IMEX show (Nashville)
lilolme
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FYI for those interested in - The IMEX show (International Money Expo), which is the new Nashville show being held Oct 26 - 29 (see link at bottom for more on dates), now has PCGS attending and doing on-site grading. Link for information and announcement:
https://www.pcgs.com/shows/detail/6730
https://www.pcgs.com/news/pcgs-official-grading-service-imex-2023
And a Legend auction at it. Announcement Link:
https://www.pcgs.com/news/legend-rare-coin-auctions-named-as-the-official-auctioneer-for-imex
IMEX show link:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2YNufnS_kf4 - Mama I'm coming home ...................................................................................................................................................................... RLJ 1958 - 2023
Comments
Should be a good show.... Looking forward to some reports. Cheers, RickO
Pass - they scheduled it the same weekend as the long-running annual South Carolina State show.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
I’m curious to see the dealer list. I live in Nashville and am very excited but skeptical of who is going to come. The good Colonel seems to be getting some big folks on board from what I hear.
That said, this would be the most fun you would have AFTER the show each day if you come. New convention center is on Demonbreun St. and one block away from Broadway. Tons of great restaurants and free music in the famous honky tonks.
The numismatic community really needs this to work in Nashville. Middle Tennessee is basically a desert for coins, which is odd since Knoxville has such a big coin community.
If anyone has any questions about where to stay or what to do let me know!
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Can confirm, I used to live in Florida outside of Jacksonville, and "desert" might be too good of a term to describe Middle Tennessee in a numismatic sense.
delenda est WitterU
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I have been checking the website a couple times a week but so far I have not seen a dealer listing. Maybe I am missing it. There is a bourse map but don't see a table / dealer list. This is strange with less than 3 weeks to go.
https://imex.show
On the hotels they had 3 listed and were about $300 per night plus taxes. It did say could get rooms for about $135 if willing to travel about half dozen miles plus each way. Possibly could do better if checked out. Other things on the website have been slow to develop.
As this would have required travel plans and cost, I am going to wait and see how the reports about the show are. Started off sounding okay but.....Maybe next year but still have those costs.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2YNufnS_kf4 - Mama I'm coming home ...................................................................................................................................................................... RLJ 1958 - 2023
The organizers, Ellsworth and Adkins are two of the heavyweights in the business. I think it will be a good show but may take a couple of shows to fully get their feet under them
There are some major players coming which is good. CAC and PCGS will be there accepting submissions. Eye appealing will be there. Supposed to be the size of the summer FUN show.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
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Summer FUN sounds good. Here is the bourse map without listing if that helps anything/one. PCGS still shows on-site grading. Hope it gets good collector attendance. It is kind of a multi-part thing.
https://imex.show/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-IMEX-Floor-Plan-v230904.pdf
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2YNufnS_kf4 - Mama I'm coming home ...................................................................................................................................................................... RLJ 1958 - 2023
Like Andy told Gomer " Don't over expect ".
I’m planning to go, but would like to see a dealer list. I emailed the address listed on the website this morning and asked for one. I’ll share it if I hear back.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Greg Allen Coins, LLC and Sabel Rarities are looking forward to the show. We were told a few months ago that our Table # is 823.
Super expensive to stay anywhere close to the venue. That’s disappointing. I know some people that are going and are staying far away close to the airport…and even that is kinda pricey, when compared to other big shows. Then they have long Uber rides each day to pay for still. I kinda wanted to go to check it out but I’ll be at Winter FUN which isn’t too far out. I don’t need a hotel for that one.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Free admission?
Wall of HONOR transaction list:WonderCoin, CoinFlip, Masscrew, Travintiques, lordmarcovan, Jinx86, Gerard, ElKevvo
Free admission?
The long-running South Carolina State show that same weekend has free parking and free admission - cheap hotels nearby, too!
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
I'm planning to be there and walk the show and do some buying and selling. It's a five-hour drive and yes, I'm not staying downtown as those hotels are way too expensive.
Looking forward to this show, great reason to visit Nashville.
I received an email from the show organizer this morning, in response to my question “Is there a dealer list available?” The reply:
Not likely our first year
All the majors attending and all 5 grading services.
