By David C. Harper, World Coin News February 11, 2010

Though Hans-Henning Goehrum, president of the World Money Fair, said attendance at the 2010 Berlin event ran about the same as in 2009, observers on the bourse floor were guessing beforehand that the show was even better attended than last year.

Perhaps it simply was the difference in coin buyer attitudes. Last year’s show occurred during the world financial panic and the 2010 event occurred in a much more relaxed environment.

“I am satisfied. It was a good fair, said Gerhard Heuchert, a 40-year collector from Berlin. “There is not much (from) collectors, more dealers. I sold very much more to dealers and not so much to collectors. The best coins are going away very soon.”

Thomas Wilke of Hildesheim was a first-time booth holder. About his results, he said, “Not quite as good as expected.”

He said he dealt with “mostly dealers from Eastern Europe.”

They were interested in modern coins with ships, animals and other topical themes on them.

He said he had been in the stamp and coin fields for 16 or 17 years and that currently it is very difficult in the stamp business in Germany.

Serge Goldberg of Eurogold S.A. in Brussels, Belgium, was brief in his reply to the question of how his business was at the show.

“Good,” he said.

His inventory was all gold coins and he deals with dealers, private individuals and collectors. He noted that his firm handled coins “more for investment in large quantities.” He said his prices were very competitive.

When asked whether his clients preferred gold bars or gold coins, he estimated that his sales were 75 percent coins and 25 percent bars.

Professionals bought gold in 1-kilo bars where private individuals prefered the 100-gram bar.

He explained another difference in buyers. Individuals who bought gold coins preferred them to be in even troy weights by 60 percent to 40 percent. The minority bought more historic gold coins like British sovereigns and Austrian 100 coronas that are not in even troy weights.

Professional investors were the reverse. They went 60 percent in favor of the odd weight coins because prices were lower.

An English dealer who did not want his name used said of his show results: “Its still been good for us, not quite as busy as last year. The Russian market has cooled down quite a lot. It’s still good. People out there come to buy.”

He said he works mainly with other dealers.

Sebastian Brom of Berlin declared, “The first and second day were well and now we don’t sell not one coin.”

He handles old German, Polish and Russian coins and has spent 10 years in the numismatic business.

Of business overall, he said, “It’s good.”

Armin Paslack of Friedrichshafen said of the show, “It’s very good.”

He reminisced about when the show was in Basel, Switzerland, which was closer to his home. “Basel – very good. Berlin – double very good. This convention is the best in the world,” he said.

Joerg M. Klindt and Martin Zanke, both of the Berlin area, shared a table. Both deal in stock and bond certificates.

“With this kind of material, it’s hard business here. The market for stocks is not so developed.” He noted that he had a few coins and they were doing OK.

Richard Stein of Numismatic Guaranty Corp. said of the show, “We are very pleased with the results we are having.

“Now when you look around we find our product (slabs) is more accepted. Two years ago, no.”

At the Baldwin table, the staff, which declined to be identified, said, “It’s been a great show. It’s fun for a lot of people to come to. Big mints, big displays; a bit of both dealers and public.”

David Wiesner of Kempton, Bavaria, deals in modern issues. He had a new palladium coin from the Isle of Man priced at 439 euro. It is a one-ounce piece marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

His results were fine, he said.

Overall, the World Money Fair was a good business event and everybody, including the first-timer who didn’t quite meet his expectations, said they planned to be back in 2011.



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