The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 20, May 14, 2006, Article 19

THE SO-CALLED DOLLAR MARKET FROTHY

Alan V. Weinberg writes: "With respect to Steve Pellegrini's
anticipation of the publication of the new so-called dollar book:
Jeff Shevlin, the prospective author and a founder of the so-called
dollar collecting society, has more than once said publicly that
the book is yet several years away.

Anticipation of the book and the slabbing of many so-called
dollars, often with MS-65++ grades, has resulted in a tremendous
speculative bubble in prices. For decades, the so-called dollar
market was severely depressed. Perhaps one of the most depressed
and least collected segments of the exonumia market, at least
partially due to the imaginatively high prices in the 1963
Hibler-Kappen so-called dollar  book. Then, perhaps 3 years ago,
so-called dollar slabbing started and you found coin dealers
offering highly graded so-called dollars at enormous, even
laughable prices. It is not unusual on eBay to see a starting
price exceeding $1,500 for a slabbed MS-67 common so-called dollar
which a few years ago you couldn't sell for $50.

"Something new" in the slab market attracted speculators and
some serious collectors who previously didn't know what a so-called
dollar was. Paul Cunningham, a prominent Michigan-based dealer in
so-called dollars, has said the so-called dollar market may well
turn out to be like baseball cards, a  speculative craze.  I
heartily agree. The inclusion of so many pieces in the series not
nearly approximating a dollar size and the arbitrary exclusion of
several times as many so-called dollars from the series as are
listed in the series - resulting in enormous claimed values for
"unlisted" so-called dollars -  makes the entire field completely
disorganized.

Until the book comes out (years away), and it is said the book
will exclude many now-listed pieces which should never have been
listed in the first place, look for a big breather in the so-called
dollar market. Too many pieces, too many high grades, outlandish
prices, no good basic reference, and too many speculative dealers
and investors."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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