Sunday, August 14, 2016

JR Newsletter: 14 August 2016 (306)




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