Charmy's February 2022 LONG BEACH SHOW REPORT w/lots of Pics! 0

[The Penny Lady]

WOW! What a show! Every dealer I spoke with said this was one of their best Long Beach shows ever, and it was one of mine too! Thursday was especially busy, so busy that we never stopped to grab a snack and my boothmate ended up passing out - more on that later! Any way, this show was a really fantastic show all the way around.

This is our second time at the new hall, and I think now that folks are getting used to its location which is right next to the aquarium, they're liking it better than the old hall.

And the loading area is right behind the aquarium and is exclusive to our event.

Most everyone I talked to said they are liking this location because the parking is right across the front entrance and there are no stairs to navigate up/down to get to the bourse floor.

Also, the bourse floor is rectangular rather than triangular which seems easier for everyone to navigate.

PCGS set up a lounge area to give people some space to organize and prepare their submissions before they get in line so it speeds up submissions.

Set up went quickly and smoothly, then I took some time to shop around the bourse for customer want list items. I also had just acquired a complete set of Indian cents in MS63/64 RB and an almost complete set of Lincoln cents in MS64 RD. Unfortunately, except for the 1877, all of the Indian cents were broken out of PCGS/NGC holders and put into a Dansco album. And the same was true for most of the Lincoln cents, though there were about 10 that remained in their original holders. While the sets looked beautiful side by side in an album, of course it is hard to get your money back out of raw coins compared to what was paid for certified coins. I sold the Indian set pretty quickly, but it took more time for the raw Lincoln cent to sell, but it finally did, including half of the certified Lincoln cents. Here are photos of some of the Lincoln cents.

A customer also gave me a nice little group of Indian cents to sell on consignment

After things slowed down it was time to open up a bottle of wine. This is my super duper boothmate Rich Wogoman and I having some wine in my new special customized Penny Lady Yeti cups!

Our usual Wednesday night dinner place, Cafe Piccolos, was closed so we found another Italian restaurant, Michaels, just off 3rd Street. It wasn't quite as good as Piccolos, but it still had some tasty dishes and we enjoyed the wine we brought. Ron Guth and Karl and Joanne Stephens joined Rich and me.

We all agreed their Tiramisu was amazing!

Thursday morning we got to the show just after 9am when it opened for dealers, and there were already several folks lined up to get into the show.

I walked around before the public was let in and took a few photos. PCGS was busy as usual!

Paul at ANACS

Wayne at Stacks Bowers stopped by to say hi

So did Jerry Bobbe

When the show opened, there was a very long line of folks waiting to get in. And a line quickly formed for the PCGS table. These photos were taken by the LB Expo folks.

I mentioned earlier that Thursday was extremely busy for everyone, including Rich and me. We were both dealing with customers, and I was trying to sell my Lincoln cent set, while Rich had a lot of silver and other items he was walking around the bourse selling. And my booth was really hopping with more customers than usual. By early afternoon Rich came back to the booth after running around the bourse and said he had a headache. I gave him some aspirin and he sat down to rest while I was helping some customers. Within a couple minutes I turned around and saw Rich slumped over on the back table. I immediately yelled for someone to call 911 while I tried to wake him up (I thought he had an aneurism or stroke since he complained of a headache just before he passed out - thank goodness it wasn't that serious!). Our neighbor called 911 and gave me the phone to to explain what was going on. Within a couple minutes Rich began to wake up and, although he was pale, he recognized me and sat up. By then, security and the on-site EMT was at our booth assessing him. And within a few more minutes the fire department EMT's were at our booth as well. They gave him all kinds of tests, ekg, tested his blood sugar, etc. and determined that because Rich hadn't eaten anything all day and hadn't drank much water either, he had become dehydrated. They gave him a couple bottles of water to drink slowly, His color began to brighten and he was returning back to normal. The 911 folks were there about half an hour. At the end, they advised that he should go to the hospital but Rich declined since he was feeling much better after drinking the water. We had also ordered a pizza that had just arrived so he had some of that too. Soon the EMTs gathered up their gear and gurney and took off.

