The Business of Numismatics: January 2026 Greysheet Editor's Letter

For this month’s column, I am going to do something a little different, both because I think it is appropriate and as I write this in early December the market is in a bit of a lull—except for silver—as we await the sale of the James A. Stack Collection coins and the annual FUN convention at the beginning of January. For context, here at Whitman Brands the overarching goal of all the products and data we produce is to support and advance the field of numismatics. This takes many forms: dealer tools such as this Monthly Greysheet and CDN Exchange, industry-standard retail price guides and reference books, and support of other numismatic groups and associations. This includes NCBA, PNG, FUN, CSNS, and more. One popular program founded in recent years is Witter Coin U, a program for aspiring numismatists. Greysheet supported by providing materials for one of the courses taught there. My good friend Devin Hipp and his business partner Keith Moon wrote this short recap of their experience with their group of students.

Last July, Greysheet generously donated copies of the latest Greysheet wholesale price guide and CDN Exchange logins to the Advanced Grading class of Witter Coin U 2025. This class of fifteen young collectors between the ages of 14 and 20, all aspiring to be professional numismatists, enjoyed using these valuable resources immensely. Instructors Devin Hipp and Keith Moon led them through detailed class discussions that explored the differences between wholesale and retail coin trading, and how prices realized from recent auctions can predict market trends.

The class had a blast with trading and pricing exercises throughout the week. Using their hard copies of Greysheet, the students could quickly reference all the important data points for pricing coins, like relevant type bids and relative grade rarities within a type. CDN Exchange allowed them to dive even deeper into understanding dynamic pricing. Devin and Keith demonstrated the online platform for the class to analyze auction prices from past and present sales to demonstrate the thought process of arriving at wholesale spreads so that they could take these skills into the numismatic marketplace. They also introduced the class to CDN Exchange’s live online trading platform and the sight-seen and sight-unseen bids that drive the numismatic marketplace today. With all these resources, the students got a clear picture of the coin market’s many facets and how coins are traded from dealer to dealer and dealer to collector.

Witter Coin U has been an annual educational event for young numismatists since 2021. Held every summer in San Francisco, WCU quickly gained mentorship and support from some of the industry’s most respected dealers and researchers. Student selection is competitive, and only forty of the best and brightest young numismatists are chosen every year from a worldwide applicant pool. All students receive a full-ride scholarship to attend WCU. Devin Hipp has been an instructor since the program’s beginning in 2021. Keith Moon joined Devin as a co-instructor in 2023. Devin and Keith recently teamed up to co-found Numismatic Rarities Exchange (NREX), a wholesale numismatic trading firm partnered with David Lawrence Rare Coins.

Sincerely,

Patrick Ian Perez, patrickp@whitmanbrands.com