Yesterday marked the last day of the Tokyo International Coin Convention which is held in Tokyo, Japan every year in late April/early May. There was some concern that radiation and/or earthquake fears would keep some international dealers away, and a couple of international dealers/companies that had been scheduled to attend did not show up, but in the end there were no empty tables. The largest group of non-Japanese dealers were from the United States, followed by Hong Kong. There were also a couple of dealers from Europe, and one from South Korea. In addition to the dealers, there were several world mints with displays, including the Japan Mint, the South African Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Singapore Mint, Monnaie de Paris, the British Royal Mint, and the Royal Spanish Mint. There was also a table staffed by representatives of the Japanese Red Cross who were selling grab bags of foreign coins to help raise funds for the disaster relief efforts in northeastern Japan. The bags were so popular that there was a limit of 10 bags per person, and they quickly sold out. The most popular coins at the show seemed to be Chinese coins, and there were lots of Chinese buyers, especially on the first day. There did not seem to be so much interest in silver coins, and lucky buyers could sometimes find US and other silver coins priced at below melt. In contrast, it seemed that gold coins that were priced at around melt were being snapped up. On a side note, very early in the morning of the last day, there was a slight shaking in Tokyo from an earthquake that was centered off the coast about 70-80 miles away. Fortunately, it was just a little quivering, and nothing at all like the March 11 earthquake which was strong enough to topple some dealers' coin safes. Hopefully, the intensity and frequency of earthquakes in this area are both decreasing.
This was another acquisition at the show-- a 1945-S Walking Liberty half dollar that I hope will grade at least MS-63
