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Message:: [QUOTE="illini420, post: 660066, member: 19423"]Hi there, posted this over on the CU forum yesterday, but thought that some here may enjoy it as well. Thanks!! -Mike Day One – Saturday, August 8, 2009 I was really excited for several weeks, even months, before the show as this was going to be my first ever ANA show! I’ve never traveled out of town to attend a major coin show before so I was really stoked that the ANA was coming to me! Unfortunately, I had to work during the week so I had to wait until Saturday to make it. It was torture working Tuesday to Friday knowing all of those people were looking at all of those great coins only minutes away (or hours away depending on L.A. traffic!).  I’ve been to the L.A. convention center before so I knew it was next door to the Staples Center so no trouble getting there. However, I was a little concerned because I didn’t even see a single sign for the show in my short drive on the surface streets from the freeway to the convention center parking garage. Heck, even at the Long Beach shows there are usually those big temporary traffic signs that direct the coin show traffic towards parking and relatively large banners outside of the convention center. Once in the garage I was a little confused whether I was actually at the right place as there were dozens of signs for a major home auction at the same location. Didn’t even see any signage for the show until I was through the garage and actually in the convention center lobby. Pretty weak.  Once I was able to get in at 10:00, I took a quick look at the collectors’ exhibits which were really neat to look at and you could tell folks put a lot of hard work into. I didn’t spend too much time at them since I knew those weren’t going anywhere but the coins at the dealer tables could move at any minute!!! Before getting started though, I couldn’t help but check out the exhibit area that had four of the five 1913 Liberty Nickels, a Brasher Doubloon, the “first” 1794 dollar and the first and last $20 gold pieces the 1849 and the 1933. Awesome to check that out and was worth the trip downtown for that alone! Now finally it was time to try to work some deals and get me some new coins. My first impressions of the bourse itself were not that great. I guess I expected a lot bigger show given the way the ANA shows are usually reported and from what I’ve heard from dealers and collectors about other ANA shows. However, this show seemed as if it was around the same size as the typical Long Beach show and was probably less busy than a Long Beach show the day before closing.  I brought several coins with me that I was hoping to either trade or sell to raise some cash to finish off my current sets or just to buy other coins that looked cool to me. I’m sort of an impulse buyer I guess <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Many of the dealers I saw at the show were the same dealers who set up at the Long Beach shows, but there were several new faces and even a few dealers from other countries.  It only took me around ten minutes to find my first purchase of the day, an “upgrade” to my AU55 from my 1908-S IHC grading set to replace my current AU55. Here’s a picture of the new AU55 which I scored from Northern Nevada Coin: <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/1908sIHC55o.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/1908sIHC55r.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> I just think that new example has a much more appropriate and natural look for the grade than my current AU55 pictured below which appears to have been messed with. This is another perfect example of buying the coin and not the grade on the holder (both the coin above and the coin below are PCGS AU55): <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/1908sIHCau55obv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/1908sIHCau55rev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> As I made my way through the bourse I noticed that the quality of the coins I was seeing in most dealer cases was about the same as most shows I attend. I guess since it was the ANA I was expecting to see a lot more of those monster coins that are only seen a few times in a lifetime. Apparently those were all in the auctions or something. It also didn’t take me long to notice that Legend had apparently left the show early which sort of bummed me out as I was really looking forward to seeing the legendary trade dollar set on display. To top it off, at their empty table a sign remained next to an empty stand which supposedly held a 1909 VDB Matte Proof Lincoln graded 68*!!! Wow, that would have been amazing to see too. I made my way to Holsonbake Numismatics and was able to work a few deals with him. He had lots of great looking coins, some of which were very tempting <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Angel Dee’s, which is a favorite table of mine at the Long Beach shows, had some of the best of the best copper on display for sure and they’re always