savitale's FUN show report

savitale

Whew! What a long day at FUN. I’m composing this after a 23 hour FUN adventure so y’all can get timely reporting. I’ll give general observations first and those who wish can continue reading about my personal journey.

I asked about half a dozen dealers about their show experience. All were positive, though a couple said Thursday was markedly better than today. All were planning to leave Saturday morning or afternoon. I saw a lot of four-figure checks being written and cash transactions too. Lots of young dealers too, young meaning in their twenties. Very few young collectors and few (but not zero) female collectors. At any given time about half the tables seemed to be engaged in wholesale business which I guess is a good sign. Many dealers talking about participating in the auctions too. If FUN is any indicator, it seems that the coin business is off to a good start in 2020.

I know ricko always asks about bullion. I didn’t see any significant bullion business taking place. The only thing bullion related I overheard at all was “I’m selling [generic] $20’s for $15 back of melt” by which I think he meant back of the spot price of 1oz of gold, and “Statue of Liberty, Constitution, and similar commemorative halfs are basically melt”.

Woke up at 3:00am this morning and drove to Providence, RI for a 6:00am flight to Orlando. After an uneventful flight and short Uber ride I arrived at FUN registration to find a very short line.

Photo below was taken about 10 minutes before doors opened, by 10:00 there was an orderly mob of about 100 people waiting to get in.

FUN is huge. There are 12 aisles with about 600 total tables. This photo was taken right after doors opened; there was much more activity throughout the day.

A big show like this needs a plan of attack. My plan was to power walk the whole floor focused on the few seated dime varieties I still need. Then circle back for a second go to fill a hole or two in my type set and to pick a present for my daughter.

On the first trip around the bourse I saw some real masterpieces. On view were the 1793 SP65 Chain Cent at Legend, the 1854-S half eagle in the next Pogue Sale at Stacks, and a magnificent 1796 Bust Quarter MS63 at Great Collections. Sorry, no pictures, I thought it might be in bad taste to photograph coins in dealer cases.

I tried to make time to talk with folks on the bourse floor, too. With Gerry Fortin about seated dimes (of course), and with a representative at David Lawrence about the Hansen Collection. In addition to the legendary rarities and top pops, apparently Mr. Hansen enjoys buying $50 coins of eBay too. I think that’s so cool. I hope his core collection ends up in a museum someday so they can be viewed by the public. Fred Weinberg gave me a little education in error coins. He showed me a 10% off-center seated dime which is now on my short list of entry points to errors should I decide to move in that direction.

By 12:30pm I had made it half way across the bourse in power-walking mode and I required nourishment. Lunch options were pretty good considering they were on the convention floor. Predictably the hot dog stand was doing brisk business.

After lunch I completed my first pass around the floor. I found one interesting seated dime at Larry Briggs’ table. It was raw and probably won’t straight grade, so I passed for now. The only other seated dime variety I found was at Jack Beymer’s table. I really wanted to buy a coin from Jack Beymer, as a kid I used to dream about buying the denomination type sets from his ads in Coins magazine, but they were out of reach for me. The coin at his table was wholesome for the grade, but for a VG he was asking more than moon money. It was more like Pluto money. Alas Jack Beymer’s coins are still out of reach for me.

I didn’t completely strike out though. For one thing, I got my picture taken by The Penny Lady! Almost as cool, I picked up this Draped Bust Half from Chris Napolitano Numismatics for my type set. We talked for a bit about seated liberty coins and he suggested my thoughts on moving on to collecting proof seated dimes might not be too crazy.

Finally I got this for my daughter for her 7th birthday (don’t tell her). She’s been accumulating world coins and currently loves pandas.

Thanks to spacehayduke for organizing the post FUN get together. I could only stay for an hour but about a dozen people were there when I left. Got to meet Physicsfan, walkerguy21D and several others who’s screen name I cannot recall. By coincidence I ended up sitting next to dimeman and learned a lot about his collection. Definitely a FUN time!

Coinstartled

Great report. Unfortunate that the dealers head for the doors Saturday morning or afternoon.

We need more collectors in the hobby not less, and Saturday is a great time to serve the guy with a M-F job that wants to buy some coins.

savitale

@Coinstartled said:
Great report. Unfortunate that the dealers head for the doors Saturday morning or afternoon.

We need more collectors in the hobby not less, and Saturday is a great time to serve the guy with a M-F job that wants to buy some coins.

True. I get it from the dealer's perspective too. They have been away from home since Tuesday. And probably 90% of their potential buying and selling (dollar wise) was completed by Thursday. Maybe the organizers could run the show Friday-Sunday instead. But perhaps the dealers don't want to work Saturday and Sunday.

Walkerguy21D

Great report, savitale, love that new draped bust half, and great meeting you last night!

ricko

Excellent report.... Thank you @savitale ...Very nice gift for your daughter... will be her favorite. Cheers, RickO

Walkerfan

Great report! Thank You!!

"He was asking more than moon money. It was more like Pluto money. Alas Jack Beymer’s coins are still out of reach for me."

LMAO......some things never change.

johnny9434

A nice read

Hemispherical

Thanks for taking the time to compose your show report @savitale. Your daughter has a great dad!

Eric_Babula

Great report @savitale ! A agree with @Coinstartled that it would be better for the hobby/collectors if the dealers would stay the weekend, when the average collector could attend, look, learn and buy! But, I'm guessing the dealers make most of their money from other dealers, and don't care as much about the average schmo who is gonna buy a couple hundred dollars of coins at best. Unfortunate.

