My December 2015 PCGS Members Show Las Vegas report

Just wrapped up my short stay in Vegas and attended the PCGS Members Show. At least it wasn't 5 years between shows this time, since I also went to the April show this year.

Compared to that one, the activity was much more bustling at this show. There was a steady stream of people going in and out, especially the first couple days. Maybe it was for the food! Like FUN, Long Beach, the ANA shows or others, this is one show every serious collector should try to make at least once in their lifetime. It's a small show, which gives you a chance to shoot the breeze with many a dealer or fellow coin nerds. Along with that, you get to view many an amazing coin or two. Some of the people I got a chance to talk to were Andy and Alynne of Angel Dee's, Mason Amos, Evan Gale of Aspen, Larry Shapiro, the fine folks at Paragon Numismatics (names have escaped me!), Mark of Mark's Coins, Steve Teal of Stateline Coin Exchange and others. It's far tougher to do that at a big show, when everyone is busier. I also had a chance to preview the lots for the Legend auction and attend - my first coin auction in person!

Here are my takes on the show, these are my opinions only:

Grading and upgrading has gotten to be a big business in the coin market. For us everyday collectors a plus or a 1 point bump or deduction may or may not matter, but for some dealers it is a big thing. It's their living and I understand it, no criticism there. It's something that can't be ignored.

Attending the Legend auction was eye opening. While many of the toners coins and rare type (the 1796 half in VF-30) went for strong prices, many others fell way short of their estimate and went for 50% to 60% of PCGS guide prices. They were not bad coins at all, I'm sure many of the bidders were happy about that. I had my eye on a few coins, but all but one had shot up in price before the auction started. The one I tried bidding on went past what I wanted to do. No biggie, still had fun attending!

Vegas itself appears to be turning around on the surface, but there are still some problems underneath all that glitz. All the consolidation of ownership to just two major companies for the majority of Strip casinos is showing, giving many of them the same look and feel. It's not good and reminds one of the same strip centers that can be found in every town in the U.S.

Overall I had a great time at the show! I submitted a few coins for crossover, but chose economy submission. I'll post the results in a future thread. OK, now on to the purchases from the show!

This first coin comes from Paragon Numismatics. It caught my eye because of the nice even dark tone with full blazing luster. The little bits of green and pink don't hurt either.

PCGS MS-65:



The next one comes from Mark's Coins, another great dealership. This coin grabbed my attention as soon as I got to the case. It really booms in hand and I didn't quite have this color scheme in my toned collection.

NGC MS-65*:



The next two come from Larry Shapiro. I didn't have any target toned Morgans, and he had two in his case. The obverse one was beyond my range, but the reverse toner was right up my alley. I like the way the circular tone ring hugs the wreath.

PCGS MS-64:



And lastly, this was a fun addition to my collection. I really don't collect errors, but this one was too good to pass up. Not often you get a cool error with attractive toning.

NGC MS-64 BN:

 

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Nice pickups indeed!

 

Thanks for the report.

This may be slightly off the subject, but did anyone notice that these PCGS MS65 Morgans are amazingly clean on the cheek? Those so-called PCGS MS66's that were posted on another thread don't even come close, and in my opinion are over-graded.

Chris

 

Great report. I saw that 82 S while I was looking through boxes at a dealers table, but since it wasn't in his for sale box, I didn't ask about it. Great looking coin, even from a couple feet away.

 

Yeah, there's not a one of these which isn't deserving of the grade. I suspect the necessary credit goes to the person choosing the coins rather than PCGS.

Killers, all of them. The 1882-S is Doc Holliday with luster.

 

Great picks and excellent report. I'm a Morgan guy but I must say that Lincoln really stands out.

 

I'm with dave. Er, I mean both Daves That lincoln is gorgeous but the pattern on that 96 target it killer and the pop of the 82 spectacular. Poor miss Williams is "red in the face"

I was gonna go up there but had other obligations that prevented it. Looks like I missed some awesomeness. Oh well, on to the LBE in 6 weeks