The Fun of FUN: Rohan and Imhoff speak

Jan. 12, 2009
Posted by Noah

I have to admit that, with the recent travails of the market(s), and the fact that the entire world seems to be losing its mind over the recession – at least a little bit – that there was a bit of trepidation in the halls of Heritage going into the Jan. 7-10 FUN (Florida United Numismatists) Auctions in Orlando. It is, decidedly, the biggest event of the year for Heritage, and a definite harbinger of things to come. With so much doom and gloom around the industry, and so many, um… incomplete auctions, let’s just say that it was a long wait through the first week of 2009.

Imagine then, if you can and will, the thrill and the relief when the momentum of the week built to a more than $60 million crescendo for all auctions combined. Make that more like $65 million. While it didn’t approach the Heritage record for FUN, set last year at more than $70 million, it sure did get a good long drive through the neighborhood. Maybe it even bought a house a few streets over. You can view the results here.

So then today, Monday, Jan. 12, I had the chance to sit in on the taping of a video recap of Fun with Greg Rohan and Todd Imhof – that’s one “F” – respectively Heritage’s President and Vice President, as they discussed the surprising results. Our PR department has spread the word of the video around pretty well so far, but you can view it by clicking here.

Both men were in good spirits, as well they should be, and relaxed during the roughly 30 minutes of taping. I kept thinking that they carried the air of sailors who had captained their ship through some rough seas. They were still aware of the dark clouds on the horizon, but they were mighty glad of the 50-foot waves they’d just passed. Check out the commentary. It may be coin specific – a subject I am still learning about, and it’s a steep curve – but the lessons can be applied across many sectors of the collectibles market.

My favorite quote of the session? Greg Rohan: “Coins may not go up 25% in a day, but they also don’t go down 25% in a day.”

Check it out. Lots of good insight.

-Noah Fleisher, Jan. 12, 2009