Annual Baystate Coin Show (Marlborough, Ma)

Eons ago, when dinosaurs roamed and I was a teenage kid cutting his teeth in the weird shadowy world of buyer's agents, I drove across the country solo to catch the Bay State Show. That was in the late 1960s. I caught it several times from then to the 1980s and brought back many beautiful coins for my clients. Absolutely fantastic show, great location, great selection, and a lot of knowledgeable dealers. Those were good times! Your post on this show brought back many of those good memories. Best wishes to all for a great show.

Yep! It takes me about 45-50 minutes to drive there from my house with traffic, so I leave at 9:00 an get there just before it opens.


Absolutely! Cash is king, as they say. Last year I also brought some junk silver to trade, and I'm hoping to do the same this year if the price of silver is still above $50 by the time the show rolls around.

Well, I have to admit, "World's Fair of Money" certainly sounds a lot more impressive. I always find plenty of things to buy at the Bay State show, but it's really a show where you can see everything in 3-4 hours.

When I did the cross-country drive to this show as a teenager and early-20-something, it was a couple thousand miles of hard driving each way for my old Pontiac and me. I carried a stupid amount of cash and slept in a rest area in northern Indiana going and coming because I was too young to rent a motel room. I stayed with extended family a half hour or so outside of Boston. The show was at a fancy big hotel in downtown Boston. It sticks in my mind that it was a Hilton, but I could be wrong on that. There were always a stunning number of high end coins at this show and it was a Buffalo hunter's paradise. I found some great coins for my buyers and made good money on those deals. I was young, dumb, and fearless.

Clearly, you were young, clever, and fearless.
Dumb people lose money, clever people make money.

The Bay State Coin Show used to be held twice a year in March and Nov. Before the show moved out to Marlboro (in 2012), it was held at the Radisson Hotel on Stuart Street in Bay Village near Charles Street and the Theatre District. That hotel is now called The Revere, and the show was cut from 2x a year to 1x.

Having said all that, it's possible the show was at a diff hotel when you were there. Do you remember what year?

Update: I searched the forum and found a post from 2008 that confirms my memory:

https://goccf.com/t/32537




PS: admission is up to $12 now, but if it were still held in Boston - where convention rooms are very pricey - I bet admission would be $30 or 40, which is a nonstarter for many collectors.

Yes, this is the first year the admission fee is $12.