ANA World's Fair of Money, 9 years of attendance figures
Wabbit2313
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Denver was the best in 3 years.
2009, Los Angeles total Attendance: 7727
2010, Boston total Attendance: 10204
2011, Chicago total Attendance: 9113
2012, Pennsylvania total Attendance: 8810
2013, Chicago total Attendance: 9082
2014, Chicago total Attendance: 12,642
2015, Chicago total Attendance: 8,635
2016, Anaheim total Attendance: 8,192
2017, Denver total Attendance: 8638
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PS:
-January, 2016 FUN Tampa Attendance: 10700
-January, 2017 FUN Fort Lauderdale Attendance: 8000
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Comments
From the standpoint of a dealer the real key is how many actual buyers with money attended, dealer and collector alike. The ANA tends to draw an upscale crowd as does FUN.
PS: January, 2017 FUN Attendance: 8000
Are these paid admissions or total including no-paying ANA members? What bumped up 2010 and 2014? How do these compare with FUN in January, or Baltimore, or the Little ANA?
Total attendance, and I am not nearly OCD enough to look up all that. (If it is even out there) The same number is used for all years, total attendance, so it does not matter.
When did the gold kennedy come out? I suspect that caused 2014 to spike. I was there in 09, 11, 13, 15, 16 and 17.
seems relatively consistent- within 20% of each other.
Attendance breakdown is useful in determining is ANA shows are reaching a target audience(s) and if there are activities/events in coordination that encourage the paying public to attend vs ANA members.
Any coin show is really two in one: collectors/sellers/buyers and general public (potential collectors). Marketing has to appear to each if attendance is to grow. The flat profile in the OP is disturbing - it shows little apparent increase in attendance
Interesting Denver got that high attendence being isloated from major population areas.
The numbers are disturbingly low.
What were the stats circa 2000-2007?
Looks like we need to go back to the east coast!
President of David Lawrence Rare Coins www.davidlawrence.com
email: John@davidlawrence.com
2022 ANA Dealer of the Year, Past Chair of NCBA (formerly ICTA), PNG Treasurer, Instructor at Witter Coin University, former Instructor/YN Chaperone ANA Summer Seminar, Coin World Most Influential, Curator of the D.L. Hansen Collection
Northern Virginia/DC and Baltimore appearances would be great.
Next year in Philadelphia should be great!
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Of course, the 2014 Chicago (Rosemont) ANA coincided with the release of the Gold Kennedy Half Dollar (available at the Mint's show booth), and that probably fully 100% accounts for that attendance surge.
The problem with all the attendance figures is that we want to use them to evaluate the ability and effectiveness of the ANA professional staff - and guess who comes up with these numbers?
I can't find 2008 Baltimore. By memory, it was well attended.
I agree with Northern Virginia...it's why we fought so hard to get the sales tax repeal in Virginia this year!
President of David Lawrence Rare Coins www.davidlawrence.com
email: John@davidlawrence.com
2022 ANA Dealer of the Year, Past Chair of NCBA (formerly ICTA), PNG Treasurer, Instructor at Witter Coin University, former Instructor/YN Chaperone ANA Summer Seminar, Coin World Most Influential, Curator of the D.L. Hansen Collection
FUN numbers a bit lower because of the rotation between Tampa and Ft Lauderdale. A return to the Orlando venue would boast numbers to. A higher level however the folks getting used to FL east/west coast will also rise in future
It's not a bad idea to go there (Northern VA) but it's gotta be within 15 or 20 miles of Reagan/National while still being as far away from the District as possible.
I'm not up on the tax laws like I used to be, but I always supposed that FUN was kinda a partially expense deductible nicer weather/ winter vacation for the dealers. Am I wrong?
I am looking forward to Philadelphia next year. I only attend these shows when they are in NY or Philadelphia because I can take the train from NJ.
So I guess stay away from the west coast?
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
In my opinion and experience, the gold Kennedy fiasco gave 2014 artificially high numbers. Also, I believe these numbers include dealers, volunteers and staff and, if so, general public numbers should be reduced by about 1,500-2,000 per show.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Laura Sperber commented, on Legend's site, on the low public attendances, and opined that the Rosemont venue is best for public attendance. With all due respect, the attendance figures do not support her premise. Throw out the 2014 Gold Kennedy debacle, and look at the other years:
2009, Los Angeles total Attendance: 7727. Comment: The LA Convention Center was absolutely a horrible venue. Nothing around it except vacant lots and run down gritty city, no close-by tourist friendly restaurants or attractions, and at the time, there was not hotel within walking distance.
2010, Boston total Attendance: 10204. Comment: Maybe this is a place that people would like to visit with historical significance?
2011, Chicago total Attendance: 9113. Comment: This is Rosemont, a city attached to O'Hare Airport, a long way from downtown Chicago. Maybe the dealers like it, but for collectors, its a real blah place.
2012, Pennsylvania total Attendance: 8810. Comment: Most collectors were pleasantly surprised. Nice venue! Stuff close-by, very easy public transportation from outlying areas, and who can forget the food at the Reading Market across the street?
2013, Chicago total Attendance: 9082. Comment: same as 2011
2014, Chicago total Attendance: 12,642. Comment: The Gold Kennedy debacle. Glad I did not go.
2015, Chicago total Attendance: 8,635. Comment: same as 2011.
2016, Anaheim total Attendance: 8,192. Comment: none.
2017, Denver total Attendance: 8638. Comment: Same attendance levels as Rosemont, but a lot nicer place in my opinion.
If the ANA wants to increase public attendance, get rid of the Tuesday-Saturday format. Open the show when working people would be able to attend - Friday or Saturday, and have a highlight for Sunday, say maybe a platinum night auction. And keep the show from folding up on Sunday by running it through Tuesday.
I do think that the ANA should promote the "Philadelphia Brand" and emphasize the many positive things about the city and show venue.
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I went to all of these shows. The comments are 100% correct.
In today's world, Rosemont is about the best you can get. The dealers and their expensive inventories have to be able to get in and out quickly and safely. The after hours part of Rosemont has improved in recent year too. Downtown Chicago is an expensive dump and a crime trap, a place of great memories but expensive and inferior reality.
Unlike Manhattan where they put the garbage on the sidewalk? Please.
I don't ever have to deal with NYC. Every once in a while, I think about going to the big world coin show there, or to one of the two big museums. I take a pill, and the feeling passes.
I did attend the inaugural Chicago Coin Expo and will try it again when they get to Palmer House. But everything incidental was far more expensive than in Rosemont.
There has to be potential for ROI at major shows, otherwise, the investment for dealers is not worth it. For collectors, the best attraction is proximity (for most - some collectors will travel great distances). No one mentioned Seattle as a destination... the area has a large population of collectors... shows there are always well attended, so a major show comparable to ANA or FUN would likely do well. Cheers, RickO
Northern VA would be nice, except there are no suitable venues, unless one rents the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Center next to Dulles airport. There is a small trade show venue in Chantilly, but it is a one-day type place with nothing nearby except junk food joints.
Maryland has the new National Harbor which has sufficient space, and is close to Washington attractions. But there might be cost issues.
Washington DC has the Convention Center (too big) as some hotel/convention space that might work, especially if the ANA show is as small as the one just held in Denver.
A persistent difficulty is that to be effective the show has to be compact - meeting rooms close to or inside the bourse. That encourages foot traffic between areas. The Denver situation was a great example of failure in this regard.
One thought - how about exploring use of an abandoned shopping mall near a major city?
Laura's quote about the Denver attendance: (I left Kalamazoo spelling as was authored!)
"With numbers as disgraceful as that, its time to pack it in. This show was supposed to be the biggest numismatic event of the year. I don’t think on a bad day of a small comic-con held in a place like Kalmazoo would even have numbers that pathetic."
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I wonder if she did any research at all? It is middle ground at worst, but certainly not disgraceful. She also called attendance "Horrifying" in her rant.
I added FUN Tampa numbers. Can't find FUN Orlando 2015.
Keep in mind that FUN gets to their numbers in fewer days......
Two factors lowered the 2017 Winter FUN attendance.
First, the show was held in Fort Lauderdale, which was not the usual venue. The show has done better in Orlando and even Tampa, but West Palm Beach is not a favored spot.
Second, on the Friday of the show, a terrorist with a gun shot up the Fort Lauderdale Airport and killed a number of people. The traffic at the show was shut down, and there was a period where no one could get in or out of the area where the show was held. That effected the Friday attendance for sure and might well have affected the Saturday crowd as well.
And by West Palm Beach, you mean Fort Lauderdale.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Thank you for the correction. Since I am not a fan of that side of Florida, I tend to lump it all together.
For reasons already mentioned, I believe one must discount the numbers for Chicago 2014 and FUN 2017.
However, something I have not yet seen touched upon is the "quality" of those numbers and I am not certain we have an answer to this. That is, if a show attracts lots of folks who spend a few hours on one afternoon on the bourse then it would likely have a different feel from a show that might attract lots of folks who come by on multiple days. In the latter case, the attendance numbers might be unchanged, but the bourse would be more full and apparently busy throughout. This isn't a sports or concert event where nearly everyone shows up at the beginning and stays until the end. This is a possibly important point that I do not know the answer to and that no one, if I recall correctly, has mentioned.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
If the ANA keeps doing things as they always have, we will see no change. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. At the risk of sounding clichѐ, they need to think outside of the box. Perhaps the most useful idea presented here was presented by claychaser, when he stated:
"If the ANA wants to increase public attendance, get rid of the Tuesday-Saturday format. Open the show when working people would be able to attend - Friday or Saturday, and have a highlight for Sunday, say maybe a platinum night auction. And keep the show from folding up on Sunday by running it through Tuesday."
This should increase attendance by collectors, who are often turned off by empty tables on Saturday and Sunday, when most dealers have left for home.
With the exception of the two California shows (Los Angeles and Anaheim), I attended most of the World's Fair of Money shows listed by the OP, and can generally agree with claychaser's observations on each. I have always enjoyed the Chicago shows (I go for the coins and not the sightseeing), and I also find any coin show in Baltimore to be successful. Philadelphia also offers much for the collector, and is close to the center of the collector population. I would have no problem with limiting the ANA World's Fair of Money show to these three cities, on a rotating basis. As a New Englander, I greatly enjoyed the proximity of the 2010 Boston show, but recognize the limited access for many others from areas distant from Boston.
Greetings from Seattle area. They'd have to have it by the airport. Hotels in downtown are about $350 per night for a basic room in August. And the food I had at Rosemont was better and cheaper than anything I've had here.