FUN Show Day 2 and 3, My Final Report, Cool Coin Pics

Desert Moon · January 10, 2026 4:21PM

Ok, I am done, Saturday was a dud like I thought it would be. The kind of inventory I have is just not the kind of inventory the Saturday crowd is looking for. While the table next to me was sparse in humanity the last few days, suddenly, huge crowds at their table spilling over to mine. Obviously we had very different inventory than they had………………

So I did do a leetle buisness on Sat. I sold a 1909 VDB Lincoln in MS65 Red OGH/CAC. Glad to get another penny customer and it was a beauty, no carbon spots, just like I like them and only buy. And a young dealer friend finally got over to the table to buy up my remaining VF-AU58 Barber Quarters in CAC (n=7). I had sold the other 7 I had before he could get to them. He left me with the more expensive better dates which will now go to the website. The FUN people try to leverage you to stay until 3 pm on Sat with a hint that you can get a better table location if you behave and not leave early. But alot of the big people up front had left on Friday. So that seems like a pretty useless enticement to stay around if you ask me - big people leaving early with prime locations, me midway back and pretty sure I ain’t moving forward with trying to be a good citizen. Next year, no way Jose I am staying for Sat, I will be leaving on a jet plane Sat am instead.

Friday was a different story. The serious collectors were still on the floor all day looking for bootie. I did 9 invoices and substantially increased my already insane totals. All combined, I sold 50 coins at FUN for a not small total. I sold 37% of the coins I brought to the show and I even sold some of my pickups there. Every dealer I talked to had the same story. Best show they have ever had in their whole career.

Alot of the dealers and some collectors remarked to me something like ‘now you have to replace what you sold and that is very hard'. Well, between auctions, wholesale dealer bourse, vest pocket guys and collectors selling me cool stuff, and, buying when I could on the floor, I am almost completely restocked focusing on the inventory I want to move forward with. So with all of the opportunities out there, I don’t see it that hard to replenish. I saw many dealers with boxes of newps on their back table, so everyone was as successful with the many opps to stock up.

Let’s take for example what happened on Friday. My C-note stash started getting too thick again late in the morning. So CB stayed at the table while I ran over to a prominent dealer’s table. My target was their cool capped bust half dollars. I got 4 of their coolest examples in CAC, got the best price they could give, and they invoiced me, I paid, and quickly back to my table (I had scoped out their table inventory at the dealers wholesale event and during setup so was prepared). Then just about 2 hours later, the C-note stack thickened too much again. So off I go to the same table. When I walked up that time, the father ‘D' told his son and daughter at the table, okay DM is back for more (he could see it in my eyes I guess), let me handle this. I picked out another 2 uber cool maybe close to their best capped bust halves at their table, paid and off I went again. As I was leaving, the father ‘D' said DM, I know this is going incredible for all of us, but just be aware it may always not be like that, so take it as it is but maybe the future won’t be quite this good. Just letting you know there are ups and downs in this game. I appreciated getting that advice alot.

But I still had to use up some C-notes. So I hit up another well-known bust half sellers table next. Said hi to ‘P’, he said haven’t been over to see you yet been absolutley insane, I said yup is it that kind of crazy. I looked in their newps case which is always ample and immediately saw the 2 capped bust halves I wanted with lotsa mega cool color and CAC stickered. I said ‘P’ invoice me those 2 and let’s settle up I need to get back to my table. While ‘P’ was writing up the invoice, I saw an amazing capped bust quarter. I said ‘P’ I will take the CBQ as well. But this one was for me, separate invoice and my personal checkbook. More on that below, but then back to my table with my nicely accumulating group of Bust Half newps.

One story, I asked the CAC folks if John Butler, a CAC grader, could stop by. John came over Friday afternoon and we had some nice time chatting with him. Both CB and I had questions about specific coins we had on the table and how they were graded. John can look at a coin and in 2 seconds on each side he already knows the coin. Wow that was amazing and then we would have a great conversation about each of the coins we were asking about. CB took a pic of John and I at the table, that was pretty cool.

