Baltimore Show Report (Thursday-Saturday) LONG!

[TomB]

Okay, folks, those of you who have been on the boards for a substantial length of time know that I often will write excruciatingly long post-show reports for those who have not been able to attend and this report for the recently concluded Baltimore show is no exception. I hope those who enjoy these long reports enjoy this one, too, and caution others who do not like to read such long reports that their time might be better spent on other threads.

 

I arrived first-thing Thursday morning for Dealer Day and paid the $100 admission fee for Thursday attendance. Until a few years ago this admission fee was a much more palatable $50, but the newly instituted $100 really hits you when you pay. The temperature was a relatively balmy mid-60s, but this would actually be the coolest day of the show. Believe it or not, this makes for easier navigation on the floor since folks weren’t wearing bulky coats. The floor was lightly populated at that time in the morning and immediately bigmoose was able to find me and we cruised the tables together. Those who do not know bigmoose should make the effort if you are in any way interested in wonderfully toned IHCs or would like an education in 1794 large cents. We shared some show-and-tell coins at his table and then I went my way to sell my inventory. I then chatted with Mark Feld and Mike Printz before heading to the B&M sale to view the lots. In my opinion, the B&M Mercs and SLQs were largely coins that would be won by internet bidders, take that as you may.

 

At this show I brought with me much more than typical to sell. This was not done because I think there is a severe correction, downturn, slide or whatever term you choose, but was done because I am a great believer in the constant reevaluation of a collection and the sale of those pieces that might benefit the remaining collection via their removal. This does not mean the pieces for sale are “bad” coins, it simply means that the money gained from their sale (even if sometimes sold at a minor loss) is better used to avoid the costs of lost opportunity. Two big-ticket coins immediately were sold to the first dealer I showed them to and we agreed verbally to a price and I said I would pick up a check on Friday. The quick sale meant I could look at the coins on the floor with a more proactive attitude, which is quite nice. Within a few hours I was entirely sold out of inventory, though I had not yet been paid by anyone, and from that moment on the show became one for social contact and coin procurement.

 

The food at the Baltimore show runs the gamut from quite tasty to terribly awful and Thursday’s fare was one of the better that I have seen. There was a turkey carving station in the food court and the two folks in front of me were quite abrupt with the carving chef, who looked eerily like Evander Holyfield, and they exited the line with turkey platters that had little meat and a single roll. However, I found the Evander Holyfield carving chef to be quite engaging and I could not help but chuckle when he handed me my platter covered with turkey, overlaid with mashed potatoes and gravy and topped with several rolls. Truly, I had approximately three fresh portions of food and it was quite good. Fueled up, I went back to the bourse.

 

Newmismatist was there and he shared with me an opinion of PL and DMPL toned Morgan dollars that was a new idea to me and one that I believe has significant merit. Briefly, Newmismatist thinks that the PL and DMPL surfaces reflect back more light to the viewer and this serves to backlight the toning on the coin, which makes the colors have a different feel. In my opinion this is entirely correct, but is a way of thinking that I had not come to previously and this shows the great value of attending shows, bringing coins to share with others and exchanging ideas. Rkfish and PQpeace were set up and this was the first chance I had to meet these fine gentlemen. They had some very nice coins and thought I looked little like my green demon PCGS icon. I also met up with ColonialCoinUnion and CoinRaritiesOnline, who were sharing a table, and found them to be most easy to speak with and in possession of some very intriguing coinage. Significant time was spent with njcoincrank, which is always an amazing experience, and he graciously agreed to critique three coins that I brought to him for his opinion. I stopped at all the “regulars” (Whitlow, Pinnacle, Larry Shepherd, Keystone, Legend) saw amazing pieces and made dinner plans. While at the Whitlow table I discussed the usage of 5x loupes with Larry Whitlow, who agrees with me that for 99% of the coinage out there this is sufficient, and who also agrees that those who believe more magnification (ie: 16x) is better for general viewing are largely mistaken. My informal survey of several dealers across a spectrum of inventory types revealed that Thursday was fairly slow, and that overall most were being more cautious with their cash positions.

