The Collector Is Back! For various reasons, this was the first time I had done the great Dalton Georgia show in three years. Given the depressed state of the PMs market (and Morgan dollars), I didn't have high hopes. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised, in many ways. This is the first show in many years that I recall where collectors were buying more than dealers. Most of my business was "retail" not "wholesale." (I have to commend Grant Campbell of Dalton Gold and Silver Exchange and the others who were handing out the Greysheet Consumer Price Guide--It is still pretty aggravating when people who are not dealers expect to buy things at Greysheet Bid or below.) At any rate, although we did sell some nice coins to other dealers and bought some great coins, most of the business was from collectors. Both Lincolns, which we specialize in, and type coins, which we also specialize in, were HOT! We sold every 1909 VDB we had, along with a lot of other nicely toned cents and other series, and we scoured the floor looking for nice 1909-S VDBs to buy; none were to be had. One dealer did show us a great (and expensive, of course) 1914-D in MS65RB, but we passed on it. We handed out our new business card liberally with our company motto, "Life Is Too Short To Buy Ugly Coins" and we always try to live up to that. (And his coin was NOT ugly, just not what we wanted for the money.) It did seem that practically every U.S. dealer had cases full of Morgan dollars, and they didn't seem to be doing a great deal of business ... we try to stick with mostly toned Morgans or a few better-date coins and varieties, and we did sell a couple of those. First-year type coins were hot; we sold our 1875-CC AU58 twenty cent piece, a great coin for the grade, and a couple of 1878 Morgan varieties. Modern coins, including ASEs, saw no interest whatsoever, and I liquidated the few I had. But a couple of customers did ask about modern gold half eagles in 70 grade (we had none). I was honored to meet several new friends from this and other forums, including one charming gentleman with whom we had a nice chat (and he bought a nice coin--thank you) and another very friendly gent, who fortunately came by late Saturday and we also had a nice visit. It was good to see another collector-dealer set up on the dealer's side of the table for the first time, and we got to admire his gorgeous (and gorgeously toned) 1891-Zs MS66+ PCGS 8 Reales. (I hope you did well? Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye.) Speaking of gorgeous toning, I think that trend is in fashion now, which of course is an area we focus in (although fans of untoned coins may not entirely approve). One young gentleman named Lance came by with his dad and brother, and he was celebrating his 14th birthday the next day. He looked at a lovely 1929-D MS65 Mercury dime with stunning toning, and then left only to return a couple of hours later. He was a bit shy, but with some gentle coaching from me he ended up buying the dime at a "better price" with his birthday money! This is Lance's coin in its former slab incarnation (the fellow I bought it from had sent it back in trying for FB; no dice). Happy Birthday Lance! And yes, I did fish around and give him a freebie coin, a nice BU Fiji Islands copper IIRC. I also was honored to meet another young gentleman and his father, and we talked at length about how the son (16 years old) might go about turning his "passion for numismatics into a career." I was glad to give him several ideas about that, and told him I would certainly act as a resource to him if he desired. I was impressed once again with how sharp and open-minded (and well-developed numismatically) some of these young people are. I do not subscribe at all to the theory of this being a dying hobby of old white guys. It is true that us old dogs need to learn some new tricks, but quality coins continue to attract quality buyers. Fads come and go. Speaking of buying, this was also a good show for buying as well as selling. Here's just a quick shot of a few of the bigger coins I acquired: There was an interesting VAM presentation, and I certainly would have been there myself if it had not been prime time for buying and selling on Saturday. This is always a problem, and it was not at all the show organizers' fault (who did a fantastic job of turning out the crowds.) And as might be expected for North Georgia, there was a great deal of branch mint gold on display from Al Adams, Grant Campbell, and others, and the Bechtler Gold exhibit was a particular treat. Security was also top-notch. It is no wonder that one of my acquaintances recently called this the best show in the South after FUN. I couldn't agree more! Finally, a big thank you to all those who showed up at my table and/or complimented me here. But I found "most" of the dealers at the show to be unfailingly pleasant and easy to work with. They are the ones that got my business! And thus endeth my tale. PS Oh. I forgot one thing. This show is just far enough away from home that you can't really arrive the day that trading begins and get set up on time, or go back home safely the same night the show ends (which is Saturday; the show is technically open on Sunday, but it's pretty much crickets). So I went down on Wednesday and headed back home early Sunday morning. As usual, Saturn and Neptune jumped for joy when I showed up at Their Door: Kind regards, George
Nice write up glad to hear it was a nicely attended show! Love that $3 pick up great looking coin! Is the luster not blazing on that? Looks like nice surfaces for the grade.
Yes, it absolutely is a great coin for the grade. I love the honey luster! Thanks guys for liking my show report!
