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Belated Baltimore Show report
66RB
Posts: 2,516 ✭✭✭
I know I am a few days late to still be talking about the Baltimore show, but I went away for a few days immediately after this show for a few days of snowboarding in Vermont. I returned home yesterday following three days of boarding and a tiring 7 hour drive so I wasn't taking the time to post a report then!
So, here we are about 1 week after the show, I'll try my best to recall everything that I saw and experienced.
My Wife and I left Thursday evening around 7:00 pm and arrived in Baltimore around 10:30. We checked into our hotel and proceeded up to our room, me with great anticipation of what little gems I may find the following day, her bored and wondering what time we would get home Friday night. Got in bed and dozed off while watching the History channel.
We got up around 8:30 on Friday and went downstairs to get laid out $50 for breakfast. I started to protest eating breakfast at all, then I mercifully recalled that I was prepared to spend hundreds, if not thousands, on little pieces of copper(!!). In the end, I paid the $50(with tip) with a smile on my face, content with the fact that I would not be in the 'doghouse' for the day.
So into the convention center we went, filled out the registration forms, put on our name tags, and stepped in. The place is just as big as I remember it being from last year and there seemed to be a lot of people in the room. The good thing is being that it is so big, the people have room to spread out and not be on top of each other, as is the case at the monthly Parsippany show I go to.
My plan for the day was quite simple.....LEFT to RIGHT. Start at the left side of the room, work towards the right. Get an eyeball on every case looking for Lincoln cents that I need. Lots of ground to cover in one day, and I was going to try and make the best use of the limited time I had there.
Of course I made the obligatory stop to say Hello to forum member Julian, who as usual was very cordial and professional, despite being pretty busy looking.
So down the first row we went and back up the second row, down the third row and back up the fourth etc. etc. etc. Coming around one of the corners near the PCGS table I think my nose hit someone's belt buckle. I stopped and stepped back and craned my neck way back and looked up in the sky and it was forum member tootawl, who was just as nice as can be. We spent a few minutes talking which was a great thing, it's nice to be able to put a name to the face. He went off to the PCGS table and we were off searching again. We stopped at Bob Bruce's table to say Hello since they were just so nice last year when we met them and made a purchase for my Wife. They actually remembered who we were from last year, that always makes you feel good when someone remembers you from a 15 minute transaction a year ago.
As we were walking, I eventually found my self passing by Legend's table and approaching Angel Dees table. As some of you may know, Andy is my favorite dealer as he has an excellent eye and is a very fair businessman who will take the time for anyone who comes to his table. Their table always has at least one person parked in front of the cases and usually a number of people lined up to have a look-see at what they have. This time was no exception as I waited about ten minutes just to get a look in his case. As I was waiting, I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw forum member ksteelheader moving past. Being that I spotted him last year and never saw him again, I took the opportunity to call out to him as he was walking by and introduced myself. I don't think he knew who I was, or he didn't care
Either way, I've had several pm's with Ken and it was nice to be able to meet him in person.
A couple things:
I saw a 1943-S PCGS MS-66 with a very, very slight purple color on the reverse which was priced at $550. I asked him how could a super common Lincoln in MS-66 be worth $550? He explained that it had some toning on it and it was extremely rare to find these with toning on them. (I saw one at the Coinfest show last fall in PCGS MS-64 the dealer wanted $1400 for). At least they realize that they are pretty tough to find with color on them, and I don't think either of them like the story of how I acquired mine by completely dumb luck winning an eBay auction with no mention of toning in the description. As I was leaving the dealers table he was lamentig the fact that he might have paid too much for this coin.
One dealer I sat down at his table as he had many many Lincolns that were just absolutely phenomenal. 1955-S PCGS MS66RB, 1956-D PCGS MS66BN 1957-D PCGS MS66RB, etc. etc. Super looking coins but he wanted all the money for them. Real duffydaddy'ish pricing going on there
$450 seemed to be a favorite price of his. I am not knocking the guy, as they are his coins and he can price them wherever he wants. He also was very nice and cordial and took the time to show me every one of the coins I asked to look at. I ended up showing him a few coins that I brought with me that I was going to submit for crossover, and he seemed to like the ones that I showed him. When I told him the prices I paid for them in the last few years, he understood why I wasn't willing to pay his prices.
Another dealer had a 1920 Lincoln cent in an NGC holder. I looked through the case at it and saw the slab had a 'PQ Gem' sticker directly over the grade. I asked to see the coin and noticed it had very light clashing on it, some letter of 'USOA' were visible in the left field. I held the slab longways and peered as best as I could past the sticker and saw it was graded 64RB. I then asked him how much was this coin as it was kind of neat. He quoted me a price of $500. ...... $500?? I asked him? Well, then make me an offer. I probably insulted him by offering him $100 for it, but he was taking a shot and he knew it. So I took my shot and he passed on my offer and that was that.
Another dealer who had a lot of Lincolns was taking shots with every single one of his Lincoln cents. As I arrived at the table, another customer who was leaving at the time warned me that the prices were strong, very strong for anything that said RD or RB. They had quite a selection of early Lincolns available, looking back now I am not surprised at all his cases were full. One coin I asked for a price on. A 1921-S PCGS MS65RB---$3350 Three Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty dollars. Talk about a shot price, I paid less than half of that for a very nice 21-S PCGS 65RB not even 6 months ago!
One forum member/dealer I approached looked at me and asked me if my name tag said 'Rob Me'. I didn't quite understand what he was asking me so he repeated it and snickered. I was kind of put off by this greeting and would not recommend any other dealer taking up this practice. Being that I knew who he was and how his pricing was, I told him that the only way he would be robbing me is if I were to buy a coin of his, and promptly left his table. I didn't even get to see what he had in his case and didn't even want to after that. No need for that kind of an attitude when greeting people coming up to your table at a show
So, what did I actually accomplish at this show?
--I knew I was going to find that Dino-Lite, and I eventually did find it and bought one. I saw Tootawl later in the day and apparently he was looking for it as well. I told him where he could find it and wished him luck as that was probably the busiest table at the whole show!
--I submitted 7 coins to PCGS, a 1972DDO, a 1984DDO, a 1980DDO, a 1926 Lincoln(my avatar), a 1957 Lincoln, a 1958 Lincoln, and a 1958-D Lincoln.
--I met a few members that I had not met before, including a lurker who was intorduced to me by Andy Skrabalak.
What did I buy?
Well, I bought not one single coin. The coins that I saw were just not there for the grade, were dogs, or were priced at just ridiculous prices. I was really thinking that the recent high prices would make for a show with a huge selection of Lincolns everywhere, jut it just wasn't the case, unless you felt like paying up, and I mean WAY UP. These prices are kind of scary to me, it seems like they have nowhere to go but down, but I certainly do not possess a crystal ball so anything is possible.
As noted, I bought a Dino-Lite that I have yet to try out yet, a big Lincoln medal that will find a home in the Lincoln bathroom, and little plastic hollowed out Lincoln that will also end up in the Lincoln bathroom, just have to find a creative way to use these two pieces.
I'm kind of disappointed in going home 'empty handed', but I understand it's bound to happen every once in a while. I would much rather have it happen at the Parsippany show which is 20 mins away and I don't have to stay over at. Also, I can eat breakfast at home when I go to the Parsippany show
Thanks for reading my report!
So, here we are about 1 week after the show, I'll try my best to recall everything that I saw and experienced.
My Wife and I left Thursday evening around 7:00 pm and arrived in Baltimore around 10:30. We checked into our hotel and proceeded up to our room, me with great anticipation of what little gems I may find the following day, her bored and wondering what time we would get home Friday night. Got in bed and dozed off while watching the History channel.
We got up around 8:30 on Friday and went downstairs to get laid out $50 for breakfast. I started to protest eating breakfast at all, then I mercifully recalled that I was prepared to spend hundreds, if not thousands, on little pieces of copper(!!). In the end, I paid the $50(with tip) with a smile on my face, content with the fact that I would not be in the 'doghouse' for the day.