 

The highlights and coins of note for Thursday were the sale of all my inventory, inspecting two Libertas Americanas medals that were both graded by NGC and housed individually in NGC multi-coin holders as PF58BN and PF64BN, viewing an otherwise MS nineteenth century type coin that was housed in a PCGS holder without the “counterstamp/chop mark” designation even though one was neatly placed onto the center of the coin, seeing a Trade dollar that had the eagle reverse carved to resemble a male member at attention, finding two very nicely toned Norse American medals both graded MS64 by PCGS (one thick and one thin) and purchasing one coin for my collection, an 1853 with arrows half dime graded by PCGS as MS65 that looks for all the world to be completely original. Thursday night was spent in a high-end steak house, as the guest of bigmoose, eating a fine dinner within a private salon. After that it was off to watch Rutgers vs. Louisville on ESPN. As a Rutgers alum I could not believe what was unfolding in front of me.

 

Friday began early and turned into the most socially oriented day of the show. I met up with airplanenut and we shared coins in the middle of an aisle. Later, while airplanenut was leaning over a case, I started to open his backpack and remove his coins-this is something that should not be done by anyone who is not totally familiar and friendly with the person they are doing it to!!! Airplanenut took it quite well once his blood pressure fell, and he returned the favor by attempting to make off with my box of coins during lunch! By the way, I believe airplanenut and I had the same volume of hair at this show, which will mean something to many members. Michael was with chinook and we also met up with Merc. This was my first meeting with Merc and it was nice to meet someone who had a similar occupational background. We monopolized a rather large area near one side of the bourse and passed around coins for perhaps an hour. Astonishing coins were examined, debated, hypothesized and eventually slipped through my fingers. This was coin geek paradise. During our exchange of coins there was an attempted snatch of a rather large cache of large sized currency. The dealers pounced, the crook attempted to flee but was physically restrained and battled and then security took over. Later, I ran into DaveG and he seemed to be in very high spirits; perhaps he found some New Orleans gold?

 

The bourse was much more active Friday and it appeared that most dealers were doing a brisk business. I noticed relatively few wildly toned Morgan dollars, but NGC graded GSA Morgans were plentiful and a certain number of them were even designated PL and DMPL. The TPG booths appeared very quiet, with PCGS and NGC having a light stream of folks while ANACS and ICG had no one approach them during the moments I observed them in the three days of the show. Mid-grade Barber half-dollars and early dated WLHs were quite scarce as were problem-free CBHs. Typically, there are a certain number of slabbed mid-grade CBHs, but not in this show. The original coins that were available were quite dark, just as I like them, and were priced well above Greysheet, which is where they should be priced, in my opinion. SC dollars were not as numerous and even though there were the customary two dozen mid-grade, PCGS/NGC slabbed 1893-S Morgans on the floor they were in this instance scattered about the floor instead of being concentrated within the inventories of one or two dealers. Two things that were available in seemingly endless supply were white Morgans and white classic commems. Gold appeared in most cases, but I didn’t feel a buzz on the floor about it.

 

I ended up finding a prohibitively scarce coin for my collection on Friday morning in the form of a completely original, mid-grade, small 3 1803 Draped Bust half. The coin was sitting in a case and as soon as I noticed it I made a beeline toward it, asked to see it and then told the dealer that I would take it. Only then did I ask the price. This is not what is known as smart negotiation, but in this case I was fortunate that the dealer was Sheridan Downey and that we know each other. He knocked some cash off the sales price and this original, crusty beauty formerly of the Jules Reiver collection is now mine. The coin thankfully looks nothing like the Heritage image from the Reiver sale, it is far more original and much darker. Friday wound down much too quickly, and I ended up with a mild headache and feeling lightheaded from not eating. This was a night spent eating takeout tacos and watching ESPN in my hotel room.

