CHARMY'S 2023 FUN SHOW REPORT w/Tons of Pics!

ThePennyLady

WOW! What a show it was!! This was one of the busiest shows I've had in a long time. Even though there were some very minor glitches on dealer set up day, the show was fantastic, with tons of public on both Thursday and Friday. Even Saturday was surprisingly busy. As many dealers commented, prices are higher especially on better quality, tougher date coins - and it's harder to find the tougher dates in better grades. However, on dealer set up day and throughout the show, I was lucky enough to acquire several nice Pretty Pennies, including an 1856 Flying Eagle cent and three scarce Flying Eagle and Indian cent pattern pieces. The days flew by - it was simply a GREAT show!

As always, each January I very much look forward to the FUN show - this show always seems to start the year off with a bang! I got to the airport early on Tuesday, sailed through TSA, and had lots of extra time before my flight so I grabbed a refreshing Bloody Mary before I began my long trek to Orlando.

I was a little apprehensive about my flight after hearing the airline horror stories over the previous few days, but the only glitch was a a 1/2 hour delay leaving cloudy Orange County.

My only concern was that my layover in Houston was less than an hour, but luckily the gate we arrived at was only a few gates away from my next departing gate which had just begun to board when we landed so I made it just fine. However, when I boarded my flight I asked the flight attendant if our bags from that flight would make it to this flight, and he said "they most likely arrived before you did!" And what do you know, I looked out the window and I saw my bag being loaded onto my plane!

I arrived in Orlando with no problems, checked into my hotel, grabbed a glass of wine down at the bar where the CHUBB Insurance Group was having a huge gathering, then I headed to bed!

After sleeping in a bit, I headed over to the convention center. This was the view from my room.

Set up was at 2pm on Wednesday but I arrived there early to grab my ribbon and to see if there was any dealer trading - which there really wasn't much of since the FUN Board doesn't allow dealers to rent pre-show trading rooms at the convention center. So I just caught up with several dealer friends whom I hadn't seen in quite a while. By the time the bourse was ready to open, there was quite a crowd of dealers waiting to get in!

Set up went smoothly, and then I began my hunt for coins for my customer's want lists and jus to add to my inventory. I did find a few pieces that a couple of my customers had been looking for, but mostly found coins to fill in gaps in my inventory. These are the coins I acquired throughout the show including the three patterns cents and the 1856 Flying Eagle cent.

When I got back to my table, I was happy to see these two long-time forum member friends whom I had seen in quite a while!

@ldhair and @spacehayduke

And my very good ex-FBI now coin dealer buddy Neil Ulrich

In the afternoon, I opened a bottle of this 2014 Williams Selyem Zinfandel - it was very yummy and was shared with several friends!

After a very busy set up day, soon it was time to head out to a nice relaxing dinner! We headed over to Maggiano's and had some awesome food and a wonderful time!

I had a glass of bought 2020 Caymus cab which I've had several times and is always amazing. It was so good and the restaurant price was surprisingly inexpensive so I bought a bottle to take to the show!

Neil and I had ordered the chicken piccata and, and after the other two people at our table had received their dinners, the server accidentally gave away our dinners to the table next to us who happened to order the same two dishes. So the waiter gave us TWO complimentary platters of various desserts.

I have to say, despite this minor glitch, the service at Maggiano's was truly over-the-top.

A couple pics of the bourse on Thursday taken from my table when I had a few seconds to breath!

I was able to pick up a few pieces for my personal exonumia collection - a few hard to find penny pocket mirrors and a scarce celluloid encased Indian cent.

I enjoyed chatting with a few more forum members who stopped by to say hi!

Rick/ @Barberian

Greg/ @keyman64

Ed V.

I brought with me a special bottle of 2014 Eighty-One Justin Cab. I'm a Justin reserve wine club member and I received 6 bottles of this special limited edition wine shipped to me in a wooden crate wrapped in tissue paper. I had been storing it for a few years and this was the first time I opened one of these bottles. Boy, was it amazing! So smooth, full bodied, with hints of blackberry and chocolate - I believe it's the best wine Justin has produced!

One of my customers and a fellow forum member, Steve Feiertag/ @winesteven contacted me before the show to see if we could get together for dinner one evening so we set up to meet me and a few other coin dealers at Del Friscos Double Eagle Steakhouse on Thursday night. Knowing how much I love wine, Steve wanted to share one of his special bottles of wine with us - he brought an "otherworldly" bottle of 2015 Sine Qua Non Syrah Trouvre L'Arene with an AMAZING 100 pt. rating! WOW! It was sooooo delicious, it easily lived up to its perfect rating! Steve even shared wine tasting notes with us which describe in great detail how truly wonderful this wine is.

