ANA Convention Report
golden
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This was my 54th consecutive ( 1970-date ) ANA Convention.
Monday
I left home at dark plus for the long all-day drive to Chicago. After a quick run through the Hardee's drive thru for breakfast I was on the way. After several areas of road construction, a stop for gas and a few rest breaks I arrived in the Chicago area just in time for rush hour. After checking into the hotel in late afternoon, I went to eat dinner at the Rose Garden Cafe. I had the 3 pork chops, baked potato, cream of chicken soup and bread for $16.95. I took two of the chops back to the hotel.
Tuesday
For breakfast I had one of the pork chops from last night. I then headed to the Rosemont convention Center. I parked in the garage ($15) and then made the long walk on the skybridge to the center. Since I already had my badge, I took a seat to wait for the opening. At 12:30 the show opened to ANA members. I first went to the PCGS booth to get a ticket for the PCGS breakfast on Friday. I then started in the Ultra Premium section of the bourse looking for coins that I needed. I soon came to David Kahn's table and sold him the 2 coins that I had for sale. I stopped at Early Cents table to look for the 3 Large Cents that I need. They did not have any that I needed. I went to Great Collections table to look at 2 Draped Bust Dimes. I had looked at them online and had almost ruled one of them out. After seeing it in hand I will definitely bid on it. Great collections had the 1794 Silver Dollar in PCGS SP-66 on display. Wow. They also had 2 1907 $20 High Reliefs in PCGS-68! Holy crap. Stopped to see Liz but she did not have anything that I needed. Talked to Don Kagin about past ANA shows that we have attended. Looked at a National Bank Note that they had from my home state that I need. I will think about that one. The concession stand had a hot dog and a bag of chips for $10, a slice of pizza for $10 and soft drinks for $6. By late afternoon I had only covered half of the bourse floor, so I decided to call it a day. I went back to the Rose Garden Cafe for dinner and had the Tilapia for $17.95.
Wednesday
For breakfast I had the last pork chop. Today I started back on the floor where I left off yesterday. Stopped and had a chat with Harry Jones about the good old days of currency dealing. I saw Ed of Emporium Coins and Currency. He did not have anything that I needed. I saw Silver Eagles in 69 for $40. Saw a beautiful complete 1893 British Proof set including the gold. It looked like the floor was more crowded today. By late afternoon I had finished a pass of the floor and called it a day. I went back to the Rose Garden Cafe for dinner and had the jumbo shrimp for $16.95.
Thursday
I went back to Kagin's table and purchased the National Bank Note that I had seen on Tuesday. I dropped off a coin for Messydesk ( John ) to image for me. I saw the #1 Registry Set of $4 all in PCGS 65+ Cam or better. Just wow. I saw a complete 1845 Gold Proof set all in PCGS 65 Cam or better! At the ANA exhibit I saw a complete 1868 pattern set in Aluminum. I went to see the Tyrant exhibit of Egyptian coins. I next looked at the regular exhibits. At 3PM I went to the ANA awards reception. To me the food was off from last year. After that I went to pick up my coin from John. I went back to the hotel and ate some of the shrimp from last night.
Friday
This morning, I went to the PCGS awards breakfast. It was very good. After that I started on the long drive home. The drive was uneventful until I got an hour from home. Someone drove their car into the woods and they had to block up the interstate to tow the car out. I finally got home at 8PM.
Although I only purchased one item, I had a great time seeing some super coins and talking with old friends. Next year the ANA Convention will be held in Oklahoma City. I can't wait!
Comments
Great report! And congrats on adding a Note from your home state!
So what happened to the third pork chop???
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
It sounds like the Rose Cafe was the best deal of the trip!
But seriously, great report and thanks for posting.
Sounds like you had a pretty good trip.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. 🙂
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Nice report, thanks. And yes, that walkway was loooong!
Good way to work up an appetite to consume that 3rd pork chop.😀
Kind of peculiar that there's so much talk about food. You have me wondering if you ate on the Friday return trip or toughed it out for a home cooked meal??
Can you post an image of your banknote?
Maybe with a coin to make it official!
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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Nice report. Thanks!
Thanks for the report.
$16.95 for a three pork chop dinner is a bargain. I spend more money at McDonald’s nowadays for a lousy meal.
the dog ended up getting it
Golden
Congratulations on 54 straight years and thank you for sharing your experiences at this year’s show. Great stuff! I seem to have troubles making it two years in a row.
I wonder who has the longest active streak of consecutive ANAs?
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
There are a very small number of guys ( probably 6 or so ) that started a very few years before me. QDB's streak was 65 consecutive through 2019. There was not a show in 2020 because of covid. He has not attended since then. QDB was 3 years younger than me when he started attending plus, I lost a year when there was not a show because of covid. I would like to have a streak of 65.