I'm very reluctant to call this a "show report" because that sounds official, formal & dignified, which might raise your expectations to a level I simply cannot meet. Let's just call this "A cointalker's post with some pictures, which happens to be at a numismatic mecca". Now that we have that out of the way, I must say one of the biggest benefits to living in So-Cal is the tri-annual opportunity to attend the Long Beach C,S & C Expo out at the Long Beach Convention Center. It's a tremendous meeting place filled with numismatic legends, amazing coins and a show that doesn't get as much notoriety as I think it deserves. T'was the 16th of February (1st day the show is open to the public), my friend Jeff came by at 7am, we headed out for breakfast and then hit the road around 8am. Getting from the Palm Springs area to Long Beach by 10:15 (10am doors open to the public). Here is a look inside the convention center entrance: Once you sign in, (note the line of people off in the distance), you can grab a bag of freebies and then head down a bank of escalators to the main bourse floor: At which point you are now the numismatic equivalent to a child set free in Disneyland! We try to stay organized and proceed down each row methodically and not buy the 1st coin we see. Therefore, at the 2nd booth 5 minutes in, I purchase a beautiful crescent toned MS-64 Binion Hoard Morgan ($40 & a 5oz ATB bullion round in trade). Having sold a similar coin a few months earlier I knew I needed to replace it, and there she was! We walked past some piles of gold at the next dealer booth: Nothing impressive.....I'm sure all our safes look about like that ;-) Your humble author in a selfie moment: Then we found some truly impressive classic gold at the next booth: PCGS had an immeasurably rare MS-67 1861 "Paquet Reverse" Double Eagle on display....which was very nice of them to give us some entertainment while standing in line to get some coins graded: Part 2 of this post is being typed.....please hold comments. Thank you!
Heritage Auction Galleries also had a few nice coins on display for their auction later: Stack's Bowers Galleries had the stunning D. Brent Pogue Collection of Draped Bust Dollars on display: These next photos are all Pattern Coins from "The Simpson Collection" and must have included some of the most beautiful specimens I have ever seen. The quality is beyond exceptional and I truly apologize that my lame quick-photos in no way recreate the magnitude of seeing them in-person. The COLORS are astonishing!!! If you can see them yourself at another show, please go; they are worth the trip! Here we have a photo of everyone's favorite Penny Lady.....The Penny Lady herself, Charmy Harker. She was keeping busy and I only had a few minutes to say "Hi" before someone else threw several piles of money at her and lured her attention away. I did manage to ask what she thought of the show so far and she seemed pleased!
The US Mint Booth was open for business and had the new UHR Gold Piece on display.....so I had to snap a picture! Just some more scrap Silver & Gold....lol! After looking around for a while, I felt comfortable making my next purchase of an 1889 PF-65 3CN. These coins are notorious for having ugly haze, blemishes or carbon spots. Mine is PQ and priced right at $300 plus another bullion 5oz ATB I wanted to dump in trade. Pictures of that will come later, because another coin is slightly more important...Yes, the real star of this show was the 1794 SP-66 Plugged Flowing Hair Dollar which last sold for $10 Million. I really couldn't believe how easy it was to get near a "Holy Grail" coin and no lines formed around it, so I spent some time analyzing the surfaces & strike. Very impressive piece of our country's numismatic history! Time to leave, we want to hit the road before traffic gets bad, but visit In & Out Burgers before leaving town where a 1942 Nickel is given to me in change. The coin Gods were smiling upon us! I'll see you again Long Beach....June is right around the corner and I still have $$$ left over!
Last but...most certainly least, here are my Long Beach coin purchases! The raw Peace & Morgan are gifts, as well as that Gem BU 1953 Vatican Coin...which is the first I've owned and is actually pretty neat! Yes, the AUTOGRAPHED Flying Eagle and Indian Cents guide book was only $2 Very pleased
Nice report and purchases TRV. Man, that's a bunch of gold in that photo. Looks like you had a good time.
Nice report. You should have come see me to say hi. Lucky you came on day 1 and missed the monsoon on day 2 and aftermath on day 3
Nice pictures. I was there as well. Did you get to see the 1804 Dexter dollar in your picture of the Pogue dollars up close?
Thank you all for the kind words! Yes, it was a blast to attend and I really meant to check the boards to see how many other CT'ers would be there! @Cascade Maybe we can talk next time around because I always enjoy your posts and it's fun to meet the person behind the avatar @totally The 1804 is another legendary specimen, I went past that case quicker than I should have and didn't get any close-up photos of it. all this took place over the course of 4-5 hours.
Aww @TravIntiques. I asked the guy at the Stacks table if I could hold the 1804 Dexter dollar in the slab figuring 50/50 chance they would say no knowing exactly what that coin is and what it's worth. But they said yes. So I got to hold it and look at it in the light. It was quite the coin. Very nice surfaces and they looked spectacular in the light. Edit: Not every day you get to hold a coin of that magnitude.
Did you notice the guy casually standing behind you? Probably not. That was security to prevent someone from bolting out the door. Plus the two house guards that check badges at the door another 5ft back
Haha yes I did notice the guy in the suit right next to me. He was located like 5 feet away from the case with it inside =P.
It's great show, been there several times. The only downside to attending is my pocket book is not large enough to buy what I really want when I do go there. Still, it's fun to look at tens of millions of dollars worth of coins.