On Friday me and a small group from our local coin club piled into my car for a trip to the 2026 Central States Numismatic Association coin show. It was busy but everyone kept saying that it had been busier on Thursday. All I know is that I have never seen the parking lot that full. My first stop was NGC where I submitted 26 coins and medals. I will do a follow up post when that stuff starts coming back. Was able to sell a small amount of stuff but my main reason for being there was buying. It was a very productive day for me. The top right corner is 3 sample slabs. 2 given out by Central States with Wisconsin quarter. One will go to a budy that couldn't make the trip. The 3rd was an NGC "gift" for making my submission. A 1991 Djibouti 5 Franc. I channeled my inner @panzerman on this purchase. One of my favorite dealers had these 2 German gold medals. Look at that, there are even 2 U.S. coins in there. I don't really collect U.S. anymore but I got the bug to put together a set of the classic commemoratives. Let's see if I can see it to completion. I have a lot of work to do to get this all cataloged and entered into my inventory program. Should be fun.
Looks like a productive show with many cool purchases! I mentioned the parking issue too. It looks like there was another event at the convention center as opposed to prior years when this show was the only event.
Here are some quick photos w/edits of the thalers. The Wildman is a type I already had but this is an upgrade. The Wildman is struck much better than normal. I wouldn't want to run into him in the forest. Must be working out.