Tampa GACC Show Report, Wed-Fri
P0CKETCHANGE
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Just the highlights:
• $35 admission covered 4-day pass
• Many quality national dealers in attendance
• All the major grading services and auction houses in attendance
• Great location in Tampa; walkable, lots of restaurants, etc.
• Very low public attendance, very little retail business
Bourse on Thursday afternoon, which was the height of activity that I saw:
Show Summary
The show seemed well organized and they succeeded in getting many of the biggest players to this 4-5 day event, including all of the TPGs, auction houses, and major dealers. Sadly, public attendance seemed very low and dealers were unsatisfied given the lack of retail business. Those that did a lot of wholesale business may have done okay, but anyone reliant on retail likely had a tough time. From a collector perspective, it was great as I was often the only person at a table and didn’t have to throw elbows to see anything, and I was able to have several extended conversations with dealers. There were also cool exhibits including Hansen coins in CACG holders and a trio of rarities at GC—bronze 1943 1c, 1975 no-S dime, and this:
Day 1, Wednesday
Arrived a few mins after opening and there was no line. It was $38 for a 4-day pass and I included some Kentucky Bluegrass AI dollars in my payment which surprised the cashier. Within the first 20 mins I picked up a common date ‘22 Peace in an OGH from “Coins x Collectibles” from California—I find it helps to buy a coin early and get a little momentum. I then sold them a classic head gold coin, so it was a great start. With some wind in my sails, I came across an Indian Eagle in AU55 CAC with a very pleasing original look to it—I hesitated and walked away at first because I already have a 58 CAC as my type coin, but felt the regret creeping up and turned around and bought it. My last deal of the day involved trading in a Seated Dime towards a colorfully toned old Barber half in an OGH w/CAC at Americana Rare Coin from Sacramento.
Day 1 NewPs:
(I turned the exposure down on the Barber to better show the color)
Day 2, Thursday
Thursday was a selling and social day. I sold an 1857 FE in 58 CAC to a cent specialist dealer, and an MS68 Eisenhower dollar that was a duplicate coin. While at the Legend table I fortuitously found myself directly next to John Albanese and struck up a conversation. He was gracious enough to entertain my ask to review a coin that had failed CAC, and he gave me some good insight on it. We talked a bit about Registry sets and photography, and he told me that the department heads at CAC are all founding members/shareholders, including the head of photography, so they all have ownership in the business. We parted and I sought out @abbyme24 from Rising Sun Rarities who I remembered from her intro post here, and she educated me on Japanese coins, a topic I knew nothing about. I bought a toned silver coin from her to get my feet wet, as I was just in Japan last month and having a little collection from there would be cool. After that I caught up with @PeakRarities and @Coinbert for some show-and-tell. Those dudes have some seriously incredible coins! Dan gave me a heads up that CAC was giving out sample slabs, so I grabbed one.
Day 2 NewPs:
Day 3, Friday
After tallying up my sales and purchases from the past two days, they were within less than 1% of each other, so I decided that breaking even was a good result, so my only task was to drop off a 9-coin CAC stickering submission, and a single coin CMQ submission. Stack’s was almost completely packed up at 1pm, so I’m glad I made it before they left. The bourse, sadly, looked pretty empty and I left quickly.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Comments
Thanks for your report. Great to see the mention for Allen / Coins x Collectibles, he's a smart and honest dealer with a fantastic assortment of coins.
Thanks for the report, PC. Nice pickups and a well balanced review. I always enjoy perusing the Coin x Collectibles tables in Long Beach. Speaking of Long Beach, perhaps we sounded the death knell a bit early for the show as many thought it would be overshadowed by the Tampa show the following week. At least for the day I attended (last Thursday) there was a sizable and active contingent from the general public in attendance.
Tim
Excellent report, and those are some really nice newps!! Your overall assessment of the show is spot on.
It was great meeting you - appreciate you stopping by!
I’ll expand on this is a bit more in my report later this weekend, but if Long Beach is a dying show, this one is dead in the water. If it weren’t for some decent wholesale deals I made, this would’ve been a really disappointing bust. For many dealers I spoke to, it’s been a struggle to make back their table fees in revenue, let alone profit.
Nice report and great newps!
Be careful with the Japanese coins, they are extremely addictive
Thanks @abbyme24 - I look forward to your show report.
Tim
PC you have a great eye! Thanks for the report.
Best, SH
Thanks for your show report.
Thanks for posting your report, and I like your NEWPS.
Sounds like the show was great just needs a better date. I'd join if the timing was better.
