Just back from the Mid-America show Chicago

agentjim007 · June 27, 2003 6:13AM

I know you guys want all the details so here goes..........show sucked.

FC57Coins · June 27, 2003 6:22AM

OK Agentjim don't hold back - what did you REALLY think of the show?

Tassa · June 27, 2003 6:26AM

Could you be a little more specific? You don't have to answer why it sucked. I just want to know how MUCH it sucked? Was it just slightly sucky or suckier?

BigD5 · June 27, 2003 6:32AM

I imagine if the only description Agentjim wants to give is "sucked", then I will assume that the show was 10x worse than that description.
Two local dealers that I spoke with that flew out to Chicago, had high hopes. Doesn't sound good.

C'mon Jim! You must have found, or seen, SOMETHING that caught your eye!!!!!

mercurynut · June 27, 2003 6:33AM

So I take it no quality coins ............

eureka · June 27, 2003 6:56AM

I'd have to agree. I had poor luck finding items I collect, although admittedly I look for some odd stuff.
For a show of this size, I expected many more interesting items. Instead, I got that eyes glazed over look fairly quickly scanning over case contents. I did see the occasional nice item(to my tastes) -- early gold, a few classic proofs, an MS65 Pan Pac $2.50, and 2 or 3 $50 slugs.
By far, the most interesting table was Texas Bullion Traders with cases of all eye-catching material. There was one other table against the far wall from the entrance with raw copper that I found interesting. There were alot of tables with slabs only. Other than that, nothing memorable.

LucyBop · June 27, 2003 7:11AM

Secret Ajent Man must have ran into MadMarty!

paigowjohnny · June 27, 2003 7:13AM

Did you puketh ??

coinguy1 · June 27, 2003 7:23AM

Maybe I shouldn't reveal this but....... I met MadMarty and....... he's not really "mad", after all. Well, at least not as "mad" as I'd expected, based on Clankeye's portrayals of him in "Good Morning Class".

FC57Coins · June 27, 2003 7:40AM

<< Maybe I shouldn't reveal this but....... I met MadMarty and....... he's not really "mad", after all. Well, at least not as "mad" as I'd expected, based on Clankeye's portrayals of him in "Good Morning Class". >>

It's only when he has a few beers in him and he whips out his wizzard's sombrero that you have to start worrying

LucyBop · June 27, 2003 7:49AM

He's Mad I tell you, Mad!!!!!

Notice the cultist tee-shirt, who knows what it means????

Peaceman · June 27, 2003 8:05AM

As a Peace dollar collector and my very first show that I've ever been to, I had a great time. I got to HOLD Lee's 1924@8 a $ 60,000 coin. I also saw a very cool 1921 Satin proof... WOW, what a coin.... I bought 2 coins at the show at bid in PCGS holders........ good times....

dragon · June 27, 2003 8:10AM

Agentjim,

Were you the old guy with the long grey beard carrying a suspicious black bag that was being 'escorted' out by those 4 police officers??

dragon

agentjim007 · June 27, 2003 9:41AM

Dragon,
No not me but I think I saw the guy your talking about. Wearing a really heavy coat and carrying a Pantera bread bag. I saw him looking at large cents. I did notice a security guard right next to me every time I looked up. I was mentally preparing myself for an internal search.

Tonekiller · June 27, 2003 10:58AM

Been a great show and two days to go. 007, sorry I missed u today.

TBT

Wisconsin · June 27, 2003 11:47AM

It was my first big show in years, and I have to say I was really not impressed with what I saw. I went on Thursday and really did not find one coin to buy. I looked for about 5 hours. Just nothing in my collecting area-Draped bust halves, that I thought was either good enough or priced within reality.

I am glad I went to the show. The highlight was being able to spend some time chatting with Mark Feld. He sure is good at what he does and does not mind sharing his knowledge with others. I also talked to Julian Leidman-also a great guy, and said hello to Laura from Legend-she was busy maybe or was not impressed with me saying hi, but I did my part.

