Quick ANA and So-Called Gathering Fellowship Report
Zoins
Posts: 34,113 ✭✭✭✭✭
I wanted to provide a big thanks to Jeff Shevlin @SoCalledGuy for inviting me to the ANA National Money SHow in Phoenix, both to be at the So-Called Dollar Fellowship Gathering and to be at his table at the show. It was a wonderful experience and allowed me to enjoy coins and So-Called Dollars in ways that I hadn't before. More than anything, I spent the time at this event meeting people, including many forum members. Some people I got to meet included:
- @Bsktmkr
- @EagleEye
- @GoldenEgg
- @jonathanb
- @JRay123
- @MrEureka
- @Pioneer1
- @SullivanNumismatics
- @THOMAS655
I also got to meet a few people I don't see on the forums, or at least that I'm familiar with on the forums, including:
- Bob Leonard
- Ken Hallenbeck
- Tom Hallenbeck
- Matthew Savanich
Here are a few quick highlights, but the best aspects of the show were definitely the interactions with many collectors there with great conversations, both long and short.
Meeting Bob Leonard and Ken Hallenbeck
I was at Jeff's table when Bob Leonard stopped by to speak with Bill Hyder. He had a copy of his Lesher Dollar book with him he was selling that I was able to buy and have Bob sign for me. Then Bob walked me over to Ken's table and we had a great conversation with Ken who also signed the book for me. Here's my one original Lesher, serial #1:
First PCGS and NGC submissions
I made my first show submissions. I got my PhotoVision for a So-Called Dollar back already. This is HK-79a in silver. There are just 2 listed in the NGC census. I wanted to make an ANACS submission for some Dan @dcarr material too but ran out of time.
Presented at So-Called Dollar Fellowship Gathering
I gave my 2nd presentation at the So-Called Dollar Fellowship Gathering, this one on So-Called Dollars for War Service. It was a fun presentation that covered HK listed medals, NGC's extended HK listings, and new listings in John Raymond's SoCalledDollar.com website. I was able to collaborate with John Raymond for the presentation which made it a very rich experience building and presenting it.
The following medal I have was very interesting. I had originally purchased it because it was counterstamped with a recipient's name, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't a HK-892 because it has the year 1918 instead of 1917, and in examining the NGC census, they haven't slabbed a 1918 yet.
Had a great time at the So-Called Dollar Fellowship Gathering
I had a great time giving my presentation and enjoyed the presentations from others, but I also really enjoyed about the social aspects of the gathering. We started off the event with a game of Jeopardy, had buy/sell/share sessions, ate meals together, and also went to on a museum field trip at the end.
Jeff really did an amazing job putting the Gathering together and I look forward to attending many more events in the future.
Comments
It sounds like you had a good time. Sadly, most of these "gatherings" take place in the far west which precludes any chance of me attending. I met Jeff Shevlin at a CSNS held in Columbus, Ohio a number of years ago, around 2004, when he was researching for a SC$ book and it was nice talking about these interesting medals with him. It's not a criticism from me, but the way these events get scheduled it almost becomes a west coast club. It would be nice if things were spread around the country or more centrally located.
Sounds like you had a an extreme so-called fun time!
Mr_Spud
@Maywood @Mr_Spud
The gathering Jeff put on was really a great way to share a love of So-Called Dollars and medals with so many people in person. It was a 3 and a half day event with about 12 presentations and it was great to be able to have conversations about so many great topics, as well as have time to just enjoy each others collections and hang out.
Regarding the location, some people came from the East Coast and the Mid-West so wasn't all West Coast people, but it was certainly a shorter travel time. A few people remarked it was nice that it coincided with ANA. We did discuss potential future locations, including in the Mid-West, but it was really up to the membership to decide.
@Zoins... Thanks for the interesting report and the pictures. Cheers, RickO
It might be an idea to consider live-streaming the meetings. I would need a really good reason to justify three days and the expense to attend one of these vs. staying put and adding a choice medal to my collection.