My first coin show ever, newbie perspective report on Buena Park!

SiriusBlack

This morning I went to the Buena Park Coin Show in SoCal. This was my first coin show ever. First thought... Overwhelming!!!

I know it’s a small show, but having no idea what to expect, I walked in and got overwhelmed by quantity immediately! My coin buying has so far been limited to the local b&m store which has been awesome, but limiting since they don’t have much turnover.

I had read from others show reports that it helps to go in with a few things in mind ahead of time. I decided that while I have a 7070 set, my budget was really low this show so I wasn’t going to get any outstanding types and should probably stick to something more manageable. I settled on Lincoln’s and Indian Head Cents, either slabbed or raw. As I discovered, even that was to vague!

Everyone was very friendly towards me. I didn’t want to immediately spend with out taking everything in first so I made a once through looking briefly at each table to see what was offered. This is when my eyes started glazing over!

I knew The Penny Lady was going to be there and I since I’ve looked at her site many times she was #1 on my list to stop at. After my once through, I headed there and started perusing her cases looking at all of the wonderful cents! I’ve never seen so many slabbed coins before. I was very appreciative that she puts pricing on things because I’m not knowledgeable enough to know what things cost from a glance and I was intimidated to ask people about coins not wanting to waste their time when they pulled it out and I discovered it was way outside my budget. With her, I could admire the fancy coins, but zero in on ones more in my range. She was helping another gentleman but said hello and checked in with me periodically to see if I wanted to see anything. I finally got up the courage to sit down at one of the chairs and pulled out my Dansco Lincoln album. I figured I would go with raw coins because I had more selection. I’ll save the slabbed coins for when budget allows for nicer examples. She continued to help the other gentleman while another person working at her table helped me. She continued to chime in now and again to make sure I was doing ok. In the end I chose a nice 1910-S and 1922-D both in XF that will look great in my album! I realized as I was saying thank you and getting up to leave that I have never told her I was on the boards here and she had even replied to me last night! d’oh! So I told her who I was and she laughed and thanked me for stopping by!

The gentleman that was helping me at her table recommended another dealer an aisle over that had a lot of Lincoln’s with honest grading and pricing so I thanked him for that and went over to see what the other dealer had to offer. I found a couple more wheat backs, a 1919-S and a 1941 both of which will be nice upgrades to coins I had pulled from rolls previously.

Things I learned from my first show:
1. Plan better so you have a larger budget! I had mistakenly forgotten this show existed and hadn’t saved up any money for the show so I was limited in my options even though I saw a lot of great coins.
2. I didn’t have enough of a plan going in. I thought I had narrowed it down, but sitting at the table with my Dansco was overwhelming because of the large amounts of holes I need to fill. I think in the future it would make more sense to narrow it down further to specific dates I want. If I walked in with 10 dates in mind and researched how much they would cost ahead of time, it would have been a lot easier to concentrate on those and check a few dealers for options.

I was intimidated to sit at peoples tables because I felt bad occupying their chairs with my meager budget when others could have been waiting to sit that had much more to spend. Luckily everyone was very accommodating and I never felt like anyone was waiting on me to get out of the way, which of course I would have if need be.

Overall I had a great time. It was a good experience and I learned more about what to expect and how to focus better next time! Plus, I got four new coins for my album!

SurfinxHI

Good report, and I'm glad you had a good time, if overwhelming, at the show!

RogerB

Interest, enthusiasm and learning are far more important than budget.

Walkerguy21D

Very nice report - thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Gazes

enjoyed your thoughts!

Moldnut

Thanks for sharing and you are correct in researching prices ahead of time.
It amazes me how many sellers are still trying to sell at pre 2008 levels, especially on raw material.

Smudge

Thanks for the report. Good perspective.

Moldnut

BTW, if you are local to the area, Bob Patchin’s Coin Gallery in Orange is a good source for raw material at fair pricing.

SiriusBlack

@Moldnut said:
BTW, if you are local to the area, Bob Patchin’s Coin Gallery in Orange is a good source for raw material at fair pricing.

I’m in Yorba Linda so not far.

Moldnut

Funny, I’m at gypsum cyn and 91.

TommyType

Spread Sheet! I'm a goofy engineer, so I always tell the wife, "If it's important, you can put it in a spread sheet."

What that means in this case: List the coins you need and have. For the coins you have, put in the grade and basic "quality" you have, and whether an upgrade is required or not.

For those you need, put in the grade and price for the grade you are looking for, along with one grade up and one grade down. That makes it easy to reference YOUR price guide, and see if the coin(s) you see are right for you.

(In the old days, I'd print out my sheet, and tape it into a notebook. Now-a-days, I put it on Google Drive, and have access to it on my smart phone).

Anyway, it streamlines the searching. Doesn't hurt to have your Dansco with you too....but it might make it easier when browsing a table full of coins.

And while it's good to have a "plan", I have sometimes found that having too specific of a plan is a hinderance. I spend all of my time one those specific needs, and probably gloss over other opportunities without realizing it. Being flexible is sometimes a better idea....

Someday you'll have to make it to Long Beach. If Buena Park was overwhelming....you might pass out there.

Good report!

sparky64

Excellent report.
Thanks for taking the time.

SiriusBlack

@TommyType Great ideas, thank you! I do have Numbers spreadsheets on my iPhone and iPad for my sets, including my Dansco, but it is limited, not every coin has a grade, something I need to rectify now that you have mentioned it. If I don’t know what I have, how do I know what I need for upgrading! I had never made a column for shyer I got coins from because they all came from with a roll, or the local shop. I’ll add in where they come from now, and make a colum for previous grade, now that I’ve upgraded a couple.

