LIVE From Baltimore - Early Show Report (with pictures)

JadeRareCoin

Well, the Baltimore Coin & Currency Convention is not even officially open until Thursday, but we managed to sneak a few pictures just to give you guys an idea of what a coin show looks like during set-up. The pictures below were taken at about Noon on Wednesday. The picture with all of the people in it is of the Bowers & Merena table where bidders were viewing auction lots. They seemed very busy.

Make a mental image of the empty bourse floor as seen in the image below. The picture will be dramatically different tomorrow as the Baltimore show is the busiest show on the circuit and we anticipate this show to be more busy than ever before. This show is actually larger than previous Baltimore shows. Definitely one of our favorite shows! Please stop by and say "hi". We should be at table 360 (under Andrew Reiber), but there may be a table change on Thursday morning. Our mobile number is 616-901-4681 if you want to find our table at the show. It is a huge bourse (larger than the pic would indicate) and it may be hard to find us. We have a large inventory with us for this show.


This is a quick-pic of the bourse floor during setup. On Thursday and Friday the picture will be very different (busy!!)


The Bowers & Merena auction lot viewing table was busy all afternoon, as you can see.

More images and commentary tomorrow!

Dennis

kieferscoins

Great show report so far! Please let us know tomorrow night how it went (with pics of course).

Cameron Kiefer

RYK

Where's the ANACS table?

Cameron Keefer

kieferscoins

I wish I was there.

Cameron Kiefer

ksteelheader

<< <i>I wish I was there. >>

Thanks be to God!!

morgannut2

Don't worry Cameron, no free Sample Slabs shall escape the eye of Morgannut2!!!! Will be there at first light Friday.

Tootawl

Morgannut2, hope you can join us for lunch. We are meeting at 12:30 at the PCGS table.

RYK

I am wishing I had not encouraged my wife to go on a girls trip this weekend. I am feeling the pull of B'more.

morgannut2

Being the old fashioned type, I like to look at the coins I'm a bidder on at Bowers/Merena--- but regardless of time contraints-- will stop at PCGS table at 12:30 and enjoy saying hello to all.

Merc

It is much smaller than I had imagined. I guess it will be easier to find people then.

JrGMan2004

<< <i>It is much smaller than I had imagined. I guess it will be easier to find people then. >>

I was there for the July show....... it's MUCH bigger than Dennis' picture makes it look.........

Tootawl

<< <i>

<< <i>It is much smaller than I had imagined. I guess it will be easier to find people then. >>

I was there for the July show....... it's MUCH bigger than Dennis' picture makes it look......... >>


Oh yeah! Baltimore will be huge this time around. That photo does nothing to show the actual size of the place.

Longacre

I am definitely going to the March show.

Are those tablecloths AT or NT?

goose3

is it back in the "Normal" hall this time???


let's hear some updates!

Tootawl

<< <i>is it back in the "Normal" hall this time???


let's hear some updates! >>


Good question. Is it near the Inner Harbor side of the convention center or the side closest to Camden Yards?

beartracks42

I am already in planning for next year's Baltimore shows, as the ANA shows will be "JUST A BIT TOO FAR FOR ME TO ATTEND". I expect this will be the case for lots of East coast collectors wanting a big show fix.

ksteelheader

<< <i>I expect this will be the case for lots of East coast collectors wanting a big show fix. >>

Well stated Gary!

kieferscoins

No updates with pics yet?

Cameron Kiefer

MadMarty

<< <i>No updates with pics yet?

Cameron Kiefer
>>



What are you that hard up to see the ANACS girl!!!

kieferscoins

No I'm not actually.

Cameron Kiefer

Myqqy

What are you that hard up to see the ANACS girl!!!

What ANACS girl??

mgoodm3

Looks like fun.

kranky

<< <i>Looks like fun. >>



Actually, I think FUN is bigger than the Baltimore show.

morgannut2

That's a great picture of the hall. The Bowers and Merena tables were just as packed this Thursday afternoon and just about every dealer was trading at their tables. Really a bigger show than I expected, and us collectors aren't even able to do business there yet! Thanks for the photo's--now if they'd turn off the air conditioning at the auction preview tables!

