My Pittsburgh perspective...............from Day IV and heading home..
keets
Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
Day I---The crowd at the show's opening day was small as we had suspected and that made it easy to view coins and the dealers were more relaxed than usual. They seemed eager to talk and I took advantage of that and looked at many coins in hand that I would usually just peer at in the case. I reasoned that it might be a good idea to focus my attention on filling a couple of holes in my Jefferson set on the first day and had some success. My first stop----I don't remember the dealer----started with the simple question "Do you have any Proof Jeffersons?" and left me holding not one, but three PCGS PR68 1942 Type 2's!!!!! One was head-and-shoulders above the rest but if I'd have bought it my trip and my buying would have been done. I swapped contact info and went on my way.
I worked my way around the floor and ended at the Reeded Edge table where I picked up an NGC 1951 PR68 that needs to make itself into a CAM holder!! Sweet coin that I'll be cracking some day soon. A bit later I found a 1941 in an ANACS PR65 holder that is seemingly devoid of any obverse die polish, hard to find in the series. It has a super, super strike and should cross at PR66, a nice bright coin with moderate Cameo but lacking frost. That ended my Day One purchases.
What I saw while searching for Jeffs was much of the usual stock that carries the day at a big show----------Morgans, GoldGoldGold, white commems. There were many nice coins, though, some Proof Morgans, a couple of neat patterns, dealers with medals and interesting exonumia, one of those $50 shipwreck restrikes from a couple of years ago, lots of currency and loads of nice type. I make notes for reference and the coins that stood out for me were two Proof Barber dimes that had the most lovely tone I saw all day. I figure they won't be available when I check back on Thursday!!!
I met Mark at the PCGS table at 11:30 and we chatted with the PCGS godesses, Carol and BJ. They seemed a bit bored but were busyt later on when I went past a few times. You go girls, keep up the work, you're both forum bombs!!!! We headed out for lunch and ended up on Penn behind the show at a place called Mark's that had good sandwhiches. Then, back for more fun!!
It seemed like after lunch the forum crowd climbed outa the woodwork. We ran into melikecoins and kranky at the entrance and started paying a bit less time to coins and more time to having fun. That's what this is about, right???
I finally found coppercoins, FC57coins showed up with the fetching Tassa in tow, I tracked down member tables and lost Mark!!!!!!!!!
FC57coins---Frank---had some of my Jeffs to do some photo work and it was nice to have my babies again. I brought my set along, 1938 through 1975 and some other stuff for show and tell along with opinions, another neat aspect of meeting up with everyone. We hung for awhile with TBT and his helper---yeah, right---Idahogal who seems to be genuinely interested in assembling a type set. Nice to see women taking an interest in the hobby, there were quite a few of the fairer sex in attendance. As for my beau, she's such a trooper!!!! Casey stayed home to finish some painting on our home and encouraged my coming to the show. It helps havin someone who supports our interest, doesn't it??
One final note...............coinguy1 was at the show, claiming to be working!!! I know he was lying because there wasn't a drop of sweat on his brow!!! He had the funniest line in a fun, fun day. I explained to him that I'd seen a nice Stella and his reply was "I'm not buying it for you!" When I realized I relly meant that I'd found a nice $3 piece he replied that he "wasn't buying that for me either!!" Maybe you had to be there, but it really cracked me up.
Hopefully tomorrow will be as good as today. We're planning to meet the steelheader and his wife for breakfast and a rollicking start to the day probably looms. Please don't be bashful if you see me, I promise I won't bite!! Let's meet and get to know each other and maybe even help each other gain some knowledge or find some sweet coins. Just don't page me!!!!
Day II----Today we started out by meeting ksteelheader and his wife for breakfast before the show. Probably the highlight of the day were all the fantastic coins that were on display if you looked in the right place. There was a consignment dealer, Rare Coin Wholesalers, that had a two cases full of pure eye-candy. Imagine seeing a mint state Chain Cent, high relief Saint, Proof 1794 Dollar, Matte Proof 1922 Peace, pristine Deep Cameo Double Eagles, Confederate Cents, Specimen 1792 Half-Disme, Stellas, etc. etc. etc................two cases full of high-grade ultra-rarities!!!!!! After that, everything else was downhill.
