Had my eyes forced open today at the SF Coin show.
SanctionII
Posts: 11,725 ✭✭✭✭✭
Went to a coin show in SF at a Holiday Inn on Van Ness Avneue near California Street today. I stopped by to check things out after making a morning court appearance in Redwood City.
Over the years I have been to many SF Bay Area coin shows, including the 2005 ANA show at the Moscone Center, Santa Clara shows both before and after it was dropped as a major Regional Show and many local shows. I have also been to Long Beach. All of these shows have been great fun, with a wide variety of coins on the bourse. From high end, very expensive coins, to modestly priced coins, to grab bag pocket change. Most of the coinage at these shows is US coinage. A wide variety of dealers and collectors have been present at these shows covering the entire spectrum. Many times at heavily attended shows there is a constant background noise coming from all of the people talking on the bourse.
At the SF show today things were different.
The room the show was held in was not extremely large. The tables were set up along the perimeter of a rectangular room and in the middle of the room. Once could walk between the two sets of tables go around the entire room simply by walking a rectangular path. As one walked tables were on your right and left.
The dealers who set up at the show were all dressed well. No shorts, no stained shirts, etc. I arrived a little before 11:00 a.m. shortly after the show opened at 10:00 a.m. The dealers were going about their business and many of them were engaged in 2 or 3 person discussions about various topics concerning the coins, currency, medals and other items present in the dealer cases. The bourse was much quieter than those at prior shows I attended.
The items in the dealer cases were Divine!!!!!!!
Their was not much in US Coinage present at the show. The US Coinage that was present was mostly pre 1933 Gold and Silver coinage of very high quality. Mostly slabbed.
The bulk of the items present at the show were high end Foreign coins (Gold, Silver, etc. going back hundreds of years), medals, gold nuggets and a vast array of fabulous Ancient coinage. Many of the Ancients were raw, some were slabbed. Most of the Foreign were slabbed and high end.
Everything was eye candy. Luster galore that sparkled under the lighting in the room. Some coins had attractive toning but most were untoned. I walked the bourse twice, once looking at the cases on the tables located at the perimeter of the room and once looking at the cases on the tables located at the middle of the room. Walking around and seeing the dealers and other persons at the show engaged in discussions of the areas of the items present at the show [no talk of the spot price of bullion, or of flipping the latest release from the US Mint, etc.]; and looking at the stunning display of coins, etc. present in the dealer cases was a treat for me.
I spent a little time in the deeper end of the hobby pool and was impressed. There are so many different areas present in the hobby, each of which has wonderful things to offer to a hobbyist. Today was a treat and it will have some lasting impact on me.
Best of luck to all who attend this show.
Comments
Were you pessimistic about the hobby prior to going to the show due to current coin market conditions and were thus reassured about what you observed?
Are you sure you didn't go to a hotel buffet by mistake?
Did the center aisle have the salads?
Thanks for your report. High end show.
What! No piles of MS63 Morgans?
Not pessimistic about the hobby at all.
My collecting interest has been mostly in the area of US 20th century coinage, including 1950-1970 Cameo proof and SMS coinage. Today was a blast and very eye opening.
Well then SanctionII, let's hope you were not traumatized then!
Clockwork Orange is a classic.
More info on the show:
San Francisco International Coin Show
At the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
1500 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Date :
November 30, 2018 10am-7pm (Friday)
December 1, 2018: 10am-5pm (Sat)
Setup for dealers: Thurs, Nov. 29: 3pm-6pm.
World, Ancient and US Coins/Currency & other Collectibles Bought & Sold
American Numismatic Society presentation on Friday evening by David Hendin titled:
"Insights on the Biblical Narrative from Judean and New Testament Coins"
Dealers currently signed up to participate:
Stacks Bowers Galleries
Palladium Numismatics
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Witter Coins
Falcone Coins
Frank Kovacs
Numismatica Ars Classica (London)
Kagin's
Goldberg's Auctions
Musa Numismatic Art
Harlan Berk LTD
Mike Bezayiff
Glenn Schinke/ ML Teller
Herbert Kreindler
Wolfshead Gallery
Phil Jones Numismatics & Artifacts
Nilus Coins
Andy Lustig/Ron Guth
Pegasi Numismatics
Shanna Schmidt
Minshull Trading
Rarcoa
NY Gold Mart
Irish & World Coins -Del Parker
Pieropan Numismatics
Numismagram - Jeremy Bostwick
Jarod Middleton
Alex & Sons Coins
World Numismatics (AZ)
International Diamond Buyer
Meridian Coins
goldnuggetsforsale.com
Goldbay.com
https://www.griffincoin.com/coin-shows.html
The Irish coins displayed by Del Parker were amazing.
