I have lived in Pennsylvania my entire life and recently was named the 2014 Dealer of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN). However, after much thought, my wife Karen and I have decided to move to Florida and hope to do so by the end of this year. We will not be changing the business at all, except for the mailing address and phone numbers. We are moving because:

1. Karen's parents are located in Florida and we want to be closer to them.

2. The last two winters here have convinced us that it might be wiser to move to a place with a more livable climate in the winter.

3. The new Governor of Pennsylvania has proposed applying the state sales tax to coins, at a rate of 6.6%. Both ICTA and PAN are actively fighting this proposal. The proposal might be enacted and it might not. If it doesn't pass, the Governor in my opinion will try again in the future.
     

   Here is how this proposal impacts my business: If I sell a coin for $1,000, under this proposal I would have to collect $66 in sales tax. Most of my customers would not pay the tax, but would order the coin from someone out of state that doesn't have to charge them the sales tax. So I would either lose the sale, or have to pay the sales tax out of my own pocket. Some people say, coin dealers are so profitable that paying a sales tax shouldn't be a problem. Well, here are the facts: last year was a good year for us, and our net profit as a percent of sales was 6.2%. If I have to pay a 6.6% sales tax, now the business is unprofitable. I work fairly hard (as anyone who has ever seen me at a show can attest), I really enjoy my chosen profession, but I won't work for free.

But the bottom line to you is that we will continue to operate the business, you will still see us at the major shows, and the only changes will be the address, phone numbers, and the lineup of smaller shows.

Now, onto the show report:  The Baltimore show was excellent!  Despite being in a different hall of the convention center, our customers were able to find us, and we were able to sell and buy a lot of coins!  We were busy constantly and we even had people at our table when we needed to start packing up late Saturday afternoon.  

Our new purchases ("newps") are highlighted by one of the rarest coins in the Liberty Seated series:  the 1878-S half.  This coin is a nice, original, no-problem example in PCGS VG-10, and it has been off the market since 1995.  We also located two stunning toned Bust coins, an 1814 half in PCGS AU-58 and an 1831 quarter in NGC MS-62 star, with some prooflike surfaces on both sides.  It is very difficult to price outstanding toned early type coins because there are no price guides and not much price history either.  Accordingly, I need to consider a lot of factors but the bottom line is how nice is the coin.  But on Saturday at the Baltimore show, I got some help from Garrett Ziss when he and his parents stopped by my table.  Garrett has been mentioned here before; he is 13 years old but despite his youth, he is a very informed collector and student of Bust half dollars and other Bust coinage.  He examined both of the Bust coins pictured below, and I asked him what price he would put on each coin.  He amazed me when he guessed my exact list price for each coin!  So, thank you, Garrett, for your consultation on the pricing of these superb coins.