My Day at the (Long) Beach
TommyType
Posts: 4,586 ✭✭✭✭✭
I didn’t have a plan. In fact, the show was kind of unnecessary to me right now! In the last 4 months, I went to the previous Long Beach as well as the Anaheim ANA, so another large coin show didn’t seem to be a requirement for me.
Also, I’m in the process of consolidating the collection. Great Collections auctions, PCGS submissions, and general housekeeping. The goal being to get the type set in order, and generate money for what will be more expensive purchases for my type set soon….but I’m not ready to go there yet.
But when you have most of the day off, and a major coin show is in town? You have to go!!
I got out of the office at 10:00am, and got to Long Beach by about 11:00am or so. The crowd wasn’t HUGE, but it was busy. Much busier than the ANA on a Friday mid-day. Safe to say that with this many years under its belt, Long Beach has the attention of SoCal collectors, whereas the ANA might not have.
I walked the entire bourse floor, and noticed a couple of things. 1) There were some major national dealers not there, who would normally be at LB. I’m assuming the ANA, and California nexus rules may have kept them away? And, 2) There seemed to be a lot more sports cards and memorabilia dealers than usual. So, in the end, all tables were at least being used.
Without a plan, I felt free to do whatever happened to feel “right” at each table. I found myself:
1) Looking at flowing hair halves, which will probably be my first “big” purchase of my next type set phase. I saw a lot fewer than I expected in the VG-F range.
2) I was looking to fill holes in my 3-cent nickel and Walking Half date sets. Few 3-cent nickels in my (limited) grade requirements, and as I’ve noted in the past, few circulated Walkers beyond the 1921’s that seem to be everywhere, and 1938D’s that everyone has. Frankly, I find it hard to believe these are “key date” coins an longer…..
3) I was looking for Texas and San Diego commemoratives.
During my walk of the bourse, I didn’t even ask to see a coin in any case. Just took notes on the 3 or 4 items of interest for a return visit. In the end, I did buy 3 coins based on those notes:
1) 1937D Texas Half. PCGS MS-65 CAC. I’ve made the comment in the past that I thought Great Collections was probably a better route to attain this, rather than paying “full retail” from a dealer. But in a dealer’s case was this one with all of the luster you expect from a Texas, and boldly marked $165. WHAT!!?? Well, that’s about what they are going for at auction, so I had to take a look. Beautiful clean surfaces, and just a shade away from white. I saw no reason NOT to buy it!
2) 1918S Walker. PCGS XF-40. The PCGS price guide says $110, so it’s not a huge purchase. And with the price jumping to $240 in AU, this was right in my grade range of interest. But again, this one was boldly marked $71. (Who marks a coin “$71”…why not $70 or $75?) Nice dusty original, so I have no idea why this wasn’t priced closer to $100 or more. Mine now! I didn’t ask for a discount…that would be wrong.
3) 1862 Silver 3 Cent, PCGS MS-62. This was a whim purchase. I saw it, and liked it. I didn’t NEED it since I have one that I expect to cross to PCGS soon at high AU. But what the heck…some coins just talk to you. It’s mostly white and lustrous. Dealer graded it himself as MS-63. So I agreed to pay $10 over guide. No big deal, given what I could convince myself I “saved” on the other two.
All in all, I had a fun afternoon. I was probably out of there by 2:30pm. Didn’t want to overdose on “Big Coin Shows”!
Also, I’m in the process of consolidating the collection. Great Collections auctions, PCGS submissions, and general housekeeping. The goal being to get the type set in order, and generate money for what will be more expensive purchases for my type set soon….but I’m not ready to go there yet.
But when you have most of the day off, and a major coin show is in town? You have to go!!
I got out of the office at 10:00am, and got to Long Beach by about 11:00am or so. The crowd wasn’t HUGE, but it was busy. Much busier than the ANA on a Friday mid-day. Safe to say that with this many years under its belt, Long Beach has the attention of SoCal collectors, whereas the ANA might not have.
I walked the entire bourse floor, and noticed a couple of things. 1) There were some major national dealers not there, who would normally be at LB. I’m assuming the ANA, and California nexus rules may have kept them away? And, 2) There seemed to be a lot more sports cards and memorabilia dealers than usual. So, in the end, all tables were at least being used.
Without a plan, I felt free to do whatever happened to feel “right” at each table. I found myself:
1) Looking at flowing hair halves, which will probably be my first “big” purchase of my next type set phase. I saw a lot fewer than I expected in the VG-F range.
2) I was looking to fill holes in my 3-cent nickel and Walking Half date sets. Few 3-cent nickels in my (limited) grade requirements, and as I’ve noted in the past, few circulated Walkers beyond the 1921’s that seem to be everywhere, and 1938D’s that everyone has. Frankly, I find it hard to believe these are “key date” coins an longer…..
3) I was looking for Texas and San Diego commemoratives.
During my walk of the bourse, I didn’t even ask to see a coin in any case. Just took notes on the 3 or 4 items of interest for a return visit. In the end, I did buy 3 coins based on those notes:
1) 1937D Texas Half. PCGS MS-65 CAC. I’ve made the comment in the past that I thought Great Collections was probably a better route to attain this, rather than paying “full retail” from a dealer. But in a dealer’s case was this one with all of the luster you expect from a Texas, and boldly marked $165. WHAT!!?? Well, that’s about what they are going for at auction, so I had to take a look. Beautiful clean surfaces, and just a shade away from white. I saw no reason NOT to buy it!
2) 1918S Walker. PCGS XF-40. The PCGS price guide says $110, so it’s not a huge purchase. And with the price jumping to $240 in AU, this was right in my grade range of interest. But again, this one was boldly marked $71. (Who marks a coin “$71”…why not $70 or $75?) Nice dusty original, so I have no idea why this wasn’t priced closer to $100 or more. Mine now! I didn’t ask for a discount…that would be wrong.
3) 1862 Silver 3 Cent, PCGS MS-62. This was a whim purchase. I saw it, and liked it. I didn’t NEED it since I have one that I expect to cross to PCGS soon at high AU. But what the heck…some coins just talk to you. It’s mostly white and lustrous. Dealer graded it himself as MS-63. So I agreed to pay $10 over guide. No big deal, given what I could convince myself I “saved” on the other two.
All in all, I had a fun afternoon. I was probably out of there by 2:30pm. Didn’t want to overdose on “Big Coin Shows”!
Easily distracted Type Collector
0
Comments
Sounds like a fun day. Let's see some pictures
Bad pictures? Sure....
Not real happy with the Texas pics....and the 3-cent got too grainy since I took them at the same distance as the halves. But the Walker ain't TOO bad.
(Edited to resize them smaller than Jupiter).
Thanks for the report and pics. Interesting that the 1937 Texas commemorative came out a year after the event it celebrated. Is there a story behind that delay?
I think it was just one of the abuses that ended up ruining the whole idea. They made them for a string of 5 years, even into 1938. I think later commems got even worse.....
Any day at a coin show is better than the office.
Totally agree....I wish there were even a minor coin show in this area.
Nice report...and that Texas commemorative is very, very nice. I like the WLH too.
Cheers, RickO