a pleasure to chat with. In particular, there were a few Proof 67BN Indian Head Cents that had amazing colors. Eventually made my way up to ThePennyLady’s table as well to look at her awesome copper and to pick up a coin she was holding for me on behalf of Arizona Jack which I asked that he bring to the show for me. I thought this one was a pretty looking 1924 Lincoln that will go into my BU Lincoln Dansco album. Thanks Jack! <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/1924obv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/1924rev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Overall, once I found a coin that I liked I quickly learned that most dealers were very hesitant to take anything in trade for their coins. Cash was definitely king at this show. I found it very difficult to sell even the coins that I thought looked very nice and I found it nearly impossible to sell the coins I had that I thought were just average. Even taking coins to guys like McIntosh or other dealers who even six months ago would be interested in any coin you brought them and would offer Greysheet bid or maybe 10% back of bid if it was something they didn’t need, were simply not interested in making offers or even looking at my coins in the first place.  Other dealers I would show a coin to and offer them what I thought was a fair deal would often tell me that I had a very nice coin and was offering it to them at a very fair price, but they just didn’t have the cash to spend. My experience was that dealer cash is very tight and in some cases nonexistent and reaffirmed that cash was definitely king at the ANA. Maybe the cash was flowing earlier in the week and it was just that I came to the show too late or perhaps it’s just the darn economy, but I’m guessing it’s likely a combination of the two. But in any event, given that I was getting very poor offers on my coins or not even getting offers at all, it was really hard for me convince myself that I should be buying more coins from these same dealers who were asking very very strong prices for their coins, knowing that if I needed to sell or wanted to trade them, I may not be able to do so without incurring a substantial loss. That definitely wasn’t the case in my experience even a few months ago. Given that, I spent the day looking at many nice coins that I would have liked to own, but then having to hand them back because the prices were just too high. On the coins that I thought were fairly priced, I ended up passing on several of those too because of an unwillingness to accept trades of what I had with me at a similar reasonable price. This was the case with a decent looking PCGS MS66 1909 Barber Quarter with some pretty toning that I found. The price wasn’t unreasonable and it would have upgraded my current coin graded MS65. However, once again, was unable to get what I thought was a fair deal involving a trade. The dealer didn’t want my coins unless he could practically steal them from me, expressing a clear preference for cash. Didn’t bring enough cash with me for the coin so I figured I’d sleep on that one and bring my checkbook along with me the next day just in case. Before I knew it, the day was coming to an end and it was time to go home. Since I didn’t quite get to see everything I wanted to see and didn’t get to spend enough time at the world mints and the U.S Mint and BEP exhibits, I knew I’d be back the next day. Day Two – Sunday, August 9, 2009 Now that I knew trades were pretty much a no-go at this show, I brought my checkbook along for Sunday. I knew the show didn’t open until 10:00 a.m. again, but I found out that the collectors’ exhibits were open early, so I again showed up early and I spent at least a half hour checking the various exhibits before the bourse opened to collectors. There were many great exhibits. My favorite was an exhibit of 1909 Lincoln Cents which had several pretty ones including a 1909 VDB matte proof in 66RB and a 1909 VDB DDO in 66RD. There was also an informative exhibit on Three Cent Nickels that was neat. Another interesting exhibit was a complete set of Lincoln Cents in two Dansco albums that the viewer could flip the pages of the albums using sticks attached to the table which extended outside of the case similar to those of a foosball table. The Yap Stone money display was also interesting as I’ve never seen any of those before. One of the most unique exhibits was the Half Cent Clip Clock which was a display of 12 half cents with clips, one example with a clip at 12 o’clock (at the top of the coin’s obverse), one with a clip at 1 o’clock on the coin obverse and so on all the way around the clock. Now that it was after 10:00, I made my way back to the bourse. I was really surprised that so many dealers were still there on the final day of the show. I’m used to the Long Beach shows where maybe a quarter of the dealers skip the last day and another quarter are gone by noon. Of course, as soon as I had that thought I noticed the dealer with the 1909 MS66 Quarter I was eyeing the day before was one of the