Charmy's March 2023 ANA PHOENIX NATIONAL MONEY SHOW REPORT w/lots of Pics!

ThePennyLady

It's been a while since I've attended an ANA National Money Show mostly due to conflicts, but not having any conflicts and being only one state away made it an easy decision. And I'm really glad this one fit into my schedule as, not only did I have a really good show buying and selling, but I had so much fun getting together with different friends for dinner at new restaurants in a different city! I also found a VERY COOL coin for my personal collection - as you will see further down.

Even though it's only a 6-hour drive, I decided to fly since the hotel parking was expensive as is gas, and because it's only a 1-hour flight. I arrived early on Tuesday and was surprised at how cold it was, but I and was happy to be back in Phoenix as it is a very pretty city and I hadn't been there in quite a while.

Took a quick Uber ride to the Hyatt downtown which was right across the street from the main convention center.

This is the view from my room.

After settling in, I went to drop my bags off at security but soon found out that there was a glitch in our dealer paperwork as the ANA had forgotten to change the location of the security room from last year's show in Colorado Springs! However, thanks to a very kind and resourceful concierge man at the main convention center, I soon found that our security room was in the South Building a couple blocks away on 3rd Street.

So I headed there and checked my bags into security. Since many of my friends hadn't yet arrived in Phoenix, I decided to try my luck at the Talking Stick casino which was about a 1/2 hour Uber drive away. I had a lot of fun playing various table games and slots, but didn't come out ahead in the end.

Set up wasn't until 1pm on Wednesday but I headed over early to meet up with some of my dealer friends. Security was definitely beefed up for this show as I was approached as soon as I walked into the building and asked why I was there since I hadn't yet put my badge on. Once we were let into the bourse floor, it didn't take long for me to have my booth in ship shape order so I could walk around and do some shopping.

At one of the first dealer booths I stopped at, I was very surprised to see a Flying Eagle cent in a DOILY HOLDER - OMG! I have several Indian, Lincoln and even Two cent pieces in Doily holders, but I had never seen a Flying Eagle Doily and had to contain my excitement. Of course the dealer knew what he had and wanted a hefty premium for this piece, but after a little wheeling and dealing, we settled on a price and I was thrilled to put that beautiful little guy in my pocket so I could take it home and add it to my personal collection!

Back at my table, I had a dealer friend, Zachery Lauer, stop by and offer me this super rare 1944 steel cent. Although I would love to have added this amazingly rare piece to my inventory and/or personal collection, it wasn't quite in my budget.

Always enjoy seeing my dealer friends - and James Sego is definitely on that list!

As I was hoping, I ended up finding several pieces for my inventory - these are pics of all the Pretty Pennies I found throughout the show:

Soon it was time to open one of the bottles of wine I brought - I decided to go big on my first day at the show with this wonderful bottle of Caymus cab! It didn't even make it through the end of that day as it was shared with several dealer friends.

End of set up day

That night I had dinner with a couple of wonderful lady friends from the Grey Sheet that I had gotten to know over the last few years at the shows - they are fondly known as The Grey Sheet Ladies, Billie and Amanda Blattel!

Amanda had made reservations at a steakhouse that I hadn't heard of until I arrived in Phoenix called Steak 44 - and then I discovered it is one of the very best steakhouses ANYWHERE - and we soon discovered that was NO exaggeration! Steak 44 was truly amazing in every way - the food was fantastic, the wine was wonderful (we ordered more Caymus), the service was top notch, and the dessert was absolutely delicious! And the great company weas the icing on the cake - we ended up chatting and staying until almost closing time!

I had a bone-in filet with a butter truffle sauce that was SO TASTY AND AMAZING! We also ordered truffle cheese au gratin potatoes along with delicious creme brulee corn (yes, we didn't spare the carbs)!

Then came the dessert menu - each one of them sounded so yummy that we decided to try three different ones, and they did not disappoint! My favorite was the red velvet bread pudding!

This truly was one of the most delicious meals I've had - the special sauces were so flavorful and really made each dish that much more tasty. I am so grateful to Billie, Amanda (and John/Greysheet) for treating me to such a wonderful and memorable evening - thank you, thank you, thank you!

After dinner, we went back to the Hyatt and saw some other dealers at the bar, including Mary Lynn Garrett, so we stopped for a quick nightcap.

The show opened to the public Thursday morning (photo courtesy of the ANA)

It didn't take long for the show to become quite crowded with lots of buzz

Rich/Cladiator stopped by first thing and was very kind and gracious to bring me this wonderful bottle of Rodney Strong cab - which is where his wife works - thank you Rich! I opened it later that day, it was very yummy!

