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Dirtygoldman's FUN Show Report, Day 1 and 2, 2013

Started by DirtyGoldMan,

14 posts in this topic

DirtyGoldMan

DirtyGoldMan

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Originally posted ATS, with CU forum members id'ed:

 

Wednesday:

 

 

Today started with an early flight, a prompt arrival in Orlando, and a significant hotel snafu which involved me getting "walked" to a sister property 2 miles away (with a complimentary night and free taxi fares) and eventually making it to the convention center at noon or so.

 

The first person I ran into outside the show was former forum member, Coinguy1 (aka Mark Feld) who was in discussion with forum member, DonWillis (aka Don Willis), and I met Don for the first time. We had a nice conversation, between the three of us, and then I proceeded to do a blockbuster deal with Mark, selling him four type coins which are likely to be big hits with forum members.

 

I saw numerous familiar faces waiting to get into show, chatted with Doug Winter a bit as I was waiting for the show to start to take the pressure off of Heritage lot viewing. I did go into a packed Heritage lot viewing room to start looking at coins, and, as expected, over time, the crowd inside thinned considerably.

 

Lot viewing was, as usual, a mixed bag. I started with the 99%er coins, which included the gold sticker consignment and found some that I really, really liked and others that I thought were just okay and not worth making a huge fuss over. I bid strong on the former and passed on the latter.

 

There are great learning opportunities in lot viewing that do not avail themselves to the arm chair collector, sitting at home in his/her underwear. (BTW, I have always dreamed of using the word, "underwear", in a show report.) One is the opportunity to hold three Stellas or ten HR Saints in your hand at once. (BTW, the PF-58 Stella was the one that rocked.) Another is the ability to compare coins within the same grade (like 3 1903-O $10's in 61 or 2 1904 $20 Libs in 66) and try to determine which is the best. With the 1903-O $10's, it was a toss-up. With the 1904 $20 Libs in 6, one looked like it was barely a 5 and the other a beautiful and solid 6. If you are in the market, buy the latter...unless you want a cheap one for your registry set.

 

There also is the ability to tilt coins under the light, which reveals a lot about the surface condition and possible contaminants. I know folks here are experts at judging coins from photos, but, trust me, tilting the iPad is not quite as illuminating as tilting the coin in your hand under the lamp.

 

After going through all of the 19th century gold in the signature sale and slogging through the Internet only session (and finding a few really nice coins in the latter), I went to the big boy area to view the Platinum Night coins with some of my big boy friends, Boiler78 and Lakesammman. We viewed the two upper echelon half dismes, and I could not decide which I liked better. The 1839 proof half was pretty killer. There was a lot of proof gold, and a couple of the proof $20's stood out from the pack.

 

Finally, it was time to hit the bourse, and I went right to the CRO table where I found...a fully stocked case but no JA. Then to Todd and Charmy's table for photography. Next, If went over to the Gold Rush Gallery and reconnected with my good friend and mentor, forum member, Dahlonega. We have not seen each other for a couple years, and, as usual, he had some fascinating and exciting coins to show me, one of which was the 1876-CC $5 in 6 that is on display at his table. We caught up, and I moved on, promising to consider an outstanding southern gold coin or two from their table and to return again tomorrow when GeorgeKellogg would be in attendance.

 

A quick tour around the bourse found me at the Legend table, consigning a couple coins to the upcoming L-M auction, to visit njcoincrank's table (which was overflowing with high end gold coins), ogling over a neat CAR gold piece that MrEureka found in his first 20 nanoseconds on the bourse, and not getting the attention of Julian or Pistareen, who were busy with others when I circled by. I also ran into JamesEarlyUS twice, once in the hall outside the show and once in the aisle.

 

I finally did make to the CRO table when John was there and gave him a handful if coins that might show up in next week's EB (or not).

 

At 5 o'clock, there was a Heritage reception for the 1913 Liberty nickel and 6:30 was the meeting of the US Rare Gold Coins Collectors Club meeting. As this is a private event, I will not divulge the collector attendees, but I will reveal that coin industry presence was strong (I sat between Jim Halperin and John Dannreuther at dinner) and that former collector forum member Lloydmincy is now dealer forum member Lloydmincy as he now works full time for Heritage. There were excellent presentations by Doug Winter (on 20th century gold--more of a group discussion that formal lecture) and Ron Guth (on Waldo Newcomer, one of the great and somewhat unsung collectors of the early 20th century).

 

I returned to the dive that the Westin stuck me in, barred the doors and windows, and have hunkered down for the night.

 

Thursday:

 

I managed to survive the night at the flea bag hotel, had a nice run on the treadmill with the other prisoners, er, guests, and walked to the convention center with my baggage at 8:30. I returned first to lot viewing because, in a tactical error that the experienced coin showers probably never make, I yesterday viewed the lots of greatest interest last, rather than first, and now wanted to view these coins with fresh eyes (or as fresh as possible having slept with one eye open all night).

