Michigan State Show---------Day One Report with a Day Two edit added.

keets

Well, I drove up to Oxford after work on Thursday and met MdWoods then sacked out at his place. We got up early and rode to Lansing with a co-worker of Mark's, John, arriving around 11 A.M. and made our way out onto the floor. Things were rather slow all day long but the narrow aisles and small room made things cozy!! There was quite a bit for me to look at and quite a few familiar faces. I think that means I've been going to too many shows, but that's OK.

The dealers all had the ever present stocks of raw gold and Morgan Bullion coins that carry most shows. I noticed an unusual number of VF-XF Barbers, mainly half-dollars and quarters. Lots of seated coinage, also. There were also at least 10 dealers who specialized in Canadian/Foreign coins and medals/ancients. I was hunting for Jeffersons and Type such as 3CN's for a set, raw Ikes and classic commems. All but the Jeffersons were in modest supply in the cases, at least from what I saw today. Saturday should be a bit more relaxed and I'm sure I'll notice much that I missed today.

None of us made any purchases in the morning. We broke for lunch about 1:30 and decided to check into the hotel and avoid a round trip tomorrow. After lunch I went back and purchased a nicely toned 1941 Proof Jefferson. It should grade PR66 at PCGS and match my set while filling a hole that's been tough. The 1941 issue is almost always plagued by die-polish on the obverse portrait at the rim and this coin is no exception. It's obscured somewhat by the tone which is beautiful on the obverse and centers the reverse building nicely. I held off on anything else and figure to do some checking on raw Jeffs and search the auction lots Saturday. Mark picked up a nice 1916 Barber dime and a fantasticly toned 1890 Seated dime. I'll let him describe that bugger, but it's a beauty!!

I actually met a guy from home, 5 hours away which was wierd. We belong to a couple of clubs together. Dennis from jadecoin was set up and we spent some time talking to him and looking at some oddities he had in his case. What struck me were two restrikes of a Redbook listed Castorland Medal------page 57 of the 2004 issue. What a sweet design. While we were talking with Dennis, member numobri found us and we took a walk outside to share some coins we each had. Brian has some very nice Bust Dollars and about 10 of them were in his pouch. WOWZER!!!!!

More to come tomorrow or Sunday.

Al H.

jbsteven

<< <i>Morgan Bullion coins >>



can you explain this a little better?

KlectorKid

The 10 pound silver replicas?

cladking

Thanks Keets. These are always interesting.

291fifth

I also attended the show today. My goals were two fold, first, to drop off a group of coins at the ANACS table to be slabbed and then to sell more coins. The ANACS part was accomplished quickly. I am using the 5 day service since economy, according to the man at the table, is now running close to three months.

Selling got off to a slow start but eventually I sold nearly everything I brought with me (mostly Indians and early Lincolns). I got reasonable prices for the coins but wouldn't classify the market as any more than luke warm.

Once my coins come back from ANACS it will be time to sit down and establish priorities for the next sales. It is getting harder and harder to say good-bye to the pre-1850 coins but some of them must go.

The show seemed to be reasonably attended for a non-holiday Friday, though the action seemed to be mostly in the main room and not in the annex room. I was thinking about going back on Saturday but won't because I am not buying anything right now and don't feel my remaining coins would sell well to the dealers in attendance. I've been trying to avoid using eBay for the past few months but will probably start up again for the next round of sales.

kranky

Good report, keets, but you didn't mention how many tables there are at the show. Say hello to Mark for me.

Stuart

Keets: I'd love to hear more about the 10 Bust Dollars that you mentioned Brian had in a pouch.

JBS: I think that Keets is referring to some people's perception that Morgan Dollars are about as common as Silver Bullion coins, as opposed to being a rare collector coin... and you know that I love my Morgans

keets

hey Stuart

correctomundo on the Morgans!!! they are lttle more than a common bullion coin to me, so that's what i call them. hey, a spade is a spade, right??

al h.

JadeRareCoin

Keets, good show report. Funny that you mention our 2 Castorland restrikes (worth $100 total), but you failed to mention our roll of Stellas and our half roll of 1797 halves. I drove back to Grand Rapids tonight to pick-up a box of Jeffersons from the office. Stop by on Saturday and you can have first shot.

