Great show and busy. Never saw so many people at opening day. Most dealers happy but depends what they have. lady selling jewelry, rocks and some coins not very busy at all. I bought a chunk of Amethyst crystals and some tokens as a courtesy purchase. I guess with bullion hot most shows will be busy.
Went and spent only about an hour there which was enough time to see everything I needed to see and to chat with some acquaintances. Just didn't find anything I needed or could afford. It was busier than the last three or four shows by a long shot. It was in a different room at the RP Center from where it has been for a long time. I think the new room was a little smaller and the show seemed to fill the new room more completely than previous shows. ANACS and ICG were there. There was a PA announcement that gave the location of the guy with an XRF analyzer but a few minutes later I overheard a couple of fellows saying it was a Sigma. Guess there was active trade in gold and I saw some active silver moving. Said hi to our own @johnmilton there. Spoke to one dealer I know pretty well and we talked about FUN and he said his problem was not selling coins since the market has been pretty brisk for him but replacing his inventory. Said prices have skyrocketed. He had a NGC MS-64 Twenty Cent piece, 1875-S, that I am looking to replace since I sold my NGC MS-60 coin to our own @Randy Abercrombie at the FUN show. Just didn't like the coin otherwise it might have gone home with me. Probably a good thing since I'm really wanting a MS-66 for this slot. Saw some nice, premium coins in high grades at one dealer but his prices were about 75% to 90% above Greysheet. I understand premium prices for premium coins but this was pretty ridiculous. Or is the market for better type material moving higher so fast that the price guides are more worthless than normal? As an example, this dealer had a very nice 1866 Rays Shield Nickel in NGC Proof 66 for $5300. February Greysheet is $2600 and Winter RQ is $3250. Price asked is so far above reasonable it wasn't even worth the trouble of making an offer. Ditto for other coins in his case that I had an interest in. Saw another dealer with a sign that said (paraphrased) "Don't pay any attention to the price on the coin, ask." Don't know if that meant the posted prices were too low or too high. So, I could call this a wasted trip except that I love coin shows even if I don't buy or sell anything.
It sounds like you had a good time even though you didn't buy anything. I'm in the same boat. I just liked going to shows even if I didn't come home with anything. Bruce
