Whitman Baltimore Spring show

You should kid nap Frank and bring him along too!
Correction you should old man nap Frank...

 

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Nah, this cloud's big enough to cover both cities.

 

You in town? I'm waiting for Alan to dive in from Western Md

 

I'm going to miss it. I did have a great time last year and was very happy to get a call in November last year saying I won one of the raffle coins. I'm jealous but have fun!

 

Happy Hunting!

 

Damn Tax Season! I live near DC and have never made it see the cherry blossoms, or the Whitman Show - aarrgghh!

 

Can somebody loan Paddy and I bus fare? We're about broke.

 

I thought you liked long walks Dave

 

Sorry Paddy, I said I was going to stop by and didn't. I wasn't looking at the the names of the stands (my eyes were going nuts with all those gems!!!) and I'm sure I passed by. Next time. I seriously got distracted. I was supposed to call a guy from my coin club. Forgot that too.

 

Dave and I were both liking this one....

 

I just proved that with the Like button.

Odd show. I went loaded for bear, seeking a nice 1858 Canada Large Cent, the key to the series and quite rare in Mint State. A high-end coin. I saw 3 1858's in the whole building, all circulated (one was a pretty good deal, nice VF at $100 if that gives you an idea of 1858 pricing; I expect to spend $1000+ on the 1858 I choose). Only 4 tables had *any* Mint State LC's at all, and there weren't 10 total on the bourse.

I completed the King George section of my date set with a nice 1916 in 63ish, but that was the only one of the MS examples I felt worthy. Snagged a high AU Woodie 1910, and a low AU 1876H with the Dark Chocolate color Canadian LC's tend to acquire. Didn't fit the collection, but I like it and the price was right, from the same guy Paddy flogged for the Half Cent.

The guy who sold me the other two LC's hogtied me and forced me to also buy an 1854 Nova Scotia Large Cent Token (well, perhaps I was more willing than I let on).

Baltimore is a show where dealers come to sell to dealers, not the public. You expect to lose Thursday to dealer-dealer transactions, but I was irritated more than once by being unable to sit at a table because one dealer (you knew because of the badge) had half the guy's stock spread about, picking over it. This, during prime hours on Friday with a fair crowd in the building. Some tables wrapped up at Noon. You knew why they were there, and it had nothing to do with you or me.

Nice silver type coins were scarce, of course excepting MorgansMorgansMorgans and GoldGoldGold. Saw some nice SLQ's, though, including a killer pastel-toned 1917 T1 PCGS 63FH at $375 which I darn near ended my whole trip to own. But other silver type? Only if you wanted well-circulated stuff; that was common. I was struck by the strength of the toner Morgan offerings - talk about killer coins - which must be an indication of where the market is at.

One totally deranged dealer had cases full of Morgans & Peace Dollars keyed to a price point selling raw. I could have had as many raw 62-63's as I wanted (common dates) for $27(!). He wasn't so great in the $50-$70 range, just OK, but he must have a metric ton of raw Morgans/Peace acquired at melt for what he was giving away at $23-$27. You coulda had highly lustrous, hammer-struck MS Peace Dollars for under $30, and never have I so regretted being mostly poor I'd have looted that table. Never seen anything like it at a show.

I was impressed with the quantity of medals to be had, saw half a dozen tables with serious offerings in both scope and quantity.

Same for Early Copper; Tom Reynolds, Chris McCawley and Col. Butternut were all there, so if you wanted to pay $15k for a Large Cent you had plenty of choices.

Lincolns were OK. Charmy was there, so if you wanted the very best you could have it, and a lot of dealers had them on display, but it was like, "we have a few really expensive ones and a slew of bright shiny large grade numbers from the Forties and Fifties for cheap" kind of thing. Kinda weird, actually. I didn't see too many MPL's, maybe half a dozen, but I wasn't looking hard even though I had a $1k Lincoln of my own in my pocket as trade bait for either an MPL or an 1858 LC. *Almost* hit on a 1914 in PR64, but chose not to. Charmy and Rick Snow had the only really nice IHC presentations in the building, that I saw.

Some guy who apparently left early - before I could hit him on the second pass - had about a quarter of a case full of Anglesey Druid Conders, and cases full of Conders in general, and only my strict policy of never buying anything on the first lap kept my show from ending right there.

The TPG tables weren't well-populated, either. That's all I'll say about those to avoid setting Paddy off again (rightly; ANACS beat him up for no reason).

