How Can the Business of Coin Collecting Invigorate the Hobby?

RWB

This question has been asked before in many forms and within many forums. Yet, the discussions seem to evaporate before a concerted effort can begin.

If I may, permit me to repeat this with specific reference to major coin shows (several hundred coin and currency dealers). For events such as the ANA annual convention, FUN, Whitman Coin Expo, etc., several basic questions come to mind. I’d like to start with the basics:

What are the initial impressions a visitor gets when they arrive? What do you, collectors and dealers, feel about the:
venue,
lobby,
registration,
security,
bourse,
programs,
other

What are your expectations and what changes do you feel could be made to increase interest in the hobby through these subjects?

Coxe

I really liked the proposal recently made by the ANA for their conventions to maintain a lobby digital inventory of dealers for those who would like to participate. I don't think it would remove the fun of perusing thebourse but would help not miss coins you are really looking for and a dealer would like to try to sell you. As long as the dealer maintained their inventory changes daily over a show, that could be great.

Security? I know that is much more important than is evidently valued by some show venues. As an example, if there are no doubt people coming to Long Beach and spending thousands of dollars that day, leaving fat with cash and expensive coins, visible security reassurances all the way to their overflow lot a block away should be there. They might and should have plain clothes security on the route but the cost of a couple uniformed guys wouldn't hurt.

Programs? I am happy with what we have for silver dollars and VAMs. I drive up to Long Beach each show on Friday mainly because of that collaboration. What might be nice to help collectors at different levels for those shows, would be for PCGS, since CU owns the show now, rotate through the series with grading seminars. Could start with all of the half cents for an hour seminar with a half hour discussion. Sometimes cover just a series or part of a series though. In a decade, about 30 seminars later, an attendee might have been through the whole US classics. Just an idea. NGC could do the same at FUN except that the frequency of shows is lower. Certainly ANA can and maybe does this. It should be free at shows anyway IMO. This is something all collectors need and the ANA, in particular, are ambassadors to the hobby and this is in all of our nest interests. Aligned with your question, every day should have programs to appeal to newbies, YNs and specialists and NEVER interfere with timings of live auctions. (THAT drives me nuts!)

Bourse? I think a new person to a large show can be overwhelmed quickly and lots spend their cash way to fast at the front tables. Small shows sometimes have abyssmal lighting. One local show I go to I always ask myself why I even bothered since I can't seen the freaking coins. The biggest peave is the empty bourse on the final day. Usually that day is on a weekend and perhaps the one day a normal collector might be able to take the time to go. Imagine the guy who works 60 hours a week and drives 2-3 hours to a major show with his kid only to find abandoned tables and remnant dealers more interested in chatting with each other (btching about their show) than showing coins. I know some princes and princesses of the bourse think the pedestrians don't matter and they are only there to refuel their inventories. The fact is, even if you only like to cross $30M deals, those little guys matter and their interest, or lack thereof, will trickle throughout the hobby and they might not end up being the customer of yours in a few years that they could have been. Some very wealthy folks dip their toes in the water and buy little stuff to get reacquainted with the hobby of their youth before they hit the bigtime coins. I know when I reentered collecting I tried out a local dealer to see how he would treat me on modest purchases first. He failed and I have not done any business there since.

Lobby? I hadn't really thought about that much. But when you sell your house, having a nice front door and curb appeal gets the buyers in the buying mood. Show lobbies tend to be pretty barren and far from purposeful. I don't have great ideas on this right now but I bet some people could come up with some.

Registration? What might be nice is if you could perhaps preregister online form home. Maybe pay with PayPal? You could do an online form with interests and get a printable map and list of dealers with inventory aligned with what you are into.

Enough of my unfocused rambling.

RWB

Excellent, very helpful "rambling"....Thank you!