 

Saturday was an odd day in that I was only briefly at the show before heading to supertooth’s home to spend the night, but as I was walking the bourse a beauty of a Draped Bust half sought me out and landed in-hand. This would be an apparently original, or nearly so, 1806/5 overdate (under)graded by PCGS as EF45. The coin is nearly PL and the eye appeal is reminiscent of mid-nineteenth century proof coinage that had been stored in velvet to take on deep navy hues. Truly this is an interesting coin and one that I will struggle with the image. Goose3 also came by with his son and I believe Michael almost lost a Draped Bust dollar to Goose3’s son, Goose4. Also obtained Saturday was an AU55 Oregon half dollar for my Dansco 7070 and the most exquisite, beautiful and achingly original VF25 type one SLQ one could ever hope to see. This coin could make someone cry.

 

It was then off to supertooth’s (Bob’s) for dinner and to meet cpm9ball (Chris) for the first time. Bob and his wife have been generous hosts to me before, and this time was no exception, and it was a delight to meet Chris who seemed quite unassuming, studious of pleasant. Chris’s dedication to Morgans and VAMs is beyond me, but he did his patient best to teach me to view a Morgan in a new manner. Dinner was interesting, to say the least, with a cornucopia of crabs being cracked within feet of me while I ate a standing pot roast at an adjacent table. This was affectionately called the kids’ table and I was the only one populating it while the adults ate. We spoke late into the night, shared coins, stories, information and techniques and were also joined by Bob’s son Dave who is a collector. I tried in a subtle manner to convince Bob to cull one or two of his lowest graded, early WLHs. Veritably, this was for his collecting good, but he did not see the wisdom of my ways. If someone might help Bob understand how he might better his enjoyment of the hobby by divesting in his lowest graded 1916 and 1917 WLHs then I will do my part and dispose of the coins for him. Please send the private messages to Bob.

 

Finally, Sunday morning came and I took copious images of some of Bob’s WLHs before heading off on the long trek home to get back in time for my one-year old daughter’s birthday. Thankfully, I made it home about an hour before she and my three-year old daughter would have gone to bed. It was a fun show, filled with good coins and terrific company. This is something I would encourage others to do.

[LuvToCollect]

Thanks Tom for a wonderful recap of the fesivites.

[Amanda]

Great report!

 

A coin that could make someone cry?

 

Sounds like a great time.

 

-Amanda

[DC Dawg]

Tom... good report. Too bad we didn't meet on Friday. Maybe next time!

 

Scott

[D.D.]

Great report Tom.

 

 

I tried in a subtle manner to convince Bob to cull one or two of his lowest graded, early WLHs. Veritably, this was for his collecting good, but he did not see the wisdom of my ways. If someone might help Bob understand how he might better his enjoyment of the hobby by divesting in his lowest graded 1916 and 1917 WLHs then I will do my part and dispose of the coins for him. Please send the private messages to Bob.

 

 

[toyonakataro]

Thanks for a great report TomB.

 

I think I've seen your new HD in person in 2005.

[MunkyMan95]

GREAT REPORT!!! I feel like I was there walking next to you, Tom (wish I could have been).

[zrlevin]

Also obtained Saturday was an AU55 Oregon half dollar for my Dansco 7070 and the most exquisite, beautiful and achingly original VF25 type one SLQ one could ever hope to see. This coin could make someone cry.

 

You just made me cry...I was looking for one of those darn things all day! I found a beautiful AU, though, but ended up not buying it.

 

Great report, Tom!

[cpm9ball]

Newmismatist was there and he shared with me an opinion of PL and DMPL toned Morgan dollars that was a new idea to me and one that I believe has significant merit. Briefly, Newmismatist thinks that the PL and DMPL surfaces reflect back more light to the viewer and this serves to backlight the toning on the coin, which makes the colors have a different feel. In my opinion this is entirely correct, but is a way of thinking that I had not come to previously and this shows the great value of attending shows, bringing coins to share with others and exchanging ideas.