Jay

jbsteven · June 27, 2003 1:08PM

<< maybe or was not impressed with me saying hi >>

probably this as I introduced myself a while ago and she said she really does not know anyone on the boards. It is used as a marketing tactic.

gsaguy · June 27, 2003 1:17PM

I'd have thought someone as famous as Joe Dirt would have gotten more out of Laurie!

GSAGUY

eureka · June 27, 2003 1:54PM

Ahh, yeah I forgot to mention Julian. I spent a little $ at his table. The commems with the original box/papers were pretty interesting.

stman · June 27, 2003 2:14PM

<< and said hello to Laura from Legend-she was busy maybe or was not impressed with me saying hi, but I did my part. >>

<< probably this as I introduced myself a while ago and she said she really does not know anyone on the boards. It is used as a marketing tactic. >>

longtimecollector · June 27, 2003 2:16PM

I was there today (Friday)...... Traffic was stinky getting there, so by the time I walked in (lemme mention that I took my lady/girlfriend to her very first show), I was feeling a little of the road rage thing and I prepared myself for a totally wasted trip........ First thing I noticed when I walked in was that the place was PACKED !!!!! Much more foot traffic than I expected...... Many times I found it difficult if not impossible to peek into the cases....... I NEVER saw the line at ANACS less than 2-3 deep........ Found a few items of interest....... Picked up a GORGEOUS ORIGINAL 1947 mint set with original envelpoes and attractive MATCHING toning throughout....... A real score for me as I've been looking for a couple years and had to reject the last 2 I got sight-UN-seen because the halves had been "switched out"...... Found a 51 today with the same problem although it was only one half dollar, it stuck out like a Sac in a roll of dimes !!!!!! Most dealers were very pleasant (Maybe the pretty blonde with me had them distracted) and most everything I looked at was being offered at bid and sometimes even 10% "back"...... Didn't get their names, but talked a while with 2 gents from Minnesota whose table was to the left of Texas Bullion Traders....... They were wonderful guys and made me feel most welcome....... BTW, I looked at TBT's stuff and its amazing......... I wonder how long and hard they had to look to find Morgans, ASE's, and Kennedys with IDENTICAL toning !!!!!!!! (Nothin' says lovin' like something from the oven?)......... Spent about 45 minutes with Larry Briggs......... Thats one guy that knows Seated material !!!!!!! Strange how they put his table (him being SEGS) right next to PCGS..... PCGS people were prim and proper....... Larry was eating a sloppy joe with one hand and grading coins with the other !!!!!!!! Saw a Pan-Pac $50 in 66 and a boatload of coins that were lucky to be behind glass to protect them from my drooling !!!!!!!!! I've been to "better" shows, but this one was definitely FAR from "sucky"......... I enjoyed it thoroughly !!!!!!!!

Tonekiller · June 27, 2003 10:51PM

Longtimecollector,

It was great to meet you yesterday at the show. I would like to address one of your assumptions you posted on this public board and offer you a challenge. It is one thing to disagree with a dealer about their coins originality or origin of toning but to make blanket and baseless statements is unprofessional and unwarranted.

You did not ask about our coins or inquire about their toning at the show. Why? I would be more than happy to talk with you about any coin in my cases, as education is only self-improvement.

My challenge is for you to come in today or in the morning (Sunday) and lets talk about the coins you have issues about.

Thanks to everybody for stopping by our table at the show. It is always a pleasure to meet fellow board members.

TBT

dragon · June 28, 2003 12:24AM

As far as anyone here making inaccurate statements regarding Tonekillers toned coins.........I was at his table on Friday, had the pleasure to meet and chat with both him and jbsteven, and I can tell anyone here that his coins are both original and also quite nice with a very impressive assortment to boot, and the same goes for jbstevens offerings. Any statements to the contrary are incorrect.

dragon

LucyBop · June 28, 2003 12:29AM

thats because JB sells me all the at stuff.

longtimecollector · June 28, 2003 1:44AM

TBT,

Didn't mean to sound accusatory, as I don't present myself to be knowledgeable about NT or AT...... Just wondering out loud........ Apology offered........

