Baltimore Show Report June, 2012

[TomB]

Traditionally, the Baltimore spring and fall shows can generally be counted on to be among the best of the year. Within the last decade a third show was added to the schedule and was placed in the summer. This show has never been as strong as the other two, but it is still well worth attending.

 

I drove to the show and made very good time over the course of the first 250-300 miles, but then hit traffic that made me stop. Within a few moments of stopping I realized that my left arm felt mighty warm and then that feeling of dread arrived where I realized I would have “driver’s tan” during the show. More precisely, it might have been termed “driver’s sunburn”. Ugh. I’m fair skinned to begin with, so this burn was very obvious and quite red. However, on the bright side, it really didn’t burn or sting at all and didn’t affect any part of doing the show. The clear skies and high heat that were encountered on the drive down stayed in Baltimore throughout the show. Truly, I do not know how more folks who work outdoors for a living in this heat don’t get overcome or ill from the heat; it was relentless.

 

The SB auction was disappointing in the depth of proof WLHs being offered. My favorite denomination is the half dollar, but I prefer them to be a bit older than WLHs and this run of 900 or so proof Walkers seemed as relentless as the heat. It was wilting and could easily make one’s eyes glaze over. Given the SB auction, the competition with the simultaneously held Colorado Springs show and ANA seminars and the fact that this was the summer Baltimore show, my expectations were fairly low. Thankfully, this is one time that I was largely wrong in that the show was successful in many ways. The Baltimore Convention Center is easy to get to, close to many larger hotels, situated right with the rest of the attractions in the Inner Harbor and has been running long enough so that nearly everything runs smoothly. Many aspects of the show, such as ease of auction lot viewing, convenient security room, quick dealer registration and the like might not make it onto the radar of most collectors, but they go a long way toward making it easier for dealers to not only arrive in a better, more relaxed mood, but also they serve to make the show more inviting for dealers to actually attend.

 

Because of the conflict with the Colorado Springs show and ANA seminars, many regulars at the Baltimore show were not in attendance and, indeed, overall dealer participation was lighter than typical. Thursday is generally a day where only the most hard core of collectors attend and the foot traffic through the aisles on Thursday was especially light. In spite of this, those collectors who did attend were quite serious in their buying and I watched in horror as my inventory shrunk considerably. The horror wasn’t so much for the shrinking inventory, but was more for the fact that it near impossible to replace that many coins in one show for someone who is as picky as I am with the items I will list. It also seemed to me that many of the coins that were purchased to be listed on my site were picked off by collectors before I even left the show. I can’t state that the show was booming, but there were far more sales than one might have reasonably predicted given the attendance.

 

Of course, having fewer folks at the show allows one to interact in greater depth with those who stop by the table to look at, talk about or show coins. A truly cool coin that was shown around at the table was a double struck, chop-marked Trade dollar that crypto79 brought with him. It had been dipped, but how many double struck, chop-marked Trade dollars are out there? That was really cool. Another highlight of the show for me was to again speak with HalfCollector and to view some pieces that he had brought with him for educational purposes. I am a life member of the JRCS (John Reich Collector Society) and those of us who are members of the JRCS may be aware that there has been underway a long term project to write a comprehensive book on Reeded Edge half dollars. Jules Reiver prepared the groundwork with his variety identification manual (VIM) produced in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the VIM is mighty tough to use and has virtually no images. HalfCollector has been working very hard for a considerable length of time to bring useful variety attribution of Reeded Edge half dollars to the collecting public. I am also happy to say that he has graciously allowed me to participate in this project and that, given the current timetable; it looks like the book may become a realization sometime this summer. My participation was limited to writing a comprehensive introduction to the book as well as editing the manuscript, while HalfCollector did what I consider the backbreaking (and eye blinding) work of writing the attributions and writing their descriptions. I doubt that our first printing will be extensive, so if anyone would like to obtain a copy of the book they may be well served by getting in touch with either one of us on the boards or through email.

 

Some specific observations about the show-

 

• The rise in the value of gold and silver put many dealers in a good mood and not simply because it helps bullion prices, but also because the mood of the bullion market seems to affect greatly the mood of many collectors and their willingness to actively collect.

 

• Certified gold was by no means rare, but less of it was around than previous shows. Whether this was due to dealers not wanting to sell into a weak market or simply having less inventory is not known to me.

 

• Most dealers I spoke with seemed to be doing quite well at the show in spite of the relatively light attendance and low expectations.

 

• Certified Buffalo nickels and WLHs were aplenty while certified Lincoln cents must have been in hiding.

 

• I was asked by a number of folks if coins had gone to CAC when they had no sticker. The answer was easy. No.

 

• Morgans. Everywhere. All the time.

 

• Almost every raw coin that was offered to me by a collector was previously cleaned with the best pieces having been at least dipped.

 

• An extension of the above is that this was one of the few shows where almost all the cool coins available were from dealers and not the public.

 

• One well respected dealer had a new run of 20+ 1947-1958 Mint Sets in original papers (minus the outer envelopes) where the papers still had good glue and none of the coins appeared “popped” in the past. The coins weren’t monsters, but the sets were selling well for about 30% over bid.

 

• Are ICG holders extinct? They might be if this show is consistent with the rest of the pool.

 

• The concern for those in Colorado was obvious and ever present.

 

On the way home on Saturday I was hoping that it might be possible to outrun the heat. Unfortunately, that did not happen and it was 100+ degrees for over 250 miles of driving and at least 98 for over 300 miles of driving. During the drive I drank 80 ounces of water and Gatorade to keep hydrated. I hope all got home safely and had a great time. Please feel free to add more details as I have no doubt forgotten to write everything down.

 

[mkman123]

Tom, some vitamin D is always good Plus you need to get used to it if you ever do a show here in Hawaii :)

 

Thanks for the long report, I enjoyed reading it! Can't wait to see what you bought too..... :D

[AnkurJ]

Nice report Tom! The dealer I buy from regularly told me that Walkers were hot. And that there were no decent quality early type coins.

 

Another friend told me one dealer had a display of over a dozen Chain cents. Im guessing it was one of the EAC dealers.

 

AJ

[Brol]

Thanks for report!

[leeg]

Very Nice report Tom!

 

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

 

(thumbs u

[MarkFeld]

Tom, thanks for your (as always) great report - good to have seen you there.

[RWB]

Excellent report! Did you get to see the JRCS/VAM Cheerleaders perform?

[johnny9434]

cheerleaders? hmmm, most interesting

[DaveG]

Great Report!

 

[SkyMan]

Great report Tom, Thank you!!! (thumbs u

[cpm9ball]

Thanks for the report, Tom!

 

Speaking of heat, I remember when the Capitol Beltway, I-495, around DC was completed. Virginia was trying to conserve on the expenditures, so it was decided to forego the use of expansion joints between the massive slabs. The powers that be theorized that it never got hot enough to warrant the expense.

 

Well, wouldn't you know, a couple years later, we were hit with a heatwave with 100-110 degrees for 13 consecutive days. The massive concrete slabs on the Virginia side expanded and pushed upward as much a 3 feet, shutting down their side of the Beltway until the repairs were completed.

 

Chris

[JIM F.]

Thanks for the report.

[grip]

Good report Tom...Did you pick up any early type stuff?