COINage

GLOBAL TURMOIL AND COIN MARKET HISTORY

9/11/01 Terrorism Had No Adverse Impact on Coin Trading

- Greg Reynolds

9/11/01 Terrorism Had No Adverse Impact on Coin Trading

There is similarity in regards to coin markets and coin auctions between the after-effects of the novel coronaviru­s global pandemic that hit hard in March and April 2020 and the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. In both scenarios, an unexpected and unpreceden­ted crisis caused a national economic disaster, which lead to changes in the scheduling of and participat­ion in coin auctions. During Spring 2020 and Fall 2001, coin dealers and collectors torstors traveled to a much lesser extent than usual. In September and October 2001, I knew many people who were then terrified of flying on airplanes, and these were people who had previously been accustomed to flying often. In September 2001, coin auctions in New York were postponed and coin auctions in October and November had a cloud over them. In the June-July 2020 issue of COINage, appeared my coverage of the novel coronaviru­s and the Pogue VII sale, which was conducted by Stack’ s-Bowers on March 20, 2020. While the Pogue VII auction was relocated to California because of the cancellati­on of a coin show that would have occurred in Baltimore in March, the lots themselves, from the epic Pogue Family Collection, had been shown at various locations by Stack’s-Bowers for months before the sale. That means prospectiv­e bidders, researcher­s, and other coin enthusiast­s had a chance to view the Coins in the Pogue VII sale before COVID-19 became a severe issue. Auctions and coin shows scheduled for April, May, and June 2020 are a different matter. The shows were canceled. Travel by coin buyers was minimal. The auctions did take place virtually, and prices were lower than they would have been under normal circumstan­ces, partly because it was not convenient for most bidders to see the coins. I am not referring to all bidders. I am speaking about bidders who would have viewed these coins had the novel coronaviru­s outbreak never happened. The ‘in person’ viewers, especially leading wholesaler­s, tend to have a substantia­l effect on the prices realized of any first-tier coin auction. In September, October and November 2001, there was a nationwide environmen­t of fear. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 09/11/01, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney ended up in geographic­ally distant, heavily fortified

military bunkers. In the national media, there was endless discussion of vulnerabil­ities and counter-measures. On 09/12/01, I was startled by U.S. fighter jets buzzing about New York City at low altitudes. There were military troops on the ground, too, and many police officers brought to Manhattan from throughout the State of New York. Someone walking around could easily be under the impression that New York City was under martial law, though this was never really true. However, the vast majority of people walking around were in some kind of military or law enforcemen­t uniform. My ordinary clothes caused me to stand out. People then were afraid that the terrorist attacks of 09/11/01 were the first wave of many to come. Is that nationwide fear then parallel to the fear now that outbreaks of novel coronaviru­s could resurge if the economy re-opens soon or the fear that there could be outbreaks of other supervirus­es in the near future? By 2005, the economic disaster and climate of fear resulting from terrorist attacks on 09/11/01 were largely forgotten. Except for airport security and banking practices, business and social behavior patterns had returned to normal, very similar to what they were before September 11, 2001. Four years from now, will the markets for rare coins and coin auctions have returned to normal, as they were before 2020? As the nation recovered from the after-effects of 09/11/01, so will the nation recover from the after-effects of the outbreak of the novel coronaviru­s (COVID-19). Coin buyers and people in general who are upset and scared in the present may not remember that the terrorist attacks of 09/11/01 were far more alarming. The United States was literally attacked, and thousands of people were killed during one morning. The two primary World Trade Center buildings in New York were destroyed by suicidal terrorists who hijacked ordinary passenger planes. The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, was attacked as well. The Pentagon houses the headquarte­rs of the U.S. Department of Defense. The Secretary of Defense and the nation’s highest-ranking military officers have offices there, as well as many other military officers and key civilian support personnel. Ironically, constructi­on of the Pentagon began on September 11, 1941, sixty years before the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, which destroyed much of the building and killed many government employees along with all of the people on the hijacked airliner. While the outbreak of the novel coronaviru­s is probably unintentio­nal, the attacks on September 11, 2001 were certainly the work of Al-Queda, a notorious terrorist organizati­on that at the time was based in Afghanista­n. In the fall of 2001 and the spring of 2020, U.S. citizens feared that their way of life was irreparabl­y damaged, and coin owners were concerned about the effects on coin markets. The World Trade Center was symbolic of the prestige and internatio­nal role of New York City, and the World Trade Center site is extremely close to the heart of the financial community. Stock exchanges, top brokerage firms, some leading trading funds, and major investment banks are or were located nearby. In 2001, New York played a much greater role in the coin business than it did in 2019. Indeed, New York was then the center for coin auc-auc- auctions and the location of many coin convention­s. In 1997 and again in 2002, the summer ANA Convention took place in New York. The winter FUN Convention in Florida was nowhere near as important in the 1990s as it would become, especially after 2004. The FUN auctions were then secondary to many of the coin auctions auctionsau­ctions in New York City. Not all major coin auctions were then held in New York, but New York was clearly the coin auction capital. As late as 2015, Heritage held major auctions of U.S. coins in New York. Indeed, twice in 2014 and twice in 2015, Heritage conducted sales of the Gene Gardner Collection in New York, which was the all-time best collection of Liberty Seated coins and featured landmark