I spent most of the day trying to find a few coins and someone willing to sell them close to sheet prices, a seemingly impossible task. I'm convinced that the prices are being driven upwards by coins being shopped from dealer to dealer with the prices rising and the collector bearing the additional cost in the end. Sad, with only three alternatives: pony up the cash, keep the money in your wallet and wait or settle for a lesser/inferior coin. Not good choices from my perspective. The really nice and attractive coins to my eyes and taste are out there, just in shorter supply than I'd prefer. My search continues for something I can feel good about owning without breaking the bank. Am I the only one who sees us as our own worst enemy, playing a game of last-man-standing??
On the bright side, there were forum members and happy faces aplenty. I spent some time talking with MS68 and got some helpful feedback about a few coins I showed him and some suggestion about how to approach the hobby and grading. He was also kind enough to pull a few of his commems out for a peek. More eye candy!!!! Two women at the Intercept Shield booth snagged me and we talked awhile about their new products and what's on the horizon. I'd encourage any interested members to talk with them since they really want our suggestions about how to tailor their catalog to our needs. Coppercoins snagged me and we talked coins for awhile. He went and looked at a PR66 Liberty Nickel I'm interested in, a coin that's on my "A" list. Chuck's here mainly to promote a new book he's written on Lincoln Cents, but he's a collector at heart and dedicated to his series of choice. Good company was all around.
I managed to miss my chance at the HRH Review!!! There were a few coins I'd wanted to discuss, maybe Friday. I finally stopped walking and settled into a rest at PTVetter's table and talked a bit with boiler78 and golddustin before leaving the show for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. It was a nice way to end the day, there were about 10 of us and the food was good. I hitched a ride home fromkranky with a stop at his hacienda. Turns out he lives about five minutes from my hotel.
Hopefully, I can manage a coin or two in the last days. Tomorrow is the PCGS awards ceremony with a fine little banquet and probably a few laughs. See y'all on the flooor-at the banquet-at dinner-down the wires. Ain't this hobby great??!!
Day III---We got to the show a bit later than usual today, a little after 11 AM. The floor was busy and I figured I'd kill the short period before the PCGS Luncheon looking at some coins tracking down some leads from the first two days. One dealer had an Isabella that I hadn't been able to view and it wasn't anything special so I passed. I bumped into MadMarty checking out some Proof Sets and snagged a nice Morgan----1878 7/8 TF Strong in NGC MS62. It has very nice obvers bullseye and reverse rim tone. Ya gotta love the 1878's, thank you Marty!!!! Member kranky, who gets the "ANA Host-of-the-Show" award, tipped me to a meeting of the So Called Dollars Collectors. There wasn't enough time to attend but he also picked up a membership form so I can join through the mail.
We strolled over to the hotel holding the luncheon and settled in for the State of the Hobby Report by HRH along with the award presentations. The food was good, Mr. Hall cordial and very frank about things and the whole affair was kind of fun. The point that struck home for me was that submitters need to take better advantage of the regrade service. It's food for thought. We ended with a Q&A session and then it was back to the show!!!!
I bought a couple of proof/mint sets and wondered back into the "Budget Area" before the doors closed and made the find-of-the-day, a dealer who had some wonderful SC$'s, some Brian Boru and Manila Mint examples holdered by ANACS in various grades/raw and in aluminum, copper and silver. We agreed to talk turkey on Saturday since it was late, but these issues are pretty exciting to find since both are quite rare. What's really funny is that kranky had been PM'd by someone who's looking for a Wilson Dollar. He may have lucked out.
About 30 members rendevouzed at a very peculiar bar/restaraunt, The Church Beer Works. It's actually an old church that's been converted into a micro brewery!!!! I mean, you walk in and the alter has been replaced by all the brewing tanks and the pews by tables and a bar. The crowd was yackin' away and I had a sudden urge to look for the Holy Water well and genuflect. Funny how that good ol' Catholic urge comes back all of a sudden. We spent about three hours there, talking, laughing, eating and talking some more. When the party was breaking up, Chuck did an impromptu book signing for all those who wanted a copy of the coppercoins book. A nice ending to a very full day.