EVillageProwler · June 28, 2003 2:32AM

maybe or was not impressed with me saying hi

Jay, there is no denying that Laura does not have superlative people skills. I have been on friendly terms with her and George for a few years now, so I can probably get away with saying this. But, in a high-end rare coin dealer, are you looking for someone who is busy, professional and procures very nice coins or someone who will get down on you and then smile when done?

Don't read anything more into her demeanor than simply that she is there to do her job. She is not there to impress anyone nor is she there to be impressed by anyone. If you want someone to help you find nice coins, then she'd be an excellent candidate. If you want someone to help end the Middle East violence, then she is not for you.

probably this as I introduced myself a while ago and she said she really does not know anyone on the boards. It is used as a marketing tactic.

JBS, of the few things I've learned in my nearly 4 decades of being alive, there is two I'd like to share at this moment. First, don't be so hasty to judge a person unless you've walked a mile in his (or her) shoes. Second, if you have nothing nice to say about someone, then say nothing.

Specifically keeping my second point in mind, I will refrain from commenting about you.

As for your comment about using the boards as a marketing tactic, certainly many smaller and vest-pocket dealers use this place to garner more market share. But, if you look at Legend's typical inventory, you'll see that the vast majority of the regulars here would not be so interested in Legend's offerings. I'm sure there are forum members here who do buy from Legend, but I gotta believe that these customers -- in general -- didn't get to know of Legend through this place.

Your suggestion that Legend's presence here is solely to gain market share is way off mark. Laura's comments here tend to be more controversial than you'd expect if all she wanted was to get more customers from here. I know exactly why she posts here, and it is far different from what you think.

EVP

Askari · June 28, 2003 2:59AM

<< BTW, I looked at TBT's stuff and its amazing......... I wonder how long and hard they had to look to find Morgans, ASE's, and Kennedys with IDENTICAL toning !!!!!!!! >>

Actually, for anyone unfamiliar with them, TBT did "look long and hard" ... they built up their business from the bottom up, one beautifully toned coin after another. They've gained a well-deserved reputation for quality product and excellent, friendly service. I've been visiting their table and watched dealers and collectors come to them with their choicest specimens. Mind you, I don't collect toned coins, but I've had the pleasure to watch their enterprise grow and have heard many good stories over the several years I've known them. They love what they do -- the best kind of work to be in -- and every time I visit, they're always excited about their latest finest piecests and and not-for-sales. They have the "Askari Seal of Approval™" in my book!

Bustman · June 28, 2003 3:23AM

I have told Laura more than once that its a damn good thing they keep hooking me up with killer coins, because it sure isn't her personality that keeps me coming back for more!
Its like EVP said, you want GREAT coins ....deal with Laura. If you want to have your hand held, look elsewhere!

DaveG · June 28, 2003 4:39AM

Hey, at least Laura has a sense of humor!

I posted on the other side of the street about her picture being on Coin World and she offered to pound my head in

Of course, she might have just found an icon she liked, too!

baccaruda · June 28, 2003 10:55AM

I must say tonekiller's and jbsteven's displays stood out like sore thumbs at the show - by far the most beautifully toned coins there. Then they brought out a huge bin of the deepest toned Jeffersons I've ever seen.

We never did find Marty, mb, or anyone else. Spoke to Julian for a moment. I wish I'd known Mark was going to be there as I'd really have liked to speak to him. I don't know who said this show was mostly darkside but nothing could be further from the truth - I'd say the show was 80% lightside.

darktone · June 28, 2003 11:01AM

I think it was a fine show today but then again I was just looking for low grade mint state gold $10 liberty common dates. mike

Bear · June 28, 2003 11:16AM

I deal with Laura all the time. She has been very nice to me, but I think

that she has a soft spot for bears.She really doesnt have the time to

be on these Forums, but she does it because she cares about the hobby and

the members. She may be gruff, but you will always get an honest answer from her

about any question you ask her. A really fine lady to do bussiness with.

