularly scheduled Blog editions planned on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday's edition will be dedicated to Darrell and Matt for announcing their near term transition schedule and new inventory offerings. Based on Diane's suggestion, there will most likely be one additional Blog edition when Darrell and Matt visit the Venice GFRC office to secure the remaining inventory.

That is it for today. Again, thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

February 5, 2026

Fortin Tenured GFRC Price List is Closed, Requests Will Be Denied

and

Revising www.SeatedDimeVarieties.com Homepage

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning. Thank you for still checking in during the GFRC transition process.

Today's Blog edition will be brief as I've scheduled another practicing for retirement session while supporting Darrell and Matt in the background.

As the lead headline indicates, the GFRC price lists are now fully closed and any requests to purchase a coin will be denied. Though the price lists were closed yesterday, someone still came out of the woodwork wishing to purchase a consigned coin. Sure, it may seem harmless to the requester. However, each purchase request translates into a check payment USPS lead time, shipping the order, and then having the return risk. If I aggregate the separate lead times, we are beyond the official transition date to Darrell and Matt. I agreed to support this final purchase request, the 1907-D Barber quarter from the New Jersey Collection but no more.

Bottom line, please don't ask for a last minute purchase. The response will be negative as the GFRC price lists are temporarily closed until February 16th.

 

Revising www.SeatedDimeVarieties.com Homepage

If visiting my Liberty Seated dime web-book homepage, you will notice that changes are underway. Separate links for the GFRC and GFRC-Lite price list have been added coupled with placeholder links for the Daily Blog (per Darrell/Matt) and the forthcoming Fortin Family Blog.

There were other changes that I will not get into at the moment since my homepage will be undergoing more updates.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Yes, today's edition is short and sweet as there is no prepared content. Darrell, Matt, and myself are focused on executing the GFRC transition against an inventory transfer that takes place next week along with the GFRC February 16th price list start up goal under new management. My advice is to mark February 16th on your numismatic calendar as the new team has stockpiled a substantial amount of fresh premium type offerings with essentially all being CAC approved.

Thank you for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

 

February 4, 2026

Gold Back Over $5000

Fortin Tenured GFRC Price List is Closed

and

John Erwin's Newest CACG Fortin/Ahwash Plate Coins

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank you for circling back for another edition.

The GFRC business transition continues and consumed most of Tuesday's working hours. Since being the final day for GFRC orders under my ownership, new orders appeared during the morning hours with another four coins being sold. This places me back in the shipping department this morning as three of the four lots will be shipped ahead or were paid for via wire transfer. Outside of the final orders, my attention continued to be on transferring GFRC client account information to Darrell and Matt. This is a slow and time consuming process whereby the login credentials and collections name emails are forwarded to the new owners. This process brought back a host of memories as some of the individuals are now deceased. Since working on FIFO (First In First Out) basis, the client arrival progression from 2016 through present is readily evident.

Many customers are sending congratulatory emails concerning my near term retirement. The common themes include honest dealings, premium coins, unprecedented transparency for a coin dealer, and the importance of the Daily Blog in their lives. These kind words are truly appreciated. Many hope that the homestead and park building progress will continue to be shared. After giving this feedback some thought, I will most likely establish a link on my personal www.seateddimevarieties.com website that will provide access to the coming year's park building imagery and commentary. This link will most likely be entitled the Fortin Family Blog with excerpts being given to Matt and Darrell for posting on their version of the Daily Blog.

Let's move forward with today's headlines...

 

Gold Back Over $5000

Within Friday's January 30 Blog edition, I advised the community to take a deep breath and be patient with respect to the sharp drop in precious metal prices. A pricing correct was overdue along with certain bullion banks needing to clear out underwater short positions. I followed my own advice and did not check gold and silver prices until yesterday morning and have not even looked at my Merrill Lynch brokerage account since the smack down. If the basis for investing in precious metals was sound, then there would be a recovery after the volatility abated. We must place the precious metal rally into proper context. For example, at the early December 2025 Sarasota Coin Show, I was purchasing American silver eagles and Canadian maples at $57 each in roll quantities. At Winter FUN, more $20 Saints were added to the gold stash between $4350-$4400 each. These physical purchases are a reminder of how quickly the precious metal complex had rallied prior to last Friday's take down.

As of today's Blog composition, the Kitco website indicates that gold is trading at $5045/oz with silver in a $88-$90 range. It does appear that the fundamentals remain sound.

 

Fortin Tenured GFRC Price List is Closed

The time has arrived to announce that the GFRC price lists are now closed for new orders. This step is not taken lightly but necessary to obtain clean financial books prior to the business transfer to the new ownership come the middle of next week. As mentioned in the preamble, three of the four sold lots will ship today. Special arrangements have been made for those purchasing the remaining Newtown Liberty Seated halves given their high value and the need for payment terms that I will administer directly between the buyers and Aaron Heintz.

Between today and next Tuesday, a final round of consignment checks will be issued leaving a clean starting point for the new management team.

 

John Erwin's Newest CACG Fortin/Ahwash Plate Coins

Several GFRC clients have become serious about securing Fortin plate coin labeling at CACG. Foremost is John Erwin (Mountaineer Collection) and his multiple submissions. Tuesday brought an email update on the results for his latest submission that is documented by the following CACG image gallery.

Sadly, CACG personnel have shifted their attitude on labeling my online Seated dime web-book imagery as "plate coins". Though they have tendered this designation in the past for a fair number of submissions, their attitude has changed. Frankly, it is believe that the attitude change is simply the opinion of one CACG grader and what he will and will not allow to be printed on special labels. The prior "Plate Coin" designation has been replaced with "Fortin Reference Coin" with the rationalization being that since The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Varieties Collectors is only available in digital format, and not a hardbound book, then it is possible that the images could be changed over time. So be it as I'm not going to lose any sleep on the CACG decision which I believe is a mistake. At this point in time, there are no plans to upgrade the plate coin images as many of the coins have been sold or will be sold in the coming year or two.

My congratulations go out to John Erwin for his incredible persistence with documenting the releases from my reference collection. Clicking on the below images provides access to much higher resolution versions.

 

John Erwin's Latest Fortin/Ahwash Plate Coin CACG Results

           

         

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings another office day with shipping and the continued migration of GFRC client account credentials to Darrell and Matt.

Thank you for taking time to visit with me.

Be well!

 

 

 

February 3, 2026

Practicing for Retirement

Final Day For Fortin Tenured GFRC Orders

and

Gold and Silver Take Down is Over

 

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. The cold wave continues to envelope the eastern United States down through Florida. Thank you for the visit.

Yes, there was no Blog edition on Monday for a planned reason. As the lead headline indicates, I am starting to practice for retirement. Has anyone ever employed the term "practicing for retirement"? For those who know me well, I tend to make decisions and execute those in a well researched and thought through manner. Such is the case for my pending retirement. Monday brought a dress rehearsal of what a day in retired life might be like with no need to prepare for and compose a Blog edition along with working through a shipping queue. Shipping was accomplished on Sunday leaving only a drive to the Venice Island post office for package drop-off. Then came a trip to secure groceries, and a second drive to the Winn-Dixie Liquor store to restock the bar. As I was standing there looking at all the different types of gins, a fellow customer of my age mentions how we take poisoning ourselves so seriously. It was quite an ice breaker that led to a nice conversation. The afternoon arrived, and yes I did do more GFRC transition work with Darrell. There is no easy way to transfer the GFRC account emails that contain user IDs and passwords (plus collection names) other than forwarding each into a special email folder that was configured by new management. At 3:30 PM, I went out for a second health walk of the day with the day's walking total approaching 6 miles. Once back to the Venice condo, Blake Gibb called to catch-up on personal items and the lack of a Daily Blog edition. We chatted about geopolitics, the precious metals, the disarray in China, and whether I should return to the Hallett Racing School during 2026.

Indeed, Monday did provide a taste of what retirement could feel like and I'm getting into it!

 

Final Day For Fortin Tenured GFRC Orders

Today brings the final day for GFRC orders under my watch. If no orders are tendered, believe me, I will not be heart broken. At this point the consignor account settlement process is nearly complete with two more consignment checks mailing yesterday. Based on payment check arrivals, there are two shipments to go out today leaving the order queue empty other than one coin due to the customer not being timely with his promised extended payment. These things do happen and are not the end of the world.

The next milestone in the GFRC transition process arrives this Sunday with a Blog edition that should be dominated by a guest blog from Darrell and Matt. I had hoped to make this my final Daily Blog but Diane is suggesting that we document the arrival of Darrell and Matt during the week for pickup of the remaining inventory and a planned group dinner in Sarasota that evening.

 

Gold and Silver Take Down is Over

It was certainly dramatic! The gold and silver take down by the major bullion banks along with speculators appears to have run its course. The take down was typical and executed on a Friday after Asia trading closed. I've seen this movie multiple times in my life and knew what was happening once gold and silver prices were trashed on Friday. The major bullion banks were short and needed an event to reduce their loses. A take down of this magnitude also shakes out the speculators who were pushing prices up too quickly. Actually, this correction was long overdue and is seen as being bullish IMHO.

As the Blog is being composed, gold has increased to $263 to $4924 while silver is quoting at $87. Since being long both metals since Q2'2025, the take down was not financially dramatic as the current numbers take us back to December prior to the asymptotic move that occurred in January.

All of the geopolitical conditions that were in place prior to Friday are still relevant plus more. Xi Jinping has announced plans to make the Yuan a reserve currency consistent with the U.S. dollar. On our side of the pond, Trump has announced a $12 billion strategic mining and minerals initiative to support industrialization. Both continue to support precious metal prices and the mining sector.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Please check back tomorrow morning as John Erwin has notified me of his CACG results for his recent Fortin and Kam Ahwash plate coin submission and included some mighty fine images.

I'm going to be mostly in the GFRC office today with two lots to ship and continuing the transfer of client account information to Darrell and Matt.

Thank you for the return visit.

Be well!

 

 

February 1, 2026

GFRC Sales Archive and Client Account Questions

 

Greetings on the first day of February 2026 and welcome to another Daily Blog edition. The GFRC transition countdown continues...

It is certainly cold throughout the entire eastern United States this morning. The Maine homestead is at an even 0 degrees while Venice is a tad above freezing at 36F. Today's high will not even reach 60 degrees with strong winds. By Florida standards, this is quite cold.

On a personal basis, Saturday brought another step towards a newly redesigned Venice condo office with the addition of a Quantum Pro 9000 office chair, I can't stress enough how comfortable this chair is while providing superior lumbar support for my lower back. Diane and I visited a local Office Deport outlet which offered over 25 different office chair brands and models. Prior to the shopping trip, I had done some online research for the best office chairs in terms of lower back support. The number one brand is Harry Miller, a near $2000 office chair. Luckily, I stumbled on a YouTube video that compared the Quantum Pro 9000 to a top of the line Harry Miller model. The long video, with lots of humor, made the point clear that jumping from a $450 to a $2000 chair did not bring multiple levels of improvement. The Quantum Pro was found to be close to the Harry Miller chair across multiple features and a bargain at $450. Therefore, I bought one as it was superior to every other model in the Office Deport store.

Let's move forward with today's sole Blog topic.

 

GFRC Sales Archive and Client Account Questions

Saturday brought the arrival of two similar questions concerning GFRC client accounts and their purchase/consignor sales records.

Speaking of your retirement, will I still be able to access my purchase history under the new management?  If not, is there a way I can download it into a pdf or excel file for my records?  I do have a spreadsheet of all the coins I buy and when, but I sometimes check on my purchase history, be it to get info from your descriptions or to recapture the pictures. In addition, what is going to happen to the GFRC registry?  A minor thing, but I am curious.

Do you think the record of individual purchases and individual sales on your web site will transfer/remain intact? Do you think the set register on your web site will transfer/remain intact?

These are excellent questions and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to them at this time.

The answer is yes! The entire GFRC COIN database and the website html coding has been moved to the new owners. When the "new" GFRC ownership website appears on February 16th, it will have the same structure, presentation formats, and links as the current website. The primary difference is that the new website is being installed on a more up to date Hostway server along with being accessed at a different domain name. If typing GerryFortinRareCoins.com on your browser, you will be taken to the new website address with little else changing. All client purchase records will be maintained when logging into The GFRC Accounts Sign In page. Ditto for consignor accounts.

In addition, the Sales Archive will not change with all GFRC sales records from 2014 through 2026 being available as if nothing has changed.

The Open Set Registry is not being touched during the website transfer. Since Darrell and Matt are moving to a new Hostway server, the existing Set Registry database must also be transferred to the new server.

If one steps back for a moment to think about the GFRC platform sale and transfer, it behooves the new management team to ensure that the historical data is preserved and employed as a starting point for launching the Gen2 version of the GFRC platform. Discarding this information would be a serious mistake.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The shipping queue current contains six package. Some are paid for orders, while others are ship aheads and/or a consignment returns. These will be processed today at a leisurely pace. Once the shipping is completed, my attention shifts to a ROKR 3D mechanical model. Currently, there are the Space Shuttle and the London Marble Travel kits awaiting me. Both feature electrical motors and LED lighting strips which add a challenging building dimension to what is a wood project kit. These are recommended for ages 14+, therefore I am qualified for this hobby build. ROKR also provides a highly detailed YouTube video with step by step assembly instructions if being stumped by the paper instruction manual.

In the background, I've been conducting research comparing the current Johnny2 (JD 2038R) tractor size and capabilities with a potential JD 3046R upgrade. There are pros and cons to the upgrade thought process. As much as I would love to have a substantially higher front loader lift capacity for moving one ton boulders and a 9' digging depth with the backhoe, the larger and wider frame size means that passage through the existing back acreage trails could be challenging at certain narrow points. Of course, I could cut a few more trees and widen those choke points for both the new tractor and increasing the Polaris UTV's overall speed when driving through the trail system. There is certainly plenty of time for more contemplation as Johnny2 is a strong machine that has served me well up to the point.

At this point, there is nothing else that I am compelled to ramble about. Rather, it is time to enjoy a winter Sunday here in Florida.

Thank you for the visit. Be well!

 

 

 

January 31, 2026

The Little Homestead Pond Survives Below Zero Conditions

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on the final day of January 2026. Thank you so much for checking in.

In just 2.5 months, the current plan is to drive the 718 Boxster back to Maine for kick starting the 2026 homestead projects season. As you can probably surmise, my mental facilities have already started imagining the forthcoming back acreage park building activities consistent with being fully retired. Today's Blog edition will not discuss precious metals, coins, or the GFRC business. As for precious metals, I'm following my own advice and not looking at the Kitco website or my Merrill Lynch account until the middle of next week. During periods of high volatility, it is best to ignore the asset swings and instead focus on other aspects of life that provide a sense of well being. Positive thoughts are paramount for a happy life.

Yesterday afternoon brought a text message from our neighbor Rick Dodson with some attached images. It appears that Sharon and Rick braved the sub-freezing Maine temperatures on a sunny day and snowshoed down to our little pond. Rick was amazed at what was found given the consistent below zero overnight temperatures. This little spring fed pond is completely full and flowing water down into the lower woods.

 

My dream of connecting a much higher volume spring to this little pond, coupled with a sizable expansion, will be attempted this summer. Don't worry about not being kept inform as I will be writing some guest Blogs for Darrell and Matt to publish along with a photo gallery on the www.seateddimevarieties.com website.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is going to be a cold weekend here in Venice, which means I will be hanging out in the office. The consignor account dispositioning process is close to complete with a few more accounts to go. More final consignment checks will be mailed today along with preparing Monday morning's shipping in advance.

Please remember that the final day to make a GFRC price list purchase is February 3. Afterwards, I will be in a position to deal with the check payment stragglers and closing the last of the consignor accounts leaving a clean start-up for Darrell and Matt.

That is all there is to share today. Thanks again for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

 

 

January 30, 2026

Extreme Precious Metal Price Volatility

February 3 is Last Day for Placing a GFRC Purchase Order

and

GerryFortinRareCoins.com vs. SeatedDimeVarieties.com

 

Greetings on the final work day of January 2026 and welcome to the Daily Blog. We appreciate the ongoing readership.

Days are flying by in the GFRC office as the business transition effort approaches its crescendo. Nearly all of Thursday was spent in the office with two priorities. First was the ongoing disposition of consignor accounts and second, a long training session with Darrell and Matt during the afternoon hours. By 4:30 PM, I poured myself an adult beverage, sat in my Lay-Z-Boy recliner and simply listened to music in the office room to relax from other consuming day. Much takes place behind the scenes that is not shared in the Blog.

Let's move forward with today's headline topics.

 

Extreme Precious Metal Price Volatility

Both gold and silver went on a wild ride on Thursday with the volatility continuing during overnight trading. We've seen gold move quickly from the $5000 mark up to $5600 in the matter of a few days. Yesterday brought a $500 move with gold settling at $5380 after dipping as low as $5100. During overnight trading, the yellow precious metal was again slammed down by major forces. My guess is that the bullion banks that are short precious metals have made their move to cover those short positions before gold and silver moved higher. Gold opened at $5220 and dropped to a low of $4975 before stabilizing and trending upward again. As the Blog is being composed at 7:00 AM ET, gold is trading at $5135.

Silver is experiencing the same volatility as are platinum and palladium. Silver was marginally slammed on Thursday and recovered at $115/oz. However, during the overnight, the pricing attack was on with silver dipping as low at $97 and now holding just above $100.

The current precious metal attack is significant as it is taking place on a Friday and the final day of the January 2026. Those among us that understand technical analysis can see that slamming precious metal prices on the final day of a week and the month will have an impact on the technical charts and support an analysis that the precious metals are breakdown or "topped out".

My advice is to close one's eyes and walk away from whatever you use to monitor equity and precious metal market movements. We are in a period where the big banks and sovereign central banks are locked in a battle for control of precious metals. There is nothing that the average investor can do but ride out the storm and let the pricing discovery process works its way to a conclusion. In reality, we have been watching pricing discovery for both major precious metals and it is common for pricing to overshoot at some point and correct in the short term. We are at that point. The fundamentals for long term pricing appreciate have not changed.

Do you remember the dramatic equity market April pullback after Trump's Liberation Day announcement? It was gut wrenching for all equity investors. However, the market recovered in the matter of several months up to recently experience record highs.

So take a deep breath, and walk away from your precious metal monitoring applications. Once the dust settles, the markets will consolidate and begin the next rally.

 

February 3 is Last Day for Placing a GFRC Purchase Order

We are at the point in the GFRC ownership transition that I must announce the last day for placing GFRC orders under my tenure. Tuesday February 3 will be the final day for placing an order for the current price list inventory. Come Wednesday, no further orders will be accepted though the website and price list will still be online. The need to curtail the ordering process is straightforward. I must clean the current GFRC books before Darrell and Matt assume control of the business. Their current target date for launching the new GFRC platform is February 16th. Between February 4 and 16, I must deal with the final check payments, shipping lots, and paying all consignors towards giving the new owners a clean starting point.

If you've been eying a coin in the current price, please don't wait until Tuesday to act. I would appreciate your order submissions during the coming weekend to enable quick payments and shipments.

 

GerryFortinRareCoins.com vs. SeatedDimeVarieties.com

This is a very important topic, therefore I hope that everyone pays close attention.

Today, the GFRC website can be accessed online by either the www.seateddimevarieties.com and/or gerryfortinrarecoins.com URLs.

Come February 16, the gerryfortinrarecoins.com domain name will point exclusively to the new GFRC website being installed by Darrell and Matt. That website is a duplicate copy of my current sale website as a starting point though it will be located at a different URL. In other words, gerryfortinrarecoins.com will point to the newly established Darrell/Matt domain name.

Throughout the GFRC transition, the www.seateddimevarieties.com website and domain name will not change. The web-book and other die variety information will remain as it. The GFRC links on the www.seateddimevarieties.com website will however be change to the new ownership team URL. At this point, I cannot reveal that domain name as their website functions as a test and debug location before its debut on February 16th.

Darrell and Matt have agreed to provide a detailed guest Blog on Sunday February 8th, the final time that Gerry Fortin will publish a Daily Blog edition before saying goodbye to the readership.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

At this point, I wish to recognize Darrell Low and Matt Mayers for their handling of the GFRC transition. Both are professions in their own fields and are acting accordingly with the transfer and installation of the new GFRC website and business operations. I have full confidence that they will continue the collector service centric mission of the GFRC business that I have worked for years to foster.

There is no shipping today or Saturday as we are holding all shipments and consignment returns for Monday. The last thing we want is a final USPS lost or stolen package issue at this point.

I will be mostly in the GFRC office today working on the final round of consignor account dispositions.

Thank you so much for paying close attention to today's Blog contents as there is much information to be absorbed if an active GFRC client.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 29, 2026

Spot Gold Through $5500

and

Final Evergreen State Consignment Posted to 30 Day Price List

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a cool Venice Florida Thursday morning. As always, we appreciate the visit during the forthcoming retirement countdown.

Speaking of the countdown, there are only nine remaining days where I will feel compelled to compose a Daily Blog edition. No one outside of yours truly is contributing, therefore each edition falls on me to prepare content. Come February 7th, the final Daily Blog will be published during my GFRC tenure. Afterwards, I am going "dark" and will be enjoying the early morning hours with other pursuits. Let's move on...

Wednesday brought the continued effort to disposition all consignment accounts with another seven checks being written and mailed. That process will continue today. Consignors are making decisions to see their coins returned or passed directly to the new management team. I will be facilitating those decisions.

It is certainly getting wild in the precious metal market as gold prices are exploding. During the overnight, gold topped out a few dollars shy of $5600 and is currently trading at $5515. Silver is near its record level at $117.70/oz. There is now a flight to gold as geopolitical uncertainty reigns given the CCP party leadership situation in China and a potential new war with Iran. WTI crude oil has also seen a rapid upward move to $65+ during the past 48 hours. Conversely, the US dollar is sharply down per the DXY index.

I'm pleased for those who have followed my advice and pursued investments in the precious metal space. If you've been reluctant to take a position during generational changes in the global monetary system, then it is best that you stay on your current course with bonds, stocks, or Bitcoin realizing that personal purchasing power is eroding at an accelerating pace. The U.S. debt path is unsustainable with those larger financial entities understanding the fiscal risks and moving assets into gold.

 

Final Evergreen State Consignment Posted to 30 Day Price List

Yesterday brought the posting of the remaining Evergreen State Collection consignment to the 30 Day Price List and yes, the 1897 $5 gold piece is already on hold.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is not much else to discuss at this point. There is morning shipping to deal with though USPS 1st class mail has become incredibly slow and delayed, certainly the recent weather being a factor.

The afternoon brings another training session with Darrell and Matt. Afterwards, consignment account dispositions will continue until completion at some point this coming weekend.

Thanks again for checking in.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 28, 2026

Who can know the extent of influence a man has?

Spot Gold Crosses $5300

and

Two More Newtown Seated Halves Sold

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank you for returning for this brief edition.

Busy was the operative word for Tuesday as my GFRC ownership tenure approached the final ten days. The morning hours brought multiple Zoom training sessions with Darrell Low and Matt Mayers as we discussed more in depth topics including the website management procedures and the entire process for staging and closing a GFRC auction. Thursday brings yet another training session. There was incremental shipping as the final check payments are dribbling in along with kitting and shipping consignment returns. During the afternoon, a long time client and I met at the Sarasota airport cellphone lot for a purchase hand-off and getting to know each other.

The thank-you notes and emails continue to arrive as my tenure winds down. When being so focused on transparency and sharing personal experiences and philosophies, I've employed tools like Google Analytics to monitor readership trends. However, those tools do not convey the personal impacts that my ramblings have had on individual lives. Those impacts are becoming readily apparent during the past week as more clients are sending along their personal stories concerning how the Daily Blog has influenced their lives. Case in point is the follow email from a long time client that appeared in my Inbox yesterday.

Gerry,

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and counsel openly through the blog and conversation all these years.  My collection would not be what it is today without your influence correcting my course early on.

Further, the MDX I bought after seeing your positive reviews over the years kept me and my daughter safe last week when we got hit by a huge truck at a stoplight on the way to school.  Who can know the extent of influence a man has?

Wishing you all the best in this next season of life.  I’ll send a prayer up to that end whenever I view my favorite “Gem Original, Just-Buy-It-Now” coins from GFRC.

Yes, the Acura MDX is a robust and well built SUV that has keep the Fortin family safe for years along with being the GFRCmobile that transported the business throughout the East coast to coin shows along with facilitating the semi-annual Maine and Florida migrations. We are relieved to hear that your MDX kept you and daughter safe during the accident.

We loved out 2014 Gen 3 MDX so much that we recently purchased a 2023 Gen 4 MDX with only 9100 miles. The Gen 4 design is larger than the prior generation with sophisticated accident prevention electronics that we are already beginning to appreciate. American roads are becoming more dangerous due to hand held electronics and secondly, the amount of in-cabin electronics and entertainment systems in modern cars. If one does not fully master those electronics prior to driving on the road, there is a heightened level of potential confusion and distraction. Rental cars would be a prime example of driving risks with an unknown electronics bay.

Let's move on to two other headline topics...

 

Spot Gold Crosses $5300

The precious metal leadership role appears to have shifted from silver to gold during the past week. Silver is consolidating in the $110-$115 range while gold is moving up on a daily basis. During the overnight, gold peaked at $5312 and is present quoting at $5265 as the Blog is being composed. Geopolitical chaos is gripping the globe today. There is political mayhem in China as Beijing is essentially shutdown. Will Xi Jin Ping survive after arresting the People's Liberation Army core leadership? Then there is the United States naval armada that is soon to be in position to deal with the Iran clerics and a rule of tyranny against its people.

Last evening, I took in a YouTube interview of Andy Schectman at the Vancouver Mining Conference. Andy was put on the spot in terms of a Q2'26 precious metal forecast. After a bit of disclaimers, he ventured $175 silver and $6600 gold. Let's no forget that July 4, 2026 opens Q3 and is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Will the United States announce the issuance of 50 year Treasury bonds tied to gold as a defacto revaluation on that date?

 

Two More Newtown Seated Halves Sold

Little by little, the remaining Newtown Liberty Seated halves are finding new homes. After yesterday's showcase gallery, I'm pleased to report that the incredible 1872-S and the 1879 halves are heading to new homes.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a much needed slower pace day as the shipping department has some time off. Instead, my attention returns to consignors and an orderly wrap up of their accounts during my tenure. More consignment checks will be issued along with seeking disposition on remaining inventory. Once the consignor portion of the transition task is behind us, the attention shifts to a final inventory tally and corresponding documentation that enables the transfer to Darrell and Matt. The countdown clock is moving along quickly, at this point, with a reminder that either February 7th or 8th will be the final Daily Blog edition composed by me. Afterwards, I will be officially retired with numismatics hopefully moving into the background and opening avenues into new life pursuits.

As always, we appreciate the ongoing readership.

Be well!

 

 

January 27, 2026

The GFRC Transition Countdown Continues

and

Remaining Newtown Seated Halves Needing New Homes

 

 

Greetings on a final January 2026 Tuesday morning from the GFRC Venice office. Thank you for the visit.

As today's headline indicates, my attention continues to focus on the final days of the GFRC ownership transfer to Darrell Low and Matt Mayers. So far, the transition is being executed in a professional and efficient manner. This morning brings another Zoom call to discuss the next round of questions from the new ownership team. Afterwards, I will be in the office preparing more purchase order shipments along with another partial consignment return and incremental consignment account dispositions. The approach is orderly and structured. The afternoon seeing a 718 Boxster drive to a secret location for the in person hand-off of my 1874-CC PCGS EF45 CAC and 1885-S PCGS MS65 CAC dimes to a now owner. It will be another busy operations day as the transition countdown clock continues.

 

Remaining Newtown Seated Halves Needing New Homes

The Newtown Collection (Aaron Heintz) has empowered me to work deals for the remaining Liberty Seated halves that are in inventory. Like many other long time consignors, he wishes to see his coins sold during my watch, though time is running short. We've made good progress in the past week with finding new homes for the 1856, 1857-O, 1858, and all important 1870-CC halves. To whet everyone's appetite for those top end lots still in GFRC inventory, following is a lovely showcase gallery. We are open to offers at this point and layaway terms that would work for you.