Tomorrow should be fun even though it means the end to a short vacation and the eventual return to reality and the drudgery of the work week. Oh well, we gotta pay for the coins some way, right?? On a sweet note, maybe it also means bargaining day on the floor.
Day IV---Today was a strange day in some ways, a fun day in other ways. I made it to the show and went to a table for a quick check on an Isabella that didn't pan out. most that i found were dull white from dipping and had weak luster, yet still holdered. Very confusing. I headed back to the budget area to see what might be hiding and found a few raw Jeffersons and Don Heath!! We sat down at the lunch area for awhile and looked at stuff we each brought, discussing what we were each seeing and where we thought the coins might holder if we choose to submit. I always like getting opinions when I'm uncertain and Don helped confirm some and gave me food for thought at the same time.
I stopped by Wayne Herndon's table to order some Intercept Shield boxes for ANACS coins. What a great product. It's like a PCGS/NGC type box made of sturdy cardboard and lined with the same Intercept Shield product as everything else. In addition, it has ridgid slots to keep the coins seperated. It really solves the storage dilemma for anyone with ANACS holdered coins. He also had a couple of sweet slabs, a nicely toned 1836 Lettered Edge Half in AU53 NGC and another sweetie, a Stone Mtn. in MS66 NGC that had nice original mottled tone. The Half was a keeper but just a tad outa my reach!!! I moved on to foodude's table and said a quick "Hello" to newmismatist and Rick Kay before I continued my Isabella hunt.
The floor was a bit more crowded today with the overall sound and motion accelerated quite a bit. Sadly, the dealers slipped into there annoying mode of conducting business atop their display cases. Am I the only one who's bothered by this and is there a polite way to say "Can I look at that case full of coins, I may want to buy one of them??" This is an annoyance for me and seems all to common, so I passed up more than a few tables. Most tables seemed busy at least some of the time and at more than a few it seemed non-stop, not an easy job for the weak-footed.
I stopped by TBT's table for a breather and he helped me find some coins to look at, more flat luster Isabellas and it was nearing time to leave. The dealer behind Bryan was using the old "slam the holder on the concrete method" of cracking out a coin. That's something to witness. We offered some tin snips to help out, GEEZ, all the people were starting to look!!!!! I'm thoroughly dissappointed that there weren't any attractive Isabellas to be found. Granted, I was looking for a 63-64, but even the 65-66 coins I saw were nothing special, just a higher number and a bit more shiny. Woe is me.
Me and Woodie headed back to a bargain basement dealer that had some really cool medals I wanted to look at. On the way there they announced the winners of the World Series and the esteemed TDN won the collector division with Jim Halperin I think winning the pro division. I also heard that some lucky YN was the recipient of $2500 check!!! Way to go PCGS.........but, back to the bourse. The guy with the medals and the thin market wouldn't budge for me. He agreed to a price on one but made it contingent on buying another!!!!!! I almost wanted to rat him out for selling something over the $500 budget limit but bit my tongue and exchanged contact info for a later transaction. Patience is on my side, I figure I'll wait him out!!!!
My ANA Show claim to fame was getting the last NGC coin box available. What a coup!!! Me and Mark hit the door and said goodbye to another good show. BTW, in case noone else mentioned or saw, in the hall outside the show there were some partitions that had drawings of the design submissions for the new Jefferson Nickel. They were all done in pencil and displayed a good variety of reverse designs with the westward journey theme and obverse depictions of Jefferson, some at an age we're familiar with and some as an obvious elder statesman. It seemed clear to me that some of the submitting artists had no inkling as to the difficulty in striking a busy design. Other artist had very nice renderings of items such as Peace Pipes, tomahawks, shields and different Indian motifs, most very well done. It should be interesting to see what we end up with. I think the Mint has an oppurtunity to give us a compromise of a "dead President" and some nice spiritual/Liberty related rendition. At least that's my hope.
So now I'm home tapping away. To all those I had a chance to meet and share some time with, thanks. It made the trip worthwhile. I learned quite a bit, perhaps I was able to give something in return. We are all quite blessed. Till next years ANA Show with the West Coast guys and the Money Show in KC, live large!!!
Al H.
