FUN Show Report - Warning long read………….
Desert Moon
Posts: 5,868 ✭✭✭✭✭
I am in the Orlando Airport on my way back from FUN. This was my first time having a table at FUN so I have new perspectives that I did not have before. If I am honest about the experience, I would have to say I am disappointed for some of the reasons I was there but pleased for other reasons. Normally in the past I have written a daily show report but did not have any time to do any writing until now. Up at 4 am every day at the show, to sleep at 10 pm, hectic times………….. So just this one report with images of coins to come as an update sometime early next week.
So here goes my report. I arrived on Tuesday evening in Orlando and checked into my hotel. That put me in place for an 8 am arrival the next morning (Wednesday) at lot viewing in the Heritage room. I arrived right then, and was one of the first 2 customers. I did the usual checking of which boxes I wanted to see on their form that I had lots targeted. Disappointment 1. About 50% of the boxes I wanted to see they said ‘they have not arrived yet’, then, ‘we don’t know when’, then, ‘you will have to come back later in the week to view them’, etc. etc. Problem is, I have no time when the show starts to be lot viewing because I am either a, at my table, or b, on the floor looking for cool coins, or c doing ancillary activities like getting coins ready for CAC, or CACG, and then going over to their booth to deliver them. In the boxes I did get to view, they had collectively a few hundred coins, I found only 3 coins I might, possibly, maybe, want to bid on. I was counting on viewing everything because I have learned in the past that you don’t bid on Heritage lots without seeing in hand. This is because many times their images do not show key aspects of the coins. They don’t have Great Photos 
. I suspect a lot of other dealers were in the same boat as I was in, and, a lot of them like me, simply won’t be able to bid what they would have in the auctions next week given a no in hand view.
After lot viewing I met with another dealer I buy from to go through his for sale inventory. We were able to make a deal on 4 coins which were all exactly the type of cool coins I like to offer. One large planchet bust dime of this group is a killer coin and one that just does not come around too often. In fact, the last one auctioned in a grade anywhere near the grade of this one according to Coinfacts was 2001. This brought the time up to just about Dealer Set Up opening at 2 pm. When the doors opened I walked the floor for about an hour, then started setting up my table. Pleased 1. While this was going on, a lot of folks were coming by to just say hi or look at my offerings. Some were collectors with Early Bird badges, some were dealers. I was able to sell 5 coins and got a lot of interest in other coins by the time I left for the evening around 7 pm. Always making the connections with dedicated numismatists is fun and Dealer Set Up Day was a success.
So on Thursday, I was up at 4 am making last preparations to hit the ground running when the doors opened on the bourse at 8:30 am. Which they did and the massive throng of dealers and early birds hit the escalators for the ride down to the bourse floor. Even before the public came in at 10 am activity was going on at a blistering pace. I had the benefit of being right across the central partition between booths on each side, with Sheridan Downey who was showing his bust halves for his upcoming auction. Next booth down was the Rarity 7/Peak Rarities, etc. consortium of dealers. So right in our small area of the giant room we had a concentration of dealers with like-minded offerings and that made our area a must for those with early US coin interests. Pleased 2. Many PCGS board members and others hit my booth from 10 to 10:30 to either buy or sell coins we had discussed prior to the show. It continued at a brisk pace all through Thursday. Pleased 3. I was fortunate that 2 of our board members, @Catbert, and @ldhair, offered to give me breaks where I could go away from the table for necessary tasks and walking the floor. They did that and I had some time to go out and find cool newps and did.
Pleased 4. 6:30 pm on Thursday a group of us including Deplorable Dan, Catbert, ldhair, and Pickwick, and one other nice person named Daryll (might be spelled wrong) I had just met for the first time went out for dinner. I had suggested the ‘Orlando Pub’ which was about a 1.5 mile walk from the bourse hall in the area north of the convention center packed with restaurants. By the time we got there at around 7:10 pm, there was a line out the door. As I had never seen that many people there, I was very surprised, I always got in with no time wait. It was looking like an hour wait for us though. We started looking around at the other restaurants and right across the plaza was a Mexican restaurant. I quickly went on the phone and tapped in it’s name in Open Table, and amazingly got a reservation for 7:30 for 6. We walked the 50 feet and went right in. It was the last table unoccupied. Nice food but very noisy, they had a mariachi band playing and roaming between tables. A lot of the restaurant customers were loving it and clapping along – I was thinking that a lot of tequila was flowing. Nevertheless a good time even though I would have liked a ‘leetle’ less noise so our table could have chatted with each other without shouting.
