Chicago ANA Show Report (Wed + Thurs)

Some random thoughts and observations:

8.14.19:
~There was a decently sized crowd for the 10 AM opening
~The bourse had plenty of people walking around/looking/buying/selling
~The US Mint area had plenty of people, including a line waiting for an autograph
~The US Mint trading cards were limited only for the young numismatists (not the young at heart )
~The world mints had less traffic; Bermuda had a booth, which I thought was pretty cool
~Bullion was hit or miss...some dealers were buying while others were passing (even at spot)
~Some offers seemed quite low...commonly recognized world gold in the more popular size (1/10 oz) saw offers as low as as $12 under spot ($120 under per oz)....I did find someone to pay spot
~Buying anything of interest to me (mainly toned coins and some world coins) was difficult as prices being asked were often moon money.....one example was a nicely toned Morgan that I had owned a few years ago; I bought and sold it in the $300-$500 range...the dealer who had it now (not the same one who I sold to) was asking $1,750
~Some mediocre Morgan toners (common dates) were even priced at 3x-10x of untoned prices...toned prices have been going up at auction lately, but nowhere near what I was seeing at the show (and especially not for mediocre examples)
~Quite a few cases had at least one or two "off-brand" holders, mainly PCI and SEGS (just something I noticed, probably not much to it)
~There were some cool exhibits and one could receive a free prize for voting
~I saw a fair amount of younger people, including both dealers and collectors
~Overall it was another good show; I didn't find anything to buy, but was happy to sell a few things and have some funds available if anything of interest pops up in the near future


8.15.19:

~I arrived around an hour after opening, and there was no line to get in at that point
~There still appeared to be plenty of people walking around the bourse...it should be interesting to see the final attendance numbers
~The eBay table is giving out a $10 coupon if you fill out a brief survey...not eligible for coins!
~The CDN table is giving out the CAC market report magazine ...so if you're like me and didn't receive one, there is an opportunity to pick it up
~I saw some people from the forums and from IG; it was fun putting a face to a name
~I sold a few more coins today
~I bought two coins today...overall prices were still high, but these two were fair

I just realized that I saw @Kasia off in the distance (or at least I think I did...based on the character posted in this thread:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/going-to-chicago-2019-if-you-want-to-meet-up-post-here.344495/

And I missed @Burton Strauss III by a day

 

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What? No pictures?!?! Booooooooooo hisssssssssssssssssssssss.
Sounds like you had a good time though.

 

One of my two purchases (the other will be a guess the grade post):

 

I'm not a huge fan of Daniel Carr's overstrikes. I prefer his original designs but I can't deny that he does amazing work.

 

Yeah, photos would have been nice, especially if they were photos of other members.

Chris

 

I like some of his originals and some of the overstrikes. I didn't come into the show planning on buying anything Carr related, but when I saw it and found out the price was right, I went for it.

 

I'm hoping to find one of his originals in my price range some day. I did find the Washington DC design in a customer wrapped roll last week which was amazing. But I really want one of his medals

 

I leave those for the Penny Lady; she has great reports with photos of the forum members.

I'm more into words and photos of coins.

 

I recall that thread; that was a nice roll find!

 

Peanut saw the Penny Lady and got a picture with her.

 

And here is the second coin:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/gtg-morgan-purchase-from-ana-show.344640/

 

I was there today - Friday. I was actually a little disappointed. The center was incredibly dark, and I had no luck finding what I was looking for. Early walkers are really painful to find.

 

Do you mean lighting or the black carpet that was used (or a combo of the two...now that I think about it, that section did appear darker overall).

As for early Walkers, it's not something that I collect. So I wasn't paying much attention to them. Still, it's surprising to hear that the selection wasn't there. It is one of the more popular series and this is one of the biggest shows. Maybe these are being held in strong hands?

 

@ddddd - sorry too I missed you. Flew in, CTA one stop, I was there around 10:30ish.

Met up with sample slab people, but I was two days late for the good stuff...

Agree on the one or two odd slab per case observation - it wasn't EVERY case, but there were certainly many dealers with a few. I think the novelty factor has finally overcome the stink.

There was one dealer in the back who had three SAGCE Krugerrands (1oz, 1/4oz, 1/4oz). There aren't even many good pictures to steal off the web (https://www.govmint.com/1989-south-africa-gold-krugerrand-4pc-set-proof):






They were the first, predating Accugrade, PCGS et al by quite a margin. @Conder101 posted their coin submission guide a few months back, it was horrific - including polishing the coin prior to encapsulation.

 

Early walkers in F to XF and hard to find. stuff in the 30s and 40s - massive selection.

 

Used to be people brought everything because it was 20 or 30 2x2 boxes. But slabs take up a lot more room. So dealers have to be more selective to bring only the things they're pretty confident will sell. Lots more people doing short sets of Walkers than the full Monty. So dealers bring the later dates.

There were a decent number of dealers still in 2x2s, better than the last few ANA shows I've attended.

 

BS3 - great comment, but at a show where there are many many tables I would have expected more early Walkers. It is a tough series to collect, but that’s what makes it a wonderful challenge.

 

= Few collectors = wasted space in display case vs. another dozen Morgans that will sell

 

Walkers are not popular?i know Morgan’s are, but seriously?

 

Early expensive ones have a narrower following.

All of the coin club members that I know that are doing walkers are doing the short set.

If you look at retail prices 1939 and later only the 39s will set you back more than a hundred bucks in entry grade MS.