I worked my way around the floor and ended at the Reeded Edge table where I picked up an NGC 1951 PR68 that needs to make itself into a CAM holder!! Sweet coin that I'll be cracking some day soon. A bit later I found a 1941 in an ANACS PR65 holder that is seemingly devoid of any obverse die polish, hard to find in the series. It has a super, super strike and should cross at PR66, a nice bright coin with moderate Cameo but lacking frost. That ended my Day One purchases.
What I saw while searching for Jeffs was much of the usual stock that carries the day at a big show----------Morgans, GoldGoldGold, white commems. There were many nice coins, though, some Proof Morgans, a couple of neat patterns, dealers with medals and interesting exonumia, one of those $50 shipwreck restrikes from a couple of years ago, lots of currency and loads of nice type. I make notes for reference and the coins that stood out for me were two Proof Barber dimes that had the most lovely tone I saw all day. I figure they won't be available when I check back on Thursday!!!
I met Mark at the PCGS table at 11:30 and we chatted with the PCGS godesses, Carol and BJ. They seemed a bit bored but were busyt later on when I went past a few times. You go girls, keep up the work, you're both forum bombs!!!! We headed out for lunch and ended up on Penn behind the show at a place called Mark's that had good sandwhiches. Then, back for more fun!!
It seemed like after lunch the forum crowd climbed outa the woodwork. We ran into melikecoins and kranky at the entrance and started paying a bit less time to coins and more time to having fun. That's what this is about, right???
I finally found coppercoins, FC57coins showed up with the fetching Tassa in tow, I tracked down member tables and lost Mark!!!!!!!!! FC57coins---Frank---had some of my Jeffs to do some photo work and it was nice to have my babies again. I brought my set along, 1938 through 1975 and some other stuff for show and tell along with opinions, another neat aspect of meeting up with everyone. We hung for awhile with TBT and his helper---yeah, right---Idahogal who seems to be genuinely interested in assembling a type set. Nice to see women taking an interest in the hobby, there were quite a few of the fairer sex in attendance. As for my beau, she's such a trooper!!!! Casey stayed home to finish some painting on our home and encouraged my coming to the show. It helps havin someone who supports our interest, doesn't it??One final note...............coinguy1 was at the show, claiming to be working!!! I know he was lying because there wasn't a drop of sweat on his brow!!! He had the funniest line in a fun, fun day. I explained to him that I'd seen a nice Stella and his reply was "I'm not buying it for you!" When I realized I relly meant that I'd found a nice $3 piece he replied that he "wasn't buying that for me either!!" Maybe you had to be there, but it really cracked me up.
Hopefully tomorrow will be as good as today. We're planning to meet the steelheader and his wife for breakfast and a rollicking start to the day probably looms. Please don't be bashful if you see me, I promise I won't bite!! Let's meet and get to know each other and maybe even help each other gain some knowledge or find some sweet coins. Just don't page me!!!!
Day II----Today we started out by meeting ksteelheader and his wife for breakfast before the show. Probably the highlight of the day were all the fantastic coins that were on display if you looked in the right place. There was a consignment dealer, Rare Coin Wholesalers, that had a two cases full of pure eye-candy. Imagine seeing a mint state Chain Cent, high relief Saint, Proof 1794 Dollar, Matte Proof 1922 Peace, pristine Deep Cameo Double Eagles, Confederate Cents, Specimen 1792 Half-Disme, Stellas, etc. etc. etc................two cases full of high-grade ultra-rarities!!!!!! After that, everything else was downhill.
I spent most of the day trying to find a few coins and someone willing to sell them close to sheet prices, a seemingly impossible task. I'm convinced that the prices are being driven upwards by coins being shopped from dealer to dealer with the prices rising and the collector bearing the additional cost in the end. Sad, with only three alternatives: pony up the cash, keep the money in your wallet and wait or settle for a lesser/inferior coin. Not good choices from my perspective. The really nice and attractive coins to my eyes and taste are out there, just in shorter supply than I'd prefer. My search continues for something I can feel good about owning without breaking the bank. Am I the only one who sees us as our own worst enemy, playing a game of last-man-standing??
