Small town coin shows

[CSdot]

Do you find that small town coin shows no longer meet your needs? I stopped by one today with money in my pocket, but couldn't find anything I wanted. There were probably 15 dealers, but the majority were only selling raw coins or entry level items. Of the few slabbed coins, a large majority were unremarkable and in common grades. Some dealers were selling PMs, but I am not in that market at the moment, so I don't pay attention to the prices. I did notice common Peace and Morgan dollars for $23.00. The only coin I asked about during the 45 minutes I was there was a White slab NGC certified Reverse Buffalo in MS70. The dealer wanted $2950 OBO.

 

While the dealers and the host club members were polite and the show was otherwise fine, I think I have outgrown the inventory one might find on the typical small town show circuit. I am sad, and it is unfortunate that I have gotten to this point. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[DaveG]

I remember when it happened to me.

 

When I first became active as an adult collector, I used to like small shows, which I found less daunting than big shows.

 

After a year or so of going to a local monthly show, I just couldn't find anything to buy there, so I started depending more and more on a large local show. After another year to two, I found I was buying less and less, so I started going to a large regional show.

 

Another year or so and I became a regular at Baltimore!

 

Ah, the promised land!

 

Lots of national dealers, tons and tons of beautiful, hard-to-find coins!

 

Then, I started running out of money. . .

[BillJones]

The small town coin shows certainly are not what they used to be. Back in the 1970s one dealer at a local show had an 1838-D half eagle in Mint State that ultimately became one of the finest known examples of the date. He couldn't sell it for the longest time, but once it got into the right hands, the price was off the races. Another dealer had Gobrecht dollar that couldn't sell for a period of time, until someone in the know noticed that it was not the more common 1836 with the starry field on the reverse, but the much scarcer 1838 with stars on the obverse and the plain field reverse.

 

The pickings are not good at the small shows today as they once were. But then again the choices have slipped at the large shows as well. At the last FUN show I went with the idea of buying the common date Philadelphia mint Type I gold dollars that I needed for my set. I had been putting off the purchase of those coins because I was concentrating on the tougher date and mint mark combinations first. I thought it would be a piece of cake to find the 1851 and an 1852 gold dollars in MS-64. All it takes is money, right? WRONG! I finally did find an 1851 in MS-64 that was okay, but not super. But I couldn't find an 1852 at all, which in my opinion is the second or third most common date in the series.

 

The trouble is more and more of the better coins are ending up in collections that are owned by people with "strong hands" and staying in those collections. The "trickle down" affect has gone from the large shows to the small shows. There is just not as much not material to go around these days.

 

[jpcienkus]

I remember when it happened to me.

 

When I first became active as an adult collector, I used to like small shows, which I found less daunting than big shows.

 

After a year or so of going to a local monthly show, I just couldn't find anything to buy there, so I started depending more and more on a large local show. After another year to two, I found I was buying less and less, so I started going to a large regional show.

 

Another year or so and I became a regular at Baltimore!

 

Ah, the promised land!

 

Lots of national dealers, tons and tons of beautiful, hard-to-find coins!

 

Then, I started running out of money. . .

 

Great post....made me laugh. I'm already starting to feel that same progression. I plan on attending the Central States Show this April. I hope I'm not disappointed too.

[TonerGuy]

Its not just small town shows...

 

I find the same to be true at large city local shows. Obviously the best shows are those that draw in dealers from all over the country.

[Walkerfan]

I noticed this tendency at the larger shows, as well. I can find better stuff on the internet and at major auctions.

 

BUT I must say that SOMETIMES you can get lucky even at the smaller shows. You DO find nice coins from time to time. But it DOESN'T happen a lot, so you shouldn't expect it very often. I go to the small shows just for fun and once in great a while----I get lucky.

[RWB]

My first show was the MANA in New Carrollton, MD at the old Sheraton hotel. It was many years before I attended a small show. It seemed to me that the small shows had a lot more non-coin stuff - beanie babies, rocks, crafts, etc.

 

Might be just me, but even the big shows now have a "picked over" look....

[BillJones]

Might be just me, but even the big shows now have a "picked over" look....

