Bay State (Boston) coin show report
jonathanb
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I attended the Bay State coin show in Boston today. I've been attending this twice-yearly show on and off for about 20 years, but I don't travel to shows outside the Boston area so I can't make any larger comparisons.
As a few other people have mentioned, the hotel has subdivided the space occupied by the show. Over the past couple of years it seems that there are more walls every time I go, which makes it really annoying to move around the tables. FWIW, I spoke to the show's organizer a few months ago, and he says that we're stuck with that layout. Too bad.
This show is held in conjunction with the Colonial Coin Collectors Club, and that group holds a large auction also. I don't collect colonials, but it does mean that there tend to be more of them at this show than most, and it's fun to admire them. This year had a higher than usual representation of Massachusetts silver pieces, including several Oak Tree ones. I imagine that a lot of them came from the recent Ford sale. There was also one regular who was set up as usual with case after case of gorgeous high-grade early coppers, from colonials through large cents and half cents.
There was a British dealer there who I'd never seen before with a row after row of Woods Hibernia pieces. Apparently they're more available in the UK than over here. Makes sense, I guess.
One dealer had a run of a half-dozen or so Gobrecht dollars. You don't often see that many lined up next to each other.
Following up on a recent thread, I did see a 1926-S Lincoln in NGC MS65 RB. Total population is something like 10 pieces in 65RB, with only one in 65RD. This was everything you'd want in a 65RB piece, with a nice flashy luster and lots of red. Not in my budget at $7000 or $8000 or so, but nice to look at.
I saw a really pretty lavender-toned example of a silver proof 1873 San Francisco Mint Coining Press medal. That's a So-Called Dollar, listed as HK-1003. Four-digit HK numbers are in a special back-of-the-book section of "unique and near-unique items" that are basically uncollectable, so it's neat to see then whenever they show up. The bummer in this case was that the seller knew what he had, and wanted $4500 for it. That was probably a fair price, but more than I was looking to spend.
Perhaps the most noteworthy news was that I looked at my watch at one point and was surprised to find that it was already 6:00. I was surprised because most of the dealers were still there. In other years, the dealers were typically clearing out by not much after 4:00. I don't know if this was a one-time thing, but as a not-morning person, I certainly appreciate it.
There weren't many errors of note, and the most of the ones I saw were overpriced (and usually by a lot). One dealer had a series of Canadian off-metals. I don't see those too often, but then again I don't look for non-US errors either. I saw a 90% silver dollar blank planchet labeled at $950, which is actually a fairly decent price for those (and insanely cheap if you happened to believe the $7500 sale price in a recent Heritage auction, but that was just wacky). I saw two different Kennedy halves with double strikes priced in the $600 range, which might be a little high but probably not unreasonable considering their rarity.
ANR was there with all (?) the lots from their next auction available for previewing.
There were a couple of Monitor-related items, one a nice CWT in some unc-ish grade, and another much larger medal. I know someone here is interested in those, and while I don't collect them myself, I can definitely appreciate the history.
I don't trust the antiquities market in general, but there was a really neat gold ring labeled as Viking in origin, with gold threads woven together in a pattern with spaces between them Hard to describe, but it was nice. I looked at it even though I wouldn't otherwise have even considered something of the sort.
On the personal front, I found out that a couple of recent purchases are likely worth a LOT more than I paid for them. That's always a plus. (I've updated other threads)
I saw a cute Belgian medal with a rabbit on it that I considered buying since I had rabbits when I was growing up. I probably would have bought it on my way out, but that was one of the dealers who did pack up and leave early, so no bunny for me. For $80 or so it's probably just as well my wallet, but he still lost the sale that he could have made if he stayed.
Aside from some trinkets, the only thing of substance that I bought was this example of a Catskill Aqueduct medal, HK-667. This was designed by Daniel Chester French, who also designed the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial and a bunch of other sculptures. It's extremely high relief -- so much so that when I took the pictures that reverse image came out 2% larger than the obverse image simply because the height of the obverse relief brought the reverse that much closer to the camera lens. This is generally considered to be among the prettiest of the So-Called dollars.
In all, a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.
jonathan
As a few other people have mentioned, the hotel has subdivided the space occupied by the show. Over the past couple of years it seems that there are more walls every time I go, which makes it really annoying to move around the tables. FWIW, I spoke to the show's organizer a few months ago, and he says that we're stuck with that layout. Too bad.