250 tables so far with 2 to 3 each day last week
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Very nice!
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
I don't understand what "first year" has to do with putting out a list. 250 tables so far, and "all the majors attending," along with "all 5 grading services," so why the secrecy? How long would it take to throw that list on the website?
I wish them luck, and look forward to reports. Seems to me like if they had anything worth publicizing, they'd publicize it to draw in last minute fence sitters, as well as to just provide the normal level of transparency, rather than saying "not likely our first year."
May have been a lot of people coming and going from the list. It is odd, though.
What would be worth publicizing? An exhibit? Graders will be there. That seems good enough for me for the first year. I plan on dropping a few off.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
What would be worth publicizing? Free admission, if it was offered. Just which "majors" are attending. And, anything else people might find attractive.
I'm glad you're planning on attending. Just how far will you will traveling to drop off a few coins for grading?
It’s the under promise, over deliver premise. I’d be skeptical if this first year show was bragging about certain things. But they have a lot of factors working against them: $10 entry fee, another major international show and the South Carolina show happening the same time, expensive hotels.
Personally I am afraid this show is going to be 80%+ foreign, and the huge amount of foreign at the ANA irked me where it overwhelmed over half the bourse.
No one knows exactly what this show is going to be, because "not likely our first year." That's likely a much bigger issue than how much of it is foreign.
The simple fact is that there are probably enough major shows to support the current market. So much so that the ANA cut back from three shows per year to two. Between the two ANA shows, the two FUN shows, Whitman, Long Beach, CSNS, etc., plus all the smaller shows, is the market really screaming for a Nashville show at the end of October?
Time will tell, but the answer is likely "no." And that is what the promoters are up against in getting this thing launched and making it a success. If foreign participation ends up being the key, good for them for recognizing and exploiting that.
But, sure, charging an admission fee, having it in a high cost location that is not easily accessible by car to the vast majority of collectors, and then not having anything to publicize in advance, other than a golf outing and Steve Forbes book signing, probably isn't going to win the hearts and minds of lots of collectors, or induce them to travel great distances to attend. A dealer and world mint list would only help, unless it is so bare that it would do more harm than good.
It’s not free. It’s $10. PCGS and CAC will be there. Legend will be there. It’s literally all on the website.
You have a whole world at your fingertips.
If you choose to stay near the airport for a cheaper hotel, it’s a 10-15 ride in I-40. A $15 Uber ride. I would opt to hang out downtown. It’s a good time.
Edit: I also see Margaritaville hotel across the street from the convention center is $300 a night for Friday/Saturday. That’s about half price from normal weekend prices especially with concerts/titans playing, etc.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Yeah, I didn't mean to say it was free. It meant that if it was free, that would be worth publicizing. FWIW, I don't even see the $10 on the website. Wherever it is, or isn't, another example of lack of transparency.
Sounds great. $300 per night to attend a coin show, blind, without knowing just who is going to be there. Other than Legend, PCGS and Steve Forbes.
Say no more. By the way, you didn't say how far you'll be traveling to attend. From your familiarity with the area, you sound local, so what works for you just won't work for the rest of us. People with an actual interest in experiencing the magic of Nashville weren't sitting around waiting for Col. Ellsworth to give them an excuse to turn their dreams a reality.
Of course, it's a no-brainer to check out if you're an hour or two away by car. Otherwise, not so much. Especially given how cagey they are being regarding who is going to attend, other than Legend, PCGS and Steve Forbes.
Most of us have a post office a few minutes away from wherever in the country we happen to be, plus known quantity major coin shows in a variety of locations, from coast to coast, every few months. So, no reason to fly to Nashville at the end of October to say "Hi" to Legend or drop off a coin at PCGS.
If their audience is limited to coin collectors within 100 or so miles of Nashville, this is going to be a very short lived experiment. Otherwise, they need to do more to attract people. Saying "we're too new to be transparent" is not a promising start. And, without a promising start, they risk descending into a death spiral before they even have a chance to get going.
