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My day(s) @ the Sarasota Coin Show...
AskRaq
Posts: 2,303
** UPDATE ** with picture in post #12!
My first coin show was last March (Sarasota Coin Show), which did not leave me with the fondest of memories... so I decided to give it a second shot!
I first went for a looksie on Friday afternoon, 2:30-5pm... Not real busy, quite a few empty tables, and some dealers already packing it in for the day! But, I was happy to see that some of the "Carnival Barker" types weren't in attendance!
I, of course, got stuck at the first table (just like last time, when I swore I wouldn't do that again!!)... but there were two pick boxes of Peace & Morgan dollars at $16 & $12 that didn't look too bad. I was looking for a nice '22 Peace for my daughter, but then decided to get her a Morgan since she doesn't have one yet for her 'coin types' folder. I picked out about half a dozen very nice examples (some with astoundingly good detail or very clean cheeks), but there was one that I had tried to put back twice that kept niggling at me. It had decent detail overall, AU I'm guessing, but the obverse had "stuff" on it... the reverse is what had me HOOKED though. It was a glisteningly (not shiny) white cartwheeling beauty... so I took it instead. (No, acetone didn't help the obverse when I got home though
)
So, now that I had my 1st purchase out of the way I could relax and browse around... just wanted to get an idea of what & where everything was so that it would be a bit easier when I brought my daughter back on Saturday (which I expected to be much busier). There was quite a group of people surrounding the NGC table, a nice friendly young guy running it, and I spied the cool 1994 Mongolian sample slabs, but couldn't get close without being rude... so I figured I'd bring my daughter directly to the NGC table on Saturday because she would love that coin (and doesn't have any slabbed coins). I wandered down to a corner table in the back that had a nice elderly couple that I recalled from the March show... up from Ft. Myers with a TON of stuff, basically something for everyone & pleasant conversation! I looked through some mint sets & saw my first "state-stamped cent" Lands of the USA coinboard. I picked up a lovely glistening 1909 Lincoln & a 1969-S Lincoln with a nice little die cud. Looked around and chatted with a few dealers and headed home with a good idea of which tables I wanted to pull up a seat at the following day!
Saturday morning... my daughter Nicole was VERY excited about finally getting to attend her very first coin show!! We were set to be there at 10am when they opened... but then I got a "call for help" from a disabled gentleman (fresh out of the hospital from MRSA) still waiting for his social security to be approved, that hadn't been able to make it to the local "food bank".... so I had to put together a 'care package' that would get him through the weekend & go by to drop it off before the show... Well, when we arrived and made a beeline to the NGC table, the only thing left was ink pens (my daughter was a bit disappointed), but there was plenty of interesting things to browse, so on we went.
My daughter fell in love with a coin that she had seen in an auction catalog over the summer, and gee... guess what? There were some fine examples for her to drool over!! GOLD Indian 'princesses' with full traditional head-dress... saw an MS-61/62 example for $850... told her to get another part-time job and save her money instead of buying a $400 iPod (just to get it stolen at school)... then she could have that coin! (better investment in my opinion!!)
There was a very nice, friendly, chatty (and, I hate to say it, but kinda creepy) dealer that was very nice to her - the only dealer to acknowledge a YN in the whole place... had quite a good conversation and she got a nice addition to her world money collection. I purchased a few low-end cents and then she was off the the currency table!! So, I tried to find Indian head cents... most dealers said they were "wiped out" & that they were selling like wildfire, couldn't keep anything decent in stock! (Figures) So, it was mostly AG/G in 2x2's.... or HIGH-END MS++ examples in slabs.
Where does time fly?? I really think coin shows should last longer than 5pm.... maybe 8pm!!
My daughter had found a beauty of a raw toned '22 Peace (blue-grayish) that she had wanted, so she noted where, and when we went back for it... it was gone!! (I told her, don't buy the first thing you like... look around... Ooops!!) Did end up picking her up a very nice raw '42 Walker Half for $5! She added some very artistic world currency to her collection, and picked up a bit of "ancient" (100AD?) which she'll have to look up on the internet because I am clueless.
Right as we were about to leave... I saw my *stunner*... A very nice gentleman (no card, no business, just sets up at shows on occasion with coins from his collection)... a (1942? I think) certified Proof Mercury dime with the most unbelievably beautiful toning I have ever seen!! It was a solid metallic gray that went from a bluish tone on the bottom left, to a blue-purple center, to a pinkish top right.... very subtle and absolutely stunning ~ $450.... if I had the money - I'd have bought it immediately - no questions asked!
