I remain quite busy after a terrific ANA show in Rosemont and now prepping for the brand new Great American Coin & Collectibles (GACC) in Tampa next week, September 10-14.  This innovative show, spearheaded by Larry Shepherd, promises to be one of the premier shows in America and I'll be at TABLE 1015.  Stop by and say hello if you're attending.  

     This year's Advanced Grading class at the ANA Summer Seminar was the best yet and gave we instructors a huge boost due to the skills of the students.  What's more encouraging is that the "sharpies" in the class were the youngest and all in their teens or early twenties!  Speaking for myself, passing on my knowledge of over a half-century in numismatics is why I've taught 12 years now and seeing the enthusiasm of an entire new generation is really fun and especially rewarding.
     At the closing banquet, I was totally surprised with a particularly distinguished award from the ANA.  To say I was speechless is only semi-accurate; I was shocked!  In addition, my instructor-partner, Jeff Garrett also received the same award!  These are not given out too often, and I am honored and humbled to have received it.  
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     After a very active and successful Central States show, I'm off to Colorado Springs to instruct the Advanced Grading and Problem Coins class, along with fellow instructors, Jeff Garrett and Ken Park.  Class begins on Father's Day and is 4 days of intensive coin-grading activities.  We have a full class of 24 students and the three of us are looking forward to yet another fun-filled grading challenge!  
     This Summer promises to be busier than usual and am looking forward to a local show here in Reno in July and the ANA World's Fair of Money in August at the Rosemont Convention Center, adjacent to O'Hare Airport in Chicago.  

     Despite a considerable snowstorm, the Colorado Springs ANA show was a success by most accounts.  Wholesale trading between dealers was particularly brisk, indicating a strong market to come. 
     Our next stop is the CSNS show in Schaumburg, Illinois May 1-4, 2024.  With the recent bump in the precious metals prices, I suspect the show to be quite active.  If you plan to attend, please stop by TABLE 516 and say hello!  There is also a PNG Day associated with the show on Wednesday and admission to that is by invitation.  If you'd like an invitation, please contact me soon.  
     Finally, the National Silver Dollar Roundtable (NSDR) will be having our annual awards banquet at Morton's Steakhouse on Thursday night, May 2.  If you're a member and want a ticket to attend, make sure to contact our Secretary, Diana Wuller at 618-316-4110 or [email protected] .  For more information:    The National Silver Dollar Roundtable – Advancing the Knowledge of Numismatics (nsdr.org).

     After a VERY successful Long Beach show, I'm looking forward to the ANA National Money Show in Colorado Springs, March 14-16, 2024.  It will be held at one of the world's most beautiful settings at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain in the incredible Broadmoor Hotel. This is a 5-star hotel and it should at least get a plus+ grade!  Winter is always tricky in Colorado, but the location alone is worth the weather risks.  
     If you're a skier and a coin-enthusiast, you should attend as you may find the best of both worlds in a few short days.  I will be setting up this time at TABLE 354 and have already scheduled a couple of extensive appraisal appointments. Feel free to contact me in advance if you have anything more than a few coins, as time is always limited on the bourse floor.  
     Finally, if you're attending, you'll never get a better hotel rate than what the Broadmoor is offering for ANA attendees.  Call the hotel directly at 855-634-7711 and mention the "2024 National Money Show."  Rooms at this hotel can be a minimum of $600-900 normally, and often more, but the ANA has a $208 rate, which is fabulous in this day and age of inflation. 
     Hoping to see many old friends at this one!  ​

     They say time flies and I'll add that time flies faster as one ages.  At age 14, I attended the very first Long Beach coin show in 1964 at the old Civic Auditorium, a building long gone. I was working for a dealer from my hometown of Fullerton and was awestruck at the spectacle of so many coins.  The Kennedy half was still trading at premiums due to the initial demand for the coin with a recently fallen President.  Modern BU rolls were trading at historic prices and the bourse, while small by today's standards, was very active and populated by the best and biggest dealers from all over America.  
     I will be attending this one without a table, but will be conducting one of my Sealed Bid Sales and servicing my specialized want lists for long-time customers.  If you're attending and want to meet, feel free to contact me on my cell phone:  818-632-2352.   My next scheduled show at which I WILL have a table is the ANA "Mid-Year" in Colorado Springs, March 14-16.  

     Alas, I will be missing the June Long Beach Show as I'm off to Colorado Springs to co-instruct, for the 11th time, the Advanced U.S. Coin grading class.  My partners will be Jeff Garrett (his third year) and Ken Park who returns for the 4th time.  The class is something near and dear to my heart as I was invited to teach by my late friend Charlie Browne, who had taught the class for over a decade before inviting me to join himself and Bill Shamhart who essentially founded the class.  
     It's an intense 4-days of grading, discussing and sometimes debating the elements of coin grading.  Our class focuses on the upper-end of the grading scale, essentially AU-58 to MS-69, which is where all the money lies in numismatics.  It's great fun for me and very rewarding, as several of our students go on to work for major firms and a few become graders at PCGS & NGC.  Very much looking forward to this year's class as the industry is on the verge of yet another transformative period with the introduction of CAC as a 3rd party grading service. 
     The ANA offers only a single class for the Advanced students, while there are two each of Grading I & 2.  They require completion of those classes before enrolling in Advanced or instructor exemption based on experience in the field.  You can read all the information on the Summer Seminar at Coin Collecting & Numismatics | American Numismatic Association (money.org). 

     I'm looking forward to the Central States show and the first one I've attended in several years.  We've all been disrupted by covid and perhaps we'll never be the same again as a society, while there was no shortage of effects on the numismatic world.  
     However, this show promises to break the mold and erase some of the creeping morass that many of us have observed at the typical major convention.  We are also buoyed by a robust bullion market, which at this writing has gold at $2021 and silver at $24.90.  It should be a great event for all who attend.   My table is #1503 during the show.
     Among the doings will be the National Silver Dollar Roundtable (NSDR) banquet at Morton's Steakhouse on Thursday evening, April 27.  The NSDR was founded in 1982 and is composed of enthusiastic and accomplished silver dollar collectors and dealers, with most being Life Members.  All members are invited to attend and those life members are entitled to a gratis great dinner at Morton's. If you're not a member, you should be!!  Check out the NSDR website at www.NSDR.net  or www.NSDR.org.  
     If you're interested in joining or you need tickets to the banquet, please contact NSDR Secretary, Diana Wuller at 618-316-4110 or [email protected]. Seating is limited and it's always been a sell-out! Diana will be at table #808, Arrowhead Coin & Jewelry.

     At last October's Long Beach Expo, I was honored to be interviewed for the "Slab Lab" series.  As a confirmed "old-timer," it was fun reminiscing about my career in numismatics.  The session went so long, that they broke it into two parts, so here's the link to Part I.  I hope you will enjoy it!    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwUCjg_qDEE 

     Well, this time I actually DID attend the Long Beach Show September 28 to October 1, but failed to post a notice!  It was good to return after a 2-and-a-half-year absence and meet up with old friends.  After the June 2023 show, I will again be traveling to Colorado Springs to instruct the ANA Advanced Grading and Problem Coin class, again with Jeff Garrett and we'll be welcoming Ken Park back giving us 3 instructors which is optimal for the class size.  Ken is a world class grader who has worked at PCGS for many years.