 

Newtown Liberty Seated Half to Consider

1874-CC WB-3 PCGS MS63 CAC 50C - $51,500

    1850 WB-4 PCGS MS65+ CAC 50C - $45,000                                 1852 WB-2 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $18,000  

        

     1872-S WB-1 PCGS MS65 CAC 50C - $17,500                            1873-CC Arrows WB-8 PCGS MS63 50C - $15,000

        

    1879 PCGS MS66 CAC 50C - $4995                                               1882 PCGS MS65 50C - $4100        

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Let's wrap up today's edition at this point with an overdue promised picture of my upgraded Venice office. The past week, Diane and I have installed a new L shaped desk system along with a fresh 27" Dell monitor. The desks provide substantially more table space for new projects. For those Blog readers who have not previously seen a snapshot of the Venice office, the prints are original Herb Greene photographs from the late 1960s San Francisco music scene. My office days are shared with Grace Slick/Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin along with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jerry Garcia, and Bill Graham of the Fillmore East and West fame. On the side wall is a photograph of Led Zeppelin taken in San Francisco during their first United States tour. During the early GFRC days, I was fortunate to have Howard Shickler as a client. Howard was friends with Herb Greene and funded Herb's drug habit with cash in exchange for dark room prints of these iconic images. Howard moved to NYC where he ran a gallery and sold all types of artwork including his San Francisco print hoard. Eventually, Howard moves to Sarasota where I would visit his studio and hundreds of remaining prints including one of the largest stores of early NASA photography and artifacts. Howard and I arranged a coin trade for prints as the basis for these wall hangings.

 

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

January 26, 2026

A China Leadership Coup Attempt

Gold Breaks Through $5000 Mark in a Big Way

and

Newtown 1870-CC Half Has a New Home

 

 

Greetings on a Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the return visit.

In the past 24 hours, my focus has been in two areas. First has been the GFRC business as more orders arrived on Sunday further reducing existing inventory. Several hours were spent working through Monday morning shipping. Secondly, I've been closely watching the developments in mainland China where information is exited the country about a Xi Jin Ping coup attempt. Western media is reporting that the head of the PLA, Zhang YouXia was behind the attempt and has been arrested by Xi. This morning's information, via Lei's Real Talk, a very credible China political watcher, is that Zhang YouXia managed to escape Xi's arrest and is mobilizing PLA forces loyal to him. It is also report that Xi has retreated to a 600' deep nuclear bunker for safety. Semi-martial law has been imposed in China with major city subway systems closed or under police control. Of course, a development of this magnitude has implications for precious metals as Chinese people always rush to gold during time of severe political turmoil.

So what happened to gold and silver during overnight trading in Shanghai?

Simply said, gold pricing exploded to over $5100/oz when trading opened and has settled into a $5080-$5095 range through the night and early morning hours. This is a 2% plus increase over Friday's close.

The silver rally appears to be unstoppable as prices have increased to $109/oz as the Blog is composed. Both platinum and palladium are also up over $100 per oz.

Those Blog readers who have absorbed my ongoing information and taken this guidance to heart have done very well at this time. Where the precious metal rally is heading is difficult to assess. My only guide post at the moment is Andrew Maguire and his Q2'26 forecast for gold at $6000 and increasing to $8000 by the 4th quarter. Let's remember that we are still in the month of January and watching the metals moving in a parabolic manner. Global geopolitical chaos is taking place in front of our eyes and the metals are responding.

 

Newtown 1870-CC Half Has a New Home

There is a sense of relief this morning as the GFRC business continues its transition process ahead of my pending retirement. I'm to the point of tasting what retirement might mean in terms of next steps and considering a tractor upgraded to a John Deere 3046R machine. Keeping focus on new orders, consignment account dispositions along with supporting technical transition matters is occurring on schedule thought I am about ready to walk away for an mind cleansing release of responsibilities. Come February 7-8 weekend, years of personal responsibilities and accountability will be a closed chapter in a book. The existing community must move forward and work with Darrell and Matt as I'm planning to limit personal access.

OK, let's get back to the Newtown 1870-CC half....

I'm pleased to report that this monster coin has been sold to an important client. This individual has purchased the 1874-CC dimes from my core collection along with the 1885-S dime coupled with 1872-CC and 1873-CC quarters quarters. These purchases are quite substantial and a signal of an individual who is putting away high grade key date coins for the long term. This weekend our client decided to purchase the Newtown 1870-CC half dollar graded PCGS AU55 and possessing superior eye appeal against other specimens with high grades and price levels. Our congratulations go out to this client.

 

Stopping the Release of Raw Fortin Liberty Seated Dimes

I've decided to stop the release of my raw reference collection Liberty Seated dimes in the near term. The sale of offered pieces has been a huge success. However, the workload to process, sell, and ship these coins at low price points simply is not congruent with my goal to go "dark" and find a quiet personal space upon official retirement. Days are flying by at an accelerated pace and soon April will arrive along with the early stages of Maine's spring time. The current plan is to drive the Porsche to Maine come mid-April once the weather allows followed by flying back to Florida for our traditional Maine transition during early May. In practicality, there will only be two months for Diane and I to unwind and enjoy some short traveling vacations before the Maine migration.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today's Blog edition is a reflection of my intense focus on multiple topics and doing what is right for the GFRC community. I hope that this point is coming across.

I'm uncertain if there will be a Blog edition on Tuesday. Please check back to see if the motivation appears for more ramblings on my favorite topics.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

January 25, 2026

Newtown 1870-CC Half Has a New Home

Read About in Monday's Blog

 

Another Daily Blog vacation day is in order. I don't want everyone to go cold turkey come the February 7-8 weekend.

I will be back on Monday with details concerning today's headline.

Good luck to everyone who is being impacted by this massive winter weather event.

 

 

 

January 24, 2026

Two Weeks and Counting

Silver Pushes Through $100

and

Gold is an Asymmetrical Opportunity

 

Greetings on the last full weekend of January 2026 and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you again for circling back.

As the opening headline indicates, we are at the two weeks and counting point with respect to the Daily Blog and my stewardship of the GFRC platform. In just two weeks, the migration to the new owners will be upon us. In anticipation of this milestone, much of Friday was spent preparing consignment checks and zeroing out consignment accounts. Some consignors are choosing to roll over their coins to the new owners while others are requesting that coins be shipped back. This is an individual decision that is being promptly executed on my part.

Also, at this point, I am working on placing coins for select consignors. On Friday, the Newtown 1856 PCGS MS65 CAC and 1857-O PCGS MS64 CAC Seated halves found a new home. Today brings an attempt to close a deal for the Newtown 1870-CC PCGS AU55 half, a massively important piece.

Additionally, Friday brought the transfer of GFRC's auction banner and advertising artwork to the new owners coupled with the traditional full page GFRC advertising page that is seen in the Gobrecht Journal and other numismatic club publications.

The anticipated final Daily Blog edition, as published by me, will arrive on February 7th or 8th. GFRC orders will be accepted until February 6th followed by a shutdown until the new management team restarts the business with their relocated website and inventory.

Executing a beautiful transition for the GFRC platform continues to be my top priority.

 

Silver Pushes Through $100

The three digit milestone was finally achieved on Friday afternoon as silver broke through the $100/oz threshold and closed at $103.08. Silver's pricing momentum has been unstoppable. Will breaking through the $100 level bring short term consolidation or will the metal continue its parabolic rise? The response to that question is how prices evolve on the Shanghai metals exchange as this trading platform has been the pricing leader. If Asian demand continues to out strip supply, then prices will continue to rise. It really is that simple. Once major industrial firms, and the military-industrial complexes in China and the United States have hoarded enough silver for their operational needs, then prices will stop rising and will probably correct. The wild card is investment demand. So far, the United States retail situation continue to be that of net selling rather than net buying.

 

Gold is an Asymmetrical Opportunity

At this point, I've become more bullish on gold than silver. While silver is responding to market supply/demand fundamentals, there is potential downside risk as opined in the prior segment. After years of being operationally whipsawed in the semiconductor industry with double and triple ordering by customers for the latest chip advancements followed by a sharp order drop off, I've learned to be weary of boom/bust cycles.

Gold, on the other hand, is now an asymmetrical trade which means that it has a much stronger upside potential protected by a solid floor. How is this possible? The answer lies with the largest buyers of gold, namely global central banks. For the past decade, central banks have been diversifying their reserve holdings into gold with inelastic pricing. The 2022 confiscation of Russian U.S. Treasuries to the tune of $200 billion simply accelerated central bank buying of gold as a alternative to U.S. Treasuries. With central banks as a back stop, any minor dip in gold prices will be immediately seen as a gift and bought.

The restructuring of the global financial system is taking place in front of our eyes as U.S. Treasuries are being replaced by gold. Physical gold in a vault has no counter party risks. The term as good as gold best describes the post 2022 Russian asset confiscation era.

From an investment perspective, I will be migrating positions towards gold the moment that the silver trend begins to exhibit reduced momentum. The other option, at this point, is precious metal miners. There is not such thing as a pure silver or pure gold mining play. Mining results in multiple metals being distilled from rock. Some miners operate mines with high gold ore concentrations while others favor silver ore. That fact that both precious metals are present during mining operations provides for some stock price buffering in the event that silver was to see a correction.

OK, those are my words of wisdom in the precious metal investment space for today. Please consider your metal investments wisely.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is a Saturday and time for a GFRC down day. I will probably give the 718 Boxster a bath and take her out for a ride as the Venice area weather will be downright wonderful for this time of year. My sympathies go out to readers in the southeast as the weather conditions look frightful. Up in Maine, we will experience below zero temperatures this weekend.

Thank you so much for sticking with me during the GFRC ownership transition. The new owners are working hard to fill some large shoes...

Be well!

 

 

January 23, 2026

Gold on the $5000/Oz Western Door Step

and

No GFRC Shipments Until Monday

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning. Thank you, as always, for stopping by.

Spring is in the air! Well in my imagination it certainly is...

Thursday brought a text message conversation with Dave Wilkinson to prepare him for several weeks of planned excavator work in the Maine back acreage. He is absolutely on board and looking forward to two major new projects. For those who don't frequent the Blog on a regular basis, the overriding goal for the summer of 2026 is connecting the current spring fed pond with a second spring that is about 70' away and flows at 2-3 time the rate of the current spring. The challenge in redirecting the water flow from the second and higher spring outlet is working through a dense rock field. We will also expand the existing pond at the same time including clearing a number of trees that dump their autumn foliage directly into the pond. It is an ambitious project given the size of the Wilkinson and Fortin equipment.

But first, a new construction trail must be cut to gain access to the pond with heavy equipment without disturbing the existing walking trails. As I've mentioned frequently concerning back acreage projects, the key is building the proper infrastructure for accomplishing the end goal. In this case, we will be cutting a new trail that will allow Dave's excavator to move back and forth from the stone and gravel storage pile location down to the pond area. This new trail, once the pond expansion is completed, will become yet another walking and UTV riding trail within the 20 acre land block.

So Dave Wilkinson is on board for what will be an exciting summer of park building without distractions from operating a coin business.

 

Gold on the $5000/Oz Western Door Step

The precious metal rally is like the Eveready bunny...

We are experiencing a generational monetary reset as precious metals are being absorbed by United States entities as quickly as the metals can be sourced by the COMEX. United States deliveries are at record levels and show no signs of abating. Each day, the Shanghai vs. COMEX exchange price gap continues to hold with Shanghai trading roughly $100 higher per ounce for gold and $10 for silver. China is tempting traders to go the arbitrage route of buying physical in the West and shipping into the East for a profit. The Chinese motivation is gaining access to the metals even at slightly higher prices. What we are witnessing is a global race to secure gold for the pending monetary reset away from U.S. Treasuries and for securing silver for industrial demand.

Gold has already traded over $5000 in Shanghai during the Thursday morning early hours. During the overnight in the West, gold peaked at $4968 and has since pulled back a tad to $4925/oz. Silver is again up and quoting at $98.61.

Investment monies are now starting to pour into the silver and gold miners as was witnessed on Thursday. The best approach for tracking the miners is the XAU and HUI indexes. My favorite miner for gold is KGC and for silver, PAAS.

Andrew Maguire's forecast for $6000 gold come Q2'26 and $8000 gold in Q4'26 does not seem so far fetched given gold's price movement during the past three weeks.

Blog readers who have listened to me and taken steps towards adding precious metals to a portfolio have done very well at this point.

 

No GFRC Shipments Until Monday

With just two weeks of GFRC operations remaining out of the Venice Florida office, we are being very cautious about USPS shipments. The last thing I wish to see is Diane burdened with another lost USPS shipment. Working with USPS on a claim is a arduous process followed by the amount of paperwork necessary for the Hugh Woods filing.

Given the nasty weather that will be blanketing much of the eastern portion of the United States today and through the weekend, GFRC will be halting shipments until Monday. Weather delays in the USPS system resulting from airline flight cancellations means packages will be sitting around longer and subject to mishandling or worse, theft.

Some of you might be wondering why shipping is a big deal at this point. Honestly, GFRC is still selling coins are a decent pace with our inventory continually shrinking in advance of the transition.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Please check back tomorrow for a brand new picture of my Venice office with post coin business desk furniture. The office is being transformed into an entertainment and hobby center. Gone will be the GFRC shipping materials and other items necessary to operate a coin business. Speaking of which, we will be selling my stereo microscope that was instrumental during the Liberty Seated dime die variety research and photography time frame.

That is it for today! Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

January 22, 2026

Taking a Daily Blog Vacation Day

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog.

As you can imagine, I've accrued a huge amount of GFRC vacation days. Therefore, I'm taking one of those vacation days today to further catchup on final orders, shipping, inventory validation, and a 1.5 hour Zoom training session call with Darrell and Matt.

Sounds like a real vacation day, heh?

See you tomorrow.

Be well!

 

 

January 21, 2026

Two Important Liberty Seated Proof Dimes to Consider!

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Per my calendar, there are 18 editions left under my tenure. Thank you for the visit.

I don't wish to be repetitious, but gold set another record price during the overnight and appears to be racing towards the $5000/oz mark. On the other hand, the silver price rally is taking a break at $95/oz. Platinum and palladium are trading similar to silver with gold now shifting to the precious metal leadership role. Yesterday brought a long conversation with Carlo, our Merrill Lynch account manager, towards cementing a near term strategy. The first step was selling palladium holdings and moving those monies into gold.

In terms of the GFRC business, it is a busy time given that there are a host of requests for my time. I won't go into details, but those requests will be addressed at a reasonable pace given the forthcoming retirement is less than 3 weeks away a this point. Once the current GFRC inventory is transferred to Darrell and Matt, along with a smaller number of coins to Rich Hundertmark at GFRC-Lite, I am looking forward to going dark and disappearing from the numismatic landscape. My energies will shift towards planning the coming Maine spring/summer homestead and park enhancements along with several near term holiday adventures. It is definitely time for a change of perspective as the hobby will be just fine without me.

 

Two Important Liberty Seated Proof Dimes to Consider!

There are two important Liberty Seated dimes that I wish to showcase in today's Blog edition. The 1858 and 1859 dates are the first two "affordable" dates given their reported mintages of 100 and 800 respectively. 1858 was the first year of "official" public proof sales by the Mint resulting in higher mintages that were most noticeable come 1859.

Today brings the Evergreen State Collection release of his condition census 1858 proof example along with a cameo 1859 designated specimen. Following are those pieces for your consideration along with their price list descriptions.

Important Evergreen State Proof Seated Dimes

      1858 PCGS PR66 CAC 10C - $5650                                          1859 PCGS PR66CAM 10C - $4750    

        

 

1858 PCGS PR66 CAC 10C

Scarce Proof Date, Single Finer, Brilliant Mirrors, Evergreen State Collection - A glittering, reflective proof dime with a large amount of cameo contrast. Rose-gold and blues decorate the obverse while the reverse exhibits center aquamarine surrounded by rose and gold intermixed hues. A hammered strike further establishes GFRC-Gem eye appeal. 1858 was the first year of "official" public proof sales by the Mint. Although Breen estimated just 80 proofs issued and later estimates suggested 100 or so proofs. PCGS estimates 50-70 are known, however, few if any are the equal of this gleaming example. Housed in a PCGS Gen 6.0 (2015-2020) holder with special D.L. Hansen pedigree label and CAC approval. An important Evergreen State Collection release.

1859 PCGS PR66CAM CAC 10C

Final Year of the With Stars Type, Watery Cameo Mirrors, Reflective White Presentation, Evergreen State Collection - One of the truly eye appealing proof dimes in the Evergreen State Collection is this reflective white example with stark field-to-device contrast. Each side of this sharply struck, impressively preserved Superb Gem proof presents watery mirrored and a superior viewing experience. The surfaces are free of contact marks, with only microscopic hairlines noted on the obverse with a 10x and bright light. The intense brilliance of the mirrors easily amplify any imperfections as we see in today's modern sliver commemorative coinage. This offering is also an important date among type collectors as the 1859 issue is the final proof in the With Stars Seated dime series. Housed in a PCGS Gen 6.0 (2015-2020) holder and competitively priced.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another morning of heavy shipping awaits me as a large number of check payments arrived yesterday afternoon. Therefore, I will be in the GFRC office throughout the morning and a portion of the afternoon.

Otherwise, there is little else to share today. Thank you for circling back for another visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 20, 2026

Another Day, Another Gold Price Record

and

Reference Collection Liberty Seated Dime Die Varieties to Consider

 

Greetings on a cold Tuesday morning here in Florida. Thank you for circling back for another visit.

Now that the MLK extended holiday weekend is behind us, my focus continues to be on wrapping up the GFRC ownership transition. Darrell and Matt now have a fully functional copy of the current GFRC website online and available for training sessions. Their URL is not being published until the transition date whereby GerryFortinRareCoins.com will no longer point to www.seatedimevarieties.com, but rather to the new owner's domain address. Our next training session is scheduled for Thursday morning along with the specifics of the inventory transfer come the week of February 9th.

Let's move on to relevant topics, shall we?

 

Another Day, Another Gold Price Record

Yes, gold is presently trading at $4730/oz during London business hours. Gold pricing has increased 7.5% in the last 30 days alone. Silver is also up again at $95/oz.

The flight to physical asset safety is becoming apparent as the longer part of the bond yield curve is moving up in the U.S. and Japan. This morning 10 and 30 year U.S Treasury yields have increased to 4.29% and 4.93% respectively. This is weighing on equities, as morning market futures are notably lower with the S&P 500 forecasted to open down 1.6% while both the Dow and NASDAQ also projected to fall at similar levels. Long dated bond yields are the canary in the coal mine. If those yields continue to increase, their intrinsic values fall. Holders of large quantities of long dated U.S bonds could find that their balance sheet value is decreasing. An obvious problem sector would be regional banks along with those who hold large long dated U.S Treasury positions.

I'm going to go out on a limb today and share my gut feeling on what is coming in the next six months in terms of gold prices. No one on YouTube is talking about this but it appears logical for Trump to revalue gold come July 4th, 2026. The higher that gold moves between now and that date, the larger the financial impact to the U.S. Treasury balance sheet would be. If gold is allowed to run to say $6000/oz, a revaluation to that level would bring close to $2 trillion of new funding for Trump's ambitious re-industriliazation of America along with growing the U.S. military as a counter to China's near term expansion. It just seems so logical and apparent at this point given that spot gold is setting new records on a consistent basis.

 

Reference Collection Liberty Seated Dime Die Varieties to Consider

Monday brought the opportunity to photograph and process images for the latest releases of raw Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection. Actually, I also selected another fifteen dimes as the next tranche and those were also photographed. Yes, I'm serious about releasing these dimes prior to the GFRC transition come the week of February 9th.

Following are those sixteen dimes as showcased in yesterday's Blog edition with regular images and offer prices. So far the 1849, 1850-O, 1852, and all four 1875-CC BW dimes are spoken for. I'm waiting to hear back on other FRoRs that arrived yesterday.

Today's goal is to upgrade web-book plate coins with revised images, where appropriate, followed by loading the entire lot to the 30 Day Price List. Those dimes that sold immediately will see limited descriptions.

 

Die Variety Plate Coin Opportunities and More!

   1839-O F-101 Raw AU50 10C - $650                                           1845 F-106a Raw MS61 10C - $525   

 Fortin Plate Coin                                                                    Ahwash Plate Coin

        

 

              1849 F-106 Raw AU58 - $525                                                1850-O F-101 Raw EF45+ 10C - $585    

        

 

    1875-CC BW F-104 Raw AU53 10C - $450                                        1875-CC BW F-106a Raw 45+ 10C - $450   

   Greer Plate Coin                                                                   Greer & Fortin Plate Coin

        

 

1875-CC BW F-102 Raw EF40 10C - $225                                     1875-CC BW F-110 Raw AU53 10C - $475

                                                                                                        Fortin Plate Coin

        

 

1845 F-106a Raw EF45 10C - $225                1850 F-104 Raw MS62 10C - $395                1852 F-105b Raw G06 10C - $235

                

          1853 F-105 Raw VF20 10C - $85             1873 NA C3 F-103 Raw AU50 10C - $175         1873 NA O3 F-102 Raw EF45 10C - $295

                

1873 NA O3 F-104 Raw EF45 10C - $150       1873 Arrows F-107 Raw AU50 10C - $295

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings morning shipping and transport to the Venice Island post office followed by a long overdue haircut. The afternoon will again find me in the GFRC office writing descriptions and posting the current sixteen piece raw Liberty Seated dime lot to the 30 Day Price List. If that task moves along quickly, there might be time to start processing images for the next fifteen piece tranche.

That is it for today's ramblings. Thank you, as always for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 19, 2026

Gold Sets New Price Record

and

Another Seated Dime Die Variety Tranche to Consider

 

Greetings once again from the Venice office as we move through the latter half of January 2026. Thank you for the visit.

As the lead headline indicates, spot gold has again moved up in overseas trading to a new record level regardless of U.S. equity markets being closed today for the MLK holiday observance. At roughly 1:00 AM ET, gold hit $4678/oz based on the Kitco trading charts and has since retreated to $4664 as the Blog is being composed. Silver is also moving upward with a current quote of $93.22/oz.

It should be apparent that the rise in precious metals is indicating that the fiat currency system is on its last legs. The fiat currency system has allowed sovereign nations to amass unsustainable amounts of debt. The only politically viable solution to the debt crisis is to print more fiat currency to preserve the system which translates into ongoing inflation. Some have labeled the current precious metals rally as the debasement trade which is a fair assessments of what we are witnessing in real time. For example, on Friday evening, Diane and I had dinner with Rachel (Diane's sister) and husband Mike at the Crow's Nest restaurant here in Venice. We had not dined there since March 2025. The first thing I noted was the menu prices with entrees now regularly crossing through the $40+ mark. Going grocery shopping is also revealing as a piece of rib eye or porterhouse steak is priced close to $20.

Unfortunately, as real inflation continues to ramp (not the CPI reported inflation), those who are holding bonds and other fixed income instruments are losing purchasing power on a steady basis. The rate of loss will soon become asymptotic in the same manner that gold and silver price increases are moving upward in an asymptotic manner.

I don't wish to be alarmist or negative this morning, but the reality is staring us in the face if we choose to look and contemplate. Traditional global alliances are falling apart at a rapid pace as is the race to acquire and control critical minerals for advanced technology manufacturing.

Those among us who live on daily news cycles and do not conduct a long term assessment of current monetary and geopolitical developments may find themselves with decreasing living standards, especially those entering retirement.

Enough said on this topic.

 

Another Seated Dime Die Variety Tranche to Consider

The GFRC ownership transition is presently less than three weeks away. Discounted offerings on the 30 Day Price List have been popular with overall GFRC inventory continuing to decrease. The current raw Liberty Seated dime die variety releases is a near sellout.

Yesterday brought another visit to the Gerry Fortin's die variety reference collection 2x2 boxes for selecting an incremental round of offerings. I'm now on a mission to sell as many of these raw Seated dimes as possible on my watch at the GFRC helm. To speed up the process, I've created a group image of the new offerings in their cardboard 2x2s. The photography has it strong and weak points. A positive is that the community can read my notes on the 2x2x holders and will see that a fair number are Ahwash and Greer plate coins. The negative is that the mylar film creates dark lighting streaks for some of the dimes. Clicking on the below images provides access to a higher resolution version.

 

Here's the deal...

All of these sixteen dimes have been loaded into the COIN system and have been priced. Remaining is photography that will take place this afternoon. Via today's illustration, I am opening up these sixteen dimes to First Right of Refusals. Please get out your Greer and Kam Ahwash books to see if some of these dimes might be an exciting addition to your collection. I will log the requests as received in my email Inbox and will respond once the images are ready on Tuesday.

If this approach works well, I'll bring out another lot of Seated dime reference collection pieces by Thursday.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Darrell and Matt are making excellent progress with the GFRC website transition towards their control and administration. This morning brings a Zoom call among us as an initial training session for managing the website. Other than this morning meeting, I will be in the office preparing a huge amount of shipping that goes to the Venice Island post office on Tuesday followed by photographing the sixteen dimes in today's showcase.

The Fortins will be soon approaching a new life with more personal vacation time. Our first holiday will be visiting Savannah the week of the ANA Money show and dropping into the show to probably purchase more gold. Who knows where gold will be priced in another month's time?

As a teaser, the first Andrew Maguire YouTube video of 2026 has him forecasting $8000 gold by Q4'26. I take this forecast seriously, as Andrew was 100% accurate with his 2025 quarterly ending forecasts. He sees continued stair step increases in gold spot during 2026. Personally, I believe we will see $5000 gold by March.

On that note, let's wrap up today's Blog at this point. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 18, 2026

Raw Liberty Seated Dime Die Varieties to Consider

and

Remaining GFRC Owned Inventory Offered at Cost

 

Greetings from the Venice office and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Sunday morning. It is great to have you back for another edition.

Saturday brought a well balance day with time in the GFRC office preparing today's showcase gallery along with a long health walk under bright sunny skies. After the walk, the 718 Boxster was fired up for a casual drive. How I love hearing the open exhaust symphony during acceleration. The day ended with a HOA social event at the club house. Glimpses of retired life are starting to emerge as the time balance shifts from office presence to other personal activities.

Let's jump right into today's showcase gallery. Following are nine raw Liberty Seated dimes from my personal reference collection. Several have already been posted to the 30 Day Price List and received multiple orders.

The 1876-S Type 1 F-101 RPD is listed in the Top 100 Varieties set and is much more difficult to locate than originally anticipated. It is also a web-book plate coin. The 1887-S is a gorgeous example of the F-107 late die state shattered reverse, another Top 100 offering and web-book plate coin. The 1888 F-105 repunched 8 is both a Greer die variety plate coin and a web-book plate coin. The 1891-O, with its massive reverse cuds, is a new die variety that will be listed as F-133. It combines the F-107 obverse with an unknown reverse die that has a partial mintmark.

The balance of the offerings include two 1877-CC Type 2 reverse dimes with the F-101 being a web-book plate coin. The 1884 F-103 and 1886 F-109 are both notable repunched dates and web-book plate coins.

I have a feeling that these are going to sell well throughout the day.

 

Liberty Seated Dime Reference Collection Releases

1876-S Type 1 F-101 RPD Raw EF40 10C - SOLD                                    1887-S F-107 Raw AU55 10C - SOLD          

        

 1888 F-105 RPD Raw AU58 10C - $175                                           1891-O F-133 Cuds VF25 10C - SOLD    

        

1877-CC T2 F-101 AU58 10C - $325                1877-CC T2 F-105 AU58 10C - $275                1877-S F-103 EF45 10C - $80

                

1884 F-103 RPD AU50 10C - $95                1886 F-109 RPD AU55 10C - $150

        

 

Remaining GFRC Owned Inventory Offered at Cost

With less than three weeks left of GFRC operations under my stewardship, the time has come to offer the remaining GFRC owned inventory at my cost basis. Please check the top of the 30 Day Price List to locate those lots. I'm sorry, but offers will not be entertained as these will move to Darrell Low and Matt Mayers at my cost if not sold. This is your chance to secure nice coins at discounted prices.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be in and out of the GFRC office today. The remaining raw Liberty Seated dime will be posted to the 30 Day Price List as a priority along with adding the 1891-O F-133 dime to the web-book. Otherwise, I'm taking another long health walk and we might be giving the 718 Boxster a bath if the weather is cloudy.

