Charmy's 2015 HOUSTON MONEY SHOW REPORT w/Lots of Pics!

[The Penny Lady]

Sorry this show report was delayed, I’ve been trying to prepare for Christmas before I leave for the Las Vegas show tomorrow and have gotten behind. So this report will be a little brief as well.

 

 

I left for the airport Wednesday morning, and even though I often had the TSA Precheck logo on my boarding passes, I understand the government is doing away with the random assigning of the TSA Precheck. So I applied and received my own number and now all my boarding passes should have the TSA Precheck logo - it makes it easier to get through security (the lines are much shorter and you don’t have to remove shoes, jackets, or computers from your bag). I sailed through security with 2 hours to spare before my flight so I grabbed a yummy cup of coffee and listened to my audio book while waiting to board my flight.

 

 

 

It was a beautiful sunny morning as we flew out of Orange County

 

 

 

 

A few uneventful hours later we were descending into Houston!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I checked into my hotel and noticed I had a view of the convention center out my window. Unfortunately, I discovered that there was construction along the entire front of the building! I thought to myself that this doesn’t bode well for an active show to have the entrance to the convention center obstructed.

 

 

Same view at night

 

 

The surrounding buildings of Houston

 

 

Same view at dusk

 

 

And at night

 

 

 

After settling in, I went down to the bar for some wine and an early dinner. I noticed once again that the lobby had the wonderful life-sized chocolate characters on display.

 

 

 

 

Set up was bright and early Thursday morning and the public was let in at 1pm, but the floor never got that crowded. I was able to buy several coins, most of which I forgot to photograph before I integrated them into my inventory. But here are a few of my newps, including this tough to find 1922 No D in PCGS AU58!

 

 

 

 

After the show on Thursday, we walked the few blocks to Vic & Anthony’s Steak house for dinner. It was a gorgeous evening, with lots of pretty Christmas lights and decorations all around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the restaurant, we ran into fellow dealers Greg and Rose Pasman.

 

 

 

We ordered a wonderful wine from one of my most favorite vineyards – Del Dotto!

 

 

Even though Vic & Anthony’s is a famous steakhouse, I decided on a somewhat more heart-healthy seafood dish and had their Gulf Red Snapper dish in Sherry lobster sauce. It was absolutely delicious!

 

 

 

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel where we ran into some of our dealer friends in the lounge.

 

Rick Snow, Greg Hannigan, Chris McCawley, and me!

 

 

 

Friday seemed to pick up and there was more public on the floor. One of my Houston forum buddies stopped by to say hi!

 

 

And my favorite adorable Houston YN also stopped by again!

 

Spacehayduke

 

 

The Buffalo Brothers!

 

 

The PCGS Folks

 

 

I noticed Heritage was holding their auctions inside the a blocked off area of the bourse floor

 

 

I know this photo makes the show look empty and it was by the time I took this picture since it was late in the day and the bourse had thinned out quite a bit.

 

 

 

I had brought my own bottle of wine to the show, another one of my favorite Napa vineyards!

 

 

After the show on Friday, we went to our favorite Houston Mexican restaurant, El Tiempo Cantina, which is always packed, especially on a Friday night!

 

 

 

We were looking forward to their very tasty margaritas and most excellent Mexican dishes

 

 

I had their enchiladas while one of my dinner companions had ribs and quail!

 

 

 

This is a beautifully carved buffalo in the lobby

 

 

 

Saturday began slow, but picked up after a while. We had heard that the Houston economy was bad due to large layoffs as a result of the falling gas prices. And, as I mentioned earlier, with the construction in front of the convention center, many people said they had a very slow show. I was a little worried myself since sales had been very slow the past couple days, but I was grateful that I had some decent sales on Saturday. But soon it was time to pack up and head to the airport for my trek home.

 

Bye-bye Houston until next year….

 

 

 

 

Hello Orange County!

 

 

And adorable Penny!

 

 

Who just couldn’t resist climbing and hanging out in our as yet undecorated Christmas tree!

 

 

Next up: The Las Vegas Westgate show (this weekend), and of course the FUN show in Tampa in January. Until then, from my family to yours, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

[Walkerfan]

Thanks for another great report!

 

I really like the AU 58 'No D' Lincoln.

 

And the fish and lobster looks delicious.

[bstrauss3]

I had planned to drive down, but the 279 miles - in addition to the 2,155.9 I'd already driven that week was just too much.

 

Sorry to have missed all y'all

[thebeav]

Great report and some beautiful images too !

 

Merry Christmas to you too, and best of health in the coming new year !

 

Paul

[cpm9ball]

It's a good thing I ate breakfast just before I read your report.

 

Thanks, Charmy! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

 

Chris

[USAuPzlBxBob]

Darling opening-photos selfie-stunner you took there, Charmy. Looks like you got a haircut.

[RWB]

After the ice rink photo --- do they really decorate with lighted sperm ?

[johnny9434]

i like the 1922 no d best. the carriages dont look none to bad either.