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Long Beach Show Report!
SethChandler
Posts: 1,722 ✭✭✭✭
Long Beach Show Report!
Friday morning, alarm clock goes off at 5am. First thought is, man this stinks, getting up at 5am to go to a coin show!!! I throw it at my wife, hey babe, I'm gonna sleep a little more and catch a later flight. Immediately its a nooooo--sir---e from her...."you love coins, those silver dollars, the carson city thingys, proof this, crackouts, that stuff you refer to as crust, and your collector friends, don't you miss them?" She's right.....so I made my flight.
Smooth ride, from SF its only a little over an hour. I checked into the hotel, banged out a few emails, and called the office to let them know not to bother me. I am at a coin show. Its serious.
First order of business was to immediately head over to the PCGS coin booth to submit a few coins. One in particular was a 1894 Proof Morgan that I purchased as part of an original proof set at the Legend Morphy auction in Vegas last Dec. The coin was already graded PCGS PR64+CAM. I felt the coin was better, a solid 65. Besides, I paid a hefty "original proof set" premium and it would ease the pain if the coin got into a better holder. I stepped up to the plate and paid $200 for the show grading, 4 hour turnaround time. The other coins were sent regular service. Sometimes, I am just lazy about packaging up a bunch of coins and heading over to the post office to submit.
I checked out the 1913 V Nickel. Great display. Good job. I love the original capital plastics holder that its in with the inscription. Hey, FWIW, the coin was actually nice. It looked like a nice clean Brilliant Proof that had been wiped. Hence the PR63 grade. Nothing disappointing about it at all.
Heritage, they are something else. Its like a coin show within a coin show with them. Senior old school guys in there, a bunch a guys and gals in their 20's, a handful of refrigerator vaults, signs, posters, its like they had their own division of the Long Beach show. Of course, their coins, were awesome. They have a nice group of original coins that have been off the market for generations coming up in the CSNS sale in April. Really original stuff. They allowed me to examine a few. The 1796 Dollar in 65 was incredible. You ever checked out Dale Friend's Bust Halves?...all those pretty rainbow MS66's. Well, this Dollar reminded me of those. Also, there was an 1804 Dime MS63. Rare bird.
I had a great visit with Bill Shamhart and Christine Monk. Bill has got absolutely incredible coins. Stuff you just do not see, but only on the cover of a big ANA or FUN auction catalog.
There were many dealers there. Most seemed quite active. Some of the great coins I saw were a 1861-D Gold Dollar 64, a PCGS MS68 Barber Half, 1876 Twenty PR64+DCAM, among others.
After a few hours, I went back to the PCGS table to pick up my Proof Morgan. As I am walking away, I'm thinking if this thing comes back a 64, I am a complete idiot! But I felt pretty sure I was gonna get a 65. To my surprise (errrr, as expected) a PR66CAM.
Bumped into Mark Hagen, who proceeded to show me three really really really rare coins. Very historical. (Mark, if you are reading this, please post them, for many reasons, I do not want to "out" your coins). My favorite was definatly the quarter. Spectacular! After the show and tell, Mark and I went across the street and had a few beers. Good conversation. Its nice to hear from another fellow collector, in their own words, the trials and tribulations of coin collecting. We all can learn a lot from Mark.
After beers we met up with Bill and Christine and had a great dinner at the "555". Nice place and good food.
The last day, Saturday, I ran into Don Willis, who I know is an early coin enthusiast, I whipped out my box and showed him a rarer variety flowing hair half that I have, guessing that he would appreciate it. He certainly did, and went on to tell me about the variety, the story behind the finest known that he bought and how he came across it. Don certainly knows his halves. Then he proceeded to grab my box and examined the rest. Thats cool, he just likes coins. Its the same with me, if a collector friend his showing me a coin or two from a box, I look at the rest as well. Insist on it! Looking at another persons coins is fun, you never know what you will see.
The collection of large cents on display was off the charts. That is certainly a lot of time, effort and energy putting together a set like that. The Liberty Cap 1793! Yummy! Lots of red on many coins. Good job.
Overall a great show, I had a lot of fun. The one thing I would improve is to BAN THE MICROPHONES! I am going to say this again, BAN THE MICROPHONES! It was so annoying. You could not have a conversation with anyone while someone is blabbing away on that thing. It was very loud. I felt like walking up and grabbing the microphone from whomever and then beating the crap out of them with it. It was that bad. Two reasons to use the microphone.......
1) Fire 2) Bret Pogue is here and wants to show off coins. That's it.
Last but not least, while eating my sandwich at the snack bar, there was this old couple that was seated across from me. The old man had his album out and his wife was helping place his coin show purchases in it. Cool. I took a pic, texted it to my wife, and told her I hope thats us in 40 years.