 

I agree with that, but it gets back to the point I made earlier that a lot of good material is in "strong hands." The auctions look good because the good stuff makes headlines, but you sit and run through the boxes, you'll find a lot of over graded stuff that will leave you shaking your head. A fair amount of it is the stuff the dealers could not sell at the shows so they stick them in the auction. If I could find the coins I like a auctions, I'd be active, but it's not there either.

[CoinZip]

Its not the size of the show, its the quality of the dealers.....

 

[BillJones]

Its not the size of the show, its the quality of the dealers.....

 

That's true, but a lot big name dealers who have a lot of good inventory are not going to come to a tiny show. A great deal of their business depends upon dealer to dealer trading, and the larger the show the better chance there is more good material will be available.

[TonerGuy]

I liked going to the Baltimore show. Being from the West Coast it was nice to see some dealers that never make it out to Long Beach. And even the dealers that do go to LB seemed to have different or more inventory at Baltimore. I guess its easy to take more coins to a show that is closer to home...

 

But Im sure those from the Baltimore area would say that show looked picked over. Its a matter of perspective I suppose.

[GoldFinger1969]

It's just logical that as you collect over many years that a small show will have less stuff and you'd need a bigger show with more dealers carrying premium items to fill your needs.

 

I went through the same stuff with baseball card shows.

 

I still went to the small shows, but I found myself going in-and-out within 15-20 minutes (sometimes less !) whereas with the big East Coast or Gloria Rothstein Shows I would be there 4-6 hours.

[GoldFinger1969]

Its not the size of the show, its the quality of the dealers.....

True, but by-and-large the bigger and better dealers go to the bigger shows that aren't weekly or monthly or even quarterly.

 

It's a question of time and money.

[RWB]

Remember.... certain coins are not permitted West of the Mississippi.

[Rickey]

Not very much stuff at the small shows anymore but I like to go and look anyway. There is not many bigger shows in the area where I live.

[CSdot]

Remember.... certain coins are not permitted West of the Mississippi.

 

While I suspect this is an inside joke of some sort, but what is the reference?

[James_OldeTowne]

Do you find that small town coin shows no longer meet your needs? I stopped by one today with money in my pocket, but couldn't find anything I wanted. There were probably 15 dealers, but the majority were only selling raw coins or entry level items. Of the few slabbed coins, a large majority were unremarkable and in common grades.

This past weekend, I did a "collectibles show" in a tiny town (Osage Beach, MO) and was one of nine coin dealers! However, my inventory was valued around $120,000 and I was able to transact some $6600 in business. Dave Sorrel, who runs the show, did a nice

, and I am barely visible in the distant background.

 

So in short, occasionally these tiny shows do attract larger dealers with better inventory - don't give up just yet!

[Anspach21]

I was at the Osage Beach show on Saturday. The 1st ever real show for me, found several things that I would like to have there. I'm looking forward to the Worlds Fair in Chicago in August. Have to believe its got just about everything.

[CSdot]

Do you find that small town coin shows no longer meet your needs? I stopped by one today with money in my pocket, but couldn't find anything I wanted. There were probably 15 dealers, but the majority were only selling raw coins or entry level items. Of the few slabbed coins, a large majority were unremarkable and in common grades.

This past weekend, I did a "collectibles show" in a tiny town (Osage Beach, MO) and was one of nine coin dealers! However, my inventory was valued around $120,000 and I was able to transact some $6600 in business. Dave Sorrel, who runs the show, did a nice

, and I am barely visible in the distant background.

 

So in short, occasionally these tiny shows do attract larger dealers with better inventory - don't give up just yet!

 

Nice. Wish I lived nearby. I have friends going to the Baltimore show next weekend, but that is too far for me.

[PerryHall]

The prices at the smaller local shows are usually better in my experience. The dealers at the larger shows usually need to pay for hotel and airline expenses so their coins are usually priced at full retail to the general public so they can cover their expenses.

[James_OldeTowne]

I was at the Osage Beach show on Saturday. The 1st ever real show for me, found several things that I would like to have there. I'm looking forward to the Worlds Fair in Chicago in August. Have to believe its got just about everything.

You're kidding! Shoot, you should have said "hello" !

 

Surely you are coming to St. Louis July 17th for the coin show?