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FUN Show Report (with Bass win! And photos)

ProofmorganProofmorgan Posts: 762 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited January 7, 2023 11:55AM in U.S. Coin Forum

With our heads in the sand, my wife and I planned to fly SouthWest. We hadn’t heard about all the craziness, but did at the show when we shared our choice of flight and people thought we were crazy. The direct flight went off without issue besides turbulence upon landing. We arrived late on Wednesday, so no numismatic adventures until Thursday.

Goals:

-Take home a Bass lot I was looking forward to.
-Hunt for Nice Early Gold
-Find a nice toned Morgan per request of my dad
-Keep my wife happy and still get her involved in the action
-find nice bullion at a fair price

Thursday:

Woke up early to buy the EB Badge. This went without issue and relatively quick at 8am. The walk from Rosen Centre is a haul….I’m spoiled to the central states convenience. I figured I’d squeeze in Bass viewing between 8am and the 830 bourse opening. I had the viewing room to myself and viewed the Bass lots. Some very nice coins. Some not so nice. Grading was loose, CAC rate very low. Of course I viewed and held the 1870-S. I admitted I wasn’t a buyer, but I’m sure I wasn’t the first. I viewed it quickly and took no photos as to not waste too much of their time. The coin I was chasing looked as nice as I had imagined from the online images I’d been analyzing for months.

I went down the escalator to the show entry. Narrowly avoiding disaster as the line had backed up to the bottom of the escalator with the bourse not opened yet. There was no where for me to step off….surely this would be chaos. Somehow the line moved just in time to prevent disaster and the bourse opened up and attendees flooded in.

Setup rate was about 25% but I took the time to bring my 1804 $5 to PCGS (no line) for reholder and reimage. It was in a “series” holder and the last trueview through the holder was unsatisfactory for me. I figured it carried little premium and a nice image meant more. Sending the coin back to CAC for re-sticker would be the significant hassle.

From there, off to the races for the shopping list. Making the stops with John Agre, Doug Winter, Sarah with HA, and Christine with Stacks. I may have missed some but always a great group to chat with. An amazing proof collection untouched since 1911displayed from Stacks and upcoming. As fresh as it gets.

I found some beautiful early gold at David Khans table. They were priced well but I was saving myself for the auction at this point. Toned Morgan prices seemed outrageous and there was a wide spread for the same coin in the same grade and that rainbow look. I gave up on the Morgan front. Of note: I was specifically asked by a couple dealers not to post coin images as they thought it would ruin the freshness. First time I hear this, but they won’t be posted below at their request.

Bullion premiums seemed high. My go to backup is always grabbing brand names bullion or unique bullion at low premiums, when I strike out on coins. This is the first time I struck out on that front as well.

The looming auction consumed my mind. Where would the coin I wanted land price wise. The bourse consensus was that the prices would be crazy. I placed a strong online bid in the hotel room before dinner and the live session. A sigh of relief that I wasn’t already outbid. We had a nice dinner at the “Everglades” and raced to the auction room exactly 1 minute before the auction started. Just to find out they had free dinner…

Bass Auction:

Prices were very strong out of the gate. Some lots were soft between the wild action for unique pieces. Some non-CAC lots fell quite short of guide/market prices. The energy around the $3 was electric. It was worth the live attendance. I will say it was such a breath of fresh air to have a live auction. The auctioneer was great and I loved his sense of humor. The early $5s without stickers were somewhat soft, which gave me hope. The lot I wanted was finally here….heart racing, paddle clutched, I prepared for the unknown. The lot sold to me without having to raise my paddle…disbelief and a relief. I think my wife secretly hoped I didn’t spend all that money but she congratulated me knowing I accomplished my mission. We stayed for the rest of the auction, but I was still in a stupor from winning the coin I was after. 1805 $5 in 64. Amazing original color for early gold. My photos do no justice.

Friday:

With the pressure off, I made to to the bourse around 930am. Picked up my 1804 from PCGS quickly and walked to floor to see if I could find a toned Morgan for my dad. Early gold was off the table after the auction win. A group of rainbow no line fatty Morgan’s appeared in a dealer case, but the dreaded “not for sale” adorned them. Off to bullion, again no luck there. I had a great interaction with Seth at Witter Coin over some toned Morgan’s. It’s great to see the investment he’s putting into the young numismatists. I will note there were many younger attendees….great for the hobby. Heritage has some early $10s displayed today, which has a couple nice examples (see photos).

Lastly I went to settle up with Heritage and conclude the numismatic part of the trip.

The rest of the trip included “Gator Golf”, relaxation, and good food.

Overall a success and no regrets!















Collector of Original Early Gold with beginnings in Proof Morgan collecting.

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