Charmy's 2013 ANA SUMMER SEMINAR Report w/TONS of Pics!!

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by The Penny Lady®, Jul 7, 2013.

  1. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Let me start out by saying I LOVE the ANA Summer Seminar! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee or other beverage, and perhaps even a snack because there are tons of photos in this report!

    Last year I was given a WIN (Women in Numismatics) scholarship to attend the Summer Seminar and registered for the program, but due to the fires and smoke surrounding the Colorado Springs area, I decided to cancel and roll over my scholarship to this year. I flew out one day early on Friday so I could attend the coin show that always occurs between the two Summer Seminar sessions and goes through Sunday.

    I’m getting excited as we move closer to the Denver area
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    The ANA had people waiting to pick up the YN’s at the airport so I hitched a ride to the campus on the bus with one of these YN groups

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    After I checked in at Loomis, I found my room and settled in. I was assigned a very nice single studio apartment. It was sparse, but great to have my own space with my own bathroom!

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    This is the view from my room
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    It was very hot on Friday, over 100 degrees, so after I was settled in, I walked over to the ANA Museum since it was air conditioned!
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    I ran into David Lange (NGC) and we went over to the instructor reception at the Wyndham Mining Exchange hotel in downtown Colorado Springs. We arrived a little early so we decided to sit in the bar and have a nice cold drink. Since I’m still on my diet and staying away from alcoholic beverages, I had my usual boring water – but at least it was nice and cold!

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    The instructor reception was held outside on the patio and was a great way to mingle with the seminar instructors, most of whom are coin dealers!

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    And since Todd is a big meanie, he had to torture me by setting this yummy looking snickers chocolate dessert right in front of me – but I still resisted!
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  3. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Todd mentioned there was a street fair going on not far from the hotel, so on our way back we walked through the fair. There were lots of very cool racing cars and motorcycles on display, along with some very cute firemen and race car drivers!

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    Oh, yeah, and then there’s Todd. ;-)
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    This one’s for Wei!
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    They had a motorcycle jump set up but it wasn’t going on while we were there
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    One of Colorado’s famous thunder storms began right after we returned to the dorms. It was pouring really hard with booming thunder and bright lightning strikes! I really enjoyed it!

    The next morning (Saturday), I went down to the cafeteria which is held in the Worner Center. Glenn Holsonbake (PonyExpress) was one of the YN counselors and worked tirelessly to help make sure they had had a fun, safe and productive week.
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    Then the ANA bused us over to the coin show – it was nice that they let us in before the general public.
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    In addition to Glenn’s YN duties, he was also set up at the coin show. That’s Mike (MFH) on the left helping Glenn, along with a YN.
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    Revick Galstaun, a very sharp young dealer (and newlywed) from the Northwest, was also set up at the show.
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    Colorado Springs Coin Club volunteers
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  4. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    After the show, it was time for registration back at Loomis. We were given our welcome packets, had our photo taken for our ID’s, could purchase Summer Seminar shirts if we wanted, along with a nice food spread! Susan McMillian and her staff worked very quickly and efficiently to get everyone checked in.

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    That’s Rod Gillis getting his photo taken for his ID. He works very hard for the YN program, including organizing the YN treasure trivia at all the ANA shows! When he asks for volunteer dealers to participate in the treasure hunt, it’s really hard to resist Rod’s sweet, kind cajoling!
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    Seminar attendees: John, Rich, John and Gary
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    These attendees are good ol’ Arkansas boys – Gene, Keith and Roger
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    Later that evening, we headed back to the dining hall for dinner (there definitely was no shortage of food served during the whole week!)

    Todd and his new BFF Mary!
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    Larry (Mary’s friend) and a YN
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    Then it was time for the Opening Ceremonies at Gaylord Hall (same building as the dining hall). That’s Tom Hallenbeck welcoming our group.
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    After the Opening Ceremonies were concluded, a group of us went over to the famous Lunar Lounge. Lunar Lounge is simply an outside patio area with tables and chairs between the dorm buildings overlooking Pike’s Peak, but it’s the favorite place where everyone gathers in the evenings to socialize, drink, share stories, play music, and drink some more!

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    One gentleman brought a brand new bottle of Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch – it was empty by the time the group dispersed later that night!
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  5. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Sunday morning was free time since classes didn’t start until 1pm, so I walked over to the ANA museum to check out the awesome exhibits.
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    I especially enjoy exhibits about the Civil War.

