Local coin show report

There was a coin show here last Friday and Saturday, one of only two
for the year in this area. As it happened I had to go out of town
Friday evening to attend a birthday party for my great neice who just
turned two. I decided to take off work early so I could go to the
show before I left. My wife and four year old daughter met me for
lunch before we all went over to the show. It's a small local show so
I didn't think I would be there much more than an hour or so.

Friday morning I had gone by the post office to pick up my latest ebay
acquisition, an NGC MS-64 Monroe commem that I posted about in another
thread last week. The auction only had a picture of the obverse and
it was rather poor so I was anxious to find out what the coin looked
like. To be quite honest, the coin was a bit ugly. The obverse had a
toning streak right across the faces that was very distracting. I was
more worried about the reverse since there was no picture, but it
actually looked better than the obverse, though it did have some dark
toning on the left side. Overall I wasn't real pleased with the coin
but since I had gotten it dirt cheap I wasn't about to send it back.
I still had the coin in my pocket with me when I went to the show.

At the show I was mainly looking for commems but had my eye out for
anything else that looked interesting. There was a decent selection
for a show of this size (20-25 tables, maybe). I had looked at
several commems at one table but decided to finish my rounds before
making any purchases. This particular dealer had a couple of Alabamas
that I was looking over when she pulled out two more of the "2x2"
variety. I figured they were a bit higher than I wanted to pay but I
looked them over anyway. Of particular note was one in a SEGS slab.
The slab was clearly labeled 2x2 but the 2x2 was no where to be seen
on the coin. I noted the price on the slab, considered mentioning the
problem to the dealer but decided to politely hand the coins back and
move on around the room.

At another table I spotted an Isabella quarter that caught my eye. It
was in an old thick NGC MS-62 slab. I had been looking for something
more in my budget, like an AU, but this one was talking to me. This
dealer had several commems too including a much nicer Alabama than I
had seen at the other table. My wife had wandered off with the little
girl so I made a note to show her the Isabella. She has a mild
interest (or tolerance) in my collection and I use her for my "eye
appeal" check. It's also a big purchase for me so I needed her
approval before spending the money. I got a price quote on the
Isabella and while I was chatting with the dealer about commems I
showed him my new bargain ugly Monroe. He didn't seem to think it
looked all that bad and casually mentioned that I could trade it in on
the Isabella. I wasn't too interested in trading but I kept it in
mind.

I found my wife helping my daughter pick out some foreign coins from a
"5 for a dollar" box. The dealer threw in a sixth one free so she was
quite happy. Around the room again we stopped at the dealers table
with the mis-labeled 2x2 while my daughter looked through their junk
box. I thought the junk was overpriced and tried to discourage her.
I got her to put back an AG Barber dime by offering her one of mine I
have stuck back in a roll somewhere but couldn't keep her from
settling on a 1930 Buffalo nickel that cost her $1.20. Oh well, I
didn't have any old Buffalos to bribe her with.

We then went to the other table where I showed my wife the Isabella
and she approved, but agreed it was a lot of money. She gets worried
at around the $300 level. We ended up at the local dealers table
where my daughter picked out two coins from the bargain bin, a 1961
proof linclon (complete with some spotty toning) and a decent looking
1958-D wheat cent in red unc. Both were marked 25 cents and I told
her to drive a hard bargain. She did and the dealer gave her both for
40 cents and even included a partial date buffalo nickel in her
change.

Now I stepped aside to discuss the Isabella with my wife. I told her
the asking price and she was hesitant, though she liked the coin. I
casually mentioned that he offered to make a deal with the Monroe and
her eyes lit up. She said she was trying to like that coin but it was
really ugly and she though I should take the opportunity to trade it
off. I rarely sell coins and I hadn't had posession of this one for
more than 6-8 hours yet. I conceeded and headed back to the dealer to
see what we could work out.

If you missed the previous post, I won this coin for around $191 and
had less than $200 in it including shipping. I checked around to find
that Greysheet listed it over $350 and Bluesheet even had it around
$260. I've seen uglier ones sell on Heritage at that price range or
more. After an offer and a counter offer the dealer gave me $275 off
of his previous price on the Isabella. Maybe I could have gotten him
down a bit on a cash sale anyway, but I got rid of an unappealing coin
and made a few bucks in the process, so I think I came out ok.

