Summer FUN Show Report
Walkerguy21D
Posts: 11,576 ✭✭✭✭✭
I usually like to attend the major shows on the first day, but too many work responsibilities on Thur forced me to attend the show on Friday this year. Traffic over from the East coast of FL was generally light, allowing me to maintain the unofficial speed limit of 80 mph most of the time, for the hour long drive. Played the classic Dire Straights CD (remember those?) Brothers in Arms, which sounds great on the Bose system. The South concourse has extremely easy access coming in the back way from the East, allowing me to dodge the heavy traffic and lights on International Drive. The competing event venue in the North concourse was a Mecum classic car auction, which was SO tempting to check out, but decided I better stay focused on coins.
As keyman reported, the parking lot access to this building was very close, so even though I arrived right at opening time, I could still get to the building very quickly. There was still a long walk inside the concourse to the show, but it was in AC of course.
There was no line for the sign in process.
Initial impression was that there was very little buzz, compared to last years' Summer FUN, which was the first major national show in a long time - it was more like the old Summer FUN shows, but with more dealers. I generally didn't have to compete to look in any cases, though every table seemed to have at least one person there (but not multiples, like at Winter FUN). Dealers I chatted with were generally upbeat and were having good sales, though some lamented a lot of it was wholesale to national dealers who were there Wed and Thur. Dealers who carry better raw inventory looked fairly picked over, with lots of gaps showing on the 2x2 display boards, which I assume were full when they started. Asking prices in general were steep. This deterred me from even getting quotes, assuming ~10% courtesy discount from marked prices, were still well out of what I would be willing to pay for stock, etc. I didn't see much in the way of bullion trading hands, @ricko, though I did notice a dealer picking through an enormous bag of "BU" Peace dollars at another dealers' table, and stacking them in groups of 20 for what I assume was going to be a bulk purchase.
Noticed a number of sharp young dealers cruising the floor, a continuation of Winter FUN. I'm guessing they didn't have tables, and have an inventory light business model. They live on their phones, either scrolling or talking, and work on quick flips, finding a deal at one table and placing it quickly with someone else. And the coins they were discussing were generally bigger coins with stickers, etc. I did have to remark, after one young fellow kept asking to see coins in 'fatty' holders, "apparently he likes holders that are older than he is!" He gave me a quizzical look, but everyone else laughed.
As usual, I was looking for walkers and large cents, with an occasional glance at type. One interesting observation - for the first time in probably 20 years of longer, there were a fair number of the early walkers available, in Unc (still virtually nothing in XF-AU). If one had the means, and didn't care about matching grades and holders, or stickers, a nearly complete MS set could have been built at this show. Now they were NOT abundant - there were no duplicates, other than a couple of P mint coins. And asking prices were strong. A very cool 28S in an OGH 64 holder with a bean was priced at beyond moon money. The majority of these were held by dealers who seemed to specialize in nice better date coins, and probably had to pay up to get them. I did get to chat with a collector from Chicago at one of these tables, who currently has the number 1 ranked PCGS-CAC only set. Wow, I'm not worthy! I myself didn't find anything for my registry set that I had to have, and my only walker purchase was a crusty 35S in XF that was priced a little over melt. Someday a set builder may need this and I can double my money LOL!
Large cents were in short supply, except for some of the middle and late dates. Early dates in low grade/rough condition were still priced high, so I couldn't pick up anything for stock. My one find for my set was pure serendipity. A dealer who was sharing a table and only had one case of better coins had a large calculator and phone sitting on the corner of the case. I look at ALL slabbed large cents, never knowing what you might see. The one large cent I could see was a generic late date, and only one other coin was hidden. He was ending his conversation with another customer, and asked if I needed to see something, I said without much hope, I wanted to see what was under the calculator....he lifted it, oh, a generic half cent - thanks - have a good day. He said hang on, what dates are you looking for? I said only a handful, thanks - he said how about a '22 in AU? That stopped me in my tracks. Tough coin that's been on my list forever, this is NOT a Randall hoard date so better specimens are scarce....so of course I'm trying to be casual, and say sure I'll take a look at it. He'd just bought it and hadn't priced it yet. It's very nice, and priced fairly for what it was, but a little higher grade and price than I wanted. I said I'll think on it, he indicated he may have a little room if become serious, and I continued the hunt. After seeing the whole bourse, it came down this one and a classic head cent I'd seen earlier. Went back to see that one, it had some minor issues, and was priced fairly strong. I realized I was trying to talk myself into it, as it was "good enough", at which point I thought stop and go look at that 1822 again. After waiting awhile for him to get back from a break, we had a nice chat, we agreed on a price, and bought it.
At that point I was ready to leave, but since there were no afternoon thunderstorms brewing, I thought I better recoup some of my purchase. I had a spare but very nice raw 1821 cent and decided to show it to the venerable Tom Reynolds. He is VERY hard to sell to, but he didn't have a '21 in his cases in any grade, which was a good sign. After a lot of study, research, and negotiation, we agree on a price, and its now his. His usual show partner and forum member 1798Collector showed up, and after the sale was complete, we all traded war stories for awhile, which was a wonderful experience.