First image in my head when I read the OP's thread title
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
I agree, it was a very nice show. I was told that the show in the past was ancients and foreign only, and that the few US dealers were a new addition. I got to see my first 1943-S Bronze Cent, which was in the Kagin's "San Francisco" themed display. Beautiful coin. Even the generally US-themed dealers had their better coins out today, along with more foreign than they normally bring to other shows. Falcone had a nice spread of high-end foreign offerings. A small show, but for sure high end and pleasant to attend.
http://macrocoins.com
Thanks for the great report and perspective.
That's a good reminder regarding the wide diversity.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Not everything is doom and gloom like some of the posters on these boards perceive them to be.
Sounds like a very neat show....wish I was there.
I'm 2-3 hours away and now considering going based on your report!
The strangest show I ever saw was the '89 Pittsburg show. There was a remarkable amount of moderns and lots of people interested. there was more foreign and more foreign modern than I'd ever seen either.
'69 mint sets had just shot up to $18 each and they were selling like hotcakes!
It sounds like San Francisco was even stranger.
Doesn't sound strange to me at all. I would love to have been there.
No, not strange, just a nice show.
http://macrocoins.com
I am always more impressed by a positive show report. I am impressed that you had a positive experience and that says well for the dealers that put forth the effort and expense to display their coins.
OINK
Sounds like a great time. Any NEWPS??
Haven't seen Del Parker in years - used to be local.
Congratulations to Scott Griffin on another very nice show. The 43-S copper also had a gold CAC. The Irish coins were very nice. It is wonderful to go to a show in your area - attending without all of the travelling.
Any thoughts on why this show was different? Had the concept changed or was your perspective different?
This show is intended to be a small high class foreign and ancients show, with a handful of US dealers to round it out. Mainstream US dealers were generally not invited, nor would they have been likely to want tables. It may sound like a crazy concept, but people seem to like it.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
The major different was the kinds of coins that were in the dealers' cases. Very high end Foreign and Ancient coinage made up the majority of the items in the display cases.
Bear in mind he said it was better stuff.
Sounds like a very good concept. Customers of high quality coins will nearly always want to inspect before they buy, and a small, relaxed environment could be just the right place.
Has this concept been used elsewhere in the US?
I haven't been to one but it sounds like the concept used for PCGS invitationals
Well, the PCGS shows are specific to a company's aims and not to all collectors interested in high quality coins. Isn't there a show in NYC similar to the one Sanction II described?
And it wasn't a bunch of common US "stuff" either!
The New York International Coin Fair in January is the next large specialist show for ancients, world, as well as some US.
Yeah...that's the one I was trying to remember. I went once and it was quickly clear that my wallet was far too small...
Interesting experience - thanks for painting a great picture.
Having had my eyes forced open for laser retinal surgery (proliferative retinopathy), I think I'd much prefer your experience
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
Yeah , that American stuff is, and has been overrated for years.... said a Honduran refugee , once.
1st I've heard of the Lustig/Guth dealership - sharing a table or in business together??
That sounds like a really interesting show.... would love to have gone to that one. Great report @SanctionII ... nice detail and general impressions. Foreign and ancient gold can be quite attractive, and in high quality, impressive as well. Cheers, RickO
@SanctionII - thanks for the report on this show. It was - per capita - the best coin show I've attended, and not just in terms of the quality of coins available. Virtually every dealer that set up there was someone I really look forward to seeing. It was a room full of numismatists, as opposed to traders and graders, which is what I think we should be trying to bring back. Even though public attendance was meager, I'll be setting up next year.
The old version of this show, which was hosted by SFANS (San Francisco Ancient Numismatic Society) was probably my favorite show in Northern California, in spite of the fact that there were virtually no U.S. coin dealers invited (or was that because of - I'm honestly not sure).
Plus, David Hendin's ANS presentation on biblical numismatics was fascinating - hearing about coins from the perspective of someone who has a deep understanding of their historical context is a real pleasure.
Next time you're at a show and I'm set up, say hi - Col. Jessup has been telling me about you for years...
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake