By Jesse Robitaille
Canada’s numismatic market has remained “steady,” according to one long-time dealer, as the country’s economy slows and uncertainty arises from the recent U.S. election.
While most material has fared well in terms of market values – and material with high quality, interest and rarity remains strong – certain areas have stood out among the numismatic array.
“It has been, we would say, steady; it hasn’t softened,” said Ian Laing, the owner of Winnipeg’s Gatewest Coin and the sole Canadian numismatist honoured in Coin World’s Most Influential People in Numismatics.
Public sales and dealer-to-dealer sales remain steady, Laing said, while auction sales have performed “very well, particularly with items of numismatic interest but not necessarily coins.”
“The good material – the very good material – is bringing excellent prices,” said Laing, who pointed to military medals, historic medals, key coins and paper money as stand-out areas.
“The overall market is solid, but for the more generic-type stuff, while certain sections are doing OK, most of it is flat.”
Recent valuations in CCN Trends have also highlighted the plateau in most prices, he added.
One area in which valuations have increased is bullion – “particularly gold coins” – owing to how the precious metals markets have progressed, according to Laing, who again referenced Trends, which has seen increased valuations for Canadian sovereigns, 1912-14 gold coins and other related material.
“I will say that Mint product – modern coinage – doesn’t have the same bite to it because the higher (retail) prices tend to turn a lot of it into bullion. For Canadian gold coinage from the last 10 to 15 years, the melt has become its market. As for silver, you’ll see the Mint is having some difficulties with its numismatics.”
Through this year, compared to 2023, the rising prices of precious metals has increased the cost of Canadian and U.S. bullion, including Silver Maple Leaf (SML) and Gold Maple Leaf (GML) coins plus American Eagle coins, whose premiums were previously “quite strong,” Laing said.
“Most of those premiums have really disappeared, and it has affected the Mint’s sales of SMLs, GMLs and everything else. They’re down because there’s just not the same demand or the same premiums.”
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