This show is held in conjunction with the Colonial Coin Collectors Club, and that group holds a large auction also. I don't collect colonials, but it does mean that there tend to be more of them at this show than most, and it's fun to admire them. This year had a higher than usual representation of Massachusetts silver pieces, including several Oak Tree ones. I imagine that a lot of them came from the recent Ford sale. There was also one regular who was set up as usual with case after case of gorgeous high-grade early coppers, from colonials through large cents and half cents.
There was a British dealer there who I'd never seen before with a row after row of Woods Hibernia pieces. Apparently they're more available in the UK than over here. Makes sense, I guess.
One dealer had a run of a half-dozen or so Gobrecht dollars. You don't often see that many lined up next to each other.
Following up on a recent thread, I did see a 1926-S Lincoln in NGC MS65 RB. Total population is something like 10 pieces in 65RB, with only one in 65RD. This was everything you'd want in a 65RB piece, with a nice flashy luster and lots of red. Not in my budget at $7000 or $8000 or so, but nice to look at.
I saw a really pretty lavender-toned example of a silver proof 1873 San Francisco Mint Coining Press medal. That's a So-Called Dollar, listed as HK-1003. Four-digit HK numbers are in a special back-of-the-book section of "unique and near-unique items" that are basically uncollectable, so it's neat to see then whenever they show up. The bummer in this case was that the seller knew what he had, and wanted $4500 for it. That was probably a fair price, but more than I was looking to spend.
Perhaps the most noteworthy news was that I looked at my watch at one point and was surprised to find that it was already 6:00. I was surprised because most of the dealers were still there. In other years, the dealers were typically clearing out by not much after 4:00. I don't know if this was a one-time thing, but as a not-morning person, I certainly appreciate it.
There weren't many errors of note, and the most of the ones I saw were overpriced (and usually by a lot). One dealer had a series of Canadian off-metals. I don't see those too often, but then again I don't look for non-US errors either. I saw a 90% silver dollar blank planchet labeled at $950, which is actually a fairly decent price for those (and insanely cheap if you happened to believe the $7500 sale price in a recent Heritage auction, but that was just wacky). I saw two different Kennedy halves with double strikes priced in the $600 range, which might be a little high but probably not unreasonable considering their rarity.
ANR was there with all (?) the lots from their next auction available for previewing.
There were a couple of Monitor-related items, one a nice CWT in some unc-ish grade, and another much larger medal. I know someone here is interested in those, and while I don't collect them myself, I can definitely appreciate the history.
I don't trust the antiquities market in general, but there was a really neat gold ring labeled as Viking in origin, with gold threads woven together in a pattern with spaces between them Hard to describe, but it was nice. I looked at it even though I wouldn't otherwise have even considered something of the sort.
On the personal front, I found out that a couple of recent purchases are likely worth a LOT more than I paid for them. That's always a plus. (I've updated other threads)
I saw a cute Belgian medal with a rabbit on it that I considered buying since I had rabbits when I was growing up. I probably would have bought it on my way out, but that was one of the dealers who did pack up and leave early, so no bunny for me. For $80 or so it's probably just as well my wallet, but he still lost the sale that he could have made if he stayed.
Aside from some trinkets, the only thing of substance that I bought was this example of a Catskill Aqueduct medal, HK-667. This was designed by Daniel Chester French, who also designed the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial and a bunch of other sculptures. It's extremely high relief -- so much so that when I took the pictures that reverse image came out 2% larger than the obverse image simply because the height of the obverse relief brought the reverse that much closer to the camera lens. This is generally considered to be among the prettiest of the So-Called dollars.
In all, a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.
jonathan
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Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Nice medal!
By the way, how was floor traffic? Was it heavier/lighter than previous years?
Did you have the impression that a lot of business was getting done?