Veep · June 28, 2003 11:42AM

I enjoyed the show Friday and think that it gets better every year. Hopefully, it will rival Baltimore in a few years.

I thought that there were lots of great coins and dealers from all over. They advertised that there were dealers from 26 states. I had a good time talking with Gus Tiso, Anthony Swiatek, Rick Snow and a bevy of regional dealers.

There were lots of great coins: Early commems, 1936-42 proofs, plenty of gold in any grade you wanted, Morgans galore (of course) including a couple in PF68. Man, oh man, are those gorgeous?! Another dealer was there with two cases full of nothing but little piles of Australian gold nuggets of every conceivable size and shape.

My only beef was with the crowd at the convention center. I couldn't park in the $1.50 Metra lot due to all of the other shows going on at the same time. The lot was packed with sports card and antique shoppers who had the same idea. Instead, I got nailed for $11 across the street (half of which I'm sure winds-up in some politician's pocket). Rosemont has quite a reputation.

mbbiker · June 29, 2003 11:03AM

Other than the $11 for parking i had an ok show. I only bought 2 coins just because i didn't want to leave empty handed. It was nice to meet TBT and jbsteven. I must have missed some of the other forum members because those were the only two i meet. One thing that freaked me out the most is when about 7-8 security guys started to surround me, but after a few minutes they took away the guy next to me. He was wearing a funny looking hat with the bread bag. I didn't expect to find a 1884 $2.50 gold piece but it would have been nice to finally cross that off the list of coins i want to own.

baccaruda · June 29, 2003 11:48AM

I missed you there mb! I was the tall guy wearing the white baseball jersey with yellow lettering. waited over by that food stand for a while between 12:30 and 1 but didn't see anybody. I had fun at the show but I've never been to one before. I brought home maybe 50 common nickels with color, some dimes, and a few quarters - and some exceptional darkside stuff. Here's my favorite:

baccaruda · June 29, 2003 12:22PM

2 more pretty ones:

Android · June 29, 2003 1:03PM

I met Jbsteven and TBT at the St. Louis show, and had dinner with both. Two of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. If I was collecting toned Morgans in particular, they'd probably be my only stop, even at a national show. I've never seen so much first class toned material in one location.

Andy

northcoin · June 29, 2003 3:26PM

Those of you at the show - did any of you attend the Bowers and Merena Sanctuary Sale auction? How was the bidding? How was the product? Am still waiting to hear if some of my online bids won. Was bidding only on Seated Liberty Dollars this time. Were the bids for them strong, weak or lukewarm if anyone recalls?

dorkkarl · June 29, 2003 10:24PM

let me elaborate on agentjim007's evalutation. the show sucked rundown:

julian liedman was right up front, greeted us w/ the usual pleasant "hello". a few nice coins, but jule's, you might be losing your touch just a bit, dude. & he spent a bit too much time on the phone, so i casualy glanced at his stuff. 1 thing i don't like is that he doesn't put prices on the coins - you have to ask - but he's always done that. tends to put off some folks, like my buddy (who went to the show w/ me).

morgan dollars? what i saw at this show was the biggest freakin swarm of disgusting, blast-white oceans of morgan dollars that i've ever seen in my life! i don't know what the he11 has gotten into these people, but is there any such thing as an undipped morgan dollar any more? the ONLY oasis in this sea of chemical soup was texas bullion traders (TBT). excellent display, outstanding coins w/ plenty of wonderful color. they seemed to have good traffic, so i didn't get to see anything up close. 1 complaint - you need more denom's, guys!

but it just seems to be some kind of recurring nighmare, coin after coin after coin that's been dipped to a pasty blast-white look. is this really what you all want to collect? btw, saw mad-marty behind the table. doesn't really seem mad at all, but defintiely a strange dude. thankfully, he wasn't singing, which was probably a good thing.

