ROAD REPORT

SHOW SCHEDULE:   Baltimore, MD, November 20 - 22 (NEW Table location #1806 - - turn right at the main entrance, then turn right at Row 1800.)
 

July - August 2008 Baltimore (ANA Convention): 

The Baltimore ANA Convention has just concluded, and we had record sales, surpassing both the Milwaukee and Denver ANA Conventions combined!  Both Seated Dollars and Bust Quarters series are very hot!  We seemed to be busy at our table for the entire show, often with a line of people waiting to see our coins.  But we didn't forget our website customers; we also acquired over 550 new coins for our website, including a high-grade but relatively affordable example of the 1792 half disme.  For details of what we purchased, please see the "What's New" page on our website. 

July 2008 Schaumburg, IL:  This was our first time at the Mid-America show held this year in Schaumburg, IL.  Although public attendance was more modest than expected, we did very well with better than expected sales and also some great purchases you will see if you come to the ANA show.  Such purchases included, in denominational order, a superbly toned 1837 Seated half dime in MS-64* NGC CAC, an outstanding 1803 Bust dime in AU-53 PCGS, an 1825 dime in AU-55 PCGS, an 1838-O dime in AU-50 PCGS, an 1825/4/3 quarter in XF-45 PCGS, appx. 20 Bust quarters, an 1853 No Arrows quarter AU detail but whizzed, a nice 1795 doubled date half in VG-8 ANACS, a gorgeously toned 1806 half in AU-55 NGC, an affordable 1861-O CSA restrike half, a raw 1795 Draped Bust dollar in VG-8, and several Seated dollars incl. 1857, 1861, 1868 and 1873.  Because there is such a short time between this show and the ANA Convention, we will not be able to post our new purchases on the website until after ANA.  At that time, we will post all of our new purchases from both Mid-America and ANA. 

June 2008 Baltimore:  The June Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention was reasonably well-attended for a show that had several things going against it.  Such factors included the economy, gas prices, extreme heat, and the fact that the ANA summer convention is in the same venue less than 2 months later.  Many dealers complained of slow sales, but our sales met our expectations.  We also met quite a few collectors, both familiar and new faces.  Also, we were able to buy some great coins, including Bust Quarters, Seated Dollars, Seated Quarters, Seated Half Dimes, Seated Dimes, and Bust Halves. 

February - March 2008 Baltimore:  WOW!  What a show!  I had record sales for a show, which beat the old record by 10%.  And, this of course didn't count the auction!  Big crowds were on hand especially on Friday.  The market for collector coins was very hot in my opinion, especially for coins in the $100 to $1,000 range.  I sold an 1873-CC Seated dollar, and a lot of Barber quarters, Bust quarters, Seated halves, Barber halves, Trade dollars and Bust half dimes.  I bought a set of Barber quarters minus the big three, a starter set of Seated quarters, incl. 1843-O Large O, 1851-O, 1857-S, 1862-S, 1865, 1871, 1873 No Arrows Open 3, and 1878-CC.  I also acquired some Seated quarters not in this set such as 1868, 1872-CC, and 1878-S.  I also acquired a rare circulated 1878 twenty cent piece, an 1849 Dramatically Doubled Date half, an 1861-O Confederate Obverse half, an 1862 Seated dollar and an 1878-CC Trade dollar.  For the first time in a long time, I acquired a St. Patrick's halfpenny, a Fugio cent and a Jefferson Indian Peace Medal.
       The Stack's auction of The Rich Uhrich Collection and other important properties was very successful.  My part of the auction  included near-complete sets of half cents, large cents, proof Indian cents, 2c pieces, 3c nickels, 3c silvers, Shield nickels, all early, Bust and Seated silver denominations (half dimes, dimes, 20c pieces, quarters, halves, and silver dollars, and also a set of all proof cents thru dollars from 1936 thru 2004, with most pieces being cameo/deep cameo.  Please note that there were many, many lots that came from the "other important properties" and were not from my collection.  For my part of the sale, 90% of the lots were sold, representing appx. 82% of the value.  I was very pleased with the results.  Thank you to those of you who bid in the sale, and those of you who bought lots.