Stuart

Keets: I'll admit that Morgans are very common, when compared to Seated Liberty Dollars & Bust Dollars, but they are still fun to collect because they are so pretty and relatively inexpensive (in grades below MS-65 and in less than DMPL)... No offense taken.

There are lots of folks who collect coins that I'm not interested in (like your Jefferson Nickels) -- but it's nice to have a forum with lots of folks that have different passions and interests in coins. It keeps things interesting...

How about some more info on those 10 Bust Dollars?? Those are real classic rare coins in anybody's book !!

Stuart

Dennis: What condition are those 1797 halves in?? Those are the rare bad boys !!

The Stellas sound nice also -- are they the Morgan designed coiled hair or the Barber designed flowing hair type(s)??

jbsteven

<< <i>correctomundo on the Morgans!!! they are lttle more than a common bullion coin to me, so that's what i call them >>



ahhh I get it. Your opinion of Morgans is about the same as mine about Jeffersons.

BORING (I assume you think Bullion is boring as do I)

numobri

I also had a nice time.

It was nice to meet MdWoods and John and talking to Keets again.

By the way,it was only nine bust dollars and I didn't even show them one of them.

Going back tomorrow.

The only thing I bought was a red seal(United States Note)1966 $100.00 bill.Don't want to rush into anything.

Stuart

numobri: I'd like to hear more about your Bust Dollars if you'd like to share the info with the rest of us

Are they part of a Type Set, Year Set, or what?? Do you have any pictures that you could share with us?? Thanks!

stman

<< <i>correctomundo on the Morgans!!! they are lttle more than a common bullion coin to me, so that's what i call them. hey, a spade is a spade, right?? >>



Yup I agree call them as you see them. I've always looked at Jeffersons as ho hum pocket change as well. Of course you make those statements to try and get something going I'm sure.

jbsteven

<< <i>Of course you make those statements to try and get something going I'm sure. >>



well maybe.............


I still think Jeffersons are boring. always have.

numobri

Stuart;

I am putting a year set of early dollars together.I need only the 1794 (some day) and 1804 (never) to go.

The coins i had with me today were;

1795 flowing hair (raw) cleaned XF=net fine15
1796 (raw) VF
1800 (raw) AG
1797 anac VF20
1798 anac EF45
1799 8 by 5 pcgs VF25
1800 pcgs F15
1802 pcgs VF35,should be EX40 at least.
1803anac VF30

At the moment I am building a ROLL of bust dollars,one more to go.

Stuart

numobri: Cool! Thanks for sharing... I'd love for you to post pictures of the entire date set of Bust Dollars when you get a chance.

The 1795 Flowing Hair and the 1798 Draped Bust both sound like they'd be beautiful coins to behold! I love the old Bust Coinage!!

numobri

Sorry scanner no work.

I kinda like bust coinage also

Thanks for asking.

Coppernicus

Thanks for the nice report keets! I agree with you on the Morgans...at the recent show in Milwaukee, PCGS MS64 Morgans were everywhere! If one likes the coin and isn't going for top-end, a nice set can be put together quite reasonably (less the keys, of course).

You didn't mention Lincoln wheats - were there any? Many? At the show in Milwaukee, there was really only one dealer with a large inventory of these - all raw. I spent about an hour looking at all he had and was very disappointed. The ones that weren't cleaned were common AU pieces (though he had them labeled UNC) and the semi-keys were so obviously cleaned that I was surprised the guy could keep a straight face!! Especially when his asking price was for MS65 PCGS slabbed coins!!

Hope the Michigan show is better!

