Hawaii State Show update.

coinlieutenant

Aloha!!

Well, I can say that the Hawaii show is THE BIGGEST SHOW on the islands during the year. That being said, it is really a regional show with about 50 dealers. However, I was very happy with the selection of coins that came up today. I was VERY surprised to pick up a definite keeper for the bust half set from a gent from Florida named Bill Kelly. He has some nice bust material and the one I bought from him was a coin that stood out in the case. I knew before I even held it in hand that it was a keeper. More on that later.
I got there during set up as I was on my friend Frances Loo's table. Dealers were upbeat (duh..its Hawaii) and friendly save one from Santa Rosa Everyone was positive and ready for some fun it seemed. I walked the floor quickly doing a cursory scan, where I found the bust half only. Lots of nice coins though...and more original coins than I am used to. After buying the half for which I gladly wrote the check, I ran into an old friend/collector from Monterey who now lives in Maui. He is always talkative so after talking to him I think most of the action was done!
Islemangu showed up from Guam, we had lunch and he showed me a nice toner he bought from Feldini, and another Morgan toner he bought there. We had a good chat and Alan is a super cool guy if you ever get to meet him. He is the Tuna man..., and dont get any nasty ideas... Anyway, right after a quick show and tell, I got pulled away by another dealer friend that gave me a shot at a dealers inventory that was very impressive...and reasonably priced. I bougth some VERY nice type coins for resale that I will be listing in the next couple of days. A few of you already have PM's since your names popped up when I bought the coin...anyway, I digress. That took almost an hour just to look through, but I was pleased since I bought nearly 4K worth of ms/circ type inventory including a key date lib nick in MS, and let me tell you, inventory is hard to come by in Hawaii.
When I looked up, Alan was gone, and most of the deals were winding down. I made another round and almost pulled the trigger on a nice original 1853 gold dollar in an OGH 2 holder that looked very nice. I was losing steam by this time, said my goodbyes and came home. All in all it was a good show...dont know if I will be going back or not as I am bushed from being on mids all week last week and I have lots to do with the stuff I bought.
Now, to the bust half. I had a hard time getting the color on this coin but after some trying I think that I got it. It is light and pastel pink/purple/blue with very frosty sharp luster. PCGS was brutal to give it a 55 IMO. The strike is hammered, and the eye appeal is outstanding. Even more exciting is that it is very unique in its look, and contrast is important to me for the collection, and finding new "looks" is getting harder and harder with each new date. 1820 is a tough date for all you non bust folks. This is an O-103a with its well defined die crack which is always cool. For you pedigree folks, it was Lot #10 in Sheridan Downey's MB 24 in Nov '99 where it realized 1429$ Anyway, wish you more of you could have made it out...maybe next year and enjoy the pics that dont do this new bust justice!

Aloha,
John

RYK

Nice coin and great report. When is the ANA going to have a show in Hawaii?

LeeG

"Super" Bust Half! Congrat's

cape

it sure is nice and great report!

WWW

A beautiful coin and a great report, John. I just sent a coin off to Alan, aka Islemangu. Nice guy. Tuna man, eh?

mgoodm3

Sounds like a fun show. Coins and Hawaii how can you go wrong with that?

NumisOxide

Beautiful Bust half dollar.

JrGMan2004

You must not of found any nice Bust Half-Dimes... I don't have a PM from you



Nice half

jdimmick

Thanks for the great report from way out west!! and very nice 1820!

TahoeDale

John,

Congrats on the new bust half. It's got everything we like to see in this grade. And Pq for grade is not a bad thing.

The pop reports show a bunch in this grade, but I have not seen one as nice as yours. Good job.

stman

Looks like a nice 1820, congratulations! I had a shot at a very nice group myself this weekend.
I wish I could read your taste as I believe you would have liked a few of them.
I just gave away an 1820 to BigD5, but that's OK as he's a nice guy and that's what really matters. Heh, heh.

HonoluluDude

I stopped by yesterday for about an hour and a half. Really nice stuff and I was surprised how many dealers showed up. Didn't buy anything though since most of the inventory was out of my league price wise.

It was the first coin show I've ever been to, and probably not the last.

coinlieutenant

HD,

I wish I would have given you my number...you could have buzzed me on the floor so we could have met.

J

slumlord98

That's my old coin! Funny how they've made their way around the country.

paigowjohnny

I'm so insanely jealous it makes me want to puke !!!

I got a hankering for an L&L loco moco plate lunch !!

coinlieutenant

SL,

Can you tell me how you came across that coin? Story?

J

slumlord98

I first saw it at the '99 ANA here in Chicago, and fell in love with it. Bought it in MBS 24 for twice what it was worth at the time; kept it in a paper envelope, it toned some more. If I knew how to fake that look... There are a couple nicks in front of the nose or curl that came from my daughter showing the coin to her cousin and dropping it in a slab box. My heart sank when I heard that clink. I sold my collection to/through Sheridan earlier this year. This coin was not part of the Mail Bid sales. Bill buys a lot from Sheridan and he used to live on the big island.

The coin was previously from Floyd Farley, one of the founders of the BHNC. I'll pull the catalog later to see where and when he bought it. That will give you a continuous provenance back to the 60's.

From MBS 24 lot 10 description- "1820 Small Date O.103a R.2 AU50-mostly untoned, with a blush of kraft envelope toning. Plenty of luster for the grade. Balanced strike and better impressed than most of this later die state. Very lightly wiped ages ago. A sparkling example with delicate, watery surfaces and superior eye appeal. This date sports the third lowest mintage of the Capped Bust series, behind 1815 and 1807." From "Leonardo," November 1969

coinlieutenant

I wish you knew how to duplicate that toning as well...

No such thing as gradeflation eh??? MBS 24 called it an AU50...PCGS AU55 and I think it should 58

Thanks for the info Brad, now I just need to find the Leonardo sale catalogue or who Leonardo is?...any ideas where to start?

slumlord98

Floyd used to advertise in CW for dealers and readers to send him busties by the car load. This is how he discovered a number of new die marriages before there was the internet, ebay and the tag team of LordM/Cladiator. The names of sources for his coins as listed in the Downey sales catalogs tend to repeat over and over. My guess is that he was a dealer who happened to send coins that Floyd liked. Beyond that, no clue. Floyd only recently passed away at 98.

coinlieutenant

Very possibly a dead end...



J

islemangu

John is a good person who really knows his business/hobby. The combination of being able to enjoy both coins and Hawaii makes for a great trip. I achieved my show goals of getting a tab toned comm half (Columbian SC half 36d p66) and an attractive old Hawaiian half (p45). My biggest purchase was unexpectedly a foreign coin that I just had to have. An 1881 Japanese Yen (n61) with great toning atop semi prooflikeness.
Besides John I think I met Honoluludude and didn't know it as he was really scoping the walkers with Maui Jack and saw his other thread Definitely want to make it again next year and wish a big mainland show may make Hawaii one day.