Do we have anymore FUN Show Reports?
DisneyFan
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I was in Orlando; but, to be safe, at the last minute decided not to go. Wish I could have been there.
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Haven’t heard of a superspreader event
Lots of show buys and sells
Did anyone complain of a cancelled return flight? Don’t recall one
Sounds like a great show.
Here’s to looking forward to LB
Was a pretty good show for me. As far as inventory goes, deals on higher end coins ($1000+) were very dry, but deals were better on the $50-$500 scale. Picked up many coins for inventory as well as for my PC.
The bourse was very busy on Saturday, I'm sure most of the sellers made out well. Several people I know had their return flights cancelled and had to leave early.
As far as covid is concerned, nobody at the show that I know of contracted it. Dealer turnout was great, for a moment I feared that many dealers were going to chicken out, which was not the case at all.
Was great getting to meet many friends in person.
My eBay page: https://www.ebay.com/usr/alvareznumismatics
Here's a few random observations not worthy of a detailed imaged report:
Americana sales were strong - no complaints here. The presence of several of my regular European dealer customers over for FUN & NY Int'l took the show from very good sales to strong sales as they depleted my medal inventory by half or more. I had a new group of So-Called Dollars that hardly got looked at - the best sellers were political, personalities (GW, Franklin, etc.) and other topical items. I didn't bring a lot of Civil War and Hard Times tokens but a few still went away (mostly slabs). Buying was better than expected with several regulars bringing in groups of stuff not in their mainstream areas & a couple of dealers with better than usual put-back bags for me.
One glaring difference (to me) was the absence of Canadian customers. In past years the first people back to my table after the public opening are several Canadian collectors & dealers eager to go through my Canadian Colonial & merchant tokens. This year I had about 30 new Colonial slabs (many ex-Partrick) and a box of raw Colonial & other merchant tokens ready to go. I had exactly zero people look at any Canadian tokens during the whole show. I am aware of the current border rules & regulations holding back travel but I thought that some year round and long term snowbirds would show up.
The threat of exorbitant rental car prices turned out to be a non-factor. The give away rates sometimes found among the majors were not there but prices were reasonable. The various mid-range hotels that I check every year seemed to (surprisingly) be a bit more expensive this year
The only big downer of the trip -- one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the U.S, Kim Wu, didn't make it through the pandemic. I've been going there since the Twin Towers days of FUN and always greatly anticipated the yearly visit.
** This year I had about 30 new Colonial slabs (many ex-Partrick) and a box of raw Colonial & other merchant tokens ready to go. I had exactly zero people look at any Canadian tokens during the whole show.**
Darn, I wasn’t even thinking about Canadian tokens. Would have liked to see them.
Besides my show report, I’ve since heard from one of my dealer friends that I only had a chance to briefly say hi to at the show.
He said his Tuesday/Wednesday sales to other dealers was so strong that he had “made” his show before the doors opened to the public on Thursday.
Flew down from South Carolina Thursday morning with no problems - in fact, I got into Orlando 15 minutes early! A quick cab ride, set up my exhibit, and cruised the floor. I literally had to elbow people out of the way, it was so crowded on Thursday and it didn't calm down until about 4:00. I figured about 30% wore masks. As I've had the virus already and all my shots, I didn't bother, although I liberally used a bottle of sanitizer I carried in my pocket. Pretty much the same thing on Friday and Saturday and, of course, dinner out with other collectors Thursday and Friday. Flights home Saturday night were the same way - again, a little bit early. A great trip once again with no problems. The only drawback is that there are no hotels right next to the North end of the Convention Center. By the way, I purposely kept the checkbook in my pocket as there were items coming up in Great Collections and Heritage auctions that I really, really wanted (ended up getting them both). Also, now almost 10 days after the show, I feel fine.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
@DisneyFan... Wow, right in Orlando and did not go to the show?? If I were there, I would have attended every day. Cheers, RickO
I was at the show from the beginning on Wednesday to about 11 o'clock on Sunday. I had an exhibit, which won second place for Miscellaneous Items that covered Bryan Dollars.
I was pleasantly surprised to find an affordable Roman aureus, the gold coin in the Roman system, and I also purchased a rare Lincoln badge from his 1860 presidential campaign. The aureus featured the emperor, Antonius Pius who ruled from 138 to 161 AD. The aureus is graded Ch VF. It's much more attractive in person. I have not been able to get a good photo of it yet.
I was looking to up grade my Capped Bust Half Dollar type coin, but had no luck. I also was looking for Proof coins from the 1936 to 1942 era. I have the 1936 and 1942 Proof sets, and was looking for the coins in the middle. I found several, but they were surprisingly hard to find. Some pieces were over graded, and therefore over priced. One of the "go to dealers" who I thought would have some of the pieces I needed brought nothing to sell with an expensive end of the row booth. Go figure. Here is an 1939 Proof Half Dollar that I found. It's graded PR-66.
I also found this British one-third guinea, which had been on my list for a year or so. These coins were issued when Napoleon was causing trouble in Europe and threatening England. That curtailed the coin production. These some gold pieces, which were worth seven shillings to issued to fill the gap. This one is graded MS-62, but it's really a nice AU.
I had the privilege of giving a presentation about Abraham Lincoln on Friday afternoon. Thanks to all of those who came.
Overall it was good show, and I had a great time. Unfortunately Covid prevented me from connecting with some of the dealers I like to see, but at least the show came off despite the bad publicity.
I would have loved to go, made arrangements months ago; but, I'm in the high risk category. Looking forward to 2023! Stay safe.
My brother lives nearby, made a 10 day vacation out of it, attended Thurs - Fri. It was a smaller venue than 2020, about 80% of the space was full, but of that, about 10% of the tables were empty Thurs, a bit more on Fri. Bought three nice Barber Halves from Darrell K, a 96-P, 97-O, and 02-S on Thursday, leaving only two needed (out of 72) in my VF-AU set. Had a rare chance to show off the LOC's a bit. Due to a change in schedule with family, Friday was unexpectedly open, went again, a surprisingly, found one of the two I needed, a raw AU 99-O. No problem with flights, both were nonstop, but returning home, MCO was a mess. The security lines took about 45 minutes, and with many delayed flights, lots of folks hanging out in the concourse area with nowhere to go. I waited another 45 minutes for Burger King and wound up eating it sitting in the passage way from the concourse to the gates. At least the flight was relaxing. Looking forward to Jan 2023.
I was there and had such a great time that I still find myself daydreaming about it.
Leisurely mornings, hit the bourse at 10, occasionally pop outside to take a breather in the warm sun, stroll back to the hotel in the afternoon, poolside lounge chair or hot tub with adult beverages, off to dinner to any of the awesome restaurants, back to the hotel, fall asleep chatting about the days events with my travel partner.
Lather rinse repeat.
"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
Christmas at Seaworld
Dolphin Encounter
Sea of Trees
Welcome to the Bourse, at its new location in North Hall B
VIP Luncheon at the Bourse... just kidding, Red Lobster is a 10 minute walk from North Hall B
Newp
FUN over, Prepping for NY International
Newps on the Beach
@hedgefundtradingdesk.... Welcome aboard.... Nice pictures and nice coins. Cheers, RickO