Another Central States show, another show report from yours truly....
U1chicago
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Another Central States show, another show report from yours truly....(5/2/24)
~There was a line to register but it was not too bad at 9:40 (open was 10)....this year they had a separate area for those that bought tickets online (last year there was no clear distinction but this time it was marked); the entrance fee was $15 (discounted to $10 if you bought online before 3/31/24)
~At 10 am there was a decent crowd that entered the show; many, including me, turned to our left and got into the line for the free slab. It was an Anacs Iowa State Quarter with “Celebrate Iowa” on it. Someone missed a chance to add a Caitlin Clark label!
~My first goal was to sell a world gold coin. It was NGC slabbed as a 70 and had a low mintage but was an odd weight. The first two dealers that I figured would be interested both passed on even making an offer. A third dealer was willing to go about 3% under melt and I made the deal. I was hoping for melt (thought the 70 grade would help) but was ok settling at this level given the higher price of gold now and the fact that this particular coin isn’t well known (I had only seen one sale at auction in 2023 which was higher than I expected to get today but I knew this was not an ideal coin to try and auction, especially if spot took a hit during the process).
~I brought some other coins to sell (all toners) and that ended up being a mixed bag. I made a trade with one NGC Morgan that I had been trying for a while to sell. I let it go at a loss as a partial payment towards a PCGS toned Morgan. I was happy to move on from that Morgan and turn it into something that I like more. Another success was selling a toned business strike Silver Eagle. I’m somewhat pivoting from collecting these, focusing more on proofs. The handful of other coins did not sell. Several dealers mentioned that the pricing was fair but that they would not be able to make much or did not want more inventory (my pricing tended to be from 25 under cost to 25 over for most-just one was above that range). I tried for some trades but outside of the first one, that was fruitless. One guy I believe I made a strong trade proposal to-a nice toned CAC rattler plus cash for his nice non-CAC, non-rattler, lower graded toner (the color on his was nicer, hence the extra cash on my side)-just did not want to budge. I liked his coin, and would have come close to a record price for the date/grade combo, but wasn’t willing to go moon money.
~As far as buying, I picked up more items than I expected to (5 total). One was the Morgan from the trade, then there were two toned modern commemoratives (color really spoke to me and you don’t see these often with toning), a PCI toned world coin, and just before leaving-a Canadian Maple. This one would fit well in the recently resurfaced thread about details toners. PCGS called it cleaned but I don’t see any clear signs of a cleaning. QC would make more sense. Still the coin appealed to me and the price was fair.
~General observations/random comments:
*some tables were quite busy and there was a decent crowd walking the bourse (not huge but acceptable)
*I did not notice much buzz for gold (would have expected more given the increase in prices-people often seem to flock to it when prices increase); there were dealers with bullion as always but it did not seem to dominate the show
*Of course there were plenty of Morgans and other common coins mixed in with some ultra rarities
*Older holders/unusual slabs were out there but not in big quantities; I saw a pair of “108” rattlers (not the 1st gen white label but the 2nd gen that have gained a big premium as well), a few white label NGC slabs, and a black 1st gen NGC….all of those dealers knew what they had, so there was no cherry picking opportunity….PCI slabs as well as some self slabbers were available too…I also saw one Blanchard….no Compugrade (still wonder if I will see one outside of eBay or this forum)
*CACG slabs are becoming a bit more prevalent at dealer tables (I did not see any where I liked the coin and the price)….CAC also had a table to take submissions….only PCGS had show grading though (as always, there was a line at their table near the start of the show)
*I saw one dealer opening Vault Boxes and streaming it at the same time….he let out a loud exclamation as he pulled a red core (as I was passing by that table)
*A small pet peeve: I stood in front of a table for a while as some guy was asking random questions with no intention to buy or sell anything (I ended up leaving and circling back around to that table)
*In general asking prices were high on toners (well above my prices and significantly more than I would expect to pay at auction)….some common coins that I follow were priced high too (for example, a 2001 Silver Buffalo Commemorative that regularly sells for $100 these days, was priced in the 140-160 range….also some common blast white MS 63-65 Morgans were 20-50 more than you can generally find them for on eBay or other auction sites)….the toners I know could always sell if someone really likes the coin but the more generic items generally would need to be closer to the going rate in order to entice informed buyers
*As far as world coins, there wasn’t as much of a selection (as expected). Mexico and China were fairly well represented. I saw a coin on my want list-an Eritrea Tallero. The price was ok, the holder was a small white Anacs slab but I decided to pass as it just did not have the look I wanted (a few too many hits…plus I was spoiled by a super lustrous example I saw a while back-price was moon money though on that one). There was no PCGS slabbed Uzbekistan coin either (again did not expect to see one but would have been super excited if I found one at a decent price)
Here is the Canadian Maple (some of you might want to cover your eyes 
):
Comments
Great report thank you
Here is a video of the Maple:
I saw a lot of nice toners being shopped around by vest pocket dealers with high asks. Some attractive neon coins out there.
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
I try to price most of mine at what they are selling for on the market. Some think that is moon money but if they looked at what others ask, they would see what moon money pricing really looks like!
Always interesting to read show reports like yours. Thank you.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Good report.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Here is the PCI toner
Thanks for posting your report, interesting market right now.