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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Morgan1878, post: 573647, member: 17869&quot;]I attended my first coin show in Tukwila, WA. It was the Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association 60th Annual Convention. I was invited by my neighbor across the street who is a high end gold coin dealer. I helped him at his booth and got to look around the show. These are the main impressions I came away with:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>1. Overall, I was impressed with the integrity and helpfulness of the dealers. I found 3 dealers who I would be able to do business with insofar as building my collection.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>2. There was a large cross-section of folks walking the floor. There were &quot;survivalist&quot; types in camouflage as well as &quot;buttoned-down&quot; Dino Rossi, two-time candidate for governor who was with his kids. If you are a single guy, this show is not a &quot;chick magnet&quot;. I estimated that the crowd was 85% male leaning towards 40 and older.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>3. I bought my first graded coin, an MS-64 1881-S in a &quot;rattler&quot; (original PCGS slab) for $60. I sold 3 common Morgans I had in lesser grades to another party to fund this buy. The coin is frosty and beautiful. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>4. Related to above, I doubt that I will ever buy (or sell) a coin online. My opinion is that no photograph can ever replicate with enough accuracy all of the nuances inherent in a coin (that was quite a mouthful). I have auction books at home with extremely well-executed photos, but for me,</p><p>&quot;coin in hand&quot; will be the way for me to assess possible purchases.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>5. I learned more about grading. I took two coins to the show that I had graded myself and showed them separately to two different dealers. Both dealers graded these coins identically. On the one coin, I graded a MS-64, both of them graded it an MS-63, not so far off. On the other one I had graded it MS-63, both of them graded it MS-60. Both of them gave me solid reasons backing their grades which I found quite educational. They showed me graded coins and pointed out some of the fine points that distinguish one MS grade from another. I shall be doing business with these folks. Not only were they helpful to me, I had a chance to watch them interact with other customers as well. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I had fun, learned a lot and met some people I will look forward to seeing more of in the future. The only gripe I heard was a reply to a statement that the show organizer made that &quot;Tukwila was the biggest regional show north of Portland and west of Chicago.&quot; The dealer said &quot;Tukwila was the biggest regional show <i>without </i>donuts&quot;, but smiled when he said it.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I look forward to going back next year.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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