The market resumed its strong momentum in pre-American Numismatic Association convention trading at auctions conducted by Superior Galleries, Bowers and Merena Auctions, and Stack's.

Superior's auction was up first, starting the morning of July 26. Superior has been in the coin field since 1931, but in recent years has gone through a series of ownership changes. It is now owned by Dallas Gold and Silver Exchange, and has recently moved from its long-standing Beverly Hills, Calif., retail location to one in Woodland Hills, Calif.

The July 26 Superior auction realized nearly $1,250,000.

Dealers have been the major buyers at auctions for years, whether they're buying for inventory or representing collectors. Highlights of the Superior auction included very strong wholesale bids.

Several five-figure coins highlighted the Superior sale. Among them was a final bid of $35,075 for an 1856 Flying Eagle cent graded Proof 66 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

Gold coins also achieved strong prices in Superior's auction, as they did at the Bowers and Merena Auctions July 26 sale of coins and paper money.

The Bowers and Merena auction, starting in the late afternoon, realized nearly $4.4 million. Numerous five- and six-figure coins crossed the Bowers and Merena auction block.

The highlight of the Bowers and Merena auction was a 1917/8-D Indian Head 5-cent coin graded Mint State 64 by Professional Coin Grading Service. The coin sold for $155,250, just over the Coin Values' listing of $150,000.

The $4.4 million prices realized was consistent with the activity Bowers and Merena has been capturing during many of its auctions during recent years (some of the firm's auction results have eclipsed this amount).

The preliminary estimate of the July 27 and 28 Stack's auction was huge for this company – nearly $20.2 million.

Stack's is known for handling high-ticket items. A 1797 Draped Bust, Small Eagle, 15 Stars half dollar graded MS-66 by NGC brought $1.38 million as the highlight in the Stack's auction.

Heritage Auction Galleries conducted the official auction at the Baltimore ANA World's Fair of Money. Next week's column will address results from that auction.