sets in other areas. In my opinion, Gene had the best set of Barber quarters that was ever publicly auctioned. Additional­ly, while some portions of Eric Newman’s collection were auctioned elsewhere, the most important sales of U.S., colonial and world coins from this collection were conducted in New York in 2013 and 2014. I covered the Newman auctions in great detail for an online publicatio­n. From the 1940s to 2001, New York was really the happening place for coin auctions, except for the annual summer ANA auctions, which were held at various locations around the nation. During the 1990s, the leading auction firms were Bowers & Merena of New Hampshire and Stack’s of New York, which were then separate. Stack’s conducted almost all of its auctions in New York. Bowers & Merena then held most of its major sales in New York. During the 1990s, Sotheby’s was a major player in the coin auction business. Christie’s was a player, too. Sotheby’s and Christie’s conducted sales of U.S. coins in New York. The auctions by Sotheby’s of the Gene Reale Collection in January 1998 and the John Moores Collection in November 1999 come to mind, amazing collection­s that have become largely forgotten. During that era, Christie’s sometimes employed the name “Spink America.” The sale of a large part of the Byron Reed Collection in October 1996 at Christie’s headquarte­rs in New York was one of the most important sales of the decade. The most important coin auctions of the 1990s were the two Eliasberg sales by Bowers & Merena at the St. Moritz Hotel on Central Park South in May 1996 and April 1997. Although Eliasberg’s U.S. gold coins had already been auctioned in October 1982, with some other Eliasberg Collection coins sold during the following decade, most of the famous U.S. coins and patterns in the Eliasberg Collection were in these two sales. Louis Eliasberg, Sr. formed the all-time greatest collection of U.S. coins. ANR auctioned Eliasberg’s world gold coins in New York in April 2005. By then, hardly anyone was talking about 9/11. The economy of New York City was severely damaged by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As with the coronaviru­s, commercial real estate, hotels, convention activity, physical stores selling luxury goods, and restaurant­s were horridly harmed in an economic sense. Rather than a dream destinatio­n or host city, New York was thought of as a target after 09/11/01. Many Wall Street firms opened or expanded offices in counties near New York City or other states so that their operations and employees would not be as exposed to terrorist attacks in the city. At the very least, during this time, New York was conjuring up negative issues in the minds of consumers, tourists, and business people. This opinion is similar to notions of convention­s, business meetings, and public gatherings conjuring up negative images in people’s minds currently, during the era of the novel coronaviru­s. Looking back on that tragic day in September 2001, I was on my way to New York City to attend a Stack’s auction. As I was traveling, I heard a comedian on the radio talk about terrorist attacks on New York City and the World Trade Centers “blowing up.” I thought that he was joking, as that comedian often did about serious topics. A few minutes later, this radio show was interrupte­d by a news update. It was said that only emergency personnel should come to Manhattan, the part of New York City where most business and tourist activity occurs. I then realized that awful events really happened. Like most people, I was shocked. Later, I realized that the auction I was planning to attend would be canceled or postponed. I recall that fortunatel­y, at that time, I had viewed lots for the auction the week before, which is similar to many who participat­ed in the 2020 auction of the Pogue Collection. This sale in 2001 featured the collection of Cornelius Vermeule III, a famous researcher of ancient coins. Indeed, he had an impressive and noteworthy reputation as a museum curator and scholar.

