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RYK's Silver Dollar Show Report, 10/19/06
RYK
Posts: 35,800 ✭✭✭✭✭
In a word, SLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!
I arrived at the Silver Dollar Show with a cheery outlook and much enthusiasm soon after the show opened. Even when presented with a likely lame show, it is best to go in with a good attitude. My first stop was the Heritage table to view the auction lots. I always like to do this first, when I am freshest. As is usual, the gold lots that I viewed were mostly pedestrian. However, there was a fabulous 1861-D $5 in a P53 holder that I might just ask SaintGuru to sell some more of his Saints and loan me the money to buy. It was really great. I always look at the 1861-O $20's in these sales. This one had a relatively strong date, but did not have the die crack that is typically seen in these, and this puzzled me. It also looked like there was some foreign substance in the left obverse fields and over the portrait. Overall, I would give the coin a B- (it'a a VF-25).
While viewing the Heritage lots, at one point I held two Stellas, one in each hand. While contemplating how to create a diversion and escape with both, I realized that the coin in my left hand had was darkish orange with lovely original proof haze while the coin in the right hand was a typical processed little yellow headlight. Oh, how I longed for the coin in my left hand...
I always enjoy the banter at the Heritage tables. I heard one dealer telling the lot attendant, "It's been a great run these last few years, but things are really slowing down."
After viewing the lots, I went out to scour the bourse. I will omit the business regarding the 1858-D $5 since it was reported elsewhere. I will say that there did not seem to be a lot of activity. There were some nice coins on the bourse, but dealers were clinging to inflated price guide values rather than what might be more realistic in some cases. I saw a SINGLE TABLE with 20th Anniversary GAE coins, in NGC holders. I figured they would be all over the place, and I am half-regretting that I swiftly flipped my sets. There were plenty of GBs, as one would expect. Toned Morgans were all over the place and pricing was downright cheap. I wonder if all of this AT business is starting to affect this niche.
I looked at a lot of Walkers for my next low-impact coin project: a short set of Walkers in lightly toned 63/64 for an album page. After looking at many, I found three that matched reasonably well, and snapped them up from a New Orleans-based dealer. I did not see a lot of business transacted, and most that was, was wholesale, as one would expect for a Thursday. I ran into Mark Feld, who was disppointed that he could not find much, and Wei Chang, who said that my prediction that he would not spend $1000 at the show might ring true.
As usual, at St. Louis shows, I always spend a fair amount of time at James Garcia (EarlyUS.com proprietor and ex-Jade partner) 's table. His inventory was very thin, he had bought little, and sold several coins yesterday afternoon and this morning. James always shows me his current projects, and they are always a delight to see. James is a very talented numismatist, honest dealer, and overall great and funny guy. Forum members are usually lurking there, and I hooked up with JayWalker and others while chatting with James.
I also got to meet ColonialCoinUnion for the first time. John was relishing his first visit to the glamorous hamlet of St. Charles, MO, when I ran into him. Actually, he had just made a huge submission to PCGS and had but one coin to show me, and I quickly bought it from him. It was a lovely, original 1840 $5 PCGS AU-53 from the Atwwater (intentional typo) Collection. I asked if he had a 58-D $5 that looked the same, and he did not.
We talked a bit, shared stories, techniques, and experiences (ie. he taught me quite a few things and pretended to be interested in my stuff), and eventually parted. I am sure that I have not seen the last of him. Another great guy!
One thing that I noticed immediately was that the ANACS table, which previously was mobbed at St. Louis shows, was a ghost town, while the PCGS table had a steady stream of activity. The CS people at PCGS seemed enthusiastic, helpful, and busy. Since I have reported otherwise in the past, I thought it best to give credit where it is due.
I planned to leave around the time that Mark was to leave , so I offered him a ride to the airport (it has become a tradition, as has screwing up dinner with Mark the night before the show
). He did not know, hehe, that I would drop him off only to boomerang back to the show because I wanted to hook up with a vest pocket dealer, whom I met the previous year, who usually has some southern gold. It was worth the return trip, even though Mark will kill me when he reads this. 
I purchased a neat 1855-C $5 with a large reverse cud, a scarce but well-documented die state for the date, in P45 holder.
That's it for now. I will post pics of my new coins later, along with any other tidbits I may have neglected.
I arrived at the Silver Dollar Show with a cheery outlook and much enthusiasm soon after the show opened. Even when presented with a likely lame show, it is best to go in with a good attitude. My first stop was the Heritage table to view the auction lots. I always like to do this first, when I am freshest. As is usual, the gold lots that I viewed were mostly pedestrian. However, there was a fabulous 1861-D $5 in a P53 holder that I might just ask SaintGuru to sell some more of his Saints and loan me the money to buy. It was really great. I always look at the 1861-O $20's in these sales. This one had a relatively strong date, but did not have the die crack that is typically seen in these, and this puzzled me. It also looked like there was some foreign substance in the left obverse fields and over the portrait. Overall, I would give the coin a B- (it'a a VF-25).
While viewing the Heritage lots, at one point I held two Stellas, one in each hand. While contemplating how to create a diversion and escape with both, I realized that the coin in my left hand had was darkish orange with lovely original proof haze while the coin in the right hand was a typical processed little yellow headlight. Oh, how I longed for the coin in my left hand...
I always enjoy the banter at the Heritage tables. I heard one dealer telling the lot attendant, "It's been a great run these last few years, but things are really slowing down."
After viewing the lots, I went out to scour the bourse. I will omit the business regarding the 1858-D $5 since it was reported elsewhere. I will say that there did not seem to be a lot of activity. There were some nice coins on the bourse, but dealers were clinging to inflated price guide values rather than what might be more realistic in some cases. I saw a SINGLE TABLE with 20th Anniversary GAE coins, in NGC holders. I figured they would be all over the place, and I am half-regretting that I swiftly flipped my sets. There were plenty of GBs, as one would expect. Toned Morgans were all over the place and pricing was downright cheap. I wonder if all of this AT business is starting to affect this niche.
I looked at a lot of Walkers for my next low-impact coin project: a short set of Walkers in lightly toned 63/64 for an album page. After looking at many, I found three that matched reasonably well, and snapped them up from a New Orleans-based dealer. I did not see a lot of business transacted, and most that was, was wholesale, as one would expect for a Thursday. I ran into Mark Feld, who was disppointed that he could not find much, and Wei Chang, who said that my prediction that he would not spend $1000 at the show might ring true.
As usual, at St. Louis shows, I always spend a fair amount of time at James Garcia (EarlyUS.com proprietor and ex-Jade partner) 's table. His inventory was very thin, he had bought little, and sold several coins yesterday afternoon and this morning. James always shows me his current projects, and they are always a delight to see. James is a very talented numismatist, honest dealer, and overall great and funny guy. Forum members are usually lurking there, and I hooked up with JayWalker and others while chatting with James.
I also got to meet ColonialCoinUnion for the first time. John was relishing his first visit to the glamorous hamlet of St. Charles, MO, when I ran into him. Actually, he had just made a huge submission to PCGS and had but one coin to show me, and I quickly bought it from him. It was a lovely, original 1840 $5 PCGS AU-53 from the Atwwater (intentional typo) Collection. I asked if he had a 58-D $5 that looked the same, and he did not.
We talked a bit, shared stories, techniques, and experiences (ie. he taught me quite a few things and pretended to be interested in my stuff), and eventually parted. I am sure that I have not seen the last of him. Another great guy!One thing that I noticed immediately was that the ANACS table, which previously was mobbed at St. Louis shows, was a ghost town, while the PCGS table had a steady stream of activity. The CS people at PCGS seemed enthusiastic, helpful, and busy. Since I have reported otherwise in the past, I thought it best to give credit where it is due.
I planned to leave around the time that Mark was to leave , so I offered him a ride to the airport (it has become a tradition, as has screwing up dinner with Mark the night before the show
). He did not know, hehe, that I would drop him off only to boomerang back to the show because I wanted to hook up with a vest pocket dealer, whom I met the previous year, who usually has some southern gold. It was worth the return trip, even though Mark will kill me when he reads this. I purchased a neat 1855-C $5 with a large reverse cud, a scarce but well-documented die state for the date, in P45 holder.That's it for now. I will post pics of my new coins later, along with any other tidbits I may have neglected.
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Comments
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Dan
Cuds are cool!
Thanks for sharing!
Edited to add- That's a cool cud!
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
NSDR - Life Member
SSDC - Life Member
ANA - Pay As I Go Member
<< <i>Does ANACS offer free opinions at their table anymore? If they don't, that could account for the lack of traffic. >>
No they do not, and, I agree, that is why their traffic is down. I think that the value-added opinions garnered more submissions.
Another random note: I looked in a Heritage box of Type I $20 Libs, containing both SS Central America and SS Republic $20's. The conservation job on the SSCA blows away what NCS did with the SSR coins. It's like night and day, and for the most part, these SSCA coins have held up reasonably well over the last six or so years.
In boxes of Heritage coins, there were a couple of occasions in which I held a really ugly, unoriginal PCGS or NGC holdered coin in one hand and in the other, a coin of the same date in an NCS or ANACS holder net-graded for a scratch or invisible tooling or something else. There were many cases in which the net-graded coin was a heck of a lot nicer and more eye-appealing than the PCGS/NGC-slabbed coin.
I felt like I walked in your shoes...spoken like a true veteran...thanks.
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
But how SLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW! was it?
1855 C
Somebody is in BIG trouble!
I thought the pcgs table folks very friendly and helpful also. I submitted a few farm sale finds,
(1811 & 1835 50C, 1878-cc 25C) and cs people were very pleasant.
I looked at most of the D branch mint stuff offered, just window/comparision shopping.
I also looked at all the Missouri commems I could find, (a new interest for me), there weren't too many
and none with the looks of some commems posted here(Fats and Lee come to mind). Most, including
auction lots were dull and not very attractive at all.
Mark was nice enough to look at a few coins of mine and offer his opinions
and offered his thoughts on looking for a gem MO. commem. Thanks...
Two interesting conversations overheard, joined in one, regarded the fall turkey season.
This fall's season started early this year and runs the whole month. I was surprised to hear these
discussions and wondered how many coin collectors are also avid hunters in this state, and if the
fall seasonhad any impact on show attendance.
Sorry to have missed you, I think I had my eyes glued to coins the whole time. Never really looked
up much till I left about 2pm or so.
There was a very nice display, near the auction lot viewing, of Metal Detector finds(quite afew from MO).
Well worth the time to look and some very pleasant conversation.
All in all, very glad I went.