I have to say that everyone that worked on Rich was extremely calm and professional, including the security guards who first arrived and the onsite EMT. And even later that day and the next, the security folks stopped by to see how he was doing. I was very impressed and grateful that help came so quickly. And we both learned a good lesson not to neglect ourselves even though we were busy and preoccupied at the show! So Rich took it easy the rest of the day, and even though it stayed busy for a while longer, I kept an eye on him.

After the show closed on Thursday, we met up with Ron Guth again at Captain Jack's in Seal Beach. They are located right on the harbor off PCH and Broadway and have some of the best seafood around, as well as amazing prime rib! It was packed and even though it's about 30-40 minutes away from the convention center, there were several groups of other dealers having dinner there as well. They also have a couple of beautiful aquariums along the wall inside.

Friday morning I had some PCGS business to attend to and went by their table. They were swamped as usual!

I took a few other photos around the bourse

I saw a separate thread about the "smash and grab" that occurred overnight at the show. I spoke to one of the security guards and he said they are looking at all cameras both inside and outside, and looking into all possibilities as to how it could have happened With all the years of shows I've been doing, I've never heard of something like this occurring. Security said they are considering if someone may have stowed away under a table, or possibly a janitorial worker, or other avenues that someone was able to gain access. But he said they are are a bit perplexed that someone could smash a case after everyone had left, and not one of the security guards heard it (meaning that perhaps it was done during the show but covered up and hidden until later). The security guards are all retired 20+ year police veterans who have been doing security for this show for a long time. They are pretty sure they will get to the bottom of how this happened.

Friday wasn't as busy as Thursday but it was still steady and I found a few more coins to add to my inventory. Overall I was very successful in finding some nice coins at this show.

I also found quite a few raw coins to help fill my raw coin customer want lists!

I also bought a set of 1930 repousse "pop out" pins for my penny exonumia collection.

An old friend, Ryan Moretti (used to work at Stacks and now has his own shop in Arizona), stopped by to say hi

I was really glad Todd/BluCC Photos was at this show, so later on Friday afternoon I gathered all my latest purchases for Todd to photograph. He's been photographing my coins for over 15 years, mostly during shows, but over the past two years, I've had to ship all my coins to him to photograph, so it was nice to have them photographed at a show again!

Friday night we went to our usual King's Fish House just up Pine street right behind the convention center.

Rich and I arrived a little early so we had a couple very refreshing Henricks and Tonic with lime at the bar while we waited for Karl and Joanne.

We love this place as the food is really great and they offer free corkage for our wine. - I definitely recommend King's Fish House!

My favorite entre is their macadamia nut crusted halibut but this time I tried their Miso Sea Bass and it was delicious!

Saturday morning I took time to finally view the amazing Tyrant Collection. I have seen it displayed at other shows, but this time I took more time to look closer at some of the coins, especially the early copper. Wow, if you ever get a chance to see this collection on display, I highly recommend taking time to look closely at these treasures!

Curtis Mease who now works at PCGS had a really great display of his PCGS sample slabs and PCGS memorabilia.

Also on Saturday, the Expo staff was all decked out for the kids' Pirate Treasure Trivia hunt.

Once again, there was a nice steady stream of folks entering the bourse floor when it opened!

I was one of the stops on the Treasure Trivia trail so I had tons of kids stop by to make their guess of the answer to the trivia question I was given. We had so many kids stop by that I ran out of penny goodies to give them! This especially cute little girl and her dad let me take their picture for my show report. She was very good at reading the question and the entire correct answer!

We stayed most of the day until there was very little public left. Then it was time to pack up and head home. After such a busy week, I was exhausted when I finally got home so after unpacking, I put my feet up, had a glass of wine and just relaxed. The next day I got out my new purchases and all my paperwork, and got to work. And there was my cutie-pie Penny right there cuddled up next wo me squished inside my coin box!

As I said, this was an exceptionally busy and successful show - and I look forward to the next one in June. The Long Beach Expo folks really do work hard to put this show together and make sure everyone has what they need - they do a great job!

Next up I have a very busy March - The Las Vegas Palace Station show, the Buena Park show, McIntosh Sacramento show, then Baltimore!