My apologies to those who ordered several of the raw Liberty Seated dimes but were late to those offerings.

Thanks for checking in and happy Sunday.

Be well!

 

 

 

 

January 17, 2026

Final GFRC Sales Event is Awesome!

 

Greetings on a Saturday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks again for stopping by.

Today's edition will be be brief as a vacation day is in order.

The primary news is that the final GFRC sales event, including various consignor discounting, is going quite well. Please check the 30 Day Price List to see first hand the amount of coins being offered and sold at attractive prices.

Today's plan is processing images for 10 or so raw Liberty Seated dimes from my reference collection. There will be many great repunched dates and terminal die states that might just hit the 30 Day Price List later today or tomorrow.

A quick note on silver. Based on new research, the demand for global demand for physical silver continue to ramp with insufficient above ground stock in large bars that trade on the major exchanges. The issue is a bottleneck with refiners and smelters. Major global mints are nearly exhausted with respect to heavy silver bars and can only offer smaller rounds or 1 oz coins. In the near term, prices will continue to climb into the three digits. One analysts revealed that the SLV silver ETF has been raided for physical bars by large institutions. The SLV custodian is JP Morgan who was heavily fined for silver market price manipulation. This is why I do not recommend placing monies into SLV, rather using PSLV (Sprott) whereby the physical silver is held at the Canadian Mint. Interestingly, my Merrill Lynch managed accounts do not allow investment into PSLV but of course, SLV is just fine. I am invested in PSLV within a self directed account. Owning physical silver or gold is the best and ultimate option for protecting wealth.

This is the extent of today's blogging. I will be back on Sunday with more content. See you then.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 16, 2026

Heavy GFRC Discounting Continues on the 30 Day Price List!

and

What Made GFRC So Successful?

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning. Thank you again for taking the time to visit.

Would you believe that it is only 39F here in Venice Florida as the Blog is being composed? The temperature gap with the Maine homestead is only 22 degrees. It is doubtful that local Venice residents will be out for their early morning walks this morning.

Gold and silver prices continue to consolidate at current levels. My mental benchmark is $4600 gold and $90 silver though those number are higher in Shanghai trading. My gut feeling is that prices are higher in Shanghai as little if any metal is allowed to leave China. In London and Chicago, huge precious metal quantities are being delivered at lower prices. The largest institution are in a rapid physical accumulation mode which could include the US government. Enough said on this topic and don't be scared by YouTube technical trading videos who only read technical charts and don't comprehend the geopolitical dynamics that are unfolding.

Finally, the Daily Blog countdown to retirement is now three weeks away. My target for the final Daily Blog edition is the weekend of February 7.

 

Heavy GFRC Discounting Continues on the 30 Day Price List!

I'd like for the GFRC community to realize that there is heavy discounting underway on the 30 Day Price List. Most of the consignors have given me the liberty to discount their remaining lots along with considering offers. Let's review two examples of where discounted offer prices are creating wholesale purchase opportunities that I would have jumped on in the past as a dealer.

First is the Newtown 1875-CC half with a CAC guide price guide number at $6250 in MS64. The current offer price is nearly 15% back of retail and qualifies as an outright dealer wholesale number. The same can be said for the Oregon Beaver 1876 G$2.5 with a CAXC guide number of $5500 for this rare date. At the $3900 offer price, this one is a steal.

I won't go into every discounted lot that is now positioned at the top of the 30 Day Price List, but you should understand the message. This is a special opportunity to acquire premium coins at wholesale numbers.

 

Deeply Discounted Lots

      1875-CC WB-4 PCGS MS64 CAC 50C - $5350                                      1876 PCGS MS61 CAC G$2.5 - $3900            

        

 

What Made GFRC So Successful?

This segment is not a personal pat on the back but rather being written as advice for small business owners. The GFRC business was constructed with a number of fundamental principals that led to its success. I'd like to share those as bullet point thoughts for consideration.

- Focus on relationship building first, then cost management. Building long term relationship with clients is paramount. Establishing trust is enabled via professional consulting and transparency. Investing time and effort into relatively new collectors builds a solid buisness foundation.

- Operating a strictly transactional coin business is not advised, for example eBay. GFRC never developed an online shopping cart/payment module for a simple reason. I wish to communicate directly with every customer towards establishing relationships.

- Treat clients as you wish to be treated. Treat everyone with respect and they will also return that courtesy. Those that don't understand mutual respect and utilized the zero sum game were not long at GFRC.

- If I made a mistake, I owned it regardless of what the financial impact was. There are too many in this world that refuse to take ownership of personal mistakes and turn to deflection, excuses, and political behaviors to avoid accountability.

- Humility is often understated as a positive human attribute. Successful marketing is best accomplished by leading by example and not only by words.

- Being a successful coin dealer requires a commitment to long hours in the office and on the road along with patience with collectors. Many collectors do not understand the amount of work required to operate as a prosperous coin dealer and will unknowingly infringe on your precious time.

- Be prepared to be desensitized with respect to how coins were previously viewed as a collector. As volumes increase, coins become more like a product than individual historical artifacts to be carefully studied. After a decade of being a coin dealer, that desensitization allowed me to part with the core Liberty Seated dime collection.

- Finally, online coin sales are enabled by top quality images. I spent a substantial amount of time processing images so that they were accurate and did not hide defects. A zero return rate was the goal and there would be long periods where that goal was met.

I hope that this quick commentary was useful...

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Another office day is in the cards for a Friday. My focus continues to be on consignment accounts and wrapping up those that are quite aged. Consignment checks are mailing daily at this point as we work to clean up the consignment balance sheet.

So ends another Blog edition. We appreciate this visit as much as the many received during the years of operating GFRC.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 15, 2026

A Host of GFRC Consignor Discounts on 30 Day Price List

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We are pleased with your ongoing readership and of course, GFRC purchases.

The GFRC transition to new ownership is moving along with Wednesday bringing an important milestone. Darrell Low sent a link to the newly established GFRC website for my review and commentary. To be clear, the new website is an exact copy of the current, but located at a different URL and supported by a new technical team. All is moving along nicely.

On the GFRC home front in Venice, Florida, consignors continue to discount their coins in an attempt to clear out aged inventory. As the discounting instructions arrive, they are promptly executed and loaded to the 30 Day Price List. Incremental sales arrived yesterday evening as astute collectors are taking the opportunity to secure premium coins are attractive prices.

Early on, I thought that the GFRC transition would allow me to ease into a retirement mode. In hindsight, that thought process was foolish as I'm working long hours in the GFRC office handling discounting, purchase orders, shipping, and responding to a host of questions from Darrell Low. While all of these tasks are taking place, there is a need to slowly disposition each current consignor account. Consignment checks are being issued along with a sincere expression of gratitude for the years of support that have enabled GFRC to be one of the most visible businesses in the numismatic hobby.

I believe that the current pace will be in effect through the end of January, or at least I hope that we can get through the ramping down of the present GFRC business by month's end. The idea of racing to offer a host of raw Liberty Seated dimes from my 300+ reference collection has gone out the window. That task will be delayed for the time being. I might add a few cool variety pieces if there are are spare hours in the coming three weeks.

So that is where the GFRC business transition stands.

Shifting to the precious metals and overnight trading, both silver and gold appear to have topped out at the moment. This should be of no surprise as the rally has been historical with is a need for consolidation. As of 6:30 AM, gold is trading at $4620/oz while silver is quoting at $91.35.

I'm going to wrap up today's Blog with a Happy Birthday shout out to Matt Yamatin followed by another long day in the GFRC office. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 14, 2026

History Being Made - $100 Silver in Shanghai

30 Day Price List is Replete with New Offerings!

Final GFRC Inventory Sale

and

New Evergreen State Collection Consignment

 

Greetings on a mid-January Wednesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We appreciate the ongoing readership and rewarding everyone with some exciting offerings.

Tuesday brought a busy day in the GFRC office as we are starting the consignment finalization process which includes issuing consignment checks and returning those nearly impossible coins to sell. This cleansing is long overdue and will provide Darrell and Matt with a fresh start. The settlement process will continue for the next two weeks along with the final GFRC inventory sale that will be discussed later in this edition.

 

History Being Made - $100 Silver in Shanghai

For precious metal enthusiasts, today is a historical day. While we were sleeping in the West, silver broke through the $100oz mark on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE). The gap between the SGE and LBMA silver pricing is now roughly 10% as Kitco reports that London trading has silver pegged at $90.40 at 5:45 AM ET. There is no question that Shanghai has taken the reins for silver's price discovery while the western exchanges still attempt mild suppression with paper contract trading.

Bottom line, there are insufficient above ground silver supplies to meet both industrial and investment demand with prices continuing to rise consistent with a deficit supply situation. We must recognize that the supply side of the equation is problematic as there are no new immediately sources from miners while recycling is running into a refiner capacity log jam.

Looking at spot gold, the situation is different. Gold is responding to geopolitical dynamics and is moving through a slow appreciate cycle as replacement for the US dollar in terms of global foreign reserve holdings. It appears that gold has now taken out the $4600 level and is consolidating, in the near term, at the $4635/oz level.

Don't ignore platinum and palladium. Platinum is now approaching the $2400 mark as it is also in a deficit supply situation though the demand side of the equation is much more moderate than silver.

Finally, keep an eye on crude oil pricing as the black gold is back above the $60/bbl threshold. I've been slowly adding Exxon (XOM) to the portfolio when WTI crude was trading at the $57-58 level. Certainly, the situation in Iran is one of the reasons for crude oil starting to increase in price. As of 6:30 AM ET, WTI crude has jumped to $62/bbl.

 

30 Day Price List is Replete with New Offerings!

Though the GFRC ownership transition is just weeks away, the 30 Day Price List warrants an immediate visit for some great deals! Read on...

 

The Final "Fortin" GFRC Inventory Sale

Astute GFRC clients may wish to visit the 30 Day Price List as I have discounted all GFRC owned inventory effective Tuesday afternoon. Look for the "Final GFRC Inventory Sale!" prefix at each lot's long description for a marvelous deal on quality coins. Already, the emails are pouring in with purchase requests as the community has an opportunity to source coins at or close to my cost basis.

The Cleveland Collection has also joined the event with deep discounts on his remaining consigned items with two of his coins already sold.

I'm just an email or text message away for securing great savings! Have at it...

 

New Evergreen State Collection Consignment

One of the aspect of managing GFRC that I am most proud of is the service provided to top clients. When top clients ask for help, I've always taken the extra step to support those who have made GFRC such a resounding success.

Case in point is the Evergreen State Collection who has risen to top client status in the past two years. I've worked closely with this collector to reconfigure his numismatic holdings into one major Liberty Seated coinage series. On Monday, our friend called and asked if I could handle one final consignment towards his numismatic house cleaning of non mission compliant holdings. Of course was the response. A USPS Express shipment arrived on Tuesday afternoon and within several hours, those coins previously purchase from GFRC were promptly posted to the 30 Day Price List. Those that are new to GFRC will be marketed next via a showcase image.

Upon awaking and checking emails, there are a host of orders to be process for both the remaining GFRC inventory and the new Evergreen State consignment. So please have patience with me as I work through the order backlog prior to yet another busy day in the shipping department.

Tell you what! Let's post two images. The first are the Evergreen State lots that are prior GFRC acquisitions and presently posted to the 30 Day Price List. The second image showcases lots new to GFRC that you should consider with a first shot request for price quote. As usual, clicking on the below images will provide access to a higher resolution version.

Evergreen Collection - Prior GFRC Purchases

Please look carefully at the below images as Evergreen is offering two low mintage Liberty Seated proof dimes. The 1858 D.L. Hansen specimen is heavily mirrored and a wonderful gem with a PCGS estimate of 50-70 known survivors. The 1859 proof dime has a reported mintage of 800 pieces and is more available as compared to the 1858. However, the 1859 PCGS PR66CAM offering has a population of four at grade with four finer.

Also note that I was able to place the magnificent 1854 $3 gold piece into a client collection via phone call. It is no longer available.

Evergreen Collection - New to GFRC

Wrapping Up The Blog

You guessed it!

Today brings another full day in the GFRC office with a heavy morning shipping agenda along with responding to email orders. The afternoon sees me working on more consignment account settlements with proceeds checks being mailed after making contact with our consignors.

Finally, as a teaser to Liberty Seated dime die variety fans, I dipped into the 300+ raw 2x2 dime boxes and pulled another ten pieces that are significant varieties in search of new homes. I'll get to these on Friday.

As always, thank you for the visit and the many kind words that have been shared in recent days.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 13, 2026

FUN Show Report Per Matt Mayers

and

GFRC Consignment Disposition Options

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning. Thank you for the return visit.

The GFRC transition countdown clock continues to move forward with a tad over three weeks remaining towards a long awaited retirement. So you know, every retired business professional, who approached me at the FUN show table, said the same thing. There will be no regrets with the decision, rather a new phase of life will bring the opportunity to explore incremental topics and initiatives at a slower and more enjoyable pace. I'm a believer at this point as the GFRC daily routine needs to be placed in the rear view mirror. Gone will be the need to compose a Daily Blog edition regardless of having or not having content. The disappearance of morning shipping demands and Diane's checking account administration routine will be invigorating. Already, Diane and I have a plan for reconfiguring the Venice office with fresh furniture and L-shaped desk that will double as a hobby platform. As of this morning, I've still not assembled the ROKR London 3D puzzle that I was so looking forward too.

The precious metals opened the second full week of January on a positive note with gold topping out at $4625ish and silver just touching the $86 level on a momentary basis. The Kitco website indicates that gold is currently trading at $4589 with silver at $85.67 as of 6:45 AM ET. One long time client checked in yesterday requesting advice on silver ETF and miner investment recommendations. I'll share publicly what was provided along with incremental information for complete transparency.

For silver, the PSLV and SIVR ETF are those presently being employed by the Fortins. I am not a fan of SLV given the ownership and custodial players. My primary silver miners are PAAS followed by HL, AG, and CDE. Recently, HYMC was added to the stable given their discovery of a high concentration geology. But be aware that there are no exclusively pure play silver miners in the world. During the mining process, other metals including gold, tin, and lead are also distilled and sold. Close to 'pure play" miners account for about 100 millions ounces of output per year or only 17% of the global annual supply.

For gold, my go to bullion ETF is SGOL and not GLD for the same reasons as SLV. As for the gold miners, there are a host of options with my favorites being KGC, IAG, AGI, and AEG. For those that wish a more conservative approach to investing in precious metal miners, the royalty streamers are an option with WPM and FNV being in our portfolio. The streamers operate with high P/E ratios due to no debt. Their cash flow is employed for investment into new mining projects and securing access to a portion of the output based on investment level thus the name "royalty streamers".

For exposure to platinum and palladium metals, we employ PPLT and PALL.

When considering investing in precious metal miners, jurisdiction is a key factor with the United States and Canada located mines being the safest.

Let's shift gears to a FUN show report from Matt Mayers that arrived to the email Inbox last evening.

 

FUN Show Report Per Matt Mayers

The FUN show proved once again that it is one of the best, if not the best, coin show each year. As Rich mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the show was packed with eager dealers and collectors from start to finish which created that desirable “buzz” which is the hallmark of a great show. I spoke to several dealers who all said it was the best show they have ever had from a selling perspective. Darrel and I did not take many coins to sell as we are holding our nicest coins back so we’ll have coins to post when we officially take over GFRC operations in February. We were able to purchase some very nice coins, mostly CAC, that we will add to our stash.

We were able to pick up an amazing consignment of seated quarters (most of which are CAC) which will be the lead consignment for the first auction that Darrell and I will be conducting as owners of GFRC. These coins, along with other consignments we have already received, will be available for viewing at the March Baltimore and April Central States shows. The auction will take place shortly thereafter. If you have any CAC-quality seated or bust material you’d like to add to this auction, please give us a call to discuss.

Back to the show. I arrived for the FUN Show on Tuesday so that I could view the Heritage auction before the show opened for dealers on Wednesday afternoon. The show concessions don’t open until Wednesday. Getting lunch on Tuesday at the B-Line Diner at the Hyatt ended up being a marathon since the outdoor walk way was closed for renovations. It ended up being a 25 minute walk each way but the Mediterranean salad and reuben sandwich were almost worth the walk.

On Wednesday morning I took a ride to shoot skeet with a friend at a range in Wintergarden about an hour outside of Orlando. We met up for breakfast at the Lake Alfred Diner which serves some excellent eggs, grits, biscuits, pancakes, bacon and sausage. Yes, I ate all of these items so I’d be well nourished for shooting. This was the second time I met my friend from the FUN convention (and only the second time I shot a shotgun). Turned out all the food did the trick as I hit at least doubled the number of clays from the prior year.

Speaking of food, Darrell and I had a great dinner with a group of sophisticated seated collectors at a new place I’ve never been called Café Tu Tu Tango. We each ordered three items off the menu since we were told each item was a small plate for sharing. Turned out many of the plates were not so small but we were able to polish off all of the food thanks to a friend that arrived after we were basically finished. The food was surprisingly good as was the young lady that danced around the restaurant doing the tango while waiving silk scarves. She was elegant, had good surfaces and nice skin and looked all original. The consensus was she would grade at least 67 at any service and sticker at that.

Overall, the show was excellent from a coin, food and entertainment perspective. I think everyone that attended is looking forward to next year’s FUN convention. If you’ve never been, you should check it out.

 

GFRC Consignment Disposition Options

Another day arrives in the GFRC office with morning shipping including the return of one consignment today and another on Thursday. This brings us to an important topic, namely each consignor deciding how to handle their remaining coins at GFRC under the present administration. The options are straightforward:

A. Roll the current consignment into the new ownership structure when all GFRC inventory is retrieved by Darrell and Matt come the week of February 9.

B. Have the current consignment transferred to GFRC-Lite with the consignor paying shipping costs.

C. Request a consignment returned with the consignor paying for shipping costs.

If not receiving specific instructions, the default will be option A as your consigned coins will be in good hands.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be spending the day in the GFRC office with the primary task being that of consignment check writing after a monumental FUN show. We are at the point of starting the process of zeroing out consignor credit towards a smooth transfer to the new ownership team.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 12, 2026

Precious Metals at New Record Levels

The GFRC Cupboards are Getting Bare

and

Rich Hundertmark's FUN Show Report - FUN was a Blast!!

 

Greetings on a Monday morning from the GFRC Venice office and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks for the usual check in.

Sunday brought a long day in the GFRC office but by some miracle, all FUN show sales were loaded into the COIN system followed by the GFRC price lists and Collectors Corner being updated prior to 5:00 PM happy hour. Online orders were also responded to with those lots kitted into shipping boxes. Now the challenge is a substantial amount of order shipments throughout Monday morning. Afterwards, I'm planning on taking a deep breath and smelling the roses as the GFRC ownership transition is being executed in a timely and professional manner.

Let's move forward with today's headline topics....

 

Precious Metals at New Record Levels

Many have forecasted that 2026 would be a year of upheavals and unexpected geopolitical shifts. With just twelves days into the new year, the U.S. has taken out Maduro, the Ayatollah rule of Iran is coming into question along with Trump pressuring Cuba's socialist government. Finally, Trump continues to push forward for Greenland being absorbed into the United States. This morning brought the announcement that the U.S. Justice department has opened a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell over the Federal Reserve building renovations.

Is it any surprise that the precious metals rally has continued with new record levels being realized during overnight trading?

As of this 6:30 AM ET, gold is trading in a tight $4590 - $4598 range after briefly hitting $4601. Silver is up another 5% at $84/oz. The many 2026 forecasts for $5000 gold and $100 silver could be understated as we are only twelve days into the year with a continuation of the 2025 rally. I'm certain that there are forces at work that we are not privy to. 2026 brings the United States Semiquincentennial on July 4th with deep suspicions that there will be a major event with respect to gold. Judy Sheldon has been discussing the launch of gold backed 50 year U.S. Treasury bonds as a possibility. Could a gold revaluation be in the cards as we watch gold systematically moving higher in a stair step manner?

 

The GFRC Cupboards are Getting Bare

As mentioned in the preamble, all FUN show sales have been removed from the GFRC price list. At this point, GFRC inventory has dropped to roughly 225 coins as compared to typical operations with 650 to 800 coins. The inventory reduction has been systematically executed for both GFRC owned inventory and those of our consignors. We worked really hard at a robust FUN show to convert consignor coins into consignment credit that will be issued in the coming few weeks.

Darrell and Matt, on the other hand, were actively buying replacement inventory at the FUN show along with insourcing about 80 lots on consignment. Yes, this is a transition from the old to new management team and their respective leaning towards inventory composition.

This is probably the perfect point to showcase a photo that was taken on Saturday after the GFRC booth has been closed and packed. Darrell Low took possession of the GFRC table aprons and showcase felt liners as another major transition step.

 

Rich Hundertmark's FUN Show Report - FUN was a Blast!!

Rich Hundertmark and his GFRC-Lite business also enjoyed an incredible Winter FUN show. He sent along the following commentary that accurately captures the camaraderie that has been the hallmark of the GFRC presence at major shows.

WOW!! Where to begin?? Maybe with a quickie show story.

While boarding the FUN Show shuttle bus at the Rosen Inn on Thursday, a lady was walking by, saw the FUN sign on the bus window and asked, “what’s FUN”? I quickly replied, “ a large gathering event for numismatists”. Others behind me laughed and I’m sure they further explained FUN to her without the Jersey wise guy remark.

What wasn’t said was that this FUN show was monumental in both buying and selling intensity. I cannot remember a show that had this constant floor buzz, with attendance certainly at record levels and seemingly all that attended with holes burning in their collective pockets.

I can report that Lite experienced record sales across seemingly all raw and certified categories. New purchases and consignments were also substantial, look for new inventory additions to begin later this week on the gfrclite.com site after banking, inventory reconciliation and web site cleanup has been achieved.

OK, with that all said what I really want to write about is how great it’s been to work with Gerry since Lite’s formation a few years ago. I can’t thank Gerry enough for the confidence and support he’s given me as I’ve grown the Lite brand. Gerry’s straight forward honesty and work ethic combined with his numismatic and business knowledge was a certain recipe for success and I’ll always fondly remember our business dealings and friendship.

I’ll also note that working in the GFRC booth with Gerry, Diane, Dan and the entire GFRC family was quite amazing. I’m not sure I’ve seen better teamwork and camaraderie. 

I’ll conclude this blog with another quickie story on how each show day on the bourse ended. When show hours were concluded, (or nearly so), the GFRC team would wind down and enjoy legendary happy hours. At the end of a long Whitman day the team was telling stories, getting loose and laughing loudly. I can remember a Baltimore security guard watching us in wonderment and telling me, “I can’t believe how much fun you guys are having!”

Cheers, 
Rich

Thanks for the kind words Rich! Here is the final team image that celebrates the many years of GFRC operations and great friendships!

 

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Shipping is the operative word for the day along with a health walk that will be delayed into the late afternoon. There is little else to be shared at this point, therefore let's wrap up for another day.

Thank you as always for the time and visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 11, 2026

2026 Winter FUN - A Coin Show for the Ages

 

Greetings from the GFRC Venice office and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for checking back after a long multi-day absence.

The GFRC farewell tour is now complete and what a way to wrap up a multi-decade numismatic career. Finding superlatives for the 2026 Winter FUN show that match its intensity is not difficult. I settled on a coin show for the ages to somehow differentiate my perspective from others who may employ traditional qualifiers as found in a Thesaurus.

The Winter FUN show never stopped even when we were exiting the convention center at 3:00 PM on Saturday. GFRC arrived to the show on Wednesday with a depleted inventory of only 5.5 double row slabbed boxes and we left on Saturday with 3.5 boxes of remaining coins. A double row slabbed box holds 64 coins, therefore you should be able to do the math on the number of coins that GFRC sold in three days. Can you imagine if I had gone into this show with a traditional 10 box inventory. It would have been sheer madness at the table.

Yes, I feel so blessed to have pick the 2026 Winter FUN show as the last event in a long GFRC career. There are no regrets whatsoever. The show intensity was so strong that I never had a spare moment to sit down and contemplate a Daily Blog composition from the bourse. As soon as we arrived to the bourse each day and opened the booth, dealers were in search of new inventory due to unprecedented sales.

Why was the 2026 Winter FUN show so dynamic and robust? Simply stated, collectors had cash to spend given the massive run up in precious metals. Dealers were flush with cash due to precious metal sales to fund the purchase of regular numismatic items. Many collectors were also experiencing the same sharp increase in numismatic capital due to selling their gold $20 Saints and other precious metal holdings. Conversely, I bought gold at the GFRC table for the stash as believing that the precious metal rally is not over. Secondly, I was on a mission to shrink inventory prior to the ownership transition and did not purchase a single non-gold coin off the floor or walking up to the booth,

Another "excuse" for not publishing a Daily Blog update was robust online sales. Each morning, once the laptop was opened and the showcases cleaned, there was a need to respond to online orders as quickly as possible before booth attendance ramped. That online momentum remains this morning with more orders to respond to.

Finally, commentary on the farewell nature of the FUN show is important. I was taken aback on the number of collectors who came to the table to express their congratulations for the years of numismatic service and professional eduction via the Daily Blog. Honestly, I walked away from the Orange County Convention Center on Saturday with a keen sense of mission accomplished in terms of collector eduction. Those that have listened during the past year concerning precious metals have done very well.

Following is an email that arrived yesterday afternoon that was typical of the commentary.

Hi Gerry,

I doubt that you’ve been bragging about it, but I at least wanted to acknowledge your prescient, well-timed prediction for the serious run up in silver price that we had all been waiting for. The supply issues had been well known, the rumble was in the air, but few were able to make the call like you did about the explosion in silver price due to supply shortage on the industrial end, in your blog about 6 to 12 months ago. You accurately predicted the chain of events that occurred. I for one took notice and adjusted my position accordingly. So, thank you. As I said, many of us were waiting for that event, the writing had been on the wall, yet at the same time, in retrospect and with hindsight, few of us made the appropriate decisions in regard to our silver position, whether due to apathy, years and years of silver price inaction, or whatever. I was personally very underexposed to silver when I read your blog that day, it was the wake-up call that I needed. So, thank you again.

Yes, there is no need to brag as I was simply being transparent on my personal investment actions. I shared, in the Blog, how the research was pointing to a sharp increase in silver prices as 2025 become the year of "delivery" on the LBMA and COMEX rather than more traditional paper contract trading. When "delivery" became dominate, so did a need for price discovery after decades of price suppression.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There are some great FUN show booth images to share of the GFRC team, but those need to wait until Monday's edition. As you can imagine, with the number of sold coins, the admin workload is enormous and will keep me busy throughout the day. Incremental email orders need to be responded to.

Frankly, I would like to have some downtime after three truly intense days on a bourse floor but the business responsibilities are still with me for another four weeks.

Please check back tomorrow for more FUN show commentary as I'm heading to the shower and taking a well deserved health walk before spending the balance of the day in the office.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 7, 2026

Heading to Orlando for Winter FUN

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank you for stopping by.

Today's blog will be brief as Diane and I are packed up and will be driving to Orlando shortly. Today brings dealer setup at 2:00 PM. Rich Hundertmark is already on the road driving to Orlando, while Blake Gibb is flying in from Oklahoma City. Darrell and Matt are also flying in from the NYC airports. Dan White will be joining us tomorrow.

Am I sentimental this morning as this is the final GFRC coin show under my stewardship? Not on your life! As a person who always looks forward to new horizons, the next few days brings the final chapter in a decade long journey. I've spent several full days assessing the remaining GFRC owned inventory including many raw coins that have accumulated over the years. A sign of the times will be GFRC offering raw coins in one showcase at the FUN show as these need to be cleared out prior to the early February inventory transfer. Other raw coins are being consigned to GFRC-Lite.

Following is the Winter FUN show bourse floor map, a huge assemblage of the who's who in numismatics. GFRC will be located at booths 534-536 along with GFRC-Lite.

Winter FUN - GFRC at Booths 534-536

 

Once we are back from the FUN show on Saturday, Sunday brings the usual post coin show administrative workload followed by Monday shifting into order shipment mode. At some point next week, Diane and I will take some time away from the GFRC business too simply chill out. Long walks are our favorite past time together and a walk along the Venice Intercoastal might be that activity.

