NH Coin and Currency Expo, 10/1 -10/3(Updated Trip Report)

Electricity · September 24, 2020 4:02PM

Heard through the grapevine that the NH Coin and Currency expo is on for the first weekend in October, I know a couple of guys that are setting up so I’m excited to go and see some new material in person.

The parking lot finds are slim pickings these days!😂

Any of you guys going or have gone before? How was the show pre-Covid?

Smudge · September 24, 2020 4:35PM

Report please.

Electricity · September 24, 2020 4:49PM

@Smudge said:
Report please.

Will do, lots of pics and info

NewEnglandNotes · September 24, 2020 6:32PM

Here is the website for the show, quite a few dealers showing up according to the dealer listing page.

nhcoinexpo.com

I've usually been able to find something to buy when I go here. Looks like it might be better to buy your ticket in advance for this one from what I've been told, as there are going to be separate entrances for online tickets vs cash at the door.

As far as the area, once you're inside the hotel, you're fine. Just keep in mind the hotel is in the downtown of the biggest city in NH, and the park across the street is not the greatest place, so don't leave anything in plain sight when you leave your car, and be aware of your surroundings going to/from the hotel. Common sense I know, but those from out of town might think because they are in New Hampshire, they must be in Mayberry. Definitely not the case.

Electricity · September 24, 2020 7:16PM

Thanks for the heads up on the tickets and the safety issues. Hopefully the people in the park aren’t the same people I’m thinking of who take the train down to the Boston common clinic

csanotes · September 24, 2020 7:43PM

Gerry Fortin Rare Coins and John Agre of Coin Rarities Online will both be there. Either one of them being at a local or regional show makes the trip well worth it. To have both in the same venue?!—I predict I will be pulling nothing but lint out of my pockets when I leave the building. Broke, but with a coin or two. I know there will be other dealers too of course. And I always make a habit of looking in each and every case. Because you never really know who may have what.

Pre-covid the show in back near the windows behind the exhibits usually would have drinks and pre-made sandwiches. There is always a visible presence and floor walking done with armed and uniformed security guards. Ernie, the show organizer is always very friendly and approachable. Other than that-the parking garage is right in building and you can park and almost walk right into the show. Don’t forget to get your parking validated before you leave.

Like another post said—there shouldn’t be much of a need to walk around the neighborhood. It is clean etc, but the homeless do hang around. And it is a “big” city, by NH standards anyways.

Cya at the show!

ricko · September 25, 2020 6:15AM

Great news.... Glad to see a large show being held....Hope to see several show reports. Cheers, RickO

ScarsdaleCoin · September 25, 2020 7:37AM

@Electricity said:
Heard through the grapevine that the NH Coin and Currency expo is on for the first weekend in October, I know a couple of guys that are setting up so I’m excited to go and see some new material in person.

The parking lot finds are slim pickings these days!😂

Any of you guys going or have gone before? How was the show pre-Covid?

Pre Covid this was always an enjoyable show... far to travel to so it pretty much limits to the New England area.... the PA guys tend to not want to travel that far, but with shows limited that will change... the venue is great, area is ez I will not set up this time around but look forward to being back there in future.... enjoy

chesterb · September 25, 2020 9:27AM

I've been to this show a couple times. I wouldn't call it a dangerous area necessarily. There is a hotel parking garage adjacent to the coin hall. Easy in/easy out. I guess if you were walking along the street in the dead of night with briefcase full of stuff you could run into trouble but why would you put yourself in that position? That goes for any location, not just this one. Use common sense and you'll be fine here.

Electricity · September 25, 2020 9:53AM

Not worried, will make sure the car is locked and secured... then go in and have a good time at the show.
Will post pictures and a report next weekend

johnny9434 · September 25, 2020 10:11AM

hows the parking there? any comments?

DarkStar · September 25, 2020 1:16PM

There is parking in an attached garage. Last time I was there it was $6 for the day. Be sure to validate your parking ticket in the show.

coinnut · September 25, 2020 3:15PM

I have decided to set up there for the first time.

USMarine6 · September 25, 2020 4:40PM

I've always had luck at this show. I'll be there.

Pedzola · September 25, 2020 5:30PM

Rules say 1 customer per table at a time. I am wondering how long it will take to get around the floor and see whats there.

Electricity · September 25, 2020 6:06PM

@Pedzola said:
Rules say 1 customer per table at a time. I am wondering how long it will take to get around the floor and see whats there.

