My FUN (w/newp pic)
messydesk
Posts: 19,882 ✭✭✭✭✭
Not to be confused with Chinese rice noodles, although more on that later.
Those looking for profound market observations need not read further. Quick trip for me. Flew in Thursday, 1:00 pm arrival time, then picked up my Super Shuttle and shared a ride to the Convention Center with Abraham Lincoln. Got there by 2 (WIN!) and met Mike Hayes (MFH) to drop some coins off, lightening my backpack to about 30 pounds. It didn't take me long to meet up with a bunch of other VAM collectors, drop off my pack so I could move, and put in my contact lenses so I could see. I then wandered around looking at Morgan dollars when I could and looking for commems that would fit in my set. Sidetracked myselft quickly when I stopped at the CRO table and looked at their pile of Fugios, which reminded me that there were lots of colonials in the Heritage auction, and that I still hadn't lived up to my own "everyone needs a Fugio" advice, so then I went to view lots until about 6, at which time the VAM guys started assembling for a dinner outing to the Howard Johnson's restaurant. Good location for passing around coins during dinner as it wasn't crowded, the service was horribly slow, and they didn't mind turning the lights on for us. The food was meh.
Friday was a busy day off the bourse for me. SSDC board meeting at 8:30 next door to the 9:00 LSCC meeting. They had the mics for both rooms connected to the same collection of speakers (or perhaps each others speakers), so we were a bit surprised to be welcomed to their meeting (facilities FAIL). After that meeting, I made my only purchase for the show, a nice Isabella quarter that fits in with my set. 11:15 was my photography presentation. As I was up against the PCGS lunch, I might not have had as big of an audience as otherwise, but still a couple dozen people, and I thought it went fairly well. I wore my Hawaiian shirt in case those that skipped the lunch for me would have missed a speaker so dressed, although it seemed there were a lot of Hawaiian shirts to be seen at the show. David Lisot videotaped all the educational seminars, and they'll all available for purchase somehow (coinlink.com, I think).
Now back to the Chinese rice noodles. There was an Asian food concessionaire set up near the typical convention food. By 2:00 I was feeling a bit peckish, so I decided a snack was in order, braced myself to have to part with upwards of $10 for something to eat, and was rather astonished that I could buy a half-way decent plate of noodles (OK, they weren't rice noodles) for $2. Gave me the energy I needed to go pan for gold (unsuccesfully) near the budget area, which had been exiled to the far reaches of the floor, so as not to disturb the non-budget people, I guess. 3:30 I went to John Roberts' (ANACS' attributor) "11 VAMs for 2011" presentation, which was followed at 4:30 by VAM Thing VIII, which always has a good turnout. The big news for 2011 is going to be the launch of the SSDC VAM Registry. Later, dinner with some VAM guys at Royal Palace Thai restaurant, down the road a few blocks from Bern's. Quite tasty.
Concurrent with FUN was a motorcycle club convention. On the way back to my hotel, someone riding a rather nice sport bike wiped out for no apparent reason right in front of us. Minor damage to the bike, and the rider was banged up, but able to walk it off. He and others with him were apparently on their way to my hotel, because the lobby of the Hyatt was full of motorcycle clubs. Placed some futile Heritage bids and watched Gold Rush on Discovery channel for far too long, as my 6:30 am flight home meant an obscenely early wake-up time.
As for my lone purchase:
Those looking for profound market observations need not read further. Quick trip for me. Flew in Thursday, 1:00 pm arrival time, then picked up my Super Shuttle and shared a ride to the Convention Center with Abraham Lincoln. Got there by 2 (WIN!) and met Mike Hayes (MFH) to drop some coins off, lightening my backpack to about 30 pounds. It didn't take me long to meet up with a bunch of other VAM collectors, drop off my pack so I could move, and put in my contact lenses so I could see. I then wandered around looking at Morgan dollars when I could and looking for commems that would fit in my set. Sidetracked myselft quickly when I stopped at the CRO table and looked at their pile of Fugios, which reminded me that there were lots of colonials in the Heritage auction, and that I still hadn't lived up to my own "everyone needs a Fugio" advice, so then I went to view lots until about 6, at which time the VAM guys started assembling for a dinner outing to the Howard Johnson's restaurant. Good location for passing around coins during dinner as it wasn't crowded, the service was horribly slow, and they didn't mind turning the lights on for us. The food was meh.
Friday was a busy day off the bourse for me. SSDC board meeting at 8:30 next door to the 9:00 LSCC meeting. They had the mics for both rooms connected to the same collection of speakers (or perhaps each others speakers), so we were a bit surprised to be welcomed to their meeting (facilities FAIL). After that meeting, I made my only purchase for the show, a nice Isabella quarter that fits in with my set. 11:15 was my photography presentation. As I was up against the PCGS lunch, I might not have had as big of an audience as otherwise, but still a couple dozen people, and I thought it went fairly well. I wore my Hawaiian shirt in case those that skipped the lunch for me would have missed a speaker so dressed, although it seemed there were a lot of Hawaiian shirts to be seen at the show. David Lisot videotaped all the educational seminars, and they'll all available for purchase somehow (coinlink.com, I think).
Now back to the Chinese rice noodles. There was an Asian food concessionaire set up near the typical convention food. By 2:00 I was feeling a bit peckish, so I decided a snack was in order, braced myself to have to part with upwards of $10 for something to eat, and was rather astonished that I could buy a half-way decent plate of noodles (OK, they weren't rice noodles) for $2. Gave me the energy I needed to go pan for gold (unsuccesfully) near the budget area, which had been exiled to the far reaches of the floor, so as not to disturb the non-budget people, I guess. 3:30 I went to John Roberts' (ANACS' attributor) "11 VAMs for 2011" presentation, which was followed at 4:30 by VAM Thing VIII, which always has a good turnout. The big news for 2011 is going to be the launch of the SSDC VAM Registry. Later, dinner with some VAM guys at Royal Palace Thai restaurant, down the road a few blocks from Bern's. Quite tasty.
Concurrent with FUN was a motorcycle club convention. On the way back to my hotel, someone riding a rather nice sport bike wiped out for no apparent reason right in front of us. Minor damage to the bike, and the rider was banged up, but able to walk it off. He and others with him were apparently on their way to my hotel, because the lobby of the Hyatt was full of motorcycle clubs. Placed some futile Heritage bids and watched Gold Rush on Discovery channel for far too long, as my 6:30 am flight home meant an obscenely early wake-up time.
As for my lone purchase:
John
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
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"To Give Anything Less than Your Best, Is to Sacrifice the Gift" - Steve Prefontaine
John,
Great to have finally met you.
We also had a large group of
motorcyclists at the Marriott too.
They were the most ill mannered
group I have ever encountered
in a public place. Partying well
into the night - and taking over all
the public spaces in the lobby and bars
and restaurants.
I was most uncomfortable having
what I had with me - because of
the caliber of individuals hanging
around the hotel.
What was the convention hall thinking,
booking a huge coin convention and a
extremely large group of Crotch Rocket
Jockeys [ these were not Harley drivers ]
... these were punks.
Looking forward to Orlando again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>Nice Isabella John, It looks really clean, especially the reverse. What's the grade? >>
PCGS 63.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
<< <i>Nice report and nice looking Isabella. >>
Yup!
U.S. Type Set