Between January 13 and February 7, the final GFRC act will be the posting a host of the raw plate coins from my Liberty Seated dime online die variety reference. So far, these have been very popular with several hundred more dimes to photograph and post to the price list. Certainly, not all will be processed and offered in this short time frame but we can try our best to move as many as possible to new collector homes.

By mid-February, the website transition to Darrell and Matt will have been completed. The Liberty Seated dime web-book will be a stand along website at www.seateddimevarieties.com. Diane and I will no longer spend our morning hours in the shipping department, rather we can head to the Venice beach for morning yoga or whatever tickles our fancy. Gone will be "where is my package" emails...

Yes, I'm not sentimental in today's Blog rather looking forward to a bright new chapter in a life that embraces change and fresh opportunities. Before long, we will be back in Maine and you know that means! Time in the back acreage on Johnny2 without time allocation pressure to sustain a coin business. I will be free to be in the barn at 7:00AM to start a day in the woods early. Diane and I will be free to travel without having to disguise our whereabouts as a new found freedom since there will be no need to publish the Daily Blog. At that point, everyone will be on their own with respect to the precious metal market and geopolitical developments.

Thank you for the visit and please check back during the FUN show as I will be posting photos to document the last "Fortin" GFRC coin show and those who have helped make this business such a resounding success.

Be well!

 

 

January 6, 2026

Preparing for the Winter FUN Show

Final Stop for the GFRC Farewell Tour

 

Greetings on a Tuesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thanks for the visit.

Today's edition will be brief as there is little in terms of new content to share. Monday brought a long office day working on multiple fronts including organizing GFRC raw inventory that will be wholesaled out via GFRC-Lite or will be exhibited in a showcase. Diane and I spent the morning in the shipping department and were able to clear out a portion of the backlog, especially high value Express box shipments as a host of great coins are on their way to select clients.

Today brings the same situation with morning shipping followed by organizing the holdered inventory first. With the remaining time, I will return to the raw GFRC inventory and continue its disposition to GFRC-Lite or to be included in a FUN showcase.

As I watch the Kitco website, silver is now over $78/oz with gold trading in a tight range around $4462/oz.

The global geopolitical situation continues to be become tense as I just learned that the primary BRICS countries have scheduled naval military drills off the coast of South Africa during the January 9-16 time frame. This exercise is being led by China. Checking an AI Overview on Google produced the following.

• When: January 9-16, 2026.
• Where: South African territorial waters.
• Who: BRICS+ nations, led by China, with confirmed participation from Russia, Iran, and likely Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and others.
• Theme: Joint actions for maritime safety, focusing on interoperability, anti-piracy, and rescue operations.
• Significance: Marks a step towards deeper military integration and collective security among participating states, though it raises questions about South Africa's neutrality. 

Now is not the time to release your gold and silver positions. BRICS was supposedly an economically aligned organization, but has now added a military component which is China's obviously challenge to the United States and the US dollar as the global reserve asset.

I have a gut feeling that 2026 will bring increased geopolitical turmoil and higher precious metal prices to an unanticipated level as was experienced during 2025.

Diane and I look forward to seeing our long time clients at the Winter FUN show as this is the final stop on our farewell tour. Please don't be bashful about stopping by and saying hello as the entire past and new GFRC staff will be on hand.

We appreciate your ongoing support!

Be well!

 

 

January 5, 2026

New GFRC Photography - Darrell Low Guest Blog

and

Releasing the Fortin Raw Web-Book Plate Coin Collection

A Host of Die Varieties

 

Greetings as the 2026 Winter FUN show week has arrived! A sincere thank you to the community for checking in at the Blog.

Today's preamble will be brief as we have a ton of super visual content. First up is a guest blog from Darrell Low which showcases his new GFRC photography and the resulting images. Let's jump right into his piece and visual presentation. Clicking on each image provides access to higher resolution (1800x900) version images as compared to the traditional Fortin (1200x600) resolution.

Hi Gerry,

We wanted to wish the blog readers a Happy New Year and look forward to meeting several of them at the FUN show in a few days. Supplies such as plastic sleeves for slabbed coins, Kraft coin envelopes, USPS shipping boxes and supplies, postal scales, and bar code scanners seem to be arriving every few days, The website is progressing along well.

One of the most visible efforts we are working on are photos. Below are some of the photos we have taken of coins we will be offering after the transition occurs.  Taking photos has been quite the learning experience with the differences between silver, gold, and copper coins being apparent, Proof coins have been more difficult than business strikes to capture properly.as the coins photograph relatively darkly. Although photography and editing are a lot of work with some coins requiring multiple attempts, we are having fun with the pictures. We are hoping that FUN attendees and blog readers can give us some feedback on the quality of these photos.

        

        

 

 

Releasing the Fortin Raw Web-Book Plate Coin Collection - A Host of Die Varieties

This past weekend brought the release of 13 more web-book plate coins from the Gerry Fortin die variety reference collection. A portion of the listings were a response to special requests while others were randomly selected from the over 300 piece assemblage. Each dime is carefully photographed followed by updating the current old images in The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors online reference. In most cases, the new images are a dramatic improvement over my ancient 2002-2003 era photography. Though the images were taken with the same Nikon CooPix995, the difference is due to a much more accurate color balancing among other post photography process adjustments.

Sales have been robust which is quite exciting. All of these raw dimes must find new homes at fair prices. Nearly all are shipping in their original cardboard 2x2s with my notes on the holders.

The following pieces in this gallery showcase are posted to the 30 Day Price List, some without descriptions as I worked late into Sunday to get a head of steam with respect to this releases. Once we are back from the Winter FUN show, the balance of January will be allocated to posting as many of these web-book plate coins as possible. Those that remain unsold as of the GFRC ownership transition will transfer to the new management team as a consignment. But, please do me a favor and scoop these up during the January time frame.

As of this morning, the 1853 Hubbed F-107 and 1854 Arrows F-104a dimes have been spoken for with the remaining gallery pieces being available. Please note the 1842 F-103b dime as one of my favorites for its R7 rarity and double obverse cud significance. Few are known with this example purchased during the ANR Frog Run Farm Sale held in Baltimore during November 2004. I really want this piece to go to the right die variety collector so talk to me if the price is a hurdle. I truly believe this dime is worth that number but...

 

1842 F-103b R7 Dual Rim Cuds Raw EF45+ 10C - $1350

  1854 Arrows F-104 Raw MS62 10C - $275                                         1854 Arrows F-104a Raw MS63 10C - $475

        

1853 Hubbed F-107 Raw EF45 10C - $150       1853 Hubbed F-111 Raw EF40 10C - $80         1855 F-103 Raw PCGS MS65 10C - $75

                

 

Gold and Silver on the Move

In whatever spare time that is available, I've been consuming YouTube videos prepared by the who's who of precious metal analysts. Andy Schectman (Miles Franklin CEO) said it so well, "turn off your computer in January (if you can't stomach the volatility) and return in February to find the metals much higher."

At 7:30 AM ET, spot gold is quoting at $4418, up $86, and silver is trading at $75.10, up $2.32. Andy warns that January will bring asset rebalancing by the major commodity ETF with the 2025 silver gain now being an outsized position that must be trimmed back. This will lead to rounds of selling during January. Andy is confident that we will see at least $100 silver during 2026.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings a long office day with a substantial amount of morning shipments to prepare and transport to the Venice Island post office. The afternoon brings inventory pruning prior to heading to the FUN show along with the photography of more raw web-book plate coins.

Thanks again for taking the time for today's returning visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 4, 2026

Insights into the Monroe Doctrine

Ready for the Winter FUN Show

and

Releasing More Raw Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

 

Greetings on a peaceful Sunday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for taking time for a visit.

The past 24 hours have been exciting with respect to geopolitics given the capture of Maduro and his wife. Not openly discussed in the mainstream media is that Maduro was captured within several hours of hosting a long meeting with a six person Chinese delegation during which hundreds of cooperation agreements were signed between Venezuela and China. Up until Maduro's capture, the CCP has loaned $113 billion to the communist regime for payback in oil and other asserts. This is second to only the Russians at $130 billion which explains the strategic positioning of Venezuela. I've also learned that China has installed several electronic intelligence gathering networks at Venezuela military bases. Bottom line, China and its State Owned Enterprises had made a substantial investment inside Venezuela and were planning to increase the pace. That long term strategic effort was dealt a substantial setback on Saturday morning along with Iranian, Russian and Cuban influence. Fundamentally, Maduro's arrest is the reactivation of the Monroe Doctrine.

As the Monroe Doctrine becomes increasingly referenced with respect to Venezuela, I believe it is time to provide the background behind President James Monroe's declaration. Of course, AI Copilot is an ideal vehicle for securing a concise summary as follows.

Historical Background of the Monroe Doctrine

The Global Context: Early 1820s

By the time President James Monroe delivered his message to Congress on December 2, 1823, the Western Hemisphere was undergoing a dramatic transformation:

- Latin America was breaking free from Spain and Portugal. Many nations — including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico — had recently won independence, and the U.S. formally recognized several of them in 1822.
- European powers were considering intervention. Spain and France were rumored to be contemplating efforts to recolonize or restore monarchies in Latin America.
- Russia was expanding in the Pacific Northwest. Czar Alexander I claimed sovereignty over parts of the Pacific coast and restricted foreign ships in 1821, raising U.S. concerns about imperial encroachment in the Oregon region.

This combination of events made U.S. leaders fear that the newly independent American republics might fall back under European control.

Britain’s Role — and Why the U.S. Declined a Joint Declaration

Britain, with its powerful navy, also opposed renewed European colonization — but for commercial reasons. British Foreign Minister George Canning proposed a joint U.S.–British declaration to deter European intervention. However:

- Secretary of State John Quincy Adams argued that a joint statement would limit future U.S. expansion and tie American policy to British interests.
- Adams convinced Monroe that the U.S. should make a unilateral declaration — asserting its own sphere of influence without British partnership.

This decision was pivotal. It set the tone for an independent American foreign policy.

Monroe’s 1823 Message: The Core Principles

In his annual message to Congress, Monroe laid out what became known as the Monroe Doctrine:

- The Western Hemisphere was closed to future European colonization.
- Any attempt by European powers to extend their political systems to the Americas would be viewed as a hostile act toward the United States.
- In return, the U.S. pledged not to interfere in European internal affairs or existing colonies.

This effectively drew a line between the “Old World” and the “New World,” asserting that they should remain separate spheres of influence.

Why It Mattered (Even Though the U.S. Was Weak Militarily)

At the time, the U.S. had no real navy or army capable of enforcing the doctrine. In practice, it was Britain’s naval power that deterred European intervention. But symbolically, the doctrine:

- Asserted the U.S. as the protector of the Western Hemisphere.
- Marked a major step toward American diplomatic independence.
- Became a long‑standing pillar of U.S. foreign policy, later expanded by presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.

We can now add President's Donald J. Trump to the list of those who have embraced the Monroe Doctrine whether implicitly or explicitly.

 

Ready for the Winter FUN Show

Saturday brought a long busy day in the GFRC office starting with the invoicing of all Winter FUN show lot pickups. I'm pleased to report that all orders with FUN show transfer requests are invoiced and packed for transport to Orlando on Wednesday morning. At this point in the GFRC business transition, there is no need to attend dealer day on Tuesday as my focus is to reduce owned inventory ahead of the early February ownership shift.

I do wish to be clear on one point. GFRC will be insourcing consignments at Winter FUN but those consignments will be transferred to Darrell Low and Matt Mayers during the ownership transition. Once the 2026 FUN show is concluded, the consigned inventory will be transported back to the Venice office and held until the inventory is transferred to the new ownership team. Please be aware of this fact when considering a consignment.

 

Releasing More Raw Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

At this point in time, the GFRC emphasis has shifted to processing and releasing as many Gerry Fortin web-book plate coins as possible prior to the early February business transition.

Saturday brought the photography of another seven dimes that were specifically requests by two long time Top 100 Variety collectors. A visit to the Open Set Registry should provide insights into who these individuals might be.

After the FUN show post administrative workload is accomplished, I will be focused on two primary tasks. First is releasing as many of the raw Seated dime web-book plate coins as possible throughout the month. Second is writing consignment check and zeroing out the consignment credit balances of our many consignors. This is a critical house keeping task to ensure that the new ownership team has a fresh start with the consignment portion of the GFRC business.

If wishing to gain access to any of the Seated dime web-book plate coins that are not already found in the Sales Archive, simply send me an email or text message and I will give those requests top priority.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today will find me in the GFRC office processing web-book plate coin images along with pricing these lots and loading to the 30 Day Price List. Once these are sold, the records will move in the Sales Archive which is the reason why I am working this release process on a painstaking basis. The objective is to document all sales of the web-book plate coins for the community and next generation Liberty Seated dime collectors.

And on that note, it is time to wrap up today's Daily Blog edition.

Please check back on Monday or Tuesday as Darrell Low is working on a showcase gallery of his new GFRC numismatic photography. I've seen and have provided feedback on Darrell's images. The community will be enjoying high resolution images with sharper device details that my old Nikon CoolPix995 could not provide.

Thank you again for stopping by.

Be well!

 

 

 

January 2, 2026

Releasing More Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

and

Thoughts on Silver

 

Greetings on the second day of 2026 and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for staying connected with GFRC adventures.

With the Winter FUN show arriving next week and the GFRC ownership transition due to take place during early February, my attention shifts to show preparations along with digging into the 300 or more remaining Liberty Seated dimes accumulated during years of die variety research. The FUN show preparations will be straightforward with the primary focus on invoicing lots to be picked up at the show. All of the remaining GFRC inventory will be transported and exhibited in the showcases and hopefully, there will be strong sales towards reducing the amount of consignor coins. Once the FUN show is behind us, the process of dispositioning consignor account will become the next priority. I've set as an imperative that all consignor Trading Desk credit balances will be paid prior to the ownership transition allowing Darrell and Matt to take over with clean financial books.

Processing and selling my remaining 300+ raw Liberty Seated dimes is a much more significant challenge given the amount of time required to photograph each dime, followed by pricing and loading to the 30 Day Price List. Of course, every dime that is a web-book plate coin will have its images updated accordingly in the Liberty Seated dime die variety online reference.

On New Years Day, I dug into the 2x2 boxes and retrieve six dimes for processing and to be showcased in today's Blog edition. Following is a gallery display of those six dimes. Yes, I have not updates the web-book images as of this morning but will get this done today.

All of these raw dimes will ship within their original cardboard 2x2s dating back to the time of purchase. The Fortin notes, where applicable, are located on the 2x2 holders. As of the Blog composition, the 1849-O F-104 dime (with Greer plate coin pedigree) is already spoken for.

 

Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins to Consider

1849-O RPD F-104 Raw AU53 10C - $975 (Greer Plate Coin)

      1849-O LDS F-104b Raw AU50 10C - $750                                           1865-S F-102 Raw AU55 10C - $1250    

        

1871 F-108 Raw EF45 10C - $125               1871 RPD F-106 Raw EF40 10C - $100               1871 F-114 Raw MS61 10C - $350

                

 

Thoughts on Silver

New Years Day morning was spent taking in a host of YouTube videos on the silver topic as the precious metal had a 160% run up during 2025. There are two schools of thought on YouTube. First are those in the technical chart analysis camp that cite that silver is grossly over bought and due for a correction down to $50/oz. The second camp believes that five years of supply deficits coupled with an ever increasing industrial demand will drive silver to over $100 by the middle of 2026, if not earlier.

The key question is whether to protect 2025 gains by selling current silver positions or staying the course until silver reaches triple digits. Up until January 1, that decision was not necessary as being locked into current holdings due to capital gains taxation matters. Now that 2026 is here, I must make a decision on how to handle current silver positions held via ETFs and silver mining stocks.

After carefully listening to both sides of the argument, the geopolitical concerns have not gone away. Trump is moving back to a Monroe Doctrine style of oversight for the western hemisphere as we are seeing first hand with the oil blockage of Venezuela. China has been sourcing silver concentrates and dore from several South America countries and is still shopping and offering over $80/oz for silver metal. Now that the United States has declared silver as a critical resource metal for its industrialization and military upgrade goals, South America suppliers will be enticed to keep their silver within the Americas and away from China. China, on the other hand, has implemented silver export restrictions effect yesterday to control its internal silver supply. China is the second largest silver producer in the world, but it is reported that is mines are being less productive as high grade ore is exhausted.

Finally, the silver price has been artificially suppressed for decades by western banks trading short on the COMEX and LBMA. Silver is now in a true price discovery phase based on traditional demand/supply fundamentals. The collapse of price suppression resulted from the supply deficit and growing industrial demand from the electronics industry. If Samsung is successful with its silver based EV battery technology roll out, silver demand will be unprecedented.

As of this morning, my plan is to stay the course with present silver equities. Early morning trading indicates that silver is consolidating in the low to mid $70/oz range while spot gold is nearly back to $4400.

For those in the community who are just beginning to awaken to the thought of placing monies in precious metals, my advice would be to move into gold first and avoid silver in the near term due to forecasted volatility. For physical gold and silver stackers, my recommendation is to stay the course and add on a cost averaging basis. The buying the dip strategy might be challenging during 2026 as any pullback could be short lived with timing being critical.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

That is all she wrote today. I will be in the GFRC office the entire day.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

January 1, 2026

2026 Arrives - Happy New Year

Winter FUN - GFRC at Booths 534-536

and

What's Next in Gerry's Future?

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on 2026 New Year's Day. Thank you for circling back for another edition.

As you can imagine, I'm in a low energy state this morning with a delayed Blog edition. There are roughly four plus weeks remaining at the GFRC helm and the sense of urgency to continue publishing a daily journal is waning. It is from that perspective that this edition is being created.

A new year is upon us which brings an opportunity for out with the old (the past) and in with the new (looking into the future). My enter life has been one of constantly looking forward towards new adventures and today is no different. Sure I can go back through the 2025 Daily Blog archives and providing a running summary of GFRC auction accomplishments as content. Yes, 2025 was a great year as the auction sale of the Fortin core Liberty Seated Dime collection was executed with top prices realized for long off the market gems. I worked diligently to market and sell the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection along with the Massachusetts Liberty Seated Dime and Tenafly CAC Approved Collections fully knowing that 2025 would be my final year of operation. Other consignors were also supported with nearly all seeing strong sales throughout the year.

I'm thoroughly proud of these accomplishments as taking care of those who supported the GFRC business for years was paramount for a beautiful closure.

So what does early 2026 bring in terms of the GFRC transition to the new ownership structure?

The first milestone is the forthcoming Winter FUN show that takes place January 7-10 in Orlando, Florida. This will be the final time that Diane and I will be managing the GFRC business at a major coin show. I'm heading into this event with a party mentality as a substantial table assistant presence will be on hand to celebrate the outgoing administration. In attendance will be my long time gold partner Dan White along with Rich Hundertmark from GFRC-Lite. Rich will be allocated several cases to market his offerings given the reduced amount of GFRC inventory. Also joining the Winter FUN party is my good buddy Blake Gibb who has become a more recent table assistant and fellow sports car enthusiast. Finally, this will be an opportunity for the GFRC community to meet the forthcoming owners Darrell Low and Matt Mayers. We will be insourcing consignments on behalf of Darrell and Matt at the show. At this point, I will not be insourcing consignments for the Fortin administration given the short time remaining before the ownership transition. My focus shifts to dispositioning existing consignments on a client by client basis until the ownership transition date.

Following is the Winter FUN show bourse floor map, a huge assemblage of the who's who in numismatics.

Winter FUN - GFRC at Booths 534-536

 

What's Next in Gerry's Future?

2026 is already shaping up to be a busy year with many personal plans on the horizon.

The winter and early spring months brings several holiday trips including attending the ANA Spring Money show as a collector while spending several days touring Savannah, GA. March will bring a Porsche drive to Key West. During January through early April, my focus will be on preparing remaining Seated dime web-book plate coins for updating images at The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors online reference and offering those for sale via GFRC-Lite or the new GFRC ownership team.

Come April, I am driving the Porsche 718 Boxster back to Maine in a leisurely manner and being on site for replacement of the homestead furnace. Once May arrives, I will be heavily focused on back acreage park enhancements. Those enhancements include a new bisecting trail that will also act as a construction path for Dave Wilkinson's excavator down to the pond for an expansion effort. The balance of the trails will be beautified with wood chips and cutting down small trees that render Polaris UTV driving a bit unsafe at high speeds.

A decision has been made to name the back acreage park as the Fortin Family Park with each trail segment being named after one of the grandchildren. Renee will be designing signage for the trail names along with a large trail map at the entrance area. Also in the plans is a 35' flag pole that will be installed with the help of Matt and others during the early July family retreat gathering.

Finally, there are plans to reconnect with high power model rocketry and to begin flying again with CMASS, the Central Massachusetts Spacemodeling Society.

I'm expecting the summer and fall months of 2026 to pass by quickly given the Maine homestead aspirations and my love for being outdoors.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Well, I hope that you've enjoyed this New Year's Day Blog edition though it was publishing a tad later than normal. Frankly, what is the hurry on a holiday as I'm in a contemplation mood for 2026 and the many new initiatives that I hope to take on now that the GFRC business demands are off my shoulders.

Diane and I wish the entire GFRC community a Happy New Year!

Be well!

 

 

December 31, 2025

2025 Comes to a Close with a Fortin Dinner Party

2026 Year of the Fire Horse

and

Early Silver Commemorative Lot is Sold!

 

Greetings on the final day of 2025 and welcome to yet another Daily Blog edition. We appreciate the ongoing readership during the 2025 calendar year.

My final day of 2025 started like any other day. I was up at 4:30 AM and checked in on emails, the precious metals market, and national news before preparing breakfast. Breakfast has become a standard exercise with two sunny side up eggs, cinnamon, and cheese coupled with a protein, mushroom, and a touch of seasoned black beans for flavoring. Yes, I grow up eating beans in a French Canadian environment where beans where prepared in a pressure cooker every Saturday. Leftovers would last for several days into the week. So I've never lost may taste for beans though the guts does complain loudly at times.

The Fortins are hosting a New Years Eve dinner party this evening at the Venice condo. Attending will be Jan and Pam, the Southern Belles. Venice weather is moving through a cold seasonal spell so the party will be staged indoors with the usual great southern dishes from our Virginia based neighbors and a slow cooked prime rib main dish by Diane. Since being the only male at the party, I will be smiling a lot and handling the bar duties and evening background music.

 

2026 Year of the Fire Horse

In just 24 hours, I will be composing the first 2026 Blog edition for what could be a turbulent year. Per the Chinese calendar, Lunar New year arrives on February 17 and is the year of the Fire Horse. The year of the Fire Horse is significant and occurs once every 60 years, when the Horse year aligns with the Fire element. The year is historically known for being unusually intense, powerful, and disruptive; far more than a typical Horse year. To further elaborate on a Fire Horse year, let's check in with AI Copilot for the significance.

A Year of Intense Energy, Bold Action, and Rapid Change

Fire amplifies the Horse’s natural traits — speed, ambition, independence, and dynamism — creating a year associated with:
• Breakthroughs and innovation
• Fast-moving decisions and bold initiatives
• Social, technological, and cultural shifts
Think of it as a “full‑throttle” year where hesitation disappears and momentum takes over.

Historically Considered Volatile or Unpredictable

Traditional Chinese astrology views the Fire Horse as unusually fiery — sometimes too fiery.
• It can bring conflict, upheaval, or instability if energy is mismanaged.
• It’s seen as a year where events move quickly and unpredictably.
This reputation is so strong that in some East Asian cultures, birth rates drop during Fire Horse years because Fire Horse women were historically believed to be too strong‑willed or unlucky for family life. (This belief is cultural, not factual — but it shows how powerful the symbolism is.)

A Year of Opportunity and Economic Confidence

Modern interpretations emphasize the upside:
• Horse years often correlate with optimism and economic growth.
• The 2026 Fire Horse year is associated with strong investor confidence, especially tied to technological advancement and AI.
So while the energy is intense, it can be highly productive.

Symbolism of the Horse in Chinese Culture

The Horse represents:
• Vitality and perseverance
• Success and swift achievement — captured in the idiom 马到成功 (“success arrives instantly”)
• Leadership and independence
Fire adds passion, creativity, and assertiveness.

I still continue to be a constant China watcher given my years working and living in mainland China among Taiwanese colleagues. Lei's Real Talk, on YouTube, has become a steady source of detailed information concerning China internal politics. Presently, CCP Chairman Xi is losing control of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) given a 2025 year long purge of nearly 70% of the PLA generals, most being Xi loyalists. The current PLA military exercises surrounding Taiwan are nothing but bluster as the Chinese armed forces are in leadership disarray. 2026 could be the year that Chairman Xi is deposed by a growing faction who do not support his handling of the Chinese economy and a goal for Taiwan reunification at all costs.

I'm also expecting volatility in the precious metals market given the potential for significant geopolitical issues to erupt. Just yesterday, it was learned that the Saudis and UAE are at odds in Yemen with the Saudis bombing a UAE military shipment upon arriving to its Yemen faction. Who could have seen this conflict erupting within Arab neighbors.

 

Early Silver Commemorative Lot is Sold!

I'm pleased to report that the early silver commemoratives featured in yesterday's Blog have been sold as a single lot. These eight pieces are now posted on the 30 Day Price List with their individual sale prices. Unfortunately, there are no supporting images but I did my best to capture each lot's vital characteristics in the long description.

 

GFRC Trades 1867 PCGS MS67 CAC Dime for Gold

Yesterday also brought the arrival of a lovely five piece United States gold trade lot against the purchase of the 1867 PCGS MS67 CAC Liberty Seated dime from the Fortin core set collection. Actually, this was the final dime in my collection to find a caring home and a fitting way to close out 2025. Let's remember that this is the finest known 1867 dime on record at CAC. Unfortunately, the trade gold coins will not be heading to the price list, rather moving directly into my gold hoard given the belief of higher precious metal prices come 2026. The gold hoard has become an alternate savings account that pays a higher return than traditional CDs or bonds.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I had planned to discuss the forthcoming 2026 Winter FUN show and GFRC bourse floor booth location but will touch upon this topic in tomorrow's edition along with some 2025 highlights. Yes, 2025 was a strong GFRC sales year given several six figure auction sales and the ultimate sale of the business to the next generation collectors.

Today will be another office day and hopefully some new listings will be posted to the 30 Day Price List.

Thank you, as always, for the return visit and Happy New Year!

Be well!

 

 

 

December 30, 2025

A Notable Early Silver Commemorative Lot Arrives!

and

Precious Metals Selloff and Recovery

 

Greetings once again from the Venice GFRC office and welcome back to the Daily Blog. Thank you for checking in.

The year ending holiday season continues with New Year's Eve arriving tomorrow. Monday brought a recovery day in the GFRC with a substantial amount of shipping followed by organizing incremental orders and dealing with yet another USPS lost package situation. The post Christmas order rate is quite strong as all denominations are under demand. Towards the end of the day, an 8 piece early silver commemorative lot, from the Evergreen State Collection, arrived and was quickly processed, priced, and ready for quotation. This wonderful lots includes gem 1900 Lafayette, 1928 Hawaiian, 1922 Grant Star, and 1935 Spanish Trail offerings. Here is a desktop lot image taken this morning for illustration. The side lighting has washed out the 1900 Lafayette and is far from a true reflection of this coin's beauty.

As usual, clicking on the below image provides access to a higher resolution version for closer inspection.

 

A long time GFRC client has requested first shot for the entire lot with a pricing quotation going out to this individual by noon time. Frankly, the ability to source eight quality silver commemoratives, including key dates, is an opportunity that should be carefully considered and acted upon.

 

Precious Metals Selloff and Recovery

The precious metals have seen significant price increases during the pre-Christmas rally.

Monday brought a much needed correction as silver, platinum, and palladium prices were moving into the parabolic stage. Silver receded from $79/oz and closed down $7 to $72. Platinum and palladium dropped between 15-20% with gold holding ground the best with only a 4% pullback. When prices for metals or stocks move into the parabolic stage, the issue is momentum traders who pile in and will sell off out at a moments' notice. This was certainly the case for the platinum and palladium metals.

