(07) The Soap Box in the Park: Volume 1 Issue 1: Last Revision: 05/25/04
The Purpose of Mexican Coin Magic
For our premier issue of Mexican Coin Magic we would like to ask all of you out there in Electronic Lala Land to write your opinions about the following subjects to get this column started for the future. Therefore, as Publisher and because we have no outside subjects or responses at this time for this column I have decided to write a short Mission Statement and editorial for this issue. The questions I would like you to comment on follow this editorial. I hope you use and enjoy this column in the future by becoming a contributor, when it behooves you to speak out about some subject.
What is the purpose of Mexican Coin Magic?
Today, good analytical information about Mexican coins; the varieties, their rarity, current price levels and the general promotion of Mexican Numismatics are almost non-existent and it greatly disturbs me and I hope it does you too, as a collector! Let me give you some examples.
Recently I have ventured outside of South Texas to attend a few coin shows and coin club meetings to ascertain the state of our hobby or “sport”, as I prefer to call coin collecting. I personally find the “state of Mexican Coin Collecting” disturbing for several reasons and I would like to tell you why.
I attended the 2002 TNA (Texas Numismatic Association) annual convention in Fort Worth, Texas recently and a dinner hosted by one of America’s premier Mexican Specialty Dealers while there. TNA is a very progressive coin group, but like most, TNA places its primary emphases on U.S. coins, as it should, because the vast majority of collectors in Texas collect U.S. coins.
One of the most unusual things at this year’s TNA was the children’s coin auction held on Saturday afternoon. Many dealers participating on the bourse floor donated coins for this auction and volunteered to help with the auction. I was so impressed with the TNA’s promotion of this event I decided to bring two of my four grandchildren. My grandkids are only 6 and 9 years old (boy 6 and girl 9), their parents had predicted they would become bored with the coin show and auction so we made arrangements for their father to come by at 2:00 PM to pick them up. When he arrived he found us in the auction room and sat down in an empty chair next to his daughter. When questioned if they were ready to leave their answer was an emphatic, “No!” This surprised both of us; my son-in-law left them with me until I arrived back at their home well after 7:00 PM. We had left their home at 8:00 AM and they had been little angels all day.
The night before, at the Mexican collector’s dinner, I looked around the table at the many prominent collectors in attendance from all over the U.S. and Mexico. It was disturbing to me that the average age of these collectors, including me, had to be 60 years old or more. There were many collectors in the group that were in their 70s and even a couple in their 80s. The youngest collector in attendance was probably 45 years old.
I think that one of today’s greatest problems in Mexican Numismatics is that we are failing to bring in very few young people. We have to address this problem quickly and do something about it or Mexican coin collecting will become extinct, just like the Dinosaurs and dodo birds!
Never before have the youth of America had so many distractions that would and will keep them away from coin collecting. We have to compete against video games, team sports, TV, music, concerts and much more. Coin collecting generally starts at a young age and the interest drops off during the teenage years, but is picked up again later in life as the individual’s body starts to show signs of wear and tear. But if coin collecting never starts, it is almost impossible to ignite late in life.
I have spent many years and dollars building one of the finest and largest collections of Mexican Republic 8Reales ever assembled. Unlike some collectors, I upgraded individual coins when and where I could with the help of several very good Mexican Specialty dealers, Jed Crump, Mike Dunigan, Richard Long and Rick Ponterio plus many other regular dealers.
One thing always disturbed me; I had to take these dealer’s words as law about rarity and value, because the few books I found were worthless! Now I know many of you will disagree with me about these books, so you can write in this column what you think too. I’m not saying these respected dealers lied or gave me wrong or incorrect data, no they didn’t, but they were the only ones who knew the truth. You had to accept at face value what they were telling you, because the books and catalogs didn’t agree with their opinions.
Most people are not as trusting as I was and am still today. I believe this will be a problem in the future. Because the young people are so much better educated, you are going to have to prove what you say is correct to them. Even worse they want to see it in print for their own edification.
But the problem runs even deeper! I believe the little good written material about Mexican Numismatics is over-looked by the majority of world’s coin dealers, U.S. and foreign auction houses and even collectors for several reasons. Let me explain why I believe this.
Like most collectors, I would love to sell my collection in one fell-swoop with a nice catalog with all the data about my coins. Today this is impossible for numerous reasons. First the secondary market for Mexican Republic coins is very thin (not many well-heeled collectors) making a single sale impossible if the collector wants to get back his money or even make a few dollars. Second, there is no dealer in the world prepared to offer to buy a collection of this magnitude for 60% of what I paid for it, none. Third, it is an almost impossible task to sell coins of the quality and rarity that I have assembled unless the individual collectors can see, feel and touch them! Recently a collector visited my home to purchase a few coins and to spend some time talking about Mexican coins. He was dumbfounded at what he saw. He could not afford to buy all of the coins he wanted. While at TNA, I carried several very nice coins with me to show to one person, a very advanced collector from the West Coast saw three of them. He demanded that I sell one of them to him, but I didn’t remember what I paid for the coin. He thought I was lying and told me so, but I assured him I would look at my listing on the computer that night and tell him the next day.
Over the years I have purchased coins from the above-mentioned dealers and they have told me some of these coins were the Finest Known for a particular DAM (Date/Assayer/Mintmark). Once I gave the California collector the price for this rare variety and he had paid me he said, “Aha, I believe this coin is undoubtedly the Finest Known for this variety, and you sold it very cheaply.” Believe it or not, I had already sent him a list with the coin and its price, but he had not even asked to see the coin.
Another example for you to ponder… a very well known auction house contacted me some time ago and asked for some better Mexican material for an up-coming auction. I sent them a listing of a small but very rare group (9 coins) with my minimum prices. They called me and we talked about the coins. I informed them this was a test for both of us. For me it was a test to see if they could attribute my coins correctly and figure out their rarity. For them it was a test to see if they had the collector base needed to sell my coins. We negotiated their commission to be paid with no problem. But then the kicker, they wanted me to pay a 5% buy back fee at my minimum price with their commission built in if the coins didn’t sell! My contact at the auction house had already told me he was very knowledgeable when it came to foreign silver, but he wasn’t sure I was right about rarity and the prices for these coins. I asked if he had consulted a copy of Resplandores to see if I was correct? He didn’t even know about the book.
As you can see, many dealers, collectors and most auction houses, summarily overlook the few good books written about Mexican Republic coins because they do not contain price guides. It doesn’t matter if the information is correct in these books, only that they do not have prices in five different grades that is important.
Our mission, here at Mexican Coin Magic, is to provide good information to all the collectors of Mexican coins about Mexican coins and provide a place where you can buy, sell or trade the coins you have or want, plus promote Mexican Numismatics, nothing more and nothing less. But while we are doing this we also hope to tell you some interesting stories about the coins, the mints and the people involved in the process so you can better appreciate what you collect. I’m now off the soapbox and it’s your turn.
Here are four questions that we would like your opinions about…
What’s Wrong with Mexican Numismatics Today?
Why Do Some Catalogers Consistently Over Grade and others Under Grade?
No Grading Standard for Mexican Coins
And of course anything else you feel that is wrong with Mexican Numismatics today.
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