FUN Show (Florida United Numismatics)

Some of the Florida coin clubs sporsor one day bus trips. The only one that comes to mind is Sarasota so that probably won't do you much good.

 

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January 9th-12, 2020:

http://www.funtopics.com/

 

When and where?

 

I'm all set......hotel booked....only thing is if I come down on Thursday or Wednesday, the night before the show opens. If I get there on Wednesday, I can be there when the vendor exhibit opens at 10 AM. Thursday

Not sure that is so important, since I have 3 1/2 days to hit all the tables.

 

I like getting to the hotel on Wednesday. It's nice to be ready to go Thursday morning.
FUN posted this link for those that drive to the show.
http://www.funtopics.com/content/PDF/FUNConvention/2020 FUN West Hall WA1.pdf

 

Same here. Just made my reservations, I will be there this year. It has been a few years since I went, so I'm looking forward to it.

I'll check in Wednesday afternoon, and leave Saturday after lunch.

 

Maybe we can do lunch or dinner if you guys want ?

No idea about the layout there but I'm sure there must be plenty of places to eat near all the hotels and the show.

 

Thanks, didn't realize the place was that big....you get there and you STILL need a shuttle to take you from parking to the Center ?

I presume if I take a cab or an Uber that they can drop me right off in front of the main exhibit hall ?

 

It's really a big place and that's just the west hall. Cabs or Uber will work just fine. I stay next door to the west hall. There is a short skywalk to the show.
That makes it nice at lunch. I can just walk back to the hotel. I'm not a fan of the food at the show.

 

My legs still work fine, so for my 1st time @ FUN, I'm gonna walk a few minutes to the place and am staying at a hotel 5 minutes away or so.

I'm a big fan of Chinese and Thai food, so hopefully some of you like those as well. But a nice steakhouse would also be nice. Unless the weather is terrible, I too prefer to eat away from the hotels (unless some of them have great restaurants inside).

 

QUESTION....of the 600(?) or so dealers/displays, what would you guys say is the split between coins and bills ?

Also, any outliers at a few tables like stamps or baseball cards or other memorabilia ?

 

I'll take a crazy guess. 5-10% display some notes/bills. I don't notice stamps or cards but there are probably some there. Lots of tokens and medals. I check every case for Lincoln related plaques. I'll find something each year I want but the prices keeps me in line.

 

Just to clarify ... This year they are expecting more than 1500 dealers.
You asked about prices compared to other venues ... There are some great deals and some not so great deals.

Some collectors are dealers, but a lot of dealers are dealers and are in it strictly to profit. For the most part though, we've found they will work with you and do offer discounts when you purchase more than 1 item. Don't be afraid to try to bargain with them.

 

ANCIENT COIN SHOW QUESTION: My question is .... What are the major shows that have the largest showing of Ancient coins? I feel going to some shows in 2020 that have a lot of Ancient dealers present is a must for me. Thank you, in advance.

 

Libby007 that is the only drawback at FUN ... very little Foreign or Ancients as the show runs on or close to the NY International. Visited my brother for the first time in Florida in awhile and I went to FUN for the first time. Great show. Just spent the whole day visiting dealers that I knew or did not know based on their name or speciality items via the FUN brochure dealer listing. Like the ANA - everyone is there that is into U.S. coins. I have attended the NY International every year for decades. Found one nice foreign/ancient coin however - some (very few) dealers avoid NY due to its higher costs. There is a SMALL foreign section at FUN but for all intents and purposes - they all go to NY.

John Lorenzo
Numismatist
New Jersey

 

I’ll be there. Some of the time, at least, at the Early American Coppers table.

 

I think there are supposed to be over 1000 tables this year, one of the biggest shows ever. Larry's guess of 5% might be a bit high for paper money.

You'll see a few jewelry dealers, and you'll see a couple of fossils/meteorites/minerals. But not a whole lot. The vast majority is US coins.

There will be a section reserved for primarily foreign coins, and that's usually a pretty good number of dealers but in my experience they have fairly generic stuff. This is because the New York International has often been on the same weekend - this year, they are on different weekends and so I hope we get more foreign dealers.

There will also be a section reserved for "budget" coins. The bulk of the coins at these tables are less than $100. If you're working on albums of circulated coins, this is a great place to spend some time - I usually spend a few hours here picking over wheat cents or whatever I'm in the mood for that year.

 

Thanks for all the great info, guys....just out of curiousity....where do FUN, the ANA Chicago Show, and Long Beach (I presume those are the 3 biggest shows) rank size-wise ? Are they all about the same or is one noticeably larger/smaller than the others ?

 

John Lorenzo - Thank you for the info. What about the Baltimore shows? I'm in Virginia and am trying to set up my 2020 calendar to include a show or two that has a respectable showing of ancient coin dealers.