few who didn’t show the last day. Oh well, I know where it is if I decide to still make the deal. I also decided to bring along my 1909 set with me to search out some upgrades (much easier for me to do with my current set in hand to compare and then possibly trade the lower coin towards the higher). I was able to find several gold coins that would be ok upgrades for my AU examples, but none of them were really nice for the grade or were priced too high so I didn’t end up making any upgrades. I also brought my 1909 set so I could spend some time with it checking out the coins under the microscopes on display at the Dino Lite display. Probably spent 20 minutes there looking at my set under the scopes. Those things are so neat and they make it super easy to see the MPL diagnostics of my 1909 matte proof. May have to buy one of those Dino Lite scopes someday. Of course, since I had my set with me I was able to show it off to a few friends which is always fun <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Didn’t end up buying too many coins on Sunday, but I was able to pick up several more BU Lincolns for my Dansco set, including the 1919 and 1929 pictured below which I got from ThePennyLady. It’s a set that I’ll never finish because I know that so many of the early dates are too expensive for me to buy raw and/or to crack out of slabs for an album. I’ve already learned my cracking lesson!  <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/19191929o.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/19191929r.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> I also decided to purchase and complete one of the 2009 World Mint Passports to keep as a souvenir of first ANA show I’ve been to. Taking the “tour” of the World Mints, getting my passport stamped and collecting the different coins was actually really fun and I did get to see many world coins that I’ve never seen before. Well worth the $10 or so and only took 20 minutes or so to complete. I did think it was pretty ironic though that the passport has a page advising collectors to handle their coins with care and hold them by edges to avoid damage. I don’t think too many of the various mint employees read that page though as I also have fingerprints from around the world in my collection, but those were pretty much unavoidable as it’s not very easy to get coins into the holder. Here’s the result of my world tour: <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/passport1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm111/illini420/passport2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Also had the chance to check out the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s Billion Dollar Exhibit which was awesome. At the exhibit they had a press from the 1860s on display and were using it to demonstrate how they printed using the plates, applying the ink, operating the press, etc. The U.S. Mint’s exhibit wasn’t quite as exciting as they just had their current inventory for sale and they had a display of the Ultra High Relief coins. I saw several folks buying their limit of 10 Ultra High Relief coins, maybe there’s a flip opportunity still on those? Or maybe they plan on getting them graded and banking off the 70s they get back? I just bought my 2009 Proof Set, 2009 Silver Proof Set and a 2008 First Spouse Medal set. I was tempted to buy the 2009 First Spouse Gold coins since I have the 2007 and 2008 sets, but still haven’t decided whether I’m going to continue that set or now. Mostly, I thought it was interesting that many dealers at this show were attempting the charge CA sales tax on their sales, but the U.S. Mint didn’t have to charge the tax. On my way out of the show I had to take another look at the three 1913 Liberty nickels on display (the fourth was gone since Smithsonian exhibit apparently left Saturday night). Conclusion Overall, did the show live up to my expectations??? Not entirely, but I really have nothing but maybe the Long Beach shows to compare. However, I still had a really great time both days I attended and can’t wait for the next ANA to visit Southern California. I personally don’t think a show is a failure because a few or even several dealers didn’t make as much money as they may have in the past but I do understand that if their businesses are hurt then my fun at coins shows may be hurt in the future. In fact, the light floor traffic (especially on Sunday) actually made it that much easier for me to see the coins I wanted to see and to interact and try make deals with the dealers. I didn’t buy as many coins as I normally do at a large show and didn’t spend as much money as I have at previous shows, but it was definitely one of the coolest shows I’ve ever been to. Finally, one of the most exciting things that I learned at the show was that the ANA show will be going to Chicago in a couple of years... if the Cubbies are in town that same week that might just be too tempting and could be my first trip out of town for a coin show![/QUOTE]

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