Long Beach report - Long
boyhowdy
Posts: 657 ✭
Just got in from the Long Beach show and I know people are interested.
First, I usually attend on Friday and Saturday so my crowd assessments may be skewed.
I arrived at 12:30 PM after having to park six blocks away, and that's with a handicapped placard.
All closer parking areas were coned of and marked full. If you have trouble getting around
I would suggest you have someone drop you off in front on Pine Street. There is an elevator right there
if the 46 steps are a factor for you.
When I got inside I told the promoter about my parking problem. Ron was gracious and said he would see
if they could develop some more handicapped parking. His booth is right up front where I was sitting
and waiting for a chance to rent a wheelchair. My wheelchair rental cost $10 for 3+ hours. Cash, no receipt.
The bourse floor was moderately busy but many of the tables were unmanned or being watched by someone
who didn't own the coins in the cases. Almost like a crowded Sunday. I asked another vest pocket dealer about this
and he told me that many dealers consider Wednesday and Thursday their time to build up stock from other dealers.
Another dealer confided that the Wednesday dealer-to-dealer action was "frenzied".
My first stop was at the table of a dealer who always carries the type of material I am interested in,
better date circulated Barbers. Along with finding what I want, I've always enjoyed dealing with Dick as I
consider him very knowledgable about the market for circulated coins in general. He fills me in on what else is hot
and I relate what I see as movement in my area of interest. It has been interesting to watch his attitude about
internet coin sales evolve. For years Dick was disdainful of buying a rare coin without holding it in his hand first.
Now I think he realizes that online dealers are a new customer source rather than competition for the retail buyers.
Alas, Dick was also off buying and I didn't get to enjoy haggling with him over my purchases.
I noticed a few things on the floor. Gold is still king. There has always been a lot of activity at Long Beach in rare gold
but it seemed to me that more space is being devoted to bullion gold, much of it modern and slabbed. I'm guessing
the registry craze may have something to do about that. One dealer who has usually had a case of 1883 Hawaiian
coins on display had that case partially filled with PCGS modern gold.
There wasn't as many homemade signs offering the latest spot prices for junk silver. I had lugged 3+ rolls of 80%
Canadian dimes along figuring I could get a good price and avoid paying shipping charges. I still have them.
There are a couple of good displays. There is a three party display of beautiful Barbers right up front by the eBay and PCGS
booths. They are truly awe inspiring for me. Also, the BEP seems to have a larger presence this year. They are offering
a (daily?) free raffle giveaway and are located near the middle rear with a huge banner that is easy to spot.
The eBay exhibit consisted of 2 laptops chained to an empty table. No people. I have stopped there in the past and
suggested that they pass out name tags that say "My eBay name is.......... What's yours?" I still think that would be fun.
Many of the dealers were commenting that key date coins were on fire. I heard one dealer comment that he'd had to pay
$8K for an AU '16-D dime. He was happy to make $300 on the transaction. I only saw 2 nicer raw 1895-O dimes this trip.
That seemed low to me. I watch '95-O prices the way Merc. people watch the '16-D. Prices are up and availability seemed
limited. A couple of other dealers were lamenting the number of bogus pieces plagueing the trade dollar and $1 gold series.
I took along a nice toned 1904 dime I kept from my slabbed set. It resides in an old NGC MS64 holder. I showed the coin
to the NGC expert on site and asked him what he thought about my chances of getting an upgrade or a star. As expected
he said he couln't comment on specific numbers, but the star appeal was certainly there and that he would "run it hrough"
again if it was his coin. That was gratifying to hear on a professional level not to mention the huge jump in the price sheets.
I gave the same coin to David Hall during his popular 3-5 PM free appraisal session. He looked at the slab, the front of the coin,
the slab again and the reverse. He deemed my prize a solid 64. He'll continue that fine service tomorrow at the same time.
Get there 10-15 minutes early as the line gets real long real fast. I had been first in line until a distraught dealer slid in front of my chair. Evidently he had
bought back some PCGS Morgans from a customer who neglected to tell the dealer he had removed them from the plastic.