On Friday I was back at it as soon at the bourse opened at 8:30. After Thursday’s activity, I was optimistic I would meet my sales goals that were going to be similar to my ANA sales. Disappointment 2. I only made 3 sales on Friday and the first was around 3 pm and thus ended up with 1/3 less sales than ANA in terms of number of coins and dollar value. There were a lot of people walking the floor when the public was let in at 10, just as many as Thursday. But, you could see just via observation that a lot of them were just not very serious numismatists and were there to kinda look around and kick the tires. And several that walked up to my table just wanted to spend time there talking with no real goal except to well, just take up my time for 10s of minutes each. For example, a very very very senior gentlemen, was at my table nicely ensconced in one of the chairs in front, and harrumphed (er, ah, complained) about various things in numismatics. At one point he went on for over 15 minutes about my very cool bust dime in the CACG holder that is attributed to be, and really is, a large planchet variety, which he instead insisted was a small planchet. He went on and on and essentially concluded these ‘graders’ don’t know what they are doing yada yada yada. Me? Nicely smiling and saying yes, yes the whole time. After his ‘expert’ evaluation, I picked up a small planchet bust dime in my case and the alleged mistaken identity bust dime and put their slabs on top of each other. You could see through the pronged holders and I said ‘see, the large planchet dime is larger than the small planchet dime’ which was very obvious. He looked and then set off again, ‘no no no, but’…….. Ah the life of a Coin Dealer LOL.
So Friday during the day I had folks like this, but not too many serious buyers asking to see coins much. I did have one gentleman who was completing and duplicating a die marriage set for both Classic Head Quarter and Half Eagles. He was looking at my offerings in these series to check them for die marriages and alas there were no upgrades for him. But as we talked about the series’ we realized that both of us had been buying from Doug Winter for these including the Seattle Concierge Sale of a complete die marriage set for each. I told him I had one from that set I was keeping for my collection that was an R6 and it was being crossed to CACG. He said ‘drat I hesitated on that one and then had remorse, so you were the one that got it eh’. He said he would love to buy it, so I will contact him when it comes back and give him a best price. But I really love it too, so there has to be some good profit in it for me to sell it….. But Pleased 5. A great connection was made with a numismatist that shares my interest in these wonderful gold coins.
Pleased 6. Finally, at 3 pm, a nice gentlemen came up and bought my VF30 Barber Quarter. I was thinking at least I will have one sale today. $20 profit yippee! Then suddenly a bust half collector came and bought my best bust half. And finally a big sale that saved my show IMO.
Pleased 7. On Thursday an early 20s guy came to my table and looked at my best bust quarter that was very expensive. It is one that is a very rare and unique and very cool die marriage with die clashes not seen on any other die marriage, the 3rd finest known of this type, and the Plate Coin for 2 different bust quarter books and hence a well-known and important coin. The vibe currently is that most people are looking for type, interested in eye appeal and not paying up for the rare die marriages in the bust quarter series. So the rare ones that are expensive because they are a rare variety, are having a hard time moving right now. Hence, I was getting concerned about tying up the big funds in this lovely coin for so long and wanted to sell it. The young gentlemen asked me if he could take a picture of it and I said sure are you interested? He said he had a client to pass it by and would come back tomorrow if the client was. I gave him my price, which I have lowered to try to entice the bust quarter community out of their homes to scoop it up. He said ok he will get back to me. So about 4 pm on Friday, he walks up my table (after I had generally thought ok he is not coming back), and surprised I said ‘So are you going to buy it?' He said ‘Yes’, I silently in my mind went Yes, Yahoo, Hubba Hubba! So he pulls out a thick pile of C-Notes and says, okay let me call him to confirm. He calls the client, who says do it. He then tells me his client is sending the money to his account. He then calls his dad to confirm the client’s money arrived. All of this in less than 2 minutes. Then confirmed, we both start counting the pile of C-Notes, agree on the amount on the thick pile on the table, I write the invoice, and bam! Deal done. That might be my most wild deal yet on an important coin and happy it was finally placed.
So overall more Pleases than Disappointments. I did have higher expectations for sales and don’t know what happened on Friday. I will need to rethink my strategy for FUN to get the sales up and how to make sure folks come to my table to buy rather than sit in one of my chairs and complain. I think I have a good plan for the future to mitigate the length of time the non-interested-in-buying people sit at my table because I am there to buy and sell and honestly don’t have hours upon a day to lament the woes of numismatics. I mentioned this to another dealer who said ‘ah, so welcome to the bourse’, with a knowing look. So we will see and thanks for reading and thanks to all of the PCGS board members that showed interest in my offerings and helped me out, and interacted with me at this FUN. Coin pics will be coming with an update shortly.