 

Interesting! Perhaps Ron could post some photos to illustrate this.

 

It was then off to supertooth’s (Bob’s) for dinner and to meet cpm9ball (Chris) for the first time. Bob and his wife have been generous hosts to me before, and this time was no exception, and it was a delight to meet Chris who seemed quite unassuming, studious of pleasant. Chris’s dedication to Morgans and VAMs is beyond me, but he did his patient best to teach me to view a Morgan in a new manner. Dinner was interesting, to say the least, with a cornucopia of crabs being cracked within feet of me while I ate a standing pot roast at an adjacent table. This was affectionately called the kids’ table and I was the only one populating it while the adults ate. We spoke late into the night, shared coins, stories, information and techniques and were also joined by Bob’s son Dave who is a collector. I tried in a subtle manner to convince Bob to cull one or two of his lowest graded, early WLHs. Veritably, this was for his collecting good, but he did not see the wisdom of my ways. If someone might help Bob understand how he might better his enjoyment of the hobby by divesting in his lowest graded 1916 and 1917 WLHs then I will do my part and dispose of the coins for him. Please send the private messages to Bob.

 

Don't let Tom fool you. He did everything but get down on his knees and grovel to try to encourage Bob to relinquish those WLH's. And, when "honey" didn't work, he poured on the "vinegar". I can honestly say that I have been in similar situations, so I can sympathize with Tom, and I found myself abetting him.......jokingly, of course.......with his "problem-hunting".

 

It was such a great pleasure to get to meet, both, Bob and Tom in person. Bob and his wife, Barb, were very gracious hosts. The crabs were excellent, but it really freaked Tom out to see us cracking open what looked to him like "DIRTY" crustaceans, cleaning out the inedible portion and gleaning the sweet meat from the shells. "Kid's table"? Tom, you were the youngest one there!

I really enjoyed the first-hand stories that went with each of Tom's acquisitions. What a treat! Thank you, Tom!

 

Chris

[IGWT]

Well, now I'm green with envy. Thanks for taking the time to write in detail so that we can savor the show & good times from afar. I'm really looking forward to seeing pix of Bob's Halves!

[leeg]

"Super" report Tom. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great time had by all. The 1853 Arrows is a "Beauty"! Congrat's. Can't wait to see the rest of them.

[MikeKing]

Great report Tom. Did you drive there? How long was the trip?

[WinstonWare]

 

finding two very nicely toned Norse American medals both graded MS64 by PCGS (one thick and one thin) and purchasing one coin for my collection

 

You didn't buy either of these? Do you recall their prices? Toned what color - just brown?

 

 

I ended up finding a prohibitively scarce coin for my collection on Friday morning in the form of a completely original, mid-grade, small 3 1803 Draped Bust half

 

Where is the picture of this coin??? After you gave that nice write up of the 1803 DBH I’ve been watching for them. Does this purchase make your Anacs 1803 DBH “inventory?”

 

This would be an apparently original, or nearly so, 1806/5 overdate (under)graded by PCGS as EF45

 

Where is the picture of this coin? Such a tease!

 

After that it was off to watch Rutgers vs. Louisville on ESPN

 

I didn’t even know you knew about football let alone watched it. That was a great game. I was pulling for the scarlet knights

[SkyMan]

Thank you for the report.

 

LOVELY half dime!!!

[Bruceswar]

Sweet show report and thanks! Sad part if Rutgers goes undefeated, they will not get a shot at the national title.

[truthteller]

5 star thread.

 

Any opinions as to the premiums on color at the show? I have come to realize that the high premiums often force a "no sale" since many folks are refusing to pay them.

 

 

 

TRUTH

[braddick]

If I ever get bored of coins all I have to do is read one of Tom's show reports and I'm right back in the swing of things.