Even though there could be no wine that we could order that would compare with Steve's wine, we ordered a bottle of 2018 Mt. Veeder O'Shaughnessy cab off the menu and, while it didn't quite compare to Steve's wine, it was very delicious (and pricey at $350!).

The wine went very well with this bone-in ribeye!

By the way, did I mention that, other than the extra bottle of wine we ordered, Steve picked up the entire dinner tab! Boy, it would be hard for me to find a more kind, generous, interesting fellow coin and wine-loving man!

Steve, me, Neil Ulrich and Ron Mirr

Friday morning I took the opportunity to go around the bourse floor and take some photos before the public was let in, including viewing the great exhibits that were on display.

This is Steve Fieretag/ winesteven's exhibit that deservedly won People's Choice

Billie/The Grey Sheet is always a delight to chat with!

Hardworking folks at PCGS!

Also very hard working folks at NGC (David Lange - we miss you!)

Great group of folks at ANACS!

Abe and friends

Young page girls trying their hands at the Kids' Zone wheel

I also stopped by the GreatCollections' table to check out the fantastic Stuart Blay Lincoln set that is set for auction in a week or so. Another WOW which isn't even enough to describe these top pop coins!

I attended the Fly-In Club meeting with Chris Pilliod and Rick Snow, as well as several other club members. Although I couldn't stay for the entire meeting, Chris was giving a talk about Indian cent metals

Photos taken around the bourse floor

Greg/ @Walkerguy21D also came by to say hi

Steve stopped by again in the afternoon and I was happy to share some of my special Justin Eighty-One with him.

My friends Connor and Dan Sedwick with a European percussion cap pistol from the late 1700's-early 1800's that they had just acquired (you may recognize these two from my many dinners in Baltimore in the wine cellar of the Black Olive restaurant)

Friday afternoon, a dealer friend Richard Gross stopped by my table and showed me a very cool and very RARE S-2 1793 Chain Cent. I was thrilled to see it and immediately thought that this might be something my friend Matt Chapman might be interested in. Interestingly, this particular coin is pedigreed to Chapman from 1885 (no relation to Matt as far as we know). So I asked Richard to wait a minute while I called Matt to see if he was still at the show and if he wanted to come and take a look at this amazing coin, which he did! So after examining the coin Matt told Richard he was interested. They then went back to Richard's table to work out the details. I subsequently discovered that they did indeed make a deal and Matt is now the proud owner of this amazing piece of history!

This is a picture of the 1885 photograph of the exact same coin!

And this is the write up about this coin that Matt gave me:

_1793 Chain "AMERICA" cent, Sheldon-2, Wide Date
Pedigree: ex. Chapman (5/1885)

Interesting not only for being the first die variety with the AMERICA fully spelled out on the reverse, but also for being the rarest die variety of the four with an assigned rarity of 4+. This very coin was owned by none other than Henry and Samuel Chapman and was sold in May of 1885 as part of their collection by a third-party auction firm. Henry and his brother Samuel were born in 1859 and 1857 respectively and began selling coins as dealers in 1878. The pedigree is unusual since in most cases, merely brokering coins as a dealer does not warrant a pedigree in the strictest sense. It was only because a third party auctioned the coin and attributed it as having been owned by Chapman that allowed the pedigree attribution. The auction sale price was $23!

The coin itself is actually quite light colored for the type, and the reverse shows several planchet voids and fissures as is typical. The surfaces are hard and glossy. NGC has assigned a grade of AU53 to the coin, and my EAC grade is sharpness 50, net 45. What's really amazing is that until now, the coin has resided raw in a private collection, and has only now been graded for the first time! Before now, the only photos of the coin are from old auction catalogues. Up until now, the only idea of the coin's quality had to be gleaned from these old photos, or photos of photos. According to the photo in Numistudy, the coin was only assigned a grade of sharpness 40, net 30.
_

It's a fascinating coin with a great pedigree! So pleased for Matt that he was able to acquire this historical piece!

On our last night in Orlando I went to the Capital Grille with my foreign coin dealer friends - another restaurant with some great food! We brought our own wine which we all enjoyed.

