Help Creating a Display

speety · May 22, 2010 3:30PM

So at the Labor Day CONA Show in Central Ohio we were thinking of displaying our seated dollars and have been offered a case and a table to do so. But it'd be our first time displaying the set and I'm having a hard time coming up with how to properly do so.

Can any forumites offer ideas for me? Should I "showcase" the keydates, or maybe just the 1870-s, or just have them all together as a set? We have a couple lower grade and raw coins which we will be able to flip over to show the reverse and either my dad or I will be with the set at all times to watch over it and chat with people who may be looking over it. Would you place a couple text blurbs around the coins with mintages/history/etc. or just talk with the people as they come over?

So I guess I'm just asking for any ideas the forum may have. What displays have you liked in the past and why? Also, remember this set is around 40 coins and all slabbed, so placing the entire set in the case fills it up for the most part...

Thanks!

(and please forgive the little plug

)

ricko · May 22, 2010 10:16PM

Any chance of getting two display cases? That way you could include the text blurbs - they are very informative and would save a great deal of repetition over the days by you explaining and answering the same questions... Cheers, RickO

STONE · May 22, 2010 10:22PM

I would suggest doing a write-up about the 1870-S, showing how rare this particular coin really is, just in case much of the general public doesn't know much about it. I would make about 50 copies so that the public can take one home for their own learning, and it would help spread the news of the display at the show! It would also help to partially explain why your example is in the particular condition it is in when compared with the other coins in the set!

I would have all the coins there since it is a complete set, and few people at the show have probably ever seen a complete set of Seated Dollars before

RichieURich · May 23, 2010 3:57AM

I agree with Stone. Also I would suggest using a mirror setup for the 1870-S so both the obverse and reverse can be viewed at the same time.

Sounds like a great exhibit.

speety · May 23, 2010 5:25AM

<< <i>I agree with Stone. Also I would suggest using a mirror setup for the 1870-S so both the obverse and reverse can be viewed at the same time.

Sounds like a great exhibit. >>

Rich, we were considering doing this for the 1870-s, but all the 'mirror' setups i've seen have only worked for raw coins because the slab blocks the reflection. Is there somewhere online that we can buy such a setup?

RichieURich · May 23, 2010 8:46AM

Haven't seen it online. However, at the Fort Worth ANA, the first exhibit on the left side had a mirror set-up with "floating" second levels. No one could figure out how it was done, but the look was mega-cool. Does anyone out there know about this exhibit and the "floating" mirror images?

speety · May 23, 2010 9:04AM

Hmm interesting. I've seen where coins have been displayed on a little stand with a mirror beneath to allow for viewing the reverse, but I have no clue how to make this work with a slabbed coin. Hmmm time to put my (ongoing) engineering education to use!

illini420 · May 23, 2010 9:08AM

Since you say you'll be with the set at all times, why the need for all of the fancy mirrors??? If someone wants to see the reverse of a coin, just pull it out of the case and show them, right??

speety · May 23, 2010 9:13AM

<< <i>Since you say you'll be with the set at all times, why the need for all of the fancy mirrors??? If someone wants to see the reverse of a coin, just pull it out of the case and show them, right?? >>

For the people we know, of course we'll be happy to pull the coin out. However, i would be a little hesitant to pull out the 1870-s and hand it to a random person who walks up... The common duplicates we have in lower grades i'd be happy to pull out of the case and show the random people...

airplanenut · May 23, 2010 9:16AM

You could include hi-res photos of each coin for people to see the reverses. Or, for mirrors, you could set up a few at angles to "move" the reverse to the side of the slab.

speety · July 9, 2010 11:54AM

Jeremy, I think I will have something there along the lines of pictures, I created a poster a while back with each coin on it, maybe we'll put that behind the case(s?)...

Any other ideas as the show is now less than two months away and I figure I should start to think about it again lol

RWB · July 9, 2010 12:21PM

Display them vertically so people can see both sides and the maybe the edges, too.

Prepare short narratives that relate the coin to the context in which it was used or produced. Check your facts (Wikidoodle and the internet are not places you find "facts").

Look for images that support the coins or interesting things about the coins.

speety · July 9, 2010 12:46PM

<< <i>Display them vertically so people can see both sides and the maybe the edges, too.

Prepare short narratives that relate the coin to the context in which it was used or produced. Check your facts (Wikidoodle and the internet are not places you find "facts").

Look for images that support the coins or interesting things about the coins. >>

RWB, I plan on taking with me our copy of Bowers Silver Dollar Encyclopedia which is the best and most accurate reference on the series that I know of to help aid in what little I have memorized.

We have a few raw seated dollars that I think we are going to take to allow people to see all three sides of the coins.

My main question is how to do the set. Should it be set up in 4 rows of ~10 coins or so, or perhaps a circle with the 1870-s in the middle, or perhaps even split up by mintmarks. Hmmmm

SeaEagleCoins · July 9, 2010 1:52PM

pennyannie · July 9, 2010 7:10PM

Pack some heat and do not stop to eat on the way home

I would vote for straight across rows, looking at coins in a circle... i generally skip those displays. Bring windex to wipe the slobber off the cases and a little air freshner for the sweating heafties.

Tell the lookers what the 1870 s cost in that condition and write down the responces for future entertainment value.

RWB · July 10, 2010 5:01AM

If you're using some sort of sub-theme grouping, then the coins can be in clusters.
If date/mint then position all the coins similarly, but you can add emphasis to 1870 or 1866, etc. to call attention to it's special characteristics. Remember - the other coins are not just space filler to highlight a rarity – they should be made interesting, too. The chances are good that few viewers will know much, so plan to keep it simple and informative, but not technical. (The technical bits are the things that kill VAMs for show displays - too much “stuff” and complete overload except for specialists.)

(Only some opinions – I don’t have anything worth displaying.)

Help Creating a Display

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