JadeRareCoin

I took out the camera to take a few pics today, only to realize to that my batteries had died. Sorry about that! I will post images tomorrow.

The show was very busy today. A lot of business happening, which is a hopefully a harbinger of the weekend.

The highlight of the day was when the legendary Q. David Bowers stopped by our table to help with the identification of our chopmarked bust dollar. He was able to narrow it down and direct us to a reference on the subject which could finally pin-point the chopmark. Mr. Bowers was very pleasant, cordial and informative. Another ANR numismatist, John Kraljevich (pistareen on this forum), helped us with the attribution of another numismatic curiosity (uniface die trail of a Seated Half). Turns out that it is a modern reproduction. The people at ANR are first class. We also managed to win a great coin out of their auction last night. Overall, the ANR auction was superior (no pun intended) to the B&M auction. Not just in terms of material, but also in the production of the auction. Just my opinion.

I look forward to posting some images tomorrow.

Dennis

kieferscoins

Cameron Kiefer

RYK

Thanks for the reporting, Dennis.

JadeRareCoin

Wow! Another busy day at the Baltimore show. That's not a complaint but rather an observation. In fact we loved the heavy traffic and had a good selling day. Didn't buy much today, but that's okay. Most early type was selling well, with a noticeable softness in the Morgan/Peace series. Even paper was selling well today.

We had fun meeting many forum members today. I can't remember everyone, but here are just a few of the people that we chatted with today: Boiler78, RkKay, Newmismatist, MichaelDixon, Tootawl, quarterjack, TomB and BigMoose. Like I said, there were many others, but I didn't have time to write down their names. Many of the members that we met were just forum lurkers, but there were quite a few. That just goes to show that many people watch these boards, but don't post. MichaelDixon is a real character and it was really great to finally meet with him. Very nice person. Wish we had more time to talk to all of the forum members. RkKay and Boiler78 shared some of their knowledge with us, which we appreciated. Also had fun talking with TomB and BigMoose. Sorry that I don't have more images of forum members. Either I forgot or the members did not want their pictures posted. Can't blame them for that. Not everyone is as handsome as Michael Dixon.

The grading services were very tough at the show. At least that's what we are hearing from several dealers and we had our own bad experiences. Let's just say that you could hear the sound of plastic cracking left and right today. The auction lots seemed to bringing strong money, which we all expected. (I have to make this quick before I lose my connection again.)

Here are some images:


This is a pic from the back of the room (by Bowers & Merena). It still does not give a good representation of how large this bourse really is.


A pic from the other corner.


Here's a picture of (L-R) Tootawl, jaderarecoin (Dennis) and MichaelDixon. I also have reason to believe that the guy in the background is a lurker, mainly because he was lurking around our table today. I felt short next to TooTawl and Mike. They don't look much taller than I do, but what you don't know is that I am actually standing on a chair!


This is an image of Andy (Jade owner). He is polishing another 1944 Mercury so that he walk through a second MS-66 P/L. This coin didn't turn out as nice as the first one. He is the same height as Tootawl, which probably doesn't happen every day.

More show reporting tomorrow...........

JrGMan2004

Tootawl

Dennis, It was great meeting you. WARNING - I'll be stopping by your table to say hi tomorrow.

ksteelheader

<< <i>Not everyone is as handsome as Michael Dixon. >>

Dennis, I'll stop by tomorrow to check your eyesight!!!...

RYK

Dennis, thanks for the update.

Newmismatist

Saw Jade's 66PL dime - it looks like a Proof - only thing that shows you it's MS is the fact that it's not as fully struck as the proofs. Neat coin

ER

<< <i>.........................

Here's a picture of (L-R) Tootawl, jaderarecoin (Dennis) and MichaelDixon. I also have reason to believe that the guy in the background is a lurker, mainly because he was lurking around our table today. I felt short next to TooTawl and Mike. They don't look much taller than I do, but what you don't know is that I am actually standing on a chair!
....... >>


That

<< <i>lurker >>

looks like MBT?

ksteelheader

<< <i>looks like MBT? >>

It sure does!!!

