Time for Central States

It is time for me to hit the trail after I post this. I am heading for the Central States Numismatic Society convention in the suburban Chicago facility in Rosemont.

Today is Professional Numismatists Guild Day, the traditional opening of the event.

Tomorrow the public will be let in at 2 in the afternoon and the convention closes at the end of business on Saturday.

Central States often makes numismatic history. The 1980 event marked the end of a long bull market in coins. The 2008 event had such a noteworthy paper money auction that those prices are still dazzling.

I look forward to witnessing the signals that this convention will be sending. The cover of Heritage’s Platinum Night Auction catalog features beautiful proof gold coins of 1860 and inside are a large number of other golden rarities as well as traditional fare like three 1893-S Morgan dollars graded from XF-45 to AU-53.

I knew someone who obtained an 1893-S for his collection from circulation. He told a great story and even though it happened just before my time as an active searcher for circulation finds, I could feel the thrill of the find with him even after multiple retellings. That’s what the hobby is all about.

The auction starts tonight. It should be interesting. Perhaps you will want to monitor it online as it happens at Heritage Live!TM

See www.HA.com for details.

If you are planning on attending the convention, stop by the Krause Publications booth. I hope to see you there.