Charmy's June 2017 LONG BEACH SHOW REPORT w/lots of Pics!

The summer Long Beach show is usually slower and a little less attended by both dealers and the public than the winter and fall shows, and this one was no exception. Expos Unlimited/PCGS did their usual great job making sure all the dealers had what they needed, and even walked around the bourse floor asking if they could do anything for each of the dealers. For me (and all the other dealers who drive to the show), the only negative part of this show is the loading dock system. It is so slow and tedious and needs to be revamped. I can't really think of the right way to improve the process, but every year it just seems to take longer to actually get inside the bourse. Other than that, I love this show as it is very well run and one I look forward to the most!

By the way, the June Long Beach show typically doesn't have any major coin displays so this report will NOT be coin intensive but will mostly include photos in and around the bourse floor and Long Beach in general.

We've been having "June Gloom" so the weather in the morning is very overcast but it usually burns off around 11am.

I got to the loading dock at 10:30 am (1 1/2 hours before the bourse opened for set up) and was 18th in the line of cars waiting to unload. The first car in line had been there since 8:30 am!

Rather than wait forever to be let up to the loading dock, I decided to park the car in the temporary lot right next to the ramp, unload, and with the help of my booth buddy Rich, we pushed my cart up the ramp to the loading door, then moved my car to the regular parking lot. This way, I was able to enter the bourse floor right when it opened. Since I only had one load, this was a much better solution for me than waiting in line for hours.

With the help of my boothmates, Rich and Roger, I got set up pretty quickly.

Then the buying began! I found several great pennies on Wednesday and throughout the week to add to my inventory, including a beautifully emerald green toned 1911 Matte Proof Lincoln.

I also bought this very cute Indian cent teapot that came with this copper case for my personal collection. The teapot has the tiniest lid of any of my teapots!

As usual, PCGS sponsored beer and taquitos for all the dealers on set up day, and also as usual, they were a big hit! This is my friend Matt Chapman.

After set up day ended, we went to our usual Wednesday night restaurant, Cafe Piccolo's, with the usual gang: my booth buddy Rich, Karl and Joanne Stephens and Ron Guth (PCGS), and had some great wines.

Thursday had pretty good public attendance and I was busy with some decent sales throughout the day.

By early afternoon, it slowed down so I was able to walk the floor some more. Afterwards, we opened this bottle of Barbed Wire wine that one of my customers gave me.

After the show we went to the usual Thursday night place, Naple's Ribs, along with a great group of other dealers.

I always order the combo platter because my hubby would be very disappointed if I didn't save some of these delicious ribs for him!

On Friday I had decided to stay overnight in Long Beach rather than drive home like I usually do because I had received a notice from Hyatt that if I didn't use my points within the next two months, I would lose them. So I used some of the points for one night at the Hyatt in Long Beach. So on Friday morning I went straight to the Hyatt and parked my car there. I arrived at 9am and decided to pre-check in so I could leave my overnight bag at the bell desk and just pick up my room keys later that night. When I was giving the clerk my info, the guy next to me who was checking in with another clerk, was loudly talking on his cell phone while his clerk was trying to check him in. I scowled at him but he didn't even notice, so I commented to my clerk that that guy was extremely rude. She got a big grin on her face and completely agreed with me. I also stated that he was being very disrespectful to the poor clerk who had to wait for him to finish his phone conversation so she could complete his check in. She grinned again and said, because I was so nice to her, that she would find an available room for me even though it was only 9am, and even gave me one facing the harbor! She also said she was giving me a complimentary breakfast buffet in the morning. I was so surprised by her generosity. She said she really appreciated my comments because she wasn't allowed to say anything herself. I told her I only said what she was thinking and she laughed!

The Hyatt in Long Beach is a beautiful hotel!

So I went up to my room and immediately saw my beautiful view of the Long Beach Harbor. Luckily, Friday there was no June Gloom and my view was fantastic! These two photos are taken from my window.

This photo was taken from the elevator lobby window on my floor.

These were taken from the walkway between the Hyatt and the convention center.

The front of the beautiful convention center!

Inside the front of the convention center

Right inside the bourse floor are these wonderful Expo folks, eager and willing to help you with whatever you may need!

Friday morning was busy, but it seemed to die down pretty early. But I did manage to pick up this fantastic toned Cameo 1878 Indian cent with gorgeous vibrant magenta and rainbow toning!

In the afternoon we opened this wonderful bottle of Oso Libre Zinfandel that Rich brought for us to share. It was wonderful!

After the show on Friday, a group of us went across to harbor for dinner. These are some photos taken on the walkway from the convention center to the harbor. As you can see it was another beautiful evening in Southern California!

We decided to have dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant, PF Changs. We had dinner outside on the patio and really enjoyed the warm weather. I decided to have one of their tasty Mai Tais!

My favorite appetizers: pot stickers and spring rolls!

Me and my posse!

The night life at the Long Beach Harbor area!

Since I wasn't driving home this time, we headed over to the dueling piano bar right near the harbor, Sergeant Pepper's. We had a great time!

"Let's do the Time Warp Again!"

When I got back to my room, I took a picture of the beautiful view of the harbor at night!

On Saturday, it was pretty slow for most of the day, with a lot of people looking but not much in sales. I did sell a nice original 1909-S vdb in low grade to a collector who needed that last coin to finish his Lincoln set. I am always honored to be the one to help a collector find that last coin to complete their set!

I also prepared a lot of raw coins for submission at PCGS, along with a few crossovers. That took up most of my Saturday morning.

Soon, once again, it was time to pack up and head home. That's always the hardest part, but it was great to get home and relax. On the way home, I made a quick stop at my p.o. box to pick up my mail. I was very pleased to find these scarce pie cutters with handles in my box that I had bought on eBay. Once is a Canadian large cent and one is an Indian cent! It's very hard to find large cent pie cutters with the handles, much less Canadian large cents and, even harder, Indian cents!

When I got home, even though my hubby was away on the pit crew of a race, my little fatty Penny was there waiting for me!

Next up: ANA Summer Seminar in 2 weeks, then the San Diego Coinaram, and the Fremont Coin Show next month!