[supertooth]

Hello Folks---- One of the great things about having Tom come to my home is not having to drive anywhere. As I have gotten older, I stick to home and my woods. But, even better than Tom coming to me, is that we agree on most things. And, this visit, I sooooo wanted him to verify that what I thought about my new Walkers was indeed correct. To my delight----and his too---he approved and allowed as how I had indeed done very well. I do so hope that his pictures turned out and that he will share them with all of you.

 

Tom is a delight to have around. I had promised Chris crabs and while Barb, my wife, Chris and myself got our hands filthy eating those wonderful Maryland blue crabs----Tom B had moved to a card table eating his standing rib roast all by himself. It really was quite a scene. It was all in good fun and, as usual, Bob learned a little more than I knew beforehand. Chris had helped me to understand about a double struck 1944 cent that I have slabbed by ANACS. The coin is approximately 35% rotated and I had failed to put it together until Chris had made it quite simple for me. The coin is double struck on both sides in addition to the second strike being rotated the 35 degrees. Neat coin.

 

It is amazing how the time flies among coin friends. I have enough coins to keep almost anyone busy for quite awhile. But, it is always a thrill to see a knowledgable group all agree that certain coins stand out---haven't been abused or fooled with---and warrant a "WOW". I hope soon to have that new digital camera and between Tom and myself I hope to be able to share the Walkers with all of you. And thanks to Tom----my wife knows how to post the pictures.

 

ARCH----I am making progress---it is slow---but it is progress none the less. Bob [supertooth]

[DaveG]

Tom,

 

Great Report!

 

(I'm glad you thought I was in "high spirits" - perhaps it was just seeing some friendly faces!)

[EZ_E]

Thomas, you even excelled Truthteller with this post! Outstanding. I would like to see some more pics, though.

[Wihlborg]

Wonderful report Tom. It sounds like you had a great time.

 

John

[SlumLord98-migration]

Hi Tom,

 

I was standing next to you when you bought that 1803. I looked in the case after you left, noticed the coin was gone, when Sheridan mentioned that "the guy who just left bought it". He also commented on your tough negotiating stance! Nice pickup!

 

Brad

[Newmismatist]

Newmismatist was there and he shared with me an opinion of PL and DMPL toned Morgan dollars that was a new idea to me and one that I believe has significant merit. Briefly, Newmismatist thinks that the PL and DMPL surfaces reflect back more light to the viewer and this serves to backlight the toning on the coin, which makes the colors have a different feel. In my opinion this is entirely correct, but is a way of thinking that I had not come to previously and this shows the great value of attending shows, bringing coins to share with others and exchanging ideas.

 

There is another aspect of this that I forgot to mention to Tom. This is also the reason why toned PL and DMPL dollars are the most difficult to photograph. If you look at the logo coin on TCCS boards you will see a very nice toned Morgan that is vividly bright - It is a PL obverse toned coin that I own and it is VERY difficult to photgraph and capture both the color and the vibrency of that coin - It was imaged by Brandon Kelly and it is very accurate as to what it looks like. It is this coin that made me realize that toned PL coins look different because they are "Lit" from both the front and the back.

 

Also, Tom was kind enough to let me fondle my former 1912 Matte Proof Lincoln, which he now owns. I also bought several of Tom's "rejects" and I'm pleased to own them.

 

Good to see Tom at Baltimore and read his great show report.

[TomB]

Thanks all for the kind words. There have been a number of questions posted as follow up in this thread so I will put down any answers I have within this response.

 

First off, Chris did indeed find many of the same problems with Bob’s early WLHs that I found, and I believe we both wondered how those coins ever ended up in NGC holders instead of NCS holders. It is also true that I asked what the dirt was on the crabs when they were poured out onto the table before I was politely told it was Old Bay Seasoning. I’m not much for ripping apart crustaceans, so the beef was my target.

 

Bob let me photograph a number of WLHs before I left and my first glance at the images shows that not all were in focus, nor was the lighting set up ideal. However, I will crop a few of them and post them in either this thread or will start another thread devoted to the coins in question.

