Charmy's September 2021 LONG BEACH SHOW REPORT w/lots of Pics! 2 2

[The Penny Lady]

Yay! The Long Beach show is back! I have very much looked forward to finally attending the Long Beach show as it's one of my very favorite coin shows! I especially looked forward to seeing all my dealer friends and local customers. It seemed like the last show was such a long time ago. I know many folks felt that having to follow the extra state-mandated Covid requirements was too restrictive and would hamper the attendance at the Long Beach show. However, let me say that many dealers, including me, felt this was one of the best Long Beach shows we've had in a long time.!

I was a little concerned about how this new hall would work out, especially the loading/unloading dock. Also, the Long Beach Grand Prix had just concluded and the area around the convention center was still messy and obstructive with all the barriers, spectator stands, and fences that still hadn't been removed.

I arrived extra early to scope it all out but found that it was actually very easy to find since the Long Beach Expos folks had sent out a detailed map, and there was a lot more room to get in and out with. So my booth buddy Rich and I unloaded the car and waited for noon when we could set up.

While we waited, we watched the Expo staff put finishing touches around the bourse floor. This hall is more shoe-box shaped, rather than triangular shaped like the old hall so the table configuration was quite different inside and many dealers had new/different tables (like me!).

Once you realized that this hall's entrance and parking lot were behind the convention center, I found that the public lobby, reception booths and entrance area were very open and easy to get to. No one had to deal with stairs to enter the reception and bourse area - it was very open and simple. And even though I heard some people took a long walk from the front parking area to Hall C, it was only because they were unaware of the parking structure was in the back of the convention center which was a very short walk to the lobby entrance. I think once folks get acclimated to this new venue, they will find it closer to the parking structure and easier to access.

https://longbeachexpo.com/documents/LBE_HallC_WalkingMap.pdf

Once I was set up, I went on a hunt to see what I could find to fill in my inventory. It's been hard to find new material over the past year and a half, and being able to search for and see coins in hand was amazing! I was thrilled to be able to find quite a few new Pretty Pennies that some of my customers had been looking for and that filled in a lot of holes in my inventory!

A couple of my favorite finds were these two gorgeous high end proof Indian cents!

At the ANA in Chicago, I turned in this very cool Conder token to be graded at NGC. It is a very scarce piece with a shattered/terminal and buckled die, not to mention a rotated die! I was a little concerned that it would come back "damaged" so I made large notes on the submission form about the terminal die state of this coin just in case. I was extremely pleased that it came back graded MS65!

I also found this pretty Farthing Conder Token at the show for my Conder collection

A little while before the show I had ordered some coins in the mail and when I received them, unfortunately the holders were smashed and damaged. It looked like someone at the post office must have run over the package. Luckily, none of the coins were actually damaged. So the seller offered to refund my money or pay for reholdering the coins. Since I knew I was coming to the show, I decided to just submit them to PCGS and have them put the coins in new holders during the show. Here's what they looked like when I turned them in! (I ended up selling the ANACS coin raw.)

And here they are in their brand new holders!

When we left the show, I noticed the Covid testing van was set up right out front and available for anyone who wasn't vaccinated and needed a quick Covid test.

Since our usual Wednesday night Long Beach restaurant (Cafe Piccolos) was closed, we decided to go just across the street over to Outback for dinner, and since they only charge $5 for corkage, we thought it would be a good place to wine and dine. However, even though we definitely enjoyed the wine we brought, unfortunately the dinner was not of the usual quality we thought Outback would provide. We left a bit disappointed in the food and service, though as I said, we did enjoy the wine we had brought!

I arrived at the show early on Thursday so I could get a little work done, do a little more shopping and get ready for the day. I saw that the lobby was all decorated and ready for the public!

On my hunt, I was able to find a nice group of raw coins from one of my favorite raw coin dealers to add to my inventory.

Soon the public was let in and a lot of people came streaming in when the doors were opened! I was very busy all day, and the crowd didn't diminish until late in the afternoon. I spoke to several dealers and they all said the same thing. Even PCGS and NGC had especially long lines - what a GREAT first day!

David Lange at NGC was constantly helping customers (their table was just behind mine against the wall). I happened to catch him examining a coin for a customer trying to help the customer determine the type of variety he was submitting.

I took a few minutes to check out the Walter Husak collection of amazing Large Cents that were on display across from the PCGS tables. Wow, what beautiful coins!

This is my super duper awesome booth helper, Rich Wogoman, who has been helping me do the Long Beach show for almost 20 years now. His father was one of the original members of the Long Beach Coin Club, and Rich is a very astute collector of all types of coins. He has a great eye for quality, and makes doing the Long Beach (and a couple other shows) so much more enjoyable and easy for me!

He is also a fellow wine lover and we always enjoy sharing different types of wines between ourselves during the show. I brought a bottle of Del Dotto "The Weary Warrior" Cab. If any of you ever get to Napa, you MUST visit Del Dotto vineyards. They have probably one of the most amazing cave barrel tasting experiences you'll ever experience - not to mention some of the best wines I've EVER had!