[GoldFinger1969]

Great report ....I liked the photo of the PCGS founders, wow, 36 years ago....everyone looked alot younger (check out JA's hair !!).

[RWB]

Did you get the cat slabbed? I see it's all ready....

Did PCGS pay for all the promotional photos?

[Just Bob]

On 2/23/2022 at 9:50 AM, RWB said:

Did you get the cat slabbed? I see it's all ready....

Did PCGS pay for all the promotional photos?

Apparently, NGC either forgot to send their check, or failed to show up at the show. They got left out of the report entirely.

And, what is the story with the guy with the cello case? Did he entertain the show attendees?

PS - Glad Rich was ok. He needs to keep some snacks and water on hand from now on.

[Alex in PA.]

Great report; as always.  Thanks.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 2/23/2022 at 10:50 AM, RWB said:

Did you get the cat slabbed? I see it's all ready....Did PCGS pay for all the promotional photos?

I've never been to Long Beach, but reading on other forums it appears that PCGS is doing some heavy lifting to keep up the prestige of the Long Beach show since it's practically in their backyard. 

So maybe they are spending more time promoting, advertising, sending more people, etc. to Long Beach to make sure it stays up there with the ANA and FUN Shows.

You vets who've gone to Long Beach for years....what say you ? 

 

[GoldFinger1969]

On 2/23/2022 at 11:22 AM, Just Bob said:

Apparently, NGC either forgot to send their check, or failed to show up at the show. 

Really ?  I wonder if NGC will focus on FUN closer to their base of operations and PCGS is going to do likewise with Long Beach.

Or maybe Covid and the long travel for each entered into the decisions.  No idea, just speculating. 

[Just Bob]

On 2/23/2022 at 10:36 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Really ?  I wonder if NGC will focus on FUN closer to their base of operations and PCGS is going to do likewise with Long Beach.

Or maybe Covid and the long travel for each entered into the decisions.  No idea, just speculating. 

No, not really. My post was tongue-in-cheek. There were lots of pictures of PCGS, one of ANACS, and none of NGC. I was attempting to play off RWB's joking reply, questioning if PCGS slipped the OP some cash to post all of those pictures. I joked that maybe NGC did not pay her. 

 

[DWLange]

NGC decided to not attend the show this time. There's no need to pick on Charmy... 

[Just Bob]

On 2/23/2022 at 3:29 PM, DWLange said:

NGC decided to not attend the show this time. There's no need to pick on Charmy... 

In that case, I humbly retract my feeble attempt at a joke. Sorry, Penny Lady. 

[GoldFinger1969]

On 2/23/2022 at 4:55 PM, Just Bob said:

In that case, I humbly retract my feeble attempt at a joke. Sorry, Penny Lady. 

But the bigger point remains....NGC decided not to go.  Hmmmmm.........could be strictly Covid, could be other reasons, though I think the Long Beach Show would have to fall alot in prestige for NGC or other "biggies" to remove it from their calendar.

[VKurtB]

Here’s the thing. NGC is Florida-based. That means things when it comes to the cost-benefit analysis. Much of the nation presently has some pretty cheap airfares relatively speaking. Southern California sticks out as a sore thumb as the exception. I can go almost everywhere in Europe cheaper than I can get in and out of California. And they speak more English in Europe as a bonus. Then, hotel space. I had a $34 a night room set for Berlin. Former Soviet sector, yes. I use rooms to sleep. California is 5-10x that. 
 

At this point, I’d rather go to Kyiv than LA. It looks safer. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by VKurtB

[VKurtB]

Re: airfares. This is the second time I’m flying from my new Alabama home. Flying to and from Colorado Springs next month requires FAR more work than flying out of eastern Pennsylvania. Finding ultra-cheap fares was a breeze in PA. Here, not s’much. I have to fly out of Birmingham at 7:00AM (sick!) and fly home on a completely different airline. American westbound, Southwest eastbound. But still, a total RT of $226. And I can go to Berlin for only double that. California is much more. I’m sitting on enough Amtrak points to get to Newark free.

 

Edit: I literally just got a notice of a Newark to London airfare via Reykjavik for $399 round trip. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by VKurtB