Happy Monday to everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! I think one of the most underrated and under acknowledged gems in our hobby is the local coin show! Where else can you go and visit with 20 or more coin dealers and hundreds of collectors all in one spot? OR, your local show could be the Baltimore Whitman show I will be attending here on March 1’st. That show brings hundreds of dealers and a few thousand attendees (I’m guessing)!
If you are new to the hobby, these shows can seem daunting and very intimidating. You either don’t have any idea where to start or you just don’t think that striking up a conversation with a dealer is something you want to get in to. Well start somewhere! Take my advice and just dive right in to it! If a dealer doesn’t want to take 5 minutes to talk to a newbie then it’s really not worth dealing with him or her. Now don’t take this the wrong way, that dealer could just be out of your league and him or her have 3 other people in line who actually want to buy a St. Gauden’s gold piece and you just want to chat! In this instance it is understandable that it’s just not the right time for an interaction. You be the judge in each situation and remember, there are plenty of us out there who love to speak to new people in the hobby and offer a little advice to get you started. It’s enjoyable and I love it! Here is my first coin show experience………………….
I wanted to get back in to the hobby and give it as much of my free time as I could muster. I watched Youtube videos and they really put the fire back in me. I didn’t know if I had a local club to join or not but I did see that there was a big show in Baltimore, Md. The Baltimore Whitman show! It was the spring show, I think. I decided that I would go on Saturday since I presumed Saturday would be their busiest day. Who would want to go during the week unless you were retired and had the time? I certainly didn’t want to blow a vacation day for that when I could wait for Saturday! Well I did. I was all excited, ate breakfast at a local restaurant down in the Harbor and was signing up for my entry not more than an hour after they opened. On Saturday! I walk through the door and I didn’t know what to do? I saw all these photos of hundreds and hundreds of dealers and some tables were empty. I started to browse the isles and to my dismay there were more empty tables. I would say half of the vendors had left.
I did take every opportunity that I could to look at each of the tables and I really had no problem. No long lines. There were a good number of attendees there, just missing a few vendors! I was upset that all of these people were gone! I couldn’t think why this would happen? Pack up 2 days early at a show and leave? I confirmed with another vendor who had stayed that indeed, the show is full on Thursday and most of the day on Friday. I just couldn’t figure out why a bunch left! I felt disappointed to say the least which made my experience a little less than enjoyable. I hardly spoke to anyone, I think I might have bought 1 silver eagle and that was it. I thought there is no way I’m coming back to this place!
Fast Forward to today and I make plans every time the Baltimore Whitman show is in town to head down there. On FRIDAY! Yes, Friday! I take a personal day from work and enjoy the whole day! I am standing in line for the doors to open and am pumped to be able to take the whole day for the show! I wanted to finish this whole post before I left for work however it deserves more attention. I wanted to put something out for you all since it’s been a while. I’ll continue after work! Yes, this is my side hustle which I hope to turn into my main Hustle! Hope everyone has a great day and great start to your week!
The 7 House Coins - Currency - Bullion 