Mike

keets

hey now

you guys have things wrong as usual and have taken the retaliatory tack with response to my "Morgan Bullion" comment. that's what i've called them for quite some time in regards to their ever-present availability at any show. believe me, i understand their importance to the hobby and how they can carry the day on their own, i just don't romanticize them and misrepresent them. the enabling legislation in the 1870's could stand alone as some of the most corrupt in the history of Congress. but, enough on that. if y'all feel the need to unjustly swing back with a retaliatory crack on Jeffersons, go ahead. i'm a big boy, i can handle it!!!!!!!!

i still look at Morgans and found a nice 1887 rainbow in an old ANACS photo holder graded MS65 that the seller wanted $200 for. i haven't decided whether or not to buy yet. the days funny storry was with the dealer who had the fully toned rainbow, also an 1887 in a PCGS MS65 holder. when i asked him if i could look at the coin, he shook his head no and said it cost $1500!!!! i assume he thought i couldn't pony up that amount. he evidentally has confused "could" with "would" but that's his dilemma to figure out!!!

al h.

keets

Day Two Update.

We didn't get down to the show until about 11 A.M. which was a few minutes late to meet the MadMan himself along with his cohort noGovernment. We eventually met at the table of jadecoin. Marty is a ball of energy, I'll tell ya!!! Probably too much coffee on the trip to the show. He already had his tote-bag full of proof/mint sets and was revved up to buy more. I never did see his final tally, but it must have been substantial. No doubt we'll all read the grade results in about a month, so keep your eyes peeled for the "I got hammered" thread by him!!!!

I had been hoping to find a nice 3CN in a lower proof grade but didn't see one that looked nice enough to buy. We met numobri for lunch and then headed back for the last few hours of the show. Surprisingly, I bought a nicely toned Canadian Dollar. It's a proof-like 1971 specimen with great obverse color. Dennis from jadecoin let me sift through some boxes of Jeffersons and we agreed to try to meet at next weeks Cleveland show for more searching. Nothing exceptiomal about the nickels he had, but there were a few tougher mid-70's dates that had nice strikes and near full steps. One 1968-S had very PL fields but the all-too-common weak step detail. Two tables down, Larry from SEGS had an MS65 of the same date that was attributed wrongly------IMHO------as Full Steps, with typical weakness at the fifth step/third pillar. It was a nice coin but priced way,way,way too high for a nobody like me. You may remember that I can't afford them thar 'spensive coins!!! However, Larry did let me hold and touch it, just wouldn't let me call it George!!!

Final show appraisal----it was much as numobri had described, smaller than the autumn version but with some good dealers, nice coins and friendly collectors in attendance. I managed a nice addition to a set and some enjoyable time spent with forum members. Tell me the truth, should expect much more than that??

Al H.

Stuart

Keets: Thanks for both days' show reports. Did you happen to notice if anyone was selling $20 Gold Liberty Coronets in PL ??

jbsteven

<< <i>Marty is a ball of energy >>



That is putting it mildly.


See any Morgan bullion?

keets

much bullion and i rsisted the rainbow 1887 as too expensive. there were several of what i've heard described as mono-chromatic and some other wholly toned Morgans. none that were real attractive. with the PL gold, that just wasn't something that i'd notice. i skim by that almost as fast as the bullion.

funny story from day two----i was looking in one guys case and he was listening to the guy next to him relate how he had just sold a boatload of state quarters that he had. i think he was worried about getting stuck with them all. i can't for the life of me figure out why people pay a premium for something that they can get at the bank, but i guess they want roll sets. to each their own.

al h.

Stuart

Keets: The interestign thing (to me) about PL $20 Libs is that PCGS does not grade them with the PL/DMPL designation, although NGC does. I got this PCGS grading info straight from David Hall this week.

To me this presents a potential buying opportunity because I would like to pick up PL $20 Libs for regular coin prices for the grade.

kranky

Thanks for the reports, keets.

numobri

Keets,sorry I ran off but had to attend a meeting.

I must say,I have enjoyed the show so far.Only got to say,Hello,to the madman and NoGov but it was nice to put faces to names.

I did end up buying a !862 proof 62 Indian cent.

Going back tomorrow.

Tootawl

Tell the truth, did Woodie do anything to embarass you and everyone else?

keets

well, we caught him late Friday evening trying to sneak out the window with that darned UM thong on!!! he would have been out running the streets except that i was in the roll-away bed and had the door blocked. aside from that, he behaved well.

al h.

JadeRareCoin

It was a fun show. Thanks to all of the forum members who stopped by to say hi.