Doesn’t really matter to me, I’m just happy to leave Mass for a minute. Plus New Hampshire isn’t on the quarantine list 😉

wrighty · September 28, 2020 7:05AM

Thanks for posting I will be driving down on Friday to attend

Electricity · October 2, 2020 3:31PM

So for the trip report 10/2

Ended up leaving tbd house around 8am and headed up to NH for the coin expo, I don’t think I’ve ever been to Manchester NH.. so I was pleasantly surprised how clean the city was... it looked fresh, especially around the hotel where the show was being held. I had been alerted to stay away from the park across the street from the hotel, I took a picture from a distance as I had seen a few “vagrant” types walking around and didn’t want to have an encounter. (None to report)

I did end up parking in the parking garage, and I didn’t end up getting validated.. so the $9 was a bit annoying.

My friend Nick came up from Chelmsford to walk the floor with me and hang out

Im on the right, we’ve worked together in restaurants for a lot of years together

As for the show itself, I bought tickets online so we didn’t have to spend the extra $3 at the door or wait in line

The bourse floor was pretty well spaced and had a maximum occupancy of 400 I think, but I don’t Remember the sign ever getting over the 200 mark for actual people inside. Everyone had a mask on, and if you didn’t one of the 5 or 6 police officers let you know to put it on or pull it up over your face.

I would guess there were about 50-60 different dealer tables set up in the hall. I actually knew a few which was comforting as I’ve only been to a few shows.

I walked the floor for a couple of laps looking over everyone’s table for things that caught my eye. I was mainly looking for Raw Jefferson Nickels to upgrade my Dansco and PCGS $2.5 Indians to put into my registry set. Also a nice Lafayette dollar for a friend!

There was a lot of gold coins for sale, Draped bust, classic head, liberty head, indian.. you name it they had it. ( I do have one gripe, I hate having to ask what dealers want for a coin, not too many dealer have prices on coins.. and if they do they are very high. There was an 1854 $3 coin in a 55 holder with a price of $1500 recent sales were around $1000, he was at $1400 so I passed.

Another dealer had the most beautiful large cents I have ever seen, all Raw

Most were to rich for my blood, but impressive.

Many people had bullion for sale, prices were in line with current market prices, but I have so much already I had to pass.

I found a few coins for myself, however no new addition to the quarter Indian set. Only a few Jefferson’s for the album( I overpaid, but was happy 😃 so no big deal) the dealers overall were pretty friendly and willing to negotiate a little bit.

The only coin I’m a little made at myself for not buying was a 1891cc $5 AU55 dealer wanted $1150 and I was out of cash at that point and didn’t want to have to find a dealer friend to vouch for a check.

I did realize one thing though, there is an endless amount of coins, so live to fight another day.

As for newps, I picked up a hodgepodge of things

The Lafayette dollar is for a friend and so are the commemoratives( they were all over the place, for short money.. the halves, not the Lafayette!

Ended up having a great time, I do wish the hotel restaurant was open, but maybe they only do dinner? How does thdd Ed saying go,” don’t shop on an empty stomach”?

philographer · October 2, 2020 4:21PM

Very nice write up. The park looks clean as a whistle. I guess everything is relative. It’s like an old time town square.

divecchia · October 2, 2020 7:44PM

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a fair amount of dealers in attendance and I'm looking forward to being there Saturday morning.

Donato

NewEnglandNotes · October 2, 2020 9:16PM

I burned a vacation day so I could go to the show this morning. I was planning on getting there right at 10, but got stuck on a work call which delayed me until just after noon. I was lucky to actually get a parking spot on the street right in front of the entrance to the hotel, so it was a straight shot from car to hotel door, and only $1.50 for two hours. Between the rain and the extra law enforcement around the hotel for the Jill Biden event that was also going on, the riff-raff was laying low.

When I got to the door, no line at all. Paid my admission and went looking for Bob Moffatt, who had been holding a Haverhill town medal for me since the spring.

I found one dealer selling coin paperweights, and couldn't resist them as they were priced at just above melt.

Found a piece of obsolete currency I couldn't pass up from Clinton, NY. The Lincoln Bank, with a portrait of Lincoln, dated three years and a week before he was shot.

Got to see a bunch of dealers I haven't seen in a while, including some dealers from Maine that I'm lucky to see maybe twice a year, Barrie Jenkins from MCN and Paul Zebiak from Maritime International. The dealer next to Paul (I didn't get his name) had a pile of some of the nicest national banknotes from Maine I have seen in some time. None from the few Maine banks I collect, but definitely some drool-worthy material.

It really didn't feel any different than a regular coin show, except for the shortage of chairs at the tables. The room the show is in is big enough where the spacing of the tables and aisles was barely noticeable. As I was leaving, I noticed the TV screen that was counting people in the room, and it was at 227. I assume that counted dealers as well as the public, but I don't know for certain.

Overall, the show was better for me this time than in the past, which I wasn't really expecting. Might go back Saturday morning and see a couple of the Saturday only dealers, and pick up a roll of circ silver dollars.