I hadn’t thought about putting in what I’m looking for with grade pricing, that’s a great idea and would be really helpful.

You are probably right about not being to ridged too. I think with a larger budget I could put more options to look for. I’m sure once I learn more and am more comfortable it will be easier to veer off list with knowledge.

golden

Thanks for your nice report. Sounds like you had a good time.

jedm

Thanks for taking the time to write up a nice report. I enjoy being able to live vicariously through others when given a chance. Steady as she goes.... my first couple years collecting - or my first fifteen... or so - I had to always remind myself to be patient when contemplating filling those holes. Even now many years later I wouldn't mind still having holes because upgrading is twice as hard as filling the hole was in the first place since I feel the need to sell the one being replaced, and it's easier to buy than sell in my humble opinion.

Hallco

Great report and nice pickups! Now that you have an idea of what to expect next time, you will be able to plan your strategy accordingly. Thanks for taking time to share this with us!

tyler267

Thank you for the report, sounds like you had a fun time, that's what this all about.

I can see how your first show could be a little overwhelming, don't worry about it you'll become more confident with time. Coin shows are a great place to learn by looking at a lot of coins, and talking to dealers and other collectors.

jesbroken

Thanks for sharing your first coin show. They can really be exciting even after attending a few. Do you have Excel? If so, I utilize it for all my collections and the information available is unreal. Here is a sample page of one of mine and you will see only your imagination will prevent you from having all the information you need at a single touch.
Jim

Baley

Cool authentic reporting!
I picked up raw circ. 1913 S and D cents from PennyLady in San Diego about 12 years ago, very similar experiences..

thisistheshow

Great write-up. Thank you

Kccoin

glad you enjoyed yourself! thanks for sharing.

AUandAG

I see you did enjoy yourself and I enjoyed hearing about it.

bob

alohagary

Great report

Yorkshireman

Coin shows are amazing!

coinhack

That is an excellent show report. Thank you...

ThePennyLady

Sirius, It was my pleasure helping you with your Lincoln set. And thank you for writing about your experience, your thoughts will certainly help other new collectors attending their first show. Having a lot of dealers in one place can be intimidating, but the Buena Park show is probably one of the best down-to-earth, less hectic, friendly shows I attend. Also, Sundays are slower than Saturdays so dealers have more time to help and answer questions. And most dealers don't leave too early on Sundays at this show.

Again, thank you for taking the time to post your report. You have a nice collection and a good eye!

Paradisefound

@SiriusBlack
I really enjoy your straight to the point report ..... I can easily relate to. I am glad you had a good time

lkeigwin

@ThePennyLady said:
Sirius, It was my pleasure helping you with your Lincoln set. And thank you for writing about your experience, your thoughts will certainly help other new collectors attending their first show. Having a lot of dealers in one place can be intimidating, but the Buena Park show is probably one of the best down-to-earth, less hectic, friendly shows I attend. Also, Sundays are slower than Saturdays so dealers have more time to help and answer questions. And most dealers don't leave too early on Sundays at this show.

Again, thank you for taking the time to post your report. You have a nice collection and a good eye!

What a splendid woman and coin dealer Charmy is. I just love her people skills. Every moment I've spent with her has been genuinely pleasant.
Lance.

Type2

I still fill like that when I first walk in, Then I say will let's get started and start popping targets. Happy you got that fuzzy filling and you had fun maybe some day I'll see you out there and will let you pick my head a bit it's kind of messy in there but you may get something out of it I don't know much but I try..

WildIdea

Thanks for the report.
Remember, the more you get around coins and the scene stuff is going to rub off whether you know it or not. It just takes time. But getting out there and really seeing the scale of quality and price ranges for similar items for yourself is really where it’s at. Way to go.

Shows are the ultimate “oh shiny!” and easy to get distracted. Don’t get in a hurry to spend your money early on, this is where we all waste the most money in the hobby. Also, nobody knows how much money you have that your willing to spend. Act like there is nothing in the room you can’t buy and that your simply looking for something specific and interesting even if your tapped and you want it all. Poker face man.

ricko

Thank you for a great show report. Your perspective as a first time show attendee is interesting - and reminded me of my first coin show many years ago. I always (well, almost always) make a round of all tables before I buy... sometimes, however, a treasure just jumps out and shouts at you....then the $$$ flows. It is good to have a plan, though usually the plan slowly disintegrates as the day unfolds. That is ok, it means you are enjoying the show and hopefully getting some great coins. Cheers, RickO

ElmerFusterpuck

Nice report, shows are a good way to see more inventory and get a feel for what is out there. While the internet has been great for coin collecting, there is nothing like sitting at a table at a show and looking at the coins in person.

asheland

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

BuffaloIronTail

@AUandAG said:
I see you did enjoy yourself and I enjoyed hearing about it.

bob

Me too. Those are really nice coins you picked up.

Pete

SiriusBlack

Thanks very much everyone for taking the time to read my long post! I appreciate the feedback and encouragement greatly!

I do have a spreadsheet using Apple's Numbers program. It definitely helps although I wasn't as thorough as I should have been at the start so I've had to try and remember and add things in now. I have a lot of coins with no grade listed. Maybe I should go back and try my hand at putting in a grade and see if I'm accurate. I do have the ANA Grading book to help me.

As far as upgrading some coins, I'm realizing that sometimes it doesn't make a lot of sense. If I have a pretty strong VF coin in a slot, upgrading to an XF isn't going to improve things so much to warrant the extra cost I suppose. I'll have to pay attention to the actual coins to see. (As I should probably be doing regardless!)

Sometimes I forget the "fun" part of collecting as I spend to much time worrying about making wise purchases. All part of being a beginner and learning I'm sure! I've gotta relax more!

1630Boston

Thanks for sharing your report here