Check out the Southern Gold Society
Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to the business being done. I'm not a dealer myself, so I try not to eavesdrop. Seems like it wouldn't be appreciated. Plenty things more interesting to check out, in the cases...
jonathan
Dismeguy went along with me, and he commented about the absence of quality Seated dimes at the show. I really could not say the same for the half dimes, but perhaps it was because several people brought things specifically to show me. I bought a beautiful, originally toned PCGS MS-63 1832 LM-2/V3 Capped Bust half dime. It is only an R3, but it has proven to be extremely difficult in MS grade. In the current JRCS census (not yet published) it would rank equal to the finest reported. I am sorry that I am not presently equipped to post a picture of the coin, but I can show you an MS-63 1839 V2 (1839/39) Liberty Seated half dime that I also bought, from the dealers website:
http://www.millersmint.com/images/pictures/144678.jpg
Perhaps the best thing from the show for me was information that led to the purchase of two spectacular Capped Bust half dimes, both raw, and both screaming orighinal MS-64 coins from an old type set. They are as follows:
1830 LM-9.2/V5b R4 MS-64
1831 LM-5/V5 R1 MS-64
I really wish I could post images of these coins, because they are both the kind of coins we all dream about, tucked away many years ago in a type set album. The quality of strike, surfaces, color and originality are such as I have not seen in many years. They are twins in grade and appearance, but the 1830 LM-9.2 ranks extremely high in the condition census, and alone made the show completely worthwhile.
I talked with BigD5 (Darin Whitaker) at the show, and although he had the usual eye appealing material, unfortunately he had nothing for me.
The show runs tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday, so get over there if you can. Sure the new room set-up is a pain, but who really cares about the shape of the room if you can find the coins that you want.
On a more positive note, I was absolutely thrilled to buy a coin that I had missed in one of the Ford sales a year and half ago and regretted ever since. But there it was, sitting in a dealer's inventory amidst a bunch of unrelated stuff.
Thats the 2nd year in a row I've been able to locate a coin at this show that I had missed out on at auction, desperately wanted and never expected to get another opportunity to buy. Cool.
The show sure was busy and it looked like a lot of dealers were coing well.
<<I bought a beautiful, originally toned PCGS MS-63 1832 LM-2/V3 Capped Bust half dime>>
Stephen, I saw that dime. Killer colors...you should post pictures. BTW -- was it worth the premium??
"Stephen, I saw that {half} dime. Killer colors...you should post pictures. BTW -- was it worth the premium??"
Unless you are Ken's friend, you probably did not see this coin, as it was not out for public consumption. It was a private transaction.
Assuming that you are the gentlemen who came to the show with Ken, I thank you for your comments. Yes, it has killer colors, and is (in my opinion) properly graded (PCGS MS-63). As to the premium, you do have a good point. I did pay very strong money for it, but after doing a little research on past JRCS censuses for that marriage, it ranks quite high, so I was willing to pay a premium for the coin. The condition census for the 1832 LM2/V3 Capped Bust half dime, from the last (December 2001) census is as follows:
(60,58,55,55,50,50)
...with a total of 18 pieces reported in all grades, 60 being the highest, and 45 being the average grade. I looked in the 2001 census, as it was more comprehensive than the pending 2005 census, about to be reported, which had low participation. It is only an R3 die marrtiage, but has proven to be extremely difficult in MS.
In the 2005 census, the MS-60 coin above, which was Russ Logan's coin, is reported as MS-63, in the new owner's collection. Good Lord! Does this mean that the grading standards are changing?
Things were brisk right off the bat on Thursday pm, right through Saturday pm. I didn't stay for Sunday, and set up at the Nashua N.H. show as the Boston show generally clears out for Sunday.
I was able to find quite a few nice coins, and the prices weren't obscene. Strong, but not insane. Obviously you had to hunt coins down, but in general, they were available.
I was fortunate enough to meet Airplanenut for the first time. Good kid that knows what he's doing. He found an attractive 3 cent nickel out on the floor. Nice color, and tough to find with the eye appeal his has at the ms/63 level. I'd call it a score.
I touched base with plenty of other board members, Mr. Halfdime (it was busy, so we didn't have the oppurtunity to chit chat as usual), Toneddollars, Tonelover, Mr.D, Mr. Fortin (don't know his user ID), Sadysta1, 09svdb........I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.....Oney (?), he picked up a very sharp PL/DMPL '78-s Morgan.......
It seems as if dealers and regular attendees of this show are getting used to the set up. By that I mean all of the "sub" rooms that seem to branch out. One big room would be better, but if you're willing to get off your butt, you can get some business done.
I heard quite a few positive comments on the show from dealers and attendees that concerned the overall atmosphere as being quite positive.
If I think of anything else, I'll pop it in.
LSCC#1864
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