Silver is attracting much attention given its deficit supply situation and China restricting any silver exports effective January 1, 2026. The long and short of the situation is that there is not enough above ground silver to meet both industrial demands and growing investment requirements. China is a huge industrial user of the metal and is frantically working in South America countries to locate direct mine purchase opportunities. The fact that Trump has placed a blockade on Venezuela oil shipments bound for China has certainly spooked the CCP in terms of sourcing silver concentrate or "dore" from traditional Latin America suppliers. If Trump can block oil shipments, he could also block silver metal shipments towards keeping silver supply for United States industrial and military usage.

Presently, a pricing gap of up to 10% has emerged between the COMEX/LBMA and Shanghai exchanges with the China price being higher given physical delivery potential.

In the background are the major bullion banks who have been shorting silver and gold for their trading desk books. When I use the term "bullion bank", this is not some obscure market player, but rather the likes of JP Morgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and others. Monday's 10% silver drop in western markets was most likely orchestrated for the bullion banks to secure some physical supply to close out their short positions with the least financial damage possible. Indeed, the precious metal markets are full of intrigue that could be beyond the comprehension of most who do not understand the operations within these opaque markets.

As of 7:30 AM, the precious metals are in recovery mode with gold back to $4400/oz and silver climbing to $75.50. Platinum is up 5%+ with palladium being the only beaten down metal to not secure any love at this point.

2026 will prove to be another exciting year for precious metals as we will easily see $100 silver and $5000 gold as the friction between the United States and China continues to ramp. United States HIMAR sales to Taiwan will force China to blockade the island just as Trump has issued a blockade of Venezuela oil bound for China. The situation could escalate quickly.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

I will be in the GFRC Venice office the entire day with morning shipping followed by processing New Jersey Collection Barber quarter and Fortin reference collection dime images. There will also be focus on closing a deal for the previously showcased early silver commemorative lot. Please feel free to email or call into the offer for potential purchases prior to our inventory being made available next week at Winter FUN.

As always, we appreciate your daily visit.

Be well!

 

 

December 29, 2025

A Wonderful Fortin Family Christmas Retreat in Maine

 

Greetings from the Venice GFRC office and welcome back to the Daily Blog. As always, your readership is appreciated.

OK, the cat is out of the bag or said another way, it is time for some transparency...

Diane and I hosted a fantastic Fortin family retreat at the Maine homestead during the past week. Naturally, I could not openly discuss the shift in living venue for Christmas given the GFRC business and ongoing security needs. Of course, this challenge will end in the matter of five weeks once GFRC inventory is transferred to Darrell Low and Matt Mayers.

Our Maine retreat started on Sunday December 21 with a direct Sarasota to Portland Maine flight arriving early enough in the day to prepare the homestead for eight guests. Diane had previously decorated our home with Christmas stockings and a lovely Christmas tree along with some presents prior to the transition to Florida. Upon arriving to Maine, there was no snow for the grandchildren to go sliding since a rain storm and high temperatures had melted the snow on Friday. Not to worry as a major snowstorm was due on Tuesday into Wednesday! Grocery shopping and large meal preparations consumed the balance of the Sunday.

Monday arrived with Renee, Mike, Ivy, and Miles flying into Boston's Logan airport from Austin. I just could not bring myself to drive down to Boston to conduct a pickup, rather using Maine Limousine services to transport our first guests to the homestead.

Tuesday was quite busy on multiple fronts. The homestead oil furnace failed that morning with water all over the basement floor. Luckily, we were heating with the wood stove and Atlantic Heating sent a technician in the matter of hours to replace a pressure regulating vessel that had developed a leak. Our furnace is now quite old and becoming prone to more failures. This fact is incongruent with the Fortins spending winters in Florida and counting on a reliable furnace to protect our home from cold Maine winters. Come April or May, the furnace will be replaced with a larger unit as a quote has already been received.

A substantial snowstorm also arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Matt, Chikae, Natsumi, and Ayumi were traveling to Maine via train and due at 6:00 PM. My role was to drive in a snowstorm to retrieve them. Since not having driven in a snow for a number of years, there was a bit of brain memory required for handing a vehicle in the middle of a snowstorm given the precious cargo.

Wednesday brought Christmas Eve with the snow continuing to pile up to about a foot or more. The grandchildren were able to go sliding down the hill with our neighbors while Matt and I forged a path through the back acreage trails with the Polaris UTV. There was driveway shoveling after the plow guy did his thing. Everyone had their roles or opportunities to play while enjoying being snowed in with a warm wood stove raging. I also signed off from writing a Blog for the balance of the week as I could no longer hide the fact that we were in Maine and not Florida. It was best to go silent and enjoy time with family.

Friday brought a huge precious metal rally with silver peaking at $79/oz though I remained quiet. As of Monday 7:00 AM, a heavy round of selling is now underway with a long overdue correction in progress. Gold is down to $4452 and silver is a tad under $75. Platinum and palladium are also down double digits on a percentage basis.

Saturday brought an early morning departure of our guests, again via a Maine Limousine service van that brought Renee and family to Logan airport and Matt and his family back to their Brookline Boston home. After their departure, the balance of the day was spent cleaning the homestead and packing all the Christmas decorations. By evening time, Diane and I were exhausted.

Sunday brought a return flight to Sarasota with some unpacking and grocery shopping followed by an early to bed for recovery.

So here we are on Monday morning with a host of GFRC orders arriving in the past 24 hours along with a large amount of shipping to process followed by transport to the Venice Island post office.

Come next week, the 2026 Winter FUN show will be final bourse event in our long tenure as GFRC owners and operators.

At this point, the readership knows the entirety of our lives during the past week. There was no time for Blog content creation and frankly no desire. The end of a decade plus journey is rapidly coming to an end with a host of ideas for what comes next. In the meantime, I will be back in the office this week working through orders, check processing, and lot shipments.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 24, 2025

Merry Christmas from the GFRC Staff!

and

GFRC 2026 Show and Auction Schedule

 

Greetings on Christmas Eve and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for staying connected with our GFRC business and Fortin family happenings throughout the past year.

The end of year holidays are upon us with Christmas being an opportunity for annual family gatherings and the associated special memories. As grandparents, there is joy in having the Fortin clan assembled in one location and seeing how quickly the grandchildren grow up. Natsumi (12) is the oldest of the four and as tall as Diane while Ivy (6), the second oldest, is a tiny and delicate little girl for her age. Miles and Ayumi, born within several months of each other, are now close to 3 years old. Each brings their special personalities and energies to a family gathering.

Diane and I wish to extend a heart felt Merry Christmas to every GFRC client and their families given our final months of GFRC stewardship. Bringing together a host of passionate numismatists into a focused community is one of the outcomes that we are most proud of.

But time never stops along with inevitable change that seems to accelerate by the year. In today's Blog, we are featuring the 2026 GFRC show and auction schedule as assembled by Darrell Low. Talk about a role reversal as I will being doing my best to attend these shows as a table assistant and a born again collector. This time around, the focus will be outside of Liberty Seated coinage as there are a host of monetary genres to pursue. Given my Chinese Panda silver and gold accumulation from years working in the Shanghai area, this is a logical place to assess holdings and determine if I wish to pursue a more comprehensive collection of these numismatic and precious metal items. 2026 will be a year to assess, reflect, and alter the focus.

OK, enough of being reflective. Let's move forward with Darrell Low's email that arrived last evening announcing the forthcoming 2026 GFRC event schedule.

 

GFRC 2026 Show and Auction Schedule

Hi Gerry,

Here is the show and auction schedule that we are committing to for 2026. We are open to considering another show later in the year, especially if we are able to get a booth at the Long Beach show.

Winter FUN: Thursday, January 8 – Saturday, January 10
March Baltimore: Thursday, March 5 – Saturday, March 7
Central States: Thursday, April 23 – Saturday, April 25

GFRC Auction: after Central States show

June Baltimore: Thursday, June 11 – Saturday, June 13
Pittsburgh ANA: Tuesday, August 25 – Saturday, August 29

GFRC Auction: after ANA show

Fall Baltimore: Thursday, November 12 – Saturday, November 14
Manchester, New Hampshire: Thursday, December 3 – Saturday, December 5

With regard to the transition planning, there are a lot of smaller logistical things we are working on. We are still debugging smaller issues on the test website that Gerry has been working with us on.  It is looking good that we can do a full feature test on the test bed website very soon. Collectors have reached out to Matt and me regarding auction consignments and outright collection purchases.  We think customers will be pleasantly surprised with the 150+ coins that we have acquired so far in preparation for the transition. 

As a reminder, Matt and I will be continuing with the Daily Blog after the transition occurs which should be fun and entertaining. We already have a sizable want list from a good number of collectors. Our email address that Blog readers can contact both of us is 212collect@gmail.com. Matt and I wish everyone a happy holiday season and look forward to meeting many of you at the FUN show.

Regards, Darrell

 

A Quick Note on the Monetary Metals

The monetary metal rally continued during the overnight hours with gold breaking above the $4500 mark in Hong Kong trading. The current quote at 7:45 AM ET is $4493. Silver continues to steam ahead with trading at the $72.30 level. Platinum is the near term rally leader and now quoting at $2323. Just a few days ago, it was below $2000.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As mentioned yesterday, I've decided to take a well deserved vacation and will not be posting Daily Blog content until Monday December 29. The time has come to begin easing into a new paradigm with a less structured life. I'm so looking forward to the possibility of being out in the back acreage at 7:00 AM come the summer months with Johnny2, and working on major park expansion projects. The pond expansion will be one of the top priorities along with adding a bisecting trail to further expand the walking paths. Another example is a common weed called "purslane" that will be planted in the remaining cleared area that has not been covered with wood chips. Purslane is an annual succulent plant that is nutrient-dense leafy green and one of the best sources of omega-3. This plant grows into a dense mat and crowds other vegetation. A large patch could be a food source in an emergency. Additionally, a tall flagpole will be added this summer to give the park an official appearance. Fun with flags could be a new pursuit. Diane and our daughter Renee are toying with the idea of naming the trail segments after the grandchildren and creating signage for marking the trails. How cool is that?

I've ramble enough at this point as the summer months are already coming into focus and how the back acreage will continue to be developed into a truly special local for family visits.

Thank you for making time to visit with the Fortins on Christmas Eve.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 23, 2025

Gold Approaching $4500

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Christmas week Tuesday morning. Thanks for the visit.

Just a quick notice that Wednesday morning's Blog will be the last to be published this week. Holiday time off from the GFRC business is warranted and deserved given that my tenure at the GFRC helm is down to roughly six weeks. The operational transition to Darrell Low and Matt Mayers is making excellent progress as we are in constant contact on website debug matters along with preparing for Winter FUN and the eventually inventory transition come early February.

Today's edition will again touch upon the precious metals market and the current rally that maintains strong legs.

All that is being shared on the precious metals topic is not meant as financial advice. Rather, the sharing is a case of transparency. I am discussing personal research and an investment journey for readership contemplation. Each day, multiple precious metal industry analysts and professionals are studied via written and YouTube presentations. Essentially, this has become my new passion now that the Fortin Liberty Seated Dime collection has been completely liquidated and the monies invested into the precious metals and mining equities.

The research centers on listening to a host of analysts and determining which are deemed credible based on this professional backgrounds and analytical methods. Those that I have found to be the most insightful on this topic include Vince Lanci (GoldFix), Andy Schectman (Miles Franklin Bullion), Andrew Maguire (Kenesis), and Michael Oliver (Momentum Structural Analysis) as each brings their unique perspectives and foresights. It goes without saying that the Kitco website is the place to be for the most comprehensive information on the precious metals sector and mining stocks.

 

Gold Approaching $4500

The precious metal market rally continued unabated on Monday as all metals rose in tandem. Will this rally continue through end of year taking us to levels beyond most forecasts?

As usual, my day started early with breakfast in front of the laptop while checking in on overseas metals trading. Gold was of keen interest given Andrew Maguires year end forecast of $4500/oz. Throughout 2025, Andrew has been spot on with his quarterly forecasts. The reason this presently matters is that Andrew has ventured a $6000 forecast for the end of Q2'2026.

During the overnight, gold reached $4498/oz and is quoting at $4890 at 7:10 AM ET. Surely, we will crack the $4500 mark today.

Silver is also poised to break through the $70 mark as trading is only $0.38 off that level.

Platinum has begun its acceleration phase closing at $2123 yesterday and again up another 2.5% this morning. Did you know that 70% of the global platinum supply is mined in South Africa with Russia a distance second?

Let's step back for a moment to consider gold's long term pricing potential.

At the beginning of 2025, gold was priced at $2700/oz, and with a probably close at $4500. Using round numbers, that is a 67% increase. Analysts are now forecasting $5000 to $6000 gold by the end of 2026. Those numbers might appear to be staggering but on a percentage basis, they are not. $5000 gold would only be an 11% increase and $6000 gold would result in a 33% increase. After the 2025 rally and the underlying geopolitical root cause plus incremental inflation, a number between $5000 to $6000 does not appear to be unreasonable. If gold were to increase at the same level as as 2025, this calculates into a $7500 level.

Is it too late to add gold to a personal wealth profile? I think not...

My gut feel is that platinum could provide some serious gains during the coming year given the jurisdiction limitations. What do I mean by jurisdiction limitations? Said plainly, the world's platinum supply originates from the BRICS' South Africa and Russia, neither of which have cordial relationships with the U.S. and EU.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Given the holiday week, I am in s slow motion mood and working through some GFRC image processing at a slower pace. Orders continue to arrive and are being responded too.

That is all she wrote for today. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well and Happy Holidays!

 

 

December 22, 202

The Precious Metal Rally Continues - Platinum Accelerates

 

Greetings on a Christmas week 2025 Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We are glad that you've returned for another edition.

Yes indeed, Christmas will soon be upon us with many traveling for the holidays per long established traditions. The winter season adds travel complexities due to unpredictable weather, crowded flights, and the opportunity to catch some type of flu when it contact with many surrounding people. This is the reality of the season. For those taking to the highways, please be careful as a subset of drivers will be carrying an incremental amounts of holiday season stress with tight schedules. Of course, the ongoing usage of cellphones while driving cannot be legislated out of existence as there are still those among us that have minimal respect for laws or basic common sense.

There is no new numismatic content for today's Blog as Sunday was what it should be, a day off from work. Rather let's focus on what appears to be a generational change with precious metals returning to their long established status as money. I don't believe that a long recital on how civilization for centuries has regarded gold and silver as a fundamental medium of exchange. Paper script or "fiat" is a modern invention that replaced precious metals when it becomes unavailable or politically impractical. Take for example the fractional currency issued by the Union government during the Civil War when physical currency was hoarded to the point of being unavailable to sustain local commerce.

One of the first steps of every morning, upon awaking, is checking the Kitco website for overnight precious metal trading and the "numbers". We've been experiencing a strong precious metals rally with 2026 forecasts for the rally to continue to increasing heights. There are insufficient physical precious metals to support the migration from fiat to a precious metals based financial system. The value of precious metals have been suppressed for decades by governments through their banking proxies. Now those governments are losing control and metal are moving towards fair value levels within a massive global economy. Once this realization sets in, the fear of a sharp correction dissipates.

This morning's Kitco review was stark with a key indicator. Platinum and palladium are up over 5% with platinum now trading at $2077/oz. I've seen mentions of platinum being in a supply deficit similar to silver. A quick check with AI Copilot brought the following insights.

Current Estimates of Above‑Ground Physical Platinum Stocks

World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) – Most Credible Source

WPIC’s latest supply–demand outlook indicates:

• The platinum market has been in deficit since 2023, with a record 1,071 koz deficit in 2023 and another 353 koz deficit forecast for 2024.

• These multi‑year deficits are drawing down above‑ground stocks and are expected to continue through at least 2027.

Estimated Size of Above‑Ground Stocks

A recent analysis (Stansberry Research summarizing WPIC data) states:

• If current deficits persist, global above‑ground platinum stocks will shrink to “just over 2 million ounces”.

• That level would cover only ~3 months of global demand.

This aligns with WPIC’s warning that above‑ground stocks may be depleted by 2028 if deficits continue at projected levels.

ETF Holdings (Physically Backed)

Physically backed platinum ETFs currently hold:

• ~3.2 million ounces of platinum metal.

However, this metal is not freely available unless prices rise above the weighted average cost of ETF holders (~$1,100/oz), meaning ETFs will not liquidate at current prices.

Bottom line, few have been paying attention to the platinum supply/demand situation as the primary focus has been centered on gold and silver. For those with interest in a platinum ETF, I am presently invested in PPLT and PALL for palladium. The substiture for platinum is typical palladium, therefore both metals should perform in a similar manner.

Spot gold is currently trading at $4410, up nearly $70/oz while silver was briefly trading above $69/oz this morning. Forecasts for $5000 gold and $100 silver become more credible by the day.

I will be in the GFRC office for most of the day processing images for the remaining New Jersey Collection Barber quarters and another tranche of raw Liberty Seated dimes from the Fortin reference collection.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Be well!

 

 

December 20, 202

A Quick GFRC Update

 

Greetings on a Saturday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Welcome back for another edition.

So what is new with respect to the GFRC price lists?

Yesterday brought the sale of two important Liberty Seated dimes. We are pleased to report that both the Massachusetts Collection 1866-S PCGS MS64 CAC dime and the Gerry Fortin core set 1867 PCGS MS67 CAC dime, the finest known, found new homes in advanced collections being formed. What was amazing is that I received two orders for the 1867 dime within 24 hours after this piece has been residing on the price list since the summer months. This is a lesson to consignors that sometimes it takes time for a great coin to find a buyer. Special or nearly unique coin have inelastic demand, in other words, they do not response to a small amount of discounting rather needing the right buyer to appear.

Following are images of these two VERY important Liberty Seated dimes. A sincere congratulations goes out to the new owners.

   1866-S F-101 PCGS MS64 CAC 10C - $12,000                                 1867 F-102 PCGS MS67 CAC 10C - $17,500    

        

 

The other news is that I've gone ahead and posted the 1839-O F-108 (Huge O) and F-108a (Huge O late die state) web-book plate coins to the 30 Day Price List. New images have been prepared and posted within the Liberty Seated die variety reference in parallel. Following are those two lots that are now free agents and readily available.

Fortin 1839-O F-108 and F-108a Huge O Dimes

Web-Book Plate Coins

      1839-O F-108 Raw 10C - $550                                                  1839-O F-108a Raw 10C - $3250    

        

These image have also been provided to Paul Gilkes at Coin World for a planned feature article on the 1839-O Reverse of 1838 Liberty Seated dime. The new designation for the traditional "Huge O" is now Reverse of 1838. Since my Coin World monthly magazine takes forever to be forwarded to Florida, I am unsure if this article has already been published or not.

So ends today's Blog edition. There will be no Daily Blog on Sunday morning as I am taking the day off.

Thank you as always for the return visit.

Be well!

 

 

December 19, 202

Who Would Have Thought?

 

Greetings and welcome to a short Daily Blog edition on a Friday morning. Thanks for stopping by.

Honestly, I'm to the point where composing the Daily Blog has become a chore with thoughts of how I could be spending morning hours focused in other areas of a life. Out of routine, I show up for this "job" in support of those who will regularly visit, many of you providing feedback on how the Daily Blog will be missed once I'm retired. It will be up to Darrell and Matt to take over the reins....

So here we are on a Friday morning with nothing prepared for today's edition. Let's go with one thought for the day towards framing we are headed in terms of personal finances and wealth. However, we also must remember that health trumps all else when moving into our 70s.

 

Who Would Have Thought?

An ounce of silver is presently trading at $65.89. A lowly ounce of silver in the form of of a common silver round, an American Eagle, a Maple Leaf or close to an ounce within a Morgan dollar.

A barrel of WTI oil is presently trading at $56.36. A barrel of oil will produce 42 gallons of #2 fuel oil to heat a home during the winter months. Most of us with oil furnaces have 250 gallon tanks in the basement.

Isn't amazing that an ounce of silver is now more valuable than a barrel of crude oil? Who would have thought that the utility value of one ounce of silver would be more important than a barrel of crude oil? Of course economics and the supply/demand situation are at work. Silver is a metal with high utility for electrification, batteries, and power generation.

Have you heard that Samsung is funding the restart of the La Parilla Silver Mine Complex in Canada with $7.0 million financing and will be guaranteed two years of supply?

For those who are unaware, Samsung is developing new solid state battery technology that has reached the pilot line production. AI Copilot reports the following when asked for an update.

Samsung’s solid‑state EV battery—announced at SNE Battery Day 2024—has reached commercial pilot‑line production and is now being tested by automakers. Key specs:

• Up to 600‑mile range per charge

• 80% recharge in ~9 minutes

• 20‑year lifespan (far beyond today’s Li‑ion)

• Energy density ~500 Wh/kg, nearly double mainstream EV batteries

This is enabled by an oxide solid electrolyte and a silver‑carbon (Ag‑C) composite anode layer, which replaces the flammable liquid electrolyte and improves conductivity,

Silver Demand: Why This Technology Is a Big Deal

The silver angle is not hype—Samsung’s design explicitly uses a silver‑carbon composite anode.

Estimated Silver Use per Battery

Analysts cited in the search results estimate:

• ~5 grams of silver per cell

• A 100 kWh EV pack (~200 cells) → ~1 kilogram of silver per vehicle (~32 ounces of silver)

If the Samsung technology is fully proven and accepted in the marketplace, the demand for silver will be enormous with today's $66/ounce valuation being just a mile post marker in its valuation history. Industrial demand will spike prices which will further elevate investment demand. The Gold/Silver ratio could drop back into the 30 range which implies $150/ounce valuation given today's ~$4400 gold price.

Who would have thought?

And on that note, let's wrap up today's Blog edition. Remember to invest wisely...

Thanks for the visit and be well.

 

 

December 18, 202

Must Watch for the Daily Blog Readership

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. We continue to appreciate the ongoing readership.

Today's edition will be brief in terms of composition. After cooking breakfast and starting my daily YouTube check-in routine, an interview of Vince Lanci by Michelle Makori, for Miles Franklin's Real Story channel, was watched and absorbed. Frankly, this interview was one of the most informative seen in terms of BRICS UNIT settlement currency development status and the implications for global finance. Let's face the reality that globalization is now dead. The world is fragmenting into sub regions leading to an accelerating weakening of the U.S. dollar and the SWIFT system for global transactions. The term being used is a multi-polar world. We've heard for years that dedollarization is underway. This is now a fact as major eastern countries are developing and implementing financial systems to conduct cross border trade without conversion into the U.S. dollar. This week, Russia has sued the European company Euroclear given European leaders are planning to use the stolen Russian funds parked in Euroclear as directly loans to the Ukraine to pay for military hardware.

The globe has moved into Cold War 2.0, an economic war centered on trade and commodities. Gold and silver prices continues to rise as a result as the world order is returning to monetary metals when sovereign countries no longer trust each other. The implications for gold and silver prices are profound as there are no counter party risks when holding physical metals.

I'm strongly recommending that you take one hour out of a single day to watch the discussion between Michelle Makori and Vince Lanci. The content is an amalgamation of a host of interview videos seen in the past month where each offers a snippet of information. The Vince Lanci interview consolidates all those bit and pieces into a concise discussion of the BRICS UNIT roll out, the push for major countries to have their citizen own gold, and how the United States will/is countering the BRICS dedollarization effort. The discussion also touches upon gold revaluation and where gold is heading in terms of valuation in U.S. dollar.

Here is the link to the Vince Lanci interview by Michelle Makori. If you own gold as a store of wealth, then this video is a must watch event. If you are late to the party with gold or silver ownership, this video may just be enough to push you towards a first step towards precious metals ownership. We are in the midst of a period of global generational change and those who are current with those shifts will benefit, or at minimum hold their purchasing power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvQt5lT6ziQ

The Kitco website is down hard this morning, therefore I went to goldprice.org to secure precious metal prices per London trading. Gold is quoting at $4322 with silver at $66.12 at 7:25 AM ET.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

We will probably ship a few more orders today, however I am at the point of not wishing to risk placing expensive numismatic items into the USPS system during the final Christmas rush. If planning to make a GFRC purchase, please understand that I reserve the right to stop ship aheads and hold shipments until after Christmas. The last thing we desire during our final month of GFRC ownership is yet another lost shipment insurance claim.

Thank you for today's visit, and seriously please watch the Michelle Makori and Vince Lanci video through the end. It will be one of the best time investments of 2025.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 17, 202

Easing Into Retirement - A Day for Myself

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Wednesday morning. Thank you for checking in.

After working at the GFRC business for over a decade and being available for coin sales seven days per week, the upcoming business transition to Darrell and Matt is approaching with much anticipation. Yesterday brought a command decision to start sampling what retirement might be like. It was decided to not compose a Blog edition followed by taking a day off with only an hour sitting at the laptop responding to email orders.

How freshing this decision was! What did I do instead?

Thanks to Tom Couloumbe (Massachusetts Collection), I was given a copy of 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a fantastic read of the 1929 Wall Street market crash. This book details how the major banking and industrial elites of that era lived lives with copious consumption and believed that they were on the right course for the United States by fueling a stock market bubble with debt. Yes, the elites were convinced that empowering the average citizen with margin debt would raise living standards across the United States while lining their pockets with enormous fortunes. The industrial era of that time was replete with investment opportunities including car manufacturing, radio, the entertainment industry, and more productive farming equipment. The leaders of major companies worked with high flying NYC bankers to promote their stocks to unrealistic valuation. In the end, many average citizens lost their life savings to the greed of Wall Street bankers.

As I sat most of the day reading 1929 to the point of the stock market crack during October 24-29, there was an eerie feeling concerning the parallels with the present stock market including the AI boom, Bitcoin, and over $1 trillion dollars of margin loans that are fueling the current S&P 500 level. Though not as extreme as 1929, the parallels are still obvious. The top 10% of United States citizens are driving the present stock market rally while the balance of the country does their best to make ends meet with small retirement savings.

I'm presently half way through the book and looking forward to reading how the stock market debacle paved the way for the Great Depression.

Email orders have been responded to so please don't worry that I am ignoring this important part of the GFRC business.

 

Silver Trading a Tad Shy of $66/oz

The precious metals continue to rally as we head to year end. As the Blog is being composed, silver is trading a few cents shy of $66/oz while gold is consolidating between $4300 - $4350. Platinum and palladium are also participating in the current rally with platinum now poised to regain the $2000 level not seen in a decade or more. Both are industrial metals primarily associated with the automotive industry and fell from grace during the EV push. Obviously, EV do not require catalytic converters. Now that the EV adoption rate has faltered and automotive firms are moving back to hybrids and regular gas engines, the demand for these metals is on the rise. I've seen reports that above ground platinum stocks are nil due to the sharp price drop starting in the Covid era (2019-2020) followed by the EV push via the Green New Deal. When prices collapse, mining stops.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today bring a decent amount of morning shipping followed by spending the afternoon in the office. If my day goes as planned, a few more new lots will be posted to the 30 Day Price List. So far, the New Jersey Collection Barber quarters and Seated dollars are selling well.

Thank you for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 16, 202

Taking a Daily Blog Break, See You Tomorrow

 

 

December 15, 202

New Jersey Collection's

PCGS OGH Liberty Seated Dollars to Consider!

 

Greetings on an early Monday morning and welcome back to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the visit.

Sunday brought a long day in the GFRC office whereby I kept my morning commitments. The New Jersey Collection Seated dollars are now posted to the price list along with five more raw Seated dimes from my reference collection. The following was posted on Sunday afternoon once the Seated dollars were ready for prime time. So far, the 1843 dollar has found and new home with the 1854 and 1873 pieces continuing to be free agents.

Posted just 14 hours ago.....

Greetings and welcome back to the Daily Blog on a Sunday afternoon. I've been diligently working in the office with the New Jersey Collection's Liberty Seated dollars heading to the 30 Day Price List shortly. These will be posted immediately without long descriptions.

This offering is truly special as Carl Feldman continues to release portions of his life long collection into numismatic channels. GFRC has been Carl's primary early type coinage outlet for years as he refined his collecting objectives into the Carson City space along with Barber coinage. The release of his circulated Liberty Seated dollars is another milestone given the PCGS Old Green Holders showcase the early PCGS grading standards and how the large sized dollars are evaluated differently than the smaller denominations. I've found the services to be more lenient with respect to surfaces and marks. One will often encounter soft field hairlines that are acceptable on dollars but not quarters or halves of the same era.