You say “us” but 2/3 hotel blocks are sold out. People are going. There will be coins for sale. Auction houses and TPG will be there. It will be just like any other coin show 🤷🏼♂️
And I’m about 20 minutes from the convention center 😜
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Sounds great. 2/3 of what number? And, how many are non-dealers? And, you're not in any of those rooms, as I suspected. As I said before, I'd be all over this if I was 20 minutes away. Hell, even if I was 2 hours away.
But, I'm not, and that's the point. There are far more people within driving distance of "any other coin show" than this one, which is why Nashville does not have a rich history of hosting national or super regional coin shows, and why the sponsors should probably be doing more than building it and expecting they will come. Like publishing a dealer list at least 3 weeks out.
Dealers going to a convention to make deals is great, but has nothing to do with the rest of us flying into Nashville and spending $300+ per night to check it out. I can see by checking several hotel websites that rates are high that week. So $300 isn't bad for Nashville, but it's still $309. Plus taxes. Probably closer to $350. Doubt it's due to the show, but, either way, Nashville is hopping and is expensive. Just a reason to avoid it for a coin show. JMHO.
You'll let us know just how much it turns out to be like winter FUN or the WFOM, as compared to a PCGS Invitational, when you write your report.
Again, you keep saying us. Is no one else in the world going? There is nothing to suggest that your opinion is the correct one. The block of rooms that I rented from at the ANA was available up until a month before the show. You don’t want to spend the money, that’s fine. I know many people that are coming and people that COULD drive home instead of getting a hotel but are opting to get the hotel anyways
Yes it’s expensive. Like I said, hotel prices are inflated due to several pro teams and major names in concerts… and it’s the weekend. Nashville is fun and there is a lot to do outside of the show.
Thank you for deciding not to come.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
People may be going, but without serious collectors with money in their pocket, it won’t last for more than the first show.
Isn’t that why Whitman killed the Atlanta show?
Yes who knows. Could be a major flop. It’s a good venue if they could get it right. The convention center is only a few years old.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
You're welcome. I'm sure people will go.
I'm just not sure enough regular collectors will go to make it a success. But, maybe they are not the target audience. No exhibits. No lectures. No freaking dealer list. An admission fee. An expensive city. And not within driving distance of a critical mass of collectors. We'll see.
Yes, Nashville is great. Expensive, and lots to do. What's that got to do with a coin show, if I'm going to a coin show? If that's the standard, all coin shows should be in NYC.
Buy coins. There will be coins there to buy, I assure you. There will be dealers there. Prominent dealers. Hundreds of tables.
Summer FUN was a terrible show this year but I found a few coins I liked, sold some and met some Friends there. Made it worth the money.
I’m sure if you put some effort into you could find something you like and maybe even have fun.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Of course I could. That's not the point. The point is that I could also just go to Baltimore two weeks later. Within driving distance for tens of millions more people than Nashville. And a known quantity.
I could also go to Orlando in January. Orders of magnitude larger. Another known quantity. Literally hundreds of dollars, to possibly more than $1,000 less to attend, before walking in the door. How many additional coins could a typical collector buy with that?
How much more than $309 per night did you spend in Orlando in July? And how much more did it cost you to get to Orlando than it will cost most people to get to Nashville? And, again, a known quantity.
No one knows what "hundreds of tables" means, because a list hasn't been published. After knocking out Legend and the grading services, and each dealer taking multiple tables, just how many dealers are we talking about? Don't know. First show. Can't talk about it.
So, yeah. Thanks, but hard pass. I do sincerely wish all of you the best, but, given the lack of details, it really doesn't make sense for a non-professional to make the investment, given all the alternatives. Or even for professionals, which might be why they are not in a position to publish a tentative, preliminary list of attendees less than 3 weeks out. And that is not a leading indicator of success for the promoters.
Your opportunity cost, 20 minutes from the convention center, is exactly $10. It's a lot higher for the rest of US. There I go again saying US. I look forward to the post show press release announcing attendance figures.
Maybe it’s hard to believe, but some of us like to enjoy ourselves outside of this hobby.
Part of the reason I’ve decided to check this show out is because it’s in an interesting/fun city. Holding a coin convention in a beaten down Embassy Suites in Albany or Akron might be cheaper, but I’m not optimizing for lowest overhead. I went to Whitman Baltimore a couple times but stopped because I didn’t like the location.