David told him 2 of the 3 were no problem reslabs at the same level but that one looked to have acquired some obverse haze
from the time spent in an album. I filed that information away as good to know. Oh yeah, one older gent handed David an 1893-S
Morgan to look at. David pointed out some damage that would preclude PCGS from slabbing the coin. The owner quickly agreed and said he was just interested in David's opinion of the detail level.
As online, many of the better date circulated Barbers have been cleaned. Every time I see an XF 1895 dime that has gone a round
or 2 with a Brillo pad I get the same feling I had as a kid when my dog got run over. I'm not advocating the death penalty for
whizzers, yet, but a decade or 2 on bread and water sounds reasonable.
As expected there was a lot of toned silver on display. Most of the 'better" raw coins had that retoned look to me. PCGS and NGC toned dollars
were all over the place. Lots of eye candy for the Morgan people especially.
I always enjoy checking out the offerings at Jack Beymer's table. Quality silver coins at market prices. If I had to have a raw toned AU
1896-O dime I would camp at his table. If he doesn't have what you need he will find it. I also get a kick out of Jack's weekly ad in
Coin World. I admire a man not afraid to list a valuable coin as "PCGS XF40 ( VF35)" with the number in parenthesis as his grade. May
he fill that chair forever.
Finally, my usual jumbo dog was only $4 this year. That was nice.
I guess I'm starting to sound like my dad with all the complaints about changes in the market and in the show. But it is still a great show.
And besides, I always loved this quote from Samuel Clemens. He had left home at 16 and returned to visit at 21. When someone asked him
what changes he had noticed the writer remarked that he was amazed at how much his father had learned in 5 years.
Steve
First, I usually attend on Friday and Saturday so my crowd assessments may be skewed.
I arrived at 12:30 PM after having to park six blocks away, and that's with a handicapped placard.
All closer parking areas were coned of and marked full. If you have trouble getting around
I would suggest you have someone drop you off in front on Pine Street. There is an elevator right there
if the 46 steps are a factor for you.
When I got inside I told the promoter about my parking problem. Ron was gracious and said he would see
if they could develop some more handicapped parking. His booth is right up front where I was sitting
and waiting for a chance to rent a wheelchair. My wheelchair rental cost $10 for 3+ hours. Cash, no receipt.
The bourse floor was moderately busy but many of the tables were unmanned or being watched by someone
who didn't own the coins in the cases. Almost like a crowded Sunday. I asked another vest pocket dealer about this
and he told me that many dealers consider Wednesday and Thursday their time to build up stock from other dealers.
Another dealer confided that the Wednesday dealer-to-dealer action was "frenzied".
My first stop was at the table of a dealer who always carries the type of material I am interested in,
better date circulated Barbers. Along with finding what I want, I've always enjoyed dealing with Dick as I
consider him very knowledgable about the market for circulated coins in general. He fills me in on what else is hot
and I relate what I see as movement in my area of interest. It has been interesting to watch his attitude about
internet coin sales evolve. For years Dick was disdainful of buying a rare coin without holding it in his hand first.
Now I think he realizes that online dealers are a new customer source rather than competition for the retail buyers.
Alas, Dick was also off buying and I didn't get to enjoy haggling with him over my purchases.
I noticed a few things on the floor. Gold is still king. There has always been a lot of activity at Long Beach in rare gold
but it seemed to me that more space is being devoted to bullion gold, much of it modern and slabbed. I'm guessing
the registry craze may have something to do about that. One dealer who has usually had a case of 1883 Hawaiian
coins on display had that case partially filled with PCGS modern gold.
There wasn't as many homemade signs offering the latest spot prices for junk silver. I had lugged 3+ rolls of 80%
Canadian dimes along figuring I could get a good price and avoid paying shipping charges. I still have them.
There are a couple of good displays. There is a three party display of beautiful Barbers right up front by the eBay and PCGS
booths. They are truly awe inspiring for me. Also, the BEP seems to have a larger presence this year. They are offering
a (daily?) free raffle giveaway and are located near the middle rear with a huge banner that is easy to spot.
The eBay exhibit consisted of 2 laptops chained to an empty table. No people. I have stopped there in the past and
suggested that they pass out name tags that say "My eBay name is.......... What's yours?" I still think that would be fun.
Many of the dealers were commenting that key date coins were on fire. I heard one dealer comment that he'd had to pay
$8K for an AU '16-D dime. He was happy to make $300 on the transaction. I only saw 2 nicer raw 1895-O dimes this trip.
