Chicago International Coin Fair This Weekend

CICF starts this Thursday, April 23, with the $50 "professional
preview" starting at 2:00 p.m., then 10-6 Friday and Saturday and 10-1
Sunday (admission $5 Friday-Saturday, Sunday free). I will greet RCC
members throughout the show at the table of the American Numismatic
Society. Stop by and learn about the benefits of membership in the
leading numismatic organization in the United States.

The Chicago Coin Club will meet Saturday at 1:00 p.m. All are
invited. Our speaker this year is ANS Librarian Elizabeth Hahn. Her
topic is "Homer's Thrinakia: The ANS Library, Sicilian History and
Early Numismatic Literature." Don't be put off by this opaque title,
or even that she will be discussing early Sicilian numismatic
literature in the ANS library: I assure you, this will be a lively and
fascinating program, and you will come away smarter. And there's
more! Every attendee will receive a free example of Cornaline
d'Aleppo trade bead money (actually two beads, tubular and round)
mounted to an original article giving their history and usage
throughout the world, courtesy of the Chicago Coin Club.

This month the Chicago Coin Club is celebrating its 90th anniversary
(sorry, the evening's banquet is sold out) and is still going strong.
Take an hour away from the bourse and discover our secret!

On Apr 22, 11:01*pm, Bob wrote:
CICF starts this Thursday, April 23, with the ...
I will greet RCC members ...

Well, how was it?

Did anyone attend?
Does anyone have show highlights?

Mike Marotta wrote:
On Apr 22, 11:01 pm, Bob wrote:
CICF starts this Thursday, April 23, with the ...
I will greet RCC members ...

Well, how was it?

Did anyone attend?
Does anyone have show highlights?

I attended Thursday and Friday, my 30th consecutive visit to CICF.
"Overwhelming" is the word to describe it. The facility is very nice, but
the food service is not. There's one guy who makes pizza and serves it, and
one other person who has to serve everything else in addition to running the
cash register. By 1230 there was an intolerable line. A couple of years
ago they removed the self-service soda/ice fountains and replaced them with
a cooler that didn't really keep things very cold. $2.95 for a lukewarm
Sprite. Grrr...

The parking lot is under construction, so one had to go clear around behind
the hotel to park. A coupon available at show HQ got you $7 off the $17
parking fee.

Dealers were present from all over the world, as usual. Two that were
conspicuous in their absence were Jeff Means, d/b/a Enterprise Coins, and
David R. Gotkin.

It was a pleasure to again meet Bob, who was manning the ANS table on
Thursday.

I also ran into oly, who was attending with some friends. We were able to
have speaks on a couple of occasions.

The everycountry group was well represented, and I got to finally meet some
of those guys. They are intense!

As the years roll on, there are more and more slabs. Some dealers have only
slabs, while others, such as Karl Stephens, still deal mostly in raw coins.
I spent time at Karl's table, as well as those of Alex Basok, Craig
Keplinger, James King, Randy Weir, Del Parker, Al Boulanger, Allen Berman,
and Glenn Schinke. There were more people in the way this year, it seemed.
Some of them would occupy both of a dealer's chairs, when it was obvious
they were not buying anything. Others sat at the junction of a dealer's two
cases and spread out their materials (note: euphemism) over both, so it was
very difficult to see any coins in so many times and places.

My overall impression: I would not miss this show for the world.

James