By William Shamhart – Numismatic Americana
The Spring 2011 ANA National Money Show
When Christine and I talked about the American Numismatic Association’s 2011 National Money Show in Sacramento, we didn’t really expect much. I knew that there would be a large group of east coast dealers who wouldn’t attend, and I figured that many retail customers wouldn’t go the extra mile to get to a show in such an out of the way place. In this case I was right and wrong. There were many people one would expect to see that didn’t show. Yet there were many that surprised me by showing up. Seems I forgot one thing, two actually, San Francisco and the Bay Area.
From 10 a.m. on Thursday through closing, and virtually all day on Friday, Christine and I were steadily busy. Don’t get me wrong. Not everybody was buying five figure coins. Many collectors came to sell and we did our best to purchase all we could (as long as the coins met our standards). Numerous collectors, some who we know and some who we just met, weren’t there to sell, they came to buy. And like I said, it wasn’t all big coins. Many came looking for commemoratives from the classic era of 1936-1939. Others sought out GEM type coins (one of my favorite ways to collect), while more than one individual was looking for GEM Walking Liberty half dollars (we bought and sold a PCGS MS 65 CAC 1920-S at the show). High grade examples of Buffalo nickels from the complete set we just bought were also in demand.
Over the course of the past year I have noticed something that I’d like to talk to you about. It has become apparent that there are many of you, collectors that Christine and I have never done business with, that watch our website looking for that special coin. More than once a potential client has said that they read our show reports, love Christine’s photography, and generally like the look and business model of our company. And this is after following us on the web for sometime, all while remaining anonymous.
It isn’t until they see something on our site that they come up to our booth at a show and introduce themselves. I would like to extend an invitation to introduce yourself at the next show we both attend. Yes it is great to either buy or sell a coin during a first meeting, but Christine and I like to build relationships. We have found that the best customers are those that we build strong relationships with. And any good relationship has a beginning. So next time your at a show we’re attending, stop by and say hello. Remember, we love to talk coins.
As I said earlier in this report, Christine and I did our best to buy some great looking coins for you. While I am writing this report, Christine is busy photographing the coins and getting them ready for this email and show update.
Our next show is in Baltimore next week. If you are planning on attending, and see something in this email, let us know and we will put it on hold for you. Or we can ship it out to you. Whichever works best for you. And remember…even if you don’t see anything, please stop by and say hello. We love to talk coins…
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ANA Spring 2011 National Money Show Opening Ceremonies.