I also agree with @Hemispherical that your daughter has a great dad! Love the Panda!

Gazes

nice report! i have always thought proof seated dimes would be a great series to collect

Desert Moon

savitale,
Great meeting you last nite and thanks for the insightful show report.

Best, SH

matt_dac

Heading back today for 4pm, we’ll see if any dealers are left. Ha ha

Mgarmy

@Eric_Babula said:
Great report @savitale ! A agree with @Coinstartled that it would be better for the hobby/collectors if the dealers would stay the weekend, when the average collector could attend, look, learn and buy! But, I'm guessing the dealers make most of their money from other dealers, and don't care as much about the average schmo who is gonna buy a couple hundred dollars of coins at best. Unfortunate.

I also agree with @Hemispherical that your daughter has a great dad! Love the Panda!

That will be the real death of the hobby if it becomes a circular firing squad of dealers only dealing with dealers for big bucks while the avg couple hundred dollar joe gets dusted

matt_dac

There were MANY empty tables but enough stuck it out to make it worthwhile. I thanked all the dealers I spoke to and grabbed something on my list on the way out!

Zoins

@savitale said:

@Coinstartled said:
Great report. Unfortunate that the dealers head for the doors Saturday morning or afternoon.

We need more collectors in the hobby not less, and Saturday is a great time to serve the guy with a M-F job that wants to buy some coins.

True. I get it from the dealer's perspective too. They have been away from home since Tuesday. And probably 90% of their potential buying and selling (dollar wise) was completed by Thursday. Maybe the organizers could run the show Friday-Sunday instead. But perhaps the dealers don't want to work Saturday and Sunday.

Given that many dealers don’t attend shows on weekends (which has been discussed for years), I can see why show attendance is declining and more coins are being transacted online. It’s not good for working age collectors to attend shows when there are many empty tables and the best coins are gone. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Zoins

@Mgarmy said:

@Eric_Babula said:
Great report @savitale ! A agree with @Coinstartled that it would be better for the hobby/collectors if the dealers would stay the weekend, when the average collector could attend, look, learn and buy! But, I'm guessing the dealers make most of their money from other dealers, and don't care as much about the average schmo who is gonna buy a couple hundred dollars of coins at best. Unfortunate.

I also agree with @Hemispherical that your daughter has a great dad! Love the Panda!

That will be the real death of the hobby if it becomes a circular firing squad of dealers only dealing with dealers for big bucks while the avg couple hundred dollar joe gets dusted

The hobby will survive but change. A lot of coins are being transacted online, by people who don’t normally go to shows. Shows are on the decline and have been for some time.

Nysoto

Great report and nice 1806 half dollar!

scubafuel

Take a sick day and go to a major show Thurs or Friday. You won’t regret it!

jonruns

Great report! Thanks for taking the time to compose!

savitale

@scubafuel said:
Take a sick day and go to a major show Thurs or Friday. You won’t regret it!

Yep! But using a vacation day might ensure continued employment.

kaz

Thanks for the report, love that DBH!

rln_14

Thanks for the nice show report

ScarsdaleCoin

We still are sticking around so if you come in today say hello Table 1004

TeamDennis

Great report.

mepot

I live in Orlando, and won't be going to the show because I had to work Saturday.
I've been there on the weekends, Sunday is depressing , the place is empty. The best time to go is
definitely Thursday or Friday early, when there is still some energy in the building.

For a show this size, always best to have a plan, like savitale did.
Nice report, and nice coins!!!

savitale

@ScarsdaleCoin said:
We still are sticking around so if you come in today say hello Table 1004

Thanks for the candy Friday! Best Skittles on the bourse!

cnncoins

savitale....great to meet you and spend a few minutes talking. After 35 years of dealing, it's always great to meet and talk with collectors who really enjoy coins! I can appreciate your Bust Half in "Gem" F12 as much as classic 6 and 7 figure rarities that I have been fortunate to handle over the years.

skier07

Thanks for the report. That’s a beautiful DBH!

JonBrand83

Thanks for the write up. I really need to get to one of the big shows.

If you all could make only one trip a year, what show would you attend?

savitale

@JonBrand83 said:

If you all could make only one trip a year, what show would you attend?

FUN. Summer ANA is a close contender but there are many other activities that vie for my attention in summer. January is a good time not to be in Boston.

Coinosaurus

@Coinstartled said:
Great report. Unfortunate that the dealers head for the doors Saturday morning or afternoon.

We need more collectors in the hobby not less, and Saturday is a great time to serve the guy with a M-F job that wants to buy some coins.

Dealers leave when traffic slows. If there is a non-stop crowd of these M-Fers lining up at their tables on Saturday, trust me, the dealer will stay open all night if the convention center lets them.

amwldcoin

Actually Saturday was the busiest I can remember it being in a while. It amazes me how the front 1/2 of the room becomes a Ghost Town around 1:00.

@Coinosaurus said:

@Coinstartled said:
Great report. Unfortunate that the dealers head for the doors Saturday morning or afternoon.

We need more collectors in the hobby not less, and Saturday is a great time to serve the guy with a M-F job that wants to buy some coins.

Dealers leave when traffic slows. If there is a non-stop crowd of these M-Fers lining up at their tables on Saturday, trust me, the dealer will stay open all night if the convention center lets them.

divecchia

Very nice show report. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

One day I hope to make the pilgrimage to a FUN show.

Donato

DIMEMAN

Nice report. I enjoyed talking Seated Dimes with you at the forum gettogether. Nice Bust Half! hope to see you next year!

1630Boston

Thanks for the report @savitale