So into the convention center we went, filled out the registration forms, put on our name tags, and stepped in. The place is just as big as I remember it being from last year and there seemed to be a lot of people in the room. The good thing is being that it is so big, the people have room to spread out and not be on top of each other, as is the case at the monthly Parsippany show I go to.
My plan for the day was quite simple.....LEFT to RIGHT. Start at the left side of the room, work towards the right. Get an eyeball on every case looking for Lincoln cents that I need. Lots of ground to cover in one day, and I was going to try and make the best use of the limited time I had there.
Of course I made the obligatory stop to say Hello to forum member Julian, who as usual was very cordial and professional, despite being pretty busy looking.
So down the first row we went and back up the second row, down the third row and back up the fourth etc. etc. etc. Coming around one of the corners near the PCGS table I think my nose hit someone's belt buckle. I stopped and stepped back and craned my neck way back and looked up in the sky and it was forum member tootawl, who was just as nice as can be. We spent a few minutes talking which was a great thing, it's nice to be able to put a name to the face. He went off to the PCGS table and we were off searching again. We stopped at Bob Bruce's table to say Hello since they were just so nice last year when we met them and made a purchase for my Wife. They actually remembered who we were from last year, that always makes you feel good when someone remembers you from a 15 minute transaction a year ago.
As we were walking, I eventually found my self passing by Legend's table and approaching Angel Dees table. As some of you may know, Andy is my favorite dealer as he has an excellent eye and is a very fair businessman who will take the time for anyone who comes to his table. Their table always has at least one person parked in front of the cases and usually a number of people lined up to have a look-see at what they have. This time was no exception as I waited about ten minutes just to get a look in his case. As I was waiting, I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw forum member ksteelheader moving past. Being that I spotted him last year and never saw him again, I took the opportunity to call out to him as he was walking by and introduced myself. I don't think he knew who I was, or he didn't care
Either way, I've had several pm's with Ken and it was nice to be able to meet him in person. A couple things:
I saw a 1943-S PCGS MS-66 with a very, very slight purple color on the reverse which was priced at $550. I asked him how could a super common Lincoln in MS-66 be worth $550? He explained that it had some toning on it and it was extremely rare to find these with toning on them. (I saw one at the Coinfest show last fall in PCGS MS-64 the dealer wanted $1400 for). At least they realize that they are pretty tough to find with color on them, and I don't think either of them like the story of how I acquired mine by completely dumb luck winning an eBay auction with no mention of toning in the description. As I was leaving the dealers table he was lamentig the fact that he might have paid too much for this coin.
One dealer I sat down at his table as he had many many Lincolns that were just absolutely phenomenal. 1955-S PCGS MS66RB, 1956-D PCGS MS66BN 1957-D PCGS MS66RB, etc. etc. Super looking coins but he wanted all the money for them. Real duffydaddy'ish pricing going on there
$450 seemed to be a favorite price of his. I am not knocking the guy, as they are his coins and he can price them wherever he wants. He also was very nice and cordial and took the time to show me every one of the coins I asked to look at. I ended up showing him a few coins that I brought with me that I was going to submit for crossover, and he seemed to like the ones that I showed him. When I told him the prices I paid for them in the last few years, he understood why I wasn't willing to pay his prices. Another dealer had a 1920 Lincoln cent in an NGC holder. I looked through the case at it and saw the slab had a 'PQ Gem' sticker directly over the grade. I asked to see the coin and noticed it had very light clashing on it, some letter of 'USOA' were visible in the left field. I held the slab longways and peered as best as I could past the sticker and saw it was graded 64RB. I then asked him how much was this coin as it was kind of neat. He quoted me a price of $500. ...... $500?? I asked him? Well, then make me an offer. I probably insulted him by offering him $100 for it, but he was taking a shot and he knew it. So I took my shot and he passed on my offer and that was that.
Another dealer who had a lot of Lincolns was taking shots with every single one of his Lincoln cents. As I arrived at the table, another customer who was leaving at the time warned me that the prices were strong, very strong for anything that said RD or RB. They had quite a selection of early Lincolns available, looking back now I am not surprised at all his cases were full. One coin I asked for a price on. A 1921-S PCGS MS65RB---$3350 Three Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty dollars. Talk about a shot price, I paid less than half of that for a very nice 21-S PCGS 65RB not even 6 months ago!
One forum member/dealer I approached looked at me and asked me if my name tag said 'Rob Me'. I didn't quite understand what he was asking me so he repeated it and snickered. I was kind of put off by this greeting and would not recommend any other dealer taking up this practice. Being that I knew who he was and how his pricing was, I told him that the only way he would be robbing me is if I were to buy a coin of his, and promptly left his table. I didn't even get to see what he had in his case and didn't even want to after that. No need for that kind of an attitude when greeting people coming up to your table at a show
So, what did I actually accomplish at this show?
--I knew I was going to find that Dino-Lite, and I eventually did find it and bought one. I saw Tootawl later in the day and apparently he was looking for it as well. I told him where he could find it and wished him luck as that was probably the busiest table at the whole show!
--I submitted 7 coins to PCGS, a 1972DDO, a 1984DDO, a 1980DDO, a 1926 Lincoln(my avatar), a 1957 Lincoln, a 1958 Lincoln, and a 1958-D Lincoln.
--I met a few members that I had not met before, including a lurker who was intorduced to me by Andy Skrabalak.
What did I buy?
Well, I bought not one single coin. The coins that I saw were just not there for the grade, were dogs, or were priced at just ridiculous prices. I was really thinking that the recent high prices would make for a show with a huge selection of Lincolns everywhere, jut it just wasn't the case, unless you felt like paying up, and I mean WAY UP. These prices are kind of scary to me, it seems like they have nowhere to go but down, but I certainly do not possess a crystal ball so anything is possible.
As noted, I bought a Dino-Lite that I have yet to try out yet, a big Lincoln medal that will find a home in the Lincoln bathroom, and little plastic hollowed out Lincoln that will also end up in the Lincoln bathroom, just have to find a creative way to use these two pieces.
I'm kind of disappointed in going home 'empty handed', but I understand it's bound to happen every once in a while. I would much rather have it happen at the Parsippany show which is 20 mins away and I don't have to stay over at. Also, I can eat breakfast at home when I go to the Parsippany show
Thanks for reading my report!
0
Comments
Thanks for sharing.
<< <i>How many stickered Lincolns did you see? >>
Just one, the sticker said 'PQ Gem'.
Lincoln set Colorless Set
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
I enjoyed the reference to ridiculously priced coins, and your new adjective for this: duffdaddyish.
I'm glad you know Bob Bruce. I used to hit his shop on a weekly basis until he moved to Fla.
I did pick this coin up at his table this time:
<< <i>It was nice to meet you Rob.
I'm glad you know Bob Bruce. I used to hit his shop on a weekly basis until he moved to Fla.
I did pick this coin up at his table this time:
holy smokes!
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
RYK, the snowboarding could have been a bit better. It got too warm up there, so it was hard and icy up top and down low it was pretty soft. The top was SUPER fast though, that made it pretty fun, and when you're really tired at the bottom, it got much easier in the soft stuff.
Lincoln set Colorless Set
greg
www.brunkauctions.com
<< <i>Good report, I'm the dealer that had the 43d lincoln at coinfest. Sorry but this coin sold at this show. Good luck in your hunt, but remember nice coins cost large amounts of money even for a dealer to purchase and whenever you think your paying to much for a particular coin , these are the best purchases because they are typically pq for the grade and easy sells. >>
Hey cape, 'eyeappealingcoins', right? Forgive me if I am wrong on the name, it was a while ago.
I enjoyed talking to you at Coinfest. And hearing that it sold at that show makes me feel great about the one that I have. Would I ever pay that for one of these, no. I would much rather have a tough date in gem condition.
Lincoln set Colorless Set
I'm impressed with the restraint you showed by NOT buying anything.
I believe that would be impossible for me at a big show like that.
<< <i>Coming around one of the corners near the PCGS table I think my nose hit someone's belt buckle. I stopped and stepped back and craned my neck way back and looked up in the sky and it was forum member tootawl, who was just as nice as can be. We spent a few minutes talking which was a great thing, it's nice to be able to put a name to the face >>
I'm not that tawl. You and everyone else is just too short.