 

Forum member Stone sat down next to me, and we had a brief but pleasant exchange on dimes and dirty gold, and then Dimeman (who was looking for the CAC booth and made a wrong turn ) came up, and I met him also for the first time.

 

I used my early bird badge to beat the non-paying attendees to the floor to complete my selling errands and that I did. While here, I sold or consigned about 1/12 the value of my collection to the following dealers: Mark Feld, CRO, Doug Winter, Legend-Morphy, and Great Collections.

 

I made only one purchase, a lovely UHR from Ian at Great Collections. While at his table, I was able to view some of the excellent rare gold coins that he will be offering in coming months, including some of those from the raw Charlotte set that he displayed here a couple months ago. I have several active bids at Heritage and may add some more between now and the end of the sale. I am in the lead for the coin that I most want, and if someone outbids me on it, then they are truly nuts (as opposed to me, partially nuts).

 

I spent time chatting with GeorgeKellogg and , and I met up with FatMan for the first time in a few years. We had the beer that we promised we would have over lunch, rather than later, as I had an afternoon plane to catch. I said hello to DaveatHLRC (formerly CoinRaritieOnline), RichUhrich, DrPete, Charmy (got photo'd, too), fivecents, monsterman, and others. Wei was too busy on the floor to talk NFL, and I could never seem to make it over to Pistareen's table when he was not occupied.

 

As for the show itself, it was busy. There were times and places that even the wide aisles were annoyingly clogged. People were buying and selling. Three dealer friends showed me some amazing coins that I am not permitted to discuss (so don't PM me), but this is an advantage of having good dealer relationships--sometimes you see the stuff that no else does before it goes away again.

 

I would say that the bourse was dry for the types if coins that I collect. There was a fabulous Bechtler $5 at the Gold Rush Gallery table, which really tempted me, but I contracted an acute case of cannotpullthetriggeritis and left it. Someone, hopefully a fellow forum member, will be really thrilled to own that coin. A couple other coins on the bourse were tempting enough to ask for closer inspection but nothing dramatic, and nothing begged to be taken home.

 

I believe that collectors and dealers alike will report that they had great shows: for buying, for selling, for auctioning, for socializing, and for dining. A lot of folks had similar hotel experiences as I did, having been "walked" from the hotel where they had a confirmed reservation.

 

Heritage, as always, does a good job marketing their services and servicing collectors. I hope that everyone here appreciates what they do to support our hobby and shows them a little bit of love, in the way of bids and submissions, from time to time. I have no doubt that Lloydmincy will be an excellent addition to their already strong team.

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Coindude

Coindude

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There also is the ability to tilt coins under the light, which reveals a lot about the surface condition and possible contaminants. I know folks here are experts at judging coins from photos, but, trust me, tilting the iPad is not quite as illuminating as tilting the coin in your hand under the lamp.
That made me laugh! Thanks for the excellent report. One of these days, I'd like to go into the viewing room, but I'd be too tempted to place bids on coins I couldn't afford!!
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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Sounded like an awesome Fun Show! It must be pretty cool meeting soo many people that most of us only know thru the forum! Thanks for a great report!!!

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

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There also is the ability to tilt coins under the light, which reveals a lot about the surface condition and possible contaminants. I know folks here are experts at judging coins from photos, but, trust me, tilting the iPad is not quite as illuminating as tilting the coin in your hand under the lamp.

 

:roflmao:lol

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

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I made only one purchase, a lovely UHR from Ian at Great Collections. While at his table, I was able to view some of the excellent rare gold coins that he will be offering in coming months, including some of those from the raw Charlotte set that he displayed here a couple months ago. I have several active bids at Heritage and may add some more between now and the end of the sale. I am in the lead for the coin that I most want, and if someone outbids me on it, then they are truly nuts (as opposed to me, partially nuts).

 

Did the coins look as great in hand as they did in the photographs? I bet it was a joy to see.

 

P.S. Thanks for the informative and entertaining show report!

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James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

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I can confirm the Mark Feld sightings. In fact, we shook hands, and then Mark proceeded to immediately take issue with my coin show attire, as I had forgotten to place lunch food stains on my shirt while attending to business.

 

Also, I was able to meet up with CPM today, and I can assure everyone that he is not nearly as incorrigible in person as his many posts might lead some of you to believe.

 

Great show report!

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delta

delta

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Many thanks for posting this interesting show report, which along with five fine descriptive accounts already posted in the NGC US coin forum, gives us a vivid impression of FUN, even while remaining stuck in the frigid north.

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JJSingleton

JJSingleton

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It was great seeing you again. I'm glad we could do lunch and a beer before your flight. Funny, now that I think about it we didn't talk much about coins at all. Glad all is going well with your family and life in general.

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