Once again, even though it was Saturday - and packed with people - there were empty dealer tables & dealers packing it up at 2-2:30pm??? Too bad.... I would have gone back on Sunday if it didn't end at 3pm ~ Overall, a pleasant show with some (select) nice dealers (and a few crankers). I was happy to see that a new coin SUPPLY shop (and coins) will be opening in North Port (nice selection of stuff at the show)!
Note To Self: The next time I want to go to a coin show... I need to spend one full day on my own, and one full day following my daughter around and looking at the things that she finds interesting (ie. I never got to pull up a chair at any of those tables and go through the boxes that I had planned!!) - she kept dragging me from point A to point B until I had viewed everything that she thought was "cool".... and it was 4pm (which meant she was 30 minutes late to a friend's Halloween party)!!
My first coin show was last March (Sarasota Coin Show), which did not leave me with the fondest of memories... so I decided to give it a second shot!
I first went for a looksie on Friday afternoon, 2:30-5pm... Not real busy, quite a few empty tables, and some dealers already packing it in for the day! But, I was happy to see that some of the "Carnival Barker" types weren't in attendance!
I, of course, got stuck at the first table (just like last time, when I swore I wouldn't do that again!!)... but there were two pick boxes of Peace & Morgan dollars at $16 & $12 that didn't look too bad. I was looking for a nice '22 Peace for my daughter, but then decided to get her a Morgan since she doesn't have one yet for her 'coin types' folder. I picked out about half a dozen very nice examples (some with astoundingly good detail or very clean cheeks), but there was one that I had tried to put back twice that kept niggling at me. It had decent detail overall, AU I'm guessing, but the obverse had "stuff" on it... the reverse is what had me HOOKED though. It was a glisteningly (not shiny) white cartwheeling beauty... so I took it instead. (No, acetone didn't help the obverse when I got home though
)So, now that I had my 1st purchase out of the way I could relax and browse around... just wanted to get an idea of what & where everything was so that it would be a bit easier when I brought my daughter back on Saturday (which I expected to be much busier). There was quite a group of people surrounding the NGC table, a nice friendly young guy running it, and I spied the cool 1994 Mongolian sample slabs, but couldn't get close without being rude... so I figured I'd bring my daughter directly to the NGC table on Saturday because she would love that coin (and doesn't have any slabbed coins). I wandered down to a corner table in the back that had a nice elderly couple that I recalled from the March show... up from Ft. Myers with a TON of stuff, basically something for everyone & pleasant conversation! I looked through some mint sets & saw my first "state-stamped cent" Lands of the USA coinboard. I picked up a lovely glistening 1909 Lincoln & a 1969-S Lincoln with a nice little die cud. Looked around and chatted with a few dealers and headed home with a good idea of which tables I wanted to pull up a seat at the following day!
Saturday morning... my daughter Nicole was VERY excited about finally getting to attend her very first coin show!! We were set to be there at 10am when they opened... but then I got a "call for help" from a disabled gentleman (fresh out of the hospital from MRSA) still waiting for his social security to be approved, that hadn't been able to make it to the local "food bank".... so I had to put together a 'care package' that would get him through the weekend & go by to drop it off before the show... Well, when we arrived and made a beeline to the NGC table, the only thing left was ink pens (my daughter was a bit disappointed), but there was plenty of interesting things to browse, so on we went.
My daughter fell in love with a coin that she had seen in an auction catalog over the summer, and gee... guess what? There were some fine examples for her to drool over!! GOLD Indian 'princesses' with full traditional head-dress... saw an MS-61/62 example for $850... told her to get another part-time job and save her money instead of buying a $400 iPod (just to get it stolen at school)... then she could have that coin! (better investment in my opinion!!)
There was a very nice, friendly, chatty (and, I hate to say it, but kinda creepy) dealer that was very nice to her - the only dealer to acknowledge a YN in the whole place... had quite a good conversation and she got a nice addition to her world money collection. I purchased a few low-end cents and then she was off the the currency table!! So, I tried to find Indian head cents... most dealers said they were "wiped out" & that they were selling like wildfire, couldn't keep anything decent in stock! (Figures) So, it was mostly AG/G in 2x2's.... or HIGH-END MS++ examples in slabs.
Where does time fly?? I really think coin shows should last longer than 5pm.... maybe 8pm!!