Elcontador1 · October 2, 2020 9:31PM

Thanks for taking the time to write it up. The social distancing at the show seemed reasonable based on the pics. Also noticed that fall colors are starting there per the pic of the park.

The big show near me is Long Beach, and you won't get that kind of social distancing there. It'll take a vaccine before I go to Long Beach (and I have a hunch it won't open until then, either).

Pedzola · October 3, 2020 6:57AM

Sitting in my car leaving the show now. Disappointing for me. Show was well organized, lots of dealers and coins, but walking away empty handed. Walked around the floor several times, spent about 45 min total. Gerry Fortin had a nice selection of cac gold but nothing for my sets unfortunately. I guess my search list is pretty narrow. Oh well.

Walkerguy21D · October 3, 2020 7:46AM

Great show reports by all posted.
Looks like Tom Reynolds was there, based on the large cent photo.

jclovescoins · October 3, 2020 8:26AM

Thanks for the report. Those large cent prices are laughable. I know several specialists ask crazy money like that at shows, but buyers get buried when they buy those!

golden · October 3, 2020 11:33AM

Thanks for the great show report.

Barndog · October 3, 2020 11:44AM

used to be able to see nesvt and mrhalfdime there. Sadly, no more

kaz · October 3, 2020 7:04PM

Thanks for the report and photos! I miss being able to go to a show!

ShipwreckCoinHunter · October 4, 2020 1:28PM

I was at the show this weekend as well 👍 Picked up these treasures

divecchia · October 4, 2020 1:41PM

The NH Coin and Currency Expo was a great show on Saturday! I did not realize how much I miss these shows.

My brother-in-law and I left early and got there just before it opened to the public at 9:00 AM. He picked up digital tickets so we got in line and were the first in for the public opening. People overall did a good job with their masks, social distancing and hand sanitizing. There were plenty of sanitizing stations and many tables had bottles at their tables. Attendance looked much lighter than I was expecting, never really seeing the number on the big TV go over 300 out of the 400 people capacity.

As far as what the dealers go, they had a bit of everything from raw to bullion (gold & silver) all the way to some high grade pieces. There was plenty of raw and graded gold coins also. My brother-in-law picked up a graded Morgan and Franklin half that he was exited to get. I picked up two new pieces and one upgrade for my US Type set.

Here are some scans below of my pickups. The scans unfortunately make the coins look dull and lifeless, but I assure you they are lustrous in hand.

Thanks for looking. Donato

My earliest dated large cent so far.

My earliest dated dime so far. Picked this up from Gerry Fortin Rare Coins.

An upgrade to for my gold pickup with a CAC to boot. Picked this up from Gerry Fortin Rare Coins.

winesteven · October 4, 2020 3:59PM

@divecchia said:
The NH Coin and Currency Expo was a great show on Saturday! I did not realize how much I miss these shows.

As far as the dealers go, they had a bit of everything from raw to bullion (gold & silver) all the way to some high grade CAC pieces. There was plenty of raw and graded gold coins also. I picked up two new pieces and one upgrade for my US Type set.

Here are some scans below of my pickups. The scans unfortunately make the coins look dull and lifeless, but I assure you they are lustrous in hand.

Thanks for looking. Donato

An upgrade for my gold Type Set with a CAC to boot. Picked this up from Gerry Fortin Rare Coins.

GREAT looking Quarter Eagle!!! I plugged in the cert number to research better photos. WOW! What a hammered strike! Super clean fields! Liberty’s face and neck look pristine! My guess is the grade is like 66.9. Gerry Fortin carries top quality. Great pickup. Enjoy!!!

Steve

divecchia · October 4, 2020 5:15PM

@winesteven

Steve,

Thanks for the kind words on the gold. I thought the same thing when I saw it and that is why I could not pass on it. I usually don't buy this high of a grade for my US Type set, but for some reason I could not pass. As I said the scans make these coins look lifeless, but they are not.

Thanks again for your kind words, I appreciate them especially coming from someone who has some top level high grade coins.

Donato

Pedzola · October 4, 2020 5:56PM

@winesteven said:
GREAT looking Quarter Eagle!!! I plugged in the cert number to research better photos. WOW!

Are there other pics? Cert app shows no trueviews.

winesteven · October 4, 2020 5:59PM

@Pedzola said:

@winesteven said:
GREAT looking Quarter Eagle!!! I plugged in the cert number to research better photos. WOW!

Are there other pics? Cert app shows no trueviews.

On the PCGS website for that cert it shows a prior sale (from Heritage). I clicked on that to see the auction photos close up. Spectacular!!!!!!!

kaz · October 4, 2020 6:12PM

Great looking coins and thanks for the report

morgandollar1878 · October 4, 2020 9:10PM

Great report, thanks for posting.

NH Coin and Currency Expo, 10/1 -10/3(Updated Trip Report)

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