HomeShows & ConventionsRare Coin Road Warrior-Including the New “Road Rage” Commentary

Rare Coin Road Warrior-Including the New “Road Rage” Commentary

Dear Rare Coin Enthusiast,
Our January was very busy although the show schedule was somewhat slow after the ‘dynamite’ Florida United Numismatists Show. We took a long buying trip out West during the third week of January and bought some great coins from several dealers who could not attend the FUN Show. We often follow a trip to the East Coast with a trip the following week to the West or vice versa. The last full week of January we attended the good San Jose Coin Club Show in San Jose, CA. This show has been relocated several times over the last few years, but the SJCC seems to have found a good new home at the Double Tree Hotel near the San Jose airport.

Attendance in San Jose was good. The demise of the Santa Clara Coin Show will definitely boost attendance at the San Jose show in future years, but there is some encouraging news in regard to Santa Clara as a show venue. Scott Griffin, a San Francisco area dealer, has a show scheduled in the same Santa Clara Convention facility for August of this year. Scott is a sharp guy and has already sold quite a few tables at this ‘new’ venue. Scott leased ‘half’ the space used for the ‘old’ Santa Clara Show and has done a good job filling the room.

Incidentally, Scott has also coordinated and run shows in San Francisco at the old San Francisco Mint in downtown S.F. This ‘mint’ show was one of the coolest small venue shows I have ever attended. Lots of dealers are quite excited to be able to continue attending a Santa Clara Show. The ‘history’ and ‘familiarity’ with the area and the Santa Clara Convention Center should help this ‘new’ Santa Clara Show, although we are somewhat concerned that the ‘date’ will keep many East Coast dealers from attending. The new Santa Clara Show is scheduled for the week following the ANA Summer Show held in August in Philadelphia this year.

The Long Beach show marked the third week in a row that we jumped on a plane to head out West again. Long Beach is like an old friend. I have attended over 80 Long Beach Shows in a row. Many of the hotel employees and restaurant servers near the convention center are old friends. I even have a couple of buddies at a local Gold’s Gym there. Long Beach has ‘flip-flopped’ in the last couple of years. Once upon a time, the back of the bourse floor was a ‘hodge podge’ of knick-knacks, stamps, curio, and empty tables.

The back of the bourse at Long Beach is cooking! Many dealers who gave up their tables in years past due to poor attendance, increased table fees-up front, and insane California business rules have returned to Long Beach, but…they have taken reasonably priced tables in the ‘back’ of the bourse. In the past dealers in the front of the Long Beach bourse floor got more business first.

Business in Long Beach has ‘flip-flopped’! Many customers are walking right by the bigger dealers who don’t put out coins for display or sale. In addition, because many of these bigger dealers are too busy to deal with the public, collectors are walking to the ‘back’ of the room first. Business in Long Beach was quite good and we are pleased with the additional activity at this major show.

Just three days after returning home from the Long Beach Show we were on a plane again heading North to Missouri and the good St. Louis Numismatic Association Show at the Airport Hilton in St. Louis. This show is always well attended and there is a ‘wait list’ for table space. Unfortunately, the venue itself leaves a lot to be desired. The bourse floor itself is crammed into a small narrow room-with nothing but curtains at one end to secure it-in front of a larger, but even more crowded ‘small’ ballroom. Back up tables are about eighteen inches wide and must be shared with the dealer behind you. The crowding in the aisles is chaotic. Security is always an issue and unfortunately it takes a ‘backseat’ at this show.

Last week we attended a ‘dealers only’ show in Sarasota, FL. This Numismatic Guarantee Corporation Show is held several times a year, mostly in Sarasota, for dealers to bring coins for NGC to grade as well as being able to trade with other dealers in a completely secure environment. Although this isn’t a public venue, it is popular with dealers.

Professional Coin Grading Service also holds several Trade and Grade shows each year. Most often these are held in Las Vegas and their next show is coming up at the beginning of March. PCGS Collector’s Club members and PCGS authorized dealers are welcome and encouraged to attend as well as the public. Once again, security is very good at this venue and dealers like to attend.

The first several weeks of 2012 have been quite eventful for Bozarth Numismatics. We have expanded. We have moved into new office space and are thrilled with the additional space as well as the additional service we will be able to offer to our customers. Our new employees: Stuart Bruning, Theresa Dominguez, and Mike Clark have all been a great help. If you call our office you will most likely speak to Stuart or Theresa. If you see us at a show, you will very likely meet Mike. With the new office we are also keeping ‘phone’ office hours from 9:30 to 5:00 CST Monday through Friday. If you have a question, please call or email us.

Normally I write both a Rare Coin Market Report as well as The Rare Coin Road Warrior each month. Because our primary focus is BUYING high grade high end rare PCGS, NGC, and CAC certified U.S. coins, we travel. Buying coins from images or photos on the internet is great, but frankly nothing replaces a good light, magnifying glass, and box of coins right in front of you. I buy coins SIGHT SEEN and to do that I need to travel. We will continue our aggressive travel schedule to allow us to buy as many GREAT coins as I can find. Unfortunately, the February Market Report was a ‘travel’ casualty.