Doug Davis of Numismatic Crime Prevention does a fantastic job getting information out about numismatic crime around the country and how to help prevent it. I wholeheartedly support and praise Doug's efforts, and he was kind enough to stop by my table to thank me for my support and gave me this very cool Numismatic Crime medal.

During the show I bought a "pile" of miscellaneous pennies from a man who had inherited them from his dad and just wanted to sell them. They were mostly low grade Indian and Large cents, with a few inexpensive Lincoln cents thrown in. Included in this group was an interesting Robert Kennedy token that I hadn't seen before. I looked it up and though it's not rare, it wasn't that common either.

I was very busy the entire day, including late into the afternoon. In between sales, I had people offering me lots of pennies for sale as well. It was great being that busy, but I didn't have time to take many photos of the show. However, I made up for it the next day as you will see.

Thursday night I went to dinner with my friends Karl and Joanne Stephens at, coincidentally, another steakhouse, Mastros. It too was delicious and the service was great as well. To start with, we enjoyed this nice bottle of Albarino, followed by a Seven Hills Merlot.

It happened to be Karl and Joanne's anniversary so our waiter brought us this delicious butter cake to celebrate

After I was dropped off back at my hotel, once I again I ran into a group of friends at the bar (which happens to be right on the way to my room), including Billie and Amanda, so I joined them for a nightcap before heading up.

Friday morning when I arrived at the show, I made sure to tour the entire bourse before the public was let in so I could take photos of some of the very cool exhibits, the museum displays, etc.

Collector Exhibits

ANA Museum Rarities - including the very famous 1943 Bronze cent!

PCGS

NGC

GreatCollections

Kenny (in charge of PPI Security) and Sam (ANA Conventions Coordinator)

My friend Matt Chapman and one of his new purchases

These are two very unusual, very low grade proof coins that you don't often see!

Misc. photos around the bourse

Me and Ben

Couple of very cute kids who stopped by my table

Dealer friend from Tucson, Arizona, Tony Tumonious

Rick Snow and his son Kenny

Me and a fun group of YN's - Harrison, Beagles, Matthew Pavia, Jesse Vargas, Ryan Lange, Jack Smith, and Payton Lindeman

Some pics around the bourse

Soon, it was once again time to open one of the other bottles of wine I had brought with me - a delicious bottle of Del Dotto Pinot Noir from Napa - Del Dotto is one of the wineries I belong to and is my most favorite winery in Napa!

While I had several good sales and bought more material, as usual Friday's show was not as busy as Thursday's was.

Friday night I had another very fun time and went to dinner with a different crowd than I usually hang out with. Steven Schuch and his wife Nara had invited me to go to dinner with them, and Steven's brother John Schuch, Jr. who works with Northern Nevada Coin, and Chuck Hayes and Ashlee of Erie Gold Exchange also joined us. We went to Blanco Cocina and Cantina right near the convention center. It was a highly rated Mexican food restaurant and it too didn't disappoint.

Nara and I arrived first and decided to start off with a margarita along and a shot of tequila recommended by the bartender.

Our bartender was a wonderful young lady who enthusiastically chilled our shots before pouring them.

Here's the menu - I had the carnitas tacos which were amazing!

My hubby does a lot of research on all sorts of brands and types of tequila and he and I both really enjoy Don Julio 1942, so after dinner we had a shot of that too!

Our very fun group!

Saturday is what I call "family day" where there are much more families and kiddos perusing the bourse floor. I also have a lot more people stop by who have "handfuls" of pennies and want to know if they have anything of value, or some folks who found an unusual anomaly on a penny and think it may be very valuable, or folks who inherited a can or box or bag of pennies and would like to know which dates to look for, etc. I usually encourage them to get a Red Book and explain how it works so they can learn for themselves which dates have more value over others. And those who are interested in the anomalies and varieties, I tell them about the Cherry Picker's Guide. So Saturdays I spend a lot of time trying to educate these families so they have a better understanding of what to look for in the coins they inherited.

In between these encounters, I was happy to have a few large sales! Then soon it was time to pack up so I could catch my gratefully brief flight home!

At the airport, I sailed through TSA and headed to my gate. I didn't find any regular restaurants near my gate to grab a bite but discovered what they call a "pop up bar." It was actually quite nice, with a small menu of various food items and bottled/canned beer and wine.

Soon I was home safe and sound - and of course Penny was there to greet me!

Next up: The Buena Park show this weekend, then the Las Vegas Palace Station show in 2 weeks!