Seth
Edited to add better pic of dollar and entire proof set
Friday morning, alarm clock goes off at 5am. First thought is, man this stinks, getting up at 5am to go to a coin show!!! I throw it at my wife, hey babe, I'm gonna sleep a little more and catch a later flight. Immediately its a nooooo--sir---e from her...."you love coins, those silver dollars, the carson city thingys, proof this, crackouts, that stuff you refer to as crust, and your collector friends, don't you miss them?" She's right.....so I made my flight.
Smooth ride, from SF its only a little over an hour. I checked into the hotel, banged out a few emails, and called the office to let them know not to bother me. I am at a coin show. Its serious.
First order of business was to immediately head over to the PCGS coin booth to submit a few coins. One in particular was a 1894 Proof Morgan that I purchased as part of an original proof set at the Legend Morphy auction in Vegas last Dec. The coin was already graded PCGS PR64+CAM. I felt the coin was better, a solid 65. Besides, I paid a hefty "original proof set" premium and it would ease the pain if the coin got into a better holder. I stepped up to the plate and paid $200 for the show grading, 4 hour turnaround time. The other coins were sent regular service. Sometimes, I am just lazy about packaging up a bunch of coins and heading over to the post office to submit.
I checked out the 1913 V Nickel. Great display. Good job. I love the original capital plastics holder that its in with the inscription. Hey, FWIW, the coin was actually nice. It looked like a nice clean Brilliant Proof that had been wiped. Hence the PR63 grade. Nothing disappointing about it at all.
Heritage, they are something else. Its like a coin show within a coin show with them. Senior old school guys in there, a bunch a guys and gals in their 20's, a handful of refrigerator vaults, signs, posters, its like they had their own division of the Long Beach show. Of course, their coins, were awesome. They have a nice group of original coins that have been off the market for generations coming up in the CSNS sale in April. Really original stuff. They allowed me to examine a few. The 1796 Dollar in 65 was incredible. You ever checked out Dale Friend's Bust Halves?...all those pretty rainbow MS66's. Well, this Dollar reminded me of those. Also, there was an 1804 Dime MS63. Rare bird.
I had a great visit with Bill Shamhart and Christine Monk. Bill has got absolutely incredible coins. Stuff you just do not see, but only on the cover of a big ANA or FUN auction catalog.
There were many dealers there. Most seemed quite active. Some of the great coins I saw were a 1861-D Gold Dollar 64, a PCGS MS68 Barber Half, 1876 Twenty PR64+DCAM, among others.
After a few hours, I went back to the PCGS table to pick up my Proof Morgan. As I am walking away, I'm thinking if this thing comes back a 64, I am a complete idiot! But I felt pretty sure I was gonna get a 65. To my surprise (errrr, as expected) a PR66CAM.
Bumped into Mark Hagen, who proceeded to show me three really really really rare coins. Very historical. (Mark, if you are reading this, please post them, for many reasons, I do not want to "out" your coins). My favorite was definatly the quarter. Spectacular! After the show and tell, Mark and I went across the street and had a few beers. Good conversation. Its nice to hear from another fellow collector, in their own words, the trials and tribulations of coin collecting. We all can learn a lot from Mark.
After beers we met up with Bill and Christine and had a great dinner at the "555". Nice place and good food.
The last day, Saturday, I ran into Don Willis, who I know is an early coin enthusiast, I whipped out my box and showed him a rarer variety flowing hair half that I have, guessing that he would appreciate it. He certainly did, and went on to tell me about the variety, the story behind the finest known that he bought and how he came across it. Don certainly knows his halves. Then he proceeded to grab my box and examined the rest. Thats cool, he just likes coins. Its the same with me, if a collector friend his showing me a coin or two from a box, I look at the rest as well. Insist on it! Looking at another persons coins is fun, you never know what you will see.
The collection of large cents on display was off the charts. That is certainly a lot of time, effort and energy putting together a set like that. The Liberty Cap 1793! Yummy! Lots of red on many coins. Good job.
Overall a great show, I had a lot of fun. The one thing I would improve is to BAN THE MICROPHONES! I am going to say this again, BAN THE MICROPHONES! It was so annoying. You could not have a conversation with anyone while someone is blabbing away on that thing. It was very loud. I felt like walking up and grabbing the microphone from whomever and then beating the crap out of them with it. It was that bad. Two reasons to use the microphone.......
1) Fire 2) Bret Pogue is here and wants to show off coins. That's it.
Last but not least, while eating my sandwich at the snack bar, there was this old couple that was seated across from me. The old man had his album out and his wife was helping place his coin show purchases in it. Cool. I took a pic, texted it to my wife, and told her I hope thats us in 40 years.
Seth
Edited to add better pic of dollar and entire proof set
Collecting since 1976.
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Comments
I was there through Friday morning, arriving on Wednesday. And had a box full off CBH's. I will give you one more chance,
and you better call before you go to a coin show.
