Houston Coin Show
oldgoldlover
Posts: 429 ✭✭✭
I walked through a local coin show in Houston a week ago Friday and all I saw was row after row of worn common date material. Some gold there but not one really rare coin. There were more dealers than attendees and it was like a traffic court in that everyone seemed unenthusiastic. Did not see one coin sell. At first glance it looked like there were two rooms to look over but the back wall was only a mirror.
It seems the nice material is not making its way to these shows and unless you want to buy mid grade raw coins there is no point is going. Pizza even sucked. Hope this the exception rather than the rule for other shows.
Is this what you folks are seeing at your local coin shows?
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I've quit going to the smaller shows here in Texas. It's just to hard to find much of anything at the smaller shows. However, I am looking forward to the Houston Money Show in January 2018 (to be held in Conroe Tx , just north of Houston) It's been one of the best and biggest shows in Texas for the past few years. I am so glad they are moving it from downtown Houston. The only other good show in Texas (IMO) is the TNA show which is held in late May in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.
I enjoy the local shows occasionally just for the pleasure of rubbing elbows with other collectors, visiting with a few dealers, and maybe picking up some supplies or a book or two. I see some of the same material as you describe, but things seem
a bit more active in North Texas. Very seldom see anything in my wheelhouse though. I think that a lot of collectors would like to turn their coins over for fresh material, and give dealers something fresh to sell, but don't want to take a big haircut in the process. I know that's true with me as I only want to tie up so much money in my collection, so I limit my areas of interest.
It’s a great show very well managed and run. I have had many fantastic buys both off the floor and walk up traffic. Selling has been great and can sell many items for less than online bc not fighting the eBay fee structure.
I did not setup at that one but have done the show a number of times before and planning the next one. Be careful if attending as one of the streets, Campbell Road is a speed trap - don’t go over 30. Nothing like a ticket to ruin your buying mood lol.
The show is usually held on the second floor of the VFW hall allowing more than twice as many dealers as the December one was forced to the first floor (less space) due to an event.
I have found the show to have lots of material especially slabbed. I not only have a large slab inventory but one of the largest graded banknote inventories in the room plus a large buyer of both.
I have found there is something at these shows for just about anyone. At the last one I bought a large CSA / Obsolete deal plus slabbed MWG close to melt, slabbed CC Dollars around bid. I visited with one dealer who had the largest selection of Irish material I have seen in ages, a world coin interest of mine.
I enjoyed small coin shows when I lived in Seattle... True, there was often rows of old material. However, I often found small treasures at reasonable prices - more so than the larger shows. I always felt the larger shows added premiums. Yes, it is true that larger shows have greater variety and certainly a lot of top tier material. To me, both types of shows had good and bad points. Thanks for the report. Cheers, RickO
Normally, the show is upstairs at the same venue and the room is bigger, supporting (by my estimate) 8-10 more tables. It's always been a great show for us, even when it was in the old venue, the Bellaire Civic Center, but it's gotten better in the new one.
Yes I like the upstairs and setup is easy. There has been more than enough material to buy off the floor that interests me and have got some good walk up deals. Sales have been good also.
I have found the food service good / much better than average and this saves me having to leave the show for meals. If coin show food not your thing there are many good restaurants on the other side of l 10 or east past 610 not to mention some really good clubs nearby like Centerfolds or Treasures if your an SC hobbyist.
I was considering visiting the show last Friday just to buy some slabbed gold bullion material combining this with a visit to Centerfolds for drink/ relaxation / enjoy their fantastic buffet but plans changed.
This one was the slowest on in Houston I have ever seen. I feel this is an indication that the better material is not making it down to the smaller local shows. Given the state of the U.S. economy and what I see in Heritage the same coins are appearing with minimal exception. I spoke to the most reputable dealer we have in Houston and discussed early dollars with him. He is buying all he can at a decent price but people are not letting them go as they have bottomed out. Branch mint gold is getting harder to find at these shows even though it was never easy to find a good piece priced correctly.