The Official LCS (Local Coin Show) Thread

I'm going to be in the Williamburg, VA area for a week in late April/early May and at loose ends while the wife is pursuing her hobby (quilting). Anyone know some local nice LSCs or coin shows during that time frame?

 

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Parsippany, NJ - Sunday March 1st: This is a pretty good show, unlike the other NJ shows I've been to lately.

I'll probably be going tomorrow; if anybody wants to meet up, let me know.

 

Anyone else going to thte 55th Annual West Chester Coin Show? I'm looking forward to seeing some new dealers, maybe swapping some items, and spending some money.

One does have to "register" before being allowed in, which I'm not really comfortable with, but just b/c I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me.

 

I’ll be at the West Chester show tomorrow. Probably spend too much money.

 

Is that West Chester, PA....or Westchester, NY ?

 

@GoldFinger1969
Quality Inn

943 S. High St

West Chester, PA 19382

 

It was a great show. Not much gold, but currency galore, large selections of raw and graded.

I bought a bunch of ikes, 26 of them if you include the bicentennial sets (one of which was missing the half dollar). Also got a black eagle dollar, some Cubans, and proof sets from 1952 and 1953 still in the origial gov't packaging.

Next week is Burlington NJ, I'm taking my nephew for his birthday and to cultivate the next generation of collectors.

 

Garden State Coin & Currency Show / PARSIPPANY, NJ Update:

You know, this show kinda grows on you after a bit of time.

It's not so huge that you need a whole day to go through it or multiple days like FUN or ANA or whatever. But it's big enough that there's enough interesting merchandise and inventory that you aren't in-and-out like I was at the other NJ coin shows (see above) in 10-15 minutes or so.

There was the normal 50 dealers, 100 tables, and maybe 150 trays. I stayed almost 2 hours today, hitting all the stuff. Didn't see anything costing 5-figures (except a pricey proof set of gold Eagles running about $8K) but plenty of nice modern bullions and plenty of common and semi-scarce Morgans and Saint-Gaudens that were running a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

A few currency dealers...plenty of folks with 2X2s....didn't notice it at the time, but not many CAC stickered coins (some here-or-there but no dealer with lots of them)....decent modern and older gold and silver Eagles, Kruggerands, Maple Leafs, etc. A few dozen (hundred ?) ancient/foreigns but I didn't have the $$$ for them so I didn't look closely.

Just a few low-budget purchases, all in the $35-$50 range....a Chinese Panda MS70, a 2004-W Silver Eagle PR69 DCAM, and an Australian Wedge Tailed Eagle Reverse Proof (I love the Wedge Tail Eagle series, the gold coins are on my backup wishlist if I can't get the $$$ for a 1907 HR in a year or two).

 

SUNDAY MAY 3rd, 2026: Went to the Garden State Coin, Stamp & Currency Show in Parsippany, NJ. Says they are now the largest 1-day show in the country. 75+ dealer tables.

Place was definitely busier than I have seen it, based on aisle crowding and also the overflow parking (never saw it that full in the professional building nearby where I park). Most of the dealers were very busy and in a good mood, apparently moving merchandise. Lots of signs sayin they were looking to buy inventory, too.

Went with a friend who was looking for some fractional AGEs in the birth year of his grandson. He also had a 1986 raw 1/4 AGE he could trade in if he was short cash. He found a 2024 1/4 AGE and traded in the raw from 1986 (1st year of mintage) and the dealer asked for $100 to complete the trade, so my friend did the trade and cash throw-in. He got an MS-70 coin in some commemorative Ronald Reagan holder which he liked....so raw to MS-70, a nice holder instead of a tiny round circle holder, and a Reagan label he liked.

My friend also bought one of the recently minted 2024 Peace Dollars (raw), some War Nickels, and another coin which escapes me.

Myself, I almost pulled the trigger on a 2011 25th Anniversary ASE RP. Lovely coin, but at $300 it wasn't cheap. I also noticed that the bottom of the reverse looked like it MIGHT have the beginning of toning or discoloration...I couldnt' tell if it was the light through the holder, the poor lighting, or what. But the coin originally had a $390 sticker on it so maybe the discount was to beat the disfiguring that is likely/possible in coming months in which case I think the coin is basically bullion (~$80). So I passed...if I'm going to rush a purchase I'd rather overpay for a coin I love, not rush into a coin that might have big downside, even if the $$$ loss wouldn't materially affect me. I also wondered if I might have some other ASE RPs which would lessen the need to buy another, even for the 25th Anniversary.

I also looked at some Proof and RP Libertads. Man, are they EXPENSIVE !! 1 ounce...2 ounce....5 ounce....70 or 69 grade....Proof or RP....huge premiums to silver !! I'm saving up some $$$ for FUN 2027 (hopefully !) so I really didn't want to splurge on $700-$900 for a coin that might really impact my ability to have some nice change to spend in 8 months. Plus, I did buy a 5-ouncer at FUN 2026 on Infamous Day 1 when I got my forehead gash and said I wasn't leaving Day 1 without some purchase to erase the blood stains in my hotel room. That's one coin I know I have where I don't have to check the Excel Spreadsheet.

One thing I learned: you need to bring your inventory when you start to have lots of diverse coins and don't want to risk an unnecesary or unwanted duplicate purchase (I'll be taking a snapshot of my holdings in Excel for future purposes). I was considering a 5-ounce Proof Wedge-Tail Eagle (Australia) and I couldn't recall if I already had one of them. I was pretty sure I did...but not 100% sure. So I passed....and lo and behold...checking when I got home.....I have 3 of them !!! So yeah, even though less expensive than the Mexican Libertads, I didn't need to spend almost $500 on a 4th coin. It was a PF-70 and I actually have one PF-70 and two PF-69's so no need even for novelty grade-chasing to get a 2nd PF-70. I also got mine much lower in price when silver was in the $20's (premiums have shrunk, but hey, total $$$ up alot from what I got in at).

All in all, a good show. I highly recommend it if you are within a 90 minute drive unless you need a super-specific niche coin. Alot of the coins, gold and silver, were bullion or quasi-bullion designed to appeal to the masses, not higher-graded or esoteric coins for us numismatists. It's a 5-6 hour show, not 3-4 days, so the dealers packing up stuff want stuff that will sell and have the widest appeal.

I'm going to look around for another 25th Anniversary ASE RP PF-70/69 and see what I can find (if anybody has one, please chime in). I forgot to bring my 5x lens, maybe if the coin is still there the next time I go I'll bring it and look at it under magnification. Nice coin, but again, no sense in buying if it is in the process of toning or discoloring. A modern RP is not a coin you want to see toning on.