Early Days at the ANA Convention
Busy Aisles: Shortly after the bourse floor opened on Tuesday morning, the aisles were filled with dealers and collectors moving from booth to booth, some buying, some selling, and others just looking. Speaking with a few dealers on the floor after day two, the feedback was mostly positive.
Glenn Schinke booth: I stopped to snap a photo of the Glenn Schinke booth on Tuesday morning. I passed by three to four times and each time I passed, there seemed to be a handful of collectors there looking at the dealer’s offerings.
Two Nations Signing: Early Wednesday morning the United States Mint booth featured Mint Director David J. Ryder and Royal Canadian Mint President and CEO Marie Lemay who were signing Certificates of Authenticity for the 2019 Pride of Two Nations Limited Edition Two-Coin Set™.
Signing Line: The line for the signing of the 2019 Pride of Two Nations coin set extended quite a ways down the aisle from the autograph table, with nearly 50 people (by my rough estimate) waiting.
Father and Son: Bringing youth into the hobby has been a topic of conversation for quite some time now, even at lectures given during this week’s convention, so it is always nice to see youngsters engaged in coins and paper money. Shown here is Carter and his father Chad, who had driven down for the day from Wisconsin. They were engaged in conversation with Bob Paul, of Bob Paul, Inc.
Voting Special Exhibit: Before heading off to lunch, I found time to peruse the special collector exhibits and case by ballot for the People’s Choice Award. There were several interesting exhibits that really conveyed the heart of what the hobby is about. It was a tough choice where to cast my ballot! All attendees who cast a ballot were treated to a free 2019 United States Mint Proof Set®.
Big Lunch:I had the opportunity to have lunch with Eric Bradley from Heritage Auctions and Bob Van Ryzin, retired editor of Coins Magazine and Bank Note Reporter. Ordering a turkey club felt like it was a safe choice for late lunch. The benefit was, I got two lunches out of it! It was super catching up with Eric and Bob.
NGC Booth: NGC and PMG offered on-site grading specials Tuesday through Friday at noon.
Ellen Feingold: Wednesday evening, I joined Tom Michael and Michael Chou at a special event for the Friends of the Smithsonian. There I met several supporters of the Smithsonian’s special Numismatic exhibits and was treated to presentations by Jeff Garrett and Smithsonian’s Curator of the National Numismatic Collection, Dr. Ellen Feingold. It was fascinating to learn more about the institution’s digitization efforts and the progress being made.