now, jump over to g.r.tiso's case, & what i saw made my stomach churn w./ disgust. virtually ever stinking single 1 of his morgans was a blast-white bleach-blond piece of pcgs genericizied, plasticized, anesthetized, dippedicized, younameiticized boring piece o' crap. the only redeeming thing about this guy's booth is that he was almost pleasant , actually taking a couple seconds to step away from his laptop & saying "hello". not to me, of course, but to the rich-dressed gentleman in front of me. i thank my lucky stars that i don't even like morgans all that much, but the show seemed really, realy weak on seated & trade dollars. even peace dollars were difficult to find, unless they were blast white.

i owe something of an apology to legend. every time i went by their booth, which was about 3 times, laura wasn't there, so i didn't get to harrass her any. but, i will say that they seemed to have turned quite a few coins since last time i saw them, & they have more original coins on display now. much better. last show where i saw them, they had an awful lot of dipped crap. hope laura didn't have any more kidney stones to deal with! couple of very outstanding gold coins that were actually original, too.

harry laibstain - great display as usual. i've slammed hlrc a few times, but really, he's a pretty good guy. got a couple quotes from him that were a lot lower than i'd expected, ie. he seemed willing to wheel & deal. he had an unc bust dollar, 1799 for $18000+ in anacs ms-61. great luster, but the danged thing was polished & looked practicaly dmpl to me. WAY too high,imo. so why do i mention it? interesting comparison: jason carter had a 1799 bust dollar, ngc-62 that was artficially toned. his asking price for 1 poitn higher slabed? 26,000 ?!?!?! what the heck are these dealers thinking???

wasted 20 minutes at coleman foster's table looking through his stuff. man-oh-man, what a load of crap. used to be able to chreyy SOMEthing once in a while, but i gotta say, maybe coleman's stuff is a reflection of a market gone bad, but i've rarely seen such a load of vomit-inducing scrubbed up, damaged, putrid coins in my entire life, yet there were dealers lined up for miles! i don't get it. the coin market is in a very strange position these days.

tom reynolds, the usual gorgous display of large cents. the man is & continues to be a consistently great vendor at these shows, but his traffic eerily slow. anthony terranova also, several intriguing colonials to look at, but i get the odd feeling that he's been carting some of the same coins around for months now. still, if you want museum quality, that's the place to go. jonathan kern left to early for me to get much of a feel for his stuff.

baley's recent threads on draped bust halves got me to looking for the 1801, 02. sun-city coin had a 1802 bust half in icg ef-40 holder, & that thing was the most pathetic, disgusting vomit-laden piece of dogmeat i've ever seen in my life. it was obviously harshly cleaned & horribly retoned, it looked like an electric prune that had been barfed up by an armadillo. yuck! i had to turn away from it to avoid being sick all over this guy's case. & he's a jerk, too. just kept staring off into the rafters while i was standing 3 feet away. move down the aisle about 3 booths or so, i looked at jade coin's 1801 & 1802. by the time i got there, they'd alreaedy sold 1 of the 1801's (so i was told), they had 1 left. stunning coin, absolutely postiviely a 100% original coin, graded only "vf-20+". problem? they're price was DOUBLE retail! the 1802 was just ok, not a terribly oriignal coin, but their price reflected it. somebody else on the flow had a 1801 slabed in ms-62, & i don't remember who it was (my buddy actually saw it), but that was just about it for those dates. in fact, i saw 12, count 'em TWELVE 1815's, & only FIVE of EITHER 1801 or 1802. i told you those dates were extremely rare!

went to lunch & saw mad-marty a few more times wandering aimlessly across the bourse floor. i think he was carrying around a slab box full of slabs that he was trying to dump. not quite the picture that clankeye paints , like i said, he wasn't singing or anything, but sure is an animated guy! what were you selling in that secret slab box, mad-marty? doughnuts? lunch was just plain awful. $2.25 for a little bitty soda??? c'mon! & crappy bbq pork sandwiches? is this the best chicago can do?

