I just got a note from Bob Russell, who chairs the exhibits, that the January Winter FUN show as been canceled. It's the first time in 66 years that this has happened. I have a "cursed exhibit" that I have tied twice to display. The shows have been shot out from under it by Covid. I get the message. I'll put it up here for you to see. No use going to all that trouble for nothing.
Best Guess: The summer FUN and Whitman shows will happen. Last show I went to was the Nov 2019 Whitman Show (I think). Definitely nothing since then.
Agree, huge bummer. I think that the show itself could be managed to minimize virus transmission, but the big risk is in all the human contact outside the show: airport shuttles, plane flights, restaurants, and the all too human impulse to be social and hang out with friends you haven't seen in a long time. With a huge spike in cases, overflowing ICUs and a daily death toll approximating 9-11 I don't see how the FUN chair could have called it any other way. I do look forward to John Milton's virtual exhibit, though.
They couldn't figure out how to do virtual "Zoom tables?" The dealer could zoom from the comfort of his/her own home. Just imagine the effort involved for the Dealer: Me: Oh, so your Zoom link does work! Nice. Dealer: Whatcha looking for? Me: Lincolns, mostly. You got any Japan, South Korea? Dealer: Yeah, both of these cases have Lincolns. Sorry, I left my World Coins back at home. Me: Hey, man, you are at home! Dealer: Oh. Yeah, right. But they're in a big pile of stuff in the basement and I don't wanna go through the trouble right now.. What date Lincoln? Me: Early teens. Dealer: Here, lemme just hover the camera over my cases here for you to see... Me: "Hey, open up the case on the right.... No, no, man, Your other right. Yeah. Pick up that 13-S Lincoln in the two by two. Dealer: "I got two of them. They're both XF-40. Me: Oh, you have two there? Okay, hold 'em both up. Closer to the camera. Closer. I don't... oh, okay. Now shine that lamp on 'em a little better. Tilt that one in you left hand back and forth like. No, man, your other left. Dealer: This 'un? Me: Yeah that one. Now reverse. No, man. The reverse side of the coin. Flip it over, I wanna see the other side. Dealer: You like that, huh? Me: Yeah, what's your fire sale price on that one? Dealer: Ah, ...$90 on this one. Me: Aw. Well... thanks for showing 'em. [Leave Meeting]
I was at a local show in the fall, and I would say 90% of the attendees, including dealers, were wearing masks and tried to social distance as much as they can. This really bothered my wife and myself as there was a required policy to wear masks. Some folks still don’t get it. For a larger national show like FUN, and with increased COVID positivity rates, controlling this will be incredibly difficult.
