Central States is an easy show for me to attend. 10 minutes drive, 15 if I miss the two left turn arrows. I got to the show at about 9:10 Thursday morning and started setting up my camera gear. Within a couple minutes I hear, "Hey, John!" Those who have been around shows know that this will get the attention of about half of the people present. I looked up, and Andy Skrabalak (Angel Dee's) was telling me to stop by when I had a chance. So after I finished setting up, I stopped by his table, where he had a coin waiting for me. Over the past few years, I'd purchased matte proof Lincolns dating 1909-1915 from him. He had a 1916 picked out for me that he wanted me to have dibs on and gave me time to pay for. Not 20 minutes into the show and I'd already blown my budget on this bad boy in PR66BN So what to do for the rest of the show now that I was essentially out of cash? Met up with a few VAM guys, took some photos of some cool coins that at least one member will probably post here later, enjoyed seeing familiar faces and their coins. Looked at stuff with no pressure on myself to buy anything. Chatted with Ian at GC about his registry plans on MyCollect and my attribution service. A couple nice dinners. Friday afternoon at the show took on the feel of a Saturday afternoon at around 1:30. Few people in attendance, a lot of dealers left. Saturday was even less busy. Guessing a combination of really nice weather (best CSNS weather I can remember) and the $15 adult entry fee on Saturday might have chased away a lot of casual attendees and families.