I did not see a single 1921 Mexico Dos Centavos Centennial coin, nor a Mint State 1937 Australian Crown, two higher-value issues I'm always looking for and would have bought if found. Not. One. Ancients were well-represented; World was weak except for OFEC buyers. There was one guy who had a few pounds of very nice Catherine the Great 5 Kopecks - I mean that literally; weight varies drastically but few are under 50g apiece - and I almost went broke there too.

Well, those are my impressions of the Whitman Spring Baltimore show. It was just like all of them, in other words - a way for Northeast dealers to have a big show of their own, and that's about it.

 

I ducked out of work and went to Baltimore today. For me, the show was mostly underwhelming. Aside from a couple of nice, high-grade early gold pieces that were priced well above reasonable levels, there was little, original XF-AU early or branch mint gold to find. I did manage to find this little Sheila, and brought it home this afternoon.


'dude

 

It occurs to me to add, in the interest of appropriate respect:

Probably a third of the tables were exceptions to the overall negative tone I just cast, folks like @ToughCOINS who were there to sell to people like you and me, and had quality offerings within the things they were good at. They didn't go anywhere (I was on the bourse for almost 7 hours), they'll be there tomorrow, and if you're a first-time show goer, you need to figure out who those guys are and patronize them so that sector of our hobby - the gentleman dealers who are doing this because it's what they love - don't fall by the wayside because of the Internet. A show is more educational that five thousand Ebay pictures, and we can't lose the opportunity to learn by touching and talking.

 

Dude, did you just sign 'dude dude?

Nice DOG!

 

I will agree with the statements made in the last 2 post. Overwhelming yes.... there was a ton of coins to look at....and I personally didn't get to the left hand side of the room.
Most of my dealer contacts here were at the front door and to the right. I did speak to the Penny Lady it was nice seeing her again!
I'm sorry I didn't get to meet some members from here but was running a tad bit late, and in a room this size there's a lot of cases to cover. "Again Overwhelming "
Now don't misunderstand my next statement as I did enjoy the show and seeing my friends from both here and out of state.
My issues is this....this show isn't for the even day collector . You're better off going there window shopping unless you have a extremely fat wallet!
As Dave stated there were some good buys there....it was a matter of searching them out . But the everyday collector would do much better going to their local shows.
IMHO
Several time I was interrupted by wholesalers trying to make a deal with a dealer I was talking to.
Being Irish as well as taught manners by my parents I cannot stress enough how much this PO me!
The next point is this tables at this event again are very expensive . So the chance you would get cut a break were slim to none.
Even dealers I know were only buying selectively . None were willing to lay out cash for coins from the everyday collector .
Not unless again they knew for a fact that it would be a quick turn around sale.
I am very well known here by quite a few dealers, most do cut me a break as well as trust me to open a case and remove a coin I am interested in .
Of course I always ask first....as again I wasn't raised by a pack of animals.

I do believe that going to a show like this is good for a couple of reasons.
One you get to see a great inventory of what is in the market coast to coast.
You also get to meet and talk to some very educated , and knowledgeable people in this hobby.
I was very pleased today with several well known experts who did take the time to advise,and help me with inquiries I had made.
After all if you aren't the type who likes to ask questions ,willing to research , and most of all read....this truly isn't the hobby for you!
One thing one must realize is that it is your small home town shows that are the life blood of this hobby.
Attending these shows ,and building relationships is a key factor for the collector. Building relationships in business as well as in life is a corner stone of success .My advice yes you do want to experience a Big show like Baltimore , FUN,etc.....but keep in mind that your local dealers are always here for you.
Try and build a relationships , be fair with your offers , and most of all you do not have to like the coin,or the price .....but you should support your local dealers,and mostly be respectful .
Today as every day was a learning experience , many thanks to everyone whom shared their passion for this hobby it was truly my pleasure .

 

A special thanks to Alan, who was kind enough to pick me up some cigars on his last trip to Mexico . Thanks buddy enjoyed our time together at the show!

 

Great reports Dave & Paddy! Thank you both for taking the time to fill us in.

 

Enjoyed reading the reports, everyone! Thanks for taking the time.
Nice classic head O-mint, C.Dude!

 

I also like to share this with you all.....I received this yesterday from Alan .
Yes I know it's not even Spring yet....but time to plan for a really nice show this Fall.

Mark the date down now and plan for a trip to Gettysburg Pa. Not just for the show,but for a great Fall weekend ,and a boat load of history !

 

How big is that show paddy? I have friends that live in Gettysburg and it would be a great trip to book with that as part of The agenda!