And one of my most favorite dealer friends, Brian Atly from Northeast Numismatics, whom I try to bribe with good wine to get "better" coin deals was right across the aisle from me so I just had to invite him over to share some of this amazing wine with me. (shhh, don't tell Tom!)

Thursday night we decided to try a new restaurant and went over to Gladstones which was right off the water across from the convention center. What a wonderful restaurant! I had been to the one in Malibu several years ago, and this one in Long Beach was just as classy with amazing seafood! A couple of us had their delicious lobster mac and cheese, and I brought home over half of it for my hubby to enjoy the next day. We sat on the patio overlooking the harbor area amidst the sparkling water and a beautiful evening.

On Friday, the show was typically slower than the Thursday opening day, but the public was steady, as were sales. I bought some more great pieces for inventory, and had the time to visit with several old customer friends and some new ones throughout the day. The lines were still very busy in front of both PCGS and NGC, especially the "Meet the Expert" line.

While walking around taking photos for my report, one of my dealer friends called me over to show me a really interesting counter stamped Indian cent. It was dated July 4, 1873 but it was made on a copper nickel Indian cent planchet which was used from 1859-1864. I loved it and was very happy to add it to my exonumia collection!

Also, last week before the show I had bought on eBay this beautiful 1912 Lincoln cent in a scarce Chicago Fire encased Pocket Mirror. It made another great addition to my encasement collection so I brought it to the show to have Todd photograph it for me (though he wasn't at the show, a mutual friend from Sacramento took it to Todd for me).

Later in the day, we opened a bottle of Wiens Petite Sarah - to me, Wiens is the very best winery in Temecula! (The bottle label is a little scraped because my wine refrigerator has very narrow shelves and this wider bottle just barely fit!)

As we left the show on Friday, I took some photos as the sun set behind the palm trees that line the roads around Long Beach.

We went to our usual Friday night restaurant, Kings Fish House, which is just up the hill behind the convention center on Pine Street.

This is the night we each bring some of our better wines to share with each other, both white and red. This past year I finally delved into learning more about white wines and have found some wonderful varieties. Karl brought an especially good white wine that I really enjoyed to our dinner this night - a Wilson Creek Roussane.

I enjoy reading King's cute and corny "riddle" napkins!

On Friday nights, since Pine Street has some great restaurants and pubs, it really gets "hopping" with a lot of foot traffic as well as some beautiful classic cars and other types of cars like this entertaining "low rider" limousine!

Even though Saturday was the typical slower day, I stayed pretty busy throughout the day, mostly helping "newbies" with questions on what to do with their coins, or examining unusual pieces they brought to find out what they were and/or get a value on, or just to educate them on where to find more information on the coins they had collected and/or inherited. I especially enjoy helping to direct potential new collectors on how to educate themselves to figure out which coins have value and how to determine their condition. I always recommend these two books: of course, "The Red Book" (which goes without saying!) and also "Making the Grade" which I think is one of the best and easiest resources to learn how to grade coins.

We ended up staying until the very end of the show. I can honestly say that I had the most fun being at this show - I truly loved being there and being among all my friends again. It was great to see folks I hadn't seen in almost two years, it was great to be able to talk coins with other enthusiastic numismatists, and it was especially great to be able to shop and view coins in person again. And Expos Unlimited went out of their way to make sure everyone had a good experience - both collectors and dealers - in spite of the complications and Covid restrictions that California has placed on large gatherings. I very much look forward to coming back in February! This is me SO GRATEFUL and HAPPY to be set up at shows again!

So of course when I got home, my cute chubby Penny was there waiting for me. She had rediscovered her little green friend and brought it to me so I could throw it for her to chase and "fetch" back to me, which of course I did until she wore out and plopped onto the couch!

Next up:

October 8-10 – PNNA Convention, Tukwila Community Center, Tukwila/Seattle
October 28-30 – Las Vegas Palace Station Coin Show, Palace Station Casino, Las Vegas
November 5-6 – Sacramento Coin Show, Lions Gate Hotel, Sacramento
November 17-20 – Whitman Baltimore show, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore

Hope to see some of you at one of my upcoming shows!

[Just Bob]

Another good show report, as usual! Those are some really nice looking proof Indians that you picked up. Love those Conder tokens, too.

I am not a fan of Outback, myself. I have tried them 6 or 7 times, thinking that they might have improved, but I have never liked their food. I refuse to go there any more.

[Mohawk]

Agreed....great show report, as usual!!  And it's just nice that there are shows for you to report on this year, Penny Lady!!  As for Outback, I've never eaten there but being that I am a vegetarian with a somewhat unsophisticated palate, I typically just go for the place that looks like I could get the best cheese pizza at in the area when things like this come up.  A steakhouse of any type wouldn't solve many meal problems for my fiancée and I unless we just wanted to eat a bunch of French fries but a good pizzeria can always solve them 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Mohawk

[The 12th Denticle]

Thank you for the outstanding report and nice pictures!