On the bright side, there were forum members and happy faces aplenty. I spent some time talking with MS68 and got some helpful feedback about a few coins I showed him and some suggestion about how to approach the hobby and grading. He was also kind enough to pull a few of his commems out for a peek. More eye candy!!!! Two women at the Intercept Shield booth snagged me and we talked awhile about their new products and what's on the horizon. I'd encourage any interested members to talk with them since they really want our suggestions about how to tailor their catalog to our needs. Coppercoins snagged me and we talked coins for awhile. He went and looked at a PR66 Liberty Nickel I'm interested in, a coin that's on my "A" list. Chuck's here mainly to promote a new book he's written on Lincoln Cents, but he's a collector at heart and dedicated to his series of choice. Good company was all around.
I managed to miss my chance at the HRH Review!!! There were a few coins I'd wanted to discuss, maybe Friday. I finally stopped walking and settled into a rest at PTVetter's table and talked a bit with boiler78 and golddustin before leaving the show for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. It was a nice way to end the day, there were about 10 of us and the food was good. I hitched a ride home fromkranky with a stop at his hacienda. Turns out he lives about five minutes from my hotel.
Hopefully, I can manage a coin or two in the last days. Tomorrow is the PCGS awards ceremony with a fine little banquet and probably a few laughs. See y'all on the flooor-at the banquet-at dinner-down the wires. Ain't this hobby great??!!
Day III---We got to the show a bit later than usual today, a little after 11 AM. The floor was busy and I figured I'd kill the short period before the PCGS Luncheon looking at some coins tracking down some leads from the first two days. One dealer had an Isabella that I hadn't been able to view and it wasn't anything special so I passed. I bumped into MadMarty checking out some Proof Sets and snagged a nice Morgan----1878 7/8 TF Strong in NGC MS62. It has very nice obvers bullseye and reverse rim tone. Ya gotta love the 1878's, thank you Marty!!!! Member kranky, who gets the "ANA Host-of-the-Show" award, tipped me to a meeting of the So Called Dollars Collectors. There wasn't enough time to attend but he also picked up a membership form so I can join through the mail.
We strolled over to the hotel holding the luncheon and settled in for the State of the Hobby Report by HRH along with the award presentations. The food was good, Mr. Hall cordial and very frank about things and the whole affair was kind of fun. The point that struck home for me was that submitters need to take better advantage of the regrade service. It's food for thought. We ended with a Q&A session and then it was back to the show!!!!
I bought a couple of proof/mint sets and wondered back into the "Budget Area" before the doors closed and made the find-of-the-day, a dealer who had some wonderful SC$'s, some Brian Boru and Manila Mint examples holdered by ANACS in various grades/raw and in aluminum, copper and silver. We agreed to talk turkey on Saturday since it was late, but these issues are pretty exciting to find since both are quite rare. What's really funny is that kranky had been PM'd by someone who's looking for a Wilson Dollar. He may have lucked out.
About 30 members rendevouzed at a very peculiar bar/restaraunt, The Church Beer Works. It's actually an old church that's been converted into a micro brewery!!!! I mean, you walk in and the alter has been replaced by all the brewing tanks and the pews by tables and a bar. The crowd was yackin' away and I had a sudden urge to look for the Holy Water well and genuflect. Funny how that good ol' Catholic urge comes back all of a sudden. We spent about three hours there, talking, laughing, eating and talking some more. When the party was breaking up, Chuck did an impromptu book signing for all those who wanted a copy of the coppercoins book. A nice ending to a very full day.
Tomorrow should be fun even though it means the end to a short vacation and the eventual return to reality and the drudgery of the work week. Oh well, we gotta pay for the coins some way, right?? On a sweet note, maybe it also means bargaining day on the floor.
Day IV---Today was a strange day in some ways, a fun day in other ways. I made it to the show and went to a table for a quick check on an Isabella that didn't pan out. most that i found were dull white from dipping and had weak luster, yet still holdered. Very confusing. I headed back to the budget area to see what might be hiding and found a few raw Jeffersons and Don Heath!! We sat down at the lunch area for awhile and looked at stuff we each brought, discussing what we were each seeing and where we thought the coins might holder if we choose to submit. I always like getting opinions when I'm uncertain and Don helped confirm some and gave me food for thought at the same time.
