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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;The Penny Lady®, post: 730865, member: 16948&quot;]I also posted this on the CU forum, but thought you&#039;d all like to see what it&#039;s like at this show too!</p><p><br /></p><p>My son, Troy, and I arrived at the show to set up around 4pm. It was a little difficult maneuvering around all the one-way streets, but we finally arrived at the back of the Old Mint building to unload and set up. It was somewhat confusing trying to find an appropriate place to park to unload but I have to tell you there were plenty of security guards and even two pit bulls to oversee the unloading. Then when we arrived inside the basement of the building, there were several people and signs guiding us to the appropriate floor and room to set up. When you get off the elevator to the 1st floor, there are several rooms where groups of about 4-6 dealers in each room off one hallway. The building does have a very old feel and musty smell to it, and it is really neat knowing it was built way back in 1870 and used to house SO MUCH MONEY!</p><p><br /></p><p>After we were set up, Rick, Troy, and my other son&#039;s girlfriend who came to the city to see us since she is in school at UC Davis, all took a brief self-guided tour of the basement where the old vaults are that held the money. All the rooms were empty except for one room that held some very old mining equipment that looked like a big huge steamship wheel and a gold kiln. But there were placques and photos listing and/or showing what used to be housed in the empty vault rooms. In one room, there was a photo taken in 1910 showing a room completely filled with huge stacks of bags of coins piled at least 6 feet high. You could still see evidence that the heavy coins were stacked against on the walls. And what is really cool is that all the original vault doors still remain in tact. Each door looks like a huge old safe door, almost a foot thick. </p><p><br /></p><p>Below are some photos I took with my Blackberry, but since the lighting was pretty poor, the photos are kind of dark. The first one is of Rick Snow, me and Troy in front an old fireplace that looks like a sort of kiln where I believe gold was melted for coins and powered by a steamship looking wheel. The second one shows the wheel and machinery a little more clearly.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq139/thepennylady/IMG00002-20091105-1826.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq139/thepennylady/IMG00003-20091105-1827.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The next few photos are showing the really neat vault doors - it&#039;s hard to see how old, big and thick they really are. </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq139/thepennylady/IMG00007-20091105-1830.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq139/thepennylady/IMG00005-20091105-1829.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq139/thepennylady/IMG00004-20091105-1828.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ll try to post more tomorrow after the actual show begins![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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