My flights to Nashville were $77 each way on Southwest, so a little extra on a centrally located hotel isn’t a big deal. It’s actually less risky for me to take a gamble on this new show, because even if it’s a dud, I’ll have plenty of other things I’m looking forward to doing in downtown Nashville. Hope to see others there.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Nashville has never been a coin town. Whitman bailed after one show in May of 2010. Before that the only big show in the last 50 years was a BRNA show in the basement of the Municipal Auditorium in the mid-1970's.
I think the lack of a dealer list is telling.
Very true. As I said above, perhaps a bit sarcastically, no one waits for Col. Ellsworth for an excuse to vising Nashville. I have been several times myself.
I don't need a coin show to plan a vacation, and don't plan vacations around coin shows. Other than Orlando, because it is cheap and there is lots for a family to do.
We'll see, but most dealers probably don't vacation where they do business, and probably don't look for new, high cost venues when they already have multiple lower cost options. I obviously have no visibility, and the very lack of transparency is not a good sign for them. But, as I keep saying, we'll see, and I wish you and all the other attendees nothing but the best.
$77 is far from terrible. If I had that as an option, and if they had a track record and weren't two weeks from Baltimore, it would be tempting to me to rent a car, stay in a reasonably priced hotel, and give it a shot.
After the Summer ANA I vowed to never go to a coin show with a connecting flight again. And then I got the itch to go to Winter FUN this year..and ended up booking the whole family to Disneyworld to justify breaking my vow. Cheap Orlando is going to end up costing me significantly more than expensive Nashville 😂
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I’m disappointed they decided to compete with the South Carolina SCNA show on the same weekend. SCNA is a great show and one of the few to host ANA educational courses outside of the ANA show itself.
+1, never again a connecting flight. Looks like you and I will be skipping ANA 2025 in Oklahoma City 😑
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Or 2026 back in Pittsburgh unless some flight routes are added.
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
Does anyone know why they picked OKC? It seems like a very odd choice for a number of reasons, no matter how much people dislike Rosemont.
Dang Paul you doing better advertising for the show than the promoters..... you posted like 9 times here they have not at all. You must be REAL excited my Friend
Just sitting in an airport
Waiting for a CONNECTING FLIGHT
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Middle of the country, not Rosemont, a convention center willing to host the ANA.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Is that really all it takes, if it's still expensive and difficult to get to? I mean, I get Denver or Colorado Springs because that's their home base, but OKC just because it's not Rosemont? They will be absolutely pining for Rosemont after they review attendance figures from OKC.
No sales tax on coin/bullion sales.
Outrageous union demands kill a site (paying a union electrician to plug a lamp you own into a power strip provided by the organizers).
But the biggest is that they have to want the ANA show. We don't buy six room nights and $100+ a plate dinners. If it's us or a medical convention, the doctors win. We take up a relatively large amount of space for the ancillary spend we generate.
TNA had to find a new site because the Arlington Convention Center is closing. Trying to find 40,000 sq ft at an affordable rate was very difficult. The Irving CC 2014 rate card says they charge $1.50/chair/day (4 chairs per booth) and $11/8' table/day (3 tables - 2 front, 1 back). A 20 amp outlet is $110. A powerstrip is $16.24. A 3-day show + load in means we're looking at 4 days of rentals or $165 just to have tables ready for dealers.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Paradime Coins will be there with our October NEWPs Coming Soon.
Table# 512
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World coins have so much to offer and people are waking up to that.
Latin American Collection
Nashville is ranked #8 on the US News cities of hottest housing markets. Lots of people are moving here. The growth since 2010 has been nothing short of remarkable. The city has seen a significant influx of high-net-worth individuals, marking a substantial increase compared to previous years. I'm optimistic for IMEX!
P.S. They also have hot fried chicken.
Yikes, I always wonder where they get these figures. NOBODY I know, and that is a lot has even a remote interest in Nashville or Tennessee for that matter. Who cares if the flight can be had for $77 if hotels start at 350 net per night (DCA to Nashville RT is about $200). Just not worth it to many of us even if we like Foreign.
I wish the organizers well but not for me. As per above, the Baltimore show is a must go as it is accessible.
Well, just Love coins, period.