Gary Braisted allowed me to use these two photos taken of him and the granddaughter of Astronaut Alan Shepard, Laura Shepard Churchley and Gary with Astronaut, test pilot and jazz musician Winston Scott who were at the show

Saturday was a surprisingly busy day too. From what I could see, not many dealers had left on Friday and the bourse was still quite full. I had quite a few decent sales before I had to pack up and head to the airport. So long til next year!

It was really good to finally get home to my dear sweet hubby and my adorable chubby Penny!

Participating in opposite coast coin shows is very wearing and tiring due to the long flights, changing planes, and especially the time change. But I really enjoy attending such a successful and well-organized show as the FUN show, finding beautiful coins, making decent sales, seeing my friends, and dining at great restaurants with good people - so I definitely look forward to going back next year!

Next up: The Long Beach show on February 1-4 and the ANA in Phoenix on March 1-4, 2023.

ElmerFusterpuck

As usual, a nice report. Just couldn't make it to this year's show. Maybe in 2024!

PSA: please don't use the quote function on the OP. Otherwise we'll have thousands of repeating pics on the first page!

morgandollar1878

Great report Charmy, thanks for sharing.

Cladiator

I look forward to visiting your table in Phoenix this year.

johnny9434

That's a beauty on the chain site. Nice report 👌

winesteven

Another fantastic show report! Charmy, it was great getting to know you even better, and to share special limited production wines with you. Your boutique single vineyard Williams Selyem Papera Vineyard Zin and Justin Eighty One Cab were each phenomenal. Thanks again for sharing! Also thanks for taking the time to see my exhibit. Glad you had a successful show!

Looking forward to Winter FUN 2024.

Steve

Exbrit

You certainly know how to live. The wine and steak look great. Not to mention the coins.

ldhair

Fun report Charmy. It was great to see you.

Boosibri

Nice report! Clearly you aren’t doing dry January and the photos make me question why I am!

WAYNEAS

As always, an amazing report Charmy.
You always seem to have a great time between food, wine and friends.
I look forward to your next show report.
Wayne

WaterSport

As usual Charmy you were busy! and so was I searching, but I always like to stop by and say hello. Maybe we will have more time at Baltimore,

WS

ricko

@ThePennyLady ... Another incredible and enjoyable show report Charmy. Thank you for the great pictures. Those wines really look great. Will have to seek out a couple. Cheers, RickO

Desert Moon

Great report Charmy, thanks for posting the images of some of the excellent exhibitions, great seeing you during Dealer Set up - you were mega busy each time I walked by after that which is good news.

Best, SH

Lazybones

Charmy's Florida Food & Wine Tour 2023!

1630Boston

Thanks for the show report

logger7

Ah, the Epicurean life! Thanks for the pictures of dealer exhibits as I was wondering about all the buzz surrounding Bill Jones' 1795 display.

sparky64

Outdid yourself again, great report!
Thank you.

TPRC

Great post, as always, Charmy. I always enjoy your reports.

asheland

Great report!

Dave99B

Love your reports, Charmy. Thanks for putting these together!

I know it burns a lot of time, but everyone anticipates and enjoys your work. Happy to hear you had a wonderful show.

Dave

lilolme

Thanks. 2 of our 4 dinners were also at maggiano's and capital grille but we were at the bar eaters. The chain cent is cool and I have thought for a long time about getting an old slot machine but never 'pulled the arm' and got one. Oh I have a struck through cork this time (last time was a delamination cork) but I won't post another cork here - well unless you really want to see it.

Smudge

Thanks for your report.

divecchia

Great show report as usual.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

Donato

bronzemat

Always enjoy your write-ups and photos. Great work, as usual. And Happy New Year.

Shamika

Geez, you professional coin dealers are living large.

Jimnight

You're the best!

Catbert

Went by your table many times, but didn't wish to interrupt to say hello. Glad the show was successful for you!

coinhack

Thanks for the great report. I always look forward to seeing the shows through your eyes.

7Jaguars

I also look forward to your reports Charmy! I would add as a mild commentary that the demographics of all of our friends look to distinctly be different than other postings, with nary a "youngster" to be seen...

1madman

I’m not sure how you managed to get pictures of the aisles so empty? Thurs, Fri, & Sat it was like trying to wiggle through a mosh pit (at least where I was on the floor)

pcgscacgold

Wow. Each report you give is better than the last one. Outstanding report and love all the photos.

Thanks so much.

ThePennyLady

@1madman said:
I’m not sure how you managed to get pictures of the aisles so empty? Thurs, Fri, & Sat it was like trying to wiggle through a mosh pit (at least where I was on the floor)

That's because the show was so busy that I couldn't leave my booth to take photos until later in the day when there wasn't as much public or before the public came in.