Curiously, he had some very important U.S. coins. Vermeule had two very famous Morgan silver dollars. His Proof 1893-CC silver dollar is stunning. Spectrum-B&M auctioned a Proof 1893-CC that is probably the Vermeule coin in January 2005 for $132,250. A Proof 1893-CC, which is extremely likely to be the Vermeule coin, later appeared in three Stack’s-Bowers auctions. It realized $149,500 in August 2011, $218,500 in August 2012, and did not sell in November 2013. I viewed lots for all these auctions. An important point here is that the $63,250 result for the Vermeule 1893-CC Morgan in November 2001 was a strong price at the time. It would have been considered a retail price earlier in the year, weeks, or months before 9/11. My analyses suggest that there was a resurgence in coin collecting, starting in the mid to late 1990s, yet time was required for this resurgence to develop momentum. This resurgence in coin collecting and economic growth overall lead to sharply increasing prices for rarities from 2003 to the middle of 2008. The terrorist attacks of 09/11/01 did not have a significan­t effect one way or another. As for the Stack’s auction set to occur on September 11 and 12, 2001, it was postponed until November, and there were additional opportunit­ies to view the coins before they were auctioned. The Vermeule 1893-S Morgan is one of the most famous of all silver dollars and currently is the most valuable Morgan dollar. The 1893-S is the key date business strike in the series of Morgan dollars. As I have explained in multiple published articles, the Vermeule 1893-S was the second finest Morgan silver dollar. The Norweb 1893-S was the finest until it was harmed while being ‘conserved.’ Consequent­ly, the Vermeule 1893-S became the finest known. The Vermeule 1893-S was auctioned for $414,000 in November 2001. It would have been auctioned on September 11, if the terrorist attacks had not occurred. Late in 2008, after rare coin markets dived in September, the Vermeule 1893-S traded privately for more than $1 million. From 2002 until the middle of 2008, values for many rare U.S. coins rose by more than 250%. The immediate point is that there is no evidence that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 had a negative impact on the price realized for the Vermeule 1893-S on November 12, 2001. I repeat that rare coin markets were already in a trough before 9/11. Values do not seem to have been reduced further by the consequenc­es of the terrorist attacks. Many variables may relate to individual rare coins, specific auctions, and demand on any particular day or month. Market levels for rare coins may be fairly estimated by those who have the requisite knowledge of coins markets and are not too partial, but market levels cannot be precisely known. Even so, the market climate for rare coins and coin auctions late in 2001 is relevant to upcoming market levels and auctions in 2020 or 2021. Most serious coin buyers have patience and are able to adjust. The Stack’s auction that was to occur on September 11 and 12, 2001 would have been followed by a Bowers & Merena auction in New York on September 14 and 15 at the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South. Lot viewing sessions had been planned for the 13th and 14th. The event was reschedule­d to be held in conjunctio­n with the already planned Bowers & Merena auction in Baltimore late in November 2001. The first major coin auction to be conducted after the terrorist attacks was the Dallas Bank sale by Sotheby’s, in associatio­n with Stack’s, on Dec. 29 and 30, 2001, at Sotheby’s headquarte­rs in Manhattan. I was there and the sale was well attended. Although most of the people present lived in New York State or New Jersey, a large percentage of coin wholesaler­s in 2001 lived or had second homes in this area. There were also a few dealers from far away in the auction room, most notably Don Kagin from California. None of the Dallas Bank Collection coins had been submitted to PCGS or NGC, discourage­d some collectors from participat­ing, a point unrelated to the terrorist attacks of 09/11/01. During that era, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Stack’s (N.Y.) did not usually send ‘old-time’ collection­s to PCGS or NGC. The ‘Dallas

