January 11, 2024
41 view(s)
7 min read
So, there's busy at a coin show...
and then there was Thursday, Jan 4 at FUN. Busy really doesn't even begin to describe that level of truly intense activity, for 7 or 8 hours straight. The day flew by - that's a great thing. But, this was an activity level that made me worry about making mistakes. Not being able to fully process the task at hand before having to begin the next. All three of us. Inundated. Overwhelmed. Which I thank you sincerely for! Yet, we were too busy, and I don't say that lightly.
Nor is it a complaint. I love to be busy. But, Team DKRC will have to revisit and revise our processes, to be sure that we keep activity levels below that threshold. We will maintain our excellent level of customer service of course, while also being certain to protect our inventory and double check our figuring. We are not aware of any major mistakes that were made, and we didn't lose any coins, but it was an environment that could have easily allowed that to happen.
That's the "bad" part of the recent FUN show, but as the saying goes, it was a good problem to have. Everything else was fabulous! Well, except that we didn't have chairs or power at our booth during setup on Wednesday afternoon, but we got both worked out fairly quickly. Dealers and collectors alike were hungry for great coins, and collectors were out in huge numbers. As noted, Thursday was nuts. The aisles were packed to the point where even getting to and from the restroom was a challenge. Friday was much slower by comparison...just a "normal" day at a gigantic, national show. Saturday is always a question, but it was pouring rain when we arrived at 8am, and it didn't stop till around noon. Still, collectors were out in force and sales were strong, right up until the time we had to pack up. Two guys tried to buy coins as we were packing, but we had to draw the line. Mel and Dick had a flight to catch.
But between Wednesday at 2pm and Saturday at roughly 2pm, we bought and sold, traded and graded, met and talked, showed and priced, and did all the other things we always do at such events, nearly non-stop. Sales didn't set a record, which is not really a surprise, though based on the frantic pace, we'll forgive you for assuming so. Our single-show sales record is going to be very hard to beat. We set that bar very high at FUN several years ago, when we had the incredible One Cent Pattern collection formed by Charles DeOlden for sale. Most of them sold, and the total was staggering. But purchases at this show did set a new record. We bought more than 120 slabs, primarily from customers and others who brought coins to us. As is generally the case, I got out on the floor only in very limited ways, like in this scenario for example: Bob called. He has coins for us but is too busy to bring them here. Go see him as soon as you can. It is possible I could have stopped at another table or two on the way back from seeing Bob, but I was never even in most of the rows.
So, it was a great show, which reinforces our view that the collector market - certainly the segment of it that we specialize in - is alive and well. The fundamentals of the serious collector market have only gotten stronger in my experience...and 2024 marks my 51st year in numismatics. Serious collectors collect seriously, and are generally not deterred from buying the coin they've been searching for when it appears. That is why rare/scarce/collector coins of excellent quality are always in demand.
Although I will be on the road as a buyer and attending many smaller shows, we have a nice break in our set-up-at show schedule, all the way to Baltimore, the third week of March. After that, the spring coin show season will kick into high gear, with Manchester, NH, PAN and Central States all in the space of 6 weeks. But that's all for another day. For now....
Please take a look at all of the newly listed coins on our website, including a few of the notable highlights listed below. The 1820 Small Date half dollar is a wonderfully choice coin and a very scarce, popular date. Our 1854 J-161 Pattern cent is lovely, choice and rather suggestive of the regular issue...but not. Just the sort of Pattern I strongly prefer. The 1834 dime we are offering is an interesting die variety (no crossbar on the 4) and a magnificent, original coin. Then there is the 1937 proof nickel and 1822 half dollar to consider, both incredibly attractive and important collector coins with exceptional eye appeal. But my favorite coin this month is the 1893-S Morgan dollar...the key to this extremely popular series. It is a literally perfect XF example, and is much nicer in terms of originality, quality and eye appeal than even some stickered XF45's I've owned in the past. It is fabulous to hold in your hands. All of these great coins are CAC approved, DKRC vetted, and available on a first-come, first-served basis. These and many other important and desirable coins and notes are yours for the considering here. And there are many more to come. Please make a habit of checking back frequently.
We discuss this in some form every month, but it always bears repeating...selling coins is great, but what we really love, and truly need to do, is buy coins and currency! Or take them in trade. Please consider offering us some great items, or even some nearly great ones. Actually, we'll be happy to buy whatever you've got, and we have very effective sales channels for everything, including "stuff", bullion, decent collector material, and - of course - the truly great pieces. We'll be tickled just to have the opportunity to explore buying from you or trading with you. You might be surprised at what your coins and currency are worth, and we need them now more than ever! So please, see us at any upcoming show, call us at (301) 570-7070 or email to discuss.
A quick reminder about how our website works may be in order, since we are a little bit different than many other coin dealer's sites. We are an e-commerce site. You simply place item(s) in your cart, and checkout. Everything is net priced and ready to go. All the payment options are available at checkout, including mailed payment, if you prefer to send a check or MO (or you intend to arrange a trade or layaway). As soon as you checkout, the material is removed from inventory, and is no longer available for sale (it may show as "on hold", but that is purely semantic...an order has been placed and the site is waiting for us to do some internal processing). There is no mechanism by which an actual hold can be created, and if we are out of the office, it generally isn't possible for us to create an order for you, since the behind the scenes, admin portion of the site is complex and doesn't work well on our phones. But on the public side, you can create an order very easily. It sometimes happens that a customer leaves a message on our office phone that they'd like an item, but by the time we get the message, it has already sold. Or, you may get us while we're driving or busy at a show, and we can't help immediately. We really don't want that to happen, and it's very easy to avoid...simply place your order on the website! All items in our inventory are one of a kind, are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and are thus subject to prior sale.
Lastly, take a look at our listings on eBay (seller ID: DavidKahnRareCoins). Every week, we sell 35 to 40 lots on eBay in completely unreserved auctions that start at .99 cents. That's right - good quality, PCGS & NGC-graded, US collector coins and currency that you can buy at whatever price you set. We also have fixed-price material available on eBay, so please check out our offerings there. Finally, please keep in mind that our eBay and website inventories are completely different!