wandered over to jack beymer, cantankerous as usual, but his wife is always nice to me. they were doing a brisk business while i was there, so i looked at some of their standing-lib quarters. nothing that i could AFFORD, but most of their coins were too high grade for me anyway. i am looking to up grade my 1923-s to 1 that has a more solid date, so i decide to check out cline's coins. not pleased at all w/ his selection. don't know if this has secretly been a "hot" series, but unless you want a slabed ms-64 FH+++ for 20% over retail, you can forget about it. nobody stocks these coins in F/VF, except for the common dates. i just want an average coin, aren't there any anymore? checked out a couple more places, then gave up.

so i decided to get back to colonials. went over to "american heritage", & enjoyed a light converasation with david nieta, who i think is a underrated dealer. problem is, he has an awful lot of pcgs-slabed colonials, & their grading is phenomenally awful where these coins are concerned. i've heard that terranova is suppposed to consult w/ pcgs about grading these, belive me, they need the help. the only thing worse than pcgs grading colonials - is ngc grading colonials! holy cow, these guy are AWFUL! didn't see robert rhue at the show, but he's becoming over-commercialized/over-slabed as well, so i ended up buying ZERO colonials, which is unusual for me, even if it's something cheap.

my last stop was right back up front, at robert griffin's table, where i ended up making my ONLY PURCHASE OF THE ENTIRE SHOW - a lowly, humble jefferson nickel (raw) that cost me all of $13. that's all i had to show for 2 days of "browsing" this wonderful bourse. so if i had to sum up my experience at rosemont, just to make it simple, i'd ditto agentjim007's wonderfully descriptive & accurate opinion, in 1 word:

it sucked

K S

Askari · June 29, 2003 10:59PM

Karl, if you'd sung that, we'd be forced to suspect that you and MadMarty are one and the same!!

Thanks for the colorful report!! It seems to have been more colorful than most of what was at the show.

MadMarty · June 29, 2003 11:12PM

I was at the show all four days, helping TBT and Jason out at their table (thanks guys). It was interesting seeing a show from the other side of the table! I can tell you one thing about dealers and collectors in the Chicago area, they love WHITE coins. Take a wonderful toned TBT Morgan to a Chicago dealer and they get the MS70 Dip ready! As for myself I bought way too much stuff! Day one, bought 5 KILLER 1967 SMS sets (DCAM Kennedys!) and some sealed 64 proof sets (not from Val Webb). Day 2 Picked up a complete set of Jeffersons from Bryan at TBT!, what a purdy set!! Thanks Bryan!!! Day 3 was Frankie day! Picked up 6 rolls of Frankies (see the other post for pictures!), and day 4 picked up OBW rolls and some old sealed tubes of Roosies (the good dates), watch the pops on these! Everybody I ran into was great! It's alot of fun being Bryan's and Jason's gopher! Looking forward to the next big show I get to go to!

cladking · June 29, 2003 11:18PM

The Mid-Am show is usually a lot of fun. It's usually held in conjunction with
the collectibles exhibition and you can see what is going on in these markets
and talk to the oufits who sell on TV. Many hobby related entities will have
booths at the coin show. Also many of the biggest name dealers will be there.
It's always a great place to make contacts but isn't as good for finding coins
unless you collect or deal in slabbed classic US coins. It isn't weak in world
coins but even here the depth isn't good. This show is typically weak for mod-
erns and raw coins. Tokens and medals are almost nonexistent.

dorkkarl · June 29, 2003 11:30PM

guess i should've mentioned. got so bored at the coin show - i actually went over to the collectibles ("antique") bourse & spent a couple hours there!

K S

baccaruda · June 30, 2003 12:11AM

Karl - you're such a downer. The $4 piece of pizza actually tasted pretty good. The $11 parking ticked me off - next year I'm parking down the road in some random parking lot. As you drove towards the parking garage it turns into a one-way street. You come upon a sign that says "No turnarounds at this point". The next sign you come to says "Parking $11" which is about 4x more than it should be in a suburb. I'm sure the order of the signs was no coincidence.