So I lasted until about 2 pm, I just could not make it to 3 pm alas, just no buyers for my kind of inventory. I did have some nice conversations, several came by to say goodbye see you at the next show (CSNS), etc. One guy came up and looked at my O-mint gold inventory. He told me he was collecting a full O-mint eagle set by date and loved my 54-O but already bought too much at the show. That is a serious task especially in high AU and MS, and going to be serious money. He sounded like he was about half way there. He was glad to see the ‘only CACed O-mint gold inventory’ (his words and he saw alot more tables than I had) and said he would be checking my website for now on. That is always good to hear.

On my way out I went by several tables to say good bye. I went over to GFRC to say farewell to the 2 owners to be starting in February, Darrell Low and Matt Mayers. Matt wasn’t there but had a nice chat with Darrell and we plan to try to interact more at CSNS. All I can say is GFRC is in great hands as the baton is being passed. No one should be worried, they won’t miss a beat and you are likely to see some new things M and D have in mind as they evolve the buis. I can’t wait personally, it is going to be so fun with those guys and we had some good back and forth during the FUN show. I am used to them coming up to my table to talk coins, now we will all be behind, albeit, separate tables. Gonna be fun for sure.

So that is it, got to meet so many nice and interesting people including many participants on these forums. Got to go to dinner with 3 separate groups from these forums on 3 different evenings. @Catbert was a lifesaver when he was volunteering at the table and gave me opportunities to go out and scan the room for cool coins. I also submitted 3 coins to GC that are extremely nice but need a wider audience, and 3 to cross over to CACG (both NGC AND PCGS coins ha ha).

Again thanks to everyone on the forums here I got to interact with. This is a big part of why I went to the other side of the table, to get to interact with more folks.

Newp time:

Here is the best LOCO FOCO Hard Times token probably in existence. Most of them have big problems. Got this from CRO prior to FUN and John delivered it:

Here is the 38 CBQ I got for me, MS63/CAC:

Here is the 33 CBQ for my collection, MS64+/CAC:

And I got two more for me that I don’t have images for yet. Let’s just say branch mint pre-civil war gold that everyone who saw them had the same two words I did upon first view - oh! wow! I will post them at some point after I image it.

Thanks for reading!

Best, DM

Coinbert · January 10, 2026 4:37PM

Thank you for your show report. Really appreciate your time this morning talking with me. Joey

P0CKETCHANGE · January 10, 2026 4:37PM

Phenomenal CBQs, great report, and congratulations on a highly successful show. It was great meeting you.

Desert Moon · January 10, 2026 4:38PM

@Coinbert said:
Thank you for your show report. Really appreciate your time this morning talking with me. Joey

Great meeting you Joey and we had some great conversations!

DennisH · January 10, 2026 4:41PM

Fabulous report! Thanks very much.

RichieURich · January 10, 2026 4:43PM

Another nice report! You are a good writer!

Inlander · January 10, 2026 4:58PM

Great reports from FUN, much appreciated!

lermish · January 10, 2026 4:59PM

Al, I hope you don't mind if I piggyback my short show report here, also days 2 & 3 but from a collector only perspective.

The show was absolutely great. Thursday, it was slammed all day, and more of the same on Friday. Despite people reporting horrendous PCGS lines, I dropped off a coin on Thursday at 5p with no wait. Sold a $5 gold commem and a nice little gold nugget and did well on both although it was more difficult than expected to get offers on the nugget. Bought a few trade dollars as seen in a recent post.

However, the REAL treasure was the friends made along the way. 😉

It was fantastic to finally meet so many great people from the board as well as reconnect with other coin friends. There were many great stop and chats and introductions. So nice to talk with many forum members including @Desert Moon @winesteven @Pnies20 @Davidk7 @BlackCat and I'm sure more I'm forgetting. The highlight of the show was a great steak dinner at Jack's Place with @keoj @P0CKETCHANGE @Pickwickjr @PeakRarities @Catbert and @skier07

Looking forward to seeing you all again!

U1chicago · January 10, 2026 5:18PM

Thanks for the series of great reports! They were well written and made it seem almost like being there.