Thanks for the report. I enjoyed reading it. Glad you had a good and successful time. I like the Peace dollar in the OGH and the Barber, too. It sounds like a good show and a good venue. Hope they don’t throw in the towel after just one trial run. PS-Meeting and speaking with John Albanese would be a great experience!! Glad you got to do it!!👍
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
When was the show announced? I heard about it at the ANA. I think it needs to be advertised significantly before the show. As a collector I need to plan far in advance. I was contemplating going to the next one.
Let me be the first to announce that there are two more planned. One will be in Chicago Rosement area and the other in Ft Lauderdale in April. Now you know. Meantime all my friends and PCGS folks I hope you join us at the end of Sept. 28&29th at the
Coin And Collectibles Fair located 30 minutes from NYC
Glad to hear Chicago Rosemont is on the list. I will be there.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 37 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
Great report Eric, really nice seeing you again and congrats on some great purchases! I will mention some of the same things in my report, but like many other I fell short of covering costs. Luckily I was able to lock up some nice coins for inventory to make up for it. Glad you got to speak with JA, he is very approachable and tried to make himself available to the masses.
Founder- Peak Rarities
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Tell me about it! I bought my second toned Koban from @abbyme24, it’s a perfect match for the first one I bought, I love them!
Founder- Peak Rarities
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Wait till you see what I have on the way, you might be adding a Bunsei to your collection in Baltimore
Thanks for your report, a great read for those of us who can't get out much!
September 5-7, 2024 Long Beach Expo
September 11-14, 2024 GACC Tampa
March 21-23, 2025 Whitman Baltimore
April 1-4, 2025 GACC Ft Lauderdale
August 19-23, 2025 ANA Oklahoma City (instead of Rosemont)
September 23-27, 2025 GACC Rosemont
It's hard to see GACC as anything other than an attempt to damage existing shows.
The problem is GACC doesn't have auctions or lot previews, so the default preference is going to remain the existing shows. Both new and old will be damaged, sort of like opening a Domino's across the street from a Pizza Hut. There's going to be a hard lesson to dealers in that. I used the word "parasite" for a reason. Get the auction houses on board and it is a different story.
Thanks for your views. Like the Peace Dollar.
Those look like recipes for failures.
Good show report and nice coins. Thanks for the report.
I’m not sure, with ANA in Oklahoma Ciry next year, I think the September show in rosemont has serious potential. OKC can not be accessed without connecting flights, i’m seriously considering skipping it. Concerning the lack of auctions and lot viewing, that’s something that could possibly change between now and then.
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That's kind of the point, though. The emo/goth dealer crowd has a Rosemont show right after the ANA in a different location, so they can proclaim "see I told you so, I told you ANA is a failing organization!" It's pre-ordained that all six shows I listed will all be failed shows, because the collector and dealer attendance will be too divided.
Take the Tampa (beach) show vs the Long Beach show. The Tampa show was a wild success! Dealer attendance was through the roof! But the Western half (and Northern half) of the collector base doesn't want to pay $1200 in airfare to have a Swamp People experience, fresh off better shows.
Part of the drop in show attendance is improved photography since even 2019. A lot is lack of live auctions. Some is safety concerns. Some is inflated travel costs. Splitting remaining show attendance between lot viewing and O'Hare will render both a failure.
The September time from for Rosemont is perfect. Looking forward to it already.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 37 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
OK, I understand the retail public attendance was lousy, possibly partly due to the $15 admission fee and $15 parking. Separately, I read in advance from the promoters there would be about 700 dealers at 500 tables (not potentially, but the implication those were actual numbers). I heard a rumor Wednesday that the actual numbers were only around 1/3 of those. Which set of numbers was closer to reality?
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
I look at the $15 more as an obstacle. I have to drive x amount of time, then I have to pay x to park, then pay x to get in etc... The more things you put in front of me to enter the show the more I consider if it's worth doing. If you put too many obstacles in the way I decide to spend my time doing something else.
Agree. I figured it to be ~$50 before I got inside, coupled with having just seen most of the same folks at Summer FUN, and figuring any fresh deals were already picked over at the ANA and Long Beach. When I did a small informal survey with some FL dealers at our club show on Sunday, none of them were attending, or even walking it, which I thought was surprising.
I attended the show for three days from Wednesday to Friday. I had a good time because the attendance was low, but that will have a cost. I'm not sure this show can be held again. As I predicted, the high entrance fees plus the cost of parking really cut into the attendance.