To those who are interested, I saw one coin all day that jumped out at me as being GROSSLY AT. It was in a case just to the right as you walked in the front door. The most unnatural color you could imagine in an album pattern. It was in an ACG holder - the only ACG holder I saw at the entire show.

I need to become a dealer, that's all I know. I recently bought an MS66 1922 Peace for $261. Out of curiosity I asked a dealer what he wanted for his 66. $550. Do they actually sell ANY? If so, I can just buy from Ebay, bring it to a show and double the price? The prices on anything nice were ridiculous.

NumisEd · June 30, 2003 2:30AM

DorkKarl, thanks for the detailed report. Geez, I am real glad that I didn't make it to the show. I was gonna go, but we had a company picknic and I was TOLD that I had to go, as I am volunteered every year to organize the activities, pay the pig roaster, emcee, etc, etc. I was not very happy about it, but after Karl's post, I am real glad that I did not drive the 8 hours to the show!

About MadMarty, did TBT hire him? Is MadMarty a professional numismatist now???????

jadecoin · June 30, 2003 2:51AM

The show was interesting, in that we sold a lot on Friday (but bought nothing), sold very little on Saturday (but bought a lot), and did neither on Sunday. However, we met quite a few forum members, including a couple of lurkers. Apparently, word about the forum is really getting around.

Actually, I take it back, I did buy a coin from Mad Marty on Friday - a gorgeous toned Morgan dollar (I think he was selling it for Texas Bullion Traders).

Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

iras4 · June 30, 2003 3:25AM

AgentJim and Dorkarl state dthe at the show "sucked" or words to that effect.

I found it just the opposite. I go to these shows to buy fresh inventory and to fill the needs of my customers. Don't ever set up a table.

I was able to buy, all PCGS certifed, a 1916 MS-64 SLQ with Full Head, an AU-53 1918/7-S 25c, a EF40 1795 half cent AND a AU-58 1794 half cent. Also a 1892-S Morgan in AU-53 prooflike surfaces with AU58 detail on devices, and in NGC bought a 1927S 25c in AU58 that's the real deal. Very tough in this grade.

Also took a tentative step into the amazing toned Morgan series where I got a fabulous 1884CC in PCGS MS66. No shake & bake here...this is original bag toning and I've occasionally seen it in shops years ago just before the dealer dipped it out! "People only like 'em white" they'd say.

I suppose if a collector has specific and esoteric interests, it's hard to find material like that even at a large show due to carry-on restrictions from the airlines, but nearly all the US coin dealers I spoke to said it was a fabulous show. I saw lots of folks in attendance except for Sunday morning. Some went home quite early because they were virtually sold out.

Naturally, there were boxes and boxes of ugly slabbed material as well as bushels of junk raw coins, but the dealer(s) famous for selling that stuff had their tables surrounded by both mail order dealers and shop owners who sell that crap to their unsophisticated customers. Always been that way.

I spent a bit over 90% of my goal, so I was quite pleased. Glad I went!

By the way, for those that care, I survived the coin-filled Lucite toilet seat incident and it remains in place.

Ira

cameoproofcoins · June 30, 2003 1:31PM

I wanted to thank TBT. They were very helpful. I also wanted to thank Laura from Legend for letting me know that a great coin I needed was floating around the show. If I can find one coin, it makes it a great show. There are not as many dealers as a Long Beach, but both years I have come away with a top pop ucam coin. Last year I bought one from Legend. At the Long Beach show I was unable to find anything I needed. So it is truly hit or miss.

Re the comments about Laura. I talked to her after the post about saying hi to her. She said she was very busy and concentrating on the person she was talking to. I would say to try again when they are not busy. I also do not think they use this board to promote. I do not think they need to. I have only been a member on this board for a few months. There is some great information on the board, and I hope we can keep it on a positive level.

Just back from the Mid-America show Chicago

Comments

Leave a Comment