Coins We Love: How Was CSNS?
The Central States Show in Schaumburg, Illinois…how was it? In all honesty, it served our needs and purposes perfectly. Now, how did that happen? Well, it wasn’t easy!
Jack, our resident Chicagoan, arrived on Friday afternoon to visit some old haunts and a small show the following day that was certainly productive and resulted in some nice acquisitions. Wes and I hopped on a plane Saturday morning to obtain an early shot at another dealer’s inventory, so to say we got a head start was an understatement. After grabbing Chick-fil-A on the way, we noticed that the mascots in Illinois seem to be a little different…and slightly less friendly?
Saturday was productive and it set us up for an early start on Sunday morning, where we had two appointments that literally took us through the entire day. By 6 pm, we had turned off our lamps and realized that we might have already bought the majority of our best purchases. Monday, we got back together with Jack and visited a couple of coin shops in the area that we had spoken with beforehand to add to our piles of purchases. One new client of ours was especially interesting, and the number of coins we brought home from there was surprising (as was the quality of the coins — these were NICE!). The second stop was even more interesting as we happened upon an incredibly fresh run of consecutive serial-numbered Old Green Holders that, after a quick trip to CAC Stickering, will be coming up soon in an RCR sale. The last stop was less fruitful, but fascinating nonetheless, as we continue to study the different styles of shops and coin businesses throughout the country!
Monday evening brought about first shot with two more dealers. Jack, Wes, and I divided and conquered a few more clients. While Saturday was an incredibly early time to arrive at a show that opened on Wednesday, we certainly got our money’s worth and knocked it out of the park as far as acquisitions. On Tuesday, Andy arrived to help us put together everything we had done so far. We also had another group of dealers who were arriving, so we viewed about another dozen or so inventories as the day went on. The evening concluded with a PNG Board Meeting for JB, but not before another early shot of coins was presented to us that night. So, coins from 8 am to 11 pm. Sounds like a great day, right? Well, it was certainly productive and by then we had already met our objectives, so the show would be the icing on the cake.
On Wednesday, the show launched with PNG Day, so only dealers were on the bourse until the early evening. The dealer-to-dealer trading was fine and continued to be productive for us…but we had decided to focus on purchasing, consignments, and acquisitions this week, so the inventory we brought with us was very limited. We sold a few coins, but it wasn’t really by design as we only had a box of coins or so with us. The day ended with the PNG’s Annual Awards Banquet, which was held at Morton’s Steakhouse. It was likely a record number that attended (over 170!) and shows us that the market is active and is a growing segment of the coin-dealing population! While Jack was sticking around through Friday, Andy, Wes and I departed at the end of the day Thursday to catch up back in the office. We didn’t depart without a few extra coins, though, and I have to say that this may have been the best Central States Show for DLRC that we’ve ever had. Not because of sales, not because of attendance (it was average), but because we met our mission objectives and have returned with an amazing number of coins (quality and quantity!). We’re excited to get these coins moving through the DLRC system.
Of note, on the drive home from the airport, social media started blowing up on my phone about an auction result from our RCR sale. A 1988 Lincoln Cent had just sold for $64,000!!! (is that correct???). Honestly, we had suspected a sale price maybe around $2,000-$2,500, but $64,000… Well, we swung and missed on that expectation, but the variety, a Doubled Ear, was clearly far rarer than we expected, and the demand amongst multiple collectors was there. It’s not what we expected, but I can tell you that we’re glad we don’t run a coin shop, because once that news hits the rumor mill, there’s going to be a lot of questions about 1988 Lincoln Cents! We’re thrilled for the consignor and the happy auction winner. They are another step towards completing their Registry Set!
A productive week begets a productive week, so we will get back to processing our show purchases and leave you with this week's Coins We Love!
Numismatically Yours,
John Brush and Your Friends at DLRC
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