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    Later that evening I was scheduled to give a “Penny Exonumia” presentation, and when I was looking at the ANA’s exhibits, I noted they even had an exhibit about Trench Art which is something I would be discussing in my presentation.

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  6. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Of course, I had to take photos of the California Gold exhibit!
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    The Bass Collection is simply amazing!
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    Before I left the ANA building, I decided to check out the library and ran into Larry, the instructor for the “Preparing a Winning Numismatic Exhibit” class. I was signed up to take the “Counterfeit Detection” class, but since I was preparing my very first exhibit for the Chicago ANA, I thought I’d pick his brain for a few minutes. He was very gracious and gladly answered my questions. But it soon became apparent that I really should be taking his class if I was going to have any shot of having my exhibit be competitive in Chicago. So with only a couple hours before classes were to begin, I asked Susan if I could change classes, and she made it happen! That was the best decision I made the whole week!

    This is Cutler Hall – a beautiful building I passed every day on my way to the Worner Center.
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    Then I went back to my room and worked on my Penny Exonumia presentation that was scheduled for 7:30 that night.

    Soon it was time for lunch! Aside from Lunar Lounge, I found that the cafeteria is a great way to meet and get to know different folks attending the Summer Seminar, including the YNs.

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    Rod Gillis (ANA)
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    That’s me and Rick (ColonelJessup)
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  7. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    I was sitting at a table with David Lange (NGC) who wore this “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt that had a finger pointing to his left. It wasn’t long before someone sat down on David’s left – and guess who it was!! Of course, I just had to get a photo! This is one of my favorite photos of the whole week!!!

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    I attended the first session of my new class, and knew immediately that I made the right decision in changing classes to the exhibit class. This was the PERFECT class for learning how to put together a competitive numismatic exhibit! The class went from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, so after it ended I had a little time to polish up my presentation.

    I arrived an hour early so I could set up my presentation, make sure the technical aspects were working properly, etc. A few people showed up while I was testing the equipment, including Todd who took a photo of my “audience” who, of course weren’t there yet since the class didn’t start for another hour. But that didn’t stop Todd from getting payback for my posting the “I’m With Stupid” photo on Facebook! This is what he posted on Facebook in retaliation with the caption “All the attendees for Charmy's class tonight...” Ha!

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    But here are photos taken DURING the actual class…

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    I was a bit nervous when I was giving the presentation, but according to the comments I received, I think my little program went over pretty well. Now let’s see if my newly named “Penny Potpourri” exhibit at the Chicago ANA does as well!

    Then it was back to Lunar Lounge where some very talented folks treated us to a great blue grass jam session!

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    A fixture at the Summer Seminar!
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    The next morning (Monday) I began what would be my usual routine for the rest of the week:

    = walk over to the cafeteria and grab some breakfast
    = go upstairs to my class which starts at 9am
    = break for lunch in the cafeteria
    = back to class til 4pm
    = head back to my dorm room to “freshen up,” rest, or catch up on email (or Words with Friends!)
    = then back to the cafeteria at the Worner Center for dinner around 5pm (though I had a couple dinners off campus with friends)
    = attend one of the evening programs
    = then back to Lunar Lounge for more socializing!

    Instead of dining at the hall on Monday, I had dinner at a local pub in town with a childhood friend. Pat (a male) lived in the house behind ours while I was growing up and was my very first boyfriend! He and his wife moved to Colorado Springs in the early 1990’s so it was great catching up with them. Pat is also an avid poker player, so we made plans to head over to Cripple Creek the next night. I had already purchased a ticket to the Rockies/Dodgers game, but I didn’t mind sacrificing the game for an evening playing poker! (I quickly gave my ticket to a YN!)


    On Tuesday, it was back to class which was on the "Upper" floor at Worner Center
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    During one of my breaks, I watched some of the YNs playing pool on the bottom floor of Warner Center.
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    Other YNs kicked back on the very cumfy couches!
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    That afternoon, the ANA photographer stopped by our class to take some photos. This is Mitch (CoinHusker) with one of his “Sowing the Seeds” medals – he’s putting together a very interesting exhibit of his various sowing medals and coins for the Central States show next year.

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    Peyton was the only YN in our class and, unlike the rest of us, she already had a few competitive exhibits under her belt!
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    After class, my friend Pat drove us to Cripple Creek to play some poker.
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    It started to rain, but only briefly
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    Cripple Creek is a very charming old mining town.
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    And looks especially fancy at night!

