Fun Day at the Houston Money Show

[dadams]

First off let me say this really isn't a "show report", but rather a "fun day" report. I can't really tell you anything about the "buzz" on the bourse floor, speak about "dealer gossip", or talk about the "pulse of the market" since, quite frankly, I know nothing at all about any of that stuff.

 

What I do know is that I like coins, don't ever get to see many coins live in person, hardly ever speak to anyone numismatically minded, don't get to own nearly as many coins as I'd like to, and that today was going to be fun!

 

With some preplanning, I had scheduled today as a vacation day at work, so after getting the wife off to work, the kid to school, and some general puttering around I arrived at the Convention Center about 10:45 this morning. Parked in the paid garage and made my way into the convention hall where I registered then hit the pisser.

 

Morning coffee having been expelled I hit the bourse. I swung by Heritage for a minute to see if Mark Feld was there as I had met him briefly a couple years ago and just wanted to reintroduce myself by saying hello. He was not there and the indication was that he did not come to the show this year so that was scratched, but I did manage to get an auction catalogue which is too me great reading even though I have no intention of bidding. Yeah, I know what your thinking, but I learn a lot from reading catalogue descriptions. From there I pretty much wandered around somewhat aimlessly - there were quite a few booths (the show guide lists 180 dealers) and I had no one I was seeking out so I started up the center aisle.

 

I should disclose that my budget for coins is, at present, rather meager and having been that this year I've already bought a couple coins stretching the budget and with Christmas rolling up I had only a small bit of spending money and thought perhaps I might find a type coin I really liked in the couple hundred dollar range. I am very much interested in TPG'd coins and am primarily working on certified type coins, but also maintain a Dansco 7070 and Lincoln cent album that I fill when opportunity presents. Not really knowing what I wanted, but trying to figure what might be in my range, I started browsing dealer cases. Morgan dollar after Morgan dollar, cases and cases filled with Morgan dollars - don't be upset with me you Morgan guys but I honestly fail to see the overall attraction to these coins, other than they are big, round and shiny and sometimes come with attractive color - I passed these by.

 

Instead I found myself stopping at dealers tables that had a mix of coins and would peer in seeing what they had to offer. Almost every dealer whose case I lingered over would approach me, "Whatcha looking for?" The first couple times this happened I commented in reply, "I'll know it when I see it" and then started figuring out that this seemed a bit to gruff of reply. Figuring what the heck, they don't know me and I don't know them I might as well speak up some.

 

So now, I was at a dealers table and he asks "Hunting for something?", "No, not really, generally I'm a type collector" I say. Then, here it is again - "Whatcha looking for?".

 

Now, I would say that I'm still relatively fresh into the market and that I've been collecting for a few years and that I've got most all the "modern" stuff and that I'm now getting into the Barber and Seated coinage but that those are somewhat expensive and that something along the lines of a circulated Bust Half would be nice or that I still need the 3c's and a Shield Nickel w/rays, etc. . . etc . . .

 

That certainly opened the flood gates.

 

One dealer pops open the case and hands me an AU 1836 Bust Half. "This one is only fifty six hundred", he says as he passes it my way. ONLY, I'm thinking . . . as I examine the coin, commenting that it sure is nice and move into explaining that it's a bit beyond my current means. And this is really how most of my day went, seemingly always admiring an unpriced coin that I'm semi-thinking I might be able to afford - NOT!

 

I did look at a number of coins within my price range when I happened by Scarsdale Coin's booth and Jon Lerner showed me some splendid Silver Trimes. Although I didn't buy anything from him today, this will most likely be my #1 choice of where I'll be buying my Trimes when I'm ready.

 

On one aisle or another I was checking out some coin cases and the attendant came over to greet me. I look up and notice the sleeve of his shirt, CRO. John introduces himself and we speak for five or ten minutes and I let him know I very much enjoy browsing the stock of Coin Rarities Online and that while I haven't yet bought anything from him that goal is certainly on my list and that someday he'll be hearing from me again. John was very nice and I appreciate the time he took to speak with me.

