Funny how things work. We expected this to blow away Long Beach, but for us, it ended up the quieter show. Overall, we still did several hundred thousand in business and unlike Long Beach, we did do some retail. The only thing we could not do: BUY COINS! Yet again, the floor was beyond dry. NOTE: We had commented that at the last LB Show you could “bowl down the isles.” An attention seeking know-it-all type dealer who has nothing better to do than troll gossip boards for biz, made some comments on a chat board that this was not true and that we had our backs turned. Well, that was BS and we totally stand by that comment and ALL our observations for the Long Beach show. Ask any major dealer who has attended that show for years, the public attendance is badly declining. There is no specific reason.

The Baltimore Show simply had too many odds going against them this time for it to be a great show. Having a major show the week before was the #1 problem. The overal uncertainty of the economy probably was #2 (i.e high gas). #3 bad luck with the killer heat (weather). And last, #4-many collectors along the East Coast simply are waiting for the summer ANA Show at the end of July (which is also in Baltimore). Dealers certainly were burnt out from all the recent travel. Less then the usual amount of summer dealers attended (so it seemed). Still, everyone who was there clearly tried to make the best of it. If you had nice and fresh coins, they immediately sold the first day or to the first person you showed.

Surprisingly to us, the collector turn out was a little heavier than what we thought it would be. However, it was still incredibly less than what the March show brings in. Many substantial dealers felt (for them) the show really ended by 10 AM Friday. Very few stayed for Saturday. We ourselves did NO business Saturday at all and we were bone tried, so yes, we left early.

We strongly feel this show should NOT be used to measure the market, it was most likely an abberation.

Yet again, we congratulate Mary Counts, David Chrenshaw, and all the Whitman people for working hard to put on what clearly has become the BEST privately owned show in the biz. We just wish circumstances could have been better for them this time around!

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