Wow! What a show to report on. I thought about doing previous show reports when I thought I had a good show but those were nothing compared to this. Easily the best show I have ever been to, much larger than I expected. I tried to report it to the best of my ability but I still feel like I left a lot out (mostly stuff that wouldn't interest others). I was wearing a grey vest with a pattern shirt underneath it incase anyone saw me. I did not meet any forum members. Thursday: I left my house at 5AM Thursday morning, it was an easy drive for me going up to highway 20 and taking that the entire way. I arrived around 9:15 and got some breakfast, making it to the convention center by 9:45. There were a good amount of people already there and a line of about 20 people waiting to register. Once the show opened up I didn't even know where to start! I decided to make my way left to right and write down coins I was interested in along with the price, table, dealer, and grade and then after making an entire round picking out the ones I wanted most and going back to purchase them. Well that lasted about 15 minutes when I ran across a dealer who had a space labeled "melt". I looked at what he had and there were 9 art bars which I quickly picked up. Continuing on through the day I made the entire round in about 7 hours (there were quite a few tables not set up yet and some I skipped over) I looked at my list and determined my must-haves. I currently have a weakness for Columbian halves, especially with the PL designation. I recently had picked up two, but a dealer there had one that was MS66+ CAC which was a real stunner. Nice toning on both sides and a true PL. I decided I would go see it again and at that point decided it was the coin I needed to have at the show. The dealer was willing to negotiate a bit on the price and I thought it was fair so I pulled the trigger. I am very happy I did! It might be my favorite coin in my collection (at least at this time). It is also a population of 1 in 66+ with one finer at 67. With the + and CAC I figure I have got to be pretty close to even with the 67. I decided that was enough purchasing today and I would be back tomorrow. I apologize for the poor quality photos, I really am going the coin a major injustice as it is much better in hand. Friday: Friday morning I checked out and headed back arriving 30 minutes early again. The previous night I updated my list and narrowed it down to three Barber PR64 halves and decided I would get one of those and look for other cheaper coins to fill the day. I stopped at the first dealer to find out the Barber had sold, it was my third choice of the bunch though so it was okay. My top two options were quite a dilemma, one was a little bit more but a date I really wanted (1914) while the other was a little higher mintage (1907) but absolutely stunning. I ended up going for the 1907 since the dealer was from NJ and I knew I wouldn't see him again while the other was Brian Greer who said he would be going to the Iowa state show next month so I figured I could always get that one there. I wrote a check so I didn't get to take it home with me but I am looking forward to getting it in the mail. It is very solid for the grade and has some nice color which was the main reason I bought it. I then decided to get a few low dollar coins. I visited a dealer in the far corner that I didn't see Thursday and found a common date 1881-S star. Boy that coin is hammered!! If it was a little bigger I could use it as a mirror. It was already priced fairly but I asked the dealer what he had to get for it and to my amazement he took off another $25! Absolute bargain, I got quite a thrill out of that and bought it. I walked around a bit and picked up some cull peace dollars and some Binion Peace dollars that were priced very cheap, I didn't want them but at the price I couldn't pass them up. I also made my way back to the dealer with the silver art bars and saw he had some 90% sitting there so I bought a bit of that. Franklins at spot was a good deal so I bought them all and a dollar worth of quarters to round out the amount. I walked around and looked a bit more but figured I had spent enough so I called it a day and headed back to Iowa. I don't have a Denny's within 2 hours of me so I had a good meal there before leaving, probably the best strawberry lemonade I ever had so I figured that was the perfect ending to that trip. It couldn't have went better!
I am the absolute worst photographer but I will give it a shot. Once my Barber shows up I will probably send them to Justin for photographs.
Alright guys I gave it my best shot, they still suck though. It looks a lot like a proof, when you get it under light the colors shine bright everywhere and are very vibrant but looking at it under no light or darker light it isn't that pretty. The reverse looking VERY PL, that shows way more in the photo. All photos are unedited except for cropping on the obverse one without lighting.
Nice haul! I'm looking forward to seeing more of the PL Columbian. Seems like a real stunner. Be aware, however, that CAC ignores the + when giving out stickers -- they base their opinion on the MS66PL grade only. I was pretty much slammed for the whole time I was at the show doing photos. I'm waiting for permission to post a pretty cool medal picture. I officially got shut out of the Heritage auction, but I didn't aggressively chase anything. This means that my purchases at the show amounted to a 2017 ASE for my Dansco. Still had a good time, though.
great write up, that columbian is a stunner for sure Upset I missed out this weekend, only 30 minutes from my house I just had no free time to make it over sigh
Well I finally had the coin imaged and received the photos. This is much better than I could do! @green18 @messydesk @oval_man
I'm a little late to the party, but have to say that was a fantastic show report! We need more of those, it lets everyone know what goodies lay outside in the real world. Thanks for sharing and awesome purchases too.......any shots of that proof Barb?
Thanks! It was a great show with a lot to report on, I tried to make it somewhat short but there was a lot that I left out. I planned on getting the Barber imaged but I found the sellers listing with these photos so I decided they would do. These are all the photos, the coin looks amazing in hand, I don't think the photos do justice. The two photos without the light are what it looks like when I pull it out of the box in the safe, not the best but I have seen worse.
That is why I love classic proofs.....the strike can't get any nicer & lovely original toning as well! Wonderful example! Wasn't going to say anything, but I'm liking that 1884 MS-62 Morgan too....old no-line fatty slab, getting harder to find these days! @green18 Good to be back, Ken! I have a few new coins to post as well, when photography time permits anyway ;-)
Really enjoyed your report. Very interesting to see what other collectors like and how they approach buying. Thanks. Cal