Best, DM
Comments
Great write up, was a pleasure doing business with you !
Wall of HONOR transaction list:WonderCoin, CoinFlip, Masscrew, Travintiques, lordmarcovan, Jinx86, Gerard, ElKevvo
Thank you for a nice report!
Thanks for sharing.
Glad that your sales made this show a positive instead of a neutral experience.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
Great write-up from a dealer perspective! Setting up at a show is an absolute trip in so many ways, and I think you nailed it.
Off-topic, but is your bio here private for a reason?
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
Great report Al! And, nice meeting in person & doing a little biz!
Ken
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
Nickelodeon
Enjoyable reading
Thanks for the report
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Great show report. I know exactly who the Classic Head Collector was, as he is my mentor in collecting the set. Great guy and he was looking for coins for me to add to my variety set of HE's.
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$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
I enjoyed your writing style.
Sometimes it is easy to breeze through these reports.
Your report captured my full intention.
A single lesson I have learned with Mariachi bands in Mexican restaurants that are playing a roaming throughout: Never make eye contact!
I just have to ask...
What was the bust quarter variety that you finally sold on Friday (Picture)? I think you've summed up the bust quarter market pretty well. There's only so many of us willing to pay up for a rare variety. Most buyers are just seeking a type coin.
I guess it's kinda' like a disease!
thanks for an excellent report!
Great report!
I checked your table twice on Friday to say hi, but missed you both times, unfortunately.
It was nice meeting you briefly at the show DM. I am sitting at the Orlando Airport just checking in, hoping for no delays.
Nice report and great story about the better Bust Quarter.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Was great to meet you!
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
See-cure-ity. Buy a coin from me and find out who I am…………...
He is a wonderful person and I had a blast discussing gold with him. There will certainly be more to come.
1818 B9 NGC AU55, Browning Plate Coin, Rea et al. Plate Coin, it is the late die state of an R5 coin, and about 24 are known, this is the 3rd finest in terms of grade. It is the LDS of the die marriage that has the deep arrows from the reverse die clashing above Ms. Liberty on the obverse. There is nothing else like it.
Alas. Friday I was out buying on the floor alot since no sales were happening.
I'm glad to read that overall it was a satisfactory show for you.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
@Pnies20, @Copperindian, @pursuitofliberty, @Dug13, great seeing all of you and doing some buis where we did.
Happy to meet you at FUN. You have incredible coins with beautiful photos on your website.
Your seated dollar is still very tempting. Joey
Great report, I appreciated your perspective.
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
Desert Moon
It was nice to meet you and Catbert at your table. And I saw Dan at his table not long after. Good group of dealers in a small area - all coin dealers that are coin nuts first and foremost.
Great report also. It was a very busy show, but I heard “great” to “good” to “just okay,” depending on the dealer and the market he (or she) deals in.
With ANA in an unconventional venue this year, I am glad I made it to FUN. Thanks again for taking the time for the report.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
Yeah, that’s sorta my point.
Hypothetically, is stumbling across your table at a coin show the only way to buy a coin from you?
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
I would have bought your VF30 Barber Quarter if I knew it existed. I am trying to pull together a strict VF30 set (Sedulous #2) in the PCGS Everyman BQ Registry. Our BCCS booth was pretty busy until Saturday afternoon when the YN's were thinning out. I brought my macro setup and was able to photo a rare variety (second one now! for the 1892-P RPD & TDO FS-301) in PCGS MS-63 found by Dave Earp of DRP near the Budget section. Had a hard time breaking away to look at coins but did pick-up AU/UNC 1892-O and 1895-O Barber halves from AD Coins. Did deals with Rodney at K&R when I had a brief moment and chatted with Lenny Rizzo (paesan) working Liz Coggan's table (702). Will have to seek you out next show. It was nice for @PocketChange, Dimeman, and others from the Forum to stop by for a visit and chat. I was displaying Sedulous #1 XF45's at a case in the booth along with Carl Feldman's Barber Dimes.
Thanks for your report! - Tim
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Great write-up DM - an enjoyable & insightful read. Glad to hear the show was more of a plus than a bust… pardon the pun.
‘dude
A great report, thank you for posting it. I was glad to meet you and I was very happy to hear you sold that wonderful 1818 B-9 with clash Bust Quarter. I really like that variety and was happy to see one in that high a grade. I did have a potential customer for that coin, but I am very happy for you that you sold it!
