Illinois State Show Report...........

longtimecollector

I arrived about 9 AM, not realizing the show didn't open to the public until 10......... Found MadMarty trying to weasel his way in past security.......... He gave up and we decided to go to breakfast........... Returned at show opening and "hit" the bourse.......... I turned left, Marty turned right (Whew....) and the day began......... Traffic seemed heavier at opening than it did at 2-30 PM when I left......... Dealers were doing a brisk business, and saying that yesterday was a very successful day for most............ I noticed lots of collector (raw) (realistically priced) coins in many cases........... There were plenty of high dollar entombed coins, from early gold,(MS60-63)(1790's-1806), to Modern Ubergrades............. Saw a few collector wantlists belonging to basic collectors, and dealers who were actually pleasantly helping fill them.............. The dealers where I stopped to examine circ Seated Halves were very accomodating and didn't mind me taking the time to identify them and take my pick............. most dealers were taking 10-15% off marked prices without haggling, and you could do better if you tried a little.............

Hooked back up with MadMarty around lunchtime at Sequoa's (sp?) table............ Lots of nice grade moderns, and the famed "pepperdoodles" Franklin proof............ I ran into "Trooper" early in the day who was having a serious nicotine fit....... Asked his opinion on a dollar I was looking at, and we traded jibes about who gets the best Ebay rips..........

A side note.......... I have purchased a few coins from Paul Padgett over the years, and was glad to see him there today......... Paul gladly and graciously looked at the dollar coin I showed Trooper earlier and gave me an honest opinion........... (OK, it was $3500 for a Flowing Hair) and then asked if he could show it to the dealer at the next table..... He also was kind, considerate and gracious, and I did end up buying the coin........... Paul also said that he would vouch for me if the dealer balked at my check....... Paul Padgett.........class act..........

I left about 2-30 and show traffic had thinned considerably............ Lighting wqas poor to fair, but most if not all dealers had flex-arms......... The few GSA's I asked prices on were right around $200 for common dates/grades.......... Saw a few folks buying junk silver between 4.5 and 4.7 X face............. The Polish mint had a display near the snack area that was nicely stocked......... The only "shocker" of the day was when I heard a dealer who was seemingly actively buying say "I don't buy ANYTHING in SEGS plastic"........... Not that I'm voicing an opinion on the service from Tennessee, but you'd think a dealer would know to "buy the coin, not the holder" more than anyone............

Parking sucked, and traffic was miserable coming home, but in summation, I'd give the show a grade of "B".........

cladking

Thanks for the report. It's always interesting to see different perspectives.

RYK

Thanks for the great report.

FatMan

Its always nice to hear about dealers behaving well. Usually its always the jerks that get all the ink (or pixels since we are online). Thanks for the report.

Trooper

I had a great time at the show. It's always nice to show up WITHOUT your graysheet that you subscibe to and your want list(don't ask).
At last, I met some members of the boards. Seg, Mad Marty and Longtime. All were enjoyable to talk to and extremely helpful with any questions I had. Longtime had some great coins to show and I was extremely impressed by his passion to the hobby.
I hope to see some more members in the future.

Tom