The 1854 Seated dollar lot is a rare opportunity to acquire a Mint State example with faint hairlines in the fields. The fields are naturally steely with frost surrounding the stars and legend. Light orange gold patination is deeper at the borders. PCGS choose to assign a Genuine opinion given the date's rarity and financial risk with a larger buyback sum. In hand, this piece presents an AU58/MS61 eye appeal with expected bright light luster. Frankly, the 1854 and 1843 dollars are the strongest pieces in the offering in terms of premium eye appeal. None of the New Jersey Collection dollars have been submitted to CAC, therefore please keep this in mind during consideration.

Lastly, Seated dollars are challenging to photograph with my old Nikon CoolPIx995 and the photodome. The coin's large size and heavy amounts of holder reflections results in lower resolution images. Sometimes there are lightly reflection across the lower obverse and reverse depending on the surfaces. Mirrored fields are prone to this issue as can be seen 1841, and especially the 1842 dollars.

I hope that this showcase gallery will be enjoyed as this is my last major consignment will leading the GFRC helm.

 

1854 PCGS Genuine (MS60) $1 - $18,250

      1841 PCGS AU53 $1 OGH - $2600                                               1842 PCGS AU50 $1 OGH - $1500    

        

      1843 PCGS AU55 $1 OGH - $2200                                               1844 PCGS AU55 $1 OGH - $3500    

        

           1844 PCGS EF45 $1 - $1750                                                    1846 PCGS EF45 $1 OGH - $250    

        

  1847 PCGS EF45 $1 OGH - $1250                                               1849 PCGS AU50 $1 OGH - $1500    

        

  1867 PCGS AU50 $1 OGH - $3250                                                   1873 PCGS MS60 $1 - $5000        

        

 

Gold Appears to be Leading Again

Gold and silver are again on the move this morning while watching overnight trading. Gold and silver opened in Hong Kong at $4326 and $62.64 respectively and have slowly churned upward into London trading. The 6:40 AM quotes are $4342 and $63.71.

For those who don't make a habit of staying close to global geopolitics, there is chaos in Europe. Russia continues to make land gains in the Ukraine. Trump attempted a 28 point peace plan that would have accepted Russian absorption of the Donbas. The European leadership came to the aid of Zelensky and derailed the plan. However, major European nations are in no position to continue financing the war now that Trump has terminated United Status support.

The EU is in the midst of expropriating Russian Treasury assets, of which 60% or so belongs to Russian citizens to sustain the Ukraine war. The action by the European Union is pretty much a direct declaration of war with Russia. However NATO, without the United States umbrella, is ill positioned to go to war with Russia as it lacks missile and drone air defenses.

The flight to precious metals continues for safety other than the United States where retail participation is just beginning to awaken and yet to felt on a global basis.

The idea of $5000 to $6000 gold in 2026 is not ridiculous but rather becoming more credible as political and financial chaos reigns in Europe while the global world order becomes realigned. We are living through a memorable chapter of geopolitical realignment. Those who have diligently stacked precious metals will be rewarded.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

It is a Monday, therefore the shipping department will be active. Afterwards, I will be adding descriptions for the New Jersey Seated dollars.

As for the roll out of my Liberty Seated dime web-book plate coins, the 1840-O F-102a and 1838 F-110 are definitely sold with multiple orders. I'm awaiting confirmation that the two 1841-O are also sold.

Thank you again for visiting the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 14, 2025

Rolling Out the New Jersey Collection Consignment

and

Fortin Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on an early Sunday morning. Thank you for the visit.

Let's open today's Blog edition with a short piece from Set Godin. We've not visited Godin's blogposts for awhile, however he still continues to churn out delightful contemplation nuggets. Just as we are physically what we eat, the same applies mentally from what we read or watch. We are influenced by what is focused upon as highlighted by Godin.

Seth Godin Blogpost: Taken for granted

It’s an odd term, worth a look.

We don’t notice that the tree we planted a few years ago thrives just a bit more each day. We don’t notice that the mail shows up when it’s supposed to, that our civilization persists in the face of chaos, and that the lights (usually) go on when we flip a switch.

Granted?

What would happen if we paid as much attention to these persistent delights as we pay to the annoying surprises that unfold each day?

The narrative of our time here becomes our lived experience. We’re the directors of this very long cinéma vérité documentary, deciding what gets focused on and what we skip over.

And it turns out that choosing our focus often leads to the plot changing as well.

 

Rolling Out the New Jersey Collection Consignment and Fortin Seated Dime Web-Book Plate Coins

I'm pleased to report that the New Jersey Collection consignment is ready to post to the price lists after offer prices were realized yesterday and approved.

Already, eight Barber quarters have been posted to the 30 Day Price List on Saturday afternoon. These are coins that were previously sourced from GFRC with updated descriptions and several images being optimized via another pass through the photo editing department. Pedigrees include Labelman87, RCA, and Twin Lakes Collection.

Also completed on Saturday afternoon was the photography of all Liberty Seated dollars and several San Francisco With Stars dimes. All are housed in old PCGS and NGC holders with several being CAC review candidates that will be flagged when creating the descriptions.

If my day goes as planned, the Liberty Seated dollars will be posted to the price list by the afternoon hours along with responding to several First Rights of Refusals.

Also included in Saturday's photography session were five raw Liberty Seated dimes, four of which that are web-book plate coins. These are the pieces that will be priced and posted to the price list at some point today.

1838 F-106 Cracked Obverse #1 AU55 Ex. Lovejoy, Gilhousen

1838 F-110 Late Die State of Partial Drapery Reverse MS60

1840-O F-102a Large O Rim Cud Rare R7 VF30

1841-O F-106 Die Cracks in Lower Wreath to Rim EF45 (prior plate coin)

1841-O F-114 Small O EF45

If wishing to secure a first shot at these pieces, please don't hesitate to contact me via email.

 

Gold and Silver Close Week at All Time Highs

I'd like to remind the gold and silver bugs among us that both precious metals closed Friday's trading at all time highs on a weekly basis. Weekly and monthly closing levels are important milestone for those who are technical traders and focus on the longer term charts to judge the strength or staying power of the precious metals rally.

Recently, I took in the most recent YouTube video by Kenesis Money's Andrew Maguire. I'm a huge fan of Andrew given his in depth insights into the LBMA and COMEX trading systems. It takes time to learn the vocabulary of the trading pits and to fully understand what Andrew is attempting to teach viewers. At this point, I've mastered his content and can effectively understand his explanation of the western bullion banks battling with their Chinese counterparts in Asia for control over precious metal pricing. In this week's edition, Andrew made it clear that the Chinese have won the war on Black Friday as they forced the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) to shutdown due to an unprecedented amount of silver buy orders that could not be delivered. The exchange was forced to shutdown to avoid default and use the explanation of a failed air conditioning system as an excuse.

Andrew then pivoted to India and the steps being taken by the Indian government to allow citizens to employ physical silver as loan collateral and also the ability to add precious metal ETFs to pension plans. He then explain how the BRICS have tested their new digital settlement system with the UNIT currency. The UNIT is being backed 40% by gold holdings of the member countries.

Andrew then made a bold gold price prediction of $6000 by end the of Q2'2026. Is this far fetched or believable? So far during 2025, Andrew has been very accurate with his gold forecasts calling for a 2025 year ending price of $4400. As of Friday, gold closed at $4300+. His predictions was made months ago and are being realized. If Andrew is calling for $6000 gold in six months, one can conclude that the upward price momentum will continue at a minimum.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Obviously, I will be spending a fair number of hours in the GFRC office wrapping up image processing and loading a substantial number of coins to the 30 Day Price List by 5:00 happy hour. Your role is to stay close to the price list in the event that a new listing might strike your fancy.

I'm off to the shower and a health walk to start the day.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 13, 2025

New Jersey Collection Consignment Pricing Proposal is Done

 

Greetings once again from Venice Florida and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the repeat visits.

As today's headline indicates, I'm happy to report that the pricing proposal for the latest New Jersey Collection consignment has been completed and submitted to our client for approval. It it recognized that several customers are awaiting price quotes for several Liberty Seated dollars, therefore I made sure to get the pricing proposal done by end of day Friday. Once I have pricing confirmation, quotes will be tendered.

Today brings a Barber quarter group photo towards sharing the dates and grades that will soon post to the price list. An apology is extended for the less than stellar photography as I am working with two different light sources at the left and right sides of my office desk. The lot totals 35 coins with dates ranging from 1900-O through 1916-D. Of the 35 pieces, 14 were purchased from GFRC with their prior sales records available in the Sales Archive. Notable pedigrees include the September 2019 auction sale of the Labelman87 Collection along with selections from the RCA Collection as returning offerings.

Once securing pricing confirmation from our consignor, the 14 lots previously sourced from GFRC will be posted to the 30 Day Price List, followed by photograph of the other 21 lots along with the Liberty Seated dollars. Today's Venice forecast is calling for sunny conditions and an ideal time to get this task done.

Clicking on the image will provide access to a higher resolution version.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings light shipping followed by rummaging through my 300+ raw Liberty Seated dimes for incremental price list candidates, then photography of those selections along with the New Jersey Collection lots. This is certainly enough to keep me busy and out of trouble.

The only new learning of the past 24 hours is the discovery that "purslane" is more nutritious that spinach and is treated as a common weed. I've seen a fair amount of purslanse back at the Maine homestead and will be paying attention to this annual as a potential food source. If curious, you might wish to google "purslane" for your own education.

That is the extent of today's Blog ramblings.

Thanks again for the visit and please remember to be well both physically and mentally as the holiday seasons can wear folks down with preparations and travel. After racking up 2.5 million miles on United Airlines alone, I've grown a distinct distaste for flying even for shorter flights within the U.S. The entire process of getting to the airport, parking, TSA clearance and uncomfortable seating for hours does not excite me. As BB King said so well, "The thrill is gone!".

We will see you on Sunday morning.

 

 

 

December 12, 2025

A Serious Precious Metals Market Rally

 

Greetings on a mid-December Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you so much for checking back.

There is not a whole lot to share in today's edition other than the precious metal market rally that is currently underway. Clearly, no one with a large physical gold or silver holding should be selling at current levels. This week's FOMC meeting featured a headline 0.25% short term interest rate cut but the devil was in the meeting details. The Federal Reserve is back to buying Treasury bonds towards injecting liquidity in the United States financial system. The number I've heard is $45 billion based on YouTube research and checking with my regular analysts. As a result, the media is communicating that the Federal Reserve has moved to a QE-Lite stance going into 2026. Complicating matters are the fact that the Federal Reserve board of governors are not in alignment on Fed policy and Trump's pick for the next Federal Reserve chair is not assured. This uncertainty, along with doubts about how far the AI bubble can go, is bringing about a capital movement into the precious metal markets.

As I sit here at 7:00 AM composing the Blog, gold has spiked to $4338/oz while silver is solidly through the $64 mark. Platinum and palladium are also on the move with 2-3% gains. Interestingly, Bitcoin is stuck at $92,000 during a sharp precious metal rally.

I don't know about you, but if carefully paying attention to China's multi-prong actions across the globe, there is a sense that the CCP is leveraging its massive $1 trillion trade surplus to rapidly expand its military towards aggressively challenging its South China Sea neighbors, especially the Philippines and now Japan. Luke Gromen has made it clear that the United States is struggling to sustain its global based military positioning with an anemic domestic supply chain including missiles replenishment and ship building. With a struggling military position, the defense of the U.S. dollar as the globe's reserve currency becomes questionable creating yet another opening for the CCP and Xi ambitions.

In the financial area, China has issued a close to knock out punch to the tradition western gold and silver trading markets leading to a more open price discovery based on supply/demand fundamental. What I am seeing is also common knowledge in the higher end investment community, but not at the mom and pop retail level who are still net sellers. The AI build out continues to secure most of the financial media's attention as investors still pour monies into the top seven technology stocks.

If we step back for a moment and review recent history, the current AI push reminds me of the EV thrust (Green New Deal) during the Biden administration. All attention was on EVs forcing major auto makers to shift their development monies into this market space. Every CEO needed an EV story for investors though the skeptics questioned supporting infrastructure and consumer adoption rates. Fast forward to the present day and we now see that EVs have seen a tepid acceptance especially with global oil supplies trading at under $60/bbl.

The AI technology push has similar parallels with massive data centers and supporting electrical and water infrastructure being built. Electrical demand is enormous resulting in electricity costs climbing for all U.S. citizens. This AI build out is to the point that major players, Oracle for example, have moved into debt financing to sustain the growth. Oracle stock has dropped sharply during the past week or so on the news. All of the major AI technology companies have no choice at this point to stay the course with investments including the accumulation of debt. Will the end user demand justify the massive investments or will there be another shake out as we have experienced in the automotive EV market?

Without the AI boom, the United States economy would be in recession and the S&P 500 would be flat based on the 2025 performance of the DJIA. One can see why the Federal Reserve has no choice but to lower interest rates and begin QE-Lite,

The economic writing is on the wall, as they say, as currency debasement is a hard reality with respect to a resumption of any QE. By the end of Q1'2026, the U.S. deficit will be $39 trillion and increasing to over $40 trillion before the end of that year. As a result, those with longer term visions are moving into the precious metal sector as is being witness today. My gut feel is that the U.S. will be forced to revalue its gold holdings to offset the relentless debt spiral, at least as a temporary measure to buy time.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Back in the GFRC office, I am working on the New Jersey Collection consignment. At this point, the Barber dimes are priced. Hopefully, I will be able to complete the Barber quarters and yesterday's featured Seated dollars. Presently, there are FRoR on the 1843, 1854 and 1873 lots.

We live is chaotic times if paying attention to technology developments, geopolitics and economics. If not paying attention to these matters and rather living a quiet life focused on gardening or hobbies, then the outcomes of the chaos will become apparent at some point via a shift in living standards.

I hope that you've enjoyed today's impromptu ramblings as I've attempted to summarize what is being seen from one person's perspective.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well and alert!

 

 

December 11, 2025

New Jersey Collection - PCGS OGH Liberty Seated Dollars

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Thursday morning. Thank you so much for staying close to the GFRC website and these ongoing ramblings.

Yes, I'm feeling much better as the head cold symptoms have abated. Wednesday morning brought more GFRC administrative work including chasing down a check payment that had become lost in the USPS system. The afternoon was spent in the office loading the entire 96 piece New Jersey Collection into the COIN system bringing an opportunity to glance at each lot. Many of the dimes and quarters were sourced from GFRC which is ideal for a quick turnaround back to the 30 Day Price List since the images and descriptions are already on file. Now that the coins are loaded, the next step is a focused study of each lot towards determining a quality rating, for those not sourced from GFRC, and a first pass offer price proposal.

Along with a host of Barber dimes and quarters, the consignment included better date With Stars San Francisco Seated dimes and a nice run of Liberty Seated dollars in vintage PCGS old green holders. Following is a group photo of the Liberty Seated dollar portion of the consignment with the rare 1854 dollar requiring more discussion. Please note the PCGS Genuine certification though the piece is fully original but with light hairlines in the fields that appear when viewed with a 10x under bright light. During the early days of TPG grading, the "Genuine" opinion was employed rather than assigning a Details grade as the basis for the lack of a straight grade.

Clicking on the image will provide access to a higher resolution version.

 

Silver Rally Continues Through $62/oz

At 2:30 PM, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced another, and expected, 0.25% Fed Funds rate cut with his post announcement press conference being middle of the road. The essence of his commentary was that of no forecast for future rate cuts with everyone in the room understanding that Powell is now a short timer and will be replaced come May 2026 by a Trump appointee who will be leaning to lower short term interest rates further.

After the press conference both gold and silver prices moved up in anticipation of lowering rates during 2026. Silver moved through the $62 level while gold spiked a bit before pulling back into its current trading range. It is becoming clear that some investors are selling gold to buy silver since silver has become the momentum trade.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

This is the extent of today's Blog content. I will be in the office for much of the day working on the next phase of the New Jersey Collection consignment.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 10, 2025

A Nasty Head Cold

Silver Breaks $61 Overnight

and

GFRC-Lite Attending Myrtle Beach Show Friday-Saturday

 

Greetings on a Wednesday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. As always, thank you for the visit.

Manning a numismatic bourse floor booth without hand sanitizer was a mistake.

Since the Covid epidemic, I've religiously insured that there was hand sanitizer on the booth's back table and did my best to keep clean hands throughout a show. Sadly, our hand sanitizers were left back in the Maine office and it did not dawn on me to purchase a new bottle for the Sarasota show. Once at the show, I realized the oversight but it was too late. All it took was one innocent handshake to secure a nasty head cold. I could feel the itchy throat on Saturday with the virus erupting late Sunday. Regardless, Diane and I were able to ship 10 packages on Monday and another 5 on Tuesday clearing out the shipping queue. I did not feel well yesterday and found no reason to compose a Blog edition or even make a notation. At that point, I am a short timer with respect to the GFRC business and entitled to take some time off without a need to report my absence.

OK, it is Wednesday morning and the head cold is still impacting my energy level. Rich Hundertmark asked that I publish an announcement of his forthcoming attendance at the Myrtle Beach coin show on Friday and Saturday. So here I am composing another Blog edition as a good buddy. Once the Blog is uploaded, a warm shower is in order followed by a slow day. I might even start working on that 3D puzzle kit that I've been longing to enjoy but delayed due to the ongoing GFRC workload.

Many individuals have questioned what I plan to do once fully retired. In other words, what is the next chapter in the Gerry Fortin journey through a life. The response to that question is quite simple; wellness as a priority. For decades, I've been driven to confront substantial challenges that were out of my comfort zone. Leaving Fairchild Semiconductor at the end of 2005 and heading to China to work for CSMC Technologies as head of sales & marketing was the riskiest move in a lifetime. Then came building GFRC from a hobby start-up to its current status as a Liberty Seated coinage market marker. In the background were the Liberty Seated dime die variety research and the 2004 web-book along with executing the Liberty Seated Collectors Club transition from the John McCloskey era to its present state.

Yes, I celebrate my 70th birthday in March, the focus will shift to a slower pace with wellness taking a more prominent role within daily activities. There are no do overs in life, rather one has to take health more seriously as the years accumulate. This head cold is a small reminder of a simple mistake. Other mistakes or oversights could have a more profound impact. Less time in front of a laptop and more time exercising is just one example.

 

Silver Breaks $61 Overnight

This is a great time to a a silver stacker or being invested in silver ETFs (SLV, SIVR, PSLV) or the silver miners like PAAS, AG, and HL. Tuesday brought a new leg to the current silver rally with $60 being breeched for the first time. During overnight trading, silver broke the $61 mark and is currently quoting at $60.94. Conversely, gold continues to consolidate at $4200/oz which leads to a decreasing gold/silver ratio that now stands at 69. Who would have thought that we would see a gold/silver ratio below 70 when just months ago the ratio was above 90.

I'm happy for everyone who listened to my ongoing reporting of the precious metal market dynamics and took positions in either gold and silver. Let's remember that silver is on its fifth year of deficit supply with no new major mines coming in production for several years. Many believe we are still in the early stages of the silver rally with triple digits becoming more probably by the day. The breaking up of the LBMA/COMEX trading cartel and its price suppression, by the Chinese, is under way with the metal now seeing freedom to rise to its true value.

 

GFRC-Lite Attending Myrtle Beach Show Friday-Saturday

Rich Hundertmark is attending the Myrtle Beach show for the first time and sent along this pre-show announcement.

Hi Gerry,

Greetings from Winston Salem this chilly December morning.

As always, I'm looking forward to Christmas and the New Year Holiday but first I will wrap up Lite's 2025 show schedule at the Myrtle Beach Show which is
making a comeback after a couple of years hiatus. The event will take place starting Friday at the St. John the Baptist Church Greek Orthodox Church on 33rd Avenue. Further show information can be found on the GFRC-Lite site. 

Myrtle Beach effectively replaces the Annandale VIrginia show on my calendar which greatly reduces travel time and expense. It's now Lite’s 3rd South Carolina show (in addition to Midland's Columbia and the SCNA). Speaking of the SCNA, I had a successful inaugural event this October (both buying /selling) and will again attend in 2026. A few remaining show acquisitions can be found in the New Purchases category on Lite’s home page. 

For the Myrtle Beach show, Lite will have 4 table cases, 3 populated with certified coins and 1 case focused on 19th Century raw material. 

I've had a very strong 2025 and would like to close out the year on a high note. Myrtle Beach is somewhat of a retirement community area, and I'm hoping some of the retirees’ collected coins in their earlier years and are in a buying mood looking to add to their collection holdings.

I've noticed that the collecting communities in both North and South Carolina are active, with strong state numismatic organizations in support of the local show events. In 2026 GFRC-Lite will add two smaller North Carolina show events to the spring show calendar, Statesville and Wilmington. 

Adding these shows is part of my "stay closer to home" strategy going forward. I'm not getting any younger and the four combined Baltimore and Annandale treks up I95 were both tiring and dangerous. I am contemplating attending Whitman Baltimore in the spring, but mostly to buy. Without table setup and the associated inventory transportation and babysitting concerns, I can also take an easy ride via train to reduce driving stress.

After the Myrtle Show it's just four short weeks to FUN which will be the last time there with Gerry at the table helm of GFRC. This show will have special meaning to me as it was at FUN that I first "earned my bones" buying for GFRC. I very much remember the instant booth chemistry with Gerry and Dan, fun times!  

Wishing all the blogamaniacs a great Holiday season. Stay safe and continued collecting success !

Rich

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The GFRC shipping queue is empty which is a good thing this morning. There is only one overnight order and the New Jersey Collection's 96 piece Sarasota show consignment that needs attention. The latter is a substantial effort to load all the coins into the COIN system followed by preparing a pricing proposal for our consignor. My plan is to take a slow approach to the day with the imperative being a recovery from this head cold.

This is the extent of today's rambling as I'm heading to a warm shower next.

Thanks again for the returning to the Daily Blog as the holiday season is now upon us.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 8, 2025

Taking a Daily Blog Break

 

Unfortunately, I picked up a head cold virus at the Sarasota coin show which has set me back a bit. Yes, I forgot to bring the hand sanitizer.

With a heavy shipping workload staring at me in the office, I've decided to pass on Blog content creation or just rambling. Rather, let's use the available energy to get coins to customers on a timely basis.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in.

 

 

December 7, 2025

A Quiet Saturday at the Sarasota Coin Show

Never Forgetting - A Date That Will Live in Infamy

and

Nice Trade Material to Consider

 

Greetings from the GFRC office on a Sunday morning as the final Sarasota coin show is now in the history books. Thank you for the ongoing visits.

Well, the Sarasota coin show sale momentum could not carry into Saturday. Rather, Dan and I sat quietly in the booth and chatted since there were few visitors and no sales. The day's highlight was lunch, yummy cheese steak subs from the Hot Sands Oasis restaurant in the Sahib Shriner building. By 1:30, we decided to close down the booth as there was no reason to stay any longer.

The last Sarasota coin is now in the history books. I marked the event by purchasing a silver American Eagle roll and also, a silver Maple Leaf roll. I did not know that Canadian silver one ounce rolls have a 25 piece count therefore 45 silver ounces were added to a substantial silver Panda hoard that was acquired in the 2005-2007 era when flying in and out of Shanghai.

Before departing the Sarasota show, I donated four GFRC showcases to the Sarasota Coin Club while keeping three for myself in case I wish to setup at small local shows during retirement.

 

Never Forgetting - A Date That Will Live in Infamy

As a nation, we can never forget December 7, 1941. A nation that was attempting to remain neutral, during the growing aggressions by the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany, was shocked by a surprise attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and opened his speech with a phrase that came to represent the starting point of the United States involvement during World War II. For those who wish to relive that moment and further understand the phrase, A Date That Will Live in Infamy, simply head to Google or YouTube to listen to FDR's speech. It is quite moving.

 

Nice Trade Material to Consider

Saturday also brought the arrival of a super original Liberty Seated coinage trade lot against the 1851-C $5 gold piece that recently went on hold. There six pieces are not expensive and would be an ideal starting point for those that wish to have a strictly original baseline for a collecting project. Look for these old friends to post to the30 Day Price List by the end of day. In the meantime, readers are invited to check the prior sale records in the Sales Archive.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today brings an atypical rainy day here in Venice which is ideal for spending the waking hours in the GFRC office conducting post coin show administration. By the end of the day, all Sarasota show sales will be loaded into the COIN system and posted online. Consignors will be able to log in and check to see which of their coins have sold.

Monday brings a huge shipping day as my office desk has a nice stack of check payments that will trigger a substantial number of outgoing packages.

Also in Monday's Blog, I will begin to showcase the 96 piece consignment from the New Jersey Collection. There are a host of lower priced Barber dimes and quarters to be had.

So ends today's Daily Blog edition. We appreciated the ongoing readership with roughly two months left of Gerry's ramblings.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 6, 2025

Going Out With Record Sarasota Coin Show Sales

 

Greetings from the Sarasota coin show bourse floor on an early Saturday morning. Thank you for the returning visit.

It really is bittersweet at this point...

As much as I'm looking forward to retiring from the constant demands of the GFRC numismatic business, setting up at coin shows will be missed. There is a special dealer camaraderie that grows over the years after being in the business along with seeing repeat customers at each regional location. Each show brings those moments of special generosity, the periods of boredom, and the memorable offensive individuals who need a class in human relations that becomes great story telling material. All are part of the coin show experience and marketing premium coins to a broad range of collectors and dealers. Everyone who walks up to the GFRC booth comes from a different background and views within our cherished hobby.

As today's headline indicates, the final GFRC presence at the Sarasota Coin Show has resulted in record sales for this smaller regional event. Thursday's momentum carried into Thursday morning with about 10 or so coins finding new homes. Again, a number of consignors will be pleased with the sales results. We certainly appreciate the Black Friday discounting that enabled attractive pricing offers for show attendees.

Shifting topics to Darrell and Matt's website preparation efforts, I'm pleased to report that their transitional website "test bed" is operational with the next challenge being the transfer of the many GFRC databases so that their website can be fully debugged. For those who are not familiar with how the GFRC website is structured, each module's information, or data, is stored in separate databases. For example all the price list and Sales Archives information is stored in one massive database. Other databases include the GFRC Online Auctions bidding data, the Open Set Registry, client information that supports MyAccount and so on. The next few days will bring focus on this task for extracting a copy of the existing databases and passing those to Darrell and Matt's website specialist.

Let's close today's Blog with a few insights on the silver precious metal. Friday brought a new intraday high of $59+ before the price was knocked down during U.S. trading hours. My ongoing research on the silver topic and why prices continue to rise has revealed that India is the primary driver with huge demand. Blog fans are probably not aware that India has now monetized the citizenry's silver holdings by allowing physical metal to be employed as loan collateral. The following Kitco article presents the details.

 

Indian consumers can formally monetize their silver, changing the game for the precious metal - Metals Focus

India has always been a major player in the silver market, but this year it has become the critical factor behind record investment demand, which has driven prices to all-time highs above $59 an ounce.

In a report published this summer, Metals Focus noted that India is the world’s second-largest market for physical silver investment, accounting for nearly 80% of global silver bar and coin demand. The research firm also noted that India has long been the world’s largest consumer of silver jewelery and silverware by volume.

In an updated report, the analysts said that over the last five years, Indians — particularly lower-income consumers in rural communities — have purchased an estimated 29,000 tonnes of silver in jewelery and 4,000 tonnes in coins.

Metals Focus added that they see a potential game-changing development for the silver market as a new rule from the Reserve Bank of India will allow consumers to monetize their physical silver holdings.

“Gold has traditionally served as collateral of last resort in India, providing households with ready access to funds during emergencies, particularly among those with limited banking access,” the analysts said in the report. “silver, too, has long been an important component of rural wealth, particularly among lower- and middle-income households. Its lower price point has enabled widespread accumulation in the form of jewelery and utensils, including anklets, toe rings, and children’s ornaments.”

Last month, the RBI announced a new rule that, effective April 1, 2026, will allow people to pledge silver assets to access credit through banks, non-banking financial companies, and housing finance firms under a uniform lending framework.

“This measure could help mobilize India’s vast household silver holdings, broaden access to formal credit, and formally recognize silver as a mainstream collateral asset,” Metals Focus said.