After much effort I've managed to get a representative picture of the
Isabella. Dead on it looks pretty much brown, but with any angle it
shows a lot of blue and orange. It has good luster under the tone but
shows enough chatter to keep it at the grade on the slab, MS-62. It's
in an old thick slab and I think it's correctly graded. I also added
a picture of my Columbian and uploaded them for your viewing pleasure.

http://webpages.charter.net/thompson...bian_Expo.html

On the way out the door I stopped to ask about a Franklin half that
caught my eye earlier. It was a 1955 in an old green PCI MS-64 holder
but it had interesting rim toning and the reverse was mosly orange.
Not a monster by any means but still not bad so I bought it. I also
picked up a 1958-D Franklin in an NGC MS-65 holder that had some
toning. It doesn't look quite as nice at home as it did at the show
but I can live with it.

Overall it was a good show and I spent more time and money than I had
planned. Now I need to look for some more of those ebay bargain
commems (just not the low mintage ones that are going for above
average prices lately).

In article , Byron L. Reed
writes:

Here's my coin show report for recent weekends:

10/4 Sioux Falls SD - Bought a $3 postcard.
10/11 Sioux City IA - Bought nothing.

Had meetings and lots of visiting at both places. So a nice time was had
and they were nice days to drive.

The end.

BLReed

Not surprised you bought nothing in Sioux City on 10/11...the rest of us were
there on 10/4 and 10/5...;-)

....although retail buyer's attenence on 10/4 and 10/11 was probably about the
same...;-(

dondi3

DONDI enterprises. BUY, SELL, TRADE. RARE COINS & PRECIOUS METALS
Member COINNET, CSNS, ANA, INA, MOON, ILNA.

On 13 Oct 2003 19:35:53 -0700, (Randy Thompson)
wrote:


http://webpages.charter.net/thompson...bian_Expo.html

A bit off your subject, but those are nice images. Scanner? At what
settings?

On 14 Oct 2003 04:36:45 GMT, (DONDI3) wrote:

Not surprised you bought nothing in Sioux City on 10/11...the rest of us were
there on 10/4 and 10/5...;-)

...although retail buyer's attenence on 10/4 and 10/11 was probably about the
same...;-(

dondi3

God, no wonder it was so quiet at work today. I'm a week off.

BLReed

To email me click he http://tinyurl.com/nd66
For collector coins and supplies at fair prices: http://tinyurl.com/pt9r
Cool things: http://www.byronreed.com/byrons_collections/default.htm
Talk bust coins: http://www.byronreed.com/phpBB2/index.php

On 14 Oct 2003 04:36:45 GMT, (DONDI3) wrote:

...although retail buyer's attenence on 10/4 and 10/11 was probably about the
same...;-(

dondi3

Well, I will say that no place does so good a job of hiding their
convention center as Sioux City. I think there are three 24"x36" inch
street signs that they place around the city at random, rotating them
periodically. The dozen parking spaces didn't help either, especially when
you had to hike across the construction zone to get there.

BLReed

To email me click he http://tinyurl.com/nd66
For collector coins and supplies at fair prices: http://tinyurl.com/pt9r
Cool things: http://www.byronreed.com/byrons_collections/default.htm
Talk bust coins: http://www.byronreed.com/phpBB2/index.php

Tony Cooper wrote in message . ..
On 13 Oct 2003 19:35:53 -0700, (Randy Thompson)
wrote:


http://webpages.charter.net/thompson...bian_Expo.html

A bit off your subject, but those are nice images. Scanner? At what
settings?

Actually, those are pictures taken with a digital camera. I was using
halogen lights which tend to make the flaws (nicks, cuts, scrapes)
show up more than they do in person. That is most obvious on the
obverse of the Isabella. I then adjusted the white balance with
Microsoft Photo Editor to get as close as I could to what the coins
looks like to me. Of course the color changes as you rotate the coin
so no single image can capture what the coin really looks like.

I did scan the coin with my cheap HP scanner to see if it would
produce the color any better. It looked different, but not
necessarily any closer to truth. I could also put those scans up if
anyone is interested.

In article ,
says...
Overall it was a good show and I spent more time and money than I had
planned. Now I need to look for some more of those ebay bargain
commems (just not the low mintage ones that are going for above
average prices lately).



And a good report! I think both coins are very pretty. Your Isabella
looks really good in the photo; I can definitely see the color. I think
the toning distracts the eye from all the chatter you talk about. I
don't have a lot of MS coins in the 61-62 area, because usually what I
buy is cheap enough that I can get it in 63+ or expensive enough that I
get it circulated instead, but I do have one coin in 62. Its a white
Morgan, and it is u-g-l-y with all the chatter. I like your Isabella a
lot better! )

Columbians always look nice to me with nice, dark, even toning like
yours has. I think this is because the first Columbian I had (which was
the first classic commem I had) was toned like that, and I really like
that look for that issue now. I particularly like the reverse of your
coin. I think it is really pretty the way the toning is darker at the
edges, which seems to highlight the devices.