ThePennyLady

@Shamika said:
Geez, you professional coin dealers are living large.

I agree, but that's because it's our "reward" for long tiring days of travel and very busy show days!

ThePennyLady

@Catbert said:
Went by your table many times, but didn't wish to interrupt to say hello. Glad the show was successful for you!

Sorry I didn't get to say hi and chat for a minute - hope to see you at the next show!> @lilolme said:

Thanks. 2 of our 4 dinners were also at maggiano's and capital grille but we were at the bar eaters. The chain cent is cool and I have thought for a long time about getting an old slot machine but never 'pulled the arm' and got one. Oh I have a struck through cork this time (last time was a delamination cork) but I won't post another cork here - well unless you really want to see it.

I love that slot machine, it matches my decor! It's from the 1930's and is called a War Eagle. I only use "period" mercury dimes in it. Btw, that guitar next to the slot machine is signed by Tom Petty - my hubby and I are huge fans of Petty!

golden

Great report. I wish that I could have been there.

Walkerfan

Thank You, Charmy!

I appreciate and look forward to your show reports!!

Edit to add: I loved reading about that beautiful, rare and historic CHAIN CENT. So glad that your friend was able to acquire it!!

kaz

Thanks for another excellent report! I hope to be able to attend that show some day. Amazing Chain Cent, thanks for the write-up on that one.

Downtown1974

Great report as always! Nobody can top your reports.

D808LF

Love Justin Vineyards - used to frequent when I lived on the Central Coast. Favorite is their Isosceles.

ThePennyLady

@D808LF said:
Love Justin Vineyards - used to frequent when I lived on the Central Coast. Favorite is their Isosceles.

I love their Isosceles too, however, the Eighty-One is even more special/better than their Isosceles!

littlebear

Awesome report! Thank you for sharing!

BLUEJAYWAY

Thanks for the recap. Only thing missing was your casino report.

CharlotteDude

Thanks Charmy… consistently the best show reports, period!

lordmarcovan

Fantastic report as usual, Charmy. I’m sorry I missed seeing you there. I attended on Friday and Saturday. It was my first FUN show since 2006 and the first show of any kind I’d been to since January of 2008.

I ran into @sparky64 and @ldhair and @jdmern and @messydesk, as well as some folks I know from CoinTalk.

The memory of some of your past show reports inspired me in producing my own long and rambling report. Literally rambling, as I rambled around the floor, posting lots of pictures and commentary.

I posted that on CoinTalk:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/lordm-fun-show-report-orlando-2023.402155/

I stupidly forgot the food pix, though, even though I’m usually sharing pics of what I eat. It’s usually much more proletarian fare than you post.

Lovely to see your beautiful Penny Cat again. Here is our own cat named Penny (she is actually Penny #2 for us).

Here is one of her baby pictures from two years ago, still looking a bit worse for wear after having just been rescued. She’s posed here with some… well… you know…

lordmarcovan

PS- I’d never seen any celluloid encased cents like that. Cool. I’m more accustomed to the aluminum ones.

olympicsos

The fact that a coin from the 1910s can be a MS69 RD is impressive!

sedulous

Good show. My first. Agree, very busy! Added a couple of my bourse pictures here:

My penny-related highlight:
Submitting via a PCGS "Show Special" for a quick turn-around, this coin was holdered out of a long-time collection taken out of a Wayte Raymond Indian Cent Collection display-type holder. It was sitting there since the late '60's to early '70's but now better protected:

1894-P MS66+ RD PCGS #46362968. The most luster I have ever seen on an IHC:

For me, I scarcely had a chance to get away from our BCCS (Barbers) Booth.

• Tim

marcmoish

Wow, as always your show reports are fantastic, thanks for sharing this all.

Walkerguy21D

Great backstory and pics of that Chain cent; I missed it the first time through the post.

ThePennyLady

Thank you everyone for all your kind comments, as always, I'm so glad you enjoy these show reports, since I really enjoy attending coin shows and am happy to share that experience with all of you!

@BLUEJAYWAY - I don't believe Disney will "allow" casinos to be built anywhere near any of their playgrounds!

@sedulous - that is a BEAUTIFUL 1894 Indian cent, thanks for sharing!

@lordmarcovan - those are adorable little Penny kitties! Yes I have all kinds of encased cents in my collection, including many celluloid pieces and this one very scarce wooden encasement which is the finest known to still exist and one of my favorite encasements in my collection.

alohagary

Always a great read
Thanks