Supplies for new dollars big at ANA’s Money Show

It was great to be a supply dealer at the American Numismatic Association National Money Show March 16-18 in Charlotte, N.C. While regular coin business and floor attendance seemed a little light, dealers who had supplies were enjoying the attention of the public on the Mint?s new Presidential dollar program.

Florian Frank of Lighthouse, a Hackensack, N.J.-based, supply business, said that he had his distributors on allocation because the next two shipments of a popular Presidential Dollar Album were already spoken for. This meant it would be at least May before he could catch up with demand.

Jim Pruitt of BU Coin Co., Irving, Texas, confirmed the interest. He carries the Dansco line, which includes a U.S. Presidential Album. He had helpfully placed the first two Washington coins in each album to catch the attention of buyers at his bourse table.

Interest in dollars, Pruitt said, extends to the Sacagawea series, which began in 2000 and continues in parallel with the Presidential series.

Jim Sprankle of Jupiter, Fla., who specializes in Lincon cents and Canadian coins, said he was pleased with the show?s results when asked.
?Actually, it?s been very good,? Sprankle said about the level of business. ?It?s not a large show, but it is big enough for the area.?

When asked whether buying or selling predominated, Sprankle replied, ?Very good, both sides.?

Paper money dealer Tom Denly of Boston, Mass., called Charlotte ?a surprisingly good retail show.? He added, ?I am always happy to be at ANA.?

Adding to the upbeat attitude, paper dealer Len Glazer, who was at Denly?s table, piped up, ?He was glad Jennifer went to Raleigh by mistake because he can tease her for 20 years.? She helps Denly at his booth.

?It?s been an average show for an ANA midwinter,? said Wayne Herndon of Oakton, Va.

?It?s been a very good buying show,? he said, ?I?ve made some very nice acquisitions. Selling has been a little slower.?

?Business was booming,? declared Brad Shiff of CyberCoins.net of Pittsburgh. ?It was very good mainly from the retail selling angle. Seated Liberty halves were very good for us. Morgan dollars were doing pretty good.?

Shiff?s father, Theodore, rattled off other areas of strength, ?ancients, type coins, paper money; I?m not sure what was bad. This is probably one of the better spring shows.?

Paper money dealer Larry Hanks of El Paso, Texas, obvserved, ?There were a lot of people here. Sales were steady, but it was hard buying. Prices in the auction were solid; rarities went very strong and high quality pieces.?

About the market in general, Hanks said, ?Paper money is pretty strong across the board.?

Bob Paul of Certified Enterprises of Bridgewater, N.J., called the show, ?Overall, it was OK.? He commented on his firm?s waffled coins, which are Mint-canceled scrap. ?There is more interest than we have seen. I was surprised at the number.?

He showed the Illinois quarter from 2003 as his firm?s latest offering.
Robert K. Bruce of All American Coin and Jewelry, Pensacola, Fla., said, ?Actually, for as light a traffic, this show was really wonderful. Thursday was a great dealer day. Friday and Saturday it was public. I have no complaints. Charlotte is probably the cleanest town that ANA has ever had a show at.?

Bruce also said that ahead of the show, ?Everyone thought it was going to be a flop because it is before Baltimore (the next weekend).? He said he attracted a lot of new customers.

Jonathan Lerner of Scarsdale Coin, said, ?We actually had some good sales. Charlotte is a great place to have a show. The weather did hamper it a little bit (there was a snowstorm in the Northeast).?

One area of particular strength that Lerner noted was in so-called dollars (dollar-sized medals). ?So-called have exploded. I think it is something people are just fascinated with. The book?s coming out this summer.?
He also talked about the new plain-edge Washington dollar error.

?They think it is the next three-legged Buffalo. Pricewise, nobody really knows if it is a $100 coin or a $500 coin.? He had them for $250 in Numismatic Guaranty Corporation holders in MS-64.

Colorado Springs, Colo., dealer Tom Hallenbeck, who has chosen to stick to business rather than run for ANA president, said of the show: ?I think it has been a little lackluster. There hasn?t been a real buzz on this floor. We had surprisingly good retail today (Saturday). Morgan dollars, semi-key dates; I sold a whole bunch of them. A lot of people didn?t show up because Baltimore is next week.?

Hallenbeck gave the show an overall grade of ?B,? which most professionals in the room would probably have agreed with.