First Coin Show Experience ...

what's the web address of that service midas1 ?

 

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Why would you want to get away from Melissa? I think you definitely have a problem.

Chris

 

Winged - the address for the GreySheets? here it is
http://www.greysheet.com/web_order/special_form.asp

 

In recent memory, every show I've been the Grey Sheets are the preferred price reference. If I remember correctly there's also a blue sheet which I believe is the reference for sight unseen purchases. Blue are lower prices. As you stated a lot of the old school dealers don't use the Internet. I've seen dealers quote different prices to different customers for the same coin. What's worth? for a lot of these guys it's what they can get.

 

LOL!! Yes, unfortunately we all have to go home and get back to reality sometime. For me, the rush to leave at 3:45 pm was an attempt to beat the rush hour traffic. Isnt that sad!!! By the way, the woman in the photo is Melissa Theuriau an anchorwoman on the French News. All that talk about the French Mint Represenative made me think of my favorite French hottie. Viva La France

 

i was looking for the link for Whitman Champion

 

I don't know if there's a link. The PC is on the show floor. I found out about it from the show information booth.

 

LOL Chris. I don't think I'm older than you but I do believe us to be contemporaries. I'm not dead either, but the fact of the matter is that when I go coin hunting I'm focused on that, and that alone. Nothing de-rails me.....

 

Parking downtown is a joke. Right next to the Inner Harbor is an area know as Little Italy. Parking is $10 for 24 hours. You have a ten minute walk through a heavy tourist area. You feel safe.

 

what did they charge you to slab a coin?

 

i had to join PCGS to get coins slabbed by them. Luckily when you join you get coupons for a bunch of "free" submissions (I can't recall exactly, but I think it was either 6 or 8 free?). Joining cost $199 (I think i bought a higher membership level because it gave me more free submissions). You can probably find the exact numbers on the PCGS web site. So I think when the dust settled it cost about $25 per coin. I think there is an economy submission that is $15 a coin or similar but you have to be a member first.

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WL,

I have gone to most of the Baltimore shows for the last three or four years -- I think it's a great venue for a coin show and better than most I have attended. I also know the layout pretty well and where my favorite dealers are set up, which helps. I would suggest you print out a site map and list of dealers and plan out who you want to see while there. You should also do a lot of wandering around and gawking at coins.

When I first started attending shows, I was frustrated by the fact that coins generally did not list prices but I have actually come to like it. If I am interested in a coin, it is probably a series I know pretty well and have a pretty good idea what I believe a fair price is. I ask the dealer what he or she is asking for the coin. I like the moment when the dealer is sizing me up and deciding what price to ask because it tells me a bit of information about the dealer. Many dealers will have a different price depending on their assessment of the buyer, which is as it should be in any kind of market with negotiable prices. However, if I believe a dealer is giving me a supra-premium price, I usually won't bother with a counteroffer and politely say thanks.

Sorry I missed this show and it was enjoyable to read about your experience. By the way, great looking SLQ.:thumb: If you send it to Todd, please post his photo of it. As you may know, Todd has imaged most of my collection.

 

Glad you had fun at the show, I have been to the Baltimore show twice.

Just a heads up on the parking, the convention center has a parking area, which it shares with the baseball stadium parking. It's $10 for the whole day, so still expensive, but cheaper then the hotel lots in the area.

If you are coming in from the beltway, once you get downtown take the left into the stadium lot, by the light rail station, and follow the signs.

 

If it ever came to pass that we were bar-hopping together, and I saw an attractive woman approaching us, I think I'd just drop a silver half dollar on the floor for you.

Chris

 

This is the most common misconception of younger or newer collectors. I have it too somewhat regarding ancients since most of the time all I have access to is the internet for thse coins. However, large shows and auctions is truly where most of this material moves and prices found. As for websites, these dealers do not need to try to sell on the web since coin shows allow them to move as much as they need without the hassles of a website.

Somewhat OT but related, I find the same confusion with numismatic literature. People think they can use web resources and be on the same playing field as dealers. They think access to PCGS prices is equal to a dealer having a graysheet, or that they can google a coin and see the same type of attribution references a dealer would own. Its not the same.

The internet is great, has allowed access to tons of people in this hobby. However, people just coin collecting using internet resources and buying everything here are really missing large parts of the hobby, large, very important parts.

I am very glad you made it to a large show Winged, and hope your excellent trip report and excellent responses here by others help open some eyes of collectors on the advantages of attending large show. Yeah, they can be expensive and a hassle, but in many ways what you can learn there is invaluable.

Chris

 

Make that a commem half dollar........

 

Yes as of late I would think the Commem would work better... lol


And thanks winged for posting about your show experience. It's good to have a first timers opinion of one again.

 

I use a nice coin list called quickcheck to keep me from buying duplicates..
I take it to every show I go to..Thanks Jim

 

Can I have a copy?

 

always have more time at coin show than money..Jim