BTW, great report. How much extra did you pay for the 66Cam? That is a wow upgrade!
dale
You said your Morgan was slabbed 64+CAM... the plus grades are rather recent (only a year old?) so what the heck happened in twelve months that allowed her to jump from 64+ to 66? Is that what a $200 show fee gets you? Maybe I should submit at shows more often. Would love to hear forumite thoughts on this awesome upgrade.
Otherwise THANK YOU for sharing your story it really was a great read.
Amat Colligendo Focum
Top 10 • FOR SALE
PCGS Registries
Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
Larry L.
Happy to hear that you went down after we talked the other day. I was more than a little jealous...would have loved to have headed down there too. Five years til retirement...more shows await.
Great score on the Morgan. Sounds like you paid just right for that set.
For those that don't know Seth, you have to watch him....he is wily. And he is not above probing questions to see how much you know (or don't know). My response is usually, "I don't know Seth", followed by a similar question that is slightly reworded.
Have to throw a plug in for Boiler78. One of the most knowledgable collectors on these boards...with some big time coins....please do post the coins Seth is talking about.
siliconvalleycoins.com
Steve
siliconvalleycoins.com
siliconvalleycoins.com
MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
AB
<< <i>BTW, I am just following your instructions...but what else is in that box with the Morgan sitting on it? >>
Good one!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
PCGS Registries
Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
<< <i>The one thing I would improve is to BAN THE MICROPHONES! I am going to say this again, BAN THE MICROPHONES! It was so annoying. You could not have a conversation with anyone while someone is blabbing away on that thing. It was very loud. I felt like walking up and grabbing the microphone from whomever and then beating the crap out of them with it. It was that bad. Two reasons to use the microphone.......
1) Fire 2) Bret Pogue is here and wants to show off coins. That's it.
>>
Yup. All show organizers - please pay attention! This is not just a LB show problem.
Congrats on the nice upgrade for the Morgan.
Mike
Seth- It was a pleasure catching up with you (can't believe it's been that long?)and sharing a meal with Christine and Bill is always a pleasure as well (especially when they insist on picking up the tab
At first I though you meant San Francisco. San Fernando valley is more likely. ....Not used to Cali lingo.
siliconvalleycoins.com
Haha. "Smooth flight" would have clued me in better.
I wanted to add one more thing that needs to be re-examined. Tables and chairs off to the side so collectors can get together and show off coins. Thats important. Collector get togethers. It gives us a chance to relax, tell stories, coin show and tell, review coins, rest & recharge to hit the floor again. The area that was set up for this was about half a dozen tables that was part of the food vendor, people eating lunch. All of this was surrounded by all the collectables stuff. It was not an environment that I wanted whip out a bunch of coins in. (Contrary to the old man in my photo below).
Did I say anything about banning the microphone?
coinlieutenant
<< <i>Great score on the Morgan. Sounds like you paid just right for that set. All that talk about "paying up". As usual, you knew exactly what you had.
>>
Come John, don't bust my chops. I got lucky. Sure, the coin was nice and it simply slipped through the cracks.
<< <i>...but what else is in that box with the Morgan sitting on it? >>
Awee, it was just stuff. No monsters. Ask Don Willis, he looked through it.
TahoeDale :
<< <i>Okay, Seth, you have done it again(LV PCGS show was the other one)
I was there through Friday morning, arriving on Wednesday. And had a box full off CBH's. I will give you one more chance,
and you better call before you go to a coin show.
>>
Yes you are correct, I am sorry. But I thought I read somewhere that you were going to be at the show until Thurs? I didn't actually hit the bourse until about noon Friday. There will be others, I promise. Sorry to have missed you.
LochNESS
<< <i>Awesome report. Well-written, entertaining, good humor, I felt like I was right there with you. Wish I could've been. I only have one question and I mean NO insult but it begs asking:
You said your Morgan was slabbed 64+CAM... the plus grades are rather recent (only a year old?) so what the heck happened in twelve months that allowed her to jump from 64+ to 66? Is that what a $200 show fee gets you? Maybe I should submit at shows more often. Would love to hear forumite thoughts on this awesome upgrade.
Otherwise THANK YOU for sharing your story it really was a great read. >>
Thanks. It happens. The coin IS nice. I showed it to a handful of people (see Boiler's comments in thread) and they all liked it. When I handed it to people, I said you MUST tell me exactly what you think. Don't sugarcoat anything. Its most likely a new coin to the market, and PCGS does not get it right every time. Their goal is 75% right.
Eureka
<< <i>Nice report, and sorry I missed you. One question. Now that the Morgan is in a 66 holder, will you keep it or dump it? >>
You were at the show!!! I didn't see your name in the dealer listing. Sorry to miss you. The Dollar will remain in the set, and the set with me for awhile. Its nice!
Wondercoin