Ken

Barry

Sorry I missed you Deniis. Went by your table, but you weren't there at the time. Made a mental note to stop back later, but mental notes don't work as well as paper notes with me

kieferscoins

Nice pics! Great update.

Cameron Kiefer

Lakesammman

I see alot of grey hair and balding men - any YN's in attendance??

TonedPeaceNut

<< <i>What are you that hard up to see the ANACS girl!!! >>



Cammie may not be -- but I am!!!! BTW isn't she the daughter of one of the graders? If she's the same girl I'm thinking of -- she was at Long Beach last time and was referring to someone at the table as "Dad."


TPN

kieferscoins

I'm not bald and I don't have grey hair. It is always good to set your sights high

Cameron Kiefer

michael

what was not hot at the show??


michael

JadeRareCoin

Good evening everyone. Today was a very good selling day for us. The traffic was very strong at our table, even though the attendance seemed to slow down as the day went on. That is mainly due to the fact that a lot of dealers left the show by 1:00 today. We met with several forum members and, again, I failed to remember all of the names. I had a nice chat with Goose3 (and his son & uncle), XBob, merc (or something similar.....sorry, I forgot), dollars, mdwoods and others. I saw other members roaming the floor, but didn't have a chance to flag them down. I also forgot to get more images of forum members (sorry Goose3). I asked mdwoods and a few others, but they declined to be photographed. Probably something to do with the witness protection program or the FBI or something.....

Here are some pics from today's show:


This is Tootawl and dollars, from L to R (not that you needed the "L to R" help)


This is a picture of Xbob, a relatively new forum member. He bought a real nice 1797 Cent from us. Thanks!


This is a shot of the back of the hall at around 1:00 today. Too vacant, imho.


Here's a pic of the room at 5:00. The guy in the black shirt is Andrew of Jade R.C. He's doing a last minute deal with a vest pocket dealer. Poor guy didn't have a chance!

So far, this has been a fantastic show for us. We have heard other dealers (and collectors) reporting good show results, and a few reporting poor or mediocre sales. Overall, more positive than negative. Baltimore is always a wonderful show and it keeps getting better. We are upgrading our table for the next show so that we can have more elbow room. It was crowded this time around.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi. It is always fun to talk coins with fellow forum members. Unfortunately we don't always have as much time as we would like to shoot the breeze, but a few minutes is better than nothing.

Dennis

ksteelheader

<< <i>I see alot of grey hair and balding men - any YN's in attendance?? >>



My grandson Aaron shows off his newly acquired paper note purchase. Yes, the kid don't like metal collecting!

His new note is a Western Exchange Fire and Marine Insurance Co. $3 note. Dated Nov. 2, 1857 from Omaha City, Nebraska. I think he likes it! What do you think??

ER

JadeRareCoin

Last day of the show today. This is always the downer day as the fun is almost over. I am looking forward to a good day. Will post final images later.

Dennis

Merc

Hi Dennis,

Wow, you remembered me. I am merc (Curt). You told me you recently sold your 1820 Large cent icon image coin. I said it seemed sad to sell off your icon coin. I was at your table whiile you were taking pictures of a 2 morgan NGC set of toned morgans. Later I saw those coins at Texas Bullion with his toned coins. You seemed busy with the picture taking so I left.

The show was larger than pictured. It was close to the size of the FUN show. It just didn't have all the good coin seminars.

dorancoins

dorancoins

It seems that you guys had a good show. Andrew looked like he was doing what he does best - wheeling and dealing. See you guys soon!

goose3

did anyone see the PCGS AU58 1914d cent at a table???

I SHOULD have gotten the "scoop" on it when I saw it but didn't.

ebaytrader

Great Show- Besides markets which show promoters have no control of, IMHO this is the best run shows in the country and pound for pound the best coin show in country. Wonderful attendence, as always the wholesale only guys left early, but was surprised to see many stay till sat afternoon.

Yes I know, there is a bigger one..I did say pound for pound tho...

Regards to all.

ebaytrader

PS. We had a great show. Looking forward to the upcoming Baltimore shows..
Would definately put this on the must go list of shows if you havent already.

Regards