PAN show report (and an unbelievable coin)
kranky
Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
Due to a family wedding on Saturday, today was the only day I was able to attend. Pretty good attendance for a weekday, I thought. Slowed down in mid-afternoon but up until then there was a steady stream of people. I got the opportunity to work with PTVETTER (and his wife BJ) at his table again and it's always a treat to spend the day immersed in coins. Thanks to Pat! Only saw three other board members - vam44, njcoincrank and AACoinCo (Bob) although I didn't have a chance to talk to Bob.
One observation was that I saw very few third-tier slabs - very few, compared to all the other PAN shows I've attended. Perhaps a lot of those coins are now being sold raw, because there was no shortage of raw coins. Also saw a lot of bulk silver being moved, although that could be because Pat's table was close to a couple of the bigger bullion buyers. There seemed to be more currency than usual.
Keelboat nickels were available for $3.50 a roll, yet you could get them for face at local banks.
I saw an attendee who, on the obligatory stick-on name tag, had written not only his name but his collecting interests. Maybe that saves him from answering the same question over and over, or maybe it gets other collectors to initiate conversations.
Probably my favorite customer of the day at the table was a nice guy who spent a good 45 minutes buying Morgans. It was his first coin show since he got back into the hobby after a 30-year hiatus and he was obviously enjoying working his want list with Pat. Not a word about slabs, Greysheets or crackouts - he was just having a good time enjoying his newly rekindled interest talking coins with Pat while buying raw circulated Morgans. Made me think about just how few people at a coin show show any signs of actually having fun!
You know that njcoincrank is always going to have some incredibly interesting non-coin item - this time it was an envelope sent from Thomas Elder to Virgil Brand. It's amazing how this stuff finds him. The guy must have some clout - he somehow got one of the show bigwigs to fetch him a Mountain Dew along with a cup. I guess he forgot the ice or something, since I didn't see a tip being proferred.
I feel for the dealers who don't have tables but who walk the floor with a cart laden with coins. I saw one of those dealers spend at least an hour at someone's table, and I think the dealer bought three coins after going through tons of boxes. The payback for time invested can't be worth it.
I also learned a new word during the dealer setup time. I was walking past two dealers talking, and caught this snippet of the conversation:
Dealer 1: .....could be worth it.
Dealer 2: I'm not sure I could move it fast enough.
Dealer 1: That's break-uppable, though.
The award for the most amazing coin I saw goes to a 1937 Lincoln in NGC PR67 UCAM (what's the pop on that baby, anyway?), which was part of a 1937 set. Other coins that made an impression were a 1901 Morgan in PCGS PR66 CAM at Acropolis Coins, and a holdered error dime that was struck 17 times.
Stopped at one table where I didn't know the dealer. When he offered help and I passed, he chuckled in a good-natured way and said "Oh, you're working your way in to the business? Buying your way in?" I guess he figured me for a new dealer. On the way home that got me to thinking about how the coin business is a true bastion of entrepreneurship. No barriers to entry, no licensing requirements, just put your money down if you think you can make it. There is somewhat of a spirit of "old boys club" but in general people will do business with you.
It was a good day for me - vam44 paid for breakfast, Pat's wife paid for dinner, and the show provides free pop for the dealers. Out of pocket cost - zero... as long as you don't count coins.
[edit] Corrected the grade of the 1937 proof as Pat pointed out below. [/edit]
One observation was that I saw very few third-tier slabs - very few, compared to all the other PAN shows I've attended. Perhaps a lot of those coins are now being sold raw, because there was no shortage of raw coins. Also saw a lot of bulk silver being moved, although that could be because Pat's table was close to a couple of the bigger bullion buyers. There seemed to be more currency than usual.
Keelboat nickels were available for $3.50 a roll, yet you could get them for face at local banks.
I saw an attendee who, on the obligatory stick-on name tag, had written not only his name but his collecting interests. Maybe that saves him from answering the same question over and over, or maybe it gets other collectors to initiate conversations.
Probably my favorite customer of the day at the table was a nice guy who spent a good 45 minutes buying Morgans. It was his first coin show since he got back into the hobby after a 30-year hiatus and he was obviously enjoying working his want list with Pat. Not a word about slabs, Greysheets or crackouts - he was just having a good time enjoying his newly rekindled interest talking coins with Pat while buying raw circulated Morgans. Made me think about just how few people at a coin show show any signs of actually having fun!
You know that njcoincrank is always going to have some incredibly interesting non-coin item - this time it was an envelope sent from Thomas Elder to Virgil Brand. It's amazing how this stuff finds him. The guy must have some clout - he somehow got one of the show bigwigs to fetch him a Mountain Dew along with a cup. I guess he forgot the ice or something, since I didn't see a tip being proferred.
I feel for the dealers who don't have tables but who walk the floor with a cart laden with coins. I saw one of those dealers spend at least an hour at someone's table, and I think the dealer bought three coins after going through tons of boxes. The payback for time invested can't be worth it.
I also learned a new word during the dealer setup time. I was walking past two dealers talking, and caught this snippet of the conversation:
Dealer 1: .....could be worth it.
Dealer 2: I'm not sure I could move it fast enough.
Dealer 1: That's break-uppable, though.
The award for the most amazing coin I saw goes to a 1937 Lincoln in NGC PR67 UCAM (what's the pop on that baby, anyway?), which was part of a 1937 set. Other coins that made an impression were a 1901 Morgan in PCGS PR66 CAM at Acropolis Coins, and a holdered error dime that was struck 17 times.
Stopped at one table where I didn't know the dealer. When he offered help and I passed, he chuckled in a good-natured way and said "Oh, you're working your way in to the business? Buying your way in?" I guess he figured me for a new dealer. On the way home that got me to thinking about how the coin business is a true bastion of entrepreneurship. No barriers to entry, no licensing requirements, just put your money down if you think you can make it. There is somewhat of a spirit of "old boys club" but in general people will do business with you.
It was a good day for me - vam44 paid for breakfast, Pat's wife paid for dinner, and the show provides free pop for the dealers. Out of pocket cost - zero... as long as you don't count coins.
[edit] Corrected the grade of the 1937 proof as Pat pointed out below. [/edit]
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
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Comments
hey Jim
you must be hanging around with the wrong people or not paying attention!!!!!!! on the other hand, this is the type of thing where we tend to see what we want to see and it may be a reflection of the fact that you're spending more time at shows lately on the wrong side of the table.
it sounds like the crankster has some esoteric collecting habits or tastes!!! i really think exonumia like that letter can be one of the best areas to collect in. the stuff has historic interest beyond a pedigreed coin and really isn't expensive when you consider that each individual piece is unique.
did you see any four-wheeled carts??
al h.
Made me think about just how few people at a coin show show any signs of actually having fun!
If coins shows were not fun, I certainly would stop going.
And as always it was just great having Kranky there with us.
He is a special person and if you haven't meet him you need to try, because the world just doesn't have many like him.
Thank You Kranky for all your help
Don't get me wrong, guys. I love going to shows! If I didn't, why would I ever go to Cleveland?
It was just that of the people I saw there, not all that many looked like they were enjoying themselves. They might have been having a good time but it wasn't apparent. After all, no one is forced to go to a show and it's reasonable to conclude that people who are in attendance went because they wanted to. Maybe it's the influence of all those poker tourneys on TV, and everyone wants to have a poker face now.
keets - LOL! As far as I know, no member of the public attempted to enter the show with a four-wheeled cart.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
6024 N. 9th Ave #5
Pensacola, FL 32504
HTTP://WWW.AACoinCo.Com
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