Bank’ collection is semi-legendary, and had been sitting in a bank vault in Dallas since the late 1970s. The Dallas Bank Collection 1927-D Saint Gaudens double eagle ($20 gold coin) brought $402,500. The 1927-D Saint is the rarest 20th-century business strike. The slightly inferior Duckor 1927-D indeed realized $577,500 in an auction by David Akers in May 1998. There is, though, an explanatio­n for the $402,500 result that is unrelated to 9/11. That 1927-D Saint was auctioned a part of the Pittman II event. The John J. Pittman Collection was more important and drew far more attention than the Dallas Bank Collection. Market levels for rare U.S. coins were more active from 1996 to early 1999 compared to late 1999 to late 2002. The latter period was relatively quiet, before and after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which did not seem to make a significan­t difference. Indeed, prices on average in the sale of the Dallas Bank Collection were in line lineline with market levels before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The $690,000 price realized for an Ultra High Relief 1907 Saint Gaudens double eagle pattern might not sound like much today. By 2008, each Ultra High Relief Saint was more than one million dollars. For this specific coin, however, this was a strong price in 2001. The Ultra High Relief Saint that Bowers & Merena auctioned in January 1997 for $660,000 is of somewhat higher quality than the Dallas Bank piece. The Dallas Bank piece is one of the lower quality Ultra High Relief Saint patterns. They all dramatical­ly increased in value from 2003 to 2008. The Bowers & Merena sale that was postponed from the middle of September to November 28, 2001 featured many important patterns. One of the most famous and sought after of all is the Schoolgirl Dollar. Researcher Saul Teichman had traced fifteen different Schoolgirl dollars in silver and around a dozen in copper. All are dated 1879. According to Teichman, the same Schoolgirl silver dollar that B&M auctioned on November 28, 2001, was earlier in the R.M. Fred Jr. Collection and other auctions between 1995 and 2002. This Schoolgirl dollar realized $39,600 in November 1995 as part of the Fred Collection, $41,400 in a Superior Galleries auction in June 1999, $48,875 in the already cited auction in 2001, and $43,700 in a Bowers & Merena auction on July 31, 2002, in New York. Is there a reason to believe that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 had a negative impact on any price realized for this Schoolgirl dollar? Another interestin­g lot in this sale is a Proof 1868 half eagle ($5 gold coin). Like the just mentioned Schoolgirl dollar, this half eagle would have been auctioned on September 14 but was auctioned by Bowers & Merena on November 28, 2001. This 1868 was NGC certified as Proof-65 Ultra Cameo. It was earlier in the Bowers & Merena sale of the fourth part of the Harry Bass Collection in November 2000, in which it sold for $39,100. On November 28, 2001, it realized $42,550. Yes, its certificat­ion indeed changed in the interim, but it was in a PCGS holder and in one of the most famous gold coin collection­s of all time when it was auctioned in 2000. While no one example proves a point, I have reflected upon a large number of auction results, and I was actively following coin auctions during this time. No one has had published more coin auction reviews than I have. Before and after 09/11/01, market levels for rarities were in a trough, but were gradually and just slightly trending upward, upward,upward, with light trading volume and some dips along the way. There is no solid evidence that the terrorist attacks negatively impacted market levels for rare U.S. coins. Before and after the outbreak of the Coronaviru­s in 2020, market prices were trending downward, but, indeed, the consequenc­es of the Coronaviru­s have dramatical­ly reduced trading volume in rare and very scarce U.S. coins. While there is no clear evidence that interest in rare coins has been negatively impacted by the reactions to the spread of and policies relating to the Coronaviru­s, transactio­ns have been impeded by government policies and fear. Obviously, some people who were accustomed to traveling to buy coins have been buying fewer or zero coins due to government shutdowns and being discourage­d from leaving home. It is not yet possible to tell if the underlying demand for rare coins will be affected over time by the strange events in 2020. By 2005, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were no longer at the forefront of people’s minds. New York City had recovered in an economic sense. Feelings of fear dropped to a minimal level. Coin markets in the future will be exceptiona­lly interestin­g.

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 ?? BY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPH­ER’S MATE ERIC J. TILFORD, U.S. NAVY. ?? Ground zero, New York City, following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
BY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPH­ER’S MATE ERIC J. TILFORD, U.S. NAVY. Ground zero, New York City, following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
 ?? NAVY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS ROBERT HOULIHAN, US DEPT. OF DEFENSE ?? Smoke and flame appear in the Washington skyline in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2001
NAVY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS ROBERT HOULIHAN, US DEPT. OF DEFENSE Smoke and flame appear in the Washington skyline in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2001
 ??  ??
 ?? SOTHEBY’S ?? 1927-D Saint Gaudens double eagle ($20 gold coin) from the Dallas Bank Collection, a 20th-century rarity, brought more than $400,000 in the first major coin auction (Sotheby’s with Stack’s Bowers) after Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks
SOTHEBY’S 1927-D Saint Gaudens double eagle ($20 gold coin) from the Dallas Bank Collection, a 20th-century rarity, brought more than $400,000 in the first major coin auction (Sotheby’s with Stack’s Bowers) after Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks
 ?? STACK’S BOWERS ?? Vermeule 1893-S Morgan dollar.
STACK’S BOWERS Vermeule 1893-S Morgan dollar.
 ?? US FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGAT­ION ?? In the days following the terrorist attack on the Pentagon specialist­s from various emergency response, law enforcemen­t, and disaster response tended to the site.
US FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGAT­ION In the days following the terrorist attack on the Pentagon specialist­s from various emergency response, law enforcemen­t, and disaster response tended to the site.
 ?? STACK’S BOWERS ?? 1879 $1 Schoolgirl Dollar.
STACK’S BOWERS 1879 $1 Schoolgirl Dollar.
 ?? U.S FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGAT­ION ?? FBI Emergency Response Teams work to extinguish the flames at the Pentagon, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
U.S FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGAT­ION FBI Emergency Response Teams work to extinguish the flames at the Pentagon, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
 ?? WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ?? Cityscape photograph of New York City, and the “Tribute in Light” shining up from the former site of the World Trade Center towers.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Cityscape photograph of New York City, and the “Tribute in Light” shining up from the former site of the World Trade Center towers.
 ?? STACKS BOWERS ?? 1893-CC Proof Morgan Dollar.
STACKS BOWERS 1893-CC Proof Morgan Dollar.

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