Coins We Love: Jack's Midwest Road Trip

I’m sure many of you have heard about me wandering around the eastern half of the US and I figured it was time to share what I was up to. After just under 3,000 miles, almost two weeks, and 15 states, I’m finally back home! It was quite a trip, and a lot happened along the way.

Before the trip even started, I had to load my car on Tuesday with what felt like a mountain of silver eagles (about 3500 graded coins), which was quite the workout. Once that was done, I hit the road at about 4 a.m., heading to NYC to deliver them to a customer. While I was in the city and nearby areas, I learned an important lesson: driving in New York is no easy task. Maybe I’m just spoiled living in VB, which feels like one big suburb, but it was a challenge. I stayed with our good friends Amandeep and his wife while in New York, and we had a great time. We made pizza and watched an entire season of Schitt’s Creek (though I’m still not sure what the show is about).

Early Wednesday morning, I was back on the road at 5:30 a.m., heading to Cincinnati. Without a literal anchor of silver eagles in the back of my car, I was able to make a few stops at local coin shops along the way. Stopping at local shops is one of my favorite things; you never know if you’ll leave empty-handed or with a six-figure haul. I didn’t land any huge deals this time, but I did pick up several small treasures that are now being graded and will be in auction once they’re back. Driving through Pennsylvania, I made several stops, but my favorite was Gettysburg. I didn’t visit the battlefields, but I wandered through the small downtown, which was full of old brick buildings and lots of history! I checked out a few Civil War knick-knack shops before they closed and got myself some amazing homemade ice cream.

I didn’t make it to Cincinnati that day because I made too many stops, so I spent the night in Columbus. I didn’t see or do much there, just passed through. The next day, I finally made it to Cincinnati and went straight to the show I had planned on going to. I stayed in town for three days, and the show was pretty good, about the size of the PAN show. I picked up some notable coins, including an 1836 Reeded Edge Half Dollar in PCGS XF40, an 1802 Draped Bust Half Dollar in PCGS VG10, and the highlight of the show is a PCGS VF20 1851 Humbert Slug (Reeded Edge, 887 Thous). I wasn’t expecting to find a Humbert Slug there, but like I said about coin shops, shows can also be hit or miss.

After finishing up in Cincinnati, I headed to Chicago on Saturday, stopping in Indianapolis to visit a close friend and fellow dealer. While there, I picked up a neat group of fresh raw Hawaiian quarters and dimes, which are now at grading with the other raw coins from this trip. If you like Hawaiian coins, keep an eye out for a small group coming to our website soon. After leaving Indy, I spent the night in northern Indiana with another good friend before finally making it to my family in Chicago. This was my first time driving home, and I was able to take a short break that weekend, or so I thought. On Sunday, I went to a local show briefly in Peotone, IL. You may be wondering where that is. Well, I have the answer for you: it’s literally in the middle of corn fields. This show had maybe 10-15 dealers. After that, I drove down to Attica, Indiana, with another friend, where we did some off-road driving in my Jeep, and that alone made the trip.

Monday hit, and that meant back to business! A customer of ours reached out about selling his collection after JB mentioned my trip in the CWL, so I spent the entire day evaluating it, and boy, did that take a while. In the end, I wound up purchasing the collection, and everyone was happy. There are some amazing coins in this collection that I believe were mentioned in the last CWL, but some highlights are a 1836 Gobrecht Dollar in PCGS PR45, a 1799 Draped Bust $10 in PCGS AU50, and a 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar in PCGS XF40. I find purchasing collections to be such an interesting transaction because it’s always different every time. Everyone has a different reason for selling, maybe they’ve lost the itch to collect, maybe it was a relative’s collection and they have no interest in coins, or maybe it’s simply time to move on and put the funds into bigger and better pieces. The part I value most when purchasing a collection is the conversation. Being a collector myself, I appreciate the time people put into researching and building their sets, and I enjoy hearing about their collecting journey. Whether it’s someone tucking away coins found in circulation because they love the history, or collecting every bust half by Overton variety, I always learn something new, and you know what they say, knowledge is power.

The last part of the trip was my favorite, and I know I’ve been saying that about every part, but this leg truly was the best. I drove from Chicago down to the Blue Ridge Show in Dalton, GA. On the way, I passed by Fort Knox, which was pretty neat, and it made me wonder just how much gold is actually in there. Not long after, I stopped at what was probably one of the nicest rest stops I’ve ever seen. I know rest stops don’t sound appealing, but this one was on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee and had absolutely breathtaking views. After that short break, I made it to Dalton for the show. There wasn’t too much to write home about, but I did pick up a nice little run of early date Seated half dimes, along with an 1815 Bust Quarter in CACG AU53 with the ‘E’ Counterstamp. That one really made me nerd out since I’d never seen one before, and I’ve heard there are a lot of different stories about that coin. After three days in Georgia, I packed up the caravan and started the trip home. On the way, I drove along the Trail of Tears, stopped in Dahlonega, GA, to visit the Gold Museum, and then went through the Chattahoochee National Forest, where I stopped at an off-roading trail and had a blast! After that, I cut into the Blue Ridge Mountains, easily some of the best views of the entire trip. I could never get tired of driving through that area, with how peaceful it is and how much nature surrounds you. I did get stuck in a storm for about four hours, which wasn’t fun, but I eventually made it home after that.

I really enjoyed this trip, even though they missed me in the office. And now that I am back it's time for "real work". I’m always traveling to buy coins, whether it's to shows, shop visits, or picking up collections. If you have a collection you’re looking to sell, feel free to call or email me. I’m always happy to work with customers and make the drive if it makes sense for both of us. And, if you enjoyed this update, I’d be glad to share more about my travels, because there’s always more to talk about!

Numismatically Yours,

Jack Smith

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