I was able to get out before rush hour, got to admire some of the cars either being driven or towed out from the adjoining Mecum auction, and cruised back home to sound of the REM album Automatic for the People. The evening was spent with non coin people, swimming and drinking Landshark after consuming carryout primo stramboli.
Coolest thing I saw on the bourse. I never even heard of this previously:
A NEWP for the Dansco 7070 - for $2 I couldn't pass it up:
THE NEWP: Sorry, scratches on the holder, not the coin. I tried PlastEx but couldn't really reduce them.
Comments
The holder for the 1822 cent is screaming ... polish me!
Ourstanding report
Cool newps
That's an historic SLQ
Thx
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Thanks for a detailed report, I really enjoyed reading it. Your newP looks terrific!
Problem holders can be remedied; problem coins, not so much…..
Nice report ... sounds like a great day overall ... and that's a good looking '22!
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
What was the asking price for the 1916 SLQ? I wanted to inquire, but the dealer was selling a watch when I walked up and I never made it back by his table.
Nice thanks for the report, seems that your report is mostly in line with everything else I have read so far pertaining to the "buzz" of this show. Love the newp '22!
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Great report- that 1916 SLQ is cool- who had it for sale?
Thanks for the excellent report.
That’s a great looking coin you bought.
Thanks for your show report. I like the1822.
Thanks for your report.
Envious of your ‘22.
Love the history of the16 SLQ.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
That would look awesome with a First Strike insert!
Sweet 22! I suspect that 16 wasn't for sale?
@Walkerguy21D... Thanks for an excellent show report. A lot of interesting information. Cheers, RickO
Congrats on the purchase of the 1822 and your sale. I did see the 1916 SLQ as well. Pretty coin piece of history there. Sounds like you had a good time. Maybe I'll see ya at Winter FUN. Did you skip lunch? No mention of it in your write-up.
Edit: I wanted to go check out the Mecum auction as well but I didn't have the time or any money to spend there. Maybe one day.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Side note, try Meguiars plastic cleaner, followed by Meguiars plastic polish…works wonders!
I assumed it was either NFS, or serious inquiries only item. I did request permission before taking the photos.
As I usually try to cover the whole bourse in one day, I pack water, Gatorade, nuts, apples, etc and snack on the go, which is what I did Friday. Though at one table someone was eating what appeared to be a massive smoked brisket sandwich, (assumed it came from your pulled pork vendor), and that looked and smelled pretty good!
I used this before the pics, and it removed a little of the hairlines, but didn’t seem to touch the bigger ones.
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i miss things from time to time and am wondering if i am doing so here.
first off, nice report, coins, images, presentation. WONDERFUL share on the 1916 25c and its related docs!!!
BUT, my brain asks me, lance, how does a first strike 1916 25c, go from being idk, a ms66 or so, to a au58 holder? unfortunate mishandling since 1916 i guess. cabinet friction strikes again?
that being said. gotta love this forum and the age of tech at least a little.
you go from a FIRST STRIKE 1916 25c. helloooooo! wow - to a scrumptiously stoned SBA dollar (who doesn't like SBA & CS for their work towards womens rights? and for $2 no less) - to a gorgeous 22 large cent in au58.
fwiw, a couple/few of our illustrious members has gone to GREAT lengths to post 1, 2, 3 threads for removing scratches from slabs for any that wants to look for or bump one they know of. fwiw
I’m guessing he (MacNeil) or his heir handled it or carried it around or cleaned it from time to time, hence the grade. To them it was probably an interesting curio, not a rare valuable numismatic treasure like it’s viewed now.
Thanks all for the Likes and nice comments.
Outside beauty is fleeting, inside beauty is forever. Great discourse, Greg and loved your writeup. Beautiful 22 and I'm not into that series. Thanks
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Love the large cent and cool report
PlastX is around 1200 or so. Practice on a Coin World slab. Multi step process. Wet/dry 400-600-800-1000 grit. Don't use anything lower than is necessary. Wet sanding ( use plastX as your lubricant) accelerates the cutting and keeps the sandpaper from getting clogged. If 800 doesn't take out the scratch, go to 600.
Once you get the hang of it- easy. Do not use power as it will generate heat and can cause waves in the plastic. Cross cut the scratch and each step, crosscut the previous step. PlastX will take out 1000 (which should look just a little cloudy.) Couple of practice scratches and should have confidence to tackle the real deal.
Terrific show report!!!
Thanks for taking the time to share your show experience.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
Thank you @Walkerguy21D ❤️
This is the kind of report I chill my wine for a lovely reading over sunset 🥰
Gee, and I was concerned I was being too long winded lol!
I love the fun show. Wish I could’ve gone. Going to St Charles next week as a consolation.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
I’ve heard that’s a pretty good show too, good luck up there!