RYK's SLNA Show Report, 2/07/2015
RYK
Posts: 35,797 ✭✭✭✭✭
For the record, this is my 11th consecutive annual SLNA coin show report, starting in 2005. I was thinking about not going this year, but I am glad that I went, Search "SLNA" and you can verify this streak, which may not be the coin show report equivalent of Lou Gehrig's 2130 streak, but it certainly is beginning to rival Dimaggio's 56. Enough about the streak...
It is a spring-like February Saturday, and after the morning run with my peeps, and a few chores around the house, I drove the treacherous 7 mile highway trip through about 8 municipalities, each patrolling their section of the highway, hoping for schmucks to hit 61 mph, like starving German Shepherds, to the Airport Hilton. Like Clint Eastwood in The Gauntlet. When I arrived at the show, the parking lot was more full than I can ever remember to attend this coin show, so perhaps something else was going on. At registration, about 20 mins after the 10A opening to the public, there was a short line for entry, and I still chuckle about paying the quant $1 entry fee to the show.
The show was busy, with the usual mix of both national and local/regional dealers. I did two tours around the room, 100 or so tables, in search of DOGs in OGHs, and there were none. QED I flirted with the notion of buying an 1801 LC "3 errors" at Tom Reynolds table. He had 6 and told me that he had just purchased a hoard of 120+, which sort of killed my interest. It is a coin that I almost purchased for my boyhood collection, bought and sold one later, and have always had a fascination.
There is one dealer from New York who always has the same tired selection of great "but for" coins, a Humbert slug, a Norris Gregg Norris $5, a proof Liberty $20, an 1801 $10, etc, which are all great coins "but for" the significant problems. Every year, he schleps the same coins around, and every year I ask myself why.
I visited with Shrub68 a nice gentleman dealer from Mississippi, who I see regularly on the forum, at the local shows, and on the national circuit. I saw James Garcia working hard, now on his own (with a partner), having left the employ of Scotsman. I was hoping to see njcoincrank, a fixture at this and the fall St. Louis show, but his assigned table was occupied by a purveyor of junque, and Bill was nowhere to be seen.
I spent less than hour and only the dollar for admission. Fortunately, I made it home without a speeding ticket (the Porsche that zipped by me was not so lucky). I guess I will plan to go again next year, if only to keep the coin show report streak alive.
A few observations...
1. Maybe I am getting older, but the crowd is looking younger. Perhaps this is attributable to the Saturday morning draw.
2. Speaking of Saturday morning, conventional wisdom dictates to NEVER go to a coin show on Saturday, and at least when I was there, the aisles were full of people, and nearly all of the tables were staffed and had coins on display.
3. I never, ever saw anyone buy Disney Dollars at a coin show--until today.
4. I overheard a couple of dealers say that they were having a much better show than at Long Beach and also lamented the high expense of traveling to and attending the Long Beach show.
5. I overheard two dealers both saying that they had no idea what to buy at coin shows any more because they have no idea what there customers will buy. One was a prominent national dealer.
6. Orville Grady still sets up as a bookseller. There were rumors of his retirement several years ago, but these were obviously not so.
7. The usual line of people cashing in their silver and gold at the Silvertowne table was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the guys looked pretty bored. Years of high precious metals prices and people dumping their metals during the Great Recession have probably made that trade somewhat played out.
8. The new "gradient blue" PCGS slabs are everywhere, and I just do not like the look. As a collector, aesthetics are everything to me.
9. I saw my first "live" PQ-approved coin (there was only one in the room), and it was an NGC Saint in 66 and nothing special, IMO. I doubt it would cross or CAC sticker.
It is a spring-like February Saturday, and after the morning run with my peeps, and a few chores around the house, I drove the treacherous 7 mile highway trip through about 8 municipalities, each patrolling their section of the highway, hoping for schmucks to hit 61 mph, like starving German Shepherds, to the Airport Hilton. Like Clint Eastwood in The Gauntlet. When I arrived at the show, the parking lot was more full than I can ever remember to attend this coin show, so perhaps something else was going on. At registration, about 20 mins after the 10A opening to the public, there was a short line for entry, and I still chuckle about paying the quant $1 entry fee to the show.
