Coins We Love: WCU is a Wrap!
I shared a snapshot of last week with the WCU event, but the final events are always the highlights. After a week of numismatic education and camaraderie, the week ends with a special guest speaker (Kevin Lipton of KLRC this year), a banquet, and a small private coin show for the young folks. All of this before a zero-dark-thirty flight home from San Francisco.
After a week of events, it’s hard to unpack the entire conclusion well, but I’ll start with Friday morning, where I got to spend time with the advanced class talking about coin values from a wholesale basis to a more collector-based focus. It was a fascinating exercise about values and inconsistencies (and missing information!) in the marketplace. Overall, the internet coin market has always been fairly transparent with value realizations. However, as less time and money are being spent on technology development, this has created opportunities and confusion in some places. I think this was an interesting concept for the young people, and it may be something that needs to be elaborated on more in a future CWL!
After that class, I had a lunch meeting with an old friend, Christian Hartch of Treasure Town, who was there visiting some friends. Christian was part of WCU in its first year and has gone on to some fantastic things educationally, so we’re very proud of his progress. Check out his YouTube page if you’re ever looking to watch some educational coin videos!
That afternoon, Kevin spoke for about 90 minutes about his journey in the coin business from rare coin dealer to modern market leader. It was a fascinating look into his story, and I know that the young people enjoyed it. Based on the fact that all of the instructors and many parents listened tells you that it was a rare opportunity.
The evening wrapped up with a banquet for the students and families. This year, the rubber chicken dinner wasn’t so bad, and the efficiency of the evening was perfect. All of the folks involved were given a CACG sample slab with a special label. This is the 5th one of these I’ve added to my collection, and apparently, there’s a thriving marketplace for these, too.
Saturday was the final main event with a coin show where each of the young people could set up and trade. As the afternoon began, we tried to stimulate the local coin economy, and I walked away spending almost 6 figures. That fact blew my mind, but the coins available were something far above what I would have expected (or had when I was that age!). Overall, it was an absolute blast. I can’t wait for next year. However, the 6 am flight came early, and I am still feeling the effects! I guess I’m not a teenager anymore! Regardless, it was a wonderful event, a ton of fun, and investing in the future collectors/dealers of our hobby is something that we will continue to do at DLRC.
Next week, we will have an update from JC and Andy on their return from their deal in St. Louis and Jack’s adventures in the Midwest. We’re also gearing up for the ANA World’s Fair of Money that is coming up surprisingly quickly in just a few weeks! If you will be at the show, make sure to stop by our table 907 and let us know if there are any pieces you would like us to bring.
Thanks for reading! We’ll continue to throw coins up on the website this week, highlighted by a Red Carpet Rarities auction with some fantastic key dates.
Numismatically Yours,
John Brush
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