 

I drove to Baltimore and the trip down was uneventful save for getting through NYC on Wednesday night. There had been significant rain in the NY-NJ metro area on Wednesday and quite a few of the highways and/or exit ramps were closed. If I had not lived in NJ for so many years it would have taken me even more time to get through the snarl, but since I was familiar with the area I ended up taking back roads. The trip back from Bob’s was also slow because it rained the entire way and no one seems to know how to drive in the rain.

 

The Norse American medals were toned in a very similar manner with an arc of light red and green from 12:00 through 3:00 that lay within a broader and deeper golden arc. Both pieces were quite attractive and I know who was offering each coin. The PCGS MS64 Thin version had an asking price of $1,500 on it, and I know the dealer so this might have been a discounted price, but I did not ask the other dealer on the PCGS MS64 Thick version, which should be less expensive. Send me a PM if you want the dealer names. I think Winston may be about ready to kill me regarding the toned Norse Americans, but I am fairly certain he will be ready to kill me when I write that I sold the ANACS VG8 1803 for a substantial profit. If I recall correctly, you had seen the ANACS VG8 on ebay before I had yet you had not pushed the BIN because you wanted to concentrate on your CBHs instead of branching out into DBHs. The subsequent thread about purchasing gold coinage made me think that the DBH might not be a coin for you, so it was sold and helped pay for the NGC VF30 that was picked up at the show. The sale of the ANACS VG8 went quite smooth in that the first dealer I showed it to immediately stated he wanted it and I told him it would be significantly over Greysheet to which he replied that the Greysheet was far out of touch with this series and to name my price. It was as simple as that. I’ll work on images of the DBHs.

 

My undergrad degree is from Rutgers and I went to high school with the head coach of the Rutgers team. As a funny anecdote, when I went to Rutgers in the mid 1980s I played several sports. One afternoon after practice I was in the men’s room relieving myself, and the basketball coach stood next to me and asked me if I played basketball. I told him that I didn’t and he responded that it was too bad since they could really use me. That was how bad Rutgers basketball and football were back then.

 

There weren’t all that many truly fantastic toned coins, or any truly fantastic coins for that matter, at the show so I do not have a good feel for how stiff the premiums were for the sale of such coins. The toned coins I sold were attractive and sold fairly quickly. The few toned pieces that I asked for prices on were higher than I was comfortable paying so they did not come home with me. Please note that although the prices were higher than I felt comfortable paying does not mean that they were extraordinarily high.

 

Bob’s WLHs are a truly wonderful collection that includes both terrific circulated coinage and fantastic mint state pieces. The mint state coins generally have a thick skin on them and great, albeit monochromatic, touches of auburn. If the images are any good I will post some soon.

 

As SlumLord98 can attest, I was tough in my negotiating stance with Sheridan Downey. The coin was too nice to pass up, the premium was too small to cause hesitation and I knew it would take quite a while and a bit of luck to find something comparable if that piece slipped away. This was one piece that I showed to Michael and I would write down his response, however, this is a family oriented site and I do not want to get banned. Suffice to say, Michael liked the coin greatly. Oddly, before I left the show I was offered a profit on the coin.

[WinstonWare]

The PCGS MS64 Thin version had an asking price of $1,500

That’s nearly all of my savings for the upcoming Boston show, so I think I’ll skip it – thanks though

If I recall correctly, you had seen the ANACS VG8 on ebay before I had yet you had not pushed the BIN because you wanted to concentrate on your CBHs instead of branching out into DBHs. The subsequent thread about purchasing gold coinage made me think that the DBH might not be a coin for you

This is all very true, but after re-reading your post on the 1803 and considering an earlier PM I would like to obtain a DBH example – hopefully at the Boston show.

 

Thanks for the nice follow-up

[MikeKing]

I would love to see pics of the NOrse medals you described, Tom. Are there any pics anywhere?

 

ps thanks for the great post. Wish I was there.