Very Short Bay State Coin Show Report

[IGWT]

I met up with MrHalfDime (from across the street) in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn by old Exit 8 in Portland at precisely 8:00 a.m. to begin our trip south. For those of you who don't know MrHalfDime, he is one of the most knowledgeable & enthusastic collectors around, especially in the half dime series. He is so enthusiastic that I knew better than to be late! The drive down to Boston was uneventful, but filled with fun discussions of coins and coin people.

 

We arrived at the 6th floor of the Radisson Hotel at 9:58 a.m., two minutes before the bourse opened, and according to plan. After paying the entry fee and donning my chic paper bracelet, I hit the floor to make my first sweep looking Shields, found the likely targets, and hit them hard. There was a smattering of Shields around the floor -- including 3 or 4 die varieties -- but nothing for me in that area. A wholesaler and former PCGS grader who customarily eschews retail was at the show. He finds the time for collectors at smaller shows like this one. He had an 1880 5c in an NGC MS65 slab, and he kindly let me take a look. It has the die pairing that is used as an indicator to differentiate a business strike from a proof; but, I'll tell you, anyone who buys a high grade 1880 5c had better never crack it out of its slab (what does that tell you?). The coin could have been mine for a mere $50,000. Pass.

 

I ran into a couple members of the boards ATS and exchanged pleasantries. The floor was busy in the morning but seemed to slow by about mid-afternoon. The dealers with whom I chatted seemed pleased with the amount of retail business that they were seeing, but many are still lamenting the difficulty of finding nice, fresh coins to buy. The market seems especially strong for Bust and Barber material.

 

I saw a familiar face while walking down one of the aisles in the large room. I thought I knew who it was from seeing a picture in the "The Man behind the Post" thread. Still, I wasn't sure, so I waited until he passed and said, "Winston." He stopped and turned around, so I knew that I had my man. He instinctively pulled his coin box close to his body like Tiki Barber after finally learning to hold on to the football. He eyed me with a bit of suspicion, and I wondered what he was worried about because his shoulders are about 5 times wider than mine. Winston instantly relaxed and gave me a big smile when I introduced myself. He was on the lookout for TomB, but he graciously took the time to show me some wonderful commems. Nice meeting you, Winston.

 

Even though I didn't buy any Shields, I did bring one with me to sell, and I managed to find a buyer (a dealer) at a fair price. I recouped nearly all that I had into the coin, having purchased it about 2 years ago. I wouldn't call the coin a "mistake," but it is one that I regret buying, and not one that I would offer to my collector friends. I was happy to send it on its way. The market is still strong enough to take care of collectors who've procrastinated the job of weeding their collections.

 

Even though I didn't find any Shields that I wanted to buy, I was able to scratch my darkside itch (that sounds a little disgusting, doesn't it?). I bought three Italian coins: (1) an unc. 1861-M 1c, (2) an unc. 1867 with a tremendous obv & rev die clash, and (3) an EF 1866-M 10c. Here's a picture of the 1866 (it's a big copper, 30mm):

 

 

It's an unpretentious coin, but it has high quality surfaces, even wear, and wonderful chocolate-brown color. How can you beat 141 year-old copper in this condition for $7.00? And, for those of you keeping track, this coin was minted the same year that the Shield 5c first issued.

 

MrHalfDime and I didn't leave until the bourse closed at 7:00 p.m. We walked across the street to eat at Legal Seafoods, but the place was packed with a 50 minute wait (which is restaurant-speak for 2 hours). So we opted to head north and eat at the Hill Top Steak House. We had a great meal and great discussion; and, when we looked at our watches, it was already 10:00 o'clock! I made my apologetic call to Michele, and we set out for Portland, arriving about midnight. It was a great coin day!

[DC Dawg]

Sounds like a good show. Thanks for sharing!

[Conder101]

but many are still lamenting the difficulty of finding nice, fresh coins to buy.

I've been collecting for 35 years and in all that time I can never recall a show report from ANY show where the dealers ever said nice fresh coins were easy to find. In fact it has been a broken record that could be printed as a title or at least a subheader on every show report, "There just wasn't any nice fresh material available for purchase."

[Wihlborg]

, but so true.

 

John

[Wihlborg]

Thanks for the report. That’s a nice piece of old Italian copper you picked up. I love old world copper and have quite a few pieces of my own. There’s something romantic about it that I find very appealing.

 

John

[123cents]

Nice report and congratulations on your darkside coins.

