Central States Report – Thursday 4/28/22

The quick recap: solid, well-attended show

Now for more:

I was there a little before the 10 AM opening and it was noticeable this was going to be a well attended show. The line for registration snaked around the corner and was at least 100 people deep. It kept growing as I got in. The people there were nice and mentioned an issue about the database needing to be rebuilt (not quite sure what that meant in this case). There still is a $5 per day ($10 for all 3 days) fee to get in but that is waived if you are a PCGS member (you don’t need to have a paid membership; having any registry set counts). All you needed to do was show a copy of the email PCGS sent and that qualified for a free 3 day pass.

After getting in, my first stop was the PCGS table. It was around 10:15 and the line was starting to grow but still reasonable (maybe a dozen people). This was my first ever show submission (had a few coins I just didn’t want to mail and wait several months on) and the process was super smooth. I prefilled a form at home and then just transferred that info over to the actual form they had at the table while waiting in line. The PCGS reps were very helpful answering some questions. Once it was my turn to submit, it was super quick (max of a few minutes). Pre-filling the form and only having five coins did help cut the time down. I’m glad this was my first stop as the line grew significantly longer within 30 minutes.

Next up I decided to do some lot viewing at Legend for today’s auction. I was curious to see some of the toners; it definitely was worthwhile. I’ve bought plenty from photos but it’s also nice to see the coins in hand before making bidding decisions (especially at the higher dollar levels). I was able to eliminate a few potential candidates, add some others, and confirm my suspicions on two very nice toners. In the end, I didn’t win anything tonight (was the under bidder on a few and quite a bit off on others) but am glad that I at least got to see some of those nice coins. The prices were certainly strong on my favorites.

Having taken care of two goals, I proceeded to make the rounds of all the tables. I was looking for toners, unusual holders, and whatever else would catch my eye. I found a few nice toned Morgans but the prices were higher than I was willing to go. Some dealers used to be well above the market before the 2020-2022 increases. If they had kept those prices, they would be making some sales now. Unfortunately they have outpaced the market and are again well over even these current levels. Other dealers were more reasonable but they just didn’t have anything that I wanted (I’m trying to be pickier in what I go after to better fit my collecting goals-well at least I try until I get sidetracked!). There were several Morgan toners that I could easily see selling at auction for the dealer ask and I imagine someone else at the show will pick up those coins. The only other coin I considered buying was something that I bet almost no one else would-a silver piece from Nagorno Karabakh (props if you have even heard of the place!). I’m doing an ex-Soviet nations set (post independence) and there is a disputed territories subset. I might come back for that coin if it’s still there when I head back.

While I walked away with no new purchases, I was thrilled to sell a few of my coins. As always, it took several attempts to find the right person-the coins I tend to sell aren’t greysheet coins so it can be a slight challenge. I know toners aren’t for everyone and even those that like toners have different preferences (if we all like the same things it wouldn’t be as fun). I had a few criticize the color or something else about the coin but then there would be someone that really liked it and would pay my asking price (or make a fair counteroffer). That’s just part of the process; I keep trying until things work out. I also knew that I had a few coins that would be hard to sell as I had overpaid. I fully expected to take a loss there to move on from my mistakes. One of those moved for a modest loss, another didn’t find a buyer (I might end up doing a no reserve auction on that one or just hold for a bit longer), and a third actually sold for a slight gain. That one was a world modern from Belarus (from the aforementioned ex-Soviet nations set); I bought two different examples but only need one for my set. I imagine that the current climate might make that one a tougher sell. Fortunately for me, one of the modern dealers bought it.

All in all, it was an enjoyable show. Any time I’m able to spend several hours poring over a ton of coins, it’s a good day!