The show was busy, with the usual mix of both national and local/regional dealers. I did two tours around the room, 100 or so tables, in search of DOGs in OGHs, and there were none. QED I flirted with the notion of buying an 1801 LC "3 errors" at Tom Reynolds table. He had 6 and told me that he had just purchased a hoard of 120+, which sort of killed my interest. It is a coin that I almost purchased for my boyhood collection, bought and sold one later, and have always had a fascination.
There is one dealer from New York who always has the same tired selection of great "but for" coins, a Humbert slug, a Norris Gregg Norris $5, a proof Liberty $20, an 1801 $10, etc, which are all great coins "but for" the significant problems. Every year, he schleps the same coins around, and every year I ask myself why.
I visited with Shrub68 a nice gentleman dealer from Mississippi, who I see regularly on the forum, at the local shows, and on the national circuit. I saw James Garcia working hard, now on his own (with a partner), having left the employ of Scotsman. I was hoping to see njcoincrank, a fixture at this and the fall St. Louis show, but his assigned table was occupied by a purveyor of junque, and Bill was nowhere to be seen.
I spent less than hour and only the dollar for admission. Fortunately, I made it home without a speeding ticket (the Porsche that zipped by me was not so lucky). I guess I will plan to go again next year, if only to keep the coin show report streak alive.
A few observations...
1. Maybe I am getting older, but the crowd is looking younger. Perhaps this is attributable to the Saturday morning draw.
2. Speaking of Saturday morning, conventional wisdom dictates to NEVER go to a coin show on Saturday, and at least when I was there, the aisles were full of people, and nearly all of the tables were staffed and had coins on display.
3. I never, ever saw anyone buy Disney Dollars at a coin show--until today.
4. I overheard a couple of dealers say that they were having a much better show than at Long Beach and also lamented the high expense of traveling to and attending the Long Beach show.
5. I overheard two dealers both saying that they had no idea what to buy at coin shows any more because they have no idea what there customers will buy. One was a prominent national dealer.
6. Orville Grady still sets up as a bookseller. There were rumors of his retirement several years ago, but these were obviously not so.
7. The usual line of people cashing in their silver and gold at the Silvertowne table was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the guys looked pretty bored. Years of high precious metals prices and people dumping their metals during the Great Recession have probably made that trade somewhat played out.
8. The new "gradient blue" PCGS slabs are everywhere, and I just do not like the look. As a collector, aesthetics are everything to me.
9. I saw my first "live" PQ-approved coin (there was only one in the room), and it was an NGC Saint in 66 and nothing special, IMO. I doubt it would cross or CAC sticker.
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Comments
<< <i>8. The new "gradient blue" PCGS slabs are everywhere, and I just do not like the look. As a collector, aesthetics are everything to me. >>
Latin American Collection
Enjoy reading your report, interesting observations.
Thank you.
<< <i>Enjoyable read. #5 regarding the dalers not knowing what to buy is particularly interesting. >>
But I get it. Home run sure bets are already so fully priced that room is hard to find and everything else is.... Well everything else. I would wager it isn't so much what to buy but how to buy it.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
I was there Friday.... WOW talk about CROWDS... That venue has the narrowest isles of any show ever, so the large crowd
made it HOT and uncomfortable till about 1:00 o'clock when it thinned out....
Saw the "partner" tried to ignore James, did leave 6 Draped Bust halves with him to put in the next Scotsman auction though..
Did you spend some time looking over Orville Grady's inventory? Did he anything interesting?
I see that the SLNA show is on Numismatic Americana's show schedule. Perhaps Bill left early?
(The July St. Louis show is on his schedule - perhaps you'll get a chance to see him then.)
Check out the Southern Gold Society
#9 opinions of opinions are opinions?
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Thanks for the report !!!
Coin Club Benefit auctions ..... View the Lots
The most encouraging observation seems to be the age of the crowd looking younger
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Part of Jim Grady's library was in the David Sklow auction that closed Saturday night. After returning from a day trip to Atlanta -- to watch Georgia Tech defeat Wake Forest in basketball, 73 - 59 -- I frantically reviewed the Sklow catalog, but didn't find anything that I needed.
You must keep the steak alive.
<< <i>Great report.
You must keep the steak alive. >>
I believe Robert isn't a fan of red meat
Latin American Collection
<< <i>
<< <i>Great report.
You must keep the steak alive. >>
I believe Robert isn't a fan of red meat >>
That's why he has to keep it alive.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson