I arrived back to my home in Alaska around 1:00 AM on Sunday the 14th after an entire week of "coin nirvana" at the ANA World's Fair of Money, held at the Anaheim (California) Convention Center. Some quick thoughts:
-
always great to reconnect with my friends in numismatics. Spending
time with collector/dealer/researcher comrades is THE highlight of any
coin show for me.
-
it was especially pleasant to meet some of the West Coast and Southern
California collectors that I've only talked or corresponded with in the
past.
- I collect
Capped Bust Half Dimes and to a much lesser extent, other bust coinage.
As such, I visited with dealers who specialize in my areas of interest.
It seemed to me that the dealers who had a healthy selection of those
coins were doing a pretty good business. Busier days saw a number of
bust coin sellers two deep with collectors waiting to view the coins or
talk with the dealer.
-
I assisted David Perkins with a small sealed bid sale of half dimes.
Four Logan-McCloskey plate coins and one R6 die marriage were sold in
the auction. Despite the auction being a last-minute addition to David's
ANA plans, it was great to see demand for the plate coins remaining
strong. The coins were in PCGS "details" holders; however, they averaged
more than $800 each in price realized (including 15% buyer premium)!
-
although it was unannounced, mostly for security reasons, I brought my
entire collection of half dimes to the show for "show and tell." It was
quite fun to share my collection with fellow numismatists!
-
Perkins also held the final sale and auction of Kirk Gorman's dimes. I
enjoyed playing a small role in the sale. I'm hopeful that a dime
specialist will contribute some thoughts from the Gorman sale. I did
like to observe the knowledge and enthusiasm for dimes just oozing out
of specialists as they viewed and discussed the dimes.
-
large shows like the ANA are great opportunities to add to one's
collection. I was pleased to find upgrades for my half dime set. I
purchased a beautiful AU58 1829 LM-7.3 from David Kahn that has greater
eye appeal (to me) than my current set piece, which is MS63. Also,
David Kahn had an 1829 LM-16.2 in MS63 that will replace my XF45. I was
fortunate to place my XF45 with a friend who needed a nice example of
this surprisingly-difficult-to-find remarriage. Speaking of eye appeal,
I found a pretty MS63 1835 LM-4 at the table of Jim Matthews. Jim and I
struck a deal and the colorful coin will replace my MS61 (CAC) set
piece. Jim had other nice coins in a variety of denominations and
series! Finally, I added two seated dollars to a short set I'm building
(only coins dated in the 1840s), thanks to David Perkins.
- I've certainly left out a few important things from this write-up, perhaps another time...
I do hope others will share their experiences from the 2016 ANA World's Fair of Money
Richard Meaney