That seemed low to me. I watch '95-O prices the way Merc. people watch the '16-D. Prices are up and availability seemed
limited. A couple of other dealers were lamenting the number of bogus pieces plagueing the trade dollar and $1 gold series.
I took along a nice toned 1904 dime I kept from my slabbed set. It resides in an old NGC MS64 holder. I showed the coin
to the NGC expert on site and asked him what he thought about my chances of getting an upgrade or a star. As expected
he said he couln't comment on specific numbers, but the star appeal was certainly there and that he would "run it hrough"
again if it was his coin. That was gratifying to hear on a professional level not to mention the huge jump in the price sheets.
I gave the same coin to David Hall during his popular 3-5 PM free appraisal session. He looked at the slab, the front of the coin,
the slab again and the reverse. He deemed my prize a solid 64. He'll continue that fine service tomorrow at the same time.
Get there 10-15 minutes early as the line gets real long real fast. I had been first in line until a distraught dealer slid in front of my chair. Evidently he had
bought back some PCGS Morgans from a customer who neglected to tell the dealer he had removed them from the plastic.
David told him 2 of the 3 were no problem reslabs at the same level but that one looked to have acquired some obverse haze
from the time spent in an album. I filed that information away as good to know. Oh yeah, one older gent handed David an 1893-S
Morgan to look at. David pointed out some damage that would preclude PCGS from slabbing the coin. The owner quickly agreed and said he was just interested in David's opinion of the detail level.
As online, many of the better date circulated Barbers have been cleaned. Every time I see an XF 1895 dime that has gone a round
or 2 with a Brillo pad I get the same feling I had as a kid when my dog got run over. I'm not advocating the death penalty for
whizzers, yet, but a decade or 2 on bread and water sounds reasonable.
As expected there was a lot of toned silver on display. Most of the 'better" raw coins had that retoned look to me. PCGS and NGC toned dollars
were all over the place. Lots of eye candy for the Morgan people especially.
I always enjoy checking out the offerings at Jack Beymer's table. Quality silver coins at market prices. If I had to have a raw toned AU
1896-O dime I would camp at his table. If he doesn't have what you need he will find it. I also get a kick out of Jack's weekly ad in
Coin World. I admire a man not afraid to list a valuable coin as "PCGS XF40 ( VF35)" with the number in parenthesis as his grade. May
he fill that chair forever.
Finally, my usual jumbo dog was only $4 this year. That was nice.
I guess I'm starting to sound like my dad with all the complaints about changes in the market and in the show. But it is still a great show.
And besides, I always loved this quote from Samuel Clemens. He had left home at 16 and returned to visit at 21. When someone asked him
what changes he had noticed the writer remarked that he was amazed at how much his father had learned in 5 years.
Steve
Collecting XF+ toned Barber dimes
0
Comments
Nice report,thank you.
Ok, I happen to be in San Diego . . . I think I'll blow off Friday's meetings and drive up to the show!
I especially enjoyed your suggestion for sentencing those who whizz or clean 100-year-old silver coins. I would have used the Groucho Marx sentence of "ten years at Leavenworth, 'leven years at twelveworth, and five and ten at Woolworth's" except prison food (or Woolworth lunch counter food) isn't deserved by those whose crude handiwork and greed keep spoiling the tasty morsels collecctors hunger for.
Were all Barbers as hot as the current press says they are? I doubt you were not able to sell off your common date AG-VG dimes, if you couldn't even sell your Canadian silver.
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.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and perceptions about the Long Beach Show with the rest of us!
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"
Dan
$8K for an AU '16-D dime. He was happy to make $300 on the transaction. I only saw 2 nicer raw 1895-O dimes this trip.
That seemed low to me. I watch '95-O prices the way Merc. people watch the '16-D."
I can confirm that. Dave of Alpine told me he had 10 buyers for his PCGS AU55 16-D Merc. Luckily I had dibs on it first
<< <i>I'm not advocating the death penalty for whizzers, yet, but a decade or 2 on bread and water sounds reasonable. >>
You're a softy!
Jeremy
Cameron Kiefer
jim d
Especially thanks for the comments on barbers and the 16-d merc!