by: Dan Duncan – Pinnacle Rarities
The just concluded American Numismatic Association annual Money Show isn’t known for the large public draw of its summer counterpart. It has the great exhibits; it travels to different locations annually to test the collector public from various regions; and it generally has a solid auction. But despite the top-notch work the ANA puts into the show, having a great retail event in New Orleans may be too much to ask. Public attendance was low.
However, not all was lost. For Pinnacle, our show presence isn’t contingent on making sales to collectors. We focus as much on buying, and building relationships with clients and collectors–sometimes meeting new ones, sometimes putting faces to names or reacquainting with a few we may not have seen in a decade or more. If you made it out, it was a pleasure meeting with you. If you didn’t, consider next year’s Money Show to be held in Atlanta, GA.
After a few days in the Big Easy, we had caught up on the latest industry news and gossip. Hands down, the hot topic was the Marketplace Fairness Act, which grants state governments the authority to collect sales tax on transactions from remote sellers, particularly online retailers. Yet this bill doesn’t only affect Internet businesses. It includes all phone and mail orders, even when the vendor has no online presence.
The bill refers to “remote sales” as any transaction done outside your home state. The U.S. Senate passed a version and the House of Representatives has their version (HR684) in committee. It is obvious the adverse impact this will have on our hobby, so we urge you to contact your Representative to ask them to vote this business-crippling Act down.
The second topic of discussion (true for most trips to New Orleans) was the food. I have not been to New Orleans since Katrina. Downtown has recovered; Bourbon Street is as wild as ever; and the food at every restaurant we happened into served mouth watering Cajun delights.
The market keeps chugging along. Dealers and collectors alike complain about the lack of availability. Part of the problem from a wholesale standpoint is the proliferation of shows during this time of year. Many of the inventories we looked through contained the same items we saw in Schaumburg just a couple weeks ago. Quite a few dealers didn’t bother making the trip, instead taking the week off looking toward upcoming shows or refueling after CSNS and EAC shows from the previous weeks.
While we found a few interesting items, as we always do, the majority of our inventory continues to be acquired directly from our collector clients who, we might add, have wonderful taste. New purchases will continue to post throughout the week, including a fabulous, high-grade silver commemorative collection, so stay tuned.
