FUN Show Recap
I had a great time at the FUN coin show in Orlando, Florida this past weekend. What struck me right away was how friendly the bourse (sales floor) seemed to be! At most coin shows, you have all of these old men standing guard behind their tables, staring you down lest you try to snatch something our of their locked cases while they're blinking, but I didn't get this feeling at FUN at all! I think it was a combination of a much higher population of women, both behind the the tables and among the attendees, plus a generally warmer ambiance that might just be good ol' Southern hospitality. Whatever it was, I saw a larger number of smiling dealers than normal, and strangers greeting each other in the aisles just saying "hello". (Ever see that in Chicago?)
Most dealers said they had a good show, especially early in the weekend (the show opened Thursday.) Retail sales were weaker than in the past few years, but dealer-to-dealer and wholesale transactions were strong although prices for common-to-semi-key material were a little weaker. Demand for keys and rarities was very strong, as always, but even those prices are depressed as much as 30%.
Dealers were very wary of the Chinese-made counterfeit coins that showed up here and there, including my own attempts to "sell" them to dealers as part of an educational and outreach effort I am making this year. I'll be writing a great deal more on this subject in the near future. (Be assured that I'm not actually selling fakes! I simply present the coins and ask the dealers if they want to buy them. If they say "yes," I warn them that the coins are Chinese-made counterfeits. Fortunately about half the dealers recognize that the coins are fake. It's the other half I am trying to educate. There's nothing like nearly losing $2,000 to bring home how deceptive these coins are.)
Seminars are always one of the best parts of any large coin show, and this year's FUN was no exception. My own talk went fairly well; Coin World editor Beth Deisher opened the talk with a brief introduction about the Chinese-made counterfeits and then I gave my mini-seminar on the Top 5 Ways to Avoid Buying Counterfeit Coins on eBay. I also introduced my "Counterfeit Coins Detection Kit," which Amos Hobby Supplies will market as the "AuthentiKit," (although in a slightly different form than I suggest.)
Following my talk, collector Dr. Greg DuBay stood up and shared some of his experiences in buying counterfeit coins from the Chinese sources. He has had a decades-long interest in counterfeit coins from the study perspective, and his technical knowledge of the characteristics of these coins is quite extensive! In fact, I was so impressed with his deep knowledge of, and interest in the subject that I have invited him to be my co-presenter at the ANA Summer Seminar this year!
DuBay is an excellent public speaker. He has great audience-rapport, and had the crowd laughing almost right away. Following his entertaining account, we had some courageous volunteers come up and try to pick the genuine coins out of a small batch of mostly counterfeits. Deisher held a question and answer period to close the session, and if the buzz can be believed, it was one of the most informative talks this year (but I bet they say that to all the girls, heh.)
Biggest Disappointment - PCGS Founder David Hall
The biggest disappointment at FUN, according to many I spoke to, was the lack of appearance of PCGS founder David Hall. He was scheduled to appear as part of Scott Travers' panel discussion on buying coins in a depression-like economy, but Hall had to cancel due to a "serious but temporary" health matter.
It was intended that Travers would read Hall's comments to the crowd (which was very large, as usual when Travers is on the ticket). However, things got behind schedule and Travers didn't end up having time to read Hall's material. In order that Hall's time not have been wasted in preparing these insightful remarks about the coin market, Travers gave me the text of Hall's statement, as an exclusive for my About.com Coins readers. Thanks, Scott! =)
Comments
Thanks for the kind words… That was the first time I ever spoke about coins…. I have done some medical presentations but have always had months to prepare the program and slides…… Looking forward to what comes next
Greg
Good Morning Susan and Thank You very much for the very entertaining report on the FUN coin show. I had never heard of that show until this morning. Good advice about avoiding fake coins and I am pretty sure I don’t have any. I have been collecting for only about 4 years and now have quite a few Morgans, Franklins and some 90% rolls. Unfortunately I got into collecting later in life but discovered that I love collecting coins. I don’t have a lot of them, but probably 50-60 pounds and most are ungraded, but most of them are nice silver coins. Almost all the graded ones are PCGS or NGC. By nice coins I don’t mean they are MS65+ or rare coins or gold coins. I have been thinking for some time about trying to make extra income by buying and selling coins. Is this crazy for someone like me? Almost all my coins were bought off eBay and it looks like the prices for them haven’t gone up much, so for a person to start buying to resell, or to sell what they currently own what advice could you give them? About 4 years ago I ran across Edgar Steele’s article titled “Peak Silver” and that’s what got me collecting immediately and then I fell in love with the hobby. He like a lot of other people think that silver will explode in price in the near future and my little stash could really go up in value. Do you have an opinion on that and do you know anyone looking to trade a 35 foot or longer cruising sailboat for some nice silver coins?…:)
Hi Susan,
I am very happy you had a good time at the Fun Show. A coin show should be fun and educational.
BUT, you have been attending the wrong shows in Chicago. The Illinos Numismatic Association has their state show in the Chicago area in Tinley Park, IL. It is a small show, only about 230 tables, but a lot of happy dealers and collectors.
We are always complimented on our atmosphere by both the dealers and the collectors. We have educational seminars and a youth auction on Saturday. Dealers donate over one hundard coins to be given away to the Young Numismatics at their youth auction.
This year is our 50th Anniversary and we have many new and exciting things to announce later this year. If you would like more information on a collector driven coin and currency show, stop by our web page for the latest information. http://www.ilnaclub.org
Frank M. Zapushek
President
Illinois Numismatic Association
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