I spent Friday and Saturday at the show, and I was told by many that Thursday had been very busy. It appeared to be the same for both Friday and Saturday, as well, even though it turned out to be a bust for me. I went with the intent of searching for some new 19th century French, Belgian and Swiss medals, but those that I saw were overpriced, even for bronzes, and the dealers I questioned would not budge on their prices. There were plenty of other foreign medals to be seen if you didn't mind looking at specimens that were struck a few weeks ago. This particular year, I did notice that there were quite a few presidential medals, plaques and plaquettes, moreso than in past years. Naturally, Lincolns and Washingtons seemed fairly abundant. One dealer had a nice looking (1853, I think) Washington medal, and he was seated with his back to the display cases while I stood there and stood there. I tried to get his attention by commenting how nice the medal was, and without even turning around, he just said, "Yeah, it is." He finally turned around, too lazy to get his fat butt out of the chair, when another (prospective) customer approached, but he completely ignored me. I never bothered to ask what he wanted for it. I just left because I don't care to do business with someone like that even if the medal was fairly priced. As it turned out, the only money I spent at the show was for the coins I brought with me to submit to NGC. The NGC tables were very busy, moreso than the PCGS tables (from what I saw) and it was most likely due to the Morgan and Peace grading specials. Every time I passed, there were a half-dozen or more people waiting to take a seat. You just couldn't go wrong with it. They were charging $30 for onsite grading and next day return which ordinarily costs $100 for any other coin. In any event, it was still a good show, extremely busy and I got to hook-up with a lot of my old friends and even meet some new ones, to put faces to usernames......... I met Doug for the first time, and he treated me to lunch at Red Lobster on Friday afternooon, but don't believe anything you might hear about him to the contrary. He is a crotchety old fart...........just like me! I also got to meet John Baumgart, aka messydesk on other forums, who is the President of the SSDC and an avid VAMMER. SPAM! So, if anyone is interested in joining the SSDC and wants to participate in the VAM Registry, he is the man to contact. I also got to meet Rick Yates, aka contrarian, one of our new members here. He was my guest at the NGC Luncheon on Saturday. I felt kind of bad because Rick's girlfriend (?) was with him, but I was only allowed to bring one guest. In previous years, the NGC Luncheon had always been a "packed house", but this year, they had a much larger room, and there were a few empty tables. Had I known this beforehand, I'm sure I would have been able to have her join us. Oh, well! She got to spend some of Rick's money while we were at the luncheon. LOL! I also met Todd, aka blu62vette, for the first time. He was sharing a table with Charmy, and all I can say is that it is a good thing I hadn't planned on buying any Morgans because I could have spent $10K, easily!, at his table. Maybe next year! Chris
Man that is awesome. Can't wait to go to these big shows. Must be like walking into a Casino for the first time. Can we see pictures??
I didn't take a camera with me since the intention tremor in my right hand is particularly bad when I'm holding something like a camera or a pool cue, but I'm sure Charmy will have lots of photos to post in her report. Chris
I almost forgot to tell you that Shane and I got together for breakfast Saturday morning before the show opened. We were at Denny's, and you should have seen the shirt he was wearing. It would have made any AT coin doctor drool! LOL! I'll leave this one for Charmy, too! Chris
lol... Shane showed me the shirt he wore and I think it was AWESOME! Colorful, just how I like my metals :yes:
Thanks for the thread. I have never been to the FUN show but hopefully I can go to the FUN show in January 2013.
Just made it back from the show about two hours ago. Found a 1883-CC Morgan MS66+ CAC and a 1947 Walker MS-65 CAC. The Walker is well struck for a 47 and I can't see any significant hits on it and can't imagine why it's graded MS-65 ... ? Anyway, I paid way too much for both of these, but they were the best I could find without jumping up a grade for either. That wouldn't have been a big deal for the Walker, but I'm trying to put together a short set of the best 65's I can find. The Morgan on the other hand, jumps significantly in price to go to that next grade up. I also bought one of those fingle fangle microscope photo thingies to make good internet photos of coins. I'll be posting photos as soon as I figure out how to put this thingamabob together ... and then learn how to use it. I'm far too tired to even open the box tonight, but promise photos soon. As Chris said, we met at the show and I met a few others from this MB and we all had a great time. This was my first show after an absence of about thirty years since my last one. Now I can't wait for the next one. By the way ... the girlfriend Chris referrenced is my wife. Everyone here that hasn't been to one of these should put it on your calender whenever you can swing it. It's a great experience and you'll see more material in one day than you will visiting coin shops for ten years. You'll also make connections with dearlers that specialize in your area of interest. The best part is that many of these dealers gave me cards and said "if you see anything of mine on eBay, call me first and I'll discount better and we can avoid all that best offer back and forth." I've got a pocketful of cards now from dealers who list most of their material on eBay, and I know they're legit having seen and met them. That's a definite plus when sending money to some unknown person on eBay. -Rick
Chris, it was great to finally meet you - and thank you again for the wonderful bottles of wine! Perhaps the Doug you met wasn't on his meds because the Doug I met was very sweet and charming!
Actually, Charmy, I introduced myself to you last year when FUN was in Tampa. The meeting was very brief, so I was hoping that you wouldn't remember. It worked out perfectly! When I approached your table on Friday, I pretended to be looking at your coins to see if you'd recognize me, and when you didn't, that is when I asked if you took trades. When you said that it depends, it was then that I remarked that I had something you would definitely want. Yeah, right! LOL! So, when I put the bottles of wine on your display case, it was worth it just to see the expression on your face. By the way, I was just kidding about Doug. He's younger than me! Chris
I'm really sorry I missed all you folks. The only person I met there was Charmy. Picked up this from her...... I sold two of my 25th anniversary sets, along with a roll of ASE's, to fund my passion for a few classic commem's..... All in all, it was a great show. The floor was 'rockin' on the two days I attended. Maybe next time I'll get to meet Chris and that guy with the black hat......