I went there looking for raw Indian Cents in EF and AU. I spent a lot of time with "The Penny Lady" who had a large raw stock. I went though a number of boxes from other dealers, but it was generally picked over.
I made a couple big purchases, I didn't go to the show thinking I would find. "This big hoss" was this 1839 Gobrecht Dollar. I have had an 1836 Gobrecht Dollar for a number of years, but never an 1838 or '39. I had wanted this second design type, but had not been pleased with what I had seen in the auctions.
This is now called a restrike which the mint made and sold in the late 1850s into the '60s. I'm still working on getting the perfect photo of it, but here it is. It's supposed to have a very light die break though the "AMERICA," I have not found it. It has the light break in the area of "OF." NGC graded this PR-65. It's somewhere in the 64 to 65 neighborhood. The price was such that it was okay purchase, even if it is a 64.
The other big purchase was this 1802 large cent in PCGS MS-63 Brown, CAC. The mint surfaces sold me on this one. It's a Sheldon 232, which is common R-1 variety, but still in the lower reaches of the condition census. The EAC people grade this as an AU-55. Don't get too excepted. Even with that grade, they still charge Mint State money for it. "If the alligators don't get you, the mosquitoes will."
This was a big upgrade for my type coin, and it will be part of "one a year" cent collection which I am currently working on. Whether I finish or not is a good question, but I'm getting closer. Most of the other coins will and are not as good as this, not even for the late dates.
Hey Steve - I certainly had the same question when I read the Tampa show would dwarf Long Beach. While it certainly looks like a larger floor plan, I struggle to believe the 700 dealer number:
Tim
Both of those are “wow” coins, Bill!
@BillJones glad to hear that you went and had a good time. I don’t think the admission price would’ve deterred me, either. Really nice pick ups-I especially like the Gobrecht! Also good to see that you’re still actively collecting. 🙂
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
So it looks like only half of the number of tables were there compared to the number implied by the promoter that would be there? In effect, a much smaller show. Does it bother any of the collectors that attended that there were so many fewer dealers than expected?
What’s everyone’s guess of the attendance in Ft. Lauderdale for the show next April 1st? Will it be another “Fool ya”?
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
theres sure some beautiful stuff in the whole batch, i like
‘’Sadly, public attendance seemed very low and dealers were unsatisfied given the lack of retail business.’’
I wonder if the $38 admission fee had anything to do with that? You convince the wife to go and you spend $76 (plus parking?) to get in (if I read your story right). Ouch.
Wondercoin
Edited to add..
‘’The Tampa show was a wild success! Dealer attendance was through the roof!’’
Is that the measure of success these days?
Hi Steve -
It didn’t bother this collector. There were still plenty of tables & a good variety of offerings. More than one dealer asked me if I had anything I was interested in selling; one even seemed to more interested in that than me buying from him!
@POCKETCHANGE made a good observation about the size of the room making the attendance looking smaller than it actually was. Still, I think the promoters have to be disappointed with the public turnout.
This show had a lot to offer with GC’s Big Three coins on display. There were other exhibits worthy of note as well.
It was easy to move around the bourse & inspect inventories. Personally, I had a good, if not great show. Some seemed put off by the entrance fee & parking cost. I think some of that feeling relates to history, with some shows offering free admission or close to it. This just may become the new reality. From my perspective, if the show holds a coin or few you’re looking for & costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars, I don’t care about a nominal admission fee (plus the 4 day pass was a relative bargain @ $25).
All this JMO…
Ken
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
Personally, as a collector of mainly four figure coins, I don’t care about a nominal admission fee or parking fee, but from dealers perspective, they need high attendance.
Based on the anticipated 700 dealers and 500 tables, I was considering the 4-1/2 hour drive each way and a hotel for overnight. I’m glad I chose not to do that 2-Day trip, as it would indeed have upset me to be fooled by attending and finding out the MUCH smaller size! Being Ft.Lauderdale is only a one hour drive, I’ll go in April, but will likely attend only one day due to the smaller size! AND I’ll go on the first public day, before the dealers start packing up.
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
I attended the show Thursday and Friday. Fortunately, I am a subscriber to Coin World and they sent a free 4-day admission ticket to all of their subscribers, so I got in for free. The show was lightly attended, but for the collector that was an advantage, because I had more time to check out coins without waiting behind a huge line at some dealers' tables. I was also able to talk to some dealers who wouldn't have had available time at a busier show. I sold about half of what I brought to sell, including some items I was surprised that sold. I also bought two coins, one of which I wouldn't have seen at a larger show. (However, neither coin compared with the gem coins Bill Jones acquired - - congrats, Bill! So the show was successful for me, but if dealers reported slow sales, this might hurt table sales for future such shows.