My daughter had found a beauty of a raw toned '22 Peace (blue-grayish) that she had wanted, so she noted where, and when we went back for it... it was gone!! (I told her, don't buy the first thing you like... look around... Ooops!!) Did end up picking her up a very nice raw '42 Walker Half for $5! She added some very artistic world currency to her collection, and picked up a bit of "ancient" (100AD?) which she'll have to look up on the internet because I am clueless.Right as we were about to leave... I saw my *stunner*... A very nice gentleman (no card, no business, just sets up at shows on occasion with coins from his collection)... a (1942? I think) certified Proof Mercury dime with the most unbelievably beautiful toning I have ever seen!! It was a solid metallic gray that went from a bluish tone on the bottom left, to a blue-purple center, to a pinkish top right.... very subtle and absolutely stunning ~ $450.... if I had the money - I'd have bought it immediately - no questions asked!
Once again, even though it was Saturday - and packed with people - there were empty dealer tables & dealers packing it up at 2-2:30pm??? Too bad.... I would have gone back on Sunday if it didn't end at 3pm ~ Overall, a pleasant show with some (select) nice dealers (and a few crankers). I was happy to see that a new coin SUPPLY shop (and coins) will be opening in North Port (nice selection of stuff at the show)!
Note To Self: The next time I want to go to a coin show... I need to spend one full day on my own, and one full day following my daughter around and looking at the things that she finds interesting (ie. I never got to pull up a chair at any of those tables and go through the boxes that I had planned!!) - she kept dragging me from point A to point B until I had viewed everything that she thought was "cool".... and it was 4pm (which meant she was 30 minutes late to a friend's Halloween party)!!
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Comments
Its a shame that dealers packed it up so early, usually that is a sign of a slower show....
Here's my gripe: Why can't the person who runs a smaller coin show like this print up a "Dealer Directory"... one side with Name, Address & Telephone & the other side with an overview of the bourse with tables noted from the front (A, B, C, etc).... wouldn't that be nice?? And you would have a nice list of people to look up after you get home!! (I don't remember who half the business cards I got go to!)
<< <i>Sounds like you had a very good time. >>
Yes, it was a low-budget nice time with my daughter... it just went exceedingly fast!!
I did go back over to the elderly couples corner table (where my daughter wanted to pick up the '22 Peace) and the lady showed my daughter all kinds of interesting old US currency (crisp bills too!) & gave her some background info on the history & circulation.... I also picked up a '69 Mint proof set (my birth year).
My last purchase(s) of the day were on the way out the door - the dealer had a nifty "sales pitch" display that I couldn't resist. His pick boxes were organized into type/denomination and each had a sign... "Indians looking for a new TeePee", etc.... very humorous and friendly-like. I picked up a two 2x2's, each with three cents in them ($5 ea.) - one set was: "frosty" proof '81-S, '82-S & '83-S... the other was: "glossy" proof '56, '57 & '58 wheats! Very pretty coins ~ Pictures posted in the next day or two I hope!
however I think it is a really good suggestion... and I will say that at 2008 Coinfest our program will include it.... thank you
<< <i>well I cant speak for all promotors but my guess is that they dont want to pay to print several pages .....
however I think it is a really good suggestion... and I will say that at 2008 Coinfest our program will include it.... thank you >>
For a small show, I'm pretty sure it could be done on a single sheet (5 cents a page to copy?)
For a larger show, why not do a "program" like at the fair or circus? Get advertisers or charge a buck each... I'd have gladly paid 50 cents for a sheet at this small show just to know who was where, (what they had as a primary stock would be nice too: coins, currency, ancients, stamps, jewelry, fossils, etc) & how to get in touch with them later if I saw something that I was interested in, or just didn't have time to really see what they had to offer.
Very few dealers had a big sign with their business name in plain view, much less contact info.
More or less dealers than the March show?
Attendance?
<< <i>Raq,
More or less dealers than the March show?
Attendance? >>
Seemed like a bit less dealers... and the dealers, overall, had quite a bit less stock too (only a couple had a full set-up of everything).
In March I only went on Sunday, this time only Fri. & Sat...... so I don't know about attendance, but the dealer's said it was pretty brisk & they sold well. Also saw buyers with long, high-end lists that couldn't find sellers with anything on their list (some dealers missed out on thousands of available dollars...)
Sarasota may not be a "big show" area.... but it is "Big Money" area if it's announced, advertised & stocked well.
thanks for sharing. posts like this keep me coming back.
<< <i>I love that nickel in the '69 set! >>
It's possibly full-steps.... one's a little crooked and very close to the next one though (slight separation), but very sharp??
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment