Coin Show Report - Parsippany, NJ

[DaveG]

I went to the first-Sunday-of-the-month, 80+ dealer show in Parsippany, NJ today. This show is widely regarded as the finest one-day show in the country and features a wide variety of material and rather substantial floor traffic.

 

There wasn't a show last month, as Easter was the first Sunday, so there may have been some pent-up demand. In any event, the floor was really pretty active. Around 10:30 or so, I had to do the slow-sideways-shuffle to get down the aisles. I got the sense there was a fair amount of business being done and most of the dealers and collectors seemed to be in a good mood. The bourse floor had good "buzz" today.

 

There was actually one empty table in the main room and the side room was full (it only holds a half-dozen dealers or so).

 

Today was mostly a day for me to talk to people, so I didn't really pay that much attention to what was on the floor. I saw a fair amount of gold, lots of the "usual stuff" (Unc. slabbed Morgans, later Walkers and bright, white commems) and very little of the "non-usual stuff" (pre-1853 Seated silver, early date Mercuries and Walkers, etc.).

 

I did see a fair number of older slabs (PCGS, NGC and ANACS), which was nice to see - at least you know the coins have been in those slabs for 15 years or so.

 

Despite Central States, I saw most of the usual wholesale dealers - they must have taken red-eye flights to get back.

 

I chatted with Bill Shamhart, who wasn't set up but had inventory with him. I must say that: Liberty nickels actually look attractive in PF-67, Proof Barber quarters are very pretty, I didn't know that proof-like Columbian halves existed (Wow!) and, finally, matte proof 1913 Buffaloes are the ultimate expressions of the Buffalo nickel (and way nicer than the Brilliant proofs of 1937).

 

He also mentioned the poor scheduling decision that the organizers of Central States made - I don't know if it has been discussed here, but they decided to have dealer set-up for the full day after PNG Day. What's up with that?!

 

I also chatted with Tom Hyland, who, as usual, was so busy that he still wasn't set up at 11:00. He has said in the past that he was finding that coins priced over $500 were selling slowly for him. Well, apparently today that wasn't so - he seemed fairly happy about it, too.

 

I also saw a number of fellow members of the New Jersey Numismatic Society. If you're interested, our next meeting is May 17th in Madison, NJ - PM me for details.

 

Also, the Garden State Numismatic Association's annual show is May 13-15. It's usually a really good show (also with 60+ or more dealers). Tom Hyland, the show organizer, does a really good job of getting dealers who don't usually come to New Jersey (including Doug Bird, for you copper perverts). I highly recommend attending!

 

So, all-in-all it was another great show in Parsippany!

[123cents]

Very informative post. Thanks!

[johnny9434]

nice write up. its always good to hear that there is some stuff out there that is still available