Coins We Love: 2026 is Starting Strong!
We’ve kickstarted the year—as usual—in Orlando, Florida, home of this week's FUN Show. To say that there’s excitement in the air this year is an understatement. It seems like every day we’re seeing record prices for precious metals and the buzz around it that brings up conversations even with non-collectors. In addition to the precious metals excitement, the overall coin market is continuing to show growth. I cannot explain enough that the existing coin market is drastically different than anything the hobby (as an industry) has ever experienced. The base of collectors has grown dramatically and there is a wider net of those purchasing or collecting coins and other numismatic items. Compounding this growth in the hobby, we’re looking at 2026 as a once-in-a-lifetime event with the America 250 Program and the new circulating coinage upcoming. We’re hoping to see an incredible amount of interest in the hobby from the grassroots level, starting with the US Mint. Overall, the future is incredibly bright and we’re looking forward to an exciting 2026.
As for the FUN Show, I arrived on Saturday evening and hit the ground running. We’ve had appointments scheduled to buy coins for four days and have run around like headless chickens! It’s been amazingly productive and we’ve landed a number of deals that were certainly not on our horizon. Wholesale sales have also been active so far and the show hasn’t even started!
I’m writing this as I sit outside the bourse floor on Wednesday, awaiting the 2 pm door opening. I’d love to continue more this evening, but the bourse is open until 8pm tonight, followed by a dinner with the PNG NexGen (which should perhaps be more aptly named the Future Coin Dealers of America?), of which I’m the Committee Chair. This is an absolute blast and we’re having a great time, but the days are longer than my feet are used to (or maybe it’s the concrete floors?). I love coin shows.
What’s going to happen Thursday and Friday? I honestly don’t know. All of the early action has been intense and productive, but will collectors be active on the bourse for the rest of the week? That’s an unknown. Or is the internet taking over the actual collectors at buying shows? I’m not sure, but we’ll know more by the end of the week!
Regardless, we’ll be here for the rest of the week in the center of the numismatic universe and we'll report on the happenings next week! Thanks again for reading and we hope that you enjoy this week’s Coins We Love!
Numismatically Yours,
John Brush and Your Friends at DLRC
Click here to continue reading!