When I first became a full-time dealer, I also had the problem of not having enough people come to my table. But after a while, people will get to know you and you will be a must-stop-at table at a show like FUN. Great meeting you, and I enjoyed your coins and our conversation!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Nice talking to you Alan and thanks for buying the 2 gold pieces from me! Your CC $5 really had me thinking…… I was able to acquire a very nice piece with the funds from your purchase!
Take care!
Dave
Successful transactions with: Lakesammman, jimineez1, Flackthat, PerryHall, bidask, bccox, TwistedArrow1962, free_spirit, alexerca, scooter25, FHC, tnspro, mcarney1173, moursund, and SurfinxHI (6 times)
I do happen to check your site every day or so (or several times a day
)
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$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
Thanks for sharing.
I’m envious of those who are able to attend FUN. It’s such a large show. Anyone happen to know what the largest coin show in Texas is?
Great report! Nice to hear your experience at FUN and thanks for taking the time to write it.
Collector
75 Positive BST transactions buying and selling with 45 members and counting!
instagram.com/klnumismatics
Great report. It's been fun watching you put Desert Moon together. I have learned so much from you and Bill. I'm sure Desert Moon is going to do really well with the quality of coins you have to offer. I'll be watching your website.
Thanks for your report.
Nice report, glad the pros outweighed the cons. I was hoping to stop by on Saturday morning (the only day I could make it to FUN this year), but alas, you’d already departed. Hope to meet if you’re back for summer FUN in July.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Thanks Alan for such a honest show report. I did see your 1818 B-9 Bust quarter and its a wonderful example. I hope it is in a great home. You have some great coins and I did see alot of really nice coins at your table. Surprised that your Friday sales were lower than expected but that's "show business". Keep up your great show reports and table reports. One reason why I attend shows are to view and buy dealer's coins that you carry. Your show reports should get more collectors to attend shows. You are a pleasure to deal with. Here is to a great 2025!
Hi,
See my website listed below and regular postings in the BST.
Best, DM
Hi Tim,
The guy who bought my VF30 said there is a whole bunch of Barber folks at CSNS, so I hope to find room in my bag to bring a whole bunch of Barbers from VF to AU, almost all with CAC stickers. Maybe see you there.
Best, DM
Also a shout out to @Dscoin, @PeakRarities, and @Sunshine Rare Coins who I all bought and sold with. These guys are all fantastic dealers.
Best, SH
Hi Rich,
I really enjoyed our conversation and seeing your cool counterstamped bust quarter. Stop by any time - the quality conversations like this are what I like.
Best, DM
I’ve got 20 newps to post over the next few weeks…………..
Houston Money Show or TNA in Grapevine(?).
Thanks for stopping by. Alas that was a mistake for me to leave early, next year I will stay through Sat and plan in advance to make it work.
Best, SH
Dave,
That particular CC $5 had at least 10 people look at it and I thought it was close to selling several times as all were serious lookers and all commented on how nice it was. So it will probably be the next CC half eagle I have that will sell. One of yours you sold me, already sold on the bourse the next day, so please keep them coming to me sir.
Best, DM
This trip was my XF's on display at the club booth. Will look for you at CSNS.
Quick image of the BCCS /LSCC booths on Saturday morning 8:30am or so.
Sedulous collection that was on display with multiples due to looking for positional MM variations - note the lack of the Big 3 ('96-S, '01-S, '13-S):
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Nice write up. On those that keep talking and taking up time when you have had enough, then can try doing something to focus you attention elsewhere (that is ignore them). Could be getting busy with (or acting) a coin and paper work, get on phone and focus on that or making a call to someone to talk or other. Not a guarantee but can work.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wwmUMvhy-lY - Pink Me And Bobby McGee
.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
Thanks for more suggestions. I was thinking 'getting a call on the phone' and having to rush off.................... I will experiment when it happens again.
Best, DM
Oh, and an added note. There were the folks that were walking the floor with a Greysheet mag provided by Greysheet for free at their table (thanks JF). They all looked at my inventory and prices and would say something like '$850?', See that, I'm paying $400. There was no point of even trying to explain to them the realities of quality vs. bottom of the barrel dreck. I would just keep silent and put my attention elsewhere until they moved on. One word. Yikes.
Excellent report and thanks for taking the time to write it up.
With a more esoteric (and great looking) inventory I think you’re going to have good and bad shows selling to the public.
When someone is wasting your time politely excuse yourself and pull your phone out from your pocket.
Also, first say "quality doesn't come cheap" and then do the above!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Or say "good coins aren't cheap, and cheap coins aren't good".
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.