November's bay area coin & stamp show, Santa Clara Coin Expo, provided some grim moods with it's last showing in the bay area. I knew this was going to be the organization's last show, so my general perception was geared more towards, what are going to be the questions going forward? Most of what was asked, generally by the customer to the dealer was, "Where are you headed to next?" Unfortunately, this questioned brought out some pretty stark choices for the San Francisco bay area. The Fremont Coin Club, San Jose Coin Show, Livermore, Cupertino? It was a veritable list of small venues and clubs that were the only choices outside of a show like Long Beach or Las Vegas, it was small, if not unexciting crop of choices for this area in California. So where would I go from here? It's anybody's guess, but at the least I have my great selection of local dealers who would be able to provide me the service and selection I'm opting for. Ultimately, I'll miss the show scene in Santa Clara.
And so, what were my latest pick-ups at the show this past weekend? Well, I'm in the midst of putting together a Dansco 7070 type set, it's roughly 60% complete. My goal for the show was to find a VF grade Classic Head Half Cent. I've probably searched through 25-30 and liked maybe two of the bunch. The Classic Head design is so difficult to find in great shape, which results from some expensive choices, even in the VF+ grades. For the collectors that didn't know, these coins didn't have the sharp strikes, this can be attributed to the antiquated screw presses that were used at the time. So to find one with sharp details and no problems was going to be a daunting task, and I knew it coming in. Ultimately, I went with the 1828 13 stars variety. The coin exhibited a clean strike, great details in the hair, no porosity or corrosion, and it had an even chocolate patina. Relative to the grade, I got a great deal on this half cent for only $70, about $25 less than market value!
Other acquired pieces included a pair of beautiful Seated Liberty dimes and a seated quarter. The first dime is an 1850, VF in grade and exhibits an attractive "circulated cameo" appearance/color. This is the look and grade I'm aiming for in all of the 19th century coins for the type set. And again, the second dime is a beaut as well, final year 1891 w/legend, VF in condition with the same circulated cameo look. Third, the seated quarter was a CircCam 1854 w/arrows, VF in grade with a nice reverse, very strong coin and grade! Finally, other impulse buys included: 1837 Hard Times Token "Executive Experiment" (VF), 1966 Italy silver 500 Lire (MS63), 1964 Canadian Mint Set, 1861 Nova Scotia Large Cent (VF), Alaska Bird House Token, Rexhall Good Luck Wheat Cent Token, a couple pre-1964 quarters and an upgrade 1915 Barber dime for the type set (VF). I was surprised I didn't spend as much as I thought, I was ultra selective in the coins I was looking to acquire. All in all, it was a fun weekend, and the family had a great time as well.
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