CSNS Recap

I took my family along this year to visit the CSNS convention held in
Saint Louis. But unlike the CICF last month this trip was less about
buying coins and more about exhibiting. This was my first exhibit and
I definitely enjoyed the process. The focus required to have a good
display certainly helps in keeping my collection goals in check. My
title was The Last Fifty Years of Alexandrian Bronze Coinage. I like
this period especially because of the interplay between Roman,
Persian, and Arab cultures in the pivotal 7th century. My scores were
88, 83, and 85 with some very helpful comments from the judges. This
was enough for third place in the category and a nice 1/10th oz gold
piece as a reward along with two 1 oz silver pieces. Even though
there were only four exhibits in the category I was pleased with my
initial effort. There is not too much I can do about the material
except upgrade as better items become available the presentation can
certainly be enhanced for the ANA show in Milwaukee.
Aside from the exhibit my son Erich, almost five now, had a real good
time with the treasure hunt. He didn't really know any of the answers
yet but at least he now has enough stamina to make it to all twenty-
one tables. His younger brother isn't there yet. Overall there was a
quite a few kids participating on Saturday. We also went to the
awards breakfast earlier that day which was nice, especially the award
to Eric Newman. It was also a pleasure to meet Fran Lockwood, the
exhibit chairperson. Erich especially took a real liking to her. She
and her husband along with the judges really do a wonderful job in
getting the exhibits organized. This is one aspect I like about the
CSNS and the ANA shows over the other commercial shows. Without the
educational aspect the show would be a slab trading floor, something I
don't find overly appealing. John Wilson was at the show as well, he
was also in Chicago and was constantly pushing the ANA in his quite
enthusiastic style; A stark contrast to the sitting president who was
quite glum when I saw him.
I was also hoping to find a few pieces of exonumia at this show but in
that effort I was disappointed. There was a lot more paper money for
sale than I remember at past shows and a decent contingent of ancient
dealers, but very little in the way of exonumia and nothing in the
area I was searching. That wasn't too bad since my finances had taken
a hit at the show the previous month and I needed to entertain the
family in Saint Louis as well. The city was decent as a convention
site. Downtown was not crowded at all except during the Cardinals
game. Driving there was easy and parking was cheap. But the downtown
seemed somewhat of an empty shell. There were some nice neighborhoods
within a couple of miles of the city and of course the arch. We
stayed at the renovated Union Station which was pretty cool as well
though the Hyatt is not my favorite hotel claiming to be a four star.
The Ramada Limited in Springfield was superior in several ways. I'm
not sure if I'll make it to Chicago next year, it depends on how
closely this show overlaps with the CICF. I suppose if they are on
consecutive weekends I can just spend a week.

On May 15, 1:02 am, Jorg Lueke wrote:
I took my family along this year to visit the CSNS convention held in
Saint Louis. But unlike the CICF last month this trip was less about
buying coins and more about exhibiting. This was my first exhibit and
I definitely enjoyed the process. The focus required to have a good
display certainly helps in keeping my collection goals in check. My
title was The Last Fifty Years of Alexandrian Bronze Coinage. I like
this period especially because of the interplay between Roman,
Persian, and Arab cultures in the pivotal 7th century. My scores were
88, 83, and 85 with some very helpful comments from the judges. This
was enough for third place in the category and a nice 1/10th oz gold
piece as a reward along with two 1 oz silver pieces. Even though
there were only four exhibits in the category I was pleased with my
initial effort. There is not too much I can do about the material
except upgrade as better items become available the presentation can
certainly be enhanced for the ANA show in Milwaukee.
Aside from the exhibit my son Erich, almost five now, had a real good
time with the treasure hunt. He didn't really know any of the answers
yet but at least he now has enough stamina to make it to all twenty-
one tables. His younger brother isn't there yet. Overall there was a
quite a few kids participating on Saturday. We also went to the
awards breakfast earlier that day which was nice, especially the award
to Eric Newman. It was also a pleasure to meet Fran Lockwood, the
exhibit chairperson. Erich especially took a real liking to her. She
and her husband along with the judges really do a wonderful job in
getting the exhibits organized. This is one aspect I like about the
CSNS and the ANA shows over the other commercial shows. Without the
educational aspect the show would be a slab trading floor, something I
don't find overly appealing. John Wilson was at the show as well, he
was also in Chicago and was constantly pushing the ANA in his quite
enthusiastic style; A stark contrast to the sitting president who was
quite glum when I saw him.
I was also hoping to find a few pieces of exonumia at this show but in
that effort I was disappointed. There was a lot more paper money for
sale than I remember at past shows and a decent contingent of ancient
dealers, but very little in the way of exonumia and nothing in the
area I was searching. That wasn't too bad since my finances had taken
a hit at the show the previous month and I needed to entertain the
family in Saint Louis as well. The city was decent as a convention
site. Downtown was not crowded at all except during the Cardinals
game. Driving there was easy and parking was cheap. But the downtown
seemed somewhat of an empty shell. There were some nice neighborhoods
within a couple of miles of the city and of course the arch. We
stayed at the renovated Union Station which was pretty cool as well
though the Hyatt is not my favorite hotel claiming to be a four star.
The Ramada Limited in Springfield was superior in several ways. I'm
not sure if I'll make it to Chicago next year, it depends on how
closely this show overlaps with the CICF. I suppose if they are on
consecutive weekends I can just spend a week.

Quote- "John Wilson was at the show as well, he
was also in Chicago and was constantly pushing the ANA in his quite
enthusiastic style; A stark contrast to the sitting president who was
quite glum when I saw him." - unquote

I noticed that, too.