Call Out To All New Brunswickers

Right on. Sounds like a good mix. Hope to see you there.

Any chance you have libertads or other world bullion?

It has been a nightmare! I bought a display case from a bloke for $140 and he told me he would replace the lock about a month ago. Needless to say he never did so I am drilling it out tonight. Why I bought a locked display case on his word he would either find the key or fix it is beyond me.

I was hoping to sell some silver dollars/half dollars and use the money to buy some more stock with the money I raise but since ebay charges $5-$10 shipping on a $20 coin I will be pricing my coins aggressively. If any CCF members happen to be in the area introduce yourself and I will knock the price down to a wee bit below market value for ya guys.

Looks like the coin part will be a bit of a flop but the whole thing looks like it will be a blast.

M_d guy, I finally had a chance to pick up some 2x2 on my way to Fredericton last week. I will be throwing a weird assortment of odds and ends together to thank you for the penny pinches. I decided I will give them away to children under 8 and tell them they can use them to start collecting cents.

Enjoy the long week-end everyone.

Think of it as money and time well spent because you'll learn loads by diving in like you did. Coin shows are no easy thing to pull off successfully (I've organized plenty), so this is a great learning experience.

Ok, here is an account of the pseduo coin show.

Firstly I bought a display case off some bloke. I payed $140 for it and he forgot the key for it. No problem, I have been told he is a wee bit shady but he seems trustworthy. Next collector club he hands me a bag of keys telling me one of them would work. Surprise, none of them worked. No problem, he will re-lock it for me.

Fast forward a month. It is the day before my show. He has yet to re-lock it and I do not have a drill at my aunt's house. Our neighbor, a handyman comes over. He says he will drill it out for me and no matter how insistent I am that he takes some money or a goose dollar he refuses any type of compensation. He starts drilling away and the metal shavings are flying. He needs to spit in the hole to get some traction to keep drilling. Now I have obsessive compulsive disorder and I have a hang up on the sensation of "stickyness". As the metal flies I can't help but think "what if he was drinking pop, that is getting all over, the stickyness?!?!?!".

He knocks the lock out. I thank him and he is on his way. 10 hours until the coin show and before I can start arranging some coins in the case I have to stop and clean the floor and case. I mix up some baby shampoo, vinegar and boiling water and get to work.

Now we are at the coin show. Working on next to no sleep I show up at 7:30 am. Rather than having one person organize the show and getting input from everyone we had to have 15 people run the show in a cluster(retracted) of incompetence. The longest covered bridge in the world, our only source of money, was closed down to make a market for the tourists. Rather than getting the bridge ready the night before they put it off until the morning. I also was not in the bridge, I was going to be in a canopy next to the bridge. The end of the bridge. People may not know myself and the two others are there but the town doesn't care.

I am thinking, ok, great, the canopies. I worked for Paint the Hartland putting and taking down those tents a bajillian times. I will put one up and get to work. Nope, the volunteers will do that AFTER they are done with the bridge.

So it is 9 oclock. The volunteers put up the canopy. They don't velcro the tarp down at all the points and the legs are set at different notches so I have to fix that. Also I can't pull the truck up to my canopy, we have to clear a square mile for the premier and cars can't pull up to unload. I grab my milk crates, display case, cup of tea and treck it.

Finally the show starts! We all get people that ask what everything is worth then tell you they have like 50 of those coins at home. That wasn't too bad, I find it fun. I like educating about my hobby. I also hate telling people that those folded 2 dollar bird notes and 1990's hockey cards aren't going to allow them to spend their days fishing muskies on the Saint John river. I wish for once someone would ask about a 1948 blast white mint dollar and I would get to put a smile on their face.
Anyways.

The wind takes my canopy several times. I go get some bags of road salt from town hall and fix that problem my anchoring my set up. A woman approaches me at the show and says, "You must be Terry Last Name. I said yes, hello. She said hi back and took out an Occupied Japan tea cup and saucer. no chips, perfect example. She heard that a coin dealer likes Occupied Japan so she dropped in and sold it to me for $3. Great start to the day.

First sale of the day. Someone asks what I have on my Newfoundland small cets. I say something like "Those 2 are about a 12 on a 60 point scale, I am hoping to get like a twoonie a pop for them."
Hey gives out an inquisitive "hmmmm" and says, "What kind of deal can I get if I bought two? Would you maybe do 2 for 5?" I tried not to giggle (I am sure I cracked a smile) and said "Sure".
I also sold him 2 Sunshine mint bars, 1 oz silver, for $40. I know, great deal eh? Figured when silver drops I will get two more oz and get to keep a couple bucks from the sale. We will see.

Sold a lot of silver jewelry too. People couldn't believe my yard sale finds where only $25. Wish I left my trade tokens at home and brought nothing but jewelry. I also sold a crate of ALF trading cards.

All and all after my 7 hours of work I figured once I paid for my inventory, table and misc. expenses I probably made $20 an hour. I got to meet a lot of cool people and pet a Boston Terrier (arguable the cutest type of dog known to man).

Thanks for all the advice everyone, would I do it all again? Of course!

I've enjoyed following your postings Harmonica! Although I live on the opposite end of the country your descriptive writing is so clear that I can almost imagine your planning for the big day of that show! It sounded like great fun all in all, wish I could have joined in!

I'm glad it worked out well for you Harmonica... I haven't posted much over the summer (for reason I may disclose later) but have been watching this thread closely and all I can say is kudos to you! I'm glad you had a positive experience!