The free submissions alone almost make it worth it. I've sometimes submitted stuff I wouldn't have if it wasn't free, I'll admit (because I couldn't think of what to submit, but I wanted my 2 free submissions lol).
Had to miss this one due to some family in town but it is always a good show. Glad to hear it was busy.
I had a table at the recent Denver Coin Expo. This is my report of experiences related to the show. Setup and Dealer day was Wednesday. As usual, I did not have enough time to prepare for the show since I had some commissioned minting projects to do. So I skipped Wednesday (as I usually do) and spent what little remaining time I had getting ready for the show. This also reduces the number of days that I have to deal with the traffic when driving into and out of Denver. On Thursday morning we departed for the show. Along one section of I25 north of Denver there is construction with just two lanes open and concrete barriers on both sides (no shoulders). A large truck chose to break down at that spot and block one of the lanes, leaving only one lane open and no shoulder to drive around it. That delayed us for a little while. We arrived at the show venue just after the public was let in. We set up quickly. Thursday show attendance seemed pretty good - a little better than the first day of this same show in May. But I do not have any specific numbers. Friday was down some from Thursday (as usual/expected). Saturday attendance increased from Friday. My inventory was already largely depleted before the show, so I did not have much to put out for sale (my web site is currently sparse as well). Fortunately, a dealer offered me a collection of about a dozen slabbed pieces that I had previously minted a few years ago. I bought that group and it provided some more inventory to make the cases look less sparse. After the first day of the show, rather than driving 90 minutes back home, we decided to drive 50 minutes to Black Hawk and stay in the nice (and secure) casino hotel where I get a free room. I played cards for several hours and came out $700 ahead. I'm still on a roll from winning at casinos while attending some other recent shows. In spite of the low inventory, sales were pretty good for collector items and my own minted products. I sold every piece from the collection that I had purchased on the first day of the show. My daughter had her set of four silver rounds depicting the four basic elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water). She did the design and sculpting herself and I did most of the engraving and minting. People seemed to like them and several sets were sold. I did not have any bullion to offer, other than a solitary roll of 40% silver Kennedy half dollars. I had no price on them, but I was surprised when someone wanted to buy them. However, they wanted to pay significantly under melt. I had no particular use for them, so I decided to let them go at the mutually-agreed price of 88% of current "melt" value ($6.50 per coin - theoretical melt was $7.40) As for bullion activity, I saw some gold trading hands here and there. Silver not as much, but there was a little bit being bought and sold. I also bought an 1882 $3 gold piece from a dealer. I had previously looked at the exact same coin two years prior. At that time it was in a Capitol Plastics 3-layer screw-together gold type set holder. I told the dealer at that time that it was an Omega counterfeit. Apparently, they didn't believe me and they had sent it in for grading. It came back counterfeit, of course. So at the show the same dealer still had it and I offered a little over melt for it. The offer was accepted. I marked it up about $60 and put it out in my case (clearly marked as an "OMEGA counterfeit"). It sold in less than an hour at my asking price. I had a front-row seat to an incident at the show. I don't want to name specific names since all allegations are only alleged at this point. A dealer directly across the aisle from my table was from another state and was sharing the table with a secondary dealer from yet a different state. I know the primary dealer quite well and we have had several successful transactions. The secondary dealer is someone that I also know and I have had a couple transactions with them in the past. But I do not know them well. From our table we witnessed a Denver Police officer come and escort the secondary dealer away. The dealer was not handcuffed, but it didn't look normal. I soon heard that the secondary dealer had allegedly pocketed some coins from two different dealers without paying. I am not a judge or jury in this case, of course, but the talk around the show was that there was a video of the incidents. The dealer has been charged and they spent the night in jail. Court proceedings are pending, I assume. The primary dealer at the table had no part in these alleged activities. Some other dealers at the show were definitely surprised (they know this alleged perpetrator better than I do and have dealt with them for years). The few items that I purchased at the show (and did not immediately put out for sale) include: A vintage "GA" 10-oz silver bar (the scarcer older type with the large "GA" logo); A Mexico 1979 silver "Onza" at "spot" (uncertified, but a much nicer grade than normally seen for these); A Mexico 1947 silver 5 Pesos "Cuauhtemoc" at just a little under melt; An 1868 Two-Cent piece, fully brown but perfect sharp details (for use as a model for a future minting project); A small group of lower-grade Seated Liberty dimes, quarters, halfs (for future over-striking projects); And a small amount of gold (1.5 troy oz) for a commissioned minting project that is pending. The last item above took most of my proceeds from the show. When you convert dollars into physical gold at the current price level, it is amazing to see and feel how expensive and valuable gold actually is.
