Blue Ridge/Dalton Show

Hi all, this is a semi trip report from a newbie's perspective on her first coin show. Let me first say it was a great show and I throughly enjoyed it. Having read some links posted here recently about how to approach a coin show I did try to keep some of those idea's in mind.

For starters, walking into a coin show for the first time, I was pretty much at a loss! Talk about feeling like a fish out of water!!!! It took some time to figure out there was a plan to the way things were laid out. I had made notes of which tables I wanted to visit but that proved difficult in itself because some tables were just swamped with people and you really couldn't get close enough to them to see what they were offering. Gold Rush gallery was one of these. Every time I went near their table they had folks sitting in front of the table and I assume they were doing a healthy business. You also have to overcome a certain shyness of approaching a dealer, asking questions and trying not to fall into the "I'll buy something just so he doesn't think I wasted his time" thinking.

I had a list of things I planned to buy. two of these items were Photograde (my bookstore doesn't carry it) and the ANA guide. There was only one station offering books and accessories. They had neither book. The table dealer told me the ANA book wasn't out yet....? and that he didn't carry the Photograde book. His table was heaped with many other books so I wound up buying the "official price guide to mint errors" just to have a reference book on the subject and a magnifier

My other planned purchases were to finish up my collection of ASE. I needed 4 dates to complete the dansco album. I did not think this would be a problem at all but it turned out to be so. I inquired about them at one table. The gentleman brought out a box of ASE's. The problem became obvious when almost every coin he had were tarnished in some way. I was very polite but declined to purchase them. he told me I could go over to the accessory table and buy a bottle of "coin cleaner" if the "toning bothered me". I told him I would rather not do that and he got annoyed with me and informed me that "at least 90% of the coins at this show were cleaned". I didn't believe it then and I don't beleive it now, besides, toning is one thing, these coins looked like they were just tarnished. I thanked him for his time and moved on. The next table I stopped at had 2 of the coins I wanted but the dealer was honest with me and said they had "milk" spots. He was very helpful in directing me to another dealer whom he said should have a large inventory of the 4 dates I needed.

This is where things got fun. I went over to the dealer I was directed to and met Jim Pappas of JP coins from Maryland. What a nice man! Not only was he helpful, he went through EVERY single ASE and helped me choose the nicest coin. He also flirted with me outrageously while showing off pictures of his lovely wife!! What a character. He really made the whole thing fun. He was full of good information. Although he had only 3 of the 4 dates I needed I happily made my purchase and he directed me to someone else who might have the last date I needed.

I made my way through the tables , what an amazing array of coins I had never seen before. I think I am going to have to start a collection of some proof coins. There were some I have neither seen before or heard of so I will have to do some homework on those before I think about buying, but talk about eye candy!!!. I never did get that last ASE, I think I just got carried away with looking and forgot. I spent 3 hours just looking. It was nice to see some folks there with their children, the kids seemed to enjoy the show as much as the parents. I was tempted a few times to buy a coin just because I liked it but was too unsure of what I was getting. I've read too many stories about people who buy and don't know what to pay and what it's really worth. In fact I was very proud of myself for not buying like a kid in a candy shop. I wanted one of almost everything. It is hard to keep your wallet in your pocket at times, I wanted to approach collecting with sense and not wind up with a jumble of this and that.

With the exception of that first dealer, everyone was very friendly and the whole show was a lot of fun for me. From what I could tell the show was a great success for the dealers and the collectors. Thanks to ND, and the information posted here that helped me make the most of this show. Ya'll don't know how much it helps a newbie enjoy the hobby while not getting ripped off but still come away with a sense of satisfaction. I picked up a lot of free literature and that alone was worth the trip. I can't wait to attend another!!!



Margaret