Coins, bullion appeal to investors as stocks sink

Local dealers report increased sales

Silver, which was at $17.42 per ounce as of June 30, was the hottest seller, Carlino added. The commodity is much more affordable to the average investor than gold, which had a market price of $927 per ounce at the end of June.

"A lot of people have been bringing in their stimulus money, which is about a $600 check," Carlino said. "You can't get an ounce of gold for that, but you can get a half-ounce."

Although Fremont Coin Co. doesn't actually cash out 401(k)s or certificates of deposit, as some other coin stores do, Carlino said many of his customers have already taken that step. A declining stock market and dollar are driving those customers.

"At this point, silver is up 145 percent from last year, but that's just counting the first six months of this year," he said. "Gold is up 45 percent over the same period."
 

Thursday, February 06, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Cover story: The price of gold

Gold seekers blaze a trail of joy and tears

By Heidi Walters

The first thing that catches my eye when I find Phil Carlino's Fremont Coin Co. Inc. on Boulder Highway and Sahara is the name of the building he's in: Fort Knox Storage. Fort Knox, Ky.--that's where the United States stashes its own hoard, about 147.3 million ounces of gold, in the U.S. Mint. The sign's printed on his outside door, too--but he seems surprised to hear that when I tell him. He doesn't own the building. His Fremont Coin shops, however, have been around for 42 years. At one time he had five stores in town.

"In the early '60s we got prospectors in our downtown store all the time," Carlino says, once he's buzzed me in through the outer and inner doors. "They'd bring in gold dust and nuggets and we'd weigh it to tell them what it's worth. We don't see them here now. Now we see coin collectors, primarily."

The second thing that catches my eye is the huge golden chunk inside the glass case, amid numerous gold coins. It makes my heart thump until I realize it's just iron pyrite, fool's gold.

Carlino says that, right now with the higher gold price, investors are making profits of more than 20 percent. "And the expectation of most people is that gold and silver will continue to climb."

As we talk, a middle-aged couple brings in a suitcase full of bags of coins and jewelry--junk silver, they say. They want to know what it's worth (silver, much cheaper than gold, is also rising, as is platinum, much rarer and more expensive). But these people aren't feverish--they're just taking care of some business.

Carlino's business partner, David Gere, comes out to help. And he starts talking about goldbugs and their newsletters and about some of them, back in the high 1980s, who were fanning the flames by predicting the gold price would go as high as $4,000 an ounce. Carlino's customers leave, and he resumes talking about people turning to gold and silver for security.

"I remember in 1980, thereabout, in Utah, where in order to pay for gasoline, you had to give the gas station silver coins," he says. "They had two prices, one for cash and one for silver coin."

ALL THAT GLITTERS: Treasured currency

Phil Carlino, vice president and founder of the Las Vegas Numismatic Society, displays some of the collectible coins inside his decades-old shop Fremont Coins at 3375 Glen Ave. #6 Las Vegas, Nevada 89121-1596LouiE Traub/View

By ERICA VITAL

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Phil Carlino started with a bag of pennies.

"My wife wanted a hobby," said the coin collector and original founder of the Las Vegas Numismatic Society. "So, I went to the bank and bought 5,000 pennies. Friday, she was too busy to have a look. Saturday came, and she had something to do. Sunday, I decided to go through the bag myself."

Carlino found the "better dates" in the bag. Ten coins netted him a bit of a profit.

That was in 1956.

He was hooked, said Carlino. He went into the business. While on vacation in Las Vegas, he set up a coin show. The response was such that he went back home to New York state, sold the house, sold his furniture, packed up the wife and kids and headed back to Las Vegas, where he opened up a coin and precious metals dealership on Fremont Street. He remained in business downtown, where at one time, he operated five shops for 44 years until a need to expand brought him to 3375 Glen Ave., the current location of his store Fremont Coins.

"From a bag of pennies to millions," he said, proud of the legacy that began with the original shop at 215 Fremont St.

The Las Vegas Numismatic Society is putting on the 45th annual Coin Show at the Plaza, 1 S. Main St. The event will be held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Over 100 local and international dealers in coins, currency tokens and gold and silver will attend. Admission is free and dealers will appraise, sell and buy coins

Coin collectors, or numismatists, make up 10 percent of the population, according to Carlino. They range from hobbyists in search of the distinctive profile on the Lincoln penny to seasoned numismatists on the hunt for a Stella. Minted in 1879 and 1880, the $4 gold piece is one of the most sought-after coins among high-level collectors, Carlino said, and can be valued for as much as $400,000.

The face that adorns one of the rarest coins in the U.S. belonged to an anonymous waiting girl or maid, Carlino said, an unnamed woman who was discovered when the engraver Charles E. Barber was in need of a model.

"You see, that's the way coinage goes," said Carlino, who receives calls from dealers and hobbyists from time to time who believe they may have stumbled across the gold coin.

"I've got another story for you," he said as he lifted a prized piece above a security counter.

"President Roosevelt, Theodore, said he wanted to beautify the coins of the United States. One of the greatest sculptors was August St. Gaudins. He was a man in the wheelchair, so they always had to take him home and into the back door. One evening he comes in and there's a dishwasher there. He looked at this girl. And that was where he got the face for the $10 piece.

"There's more to the story," Carlino said as he replaced the coin. "But you can't print it."

The history of coins, who made them and how, is part of the attraction for collectors, according to Carlino.

And part of the science that sustains the quality of collectibles is in dealing with those who have had a presence in the business, said Herb Kaufman, a fellow collector who first made the acquaintance of Carlino back in 1966.

Kaufman owned the legendary emporium of shops on Maryland Parkway. Wonder World housed a variety of vendors, from clothing shops to jewelers.

At Carlino's store recently, Kaufman brought in a large silver coin stamped with the name and likeness of Howard Hughes.

"There have been other coin dealers who have come into town over the years," Kaufman said. "A lot of them have gone out of business. When you want an accurate accounting of what the heck is going on, you talk to Phil."

The Las Vegas Numismatic Society, of which Carlino is now vice president, also holds monthly meetings for collectors at the Doolittle Recreation Center, 1950 J. St., according to Carlino.

For more information on the Coin Show at the Plaza,
call 702-382-1469.