Good start, bad start?

I asked dealers at the Central States Numismatic Society how business was yesterday when I arrived in late afternoon.

It was the tail end of setup day and things were quieting down.

A couple of dealers who arrived in the morning at 9 o'clock said they had a really good day. A couple more dealers who said they arrived around 11 o'clock said not so good.

Can the show have peaked in the first two hours?

That is a premature conclusion. There is a natural variability to how business unfolds at any show.

The only solid conclusion that can be drawn at this stage before the public has even set foot on the bourse floor is that yesterday was a dealer-teo-dealer event.

As I walked around the bourse floor I was struck by the wallMark table, or rather 14 or so tables that face two aisles.

There was a wide variety of material being set out. Most of it was in the usual exhibit cases.

However on a couple of tables the firm had stacked silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, etc., with price tags in front of each stacked area.

I don't recall every seeing anything like it an a coin show.

Imagine coins not in slabs. They are not behind glass. They are just there. A good bump might send them toppling.

When the public is admitted, they might be as drawn to the raw coins as I was. If they end up buying some of these pieces, then I expect the technique will catch on.

All of the coins are circulated and there is no harm done if they are handled. I will be making my way back there later in the show to see how much in the way of sales might be generated.

As I walked the floor I also noticed many of the major players in the industry present. Central States is a major show that draws a top-notch group of dealers.

If you live within driving distance, it is not too late to get in the car and come.

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