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
POCKETCHANGE, good to meet you at Dan's table and thank you for your excellent show report. I only spent one day (Thursday) at the show. With no auction lots to view I would have had a difficult time keeping occupied on Friday. I also got to talk with JA at the CAC table. Met John Butler too. It was easy to visit with dealers due to the lack of collectors on the floor. I sold four lower value coins to two different dealers. I looked at three CAC seated dollars and a nice CAC trade dollar but none of them were irresistible. Show was ok but I would have rather have stayed home and waited for FUN in January.
The number of dealers is secondary to me. It’s the dealers who are there which matters. Many of the dealers I like at the FUN shows were there, which made the show for me.
The greatest item I was a three piece 1845 gold Proof set which included an original box for the complete set. At $3.5 million, it was beyond my current budget.
Great coins Bill! Congratulations.
Tampa Show-
Negatives:
-Just after ANA and LB
-September in Tampa. Really? I am local and gone then.
-No auctions or lot viewing
-No onsite grading
-Promotional show with no club or other affiliations
Positives:
What am I missing?
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
Negative
Higher than average parking and admission fees.
The promoter also dodged a bullet. He could have faced a hurricane which is most likely to hit in September in Florida.
Thanks for the report.
Why don’t shows setup Thursday and public entrance Friday to Sunday? Seems logical if you want everyone to join. Dealers leaving early often is what I read which makes it hard for the public who work. If the idea is to ever grow the business you need more and more people to join.
Steve, from a collector point of view, you would have had a great time at the show. While public attendance was low, all of the dealers were there with nice inventory and ready to make deals. Collectors were able to sit at a dealers table, unbothered, and have extended conversations while perusing wares. The fact that the attendance was low only means that the collectors who are there were more likely to find something they need at a fair price. Shows like this might be a nightmare for dealers, but theyre a dream for collectors!
I have absolutely no complaints about the way the show was set up, and I think they did a great job overall. I agree that the door charge likely dampened attendance, and the timing was just not good. Right after ANA and all of the auctions, during the end of summer when most of the snowbirds are up north.
The April show should be much better timing, being that the snowbird collectors would likely be in FL at that time. Then, as I mentioned somewhere else, the September show in Rosemont has great potential considering that OKC might flop.
Founder- Peak Rarities
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I think FTL has good potential. It’s a good time of year and just enough of a gap after FUN. Of course, all first year shows can be bumpy and unpredictable. I don’t think Tampa had enough of a marketing presence to get the word out and that’s what hurt it. Plus, I initially recall it being advertised and/or discussed as a dealer only, or dealer priority sorta show. That’s not a welcoming strategy towards collectors.
There is a strong collector base in Broward/Dade/Palm Beach counties. At least there was about 7 years ago when I moved a couple hours north.
(Anyone ever hit the old Artserve show downtown, or the Hollywood show by the mall? I believe the Artserve show is in Plantation now, just down the road from Sawgrass Mills?). There’s great food, shopping, and things to do that add to the draw for the out of towners. Even the ones that are scared of “Swamp People.”
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Don’t
see why the promotor of show just charge a flat fee of $10 for all days instead of discounted rate for 3 days and having to pay an extra $5 for in person purchase. Might increase attendance for those debating to attend another day or not. Same applies to ANA show you have to pay daily and No weekly pass discount?
Also any word on the much hyped Nashville show is that one and done and did the promotors make any comments regarding it?
"Also any word on the much hyped Nashville show is that one and done and did the promotors make any comments regarding it?"
Im oretty sure theyre re organizing another Nashville show for 2025, I was talking to another dealer about it and the consensus is that many of us are not attending.
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No doubt collectors love very low attendance. As it’s been said, plenty of time to spend with dealers, learn by picking their brains, no waits to see their coins. For me personally, with what I collect, a show the size of Summer FUN or this Tampa show, one day is enough to browse all of the coins of interest, talk with a bunch of dealers, as well as chatting with numismatic friends. However, I learned this past January at Winter FUN that trying to accomplish what I want in one day is impossible. Going forward, Winter FUN is two days for me.
That’s my point with this Tampa show. Had I given up an extra day, drove nine hours round trip, spent money for an overnight, and then finished EVERYTHING the first day, I would have been disappointed.
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
That's why I skipped the last two Long Beachs and that's only an hour flight. 4.5hrs one way I would be very frustrated.