AZDAVY · January 10, 2026 5:27PM

I love your reports! Thank you for writing them

safari_dude · January 10, 2026 5:37PM

While the number of dealers and items for sale is almost overwhelming, the fact a few wrote their table number here made it easy to go say hello and browse/purchase from them. It’s always nice to put faces with those who post on this forum and give so much great advice and time to us less experienced collectors. At 67 I really have enjoyed my one day trek to Orlando for the last two FUN shows and hopefully I’ll be back again next year! Cheers, karl

Barberian · January 10, 2026 6:20PM

@lermish said:
Al, I hope you don't mind if I piggyback my short show report here, also days 2 & 3 but from a collector only perspective.

The show was absolutely great. Thursday, it was slammed all day, and more of the same on Friday. Despite people reporting horrendous PCGS lines, I dropped off a coin on Thursday at 5p with no wait. Sold a $5 gold commem and a nice little gold nugget and did well on both although it was more difficult than expected to get offers on the nugget. Bought a few trade dollars as seen in a recent post.

The line at PCGS was long when I got there, but the engaging conversation I had with another collector while waiting in line seemed to shorten the line considerably. He asked me what I collect and it turned out we were both collect Newfoundland coins. That's when things became engaging and fun, and that's what I LOVE about coin collecting. He asked how I got into Newfies and I mentioned being influenced by another Canadian coin collector, @GotTheBug that he also knew quite well. We talked about all sorts of things. It was the highlight of the show for me.

Otherwise, this show was about submitting lots of coins for grading and dropping off coins to Great Collections. I did check three tables for some so-called common date SLHs ('48-O, '70, '70-S, and '72) and could not find any of them at those tables. Even Larry Briggs' "Wide World of Coins" didn't have these dates. I almost purchased a '39 no drapery there, but the price was low for the grade, the color looked a bit off, and I suspected the coin had some problems. Unfortunately, my loupe was in my beat-up Dodge van that was in the shop. I should have purchased a replacement loupe while at the show. Anyway, I want a nice '39 no drapery to compliment my P55 '39 drapery, so I passed on the coin. I don't want to start my SLH collection off with a problem coin.

I thought about going back Friday to meet some people I communicate with here and look some more for needed dates and anything that caught my attention, but the thought of driving to Orlando and sitting in huge traffic jams deterred me. Florida traffic is brutal these days, particularly that drive to Orlando.

golden · January 10, 2026 7:55PM

Great show repot. Thanks.

pcgscacgold · January 10, 2026 8:19PM

Thanks for the report DM.

Looks like rising gold and silver is causing the hobby to spike as well.

usararecoins · January 10, 2026 8:37PM

Great show report Al. As always fun conversing and dining with you and friends. I am so happy you had such a great buying and selling experience as a dealer.

johnny9434 · January 10, 2026 8:53PM

Love the coins and cool report

scubafuel · January 10, 2026 10:22PM

Great report, I’m glad the show was such a success. I love that die rust on the 33 CBQ!

skier07 · January 11, 2026 12:06AM

Excellent show report. It was a pleasure meeting you and my fellow coin buddies and congrats on that spectacular CBQ you picked up. I had a terrific time and highly recommend going to a FUN show at least once for those that have never attended one like me.

jfriedm56 · January 11, 2026 4:52AM

Very nice show report and glad you had a great show. Beautiful new pickups too! Congrats. Zack.

MEJ7070 · January 11, 2026 5:55AM

Congrats on a great show Al! These reports were awesome to read

I hate that I have to miss FUN.

Copperindian · January 11, 2026 8:30AM

Al - not only was this year’s show epic, but your reports are off the charts. Best of all, though, was the time we spent together; a total joy! And, even a bonus: I had the pleasure of meeting @Catbert when he was watching your table!
Ken

Desert Moon · January 11, 2026 8:40AM

@Copperindian said:
Al - not only was this year’s show epic, but your reports are off the charts. Best of all, though, was the time we spent together; a total joy! And, even a bonus: I had the pleasure of meeting @Catbert when he was watching your table!
Ken

.
.
Yup we had some ‘Slayer’ moments………..

