The 34th Chicago International Coin Fair gets underway this week at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont Ill. April 23-26, 2009.

Ponterio & Associates, Inc., a division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, will offer almost 3000 lots featuring an exceptional selection of world coins and currency hailing from Russia, China, Mexico, Cuba, Australia, Latin America and more.

The auction is highlighted by two standout banknote collections. The J.S. Morgan Collection of Early Russian Banknotes covers approximately 100 years and features early 19th to early 20th century banknotes. Of special interest is lot 1056, Russia/Imperial, 25 Rubles, 1843, P-A38, Specimen. State Credit Note, Original Documentation Included, About Uncirculated, Extremely Fine. This 25 Rubles note is an unlisted item in the SCWPM and finding another example at a public offering will likely be far too long for any collector to wait. This piece shows with a distinctive appeal exhibiting the vertical format, which highlights the long specimen overprint.

Already a spotlight collection for Bowers and Merena Auctions, The East Bay Collection of International Banknotes is sure to draw the interest of banknote enthusiasts worldwide. The East Bay Collection is believed to be the largest collection of international banknotes ever to come to market. Assembled over the course of 40 years by a private collector in Northern California, it originally consisted of more than 30,000 notes representative of over 150 countries. The collection debuted in Bowers and Merena’s October 2008 New York auction with Chinese and related Asian banknotes and Russian and European banknotes. A special highlight in this CICF auction is lot 39, Australia, 5 Pounds, 1913, P-5a, Commonwealth of Australia, Fine. The note is signed Collins and Allen and is an early issue that is hard to obtain in any grade.

Find complete details including a schedule of events and list of Bourse table holders at cicfshow.com.

The Professional Numismatists Guild will host a free “PNG Share the Knowledge” educational seminar about modern coins during the 70th annual Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS) convention.

Scott Schechter, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of the Certified Collectibles Group, will present “Modern Coins – Everything You Need to Know” at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 1, 2009, in room 237 of the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, site of the CSNS convention.

Certified Collectibles Group is the parent company of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the official grading service of the PNG.

A complimentary light lunch will be available for audience members.

The seminar will focus on U.S. and world mint issues, both circulating and non-circulating legal tender (NCLT), and on the certification of modern coins including the best practices for submission and coin selection. Schechter will discuss grading terminology and special designations applied to modern coins. He’ll also look back at the most successful coins of recent years and what upcoming releases look most promising for collectors.

“The Professional Numismatists Guild created the continuing ‘PNG Share the Knowledge’ seminar series for collectors and dealers around the country to share the knowledge of some of the country’s top numismatic experts,” said PNG President Gary Adkins.

The annual PNG Day at the 2009 CSNS convention will be held on Wednesday, April 29. Complimentary tickets for collectors to the invitation-only PNG Day bourse are available from participating PNG member-dealers or by contacting Tina Shireman at the PNG headquarter by phone at (760) 728-1300 or by e-mail at info@PNGdealers.com.

Additional information about the CSNS convention is available at www.CentralStates.info

The Legend Market Report by Laura Sperber – Legend Numismatics

BALTIMORE IS THE BEST COMMERICAL COIN SHOW THAT EXISTS!

There are NO challengers (on a major coin show level). Even in its hey day, Long Beach never came close to how well run this show is. Mary Counts, Dave Crenshaw, and crew do an unbelievable job. And most important, they are ALWAYS looking to make the better!

If this show is not hard for you to get to-then go to it! Most major dealers are there (its not unusual to see Dave Bowers roaming the isles). Whitman has a tremendous area offering all their products. There is a huge supply dealer. The food is expensive but tastey. B+M runs a great auction. And of course Legend is set up at atable #555 (had to say that)!

PRE SHOW-THE STACKS SALE

Usually these pre show auctions are not the strongest. Much to our surprise, the Stacks sale did very well. It always helps when there is a terrific group of “fresh” coins that come out for the first time in years. They had an exceptional run of GEM twentith century coins.

The obvious note: there was clear separation of pricing between the dreck, dealer retreads, and the fresh coins. The “crackout” players went nuts especially over the copper and the Buffalo Nickels.

We did not see many coins that fell through the “cracks” at the sale. It was a refreshing way to start the week.

PRE SHOW-LOBBY LEACHING

This is a very critical time of any major show. Every one is scrambling to be #1 to get the fresh deals or to make sales for large premiums. Since there is now an added hotel (the new Hiton) most dealers were spread out. At any given time on Wednesday you would see dealers scurrying back and forth multiple times. (more…)