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    We played $1 - $2 no limit – I learned that Colorado has a law that no bet can exceed $100 – though you could still raise each bet by another $100. I was up and down the entire evening, but unfortunately ended up down by the time we left. However, my friend Pat won a couple big pots and ended up $200 ahead (one hand he had quads, and another hand he flopped a straight and slow played it beautifully!).
     
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  8. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Wednesday morning was the usual routine. Here are a few of our usual dining companions – Larry, Mike (MFH), and Mary
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    Matt and Ken Hallenbeck
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    In class, it was my turn to lay out a mock-up of my exhibit, and it was very helpful that I happened to have all my pieces with me. I originally signed up for 4 cases, but after setting out my exhibit, I saw that it was necessary to spread into 5 cases.

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    During a break, I decided to try out one of those very cumfy chairs right outside our class. And in keeping with my boring diet, that’s a glass of plain old boring ice tea!
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    After lunch on Wednesday, our class met at the ANA headquarters so we could go shopping for supplies at an art store in town. While we waited, Susan McMillan showed us the medals that were given out for the ANA competitive exhibits, including the top prize – the Howland Wood Award. Apparently, they no longer give out the silver and bronze medals.

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    These are pictures of the YNs that were posted on Susan’s door.
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    And this is Emily – she is the convention assistant and works tirelessly to make sure we dealers have everything we need! She is very patient with those of us who have special requests!
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    This is my class instructor, Larry Sekulich, who is a Howland Wood Award recipient, as well as winner of several other exhibit medals! He’s pointing to his name on the list of other Howland Wood Award winners.
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    This is our little class – me, Peyton and Mitch. (We had one other classmate but his wife was ill so he couldn’t make it that day.)
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    Here’s Mitch (CoinHusker) and his son Sam (NotLogical)
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    Tiny is a Summer Seminar fixture!
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    That night, another friend of mine who recently moved to Colorado Springs was picking me up for dinner so I waited for her outside the Worner Center near the street.
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    While I was waiting, I watched this crazy squirrel that kept darting in and out of the street trying to decide whether to cross it. He’d take a few steps into the street, stop, then wait for a car and dart towards the car, then run back to the curb just in time. When he finally decided to go all the way across, of course he waited until some cars were coming, then stopped right in the middle of the street. Luckily for him, the cars stopped and waited for him to cross the rest of the way. That squirrel would have been a very appropriate candidate to sit next to David in his “special” shirt! Stupid squirrel!
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    This is me and my friend Elaine. I worked with her for many years back in my other life as a litigation paralegal at Morrison & Foerster. She is a tiny lady who is in her late 70’s – she is obviously very well preserved!
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  9. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Then it was time for the main event of the week – the YN auction fundraiser in Gaylord Hall at the Worner Center.
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    This is Tiny and Brian Fanton. Tiny has his auction stick that he pounds on the floor to get attention in between his “yelps” as another bid is made!
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    Tiny is giving Rick Sear (ColonelJessup) a big hug after Rick won a rather high dollar item.
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    Sonny has been the ANA’s auctioneer for many years – this is Tom Hallenbeck awarding Sonny with a special award for his years of dedicated service to the ANA.

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    This ancient coin was the big auction item of the night! Tom Hallenbeck won it for I believe $3,700. He said he was keeping it for his own collection.
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    These huge overalls are a staple auction item at the YN auction – they get donated back each year. The purchaser gets to “make” someone else where them to the Awards Banquet the next night, and if the person chosen doesn’t want to, they can match the auction amount NOT to wear them! I believe they went for $1,500 and then the person chosen to wear them said he would match that number if Sonny would wear them (along with an Australian hat that was auctioned off earlier and given to Sonny). Sonny, of course, is a great sport and gladly wore the overalls (with a belt) and thefloppy hat to the Awards dinner.

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    After the auction, of course, it was time to go visit the Lunar Lounge again! Each night, someone tried to entice me to give up my no-drinking conviction by offering me various tasty looking alcoholic beverages, but not even this nice bottle of wine could budge me!

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    More Lunar Lounge participants (that’s David Lange and Mike Hayes in the front).

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    Another jam session treat!
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  10. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Thursday was sadly the last day of class and the Summer Seminar! Since female numismatics are far and few between, I was pleased to have gotten to know Peyton throughout the week, so I gave her one of my “The Penny Lady” hats.
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    This is Todd and a YN taunting me at lunch with their tasty ice cream – but I still resisted!
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    In class, we received our “graduation” certificates. [​IMG]

    We also filled out critiques of the class and the Summer Seminar program as a whole. I gave my instructor and the program all A’s!!!