Copperindian · January 11, 2026 8:44AM

@Desert Moon: great pic from the old days!

Kliao · January 12, 2026 7:09AM

Amazing CBQ and great report! Glad to hear that you did very well at the show.

Hope to see you at CSNS.

alefzero · January 12, 2026 12:34PM

Was a great show. I got in the day before setup. FUN time if the year one cannot depend on flights. Even if not going through problematic airports, your plane can be stuck in one and result in a cancelation. So, dropped my stuff off at the security room and got my show ribbon.

Setup day was smooth. I don't tend to do business on setup day. I would rather get myself oriented to the show after the travel to it. There are two distinct dealer types. There are those who do a lot of dealer-to-dealer transactions on dealer days and at setup, and there are those like me.

Thursday was a madhouse, as everyone else has noted. Admission was like a WWII bread line. It resulted in a deluge of retail hitting the bourse. Others can better speculate on the proportions of the mix of aisle walkers. But I definitely saw all the types: silver stackers, bullion sellers, seasoned collectors fr9m virtually every dark corner of numismatics, and green newbies searching for the vibe.

Friday might have been a little less attended but, whatever the count, it was still more than you see at other shows. I cut out early to attend the VAM Thing in the afternoon. There was an excellent presentation on the 1895 "business strike" Morgan dollars. Whenever the video gets published for that meeting, just viewing that presentation is well worthwhile.

Saturday was far more subdued, though not without a steady current of folks on the other side of the tables doing the many long aisles.

Sunday was a complete bust. It was a better travel day for me than Saturday. A first class direct flight home was very welcomed conclusion to a busy week.

I got a week i-Ride pass for that trolley-bus on International. But only used it for 2 rides. The long walks between the hotel and convention center were good for me, considering the stagnation of sitting at my booth for many hours.

I didn't shop the floor at all. A few new coins came in at the table, mostly as trades in oartial payments in purchases, though a couple I probably overpaid for just to add a little more variety to my cases.

The biggest dividend from FUN (and to a little less extent the summer ANA WFoM) is the social aspect. At the show, I catch up with folks I rarely see and those I just look forward to seeing at other shows too. I hate to name names because I will later feel compelled to repeatedly edit to add thise I initially forgot. One regular here showed me too extraordinarily rare Trade dollar varieties. They were both still raw and an outstanding pleasure to examine in hand. Each of their rarities could not be overstated. It was a particular pleasure to meet up with a certain very smart and entrepreneurial young collector/dealer and his father. The kid is a sponge for knowledge and is good at picking up what is ultimately important in the hobby and market. It is refreshing to have such an up and coming YN in the community. Of course, I interfaced closely with Society of Silver Dollar Collectors (SSDC) members, as many are among my closest coin friends.

All in all, it was a successful and, as is reliable annually, fun FUN Show. It is quite possibly my own last one. But if I were to do one show a year, this is the one. I could have made more at the show, but I dissuaded a couple retail buyers from spending their money on big coins until they understand them. I never said I was a good businessman. But too many get soured on the hobby after they've already dropped a pile of hard-earned money on overpriced or illiquid coins or pseudocoins (Franklin Mint, ...).

rte592 · January 12, 2026 12:39PM

"I could have made more at the show, but I dissuaded a couple retail buyers from spending their money on big coins until they understand them. I never said I was a good businessman."

There is one coin I'm looking for that could quite possibly be at the show.
I should go someday, but being in Arizona...it's a bit of a hike.

divecchia · January 13, 2026 9:17AM

Another great show report. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

Donato

Tramp · January 13, 2026 10:18AM

Great seeing you again Al and meeting @Catbert. Congrats on a successful show and thanks for the report. This was my first FUN show and it did not disappoint as a collector. It was almost overwhelming, but did helps to have you and several other favorite dealers mapped out and a plan of attack, so to say, starting day 1. I hope to attend the CSNS show and visit you again.

Desert Moon · January 14, 2026 7:25AM

Thanks for all of the comments and great seeing all of the folks that came by.

Best, DM

FUN Show Day 2 and 3, My Final Report, Cool Coin Pics

Comments

Leave a Comment