Charmy's "New" August 2012 SANTA CLARA COIN SHOW Report w/Pics!!

I was very excited when I found out there would be a new Santa Clara show as I really enjoy doing shows in the Northern California area. I have several customers in the area, it’s usually an easy 6-hour drive, not to mention there are great restaurants and one of the best casinos in the country!
Thursday – I drove up Thursday morning since set up wasn’t until 1pm. It’s about a 6-hour drive, and pretty boring so I listened to a very interesting book on tape (a biography on Wyatt Earp) which really helps make the time go by quicker. However, do enjoy going through the Pacheco Pass (Highway 152) through Gilroy to Highway 101. It’s a very pretty drive, and when I get to Gilroy, I always take a deep breath so I can inhale the wonderful garlic aroma! The fresh roadside flower and vegetable stands are a favorite of mine too.





Once I arrived at the show, I began the usual tedious process of setting up my booth, but it was very nice to have a lot of space, and the convention room was nice and air conditioned! After I was finished setting up, I was able to walk around and see if I could fill some want lists. Then it was time to meet with my good NoCal wine-loving buddies for dinner! Since the Hyatt (which is attached to the convention center) has a wonderful Italian restaurant, we decided to meet there for dinner.



Of course they had brought some amazing wine for dinner!



After dinner, of course, I headed over to Bay 101 to play some cards with another dealer buddy. I was doing pretty well until he switched over to my table. Then, frustratingly, I saw my nice stack of chips slowly move over to my dealer friend as his chip stack just kept growing and growing! It seemed like he couldn’t lose, no matter what kind of garbage cards he played! He got me really good when I had pocket Aces which were capped pre-flop, and he stayed in with 8-5 and got a straight on the river! Damn! Oh well, when someone is getting really lucky like that, that means someone else is NOT! This is a pretty dolphin fountain on display in front of Bay 101.



Friday – I arrived at the show early to make sure I had everything set up. All the dealers were all set up and ready for this new show to open!




I went into the reception area just before the doors opened and saw a nice crowd eager to be let in!











Just before the show opened, Scott had set up a large flag on his table and had the national anthem play on the p.a. system – this was a really nice way to start the show!


As usual, it was great to see several forum members who stopped by (both days) to say hi!

Ray/RMPsRPMs


Dan/OriginalDan


Sy/Skyman


Brian/Camlov2


Lance/Lkeigwin


Jim/JBN


Dennis/Dennis88


That’s Scott Griffin in the middle (didn’t know the names of the other two guys)



It’s a little hard to tell from the photos because the aisles were so spacious, but we had good crowds both Friday and Saturday







Here are some of the dealers – This is John (on the right) and his new helper from Grass Valley Coins



And these are my very good dealer friends (who are huge wine enthusiasts) Gerry Carsman and Joe Wargo from the Sacramento area


And of course, li lol me!




After the show on Friday, since we enjoyed our dinner at Tusca’s so much, we decided to go back there. There is a waiter there (Moe) who is really great and is also a waiter at Spencer’s Steakhouse at the Doubletree in San Jose where the San Jose show is held, so we specifically ask to be seated in his area. He takes good care of us and doesn’t even charge us corkage fees for our wine!





Here are some of the dishes we had – this is a really tasty salad (see, I do have healthy foods too!)


The salads are garnished with these really interesting watermelon radishes






And this is my dinner group (Alan Kreuzer, Joe Wargo and his wife Sarah, Gerry Carsman and his wife Linda, and me - notice all the wine is right in front of me!)






I have to say that Scott Griffin did a fantastic job with this new show and deserves a lot of kudos for his hard work! He did a ton of advertising, he made sure all the dealers had what they needed, all the tables were occupied, the convention room was well organized and spacious, from what I could tell registration was quick and smooth, he made announcements on the p.a. system throughout the day so everyone knew what was going on, when the snack bar was opened and closed, when the drawings would be held, etc.

In talking to several dealers, they all said they had a very good show, better than expected for a “new” show. Also, all the collectors I spoke with said they were very happy to have a show back at the Santa Clara Convention Center. So, all and all, from all accounts, it was a very successful show!

 

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Another enjoyable write up.

Never heard of watermelon radish, do they taste like regular radishes?

 

Good to see you again Charmy, it was a pretty good show.

 

Thank you, Charmy! My only complaint is that the sight of the food is making me hungry.

Chris

 

It was a great show (and wonderful to finally meet you). In my mind the attendance (Sat) seemed pretty low but when you mentioned the large aisles I realize that was a big part of it. There were no issues moving around and the space made it really easy to see the material for sale. I didn't enjoy the 7 hours of driving that day but all the dealers were very friendly and open to help. I would choose to return even with the long drive. I have only been to 4 shows now but this was the best for selection of the items I was looking for. It should be interesting to see how the show grows with the success it sounds like many people had.

 

You're right, it was real slow for the first several hours. How bad was it? The dealer across from Charmy's table wouldn't let me leave, he probably showed me several hundred different bank notes before I had to put my foot down.

 

I know exactly who you are talking about, I was lucky this time and there was already someone sitting down when I asked if he had two specific notes. That person saved me from him repeatedly tossing rubberbanded groups of notes at me. I had that experience at my first show. He does have some amazing stuff though.

 

Same here, I probably would have found a better way to organize his notes than to band them up like that. Some of his PCGS/PMG slabs were looking a little rough, especially the tops.

 

Camlov, it was nice to meet you too! And I think with Scott at the helm that this show will do quite well. (Scott also puts on the San Francisco Mint show). I know at the end of the show that just about everyone signed up for the next one in April, so that's a really good sign!