The Spacehayduke FUN Show Report, Part 1: Preparation

Desert Moon · January 8, 2020 10:34AM

Hi Folks,
The past couple years I have done a daily FUN Show report, a segment for every day of the show. They seemed to have been well received so I am going to do it again. I usually get to the show today (Wednesday), but this year am going a day later. I will be up at 4 am tomorrow to catch an early flight, if things are on time I will be on the bourse 1 hour after FUN opens to the public.

Today is a preparation day and finalizing plans.

Here are the some of the things I do to prepare for a big show like FUN:

Grading submissions to PCGS. I am not cracking anything out this year so I will be submitting crossovers. I have 2 special bust quarters to try to cross. One is the 3rd best known of its type and the Browning Plate coin for the type (Browning wrote the classic bust quarter gook back in the day). For this one I will take one lower grade when crossed if it happens - it will still be the 3rd best known and it is not for sale anyway. Just want my BQ's all in the same holder. The other one is the 'L' countertsamped 1815 BQ in N53 that I posted on the BQ counterstamp thread. If crossed, it will be the first of its date and type in a PCGS holder. I am holding the line at 53, we will see.....
Grading submissions to PCGS.2. I have a voucher for 4 grades as part of my PCGS membership each year. I am going to slowly start trying to cross my Hard Times tokens over to PCGS. Again, I like the holder better. At 4 per year it will take 10 years if crossed, no hurry, no worries if they don't. So I chose 4 of the highest graded ones (all N65), to give it go. I will hold the line at 65. If it goes well, I might go to the 8 grade voucher deal next year. It also gave me a reason this morning to go through the HTT collection and enjoy.
Coins for sell or trade. I have only 1 coin that I know I will sell this year at FUN. If I can't get a reaosnable price, then it will go to GC. It is a great coin that needs a new home but it does not fit my collecting goals any longer. I am also bringing 4 bust quarter dupes, all but one CAC, and 2 CAC bust dimes. If I can, I will use them for trade to the right dealers if there is interest. If they don't trade, then I have to decide whether to consign to GC or a dealer, or just bring them home. To prep for this, today I did research on current pricing and valuation to be ready for working with dealers on these at FUN.
Buying objectives for the show. Because my collection is fairly mature there is a much narrower list of coins on it that I need than previous years. For example I did not see a single coin I want to bid on in the auctions. Used to be I would be bidding on many. I will go by my favorite dealer tables at the show so I spent this morning deciding what I would like to buy if available. I don't plan to dive into a new area this time, but if I see something special outside of the current direction I will certainly pause and consider. Some tables I will visit as much as a dozen times during the show because some dealers are buying and putting out newps through the whole show. It can be very dynamic and one has to be diligent. So to prep for buying, I had spent some time this morning researching out the current valuations of the coins in the areas I will target and making sure I have the info I need to make informed purchases if the right coin is available at FUN.
Social arrangements finalized. Part of going to FUN is to interact with other numismatists. I started arranging the social schedule a couple months ago and these are now being finalized. Sadly, I am only on the wait list for the PCGS luncheon which is a great social gathering, and by attending one gets a sample slab to commemorate the event. We will see if I can get promoted off the waiting list.....

So these are some of the things I prepped for to be ready to hit the ground running for the next 3 days. There will also be club meetings to attend, and something unexpected always occurs. This is what makes a great coin show like FUN. There are untold numbers of coins to see, people to talk to, and things going on non-stop. I will be on my feet for at least 12 hours a day. Should be fun.

Hopefully I can find coins like these from previous FUN shows:

FUN 2013 -

FUN 2014 -

FUN 2016 -

FUN 2018 -

FUN 2019 -

More anon, Best, SH

Smudge · January 8, 2020 10:51AM

Wagons ho indeed.

messydesk · January 8, 2020 11:54AM

My prep day goes like this:
Print boarding pass
Print hotel reservation info
Figure out if there are any coins I really need to take
Pack photo gear
Pack computer stuff
Make sure I have cash
Pack stuff normal people pack when they travel for a few days
Wander around the house for a couple hours wondering what I'm going to forget when I leave the in the morning.

Tom147 · January 8, 2020 12:00PM

How about posting a picture or two from the floor. To make us envious and let us see what we're missing.

ricko · January 8, 2020 1:37PM

How unique... a pre-show report... great idea and thank you at @spacehayduke.... I look forward to your daily reports as well... Cheers, RickO

Boosibri · January 8, 2020 5:48PM

Well done and very jealous. Enjoy yourself and I hope you find something great!

Walkerguy21D · January 8, 2020 5:56PM

Hopefully I will see you Friday night, SH!

jonruns · January 8, 2020 7:05PM

Great report thanks!!!

jom · January 8, 2020 7:15PM

Great report!

jom

Justacommeman · January 8, 2020 7:40PM

Well done sir and I’m looking forward to the reports!

mark

dpoole · January 8, 2020 8:24PM

I'm envious. First FUN I've missed since 1999.

Thanks for the vicarious trip!

bolivarshagnasty · January 9, 2020 6:24AM

SHD, In regards to the luncheon, be in line before the event. Let the PCGS person organizing the entry know that you are on the wait list. It worked for me and others last year.

@dpoole said:
I'm envious. First FUN I've missed since 1999.

Thanks for the vicarious trip!

We’ll miss you David!

matt_dac · January 9, 2020 8:08AM

I'm going to the airport straight from work. My coin related prep went like this:

Cash in my carry on
Loupe
List of the coins I want and recent market prices

Paradisefound · January 9, 2020 8:58AM

Thank you for the insight and looking forward to see what you'll find this time

Desert Moon · January 9, 2020 2:58PM

Interim report: Day 1 done, saw alot of coins and people, out to dinner with some of the PCGS members next. Report tomorrow and thanks for reading/responding.

Best, SH