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FUN 2011 Show Report

Started by TomB,

18 posts in this topic

TomB

TomB

Posted
Posted

FUN 2011 Show Report-

There have been no doubt scores of FUN show reports already posted and so this one might be completely redundant or boring, but I will add my experience to the boards anyway.

 

Most of us are likely quite a bit more familiar with Orlando than we are with Tampa and the change in scenery can make for an exciting time or one with additional angst. I don’t know Tampa well, but the convention center and hotels appear to be removed from the city proper and placed within an area that is rebuilding. This might keep entertainment options down, but may also make it easier to drive. I stayed at the Embassy Suites, which is attached via walkway to the convention center, and found the hotel to be a mixed bag. It was convenient and the rooms were gorgeous, but they charge $5 per bottle of water in the rooms, $20 per night for parking as well as an additional $20 if the car needed to be moved or accessed at any point during each day and $15 per night for internet access.

 

I arrived Wednesday in the AM and immediately set about to the Heritage auction lot screening room. Heritage does one whale of a job with their setup in that they process a large number of bidders and allow many in attendance bidders to have personal inspection of lots in a controlled lighting environment and with profession staff. I was camped out for about four or five hours in a row that had Keith Davignon (author of the reference tome on contemporary counterfeit Capped Bust half dollars), Larry Whitlow and Sheridan Downy as well as our own HalfCollector a few seats down. It is important to stress to folks that they can truly protect themselves if they have a knowledgeable, trustworthy person screen the lots in-hand since there were many coins that I thought might be quite nice via images only to find a fatal flaw while others appeared ho hum in images only to be wonderful. I inspected lots for several folks as well as myself and then went to my room to fork over the $15 for the one bar wifi access and inform those who had retained my services of my opinions on their coins of interest. After that, it was back to the convention center for photo ID and then to mill about the bourse as the first of the dealers set up. Dealer set up went until 8:00 PM, but I left early and attended the first session of the Heritage sale that started at 6:00 PM and lasted until slightly after midnight.

 

At the live sale I was able to win a fabulous Seated half dollar that was far and away the nicest coin of the type and grade I had seen in quite some time, if ever, and was pleased that the Heritage image of the coin made it look more or less like a flat, black disc. This kept internet bidding down, but allowed those who had taken the time to inspect lots in-hand to have an advantage in the bidding that was more pronounced than for other lots. This session of the auction was otherwise uneventful and had the typical few coins that sold for a rather surprisingly large sum while others appeared to be a nice catch for the buyers.

 

Thursday and Friday were the days where I did quite a bit of buying and selling on the floor and I found that the material that I brought with me was in high demand. Also, it was quite obvious that really nice type was quite scarce. Not once, not twice, not three times, but four times I had dealers mention to me that quality type was nearly nonexistent on the floor. I didn’t care for the layout of the floor of the bourse in that the “Budget Sellers” were placed several empty aisles away from everyone else and those selling foreign and ancients were also quarantined. Until mid afternoon on Thursday it seemed like there was a pall on the floor with the plummet in the prices of silver and gold, but this disappeared later on during the day. Here are some of the items or points of interest that might be useful for others-

 

1) More F and VF Barber half dollars are appearing in PCGS holders and this can be used to see the true difference in relative rarity between an F or VF of these coins and an EF or AU of these coins. The EF and AU coins are far scarcer and the price difference between the two grades would seem to be ready to get larger, in my opinion.

 

2) ICG ran a grading special and I noticed one dealer use the offering upon which at least two other dealers asked him to his face why he was wasting his money by making his coins less liquid.

 

3) The neat 1872 Church date set that was recently discovered and graded by NGC as well as written about on the boards has been partially crossed to PCGS and broken up with some coins already gone.

 

4) More late date CB quarters in F and VF are in holders now than in recent times.

 

5) Most MS64 graded Seated dollars look more like nice MS62 Seated dollars, in my opinion.

 

6)”Fresh” coins, however you might like to define them, definitely excite dealers and cause many to get giddy.

 

7) Quality type sold rather effortlessly for above Greysheet and this was oftentimes for substantially above Greysheet.

 

8) Nice commems (those that are superbly original, high end for the grade and with some extra quality, but that do not fall under the monster category) are priced rather low.

 

9) I carried around with me a PCGS graded Buchanan FS coin and most dealers liked it at melt, but they scoffed at the notion that these were worth more than melt. I don’t agree with the dismissive opinion on these.

 

10) Ch VF and Ch EF type with superbly original surfaces have always been tough, but I think most of the supply has been soaked up by strong hands.

 

11) Not as much talk on the floor overall about gold and silver as in recent shows.