January 2008 FUN (Orlando): I've just returned from the FUN show held annually in Orlando, Florida in January. The show began with people in a good mood because of the higher prices for gold and silver. As usual, the FUN show lived up to its name.  The market seems to be fairly hot especially for rare, no problem coins.  The show was well-attended, a lot of people were buying, and several people brought nice coins to sell.  All of the dealers I spoke with thought it was an excellent show, although a few of those said it was a little slower than 2007's FUN show.

I shared a table with Lynn Ourso and Rick Demers from New Orleans Rare Coins. This means that I was the one behind the table with the funny accent. I sold several nice Bust and Seated coins, and I bought an R-7 half dime (which was sold within hours), two R-6 Capped Bust half dimes, an 1846 half dime, an 1879 dime, an 1806 B-7 Bust quarter and an 1825/3 early die state of the cud at arrows, multiple Seated quarters incl. 1849-O, 1851, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1865-S, 1866-S (a gorgeous EF), 1873 No Arrows Closed 3 business strike, and 1879, an 1892-S Barber quarter, an 1830 Large Letters half and an 1839-O Reeded Edge half.  Seated dollars seemed to be in short supply, as I sold half of the ones I brought and wasn't able to find any replacements.

Also, I met several people I hadn't met previously, including silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half dime collectors, as well as PCGS Forum members. All in all, a great FUN show, and I plan to do it again next January.

November 2007 Baltimore:  Thanks to Whitman for another super show in Baltimore!   Dealer day (Thursday) was a little slow, but Friday was extremely busy!  Saturday and Sunday had higher sales than usual for me.  For the sixth consecutive Baltimore show, I shared Table #1600 with Bob Kevorkian of Higleyville Coin Company.  I sold an 1884 cameo proof quarter, 1821 and 1825/2 quarters, an 1879 nickel that never even made the website, Seated dollars of 1850, 1861, and two 1862's, and many other coins.  I bought 1842-O, 1863, 1866 and 1867 half dimes, several Seated dimes incl. an 1867 in VF and an AU 1878-CC, Bust Quarters incl. two 1825/4 with cuds, Seated quarters incl. an Unc. 1855-O, and several coins for want lists.  I didn't buy a huge number of coins, but I was very pleased with the ones I did buy.  And I met some great people too, incl. many from the PCGS Forums!

I attended two sessions of the Bowers and Merena auctions, and I was mentioned in the Coin Rarities Online Road Report as follows:
"We found a grand total of three (3) things we wanted to bid on in Session I and bought them all. And since the lots were about 45 minutes apart, I had ample time to shoot the bull with Rich Uhrich, who was seated with me at the big table, but inexplicably positioned with his back to the auctioneer throughout the evening (but which I am positive he will explain in the show recap on his own website)." 
CRO's account of the auction is accurate.  I also was bidding on three lots in this session, and I was also tracking the selling prices for several lots I had consigned to the auction.  I didn't need to see the auctioneer to track the selling prices, and I used the backhand method for making my bids.  Besides, when I entered the auction room, this was the only available seat at the table!

August 2007 ANA Milwaukee:  The ANA always throws a great show in the summer, and this show in Milwaukee was no exception.  I shared Table #433 with Dr. Gene Bruder and Duncan Lee.  Retail sales were a little slow, but wholesale business was outstanding.  I had the highest sales ever at a show!  I sold a 1796 No Pole half cent that never even made the website, plus a circulated 1887/6 3c nickel, 1936-D 3 1/2 leg nickel, 1846, 1864 and 1867 half dimes, 1853 No Arrows and 4 S-mint dimes from the 1860's, quarters incl. 1851-O, 1853 No Arrows, 1853-O/horizontal O, 1856-S/s, 1860-S, 1862-S, 1865, 1872-CC, 1875-CC, 1882, and six 1909-O's.  I acquired 1878, 1883, and 1886 circulated 3c nickels, two 1879/8 proof nickels, circulated 1864, 1866 and 1867 half dimes, an 1821 JR-2 dime pedigreed to the Jules Reiver collection, a nice 1829 Curl Base 2 dime, a high grade 1870-S dime, nine Bust Quarters with eight of them at least R-5, several tough Seated quarters incl. an AU 1853 No Arrows and five in the 1880's, Seated halves including an 1841-O baseball reverse, 1851, 1852, high grade 1860, 1862 and 1863, an 1873-CC No Arrows, and an 1888, plus 1860 and 1862 Seated dollars.  

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