The Value of Attending a Coin Show

Using the internet for numismatic research can be efficient. It can also be a convenient way to shop, especially for common coins and currency. However, as my attendance at last week’s American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money demonstrated, there is great value in personally attending a coin show.

The most important benefit is being able to examine a numismatic item in your own hands. You can detect nuances about the features of a coin or note that photographs just don’t do justice. Even better, you have the opportunity to compare merchandise and prices from potentially several dealers in a short time.

You can also examine exhibits and dealer case materials that could lead your collection in a new direction. By going to shows over the years, I have had the honor to hold in my own hands multiple seven-figure rarities simply for the pleasure of doing so and not be required to purchase them first.

Then, there is the benefit of meeting people in person. Whether those representing numismatic organizations, dealers, mints, or other collectors, you can learn surprising tidbits of interesting information that you wouldn’t discover online. Also, by establishing a personal relationship with a dealer, the list of wants you give him or her might rise higher in the pile than the lists received from unknown collectors.

Similarly, you can also examine dealers’ inventories to get a better idea of how closely their quality standards mirror (or not) your own.

Another enjoyment at live coin shows is meeting old friends. At the ANA show, I met a half-dozen people with whom I used to work. Two were working at show booths, one was a dealer walking the floor, another who I hadn’t seen in more than two decades was a Chicago Coin Club volunteer worker and the other two were serious collectors.

I also had the opportunity to reminisce about old times with a couple of special friends. One was Bernard von Nothaus, who operated the Royal Hawaiian Mint and then was the architect and operator of NORFED/Liberty Dollar. The other was someone whom I had only met a few years ago. Back in the late 1960s, Coin World carried an article about a West Coast teenage coin dealer named Robert Ladum. As a high school student at the time, that got me thinking that someday, maybe I could be a coin dealer. Ah, but you cannot go to college for that kind of career, so I first became a certified public accountant. It was a real thrill a few years ago, and more than 50 years after reading about him, to finally meet Ladum at a Long Beach show. It was a real pleasure to chat with him one more time.

Updates on Bullion/Coin/Currency Sales Tax Exemptions

Something else I get to do at major coin shows is consult with dealers across the country about gaining more sales and use tax exemptions on bullion and numismatic sales or on protecting existing exemptions. I enjoyed fruitful conversations on such issues at last week’s ANA.

In my column two weeks ago, discussing challenges to existing bullion/coin/currency sales tax exemptions, I wrote, “In Nevada, where the exemption was made by a regulatory pronouncement, it could be canceled at a moment’s notice without any involvement by the legislature.” How prescient. Early last week, a Nevada coin dealer received a notice that the regulatory exemption for bullion sales was to be canceled effective Sept. 1, 2024.

The reason given was that the basis for the exemption stated that a bullion bar or ingot was a “medium of exchange.” Upon apparent reflection by an unknown bureaucrat, he or she claimed that bullion really isn’t a medium of exchange, so the exemption was invalid. This dealer promptly contacted the governor’s office and his district’s legislator to complain. He has been told that the cancellation of the exemption has been deferred until the legislature can study the issue. For now, bullion purchases remain exempt from Nevada sales and use taxes. But that could change at any time.

Should New Jersey’s governor sign the exemption bill on his desk into law and the Kentucky dispute between the governor and the legislature and attorney general resolve in implementing that exemption, then New Mexico would be the most populous state that still charges sales tax on all coin and bullion purchases. At the ANA show, two dealers and some members of the Albuquerque Coin Club agreed to initiate an effort to seek an exemption there. If any New Mexico dealers or collectors are willing to get involved, it would be best to contact the National Coin & Bullion Association by email at ncba@ncbassoc.org for more information.

Answer to the Previous Trivia Question

Last week, I asked: In a public poll taken in the 1970s, who was the most popular person suggested to appear on a U.S. coin?

Taken not long after his death, Elvis Presley was by far the leading choice in the poll to appear on a U.S. coin. No such coin has been struck yet at the U.S. Mint. However, various U.S. coins with privately affixed decals of Presley have been marketed over the years. Also, several nations have taken advantage of Presley’s enduring popularity by issuing commemorative coins for the singer and actor.

This Week’s Trivia Question

What was the connection between Anthony de Francisci, designer of the U.S. Peace dollar, and the model who posed for Liberty on that coin? How was it possible for the U.S. Mint to strike these coins without Congressional sanction? Come back next week for the answers.

Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He also received the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, the 2017 Exemplary Service Award, the 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and the 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild (including twice in 2020), the Professional Numismatists Guild, the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Mich., and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries, "Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So,” and “Important News You Need To Know,” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).

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