Numismatics? commercial sector opened 2007 on a very strong note at the Florida United Numismatists covention held Jan. 4-7 in Orlando, Fla.
The record-setting Heritage auction (see separate story) caused both marvel and consternation among dealers on the bourse floor.
Overall bourse business was generally characterized as positive, with dealers in foreign coins and paper money particularly upbeat.
Error dealer Fred Weinberg of Encino, Calif., said, ?I thought it was heavily attended, especially the first day.
?I was able to sell a lot more errors than I was able to buy. Prices in the Heritage auction were very strong.?
Glen Burger of Nottingham, Md., declared on Saturday, ?The show turned around for me last night. I am pleased with the show. It seems like the cheaper material are the ones that are selling. I think auctions have killed shows like this.?
Larry Stack of Stack?s of New York City said, ?It has been very good, both the auction and retail. Consignments are coming in very strong.? His firm conducted an auction Jan. 2 prior to the convention.
Rick Snow of Eagle Eye Coins, Tucson, Ariz., said he had ?pretty good sales. It?s rather difficult to find nice quality Indians (cents).?
Mark Stroud of Netherlands Coin of Staten Island, N.Y., did not have a table, but from his experiences on the floor, he said, ?Activity was very strong for buying the first few days. There is plenty of material available out on the floor. This is probably the best buying show I?ve had in a year.?
Paper money dealer Ahmet Sandikci of Arcade Currency Palace, Tarpon Springs, Fla., said, ?I?m very happy. The show was very good, exceptionally good.?
Corey Maita of Gainesville Coins, Gainesville, Fla., said, ?It?s been good. I wish we?d have had more ?07 silver Eagles.?
Foreign coin dealer Tom Caldwell of Northeast Numismatics, Concord, Mass., said, ?I found that key-date material and general high-quality coins were doing quite well. There is an overabundance of generic coinage. (I) met a lot of old customers here.?
Book dealer John Burns of North Huntingdon, Pa., called the show ?above average. I usually do really good Sundays.? He called the market for collectible Red Books ?hot, hot, hot.?
Jhon E. Cybuski, a paper money dealer whose Dallas firm name is Jhon E. Cash said there was a lot of traffic. ?A lot of lookers at high-end stuff. $10,000 bills are great attractions. The show?s been great.?
Billie Baeder of Philadelphia called the show ?not bad, but here it was overall medium. Some days were good, some days were bad.?
Ritchie Self of American Coins, Shreveport, La., said, ?Things started out a little slow, but picked up a head of steam real quick. It is the best FUN show to date.? He said this was his 15th consecutive.
Foreign coin dealer Kent Froseth of Minneapolis, Minn., said, ?I would say it was more active than normal, mostly gold, mostly modern. It is hard to find good material. Money is available for good coins.?
Paper dealer Sergio Sanchez of Miami said, ?The market is still very strong.?
Julian Leidman of Silver Spring, Md., said, ?Good crowd. I had a fair number of sales, but I didn?t sell anything really good. My own thoughts are the massive auctions are really hurting the bourse.?
Fractional Currency dealer Rob Kravitz of Chesterfield, Mo., said, ?It was pretty good. I actually did more retail than wholesale for a change.?
With a good commercial start under their belts and some enjoyment of the Florida sunshine, dealers overall think 2007 has gotten off to a good start.