    The ANA held a very nice reception before the Awards Banquet which happened to be right outside our classroom.
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    Don’t know whether the beer was good or not but the labels sure were cute!
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    Me and my new BFF!
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    The college’s mascot!
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  11. The Penny Lady®

    The Penny Lady® Coin Dealer

    Another Summer Seminar fixture at the Awards Banquet!
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    These are Tiny’s military MPC medals. I learned that when someone presents one of these medals to a group, everyone in the room who owns one must produce it or they have to buy the others a round of drinks.

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    Todd getting his instructor “thank you” certificate.
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    This is me getting my Bull Session presentation “thank you” certificate.

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    The ANA hired this blue grass band who gave a wonderful concert in Gaylord Hall after the banquet.
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    We had one last “hurrah” back at Lunar Lounge, then it was time to turn in and pack up to catch our flights the next morning!

    We could see some of the fireworks from the Lunar Lounge.

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    On Friday morning, a bus would head to the airport every hour on the hour, so I was there at 7am for my 9:30am flight – I always like to be early just in case!

    There was quite a group of us gathered outside Loomis Hall waiting for the bus.
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    By the way, this is a fellow penny lover – The Penny Guy!!!
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    And this is my fantastic instructor Larry – by the way, he is also exhibiting at the Chicago ANA this summer so he said he has mixed feelings as to whether he hopes I win or not – but at least we are exhibiting in different categories!
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    It was a fantastic week, but I was really looking forward to going home, seeing my hubby and bratty kitty, and especially sleeping in my OWN bed! Getting ready for take off….
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    Here we are coming to the Orange County area!
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    Yeah, an easy and early landing!
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    As usual, right after we touch down, I call my hubby so he can leave the house to pick me up (we only live 10 minutes from the airport). However, once we deplaned and walked into the terminal, we encountered a blockade of TSA agents who wouldn’t let us leave the terminal. They even had every door guarded. They just told us there was a “security issue” that the sheriffs needed to be resolved, but of course, they wouldn’t elaborate, nor would they tell us how long it would take. So I called my hubby back and told him he might as well go back home and wait until they clear the “issue.”
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    I could see this young Asian man sitting with a sheriff inside the security area looking very forlorn and frustrated so I am assuming he was the “issue.” I kind of felt sorry for him.
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    Luckily, it only took about 20 minutes before they finally let us leave. Later that night I watched the news and searched online but didn’t find any information about what happened.

    Anyway, that’s about it. Now I’m excitedly working on my very first numismatic exhibit with the hopes of at least not receiving the lowest score!!!

    Next up – the Coinarama show in San Diego this coming weekend, then the Ontario show the following weekend. After that, I’m headed to Shaver Lake for a wonderful relaxing week of camping with my hubby, sons, and their girlfriends (along with about 20 other familiar Edison families). This is especially exciting for me because I will finally end my alcohol beverage fast. I swear that as soon as we park the trailer in our spot, I’m popping open one of my best bottles of wine!!!! MMMMMMMMMMM can’t wait!!!
     
  12. ziggy9

    ziggy9 *NEC SPERNO NEC TIMEO*

    I am SO jealous! I have wanted to go for several years but with 3 teen/ pre-teens I won't be able to afford it for some time.
     
  13. fretboard

    fretboard Defender of Old Coinage!

    Wow! Great information with plenty of pics! Thanks again for bringing another coin show to me. :D
     
  14. BRandM

    BRandM Counterstamp Collector

    Thanks for the report Charmy. I always look forward to your observations and pictures. Almost felt like I was there.
    Kindest Regards,
    Bruce
     
  15. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Lots of pics indeed. Looked like fun. Thanks for sharing!
     
  16. chip

    chip Novice collector

    Thank you for posting the pics and text of the ana summer seminar. I will look forward to seeing your exhibit at the ana in august!
     
  17. Ripley

    Ripley Senior Member

    Thanks for sharing Charmy. I like the Civil War stuff best. :)
     
  18. Windchild

    Windchild Punic YN, Shahanshah

    You can see more pictures at http://www.money.org/blog.aspx.

    I was there the first week...

    It's a fun week where you learn a ton and can use the ANA library whenever you want :D
     
  19. easj3699

    easj3699 Well-Known Member

    I just wanted to say thank you for your post. I always look forward to them.
     
  20. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    Thank you. The pics of the Civil War exhibit
    totally rocked.

    And good luck with your exhibit
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  21. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    sounds like you had fun. I enjoyed seeing all the coin pics but especially liked the things that were made from coins. a chair, hat, spoon .etc... those were cool.
     
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