I stopped by Wayne Herndon's table to order some Intercept Shield boxes for ANACS coins. What a great product. It's like a PCGS/NGC type box made of sturdy cardboard and lined with the same Intercept Shield product as everything else. In addition, it has ridgid slots to keep the coins seperated. It really solves the storage dilemma for anyone with ANACS holdered coins. He also had a couple of sweet slabs, a nicely toned 1836 Lettered Edge Half in AU53 NGC and another sweetie, a Stone Mtn. in MS66 NGC that had nice original mottled tone. The Half was a keeper but just a tad outa my reach!!! I moved on to foodude's table and said a quick "Hello" to newmismatist and Rick Kay before I continued my Isabella hunt.
The floor was a bit more crowded today with the overall sound and motion accelerated quite a bit. Sadly, the dealers slipped into there annoying mode of conducting business atop their display cases. Am I the only one who's bothered by this and is there a polite way to say "Can I look at that case full of coins, I may want to buy one of them??" This is an annoyance for me and seems all to common, so I passed up more than a few tables. Most tables seemed busy at least some of the time and at more than a few it seemed non-stop, not an easy job for the weak-footed.
I stopped by TBT's table for a breather and he helped me find some coins to look at, more flat luster Isabellas and it was nearing time to leave. The dealer behind Bryan was using the old "slam the holder on the concrete method" of cracking out a coin. That's something to witness. We offered some tin snips to help out, GEEZ, all the people were starting to look!!!!! I'm thoroughly dissappointed that there weren't any attractive Isabellas to be found. Granted, I was looking for a 63-64, but even the 65-66 coins I saw were nothing special, just a higher number and a bit more shiny. Woe is me.
Me and Woodie headed back to a bargain basement dealer that had some really cool medals I wanted to look at. On the way there they announced the winners of the World Series and the esteemed TDN won the collector division with Jim Halperin I think winning the pro division. I also heard that some lucky YN was the recipient of $2500 check!!! Way to go PCGS.........but, back to the bourse. The guy with the medals and the thin market wouldn't budge for me. He agreed to a price on one but made it contingent on buying another!!!!!! I almost wanted to rat him out for selling something over the $500 budget limit but bit my tongue and exchanged contact info for a later transaction. Patience is on my side, I figure I'll wait him out!!!!
My ANA Show claim to fame was getting the last NGC coin box available. What a coup!!! Me and Mark hit the door and said goodbye to another good show. BTW, in case noone else mentioned or saw, in the hall outside the show there were some partitions that had drawings of the design submissions for the new Jefferson Nickel. They were all done in pencil and displayed a good variety of reverse designs with the westward journey theme and obverse depictions of Jefferson, some at an age we're familiar with and some as an obvious elder statesman. It seemed clear to me that some of the submitting artists had no inkling as to the difficulty in striking a busy design. Other artist had very nice renderings of items such as Peace Pipes, tomahawks, shields and different Indian motifs, most very well done. It should be interesting to see what we end up with. I think the Mint has an oppurtunity to give us a compromise of a "dead President" and some nice spiritual/Liberty related rendition. At least that's my hope.
So now I'm home tapping away. To all those I had a chance to meet and share some time with, thanks. It made the trip worthwhile. I learned quite a bit, perhaps I was able to give something in return. We are all quite blessed. Till next years ANA Show with the West Coast guys and the Money Show in KC, live large!!!
Al H.
0
Comments
<< <i>One final note...............coinguy1 was at the show, claiming to be working!!! >>
He better be! He's supposed to get me a big coin... that would be the second time he's made me really stretch my budget...
Jeremy
Dan
Cameron Kiefer
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
It helps for those of us that aren't there....
Good luck !
Paul
we carry you there in Spirit!!
al h.
al h.
I'm heading out in about 6 hours to pick up ClarkofKent.
Tell Ken and his lady that Doris and I say hi and wish we could come up. Who knows, I may do a day trip and come up Sat. Hippies have been know to travel for less.