 

Next, I met Liz Coggan of the firm J. J. Teaparty and here is where I made my first purchase of a few raw Lincoln cents that had a Dansco calling their name - Liz was overly gracious and very pleasant to speak with in all respects. She gets a thumbs up from me for sure.

 

And finally, I thoroughly enjoyed my day-capping conversation with Alynne Skrabalak of Angel Dee's. Alynne and I had a great conversation about conditional rarities, investing in coins vs. not investing in coins, buying coins and not holders and a number of other topics along the way. Meeting and conversing with Alynne was the highlight of this day's outing and one for which I am thankful - I will most certainly be an Angel Dee's customer in the future.

 

I cruised on out of the show nearing 3:30 having not bought much of anything at all, but that is a-ok with me since what I got today was worth much more than what I could of had by purchasing a coin for my type set.

 

I am most appreciative of all the dealers that took time showing me coins and speaking with me today and I also appreciate all of you here as I've learned much and continue to learn.

 

Thanks!

 

-doug

[DaveG]

I'm glad you had a fun day and thanks for the report!

 

A lot of dealers are more than happy to hand an appreciative collector a nice rarity to be admired. I've had dealers hand me five- and six-figure rarities that they knew beyond a doubt I'd never be able to buy just to smile when I say nice things about the coin. That's one of the fun things about going to a big show.

 

As for the other topics you mentioned:

 

If you had wanted to talk about the "buzz" on the floor, you could have talked about whether the aisles were crowded or not or whether you saw a lot of business being done (coins changing hands) or if collectors were just looking - assuming you noticed, of course.

 

If you had wanted to talk about "dealer gossip", you could have eavesdropped on dealers talking to each other or to advanced collectors and repeated what you heard - assuming you paid any attention, of course.

 

Personally, I'd avoid the discussion of kidney function and used coffee, but to each his own.

[KeyMan64]

Congrats on a good time!

 

I too learned at a young age the value of using a restroom.

Although, it would have been a little more interesting to read the reports

of others when they talked about the guy that had wet his pants

and was visiting dealers.

[dadams]

Having had to park, walk a quarter mile, and then register and pay before I could get in the convention hall I had nearly one thing on my mind

 

I did want to write what was factual and have somewhat of a decent narrative

 

As to the "buzz" I suppose I can comment that when I first made my way into the hall there were only 2 people before me to register to get in and as I looked around I had thought to myself that the show seemed somewhat smaller than the last time I was able to attend in 2013.

 

The aisles weren't very crowded at 11:00, but by 1p traffic had certainly picked up quite a bit. Still I noticed that I had very little difficulty getting front row center to flipping through 2x2 books or to view into the locked cases. Perhaps, that is what made this show such a pleasant day for me since the dealers had some time to talk.

 

I did hear some gossip direct without eavesdropping, but of course I am not myself prone to gossip.

[SkyMan]

I'm glad you had a fun day. It was a nice read.

[david3142]

Very interesting report! I used to walk around with a specific want list for my type and Morgan collection, which really helps the dealers to focus on finding what you want. Often they have boxes sitting behind the desk filled with coins that might not merit display case real estate.

In defense of Morgans - big, shiny, round, sometimes colorful (and sometimes mirrored) sounds pretty awesome to me!

[Rickey]

Fun read, thanks for taking the time.

[physics-fan3.14]

Great show report. Liked hearing how you were approaching the show.

 

When a dealer asks what you are hunting for, don't be afraid to tell them - early type is definitely something many dealers should have examples of. And don't be afraid to tell them your budget, either - most coin purchases are in the under-$200 range. Only a very lucky few ever buy those multi-thousand dollar coins.

 

I will agree with you about Teaparty and Angel Dees. Both of them are great firms, and I frequent them regularly.

[PocketArt]

Enjoyed the post dadams. I've never been to a large coin show / auction so in my opinion, good to get that first person narrative. I find myself perpetually broke from the coins I purchase on Heritage, ebay, local coin shops, and pawn shops so I would certainly have to budget for such an adventure. There isn't any coin type I dislike as my Father and Grandfather collected all coin types, including world coins. Can't get coin collecting out of the DNA. To my relief, my son started to collect coins too! I suppose he'll turn out fine.

 

Rich