Coins We Love: An Interview with John Brush

Every year I get a series of questions from a numismatic journalist friend that asks questions about the previous year and expectations for the following year. Not all of the answers are included in the resulting article (which is probably a good thing), but I figured that I’d take a few of the ones that have been sent for this year and include them in this week’s CWL.

1. What has been the biggest challenge for you and your business in 2024?

• As a small business owner, you are only as good as the team you have working together. This year we improved our website and backend infrastructure dramatically and we replaced our CFO early in the year. Through these challenges, you learn a lot about how to do specific jobs that you’ve never handled. As a result, I came out of the experience with a much broader base of knowledge and with a stronger team. You also realize how much you rely on your co-workers, and when you have a team like we do at DLRC, you walk away a little more thankful for each and every person involved.

2. What segment(s) of the coin market has outperformed/underperformed your expectations this year?

• I don’t really look at the coin market as outperforming or underperforming my expectations generally. If we were good prognosticators on this, we’d be trading stocks! High-end coins continue to bring strong values and lower-quality coins are still trying to find permanent homes. If there’s anything that has underperformed my expectations, it’s unattractive, over-graded coins that continue to drop in value as the populations grow. We have seen a large number of modern coins that are now “worth grading” and the populations on many of these have been driven up as a result. With that being said, I would say that series like Washington Quarters, Jefferson Nickels, Roosevelt Dimes, etc. have struggled simply due to the supply now exceeding the demand. The “top pops” of yesterday are no longer even in the top five. I’m not sure if this is gradeflation or simply the fact that more coins are getting graded, but it definitely shows in the public auction records. There’s also been a proliferation of MS and Proof 70 coins that seem to be rather loosely graded at certain services and that concerns me as the standards seem to be a bit looser in some places.

3. Overperforming: Is there such a thing?

• CACG coins are bringing strong premiums and the demand seems to be increasing across the board on the classic coins we’ve seen hit the marketplace. The same goes with CAC-stickered coins as the demand for quality and reliability has been strong and continues to grow. While I will say that I don’t agree with quite a few of their grades on certain coins that we’ve submitted, I will say that the quality of coin that comes out as a result is far above average. Nice coins will always overperform expectations and that’s what I would say that CACG coins are certainly doing right now.

4. Do you have any concerns about the present state of the hobby and the coin business?

• Gradeflation is absolutely a concern. As grading standards change it confuses the collector and this is something that has long been a problem since the advent of 3rd party grading. However, it has increased in recent years and is worth mentioning. The proliferation of telemarketing sales of raw coins and high-end modern coins is also concerning. I love coins and the history and artwork have long been appreciated by collectors. However, the “push” from telemarketers that insinuates “investment” in modern issues and in uncertified “collectible” coins is certainly a concern. As much as I appreciate the media pushing coins as an investment, there are many dangers that are to be had with this presentation and it concerns me that we’re hurting the future of collecting and not helping.

5. Who was your first numismatic mentor?

• My father, Wendell Brush. He convinced me to join him in his hobby of numismatics and as much as I preferred baseball cards, coins eventually drew me in. He introduced me to the coin collecting world and to many other collectors, dealers, and leaders in the collecting community - those people certainly supported my interests and guided me along the way. It takes a village, but I credit my father for getting me into that community and for encouraging it every step along the way.

6. What numismatic item was on your first wish list?

• The first one I remember was the 1937-D 3-legged Buffalo Nickel. I worked long and hard to build my circulated Buffalo Nickel collection, but that was a coin that was just a dream for me. It remained on my wish list for many years until I became an adult and finally added one to my collection in my 20s. 😊

7. Which coin in your personal collection holds the most significance for you?

• I am a collector at heart and have a hard time getting rid of sentimental items. I still have my set of circulated Buffalo Nickels that I treasure. I also continue to add to my collection of Baseball-related silver rounds that I’ve worked on since I was 6. I also have my Dad’s Dansco album of Peace Dollars (that were hidden in the roof of my house growing up - another story for another day!), my mom’s set of Washington Quarters and Three Cent Nickels.
• Now, I collect items that have meaning to me from collections or coins that I’ve purchased. These sentimental items mean even more to me than the coins. For instance, I have a Saint from the first $1M+ deal that I bought from Don Bonser, a friend of mine when these would cost you less than $500. I was the only person left in the office as a show was going on somewhere in the country, so it was a transaction that I had to handle and it meant a lot to me as he was patient and we got it all to work! I also have a Tiberius Caesar Silver denarius I received on my 13th birthday at a coin show at the Atlanta Waverly Hotel in 1993. The holder of the Buss 1894-S Dime that I acquired for the Hansen Collection, the NGC label from the 1885 Proof Trade Dollar that I acquired in auction for the same collection, and several other pieces of numismatically-adjacent collectibles that I’ve picked up along the way.

That's all for today! Check back next week for more Q&As!

Numismatically Yours,

John Brush

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