First Coin Show in what seems like Forever!
keyman64
Posts: 15,548 ✭✭✭✭✭
My kids and I have been fully vaccinated for a couple of weeks now and are very thankful. Before the pandemic hit, it had been a while since I had gone to a decent show. When I started to collect again about a year ago there were of course no shows. Wow, it is really cool to be able to do stuff like this again.
My daughter was working so it was just my son and me going to this one and it was about a 55 minute drive to a 45 table show. We got there about 10AM and I felt like doing cartwheels and I just wanted to hug everyone. To everyone's delight I'm sure, I refrained. Masks were required in the venue, vaccinated or not, and we were happy to participate.
My primary goal was to look for Mercury Dime varieties and maybe anything else that happened to really catch my eye. The first dealer table that we went to, I was able to look at a few slabbed Mercs. I was so excited to be there. The 2nd coin I looked at was a keeper! It is a scarce variety. 1945 DDO FS-101 in PCGS MS65, unattributed of course. The current pops are 2 in MS65 and 2 higher in MS66 so this will be the 3rd in MS65. It isn't the top pop I am looking for but considering how scarce this thing is and the fact that I had never cherrypicked one before, I am really excited. The dealer wanted $30 for the coin, which is way too much money for a 1945 Merc in MS65 but I couldn't thank him enough or pay him fast enough! Wow, what a good feeling.
The 3rd table we stopped at had a few older ANACS holders. I chose to look at a 1962 PF 66 10c in a tiny old holder. The holder had a small sticker on it that said Toned, $12. Lol. The coin has speckled blue toning on both sides and seemed attractive so I bought it. Just a cheap fun widget in an old holder.
About 10 minutes later I found myself sitting at a dealer's table and looking through a cram packed giant double rowed box of 2x2s full of Mercs. My son sat patiently next to me while I went through and carefully examined every date of interest that has varieties associated with it. My son examined his 1971-D Kennedy that a nice lady gave to him when we entered. It took about 20-25 minutes to go through this box but it was well worth it. Mind you, this dealer had no clue what a FB Merc was but almost all of the 2x2s were marked as FB. He had a bunch of 1945 Mercs all labeled FB as well but the center bands were flat like pancakes. I really wanted to politely educate him but since the dealer and his wife were such nice people that were allowing me to cherrypick them, I refrained. Many people can take offense to receiving unsolicited help so it is normally best to just remain quiet. I first found another scarce variety, a 1941 DDO FS-101, unattributed. He had the 2x2 marked as MS64FB. I can tell you it isn't FB! As for the numeric grade, I will let PCGS decide soon enough. 
A little history here, I previously Cherrypicked a Toned MS65 example in a 2x2 that still stands as the Top Pop. I sold it about 5 years ago. Because of the toning, I paid $50 for it and sold it for $1750. I am now looking for a replacement, preferably one in higher grade so it can be a new top pop. One day... Next, in this box of fun was my 2nd 1945 DDO cherrypick of the day! WOW, two in one day. This one is a slider but still a nice coin. The dealer has it marked as a MS64. Whatever, it will be a nice example to sell once attributed. I paid the man whatever he wanted for the two coins, thanked them and my son and I were off to explore the rest of the show.
We stopped briefly at several tables to take a look at a coin or two but found nothing else. During our hour+ at the show, I heard a lot of conversations about bullion but did not participate. I would call the day an amazing success! We walked out, me with a huge grin on my face but thankfully it could not be seen until I took my mask off when we were outside.
On the way home, I named about a dozen restaurants for my son to choose from. He chose Wing House. We had not been to a Wing House or any other restaurant to sit down at in over a year so this was pretty special for us. It was a large open space with only a few other tables occupied. It felt so nice to sit down, relax and enjoy a meal with my son. We finished the drive home, I am writing this and we will now go to a nature park to look for alligators and other animals and then my daughter will be home. An absolutely perfect day today. We are so thankful to have our health and to be able to get back to normal.
Next up, a large Lakeland, FL show on July 1 followed by Summer FUN on July 8 which very well could be the largest Summer FUN show in years. I'm so excited. Next weekend is a Jacksonville, FL show that I am considering but that's a good amount of driving. I might though... 
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Comments
Excellent, congrats. ⭐️ Wow do I miss shows. Nothing better than sharing with your son ..... hopefully mine will show some coin interest when he gets older ... he’s 5 and still trying to wrap his head around how many pennies equal a dime. 🤓
Thank you. My son and daughter are not crazy about coins. I tried to get them interested but it never really stuck. My daughter is 16 and driving while my son is 17 and has Down Syndrome. They both have jobs and appreciate money but not coins really. They do like it when I tell them stories of buying a coin for $50 and selling it for $1750. That gets them pretty excited but the journey itself does not. Just hanging out with my kids at the ages they are, priceless.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Nice show report, glad it went really well for you guys.
Thanks for the report.
Thanks for the report, your enthusiasm really comes through!
Wow! Sounds like you had a ball........good for you! Welcome back to the world
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Great report, and great job on the Merc varieties. I love it when people have fun with this hobby.
Super report and congratulations on the cool finds!
👍👍👍
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
Great report
It’s tough to teach our kids how many pennies make a dime when we’re always talking about how many dollars it took us to buy the penny in the first place.
Great report, and no doubt about the fact that you had a great day. Good luck with your cherry picking at future shows.... Look forward to your reports. Cheers, RickO
Thanks for the show report, I am looking forward to the Raleigh Show on June 18th. I have lots of pieces to sell and a want list as well.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
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Thanks for the show report. It sounds like you had a great show, made better by enjoying it with your son.
Absolutely priceless in my book.
Donato
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Thanks for your wonderful show report.
What a great day for you.
Attending a coin show that gets your adrenalin flowing.
A day spent with you bounding with your son.
A great couple of finds and purchases.
A free Kennedy.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
Sounds like fun.
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