According to some reports, the latest surge in demand in India could be tied to this new rule. While it was officially announced in November, the RBI has been developing the framework since the start of the year. In October, the central bank shared the framework with major lenders for feedback.

According to government trade data, India imported $2.72 billion in silver on October, compared with $0.43 billion in October 2024.

Demand for physical silver in India created a significant supply crunch in the over-the-counter markets in London, driving lease rates to record highs.

Tight liquidity conditions in the marketplace have been the key factor pushing prices above $50 an ounce. Solid demand through November has kept global silver stockpiles near record lows, supporting prices at their new highs near $59 an ounce.

While gold and silver have long been important metals in Indian culture, they are only now starting to be monetized by the population. Metals Focus noted that total bank credit in India stands at around INR193 trillion ($2.1 trillion), of which INR3.4 trillion, or $38 billion, is backed by gold jewelery. That amount has increased significantly from 2021, when gold-backed bank credit was valued at INR0.7 trillion ($8 billion).

“Based on our estimates, the formal gold loan market in India stands at around 700 tonnes, with the informal segment roughly 1,000–1,500 tonnes,” Metals Focus said. “Despite similar ownership patterns, silver has remained largely excluded from the formal lending system. The primary obstacle has been purity risk. Much of the silver jewelery in circulation lacks hallmarking and contains alloys of varying compositions, particularly in traditional pieces such as ankle chains and toe rings, which account for more than 50% of the market.”

The analysts said that the RBI’s revised framework is expected to bring order and consistency to lending against silver.

“While loans against silver have existed informally for decades, the RBI’s framework marks the first formal recognition of silver within the regulated collateral ecosystem,” the analysts said. “Metals Focus believes that rather than displacing gold loans or traditional credit channels, silver-backed lending is likely to emerge as a complementary product.”

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point with the bourse opening in about 45 minutes. Saturday morning are usually busy and we hope to sell a few more coins before closing down come early afternoon.

Sunday morning should brings a regular Blog edition followed by the usual post show admin.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

December 5, 2025

Another Strong GFRC Show Event

 

Greetings on an early Friday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you so much for checking in.

I arose quite early this morning to ensure that a Daily Blog edition could be prepared before heading to the Sarasota Coin Show. Yesterday brought a strong sales day with the possibility of more business to come today. My congratulations go out to Ben Todd for staging a well planned bourse event and drawing in a huge crowd on Thursday morning.

Yes, by 11:00 AM, the bourse aisles were crowded and moving around was difficult. The GFRC booth saw constant business during the morning and into the afternoon until 4:00 PM. For some collectors, our coins were well beyond their means but looking is always for free. One attendee asked for an evaluation of several raw Liberty Seated dimes that had been purchased prior to the show. One quick look at the 2x2 cardboard holders marked Mint State and the coins suggested some unpleasant news for the collector. My first question was, "do you want a truly straight answer?". When the response was affirmative, I told the individual that both dimes were AUs that had been stripped and retoned with unnatural colors that were an immediate red flag. This collector was appreciative and not defensive. Another collector brought an 1871 PCGS holdered Seated quarter and wish to learn why the coin had not stickered at CAC. My response was secondary old album paper toning that are inconsistent with CAC requirements for originality. This response resulted in a disparaging of JA and his standards. One never knows how a collector will react when given an expert opinion.

Back to show sales...

GFRC enjoyed a strong sales day with the show total already past the mid- five figures with expectations for more sales today. Those consignors who took part in the pseudo Black Friday discounting are going to be pleased as the reduced price levels were able to enable a considerable number of sales. I'm also pleased to announce that one of the two last remaining Liberty Seated dime from the Gerry Fortin top level set found a new home at the show. The 1837 Small Date PCGS MS66+ CAC dime is now on hold leaving only the 1867 PCGS MS67 CAC dime as the final coin to sell.

Also of particular note was the attendance of the New Jersey Collection and his daughter. They arrived during the early afternoon hours with a 96 piece Barber dime, quarter, and Liberty Seated dollar consignment. It did take time to write up a receipt for such a large show arrival while Dan attended to potential customers that continued to drop by our table.

Time moves along so quickly when composing a Blog edition. I need to get into the shower followed by driving up to the Oaks in Osprey to pickup Dan in the 718 Boxster for another top down ride to the Sarasota Coin Show.

Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

December 4, 2025

Gerry and Dan at Sarasota Coin Show

 

Greetings from the Sarasota Coin Show bourse floor and welcome to a delayed Daily Blog edition. Thank you for the return visit.

The dynamic duo started the day early with a top down 718 Boxster ride from Osprey to the coin show venue, though a bit cool by Florida temperature standards. There is nothing like moving around through morning traffic with agility and extra horsepower. Once on the bourse floor, booth setup took all of 10 minutes given the five showcases of inventory and precision setup on Wednesday.

With ample time before the bourse opens at 10:00 AM to the public, Ben Todd of Sarasota Rare Coin Galleries and show coordinator, took the following Gerry and Dan picture. Everyone had a good laugh with Dan's impressive physique. After the photo was taken, Ben suggested than Dan should exhale for his own good..... Yes, we are having fun given this is the final GFRC show appearance in Sarasota.

 

Wednesday booth setup went smoothly with five coins finding new homes. We expect much more in terms of sales throughout the day with Friday always being a wildcard for collector attendance.

There is little else to ramble about at this point, so let's wrap up.

Thank you for staying current with GFRC adventures. I'm certain that Darrell and Matt will prove to be just as entertaining and insightful after the ownership transition.

Be well!

 

 

December 3, 2025

GFRC at the Sarasota Coin Show

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on an early December Wednesday morning. Thank you for the visit.

Let's open with a brief summary of what transpired yesterday morning and the basis for not composing a Blog edition.

As snowbirds in Florida, the one call that we hate to receive is that from our ADT security system provider. An ADT call means something unpleasant is being flagged at the Raymond homestead. While enjoying a quiet 6:00 AM breakfast on Tuesday morning, the cellphone rang with an incoming ADT call. The bad news was that our low temperature sensor had been triggered meaning that the oil furnace had been shut down for probably a day. The low temperature sensor typically will alarm during the cold early morning hours when the outdoor temperature finally penetrate the super insulated walls.

We've been through this scenario on several occasions with the typical cause being the lost of boiler pressure due to insufficient water volume as we close the incoming well water supply as a proactive measure. A failure during December is atypical and meant only one thing, a component in the furnace had failed. Luckily, Atlantic Heating opens for business at 7:00 AM and I was able to secure an emergency home visit to investigate. To complicate matters, southern Maine was receiving 6+ inches of snow from the first storm of the winter season. Brian, the Atlantic Heating technician, was unable to drive his truck down our steep driveway and had to leave his truck at the top of Ledge Hill before trekking down to the homestead. By 2:00 PM, I started hearing motion detector alarms from the newly installed Wyze wireless camera for monitoring the oil tank fuel gauges. The technician was now in the basement debugging the furnace shutdown. At 3:00 PM, the call arrived that the furnace was again operational after clearing a clogged oil injection nozzle. The house was beginning to come back up to the preset 54 degree temperature. The fact that the oil nozzle was clogged to the point of not functioning is a first in years of home ownership. Today brings a call to the Atlantic Heating service manager concerning why a nozzle would clog if the upstream oil filter, at the oil tank, is functioning properly. It did not dawn on me to question the technician on this fact during his report in. But, we will deal with this matter in the near term as I don't want a repeating issue.

The furnace failure timing was actually good as Maine is expected to see record below zero temperatures on Thursday. Having a furnace failure during those conditions would be quite problematic.

 

GFRC at the Sarasota Coin Show

Outside of the homestead furnace shutdown, Tuesday brought a substantial shipping day along with packing luggage for transporting GFRC inventory and show accessories to the Sarasota Coin Show. The bags are fully packed and the showcases are ready to load into Diane's new Acura MDX for the 2:00 PM dealer setup.

Gerry and Dan White will be holding court inside the GFRC booth located immediately to the left of the bourse floor entrance. Again, here is a crude bourse map that illustrates our location through Saturday early afternoon. Again, the show is scheduled for December 4-6 and not 5-7 as shown on the 2024 illustration.

Quick Precious Metals Update

After Friday's precious metal rally that saw silver gap up to $56.40, this week brings consolidation of the price increases. Gold is holding the $4200 mark during London trading while silver is mostly flat at $58+.

At this point, the YouTube precious metal chatter is focused on common theme, namely the shift of precious metal price discovery from the LBMA/COMEX to the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges. The decades of paper contract trading on the UK and US exchanges as the primary pricing mechanism have come to an end. The many gold bugs were well aware of price manipulation by the major western banks but nothing could be done about this situation. It took the Chinese to finally break down the ring fence surrounding the LBMA/COMEX by extracting their physical metal holdings, in particular silver, by standing for delivery on futures contracts.

Only time will tell on how high silver and gold prices will go come 2026.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is little else to share at this point. All GFRC inventory will be available for purchase at the Sarasota Coin Show during the balance of the week. Given the amount of discounted Black Friday pricing, I suspect that sales will be brisk to show attendees. If you've not made a decision to grab an inventory item off of the 30 Day Price List, then this is your fair warning.

As always, thank you for returning to the Daily Blog.

Be well!

 

 

 

December 2, 2025

No Blog Today - Temperature Sensor Alarm at Maine Homestead

 

 

 

December 1, 2025

Precious Metals Continue Moving Higher

New Consignments to Consider

and

Sarasota Coin Show Week Arrives

 

Greetings on the first day of December 2025 and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you so much for the return visit.

Yes, it was nice to take a vacation day on Sunday and not feel compelled to prepare a Daily Blog edition. Instead, I took the 718 Boxster for a morning ride through northern Venice that I had never traveled through. The afternoon hours found me in the office processing two new consignments with images and offer prices ready to go for this morning's edition.

 

Precious Metals Continue Moving Higher

After Friday's dramatic increase in silver prices, the key question was how the markets would react on Monday morning. On Friday, both silver and gold closed the monthly charts on a positive technical basis. Gold broke out of a wedge pattern to the upside while silver exploded to record highs. Would the rally continue on Monday during Asia and London trading? I was not concerned about a bullion bank attempt to drive prices down as those "attacks" are orchestrated on Friday's after Asia trading closes. Instead, I believed that buying would continue due to investment houses now needing to add precious metals to their year ending positions. Given the dramatic 2025 increases in both silver and gold prices, investment managers would be motivated to add position to show clients that they were cognizant of the realigned of gold as the primary global reserve asset in lieu of U.S. Treasuries. The shift from a 60/40 to 60/20/20 portfolio allocation has made headlines with the need to show some compliance to a revised investment strategy.

Bottom line, my gut says that we will see higher precious metal prices in December.

As of 6:45 AM ET, gold is trading at $4257 with silver up another dollar, or more, at $57.40. Many YouTube analysts have "warned" that once silver broke out from its years of price suppression, the upward rally could be huge with a three digit target. I would be pleased if silver closed the year at $60 or more but suspect that we might be in for a higher surprise due to the lack of physical availability.

Today's lead Kitco article concerning the silver rally is worth a read.

There’s been a lot of ink spilled over gold’s bull market and the fundamentals behind this three-year rally. But one thing has been missing for much of it: silver.

Gold has broken away from the rest of the precious metals pack thanks to its role as a true monetary metal. Central banks have been driving unprecedented demand as they look to diversify away from fiat currencies and into something more stable and tangible. Silver, with all its volatility, simply doesn’t fit the bill for official sector holders.

That singular demand has pushed the gold/silver ratio to extremes. In April it soared above 100—a five-year high and miles away from its long-term average between 50 and 60. 

Some analysts argue that silver’s absence in the rally has actually weighed on general investor interest in gold. After all, in a classic bull market, silver usually outperforms because of its volatility. Instead, it’s lagged for years, casting a shadow of skepticism over the whole precious metals trade.

But that skepticism is fading fast.

Silver is ending the week at a record high above $56 an ounce, up an eye-popping 97% since January. Gold, meanwhile, is testing major resistance at $4,200 for a year-to-date gain of nearly 61%.

The ratio between the two metals, which hit 100 in April, has plunged to 74, breaking through a long-term support line. And some analysts think the momentum could carry it all the way back to 50. If the growing chorus calling for $5,000 gold by 2026 is right, that would imply silver at roughly $100.

What’s changed? Investors are finally waking up to how scarce silver has become. 

Industrial demand tied to the accelerating electrification of the global economy has produced significant supply deficits for five straight years. Above-ground stocks have been depleted, and the metal that is available tends to be in the wrong form or the wrong place. That mismatch has fueled a string of supply shocks in 2025.

We saw the first big wave at the start of the year when massive volumes of silver poured into the U.S. as traders braced for potential tariffs under President Donald Trump’s global trade agenda. Silver ultimately wasn’t tariffed, but the fear never fully dissipated—especially after Washington officially labeled it a critical metal.

All that extra metal sitting in the U.S. tightened physical inventories elsewhere, especially in London’s over-the-counter market. Strong buying out of India added more strain, driving record lease rates and premiums worldwide. 

Some silver did leave the U.S. and China as traders chased those premiums, but rising demand in Asia only deepened the supply crunch. Reports show stockpiles at the Shanghai Gold Exchange have now fallen to their lowest level in a decade.

Silver could flow out of U.S. vaults, but that would just shift the next supply crunch West.

With demand surging and no easy supply fix in sight, analysts say silver’s newfound strength may be more than just a short-term burst. For now, the metal finally appears to be claiming its long-awaited place in the spotlight.

 

New Consignments to Consider

Two fresh consignments arrived on Friday and Saturday as reinforcements prior to this week's Sarasota Coin Show. As mentioned in the opening, I was able to process this six coins on Sunday afternoon including securing pricing approval. Following are those lots from the Lakeland and Port Matilda Collections for your consideration. Look for these to post to the 30 Day Price List later today.

Lakeland and Port Matilda Consignments to Consider

1865-S PCGS EF45 25C - $2350                                                    1865-S NGC VF35 25C - $1600

        

                 1818 O-112 PCGS VF30 50C - $415                             1901 RPD PCGS MS63 Gold CAC G$2.5 Rattler - $1675

        

     1851 CACG AU58 G$5 - $2125                                                 1843-O CACG VF35 G$10 - $3250

        

 

Sarasota Coin Show Week Arrives

The next stop on Gerry Fortin's farewell tour takes us to the Sarasota Coin Show this week. This numismatic event features the Dan White and Gerry Fortin reunion for one final time!

The Sarasota show opens with dealer setup and wholesale trading on Wednesday afternoon followed by three days of public access from Thursday through Saturday. The bourse opens to the public each day at 10:00 AM. Both NGC and PCGS will be on site to take submissions. The location is the Sahib Shriners facility on North Beneva Rd with ample parking and a full restaurant.

GFRC will have its entire inventory at the show.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Black Friday Sale order shipments will keep us quite occupied today as the shipping queue is substantial. Come Tuesday, it will be time to extract GFRC's own showcases form the carport storage along with testing that our show lights are working properly.

So ends another Daily Blog edition. Again, we appreciate the ongoing visits.

Be well!

 

 

November 30, 2025

Taking a Daily Blog Vacation Day

See You on Monday!

 

November 29, 2025

More Black Friday Sale Listings

Spot Silver at Record Price

Massachusetts Collection 1874-CC Dime has Sold!

and

A "Unicorn" 2023 Acura MDX Becomes Family

 

Greetings on Thanksgiving weekend Saturday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the visit.

Honestly, I did not expect to be this busy during the Thanksgiving time frame but then again, it is not a burden since operating in this manner for years. The "pseudo" Black Friday Sale has found a life of its own with more consignors jumping on board yesterday. Most important to note is that our long term U.S. gold consignor has also decided to offer 8% discounts on his remaining lots. Therefore, you might want to visit the 30 Day Price List to have a gander at the reduced price listings.

Moving the Blog into the precious metal realm, Friday brought a huge jump in silver prices with an ending day closing at $56.40/oz. That is a $3 upward move in a single day with mining stocks also making substantial gains. Gold also enjoyed a strong day closing at $4220/oz. The key question is what has changed in the past few months leading to such powerful moves in the precious metal market. The answer is straightforward. The years of price manipulation by major banks has come to an end at the COMEX and LBMA. China has executed a strategic plan to strip physical bullion out of the Chicago and London exchanges to the point that there is insufficient "float" to anchor the 94% leverage paper trading. As a result, the major "bullion" banks have exited and moved their trading business to other global exchanges. The COMEX and LBMA are not longer price setters, rather being price followers for physical metals. The beneficiary of this historical shift is silver which has been suppressed for decades by a banking and industrial cartel. Where silver pricing goes is an unknown. The YouTube analysts, that I follow, are moving to a three digit forecast for 2026. Yes, that is $100 or more for an ounce of silver.

 

Massachusetts Collection 1874-CC Dime has Sold!

Friday also brought the arrival of our new "unicorn " 2023 Acura MDX. While at Gettel Acura in Sarasota being trained on the many electronic features, a phone call arrived from a new customer. That individual was interested in purchasing the Massachusetts Collection 1874-CC dime from the price list. We set a time for a subsequent phone call to settle the deal after returning to the office.

I can now definitively announce that the Massachusetts 1874-CC dime has found a new home in a northeastern collection.

 

A "Unicorn" 2023 Acura MDX Becomes Family

Here is an image taken at Gettel Acura after we wrote a large check and sat through a one hour tutorial concerning the host of electronic features of our new 2023 Acura MDX with only 9100 miles. This is unquestionably a luxury SUV with the top line "Advanced" options package that rivals our selections for the 718 Boxster, but at a fraction of the price. The riding comfort is well above that of our former 2014 MDX that has served us so well since 2017.

Unfortunately, it was late afternoon and the setting sun was in our eyes, also washing out the picture a bit.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Today's plan is for a bit of a laid back day with the majority of time still in the GFRC office. The Lakeland Collection has sent along a small Liberty Seated quarter consignment that needs processing along with loading the three CAC approved lots, as showcased in Friday's Blog, to the 30 Day Price List. Already, the 1890 PCGS PR62 CAC quarter is on hold.

I will be checking emails through the day for new orders and other correspondence.

We certainly appreciate the ongoing readership and support as I continue to operate GFRC in a vigorous manner until Darrell and Matt are prepared to take over the helm.

Be well!

 

 

 

November 28, 2025

Pseudo Black Friday Sale Update

and

Premium New Offerings

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on Black Friday 2025. Thank you for checking in.

Regardless of not planning to conduct a Black Friday Sale this year, the GFRC community took things into their own hands. As of this morning, ten consignors have joined the sale with 8 to 10% price reductions through the end of December. The discounted lots have been reposted to the 30 Day Price List for easy access and review. Sales were quickly realized leading to a busy Thanksgiving Day in the office outside of an afternoon turkey meal at a nearby Moose Lodge with several Auburn Lakes HOA friends.

Since the first Lakeland Collection Black Friday Sales lots hit the 30 Day Price List, GFRC has already sold 19 coins with expectations for more sales to arrive today and into the weekend.

The community should be aware that next week brings the Sarasota Coin Show leading to no order shipments on Thursday through Saturday regardless of arriving check payments. We will do our best to ship orders on Monday through Wednesday morning.

Honestly, I had not expected to see the GFRC business this busy at this point in the ownership transition but all is well and good.

 

Premium New Offerings

Thanksgiving evening found me in the office preparing three recently returned lots from CAC with those all important green beans. These new acquisitions at the Whitman Baltimore show are now ready for posting to the 30 Day Price List. Following is a preview gallery as a courtesy to those who read the Blog religiously each morning.

All three proof lots have secured GFRC-Gem quality ratings as the 1899 Liberty nickel and 1890 Seated quarter have black and white cameo presentations. It is my understanding that PCGS did not designate cameo certifications during the 1986 through 1988 time frame. Honestly, I thought that the 1890 quarter could have a shot at a gold bean.

 

Freshly Stickered Whitman Baltimore Acquisitions

      1885 F-101 PCGS PF65CAM CAC 10C - $1450

  1899 PCGS PR64 CAC 5C Rattler - $575                                           1890 PCGS PR62 CAC 25C Rattler - $950

        

 

Precious Metals Rally Continues

One of the first online sites to be checked each morning upon arising is the Kitco platform that reports overnight precious metal trading levels and current prices. Those who have been tracking the metals of late will note that another breakout attempt is underway for both gold and silver with silver on the cusp of hitting $55/oz. During overnight trading, silver was able to breach the $54 mark and is presently quoting at $53.78 on the LBMA exchange. Gold is marginally higher at $4175.

This morning's YouTube viewing of precious metals market analysts indicate that the LBMA and COMEX have pretty much exhausted their physical silver float that enables paper contract trading. Interestingly, as silver futures were trading over $54, there was a COMEX shutdown that has many speculating as to the authenticity of the claim of a data center cooling malfunction. I checked in with AI Copilot for the details with the following report:

There is a report that the CME Group (which operates COMEX, the precious metals exchange) experienced a major computer shutdown on November 28, 2025, due to a data center cooling malfunction. This outage temporarily froze trading across multiple markets, including precious metals contracts.

What Happened
• Cause: A cooling failure at a CyrusOne data center disrupted systems supporting CME Group’s trading platforms.
• Impact: The outage halted 90% of global derivatives trading, including futures and options tied to equity indexes, bonds, currencies, energy, and commodities such as gold and silver.
• Duration: The freeze lasted longer than a similar CME tech glitch in 2019, underscoring the systemic risk of centralized infrastructure.
• Scope: While CME’s U.S. platforms were down, its BrokerTec venue in Europe remained operational, allowing some continuity.

Why It Matters for Precious Metals
• COMEX (part of CME Group) is the world’s leading marketplace for gold, silver, and other metals futures.
• A shutdown at CME directly affects price discovery and liquidity in precious metals markets.
• Traders and hedgers relying on COMEX contracts for gold and silver were unable to transact during the outage, which could have ripple effects on spot market pricing and volatility.

YouTubers are calling BS on the report as the timing is too coincidental with silver attempting to break to a new all time high. The COMEX history for price manipulation is well known at this point.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

There is morning shipping to accomplish along with retrieving Diane's "new" 2023 Acura MDX from Gettel Acura once the "ready" signal is given by the dealership. I will be therefore be in an out of the GFRC office today and will respond to Black Friday Sale orders as promptly as possible.

So ends today's post Thanksgiving Day ramblings. As always, thank you for stopping by.

Be well!

 

 

 

November 27, 2025

Happy Thanksgiving!

and

GFRC's Pseudo Black Friday Sale Explodes!

 

Greetings on a pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday afternoon and welcome to a spontaneous Daily Blog edition.

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to the entire GFRC community as this will be my last at the GFRC helm during this holiday. It is becoming bittersweet as the countdown to the ownership transition becomes more in focus. We are still targeting early February for the inventory transfer once Darrell and Matt have debugged their GFRC sales website and are ready to be posting independently.

The second reason for this early Thanksgiving Day blog is the fact that the "pseudo" Black Friday Sale continue to be gain traction with more and more consignors wishing to join the event. For your information, here is a list of all the consignors who have given instruction to move their consigned coins to the 30 Day Price List at an 8% or 10% discount. This discount will extend through the end of December, but it might be wise to jump on these discounted lots earlier to assure availability.

Here are the consignors who are participation in the Black Friday Sales based on the order of their instructional emails:

Lakeland Collection - This mother/son team that started this entirely new Black Friday Sale approach!

Cleveland Collection

Mirror Collection

Evergreen State Collection

Island City Collection

White Pine Collection

Unnamed Client

New Orleans Collection

Tenafly Collection

LaSalle Collection

I will be actively posting discounted lots throughout Wednesday afternoon so please check back before dinner East Coast time to view the entire compliment of discounted lots. With the upcoming Sarasota COIN Show next week, I suggest that you don't hesitate to acquire targeted lots.

OK, it is time to get back to the incoming emails and the COIN database to stay current with Black Friday instructions and purchases. And I thought that I would be chilling out during this holiday time frame, however it appears that the 3D ROKR puzzle will need to wait!

Thank you and be well!

 

 

 

November 26, 2025

GFRC Consignors Take Control!

A Pseudo Black Friday Sale

and

2nd Deliveries for Luxury Vehicles are Useful

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday. It is an early Wednesday morning with a exciting business development. Thank for the visit.

Today's headline gives the story line away. Little did I realize that Tuesday's brief mention of the Lakeland Collection "pseudo" Black Friday Sale discounting would incentivize other consignors to follow suit. Immediately after reading yesterday's Blog, the Cleveland Collection sent along an email that said "me too!". Come the afterward hours, the Mirror Collection also decided to join the effort. Everyone is instructing an 8% discount through the end of December.

Please check the 30 Day Price List as the number of lots has jumped from 13 to 41 as I honored consignor requests and installed their Black Friday discounts into the COIN system.

If wishing to become an incremental participant, please email me and I will take implement your guidance. The only stipulations are a single discounted percentage across all remaining lots and allowing the discounts to remain through end of year. Obviously, these discounted prices will be offered at the Sarasota Coin Show next week. My office day planned workload is light today with no shipping, therefore inputs can be quickly implemented.

Now, let's move to today's second headline...

 

2nd Deliveries for Luxury Vehicles are Useful

Tuesday also brought a 2nd delivery session for our 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 that was facilitated by a Sarasota Porsche house call.

What is a "2nd delivery"?

A 2nd delivery is an incremental opportunity for having the electronic complexities of your new car thoroughly explained. We all have experienced the excitement of the initial delivery of a new luxury vehicle and the sales rep doing their best to explain all features. In reality, the retention rate for that explanation is probably limited for those who make a jump for a regularly equipped car to that of a luxury vehicle with a plethora of electronic options. Reading the entire instruction manual is always advised but in reality, few luxury car buyers will spend the time to read through a dry instruction manual, rather using that doecument as a resource when questions arise.

Yesterday's Boxster 2nd delivery with Winston from Sarasota Porsche was well worth the time and pre-work. A long list of questions had accumulated concerning the Boxster and this was the opportunity to have all explained. I was also guilty of not thoroughly reading the instruction manual until yesterday morning prior to the 1:30 house call. Armed with my list of questions, a quick reading of the instruction manual brought answers to roughly half of those questions. For example, on start-up the Boxster goes into a 2250+ rpm mode for a minute or more followed by settling down to its normal 1500 rpm engine speed in Normal mode. I learned that the car initially runs a higher rpm to warm up the catalytic converter. There were questions about PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) and PSM (Porsche Stability Management) based on the driving mode and the selector switch on the console being lit or unlit. One important question had to do with the map navigation operations as when we resized the map via the touch screen, our location arrow would move off screen, a real annoyance. Come to find out, there is a thumb wheel to accomplish the map resizing that maintains the car's position marker in the screen center. I could go on and on but you should get the point.

When purchasing our pre-owned 2023 Acura MDX, Gettel Acura also offered a 2nd delivery which we will wholeheartedly take advantage of after driving the car for several months. Diane is not a gadget person and surely will have questions or simply benefiting from a second tutorial.

My advice to anyone in the community that purchases a new car, it might be beneficial to request a 2nd delivery commitment after driving the car for 60 days of so.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As mentioned earlier, there is no GFRC shipping today. The office time will be dedicated to responding to orders, processing images, and updating the 30 Day Price List with incremental Black Friday Sale discounting instructions.

There will be no Daily Blog edition on Thanksgiving Day as a holiday. That 3D ROKR puzzle awaits me and I'd like to chill out with this 10 hours or so project.

For the gold and silver bugs among us, both metals are again in a rally cycle with gold quoting at $4171 and silver at $52.35. This rally appears to be a new attempt to break out of the recent consolidation pattern. If gold can close on Friday at or above $4175, then we could be headed to $4400 by year end. In that case, silver will also move higher.

I've been reading so much favorable news for the precious metals that the question of higher prices is not IF but a matter of WHEN.

OK, that is it for today's ramblings. As always, thank you for returning for today's edition.

Be well!

 

 

November 25, 2025

Sarasota Coin Show Arrives Next Week

and

Three Freshly CAC Approved Lots

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Tuesday morning. Thank you so much for the visit.