Random musings:
~I saw a fair share of gold bullion, silver, and 90% junk silver…I didn’t stay long enough at any table to see how it was selling though
~There were some older holders for those of us who like them (nothing I wanted but decent items nonetheless)….I did notice several tables with Hallmark slabs; those used to be scarcer several years ago but have lately become more available. They are also one of the few older slabs where prices appear to have come down. Most that I saw were under $50 (I recall them going for more 4-5 years ago)
~Plenty of eye candy all over the place…lots of rarities that one can take advantage of seeing in person
~There was a clearly marked world section in the back of the bourse…I believe this was new for Central States; it wasn’t anywhere as big as those at the World’s Fair of Money but it was certainly larger than typical for Central States

....more to come when I find out about grades

 

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Very interesting write up, thank you for posting.

 

I think I'll stick with the Recap JK

 

Thanks for sharing. Nice details.

 

Read the whole thing or at least pretend to

 

I think I'll stick with the latter Actually, It's quite interesting

 

Fair enough

 

I might go today if I can find time. I like that you said there is a world section as that's my only area of interest. In the past I usually have gone on Saturday and 2/3 of the dealers are already gone or packing up by then. Today should offer more to choose from.

 

Thursday and Friday are definitely the best days to go as Friday night is when quite a few dealers head home.

 

I was there on Thursday as well. Even though there was a long line to get in at 10 it didn't seem that busy inside. I saw the dealers that I wanted to. Found some things that I was looking for and even made a couple of nice sales.

 

It definitely wasn't packed overall but it is a big space, so I think the bottleneck at the door was able to spread out among the tables inside.

 

I did end up going today. There was a lot of nice stuff but the problem for me with shows like this is I thrive on buying low-end world coins out of 25 cent bins and that sort of thing is few and far between at venues like this. I found one person from Oshkosh, WI who had a 25 cent bin and I bought some from there and a few from their boxes, and a dealer from Portland, OR had some individually priced world coins at decent prices and I got some of those. Other than that I bought some 2x2s from the supplies guy and that was it for me. Lots of nice stuff but too high end for my taste, plus a lot of prices were not competitive in my opinion.

 

I also only saw a few people with less expensive raw coins and a few with some cheaper (sub $25) slabs.

With these bigger shows dealers tend to bring the pricier stuff in order to offset the table and travel fees. Plus those that fly in probably can't bring as much as the more local dealers that drive in. Smaller local shows or an LCS is still the better bet for finding the lower priced items.

 

Day 2 update:

~I got the message from PCGS that my sub was ready to pick up around 1 PM....quick service! It's pricey-I did show economy at $70 per coin-but I wanted to get that show grading experience and not have to worry about mailing on some of my favorite coins....I plan to do some guess the grades, so no reveal yet...I will say that 2 coins matched my expectation, 1 could have been better but I figured the assigned grade was a strong possibility, 1 was a disappointment but helped me learn (a few dealers also gave me plausible explanations for the result), and 1 was a positive surprise.

~I brought five more things to sell today given the positive results yesterday; these items didn't sell; two were under $100 but no takers (I figured it was a 50/50 chance they would sell); the other three I was pretty sure would not sell but I wanted to give it a try just to test out the market (or potentially offer as trade bait for something to buy)

~On the other hand, I did come away with three new purchases. All are toned Morgans and I will post them soon. The last coin was bought right as I was about to leave so it was a fortunate thing that I stopped at one more table

 

Thanks for the detailed reporting, look forward to pics of your new purchases.

 

Thank you!

Here is one of the three:

 

Thanks very much for your report. I've never been to a show and your recounting gave me a real sense of what it's like.

One question: Are photos of the event prohibited? I can see how they might be, from a security perspective.

 

Why would they do this? I've often attended (non-numismatic) shows late on the last day because vendors don't want to take things back home with them, and I can get deals.

But then I'm talking antique furniture, classic cars etc. A bit less portable.

 

You're welcome!

I haven't read anything that says photos aren't allowed and I know some people take them. I'm usually not one to take photos at shows (just not something I wanted to do as I was busy focusing on the happenings).

If you go to the following thread on the PCGS forums, you can see some photos from the show (from someone else that was there):
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1074940/another-central-states-show-report