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Thoughts on a large local show - Aug. 30, 2015
291fifth
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For the first time in more than a year I went to a local coin show, in this case the Polish-American Coin Club show held in Troy, MI. My observations:
1. Lots of dealers (at least 50 I would guess), lots of customers.
2. Widely varied stock but not much that went beyond "ordinary" coins or currency.
3. Lots of slabs of many brands and lots of raw. Most of the raw coins were "ok" but very uninspiring.
4. One currency dealer I talked to (or tried to talk to would be a better way of putting it) showed no interest in learning something about Irish notes from someone who has 40+ years experience in the field (me). As soon as he identified me as a non-buyer he did his best to ignore what I had to say.
5. I loved the dealer who had kid's swimming pools filled with ultra-modern stuff of all kinds marked at 50% off. (I didn't buy any, though.)
6. Many of the familiar faces I was used to seeing at shows in years past were not there. Many new faces were there, nearly all appearing to be at least my age or older.
7. I didn't see any counterfeits. That is one good thing.
8. There is a market out there for less expensive material. The Detroit area has always been known for this.
1. Lots of dealers (at least 50 I would guess), lots of customers.
2. Widely varied stock but not much that went beyond "ordinary" coins or currency.
3. Lots of slabs of many brands and lots of raw. Most of the raw coins were "ok" but very uninspiring.
4. One currency dealer I talked to (or tried to talk to would be a better way of putting it) showed no interest in learning something about Irish notes from someone who has 40+ years experience in the field (me). As soon as he identified me as a non-buyer he did his best to ignore what I had to say.
5. I loved the dealer who had kid's swimming pools filled with ultra-modern stuff of all kinds marked at 50% off. (I didn't buy any, though.)
6. Many of the familiar faces I was used to seeing at shows in years past were not there. Many new faces were there, nearly all appearing to be at least my age or older.
7. I didn't see any counterfeits. That is one good thing.
8. There is a market out there for less expensive material. The Detroit area has always been known for this.
All glory is fleeting.
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I went to 3 local shows last spring and the thing the separated the good one from the bad one was space. The bad one was in a small convention center room with lots of dealers and hardly enough room to move around and comfortably look at coins. The other 2 were good simply because there was plenty of room to stop and spend a lot of time looking at each dealers' table. I enjoy coin shows the most when I can take my time and relax while I look at coins.
Sounds pretty much the same as I remember, but you didn't even mention the food. Now I'm not an expert on Polish cuisine (and certainly didn't know what everything on the plate was), but I'd say it was the best food I ever had at a coin show. Plus you didn't need any mustard.
Some years, the highlight was the food, not the coins.
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