SNMAN

Thank you awesome as usual 👍
Very cool doily

coinbuf

Enjoyed chatting with you at the show and while I did not buy anything at the show from you, I do have one item in your inventory that I'll keep an eye on while I reload the piggy bank. Glad the show was a success for you as well.

Walkerfan

Thanks for the great report!!

That Flying Eagle Doily is cool!! Awesome addition to your personal collection!!

Also liked the 1944 Steelie and the 1796 dime!!

lilolme

Sounds like it was a good trip/time. You found a steak place again.
I noticed no Baltimore for you.

@Lakesammman @DRUNNER appears PennyLady also found another doily for the doily thread census.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/967317/the-new-doily-census-2016

littlebear

Thank you for the report!

pcgscacgold

Wow, amazing report, again. One after another. Much appreciated. So many cool pictures. Thanks.

hchcoin

I love your show reports. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

tcollects

I love the food and menus

DeplorableDan

Awesome report, Charmy! Love the cuisine pics, as always

Coinlearner

Enjoyable and interesting show report. Thanks,

asheland

Great report, and I love that doily FEC!

Cladiator

Best show reports on the forum, without question.

johnny9434

cool 44 steel cent. thats a good show glad all enjoyed it

1Bufffan

Thanks again for your Great Report from the Coin Show you always do such a Great Job, Thrilled with all your pictures, Glad that I got to meet you in Baltimore Md. at the Whitman show, it was a pleasure, hope to see you again sometime. some amazing coins in your collection, and report Thanks for including the Exhibit Area.

NeophyteNumismatist

Nice report, and nice taste in wine - thanks and cheers!

coinhack

Thanks for a great show report. I would love to have been there but this is the next best thing.

JohnF

What a great report! Hey, Billie didn't tell me she ordered Caymus at dinner!! Now I'm really sorry that I missed it...

Eric_Babula

Always a great show report from you, Charmy! Love that doily FEC! May be a candidate for a regrade! Oh, nevermind - you have a doily collection!

rarecoinanalyst

Always love your reports, Charmy. Awesome doily!

BAJJERFAN

After seeing pics of the display, the toning on this Morgan reminds me of the Phoenix Rising.

kaz

I always enjoy your reports, thanks again!

ThePennyLady

@JohnF said:
What a great report! Hey, Billie didn't tell me she ordered Caymus at dinner!! Now I'm really sorry that I missed it...

John, it would have been great to have you to join us - and thank you for "hosting" a very wonderful evening! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

NumisOxide

Wonderful report!! Thanks for sharing.

Goldbully

Thanks for your personalized show report, Charmy.

Always look forward to seeing the shows come alive as seen by your eyes.

Mark

Charmy, I smile when I see the thread with your report and I smile even more as I read it.

I have one numismatic question: How does PCGS know the 1877 cent is a circulated proof as opposed to a "normal" circulated coin? Is it the absence of a weak N?

ThePennyLady

@Mark said:
Charmy, I smile when I see the thread with your report and I smile even more as I read it.

I have one numismatic question: How does PCGS know the 1877 cent is a circulated proof as opposed to a "normal" circulated coin? Is it the absence of a weak N?

I thought about the same thing - I'm guessing that the absence of the weak N is a start, then they have to make sure the planchet, weight, design, any die markers are authentic. I'm betting it's not that easy.

golden

Thanks for your report. It was just too far for me to attend.

tommy44

Another great report as usual. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. It makes me feel as though I was there with you.

ricko

@ThePennyLady... Thank you for another marvelous show report. Great pictures, great coins and great wines. Always enjoy your reports.... Cheers, RickO

ThePennyLady

Thank you very much everyone. I'm always pleased and amazed that my show reports seem to touch so many folks who can't make it to the shows, that's what keeps me motivated to continue writing and posting these reports. Till next show.....

Mark

@ThePennyLady You should not be amazed at people's reactions because what else would you expect from reports that are consistently outstanding? Frankly, I'm amazed by how you manage to always write such excellent show reports.

BLUEJAYWAY

@ThePennyLady said:
It's been a while since I've attended an ANA National Money Show mostly due to conflicts, but not having any conflicts and being only one state away made it an easy decision. And I'm really glad this one fit into my schedule as, not only did I have a really good show buying and selling, but I had so much fun getting together with different friends for dinner at new restaurants in a different city! I also found a VERY COOL coin for my personal collection - as you will see further down.

Even though it's only a 6-hour drive, I decided to fly since the hotel parking was expensive as is gas, and because it's only a 1-hour flight. I arrived early on Tuesday and was surprised at how cold it was, but I and was happy to be back in Phoenix as it is a very pretty city and I hadn't been there in quite a while.

Took a quick Uber ride to the Hyatt downtown which was right across the street from the main convention center.

This is the view from my room.

After settling in, I went to drop my bags off at security but soon found out that there was a glitch in our dealer paperwork as the ANA had forgotten to change the location of the security room from last year's show in Colorado Springs! However, thanks to a very kind and resourceful concierge man at the main convention center, I soon found that our security room was in the South Building a couple blocks away on 3rd Street.

So I headed there and checked my bags into security. Since many of my friends hadn't yet arrived in Phoenix, I decided to try my luck at the Talking Stick casino which was about a 1/2 hour Uber drive away. I had a lot of fun playing various table games and slots, but didn't come out ahead in the end.

Set up wasn't until 1pm on Wednesday but I headed over early to meet up with some of my dealer friends. Security was definitely beefed up for this show as I was approached as soon as I walked into the building and asked why I was there since I hadn't yet put my badge on. Once we were let into the bourse floor, it didn't take long for me to have my booth in ship shape order so I could walk around and do some shopping.

At one of the first dealer booths I stopped at, I was very surprised to see a Flying Eagle cent in a DOILY HOLDER - OMG! I have several Indian, Lincoln and even Two cent pieces in Doily holders, but I had never seen a Flying Eagle Doily and had to contain my excitement. Of course the dealer knew what he had and wanted a hefty premium for this piece, but after a little wheeling and dealing, we settled on a price and I was thrilled to put that beautiful little guy in my pocket so I could take it home and add it to my personal collection!

Back at my table, I had a dealer friend, Zachery Lauer, stop by and offer me this super rare 1944 steel cent. Although I would love to have added this amazingly rare piece to my inventory and/or personal collection, it wasn't quite in my budget.

Always enjoy seeing my dealer friends - and James Sego is definitely on that list!

As I was hoping, I ended up finding several pieces for my inventory - these are pics of all the Pretty Pennies I found throughout the show:

Soon it was time to open one of the bottles of wine I brought - I decided to go big on my first day at the show with this wonderful bottle of Caymus cab! It didn't even make it through the end of that day as it was shared with several dealer friends.

End of set up day

That night I had dinner with a couple of wonderful lady friends from the Grey Sheet that I had gotten to know over the last few years at the shows - they are fondly known as The Grey Sheet Ladies, Billie and Amanda Blattel!

Amanda had made reservations at a steakhouse that I hadn't heard of until I arrived in Phoenix called Steak 44 - and then I discovered it is one of the very best steakhouses ANYWHERE - and we soon discovered that was NO exaggeration! Steak 44 was truly amazing in every way - the food was fantastic, the wine was wonderful (we ordered more Caymus), the service was top notch, and the dessert was absolutely delicious! And the great company weas the icing on the cake - we ended up chatting and staying until almost closing time!

I had a bone-in filet with a butter truffle sauce that was SO TASTY AND AMAZING! We also ordered truffle cheese au gratin potatoes along with delicious creme brulee corn (yes, we didn't spare the carbs)!

Then came the dessert menu - each one of them sounded so yummy that we decided to try three different ones, and they did not disappoint! My favorite was the red velvet bread pudding!

This truly was one of the most delicious meals I've had - the special sauces were so flavorful and really made each dish that much more tasty. I am so grateful to Billie, Amanda (and John/Greysheet) for treating me to such a wonderful and memorable evening - thank you, thank you, thank you!

After dinner, we went back to the Hyatt and saw some other dealers at the bar, including Mary Lynn Garrett, so we stopped for a quick nightcap.

The show opened to the public Thursday morning (photo courtesy of the ANA)

It didn't take long for the show to become quite crowded with lots of buzz

Rich/Cladiator stopped by first thing and was very kind and gracious to bring me this wonderful bottle of Rodney Strong cab - which is where his wife works - thank you Rich! I opened it later that day, it was very yummy!

Doug Davis of Numismatic Crime Prevention does a fantastic job getting information out about numismatic crime around the country and how to help prevent it. I wholeheartedly support and praise Doug's efforts, and he was kind enough to stop by my table to thank me for my support and gave me this very cool Numismatic Crime medal.

During the show I bought a "pile" of miscellaneous pennies from a man who had inherited them from his dad and just wanted to sell them. They were mostly low grade Indian and Large cents, with a few inexpensive Lincoln cents thrown in. Included in this group was an interesting Robert Kennedy token that I hadn't seen before. I looked it up and though it's not rare, it wasn't that common either.

I was very busy the entire day, including late into the afternoon. In between sales, I had people offering me lots of pennies for sale as well. It was great being that busy, but I didn't have time to take many photos of the show. However, I made up for it the next day as you will see.

Thursday night I went to dinner with my friends Karl and Joanne Stephens at, coincidentally, another steakhouse, Mastros. It too was delicious and the service was great as well. To start with, we enjoyed this nice bottle of Albarino, followed by a Seven Hills Merlot.

It happened to be Karl and Joanne's anniversary so our waiter brought us this delicious butter cake to celebrate

After I was dropped off back at my hotel, once I again I ran into a group of friends at the bar (which happens to be right on the way to my room), including Billie and Amanda, so I joined them for a nightcap before heading up.

Friday morning when I arrived at the show, I made sure to tour the entire bourse before the public was let in so I could take photos of some of the very cool exhibits, the museum displays, etc.

Collector Exhibits

ANA Museum Rarities - including the very famous 1943 Bronze cent!

PCGS

NGC

GreatCollections

Kenny (in charge of PPI Security) and Sam (ANA Conventions Coordinator)

My friend Matt Chapman and one of his new purchases

These are two very unusual, very low grade proof coins that you don't often see!

Misc. photos around the bourse

Me and Ben

Couple of very cute kids who stopped by my table

Dealer friend from Tucson, Arizona, Tony Tumonious

Rick Snow and his son Kenny

Me and a fun group of YN's - Harrison, Beagles, Matthew Pavia, Jesse Vargas, Ryan Lange, Jack Smith, and Payton Lindeman

Some pics around the bourse

Soon, it was once again time to open one of the other bottles of wine I had brought with me - a delicious bottle of Del Dotto Pinot Noir from Napa - Del Dotto is one of the wineries I belong to and is my most favorite winery in Napa!

While I had several good sales and bought more material, as usual Friday's show was not as busy as Thursday's was.

Friday night I had another very fun time and went to dinner with a different crowd than I usually hang out with. Steven Schuch and his wife Nara had invited me to go to dinner with them, and Steven's brother John Schuch, Jr. who works with Northern Nevada Coin, and Chuck Hayes and Ashlee of Erie Gold Exchange also joined us. We went to Blanco Cocina and Cantina right near the convention center. It was a highly rated Mexican food restaurant and it too didn't disappoint.

Nara and I arrived first and decided to start off with a margarita along and a shot of tequila recommended by the bartender.

Our bartender was a wonderful young lady who enthusiastically chilled our shots before pouring them.

Here's the menu - I had the carnitas tacos which were amazing!

My hubby does a lot of research on all sorts of brands and types of tequila and he and I both really enjoy Don Julio 1942, so after dinner we had a shot of that too!

Our very fun group!

Saturday is what I call "family day" where there are much more families and kiddos perusing the bourse floor. I also have a lot more people stop by who have "handfuls" of pennies and want to know if they have anything of value, or some folks who found an unusual anomaly on a penny and think it may be very valuable, or folks who inherited a can or box or bag of pennies and would like to know which dates to look for, etc. I usually encourage them to get a Red Book and explain how it works so they can learn for themselves which dates have more value over others. And those who are interested in the anomalies and varieties, I tell them about the Cherry Picker's Guide. So Saturdays I spend a lot of time trying to educate these families so they have a better understanding of what to look for in the coins they inherited.

In between these encounters, I was happy to have a few large sales! Then soon it was time to pack up so I could catch my gratefully brief flight home!

At the airport, I sailed through TSA and headed to my gate. I didn't find any regular restaurants near my gate to grab a bite but discovered what they call a "pop up bar." It was actually quite nice, with a small menu of various food items and bottled/canned beer and wine.

Soon I was home safe and sound - and of course Penny was there to greet me!

Next up: The Buena Park show this weekend, then the Las Vegas Palace Station show in 2 weeks!

Late again with kudos for your report. Quite an array of coin pics. Thanks. Quite the coincidence you dining at Steak 44 and including photos of the 44 "Steel" cents.

divecchia

@ThePennyLady As always a great show report. These always make me feel like I was there.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Donato

Meltdown

Pro tip... when commenting late on a show report, don't quote the 100 photo's previously posted.

rodepetdinosaur

My son lives in the Phoenix area. Had the opportunity to visit Steak 44 a few years ago. Was a
spectacular meal. Would suggest you try Arrowhead Steak House in Glendale, (west of the city)
if you have a chance next time you're in Phoenix. Also high-end but VERY good.