Ok, I've rambled on about pretty commems long enough!
--
Chrysta Wilson
'infected'

My Collection:
http://www.chrystawilson.com

On 14 Oct 2003 08:33:24 -0700, (Randy Thompson)
wrote:

Tony Cooper wrote in message . ..
On 13 Oct 2003 19:35:53 -0700, (Randy Thompson)
wrote:


http://webpages.charter.net/thompson...bian_Expo.html

A bit off your subject, but those are nice images. Scanner? At what
settings?

Actually, those are pictures taken with a digital camera. I was using
halogen lights which tend to make the flaws (nicks, cuts, scrapes)
show up more than they do in person. That is most obvious on the
obverse of the Isabella. I then adjusted the white balance with
Microsoft Photo Editor to get as close as I could to what the coins
looks like to me. Of course the color changes as you rotate the coin
so no single image can capture what the coin really looks like.

I did scan the coin with my cheap HP scanner to see if it would
produce the color any better. It looked different, but not
necessarily any closer to truth. I could also put those scans up if
anyone is interested.

I'd be more interested in the type of halogen bulbs you used. Wattage
and quantity and such. I've about given up digital photos of coins
with my Nikon. I can get enough light to the coin, but I either get
reflective high spots, shadow from the camera, or shadows on the coin
from the light being too oblique. It's not the lights that cause the
nicks to show up, it's the position of the lights and the resulting
shadow. A "halo" light would not cast the shadows.

I do fairly well with my Microtek scanner - which is a rather
run-of-the-mill product - but I'm always looking for a better way.

Chrysta Wilson wrote in message .. .

And a good report! I think both coins are very pretty. Your Isabella
looks really good in the photo; I can definitely see the color. I think
the toning distracts the eye from all the chatter you talk about. I
don't have a lot of MS coins in the 61-62 area, because usually what I
buy is cheap enough that I can get it in 63+ or expensive enough that I
get it circulated instead, but I do have one coin in 62. Its a white
Morgan, and it is u-g-l-y with all the chatter. I like your Isabella a
lot better! )

Thanks Chrysta. The obverse doesn't have quite as much color as the
reverse, but it has a bit more than shows in the image. I handed the
coin to my wife earlier this evening so she could take a look at it
before I store it away. While she was looking at it I brought up the
pictures of the coin (she didn't know I had taken pictures of it last
night). She looked at the picture on the computer and said "ours
looks a lot better than that one". I hated to tell her that it
was the same coin. She did agree that the reverse was pretty close to
correct.

Columbians always look nice to me with nice, dark, even toning like
yours has. I think this is because the first Columbian I had (which was
the first classic commem I had) was toned like that, and I really like
that look for that issue now. I particularly like the reverse of your
coin. I think it is really pretty the way the toning is darker at the
edges, which seems to highlight the devices.

I really like the look of this one too, which is very, very close to
the pictures. I think it's the surfaces that are actually frosty
under all that color (if you can call that frosty). I picked it up
relatively cheap on ebay a few months ago. I was the only bidder and
got it at the opening price. I think it went cheap because the images
on ebay actually showed it darker than it is, and it's in an ANACS
slab instead of PCGS or NGC. There are still a lot of people who want
blast white coins, even if they are all dipped out.

Ok, I've rambled on about pretty commems long enough!

I didn't think that was possible. Ramble on!

Tony Cooper wrote in message . ..

I'd be more interested in the type of halogen bulbs you used. Wattage
and quantity and such. I've about given up digital photos of coins
with my Nikon. I can get enough light to the coin, but I either get
reflective high spots, shadow from the camera, or shadows on the coin
from the light being too oblique. It's not the lights that cause the
nicks to show up, it's the position of the lights and the resulting
shadow. A "halo" light would not cast the shadows.

The lamps I use are just cheap 20 Watt goose-neck lamps from Wal-Mart.
They do have a difuser built in that helps, but still cast some nasty
reflections off of slabs. My camera is a four year old Sony Mavica
that has the advantage of having the lens in the corner. That lets me
get light on the coin a little better without too many shados from the
camera. That may be it's only advantage because it doesn't have very
many settings to adjust. I have two lamps but another might be good.
One certainly isn't enough.

A higher pixel count camera would let me back away from the coin a bit
more to get better lighting while still providing enough pixels on the
coin. I have a lot more experimenting to do to get this picture
taking down. My setup is functional but not ideal. Eric has a great
setup but paid a good bit for it. He has talked about it before and
posted some pictures, if you care to Google it up.

I do fairly well with my Microtek scanner - which is a rather
run-of-the-mill product - but I'm always looking for a better way.

My scanner does an ok job, but can't quite match a camera shot. It
does good with 3D scanning so it has no trouble with slabs at least.