Baltimore coin show recap: Getting some cheap thrills

I attended the Baltimore Whitman Coin Expo today (November 7, 2025). I arrived about 10:30 AM (half an hour after the doors opened to the public) and left about 3:30 PM, when I had seen all the tables with coins in my main areas of interest (and spent most of my show budget). Overall, this seemed like a quieter show than in previous years- some dealers were absent (I noticed Stephen Album, Shanna Schmidt, and Tamco Numismatics missing), and by the time I left at 3:30 there were a number of empty tables where dealers had packed up and left early, even though the show doesn't end until tomorrow. Still, I managed to have a productive day with the dealers who were there. As usual, I spent a while at Allen Berman's table, which usually had several customers at once. I also spent quote a lot of my time at Educational Coin Company, patiently sorting through lots to find interesting varieties. I didn't get any high-end pieces this time, but ended up with a nice assortment of interesting cheap(-ish) coins that will provide lots of entertainment value researching, fully cataloguing, and writing up. Here are some quick photos of my haul. First, my purchases from Allen Berman: a lot of six Kushan and Kushan-related coins, plus a square bronze of the Bactrian king Menander:


Next, two coins from Andy Singer (he wasn't there but had someone manning his booth), a Bactrian AE tetradrachm of Hermaios and a Kushan bronze of king Huvishka riding an elephant paired with four-armed god Shiva. (Which, even if you don't collect ancients, is still a very cool coin.) Plus, some of my Educational Coin Company finds: a very thin Mongol coin, a silver of the Shahis of India, and two coins of the Kandy kings of Sri Lanka that I picked out because they are of kings I didn't have yet.

And last, more from Educational Coin Company: four Chinese cash of the Tang Dynasty, Kai Yuan type (618-907) chosen for reverse varieties, and three Elymais bronzes also chosen for interesting reverse varieties.

I didn't make any spectacular finds, but I had a good time and added a few new coins to my collection. I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who attended the show. How did your experience compare to mine?