Every day brings something new at the GFRC Venice office. On Monday, I received an email from the mother/son Lakeland Collection team that they wished to conduct their own Black Friday Sales event with an 8% discount on all their remaining offering through the end of December. Those lots will be repriced and loaded to the top of the 30 Day Price List today. More on this topic within tomorrow's Blog edition.

Secondly, a return shipment from CAC Stickering was left in front of my door without any attempt to secure a signature. I was taking out the trash after dinner, opening the front door and not expecting an object at the door's threshold when stepping on the box. The CAC label clearly stated "Adult Signature Required" but who pays attention to this drop-off requirements these days?

Let's move forward with today's headlines, shall we?

 

Sarasota Coin Show Arrives Next Week

Immediately after Thanksgiving week, GFRC heads to the Sarasota Coin Show being held at the Sahib Shriners facility on North Beneva Road in Sarasota. The location is easily accessible off I-75 at the Fruitville Rd exit or via Rt 41 with ample parking behind the building. The event hall is spacious with a full restaurant on site. Dealer setup takes place at 2:00 PM on Wednesday with the bourse open to the public on Thursday and Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM along with Saturday from 10:00 AM through 4:00 PM.

The Sarasota Coin Show brings Gerry and Dan White together for one final time as part of Gerry's GFRC farewell tour. Our entire inventory will be found in the showcases and readily available for purchase. The following image, from the 2024 show, illustrates the GFRC bourse floor location at the immediate left of the entrance. Please ignore the December 5-7 dates.

 

Three Freshly CAC Approved Lots

Since being dropped off by USPS late in the day on Monday, the best I can do for these three freshly CAC approved proof lots is to provide a group photo. These premium items were purchased from a long time client at the Whitman Baltimore show. Both the 1899 Liberty nickel and 1890 Seated quarter provide black & white cameo presentation under a bright light. During the early days of TPG grading, cameo designations were not employed so please consider this fact when these proof lots reach the price list. The 1885 PCGS PR65CAM dime was purchased raw at an old time auction by our client and subsequently graded at PCGS. The CAC green bean was readily expected.

These lots will be priced today and photographed if the Florida weather cooperates. First shot requests are welcomed else these will be available at the Sarasota Coin Show.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

The morning hours will find me in the GFRC office conducting some light shipping and other duties including the implementation of the Lakeland Collection's 8% price reduction towards a mini Black Friday Sale.

Come the afternoon, Winston from Sarasota Porsche is making a house call and will be conducting a "second delivery" of our 718 Boxster. I have a host of questions concerning the car after having an opportunity to drive the vehicle for nearly 4000 miles. These type of luxury sports cars offer a host of electronic options and a second review is going to be helpful for a comprehensive understanding.

Thanks again for today's visit.

Be well!

 

 

 

November 24, 2025

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call Video Is Available

and

Three Better Liberty Seated Quarter Dates to Consider

 

Greetings on a Thanksgiving week Monday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you again for staying connected with GFRC happenings.

Sunday was spent mostly in the GFRC office handling some backed-up administrative duties along with writing consignment checks. Yesterday's 1841 Love Token Seated dollar promptly sold and is shipping this morning. A small better date Liberty Seated quarter consignment was processed with offer prices quoted to the consignor. Since not hearing back, I will just announce those pieces today with images.

Several GFRC long term clients were unable to attend Thursday's "ownership transition" Zoom meeting and requested that a video of the meeting be posted. Len Augsburger was able to post that video to YouTube after approval from the key participants. The video can be viewed at this link:

https://youtu.be/ax6CqZUknYA

 

Three Better Liberty Seated Quarter Dates to Consider

Our newest consignment arrived during the past week and is ready for posting to the 30 Day Price List once there is offer price approval by the consignor. Below are three better date Liberty Seated quarters for your consideration. The 1849-O and 1855-O quarters are old friends with their prior sales records available in the Sales Archive. Today's posting in the Daily Blog is a First Right of Refusal or first shot opportunity.

 

Better Dates from a New Consignor

  1849-O PCGS G06 25C

    1855-O PCGS EF40 25C                                                               1871-S PCGS VF20 25C    

        

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

GFRC sales continue to be brisk regardless of an anemic 30 Day Price List. Those coins that do post are selling rapidly as my goal is to not build up inventory ahead of the ownership transition. In other words, offer prices are attractive.

Morning shipping will keep me busy today followed by a Porsche drive to the Venice Island post office. I've never enjoyed going to the post office so much! The open exhaust valve symphony is music to my ears. I've yet to decide what the afternoon will bring, but most likely more consignment check preparations along with processing images for my own Liberty Seated dime web-book plate coins.

A quick look at gold and silver markets yields nothing new as the consolidation of gold between $4000 to $4100 and silver at $50 continues. Frankly, this is the best possible situation after a sharp increase during 2025. Everyone that I watch on YouTube expects the precious metal rally to continue during 2026 with the typical gold price target between $5000 to $6000 due to too much sovereign debt and highly speculative derivative bets in the financial system.

At this point, there is little else to share therefore let's wrap up the Blog at this point. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

November 23, 2025

A Historical 1841 Liberty Seated Dollar Love Token

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a late November 2025 Sunday morning. Thank for the visit.

As I sit in the GFRC Venice office and contemplate today's opening preamble. the thought arrived that my GFRC blogging days will be coming to an end in roughly 70 days or so. Can you imagine that? Each morning, there will be an extra one to two hours of life to explore personal topics and expand one's hobbies. Currently awaiting my attention is a newly ordered ROKR 3D London Marble Travel puzzle that I'm looking forward to assemble over the long Thanksgiving weekend given no Black Friday Sale.

As promised in yesterday's non-numismatic edition, today brings attention to a historical consignment that is worthy of a special announcement.

Just arrived from a long time client is the following 1841 Liberty Seated Dollar with the inscription Born May 15 1858 on the obverse and Frederic J. Lawrence on the reverse.

1841 Seated Dollar Love Token in Memory of Frederic J. Lawrence

 

This dollar coin features Fine grade level wear with old album blues and gold appearing in the fields under a bright light. Rims are well preserved and without any marks. A single small hole at 12:00 is noted for wearing the silver piece as a pendant.

Our consignor conducted research via Ancestry.com and was able to locate information concerning the background of Federic J Lawrence. Sadly, Federic was only 6 years old when passing during the American Civil War. Here is a screen capture from the Ancestry.com website with an illustration of Frederic's tombstone.

 

This new lot will be loaded to the 30 Day Price List today at $650. Blog readers now have a first shot opportunity.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Today brings some down time along with processing images for a four piece Liberty Seated quarter consignment including 1849-O PCGS G06, 1855-O PCGS EF40, 1871-S PCGS VF20, and a corroded 1860-S in a details ANACS VF30 holder. Please give me a shout if any of these might be of interest.

Up next is our morning health walk.

Thank you again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

November 22, 2025

MDX History Repeats Itself....

 

Greetings on pre-Thanksgiving week Saturday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for the repeat visits.

Fair warning is in order for today's edition as there will be no numismatic content....

 

MDX History Repeats Itself....

Today's headline deserves the telling of a back story as a starting point...

Back in 2017. GFRC had begun to grow it business volume with expanding inventory levels. The semi-annual Maine to Florida and Florida to Maine migrations were taking place in a Toyota Avalon sedan that had limited trunk space for the ever increasing amount of luggage necessary to store our numismatic inventories. During December 2017, we arrived at the Venice condo with the Avalon starting to show its age and trustworthiness for the 1550 mile trips. It was time to retire the old Toyota Avalon and purchase a replacement.

Our first stop during the initial day of car shopping was Venice Toyota and test driving a new Avalon sedan. Neither Diane and I were impressed with the vehicle as a long haul replacement. Directly across I-41, was Suncoast Motors where Diane had seen a newly listed used 2014 Acura MDX with only 14,000 miles. Our second stop was that dealership and a request to test drive the newly listed SUV. At this point in my life, I had never owned an SUV, rather always purchasing sedans or trucks. The sales rep was accommodating as the MDX has just been taken in trade and had not been cleaned and inspected sufficient for the vehicle to be placed on the lot. Our rep secured permission for a short test drive which I leveraged to the max to test out the handling capabilities.

Diane and I did something that was uncharacteristic that day. We purchased that MDX on the spot and fell in love with the power, handling, and massive storage space for the long haul east coast trips. That decision proved to be sound as we have driven our cherished 2014 MDX since that purchase day and have taken the odometer to 133,000+ miles during the current Maine to Florida migration. The large amount of miles is a function of using the MDX to travel to coin shows. At this point, the mileage and overall condition of the car warranted an effort to start looking for a replacement.

Yesterday, Diane and I made a decision to start shopping for a replacement SUV. Off we went in the top down 718 Boxster as it was a beautiful sunny day. Our target was Clark Rd in Sarasota where a host of luxury car dealerships are within several miles of each other. The first stop was the BMW dealership to check out the I7 SUV. Our requirement was a 6 cylinder engine and three row setting for use with the grandchildren when visiting Maine and Florida. We test drove a used 2022 I7 with 48,000 miles. As expected, the vehicle had the firmer ride that one expects from a German luxury SUV. The amount of in cabin electronics was over the top and triggered stories of BMW reliability issues and high maintenance costs. We said our goodbye to the sales rep, a young man from Maine of all places.

The next stop was well known to me, Gettel Acura, as the location where I've taken the 2014 MDX for servicing. We walked the lot and found little for either the Gen 3 or Gen 4 Acura MDXs as pre-owned. Heading into the showroom, we met Austin, as our sales rep, and explained our situation with the 2014 MDX. We love this car but the Gen 3 body style was last produced during 2020. There were no Acura MDXs manufacturing during 2021 during the Covid era with 2022 bringing the new larger sized Gen 4 body style. Our goal was to locate either a pre-owned Gen 3 or Gen 4 with low miles.

Talk about deja vu....

Austin shares that he had just taken in a 2023 Acura MDX that was a "unicorn". He knew the local owners who used this car as their third vehicle and barely drove it. The car had only 9600 miles and was the top end luxury Acura MDX with the Advanced options package. Now we understand why he called this vehicle a "unicorn" as the combination of very low miles for a three year old SUV coupled with all the conceivable options that one could hope for in a long distance SUV. We requested a test drive and Austin dug the car out of service to accommodate our request. Honestly, the car has just been taken in and not yet cleaned. Diane and I took turns during the test drive and returned to Gettel. Austin wisely left us alone for a few minutes to facilitate a private discussion. Since this vehicle will be Diane's car given my 718 Boxster was a Gerry purchase, the decision was up to Diane. Memories of the 2014 MDX purchase immediately came to mind and how fortunate we had been to grab that low mileage SUV before it hit the car lot. Unlike Diane, who loves to shop, she made the decision to purchase this 2023 "unicorn" on the spot.

A careful inspection of the car revealed one small dent on the passenger side quarter panel and a scuffed up tire wheel. Austin immediately went to work to schedule those repairs for this coming week and the pickup targeted for Friday of Thanksgiving Day weekend.

We traded the 2014 MDX with its 133,000 miles and were realistic about its trade value. The GFRCmobile has served us well since 2018 as the main business transport for the many coins show that we have attended. Small matters like not having the trade vehicle with us were overcome with the Gettel service department records. Our paper title was still in Maine but could be replaced with an electronic version with Gettel as the facilitator.

What started as a "shopping" afternoon turned into the purchase of another Acura MDX. This vehicle is white with tan leather interior seating and a host of cool options like heads up display on the windshield for the speedometer and navigation instrumentation. There are five handling modes and a fantastic sound system coupled with multiple USB-C connection and power ports and a full 115V DC at AC port in the second row seating.

The numismatic hobby has taught me that when a gem coin appears consistent with my collecting goals, one must act swiftly. The same can be said about the two occasions when the Fortins luckily stumbled on a gem or "unicorn" pre-owned viewing.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

Please check back tomorrow as the Blog will shift back to numismatics. While at Gettel Acura, the Venice PO carrier left two pink slips on our door indicating the arrival of fresh consignments. Those will be discussed on Sunday morning.

Thanks again for sharing in another of the Fortin adventures.

Be well!

 

 

 

November 21, 2025

New GFRC Postings Selling Quickly

 

Greetings and welcome to the Daily Blog on a Friday morning. We are always pleased to learn of the readership size and are thankful for the support.

Well, Thursday's evening GFRC ownership transition Zoom meeting went very well IMHO. Attendees should have captured Darrell and Matt's numismatic passion along with the forthcoming GFRC service expansion plans that include Want List and Auction Representation. The call lasted nearly 1.5 hours with a host of questions.

GFRC will continue to operate under my stewardship until early February 2026 as the current plan. Once the inventory is transferred to Darrell and Matt, my role shifts to that of an advisor and bourse floor table assistant. In the meantime, I will continue to insource consignments, post new offerings, and write consignment checks.

Today's Blog edition will be brief. As the headline indicates, new GFRC postings to the 30 Day Price List are selling quickly. For example, yesterday's 1849-O PCGS VF20 Seated quarter promptly sold along with an 1834 B-5 NGC AU50 Capped Bust quarter that sold in the matter of hours after being posted. Offer prices are fair by design as I'm not building inventory in advance of the ownership transition.

Moving to equity markets, Bitcoin, and gold....

Things are starting to unravel in the equity and Bitcoin space while gold is still holding the $4000 level. Bitcoin has dropped to $82,215 and is now down 38% from 2025 highs. The S&P 500 closed at 6538 on Thursday as the U.S. government has decided to not bother reporting October job creation. The unemployment rate has increased to 4.45% and will undoubtedly climb higher before year end.

Morning market futures indicate that tech stocks remain unloved with the S&P 500 probably dropping lower in today's trading.

I'm feeling good about gold since being a Friday. If a large bullion bank had attempted to crash gold prices, that action would have taken place during the overnight hours. Silver, on the other hand has dropped below the all important $50 level in sympathy with equities.

Today's focus will be image processing for roughly 15 Liberty Seated dimes, many of which are web-book plate coins. None are overly expensive and I expect these to sell quickly once posted.

Thank you for checking in. Be well!

 

 

 

November 20, 2025

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call - This Evening at 8:00 PM ET

and

An Old 1849-O Seated Quarter Friend Returns

 

Greetings on a Thursday morning and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you for staying connected!

The Florida transition is essentially complete at this point with attention shifting back to the GFRC business. Yesterday brought a 718 Boxster bath followed by several loops around our neighborhood to enjoy a warm top down ride in bright sunshine.

Let's move on to GFRC business.

First up is CAC stickering results that arrived via email last evening. I bought three lovely proof coins at the Whitman Baltimore show from a long time client and paid strong as the quality was all there (1899 PCGS PR64 5c, 1885 PCGS PR65CAM 10c, and 1890 PCGS PR62 25c). I believed that all three pieces should sticker and indeed, they did. The 1899 5c and 1890 25c are both in rattler holders and have black & white cameo appearances.

Wednesday brought the photography of a PCGS blue box holding various Liberty Seated dimes, all holdered and web-book plate coins. Included in the session was an old 1849-O Seated quarter friend that will be featured next. In the image processing department, three better variety 1834 and 1835 Capped Bust quarters have uploaded to the Hostway server and will be added to the 30 Day Price List today.

The 30 Day Price List is in terrible shape with only 14 coins being available for sale. This matter must be rectified in the next few days else you might be thinking that I have already retired on the job.

 

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call - This Evening at 8:00 PM ET

Transparency is the operative word for the GFRC business transition to new ownership. This fact will be on full display this evening at 8:00 PM.

We are hoping for a strong turn out at this Zoom meeting which was conceived towards transparency. A subset of GFRC clients had a chance to meet Darrell and Matt at the Whitman Baltimore show. Tonight brings an opportunity for the entire community to check in and listen to the new owners' numismatic backgrounds and professional careers. At this point, the basis for my retirement should be obvious and there will not be a need for a long discussion.

The Zoom call can be accessed at the following link along with the planned meeting topics.

https://wustl.zoom.us/j/5086565637

1. An opportunity for Gerry to again announce his retirement as GFRC owner/operator and share what is next.

2. How the current www.seateddimevarieties.com website will be reconfigured into separate websites. The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors online reference and related content will remain at www.seateddimevarieties.com while the GFRC sales platform (and its many links) will be accessible at a new URL managed by Darrell and Matt. Gerry will continue to be webmaster for his Liberty Seated dime die variety online reference.

3. Darrell Low and Matt Mayers will provide insights into their GFRC website and sales plans once taking over the business inventory come early February 2026.

4. An opportunity for attendees to ask questions and voice this concerns with the transition.

 

An Old 1849-O Seated Quarter Friend Returns

The just completed Whitman Baltimore coin show was a great GFRC event on many levels. Sales were robust along with buying a few walk up lots for inventory. One coin in particular stands out as I took in an 1849-O PCGS VF20 quarter in trade towards the PCGS VF35 example that was in inventory. This quarter looked familiar once offered and is quite pleasing. As usual, I paid strong for the coin as how often does one have an opportunity to stock a choice 1849-O quarter?

Once returning back to the Maine office, I looked at the coin and then checked the Sales Archive. Sure enough, this lot originated from the Golden Harvest Collection and was sold during July 2020. As of this morning, it is back on the price list at a competitive offer price. Astute Liberty Seated quarter collectors should not think too hard on a potential purchase given the date's rarity and eye appeal. I recommend that you visit the GFRC Sales Archive and compare the "look" on this piece against others sold in VF grades.

Important 1849-O Quarter to Consider

1849-O PCGS VF20 25C - $3600

Series New Orleans Key Date, Crusty Gray Patina, Choice Original Surfaces, An Old Friend Returns. The mintage for 1849 New Orleans strikes is unrecorded with Briggs estimating a mintage of 16,000 pieces. Few example ever reach the marketplace. However, GFRC customers have been lucky to have access to a steady flow of this date due to collector divestment. This old friend was taken in trade at the Whitman Baltimore show and is an important VF20 duplicate since enter the marketplace in a year's time. Natural surfaces are choice and unabraded. The assigned grade is quite conservative given the elevated obverse scroll and available device details. Uniform gray patina covers both side with some lighter shades on the lower reverse. A strictly original offering that will fill that key date hole in your Liberty Seated quarter collection. Housed in PCGS Gen 5.0 (2015) Dupont hologram holder and ready for immediately placement into another advanced collection.

 

Wrapping Up the Blog

A busy day awaits me with morning shipping and a conference call with Carlo for tax planning purposes. The afternoon hours will find me working in the GFRC office followed by the 8:00 PM Zoom meeting.

Therefore, let's wrap up today's Blog and move forward with a new day. Thanks again for the visit.

Be well!

 

 

November 19, 2025

718 Boxster Arrives to Venice

and

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call - November 20 8:00 PM ET

 

Greetings and welcome to a Florida centric Daily Blog edition. Thank you for staying connected with the Fortin adventures.

Today's Blog edition will be on the brief side due to a busy morning agenda.

Several clients have emailed to check on the status of the annual Black Friday Sale. My response is that I will not be holding a Black Friday Sales during the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday. GFRC inventory continues to shrink at a steady pace as the ownership transition takes place in early February 2026. Those consignors that wish to discount their coins are free to send me their lower offer prices. I will repost their coins at the top of the 30 Day Price List with the discounted numbers.

Now that the Florida transition has been accomplished, I will be issuing consignment checks during the next 48 hours. The goal is to zero out many consignor balances as we move into the year end. The goal is to prepare a clean consignment credit balance sheet come 2026. Once the ownership transition takes places, Darrell and Matt will become responsible for consignment sales, absorbing those commissions, and making consignment credit payments. The plan is to continue the Trading Desk concept of offsetting GFRC purchases with consignment credits. Nothing will change here.

 

718 Boxster Arrives to Venice

The new Porsche 718 Boxster arrived last evening at 6:30 PM much to my delight. Seeing and hearing the Boxster being unloaded from the covered transport brought a wonderful feeling. Since the sun had already gone down, the transfer inspection was accomplished with flashlights. The car appeared a bit dusty but otherwise was free of any marks or scratches. I also checked the odometer to ensure that the car had not been taken for a thrill ride.

Now that the Boxster is home, the next step is a thorough washing tomorrow morning before the sun becomes too hot. In the meantime, my pride and joy is being protected with a Beverly Hills Automotive outdoor cover. I've sourced both an indoor and outdoor cover from these fine people. The covers are one of the higher priced offerings in the market, but the overall workmanship and material quality is fantastic.

The reason for the outdoor cover is where the Porsche is being parked. The Fortins only have one dedicated parking spot under a carport. The adjacent parking spot belongs to the HOA board president and is being used by his 93 year old mother who still drives. In conversations with "Bill", he would like to pull her driving license but mom is a tough woman. We have watched her struggle to park her Acura RDX into the carport parking spot. The thought of placing the new 718 Boxster in an adjacent parking spot simply does not work for me. Instead the car is parked in a community open spot and is subject to the hot Florida sun and sulfur rich irrigation system water from a well pump. That water leaves a blotchy finish on the paint.

Now you know the whole story and the challenges of community living.

 

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call - November 20 8:00 PM ET

Again a reminder of tomorrow evening's Zoom call and an opportunity for the GFRC community to meet Darrell Low and Matt Mayers.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

Spot gold pricing has jumped during London trading to $4117/oz along with silver now quoting at $52.10. I'd much rather be holding gold and silver, rather than Bitcoin which has now fallen to $91,000.

That is all for today's ramblings. We do appreciate the ongoing visits. Be well!

 

 

 

November 18, 2025

Not to be Missed!

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call - November 20 8:00 M ET

and

Sacandaga Collection - Complete Liberty Seated Dime Collection Achievement Blog

 

Greetings again from Venice Florida and welcome to the Daily Blog. Thank you so much for the returning visit.

The Florida settling in process consumed most of Monday with the usual chores. The Venice USPS office required a visit to kick off mail delivery followed by initial groceries shopping at our local Publix store. While I was out and about, Diane was clearing the accumulated dirt off the lanai floor and washing the screens with a hose down. Once cleaned, we were able to move the lanai furniture into place. The gas grill was moved from carport storage to its regular cooking location. On and on, we went through the list of condo opening tasks until completion. I was able to secure a three mile health walk during mid-afternoon. Here walks are accomplished on flat concrete sidewalks as compared to the stoned lined hilly trails back in Maine.

Today brings GFRC shipping department start-up and the 718 Boxster delivery at 6:00 PM. Come Wednesday, we will be fully settled in for the winter months.

 

GFRC Ownership Transition Zoom Call - November 20 8:00 M ET

An important reminder is in order!

The GFRC ownership transition Zoom call arrives on Thursday evening at 8:00 PM. All clients are invited to join in towards meeting Darrell Low and Matt Mayers and listening to their future GFRC plans after the February 2026 transition.

The Zoom call can be accessed at the following link along with the planned meeting topics.

https://wustl.zoom.us/j/5086565637

1. An opportunity for Gerry to again announce his retirement as GFRC owner/operator and share what is next.

2. How the current www.seateddimevarieties.com website will be reconfigured into separate websites. The Definitive Resource for Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors online reference and related content will remain at www.seateddimevarieties.com while the GFRC sales platform (and its many links) will be accessible at a new URL managed by Darrell and Matt. Gerry will continue to be webmaster for his Liberty Seated dime die variety online reference.

3. Darrell Low and Matt Mayers will provide insights into their GFRC website and sales plans once taking over the business inventory come early February 2026.

4. An opportunity for attendees to ask questions and voice this concerns with the transition.

 

Sacandaga Collection - Complete Liberty Seated Dime Collection Achievement Blog

Every collector who has successfully attempted the construction of a complete Liberty Seated dime collection ends that journey with a profound sense of accomplishment. I know first hand after completing my initial set during the late 1990s and have watched a fair number of collector friends and clients achieve that milestone.

Today brings an announcement by the Sacandaga Collection that he has also joined an elite club of collectors who have managed to assemble an entire Liberty Seated dime series by date and mintmark. A subset of those collectors have gone on to add the major varieties to the collections with some pursuing the Top 100 Varieties. The Top 100 set is brutally challenging due to the inclusion of the 1839 Pie Shattered Obverse and the 1874 Polished (No) Arrows entries.

At this point, let's turn the Blog over to our long time client for his announcement.

Gerry,

I hope you had a safe and uneventful trip to Florida.  While you were traveling, I received an 1874-CC Seated Dime, PCGS VG-10 (It cost more than my first new car!) which filled the final hole in my date and mintmark Seated Dime collection.  My registry set (The Sacandaga Collection) on your website now shows 100% complete.  Not only is this a complete date and mintmark set of Seated Liberty Dimes, but my set includes all major varieties like the 1841-O Closed and Open Bud Reverse, 1861 Type 1 and Type 2 Obverse and the 1876-1878 Type 1 and Type 2 Reverse among others.  My set also includes all the various mintmark sizes.  For instance, the 1839-O has a Small O, Large O and Huge O, therefore, I decided that my set had to include one of each.  All coins are slabbed with at least half being either CAC stickered or CACG. (I took advantage of their crossover special to send in most of the collection.) The vast majority of the collection is AU or better with only the major keys being below AU with the lowest being the 1871-CC at FR-2, but hey, it is CAC stickered!

I originally started collecting Seated Liberty Dimes in the 1980’s.  That pursuit was put on hold when I got married and my wife and I built our house in 1991.  Most of the collection was sold a few years later to Brian Greer to raise capital to purchase a utility tractor, a necessity where I live.  I slowly began to start collecting Seated Dimes again in the late 90’s and really picked up steam in to 2010’s.  I made my first purchase from GFRC in May of 2018 (Those first 2 coins I purchased from GFRC are still in my collection today.) and that is when the collection really started to take off.  As my Seated Dime buddy, who bailed out on me, but I proudly own a number of his former coins, Tom Coulombe would say, that is when I got seriously into fine diming.  You have provided me much advice over the years which helped to convince me to move my collection from a collection of raw coins to a collection of certified coins and always encouraged me to keep upgrading the collection with nicer coins while selling or trading the lesser coins.  Always keep the collection improving.  I even had the opportunity a few years back to be a table assistance for GFRC with Tom Coulombe at the Manchester Coins show and that was a blast.

Though my collection is complete, the continuous improvement shall continue.  There are still other MPD’s, overdates, and other varieties which will just have to be included.  I have also picked up a few Seated Dime errors along the way.  I can say in all honesty that over half of my Seated Dime collection has been sourced from GFRC and you will be missed. Though, I am happy to hear that you will be maintaining and even updating the web book.  It always bothered me when you would sell a Seated Dime as unlisted.  You wrote the book, man!  How could you do that!

Thanks for all the guidance through the years and always having great coins available.  Enjoy your retirement, especially playing on that tractor.  Oh and time to move that Coulombe Family Collection out of the Active Collections on the GFRC Registry as I own more of his coins than he does.

Thanks for everything, Karl (aka, The Sacandaga Collection)

 

One comment is in order concerning the Open Set Registry. There is no immediate mechanism to move a set from Active to All-Time once it is sold. The options are deleting the set immediately or letting it ride as Active until time expires and the system eliminates the set from Active status and continues to feature the set within the All-Time status.

For readers who are curious, here is the link to the All-Time Liberty Seated Dime collections. This table features the who's who of Liberty Seated dime collecting and the documented lots in each of these completed sets.

https://www.seateddimevarieties.com/openregistry/set.php?set=21

 

Gold and Silver Again in Consolidation Mode

The precious metals appear to have entered another price consolidation phase with gold holding above the $4000 level and silver trading around $50/oz. Holding these levels is positive and a show of strength as Bitcoin has dropped substantially to $91K and is about 23% down from recent highs.

The AI boom story is starting to show cracks as the S&P 500 has retreated to 6672 as of Monday's close. Traders were expecting a 50 basis point in short term interest rates come the December Fed meeting. Recent hawkish statements by several Federal Reserve governors appears to be throwing cold water on those expectations.

 

Wrapping Up The Blog

As mentioned earlier, the GFRC shipping department starts operations this morning with several Express packages heading to serious collectors. Today should bring the arrival of check payments and more shipping on Wednesday.

Come the afternoon hours, I will be photographing a few Whitman Baltimore trade lots and several holdered Liberty Seated dime that were discovered in the back of the Maine safe. Most are web-book plate coins.

Once again, thank you for returning to the Daily Blog and taking in today's content. Please remember to drop by at 8:00 PM on Thursday evening for an all important Zoom call.

Be well!