There is Great Value in Personally Attending a Coin Show

Using the internet for numismatic research can be efficient. It can also be a convenient way to shop, especially for common coins and currency.

Patrick A. Heller attended the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont, Ill., and found great value in personally attending a coin show. Here are some of the benefits he experienced.

Being able to examine a numismatic item in your own hands is the most important benefit. You can detect nuances about the features of a coin or note that photographs just don’t do justice. Even better, you have the opportunity to compare merchandise and prices from potentially several dealers in a short time.

You can also examine exhibits and dealer case materials that could lead your collection in a new direction. By going to shows over the years, I have had the honor to hold in my own hands multiple seven-figure rarities simply for the pleasure of doing so and not be required to purchase them first.

Then, there is the benefit of meeting people in person. Whether those representing numismatic organizations, dealers, mints, or other collectors, you can learn surprising tidbits of interesting information that you wouldn’t discover online. Also, by establishing a personal relationship with a dealer, the list of wants you give him or her might rise higher in the pile than the lists received from unknown collectors.

Similarly, you can also examine dealers’ inventories to get a better idea of how closely their quality standards mirror (or not) your own.

Another enjoyment at live coin shows is meeting old friends. At the ANA show, I met a half-dozen people with whom I used to work. Two were working at show booths, one was a dealer walking the floor, another who I hadn’t seen in more than two decades was a Chicago Coin Club volunteer worker and the other two were serious collectors.

I also had the opportunity to reminisce about old times with a couple of special friends. One was Bernard von Nothaus, who operated the Royal Hawaiian Mint and then was the architect and operator of NORFED/Liberty Dollar. The other was someone whom I had only met a few years ago. Back in the late 1960s, Coin World carried an article about a West Coast teenage coin dealer named Robert Ladum. As a high school student at the time, that got me thinking that someday, maybe I could be a coin dealer. Ah, but you cannot go to college for that kind of career, so I first became a certified public accountant. It was a real thrill a few years ago, and more than 50 years after reading about him, to finally meet Ladum at a Long Beach show. It was a real pleasure to chat with him one more time.