Upcoming shows of interest in late February, March, and April include a new show in Tinley Park, IL South of Chicago. The small convention center in Tinley Park is very nice and newly expanded and renovated. BUT, there are already two shows a year at this facility including the Illinois State Numismatic Show. We will report later on the activity at this show. March is somewhat quiet without the Santa Clara Show. The month begins with the PCGS Las Vegas Trade and Grade and ends with the super Whitman Baltimore Coin Exposition. Bozarth Numismatics has tables at all three of these shows.

April starts off with another PCGS Trade and Grade in Las Vegas. We have really come to enjoy this venue, but unfortunately PCGS has scheduled this show just five short weeks after the early March Show during the week before the Easter Holiday weekend. Although we will attend, five weeks is too short a time period between shows and attendance will, most likely, suffer. Other noteworthy shows held in March include the Sarasota Coin Club Show in Sarasota, FL, the Tennessee State Numismatic Society Show in Chattanooga, the C.A.M.P. Show held in Monroeville, PA, and the South Shore Coin Club Show in Milwaukee.

The Central States Numismatic Society holds their annual show in late April in Schaumberg, IL at a lovely convention facility at the Renaissance Hotel. I attended a show here a couple of years ago and we loved the facility. One concern is that unlike events held in Rosemont, IL with easy access to public transportation, you will probably have to drive. Personally, I DO NOT care for Rosemont and the move to Schaumberg is a big plus for security, parking, and the nice convention center itself. Frankly, the Rosemont Convention Center is a ‘pit’.

Our show schedule for February through May is listed below. If we are attending a show in your area, please make plans to attend. We would love to meet you!

ROAD RAGE!

Recently, I had an epiphany of sorts. I am not above ‘bitching’ about things I don’t like. BUT, and here is the rub, I don’t particularly care to hear other people ‘bitch’. Frankly, who does, right? Yet some subjects need to be addressed. So here goes…

A couple of years ago a very well known dealer named Julian Leidman was robbed after attending a coin show on the East Coast. Julian is an ‘ambassador’ for the coin business. Not only is he a nice guy, but Julian has helped a lot of smaller dealers over the years, as well as the many serious collectors he has built substantial collections for.

Julian is very well liked as well as highly respected. After the robbery, a reward fund was established and lots of dealers very publicly made pledges to this fund. No, we did not pledge or donate to this fund. At that point in time, Bozarth Numismatics was just getting established and we didn’t have the funds to ‘pledge’. Of course, virtually all of these dealers who promised or pledged reward money for the return of Julian’s coins did so in good faith. At the time, I remember thinking that the best case scenario was that a coin or two might be recovered.

Guess what? Not only were the coins recovered, but the perpetrators were caught. A well known dealer in the Northeast went out of his way to help with this recovery when he was offered the stolen merchandise. This dealer took an enormous risk to himself. He did the right thing. Unfortunately, word on the street is that these perpetrators are ‘connected’ in some way, shape, or form. This dealer WAS directly responsible for the recovery of Julian’s merchandise. HE DID the right thing without any concern about getting reward money. He took the risk of retaliation from the perpetrators. This dealer is a hero!

Sounds like a ‘made for TV’ movie right? WRONG! A significant number of rare coin dealers who pledged to this reward fund have reneged. THEY HAVE NOT honored their pledges. I will not name names. Frankly, I am a little embarrassed that we didn’t donate. BUT, do you want to do business with a dealer that won’t honor their promises? I don’t!

Bozarth Numismatics is a full service rare coin dealer. We offer high grade U.S. coins graded by PCGS, NGC, and CAC on both our website Bozarthcoins.com and in our Ebay Store under Bozarthnumismatics. Because we are constantly buying great rare coins we add new merchandise to our website at least twice a month. We add new listings to our Ebay Store at least once a week. We also offer a free confidential want list service. Because of our extensive show and travel schedule we are often able to find coins other dealers can’t locate. Please visit Bozarthcoins.com and Bozarthnumismatics on Ebay. You can also email or call us.

Bozarth Numismatics Show Schedule April includes:

  • Tinley Park, IL Show February 23-25
  • PCGS Trade & Grade, Las Vegas, NV March 1st & 2nd
  • Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo., Baltimore, MD March 22-25
  • South Shore Coin Club, Milwaukee, WI March 29-31
  • PCGS Trade & Grade, Las Vegas, NV April 5th & 6th
  • Central States/Schaumberg, IL April 18-21
  • PNG Day CSNS April 18th
Vic Bozarth
Vic Bozarth
Vic Bozarth is a member of the Professional Numismatics Guild (PNG), the ANA, the CSNS, FUN, and many other regional and state coin clubs and organizations. Vic has extensive experience buying and selling coins into the mid-six-figure range. Both Vic and his wife Sherri attend all major U.S. coin shows as well as most of the larger regional shows.

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