One more observation on the Atlanta ANA

Klif50

As I was walking the floor I came up on a bunch of people watching a guy work a token press. I stopped to watch them. There was a young man and young lady (probably late 20's but at my age anyone that didn't go to Vietnam to fight is young). She was melting some non precious metal and then pouring it in to a small ingot mold. When it cooled she took the ingots and ran them through a small mill to make them thinner and thinner. Once the strips were to the desired thickness she put them in to a punch (all this equipment was hand operated). She took the blanks and put them in to an upsetting machine to give them the rim and then handed them to the guy who then minted the nickle sized token. Very neat process to watch. Very labor intensive and the equipment they used looked like it weighed a ton and would be something that would show up on Pawn Stars. I didn't get their company name but the token has it but it's at the bottom of my back pack, yet to be unpacked, along with the extra ammo for my handgun and the spare magazines for said pistol. I believe they are a custom token maker but I wanted to mention the tremendous amount of work they went through, over and over, doing that demo and how impressed I was with their marketing skills, their smooth talk and their (well actually the young lady in particular) good looks. Didn't see a spot of hotdog mustard on them at all.

Also wanted to mention the pages and runners that were constantly flitting from table to table taking care of the dealer needs. Great group of young people. Also I'm very proud of the Scouts that came out in uniform and did their things towards getting the coin collecting merit badge.

One other thing of note. There were a lot of Atlanta's finest in the room and at the doors and I would have felt bad for anyone who might have tried to make a smash and grab or a grab and run. I was standing behind one of the officers and was checking out his glock on one side, his taser on the other, the collapsible baton on his belt, the pepper spray on his belt, his two sets of handcuffs, plus the 4 or 5 zip ties, his vest under his shirt and his highly shined boots. I had though about saying "hey, you show me yours and I'll show you mine" but knowing that I was heaving outgunned and would have looked silly in a "who has the biggest one" contest I just walked on by.

I do have one more question though and it's probably silly and readily apparent but I don't understand why I had to stand in line on Saturday and get a wrist band and why I had to show that same wrist band to get in on Saturday morning. Admission was free, there were no pictures or records of me being there so was the wrist band just a feel good freebie or did it serve a purpose? If it had a rfid chip in it (as I understand some of the PCGS slabs now have) they are going to be might confused if they followed me since I went to church Saturday evening for a dinner and Christian comedy show, back home and then back to church this morning and then to Stevie B for pizza for lunch and then to Lowes and back home for a nap. When can I take this wrist band off?

Yall have a great week and enjoy life.

Klif50

OK, so there was more than one more observation but I'm pretty old and age does have its privilege and oh wait, there goes a squirrel, and what were we talking about.....

Dentuck

You may remove your wrist band now.

Your location is being tracked by a GPS chip in that little aluminum token.

CoinRaritiesOnline

<< <i>One other thing of note. There were a lot of Atlanta's finest in the room and at the doors and I would have felt bad for anyone who might have tried to make a smash and grab or a grab and run. >>



Yes - huge, highly visible police presence throughout.

JakeSherlock

<< <i>I do have one more question though and it's probably silly and readily apparent but I don't understand why I had to stand in line on Saturday and get a wrist band and why I had to show that same wrist band to get in on Saturday morning. Admission was free, there were no pictures or records of me being there so was the wrist band just a feel good freebie or did it serve a purpose? >>



We do the wristbands even on free Saturday so that we can get an accurate attendance count. And it's also a theft deterrent, since people are less likely to grab and run if they're wearing a neon-colored wristband.



<< <i>I didn't get their company name but the token has it but it's at the bottom of my back pack, yet to be unpacked, along with the extra ammo for my handgun and the spare magazines for said pistol. >>


You're talking about the Eureka Mint of Eureka Springs, Ark. Tim Grat is the owner and the guy leading the demonstrations most of the weekend. He's a really good guy. Here's a video we did with him at the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v9fEc2u9Uc&amp;list=UUQ-T-XzN7mJQoYdW5zuGBSA&amp;feature=share&amp;index=2

Eureka Mint Demonstration

Klif50

Thanks very much for the explanation. I couldn't get the link to work but that is the right name. I really enjoyed watching the process.

Klif50

Was able to watch the video and really enjoyed watching the process again.
Thanks again for posting it.

ricko

Thanks for the recap (except you did not say what firearm you were carrying)... and that is an interesting video...Cheers, RickO

Klif50

Actually it was firearms. Glock 23 in .40 S&W on my hip, S&W .38 on my ankle with extra ammo for each. 12 gauge pump in the floor in front of the back seat. I don't consider Atlanta to be that dangerous so I don't go heavily armed down to that part of town, just the usual stuff.