 

12) A few tough Barber coins that I had purchased for a client who later changed his mind about the coins were sold to various dealers immediately upon being seen for even higher numbers than I had quoted the collector. Lesson learned for some folks might be that Greysheet cannot always predict value.

 

13) Folks run a great risk when they do not have lots pre-screened in auction.

 

I was able to purchase the one coin in the first Heritage session then another three coins in the Heritage internet sessions as well as to obtain multiple Southern mint Liberty eagles in OGHs with incredible, fresh skin for what I thought was a good price and, lastly, to obtain an incredible, truly high end MS Seated dollar. The show went well and I wish I had more to sell while down there. The drive back was not uneventful, unfortunately, as my car died and I am posting from a hotel with the hope of getting my car back tomorrow and continuing my trip home.

 

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JIM F.

JIM F.

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Thanks for the reports. Any observations/comments regarding PR CAM Franklins? Still trying to finalize my set with a 1950.

 

 

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tejas1836

tejas1836

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As a collector who will probably never make it to a big coin show, I really enjoy reading show reports. I like hearing what dealers and collectors have to say. Thanks for taking the time to write this excellent report.

 

Oh - one more thing. Will the Southern Liberty eagles in OGH holders be appearing on your website?

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physics-fan3.14

physics-fan3.14

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Interesting (and accurate) observations, Tom. I too noticed a dearth of nice EF material, although I was specifically focused on Bust halves. There were very few CBH's out there, and even fewer that actually looked good.

 

I did not see any 1950 PR CAM Franklins, Jim. I was specifically looking at/for Franklins, but there were almost none (see my show report in a separate thread).

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michael

michael

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great report tom and in great details which i like

 

did you see any superb original eye appealling flowing hair halfdimes xf and above for sale??

 

and what where the dates?

 

also what was the pricing like?

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SkyMan

SkyMan

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Thank you very much for your report Tom. You more than any other poster explain the DETAILS of what is going on in the market at a show and I REALLY appreciate it.

 

Congratulations on your new pickups! :applause:

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

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FUN 2011 Show Report-

 

Here are some of the items or points of interest that might be useful for others-

 

1) More F and VF Barber half dollars are appearing in PCGS holders and this can be used to see the true difference in relative rarity between an F or VF of these coins and an EF or AU of these coins. The EF and AU coins are far scarcer and the price difference between the two grades would seem to be ready to get larger, in my opinion.

 

2) ICG ran a grading special and I noticed one dealer use the offering upon which at least two other dealers asked him to his face why he was wasting his money by making his coins less liquid.

 

3) The neat 1872 Church date set that was recently discovered and graded by NGC as well as written about on the boards has been partially crossed to PCGS and broken up with some coins already gone.

 

4) More late date CB quarters in F and VF are in holders now than in recent times.

 

5) Most MS64 graded Seated dollars look more like nice MS62 Seated dollars, in my opinion.

 

6)”Fresh” coins, however you might like to define them, definitely excite dealers and cause many to get giddy.

 

7) Quality type sold rather effortlessly for above Greysheet and this was oftentimes for substantially above Greysheet.

 

8) Nice commems (those that are superbly original, high end for the grade and with some extra quality, but that do not fall under the monster category) are priced rather low.

 

9) I carried around with me a PCGS graded Buchanan FS coin and most dealers liked it at melt, but they scoffed at the notion that these were worth more than melt. I don’t agree with the dismissive opinion on these.

 

10) Ch VF and Ch EF type with superbly original surfaces have always been tough, but I think most of the supply has been soaked up by strong hands.

 

11) Not as much talk on the floor overall about gold and silver as in recent shows.

 

12) A few tough Barber coins that I had purchased for a client who later changed his mind about the coins were sold to various dealers immediately upon being seen for even higher numbers than I had quoted the collector. Lesson learned for some folks might be that Greysheet cannot always predict value.

 

13) Folks run a great risk when they do not have lots pre-screened in auction.

 

 

 

Thanks for all of the useful recommendations, and I certainly noticed the price difference that you reference in item number 1. I can recall having the same thought as I watched the Heritage Auction from my laptop, and the market does appear quite strong for choice EF and AU coins.

 

With regards to the nice classic commemorative coins, do you see the market deteriorating further or is it an advisable time to pick up these pieces while the prices are low?

 

Also, do you have any thoughts on the Capped Bust Half market in PCGS holders? I noticed that several pieces were selling below wholesale prices in grades of EF 40 and EF 45, and I was able to pick up some pieces at surprising low prices. The pieces appeared to be solid for the grade, and no evidence of hairlines or anything distracting was visible. It was actually quite enthralling to me given that the pieces that I purchased were my first of the series.

 

 

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TomB

TomB

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I wouldn't attempt to pinpoint the market bottom for nice classic commems, but if I saw a piece at a fair price I would definitely give it a long look.

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