show report of my first ever coin show

LEAP269

today i attended the second day of a 2 day show in des moines iowa. there were 50 tables at the show. i realize iowa is not the mecca of coin collecting, and have no idea how good the selection was because i have nothing to compare it to. there were no big time nationally known speakers or dealers there and no famous people to meet, although some dealers came from as far away as colorado.
to be fair, i focused 80% of my attention on lincoln cents, with the remainder of time going toward proof sets and large cents. with the help of many including twosides2acoin, i smiled and greeted each dealer as i approached their table. here are my uninformed observations and part of a conversation in which i participated.

i had no idea the average age of collectors was pushing 70 years old. it looked like the same bunch of guys that one would see in a nursing home, except the collectors today could ambulate well. the most recent experience i had with this many old, retired men was watching a barbershop chorus show(they sang well too).

i had no idea in iowa that only men collect coins. this must be an unwritten law or something that women are excluded from participation. during the entire day i only saw 2 women looking at coins to purchase and only one table was staffed part-time by a woman. if i were looking to meet a female, this is about the worst place i could go. my odds would be better at a diesel mechanic training school or a male barbershop chorus.

according to the dealers, the business was slower than expected. it was one of the last nice days before the snow flies, so nice in fact it left me wondering why i was not outside with a cigar in my hand. i stayed to the bitter end of the show, and could not believe how much material the dealers packed up and went home with.

i had no idea it is so difficult to find raw lincoln cents without carbon spots in uncirculated condition. I am working on compiling an uncirculated set of cents back to 1930. why is it so difficult to find these coins without carbon spots or major dings? i will not compromise and buy one just to fill a spot. half the dealers encouraged me to get the coin because only one side had the spots or some other line, while the other half of the dealers encouraged me to only get a coin i was sure would please me later too(meaning no problems and/or carbon spots). during the entire day i found only 5-6 raw cents that had no carbon spots that i purchased. if you have access to these coins, let me know.

2 1/2 indians are red hot in iowa. as soon as a dealer has them in a display case, they disappear. in fact, i still have never seen one, just heard the talk of dealers wishing they had more to sell or had raised the price of the last sale. someone please start a thread of these so i can see what they are like.

i had no idea how much currency was out there. almost every table was selling stacks of the stuff. i listened to a collector purchase somekind of paper bill for $250 and remark how they keep getting more expensive. i had no interest here as my mission was to focus on carbon free lincolns.

i had no idea looking at different varieties of large cents could be so interesting. from an educated teacher today i learned briefly about N numbers and the varieties due to the stamping. do many people collect varieties of large cents?

this is part of one of my conversations:
dealer-our avg sale price per coin is much higer than most tables here today. (while i am looking at his raw lincoln cents)
me- oh really how so?
dealer- we have only really good stuff to sell. all our coins are high quality.
me-(as i look at each raw cent under loupe and place them back in his hand shaking my head) then why do i only find one unc cent that does not have carbon spots on it?
dealer- uhhhhhhhhh put those cents back in the case will you?

i can't wait for my next show, even though it will be small too. how many tables does a med and a big show make? thanks for reading.
leap

123cents

Thanks for the report Leap.

Julio

Cool report. Just don't have the knowledge to tell you if this is typical. Hope you had a good time and learned a thing or two. jws.

WoodenJefferson

Average age of male coin collector...you make it sound like a bad thing? lol

SNMAN

Nice Report. Did you see any 20th Anniversary 3-AGE sets? if so how much?

SNMAN

WTCG

Leap269...unfortunately your observations of the demographics of the coin show is not only exclusive to coin shows in Iowa. The majority of the public traffic you see at any given coin show are comprised of older men with questionable eccentricities and hygiene habits.

If you liked that show, then you should consider travelling to one of the larger national conventions such as the summer ANA, FUN, Long Beach or Baltimore. You'll be blown away.

atom48coin

I am crying from laughing so hard!! That is one of the most entertaining show reports I've read!!

And it's true about Lincoln cents. I've purchased a bunch of mint sets through the mail, and looked at a bunch in coin shops, and there seem to be lot of carbon spots.

A

Dog97

LOL!! Cool report. Sounds like a typical small town show. Sounds like my club, bunch of old foogies. Those small shows have the most overpriced junk, that's why they call it a SHOW, I don't think they really want to sell it, just show it off, but sometimes a good deal is in there if you keep your eyes open.
The average age of collectors is not 70 but the age of the dealers & collectors that run the shows & clubs are. Young people don't go because the old people are old & grumpy & don't like young people. Old people have been doing it their way for 100 years and they don't like young people trying to change things with their new fangled slabs, monster toners, and the internet.

Bigger shows near bigger cities will have more younger people & women too.

how many tables does a med and a big show make? I don't know what the official #'s are but I say 0-100=small, 100-200= med, 200+=large.

WTCG

<< <i>LOL!! Cool report. Sounds like a typical small town show. Sounds like my club, bunch of old foogies. Those small shows have the most overpriced junk, that's why they call it a SHOW, I don't think they really want to sell it, just show it off, but sometimes a good deal is in there if you keep your eyes open.
The average age of collectors is not 70 but the age of the dealers & collectors that run the shows & clubs are. Young people don't go because the old people are old & grumpy & don't like young people. Old people have been doing it their way for 100 years and they don't like young people trying to change things with their new fangled slabs, monster toners, and the internet.