Dave
In Laurel
MD
Just a fist full of Dollars
i had a refreshing talk with coppercoins that in a nutshell was this, buy now or wait and buy later for more money!!! Bummer, but true. there's still a couple of days left and i'd dearly love to find a nice Isabella. one's waiting in a dealer case that had left early, i'll take a gander in the morning and start the dicker. if that doesn't work i'm gonna pull the trigger on the LibNick. you're right, though, just do it!!!!!
al h.
Cameron Kiefer
Those of us who could not make the pilgrimmage to this year's coin mecca, anxious to receive information, appreciate you helping us to feel the pulse of the show!!
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
Web: www.tonyharmer.org
Good luck with your search and have fun out there!
Ken
Keets, thanks for an excellent show report; it's almost like I was there.
While my intent is not to hijack the thread, I'd like to respond to the comments above, in addition to your subsequent comment from a dealer who said something like "you can buy it now or pay more for it later." People were saying the same thing in 1999 about the stock market; ie, "valuation didn't matter." I saw the lines going out the door to buy gold at $850 an ounce at Jonathan's Coins in Inglewood in 1980. These people were standing in such lines because they believed "you can buy it now, or pay more for it later." I mean no disrespect for the dealer that said this, but I strongly disagree with him.
Valuation DOES matter. I am a collector, don't buy many coins, and only go to a few major shows a year. IMO, largely because the stock market has gone nowhere for the better part of the year, people are putting their money elsewhere. Out here in California, much of it is going into coastal real estate (I don't know whether it's more comical or obscene what I can get for my modest two bedroom house these days). Some of this money is also going into coins, hence the increased demand for a static supply of rare coins means increased prices.
However, the coin market is thinly traded and very volatile. May I ask how much of the current price rise relates to increased demand, and how much relates to either speculation and / or market manipulation? I don't have the answers to these questions, but I do know that thinly traded markets can and are manipulated. Penny stocks come to mind. What will happen to the coin market when a) another more mainstream investment vehicle becomes attractive once again? What will happen if b) enough people just feel that coin prices are too high and stop buying? And lastly, what will happen if both a) and b) occur simultaneously?
No coin out there "has my name on it." No one is ever going to pedigree my collection. If I think the price of a coin is too high, I can wait. Caveat emptor.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
Someone mentioned a book signing. Don't forget that Cardinal was at the RCW booth signing his new book on the 1794 dollar. Very good book! Don't know when he's leaving...
EVP
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
every treasure on Earth
to be young at heart?
And as rich as you are,
it's much better by far,
to be young at heart!
I also love to go through rolls to find coins.
BST
MySlabbedCoins
al h.
The Ludlow Brilliant Collection (1938-64)
I'd be interested in more on market trends (what's hot, what's not) and comments about the auctions (differing views already have been expressed on these boards), and appreciate the info!
Dan
hey MBT
i can only comment on what i see and my impressions of that. i didn't attend the auctions, didn't view the exhibits, only glanced at the mega-sets in passing and didn't really try to poll or take notice what others were doing. i guess you could say i was in a zone and these are reports of what i did/saw/bought/feel.
al h.
I think these show reports are very important to all members here. Many of us just cannot make many of these major shows, and lots goes on at the shows.
I think we need to have a designated reporter that takes pictures etc. anyone want to volunteer?
Ken
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
<< <i>I'd be interested in more on market trends (what's hot, what's not) and comments about the auctions (differing views already have been expressed on these boards), and appreciate the info! >>
MBT,
Most of the show reports that show up here are from fellow collectors. People like Keets have more in common with us collectors, looking at the hobby from the bottom up rather than the top down.
Also, it's good to hear about the shows from the point of view of people walking the floor, seeing other Board members, hearing a little harmless gossip, hearing the small encounters, the wheeling-dealing stories, who's got the good stuff, what dealers are pushing these days, what the emotional tone of the bourse is, etc. It's where we all live, and how most of us experience the hobby. (It's what's fun about it, actually).
The macroeconomics and investment aspects of the hobby can be easily secured. Several dealers like Laura put out show reports and market reports on their websites. There're a couple of "what's the market doing now" threads up now, I think, and they come up regularly as well.
I always enjoy the personal show reports from our fellow collectors, especially knowledgeable, observant ones like Keets.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
.Ken