As advertised I went to the Baltimore Whitman show yesterday morning (10AM). Not particularly crowded. My gauge is whether I can belly-up to most dealers' tables without trouble, and that was the case. I stopped by and visited with Charmy for a few minutes, but that was the only CT person I encountered. I still have trouble finding slabbed Classic Head half cents and Capped Bust half dimes. I suspect I'm going to have to look at raw coins and hope I can detect the cleaned ones. So, what DID I buy? #1 - A raw 1915-S Lincoln to replace the one I had which had a couple verdigris spots on it. I don't have it to show since it went in to PCGS for slabbing. It's expected to come back at least AU-58. #2 - A raw 1794 (Head of 1794) Liberty Cap cent. This coin is for my type set. I also don't have it to show since it went in to PCGS for slabbing. It's expected to come back in the VF-30 to XF-40 range. #3 - A 1806 Draped Bust (Heraldic Eagle reverse; Knob 6, Large Stars) half dollar. This coin is also for my type set. It's in a PCGS XF-40 slab with a CAC sticker (my first). And this time I DO have an image.
Strong stuff ! You came to play, that's for sure. Those are A-game pieces. Can't wait to see the '94 1c. I can't say I'm a draped bust 50c specialist, but I have had several. Yours has the look I really like. Congrats ! :thumb:
The only opinion I got from a dealer was that he was hopeful that things would pick up. Basically that would mean during the rest of Saturday. Most big spenders know that Sunday is useless and don't show up because many dealers leave early. And actually many of the big spenders would have already done their shopping on Thurs or early Fri before the good stuff disappeared. I'll ask again after the show since the opinion came from MFD so I believe he'll give me the straight story.
I got to the show at 10:30 AM Saturday. It was surprising to me how many dealers were gone by 2:00 PM. My dealer friend told me this trend doesn't bode well for the future of the show Don't get me wrong, though, there was still a lot of nice stuff to look at and I had a great time. I just thought Saturday was supposed to be the big day for business and that most dealers would stick around all day.
Some very nice finds. Make sure you put pictures of the other ones once they get back from being slabbed.
Kanga I was at Baltimore for about an hour and a half on Friday and a few hours on Sat. before getting back on the road. Overall, the show seemed a little slow to me, certainly for the stuff I collect, but that was not that surprising. The dealers I buy from have been pretty quiet as far as the series I buy so I expected more of the same at the show. I bought two coins, and probably should have bought only one. It was still a good time. I go to shows to scout things out more than anything (dealers as much as coins) and have low expectations for purchasing. I was glad I got to meet Todd of BluCC Photos in person at Charmy's table -- he was busy and his great photography is attracting more and more customers for his imaging. Charmy also said she had a good show. Lot of dealers were packing up by noon on Saturday when I left. Understandable that people want to get on the road but weekend buyers should realize what they're in for. Anyway, love the 1806 half you purchased -- great looking color.
Enjoyed the show I also went to the Baltimore show on Saturday. My husband and I got there around 10:30 and were there until 2:30. We looked at everything!! It was the first time either of us were at such a big show. By the time we left the dealers were clearing out. I did get a chance to stop by and say hello to Charmy and Todd. I bought a 1858 Flying Cent from her since I know she is a trustworthy dealer. I don't collect cents but wanted one since for the novelty of having a coin that was only minted for two years - it was a VF+. I was on the hunt for a 1935S Peace Dollar in AU or better to complete my Peace Dollar collection - but did not find any that appealed to my eye and to my wallet. I did finally pick up a 1852 silver 3 cent piece (trime) in AU. I have been eyeing trimes for quite some time now (notice my avatar) but never found one that I wanted to take home until yesterday and I bought it from a local Maryland dealer. I like to support the local dealers when I can. My husband filled some holes in his buffalo nickel collection and also found a $50 Conferderate Note (02/17/1864) to his liking and the dealer who was from Florida gave a great price. The currency dealer said he had a really good show this year. I spent sometime talking to a dealer who had a very nice selection of ancients - I never really spent much time researching them as I have focused solely on US coins but after talking with him and looking at his offerings - I definitely want to explore those some more. I was particularly fascinated by a silver coin dating from 300-350 BC. It was stunning and 2300 years old. Ancient should be appreciated for their beauty. I haven't stopped thinking about that coin and wish I had a little more disposable income to bring that lady home!! I took his card and he only lives about 10 miles from me so who knows! Overall what I liked best about the show was the variety. It was overwhelming a bit but I met some really nice folks and saw some things I have never seen before.
Enjoyed reading the reports; I had thought about going up Sat. AM,it's only about a 2 hr drive, but after 3 brain-numbing 12hr days in the office I just didn't have much left. Kanga, that is a lovely looking DBH, hard to imagine finding one nicer for your type set.
I was disappointed in all the dealers packed up by 2pm as well. When it was advertised till 6 pm. I arrived at 2 pm Sat. and stayed til 6. Loved it. Pictures later.
It was great seeing several CT members - thanks so much for taking the time to stop by my table. Kanga, Breakdown, and I'm sorry for forgetting the others, but especially Roslyn since, for me, it is so refreshing to meet and chat with any female collector! The show started out very slowly on Thursday afternoon, but it really picked up on Friday, and Saturday. I had one of my best shows, including some nice higher end coin sales. I also bought some really great coins not only for my inventory but some beautiful and interesting ones for my personal collection, including a particular piece that I tried to buy about 10 years ago but was outbid, and then it magically and serendipitously appeared at my table on Saturday. Todd is photographing it so I will post photos soon. Regarding dealers leaving early, I understand the collectors' frustration of going to a show and finding many of the dealers already gone - I as a dealer don't like to see an empty bourse either! But I can see both sides as well. Most of the dealers that leave really early were there for only wholesale business in the first place. And many know that any Sunday of a 3-day show is usually so slow and often most coin collectors will have been there on Saturday, so it's often not worth the extra hotel night expense. For me, I sometimes leave on Saturday night for several reasons, one of which is that I had another monthly show on Sunday that I am committed to, so I left this show about 4:30pm on Saturday in order to catch my flight back to California so I could set up at my monthly show today (phew! I'm about to go to bed and sleep for a week!). I also much prefer to fly home on Saturday nights because the airport is less crowded than Sundays and the flights are not as full and I can feel more confident that there will be enough overhead room for my bag full of coins! In any event, I've only attended 3 Baltimore shows and this one was by far my best in terms of both buying and selling. Todd and I were very busy almost the whole time and the days just flew by. Also, I had dinner at some of the most wonderful restaurants - Baltimore does have amazing food! I'm pretty sure I spent more money on dinners than my hotel (B&B) stay! It was a very successful show for me. By the way, here is a photo we took at my booth of me and a couple PCGS forum members who also stopped by. p.s. you can see part of Todd's photography set up to off to the left!