Bigger shows near bigger cities will have more younger people & women too.

how many tables does a med and a big show make? I don't know what the official #'s are but I say 0-100=small, 100-200= med, 200+=large. >>



Dog97 has pointed out one of the major difference between larger regional and national coin shows versus the smaller local shows. At the larger coin shows the table holders are more likely to be professional coin dealers who make it an important point to sell coins whereas at the local shows many of the booth holders are actually collectors who are not keen on selling the coins they have on display or are asking a very high price because of emotional attachment to their coins.

Last year I was a member of the board of directors for a local coin club. I was the youngest member on that board, and convincing most of the other (older) directors to adopt my innovative ideas was aggravating at best. It's one reason why coin clubs, and numismatics in general, have a difficult time with attracting younger members and collectors to join their ranks. The typical elders who run these organizations do what they do because "that's the way we've always done it", ideals that are in general, not attractive to the younger generations.

Many of the younger collectors I see tend to be the "old souls" who relate with older people much better than their typical same age peers.

Woodwind

Leap, great report. Your experience with your Lincoln cents is comparable to experiences of collectors of other series. I collect Walking Liberty Halves and even at large shows it's hard to find problem-free circulated examples from the earlier years of the series.

You asked about how many dealers at larger shows. At the Long Beach show there's several hundred dealer tables set up along with major auction houses. If I didn't live close to Long Beach I would probably find it worth my time to fly or take a long drive to a major show maybe once a year or so.

Mrpawn

Just a quick note:

My wife goes to almost every coin show with me. After about thirty minutes you will find here near the concession stand reading her book or surrounded by old codges while she waits for me to finish up business.

itsnotjustme

Good report.

I think 70 and male reflect the Iowa population as a whole....

My last small show was a disappointment. There were no where near the number of tables as advertised. Many of the tables had absolutely nothing of interest. Of teh First tier graded coins, almost all were Morgan dollars.

I did find a good buy. A 5% of center PCGS MS66 clad Ike! The price was in line with a non-off center MS66. I think the guy was just an error specialist and did not know an MS66 Ike on its own was worth so much.

Dog97

<<<I did find a good buy. A 5% of center PCGS MS66 clad Ike! The price was in line with a non-off center MS66. I think the guy was just an error specialist and did not know an MS66 Ike on its own was worth so much.>>>

A good case in point for when I said sometimes a good deal is in there if you keep your eyes open. Speaking of Ikes, how many times do you see toned Ikes in Mint & Proof Sets (& other series) at small shows? Them old guys have no idea a tarnished coin is valuable. They think us younguns are retarded for paying prems for them. Cherry pick them jokers!!

Steve27

"i had no idea the average age of collectors was pushing 70 years old."

I was going to say that it sounded like you walked into one of my coin club meetings, but most of our members are pushing 80.

mercurynut

Thanks for your report!

etexmike

That report was just a little different than most you read on these forums and I enjoyed every word of it.

Lot's of folks here would have considered that show a complete disappointment but it sounds to me like you had a great time even if you had trouble locating the Lincs you were after.

Great report and the best of luck with your searches in the future.

-------------

etexmike

Leiana

Nice report.

It sounds like you had fun even if you didn't get to buy as many coins as you would have liked.

-Amanda

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>i realize iowa is not the mecca of coin collecting, and have no idea how good the selection was because i have nothing to compare it to. there were no big time nationally known speakers or dealers there and no famous people to meet, although some dealers came from as far away as colorado. >>



I'm writing this from Douglas, Wyoming, but wasn't Bill Fivaz having a grading class at the show?

LEAP269

yes Bill Fivaz held a two day mini-grading seminar for about 8 hours of total instruction. i heard no one even mention his name but he is listed on the program now that i look.

RichieURich

LEAP, good show report. Many small shows throughout the country are like the one you attended. There are a lot of people at these small shows who are putting together sets of coins in the old blue Whitman folders, from Lincolns through Franklins. Now that silver has gotten so high, almost all of the lower grade Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, Walkers and Franklins are worth only their silver content, so these collectors have trouble finding them. Fortunately, I had some at the show I set up at on Saturday, and these collectors were able to fill a lot of holes in their sets. Because of the cost to the dealers of the larger shows, they will be trying to sell more expensive coins at those shows. That means you will see nicer unc. Lincolns, that will be more expensive, especially the slabbed ones. Glad you had a good time!

Clankeye

<< <i>i had no idea the average age of collectors was pushing 70 years old. it looked like the same bunch of guys that one would see in a nursing home, except the collectors today could ambulate well. the most recent experience i had with this many old, retired men was watching a barbershop chorus show(they sang well too). >>



Now that's funny.

LEAP269

so where does one find BU raw lincoln cents with out carbon spots?

nankraut

" I am crying from laughing so hard!! That is one of the most entertaining show reports I've read!!"

Hey...wait a minute. I'm one of those old geezers!!

johnsim03

That was a great report - I felt like I was there...
See 'ya there next year, I hope.

John

TwoSides2aCoin

Leap you've restored my faith in the boards. That is excellent writing. See how those smiles work ? They really are contagious.

It's true about those cents. RED CENTS are a tough find in raw condition. I wish you well in your endeavors. It's true, coin shows usually don't bring out the Hooters girls, either.


Joe

Bear

I hope that I will be able

to ambulate next year.

LEAP269

thanks 2sides
it sure was fun to go. i see omaha is having a show sometime soon.

bear- i hope you can ambulate next year too. if you come to an iowa show, we will get you one of those little runabout scooters that medicare pays for.