Strong market shows in MidAmerica results

Dealer to dealer sales were the key to success at the MidAmerica Coin Expo held July 10-13 in Schaumburg, Ill.

?It?s the best coin show I?ve ever done as far as sales, and I?ve been doing shows since 1968,? said Jerry Koepp of Coins, Stamps ?n? Stuff of Des Moines, Iowa.

?Dealer to dealer was very strong the first day, but the collector base came in on the last two days,? he said.

He saw his regulars and some new people.

?The second day of the show I was busy all day,? Koepp said. People were interested in pennies, dollars, gold, proof sets and mint sets.

?No one ticker item was better than others,? Koepp said.

And a good market helps sales.

?The market in general is very good and very solid,? said Dick Quitmeyer, president of Yellow River Rare Coins of Minneapolis. ?It?s probably the best coin market we?ve had in many years.?

Common coins are doing well, but the coins with eye appeal are really soaring, Quitmeyer said.

?Coins that are really nice and really rare, throw the retail price sheets away,? he said. Especially at auctions, the nicer coins are going for multiples of what they were estimated to bring, Quitmeyer said.

Certified Asset Management of Wilmington, Del., had a very good show, reported purchaser Charlie Browne, noting that most of its transactions are dealer to dealer.

?We sold some good, expensive coins, mostly gold, at $20,000 to $50,000,? Browne said.

People were particularly fond of CAC material, early American gold, silver dollars and type coins, he said.

?If you have a diverse inventory you can sell coins. If you are sitting with stale material then you probably sat there and probably sank rather than swam,? Browne said.

Richard Mantia of Mastro Auctions, Burr Ridge, Ill., said the company picked up a large consignment and a high-end client at the show.

??I expected it to not be a good show because ANA is just around the corner, but I was wrong. This show was very much a success,? Mantia said.

Those attending the show seemed serious about doing business, said show manager Kevin Foley.

?The key to having a commercially successful event both for the booth holders and visiting participants without booths is to attract people with a serious interest in the field,? Foley said.

When booth holders and attendees were checking merchandise into the security room on Wednesday before the show opened, Foley said he heard them talking about deals they had already done in their rooms or deals they were setting up to conduct later with each other.

The people who were at the show were there to do business,? he said.
This year?s show was at a new location in Schaumburg and on a different weekend than the traditional last weekend of June. Foley said the show will return to Schaumburg next year but will return to its former schedule and will be held June 26-28.