[jesbroken]

Thank you for your time and effort in allowing us to visit the coin show through your eyes and ears. It was injoyable reading.

Jim

[ahs45-migration]

Hi Lou,

 

Nice report although I'm exhausted just reading about your day.

 

Glad to hear about the Hilltop as I had heard it had been sold

and closed.

 

[IGWT]

I've been collecting for 35 years and in all that time I can never recall a show report from ANY show where the dealers ever said nice fresh coins were easy to find. In fact it has been a broken record that could be printed as a title or at least a subheader on every show report, "There just wasn't any nice fresh material available for purchase."

 

So true. I don't have nearly the length of experience as you, Mozin, but it does seem odd to me that we hear the same story even in a bull market when high prices bring coins into the market. Maybe they mean that there's no fresh material for sale at a price that they're willing to pay.

 

Nice report although I'm exhausted just reading about your day. Glad to hear about the Hilltop as I had heard it had been sold and closed.

 

Hi -- I hadn't heard that the Hilltop closed. We found it open and still serving good steak at a good price in a casual atmosphere. Do me a favor and send me a link to your LibNick & IHC sets.

[Neko]

Nice post Lou. (I'm Coinnut, Wayne Harriman on the PCGS Forum). It was nice meeting you and sorry I didn't show you my purchases at the time. I finally got around to posting them. I almost forgot the 1838. You guys certainly had a long day. Babe and I left around 2:00. By the way, I can appreciate your far side catch!

[IGWT]

Hi Wayne. Great to see you here. I guess I'll settle for pictures this time, but please don't deprive me again.

[Neko]

Hi Lou,

To answer your question about the focus of my collection I have to say that it has always been difficult to focus on a particular area. However, first and foremost is early type. I collect everything from Half Cents thru Gold. I'm working on a complete collection of Large Cents, Half Cents and Morgan Dollars. My Dansco 7070 Type set is nearly complete and probably would be by now except for the fact that I don't break coins out of slabs. I have a large collection of gem Indian Head Cents, and a complete collection of Lincoln Cents. I have complete sets of some modern stuff like Jefferson Nickels, Ikes, SAE's, Kennedy Halves, Washington Quarters and a roll set of the Statehood Quarters. Also Walking Liberty Halves, well you get the picture. I think it would be quicker to list what I don't collect. How about you? What would be your main focus?

[Neko]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Bust Halves. I'm putting together a complete date set from 1807-1839. I just picked this one up a couple weeks ago. It's going in to PCGS for grading soon.

 

[IGWT]

Hi Lou,

To answer your question about the focus of my collection I have to say that it has always been difficult to focus on a particular area. However, first and foremost is early type. I collect everything from Half Cents thru Gold. I'm working on a complete collection of Large Cents, Half Cents and Morgan Dollars. My Dansco 7070 Type set is nearly complete and probably would be by now except for the fact that I don't break coins out of slabs. I have a large collection of gem Indian Head Cents, and a complete collection of Lincoln Cents. I have complete sets of some modern stuff like Jefferson Nickels, Ikes, SAE's, Kennedy Halves, Washington Quarters and a roll set of the Statehood Quarters. Also Walking Liberty Halves, well you get the picture. I think it would be quicker to list what I don't collect. How about you? What would be your main focus?

 

Wow. Double wow. My collecting aspirations are much more limited. I tend to think of my collection as three sub-sets: (1) a date set of non-variety Shields in gem grade, (2) uncirculated die varieties, and (3) certain 5c pattern pieces. I also collect Italian coinage of the Risorgimento era, which covers roughly the same time period as the Shield 5c series.

[WinstonWare]

It was great to meet Lou at this show. I’m not sure why but I was kind of taken aback when I heard my name. From the brief conversation that I had with Lou he was a truly enjoyable guy and hopefully we’ll have more time to sit and chat at future shows. Lou, you gotta bring more than 1 measly coin to the show .

 

My experience at the show was slightly different than Lou’s. I was looking to move a PCGS 66 Antietam and was hoping for $900. The most that I was offered was $800 so I didn’t end up selling the coin. One of the dealers that took a good look at it said that he would be in the market for the coin had business been a little better…

 

I was looking to buy an original1805 DBH in F or low VF. I saw one 1805 but it was far too shiny for my taste.

 

Maybe it was just me, but the show seemed slower than I had seen it before. It was easy to find a seat at nearly any table and one could comfortably walk down any aisle. There were of course many coins, but very few heartstoppers. From what I observed buying and selling seemed limited to mostly lower end coins.