Coin Shows
Steve: Reading an obituary of Stanford L. Smith, who the New York Times called a “One-Man Institution” in art fairs made me think about coin shows. He ran over 150 art fairs in his career, and some dealers reported selling more art in a long weekend at one of Smith’s fairs than in nearly a year at their galleries.
Smith saw a gap in the market by taking better care of his exhibitors, increasing staffing, and offering lots of free coffee.
Sometimes, dealers can be candid in their assessment of a show. One major dealer who sends out a newsletter commented on a West Coast show that there were booths offering Botox and hair styling tools alongside numismatic offerings.
The practical matters of safety, parking, hotel rooms and food options have to be considered, union costs can be a factor, while the logistics of tables, chairs, cases and lamps, have to be secured. But, a show has to add value for dealers and collectors and be a place where both groups can perhaps even have a bit of fun, or at least discover something new, whether it be an item for inventory or an unexpected addition to a collection.
Smith was also a collector who enjoyed the acquisition process and living with his treasures, and then selling them, replying when asked why he sold, “The fun was in the hunt.” His understanding of a collector mindset surely helped him in making successful shows.
Dennis, what are a few of the factors that you think makes a successful coin show?
Dennis: Most of my show experience has been as a book publisher and a speaker, and to a smaller degree assisting with planning, organization, public relations, and the like (for Whitman’s Baltimore Expos and related shows). But even when I was “on the clock” I was able to enjoy shows as a hobbyist. So I’ll approach your question from a few perspectives.
(Some of the things I’ll mention are pie-in-the-sky because, for example, union rules would make them way too expensive to implement. And I won’t mention some obvious things like “lots of dealers” and “lots of coins.”)
As a presenter/speaker, and also as a consumer of shows’ educational programming, I like it when every presentation has its own foamboard-mounted poster, or at least one single big poster that lists every presentation and is kept up all week, displayed outside the meeting rooms. This seems to be par for the course now, but it wasn’t always, back in the day. I also like good navigational help—lots of directional signs, “This Way to the [Whatever],” etc.—especially in a hotel or convention center I’ve never been to before.
I like it when shows bring speakers like former U.S. Mint chief engraver John Mercanti, who can share the kind of behind-the-scenes insider information that collectors love. Steve, I always enjoy your talks on what’s hot in the coin market, and I learn a lot from them. I like to see a diverse lineup of interesting presenters: auction-firm and grading-firm execs, museum directors, deep-dive researchers sharing their latest finds, Mint officials doing Q&A. I think the CCAC programs are great for the hobby and shine light on how coins and medals are designed. Competitive exhibits and educational displays add a lot to a successful show. And club meetings are good for outreach, general bonhomie, and showcasing the diversity of the hobby community.
Let’s talk about hardware. It’s nice to have chairs off to the side where collectors and/or their spouses (long-suffering wives?) can get off their feet and rest for a minute, without having to leave the bourse. Anything to make visitors comfortable and encourage them to stay longer. You mentioned Stanford L. Smith’s free coffee—wouldn’t that be a winner at a coin show?
A few years ago (okay, it’s been about fifteen years), Whitman Expo had a “lounge” area at its Philadelphia show, with a coffee table and comfy chairs. That was very popular. It was a little oasis of relaxation, conversation, and camaraderie on the noisy bourse. It was a place to run into famous hobbyists like Kenneth Bressett and Q. David Bowers and talk with them—different from talking at a dealer’s table, where conversation can feel rushed or “all business.” It was a place to show off your new purchases, ask questions, talk coins, and make new friends. Many shows these days are in convention centers that have comfortable nooks and resting places outside the bourse, which is great. And most have cafeteria-style tables and chairs set up inside, near the food-service area, usually in the back of the bourse. These kinds of accommodations are nice, but I often think back to that lounge area on the bourse in Philly!
Another “success” factor is ambassadorial. I recall the first few postcard shows and stamp shows I attended. These weren’t as second-nature to me as coin shows. Imagine going to a gem and mineral convention, or an art fair, or a garden show, or whatever kind of hobby gathering isn’t your usual venue—where you’re an outsider coming into an established world. What makes you feel comfortable? Seeing friendly faces. That’s what I like to see in a successful coin show. I remember many Whitman shows where new collectors approached me (at the Whitman booth, so they knew I was “on duty”) and asked how to get started, or what to do at the show, who to talk to, where to take their coins, and similar newbie questions. I was always happy to help. Being sociable and engaging is good for business (if you want to look at it that way!). But on a bigger scale, it’s good for the hobby at large. I think coin shows are successful at ambassadorship if they have smart, interesting, engaging volunteers manning check-in and the information desk, who welcome newcomers and help them feel comfortable and confident. Believe me, I’ve walked into some (non-numismatic) shows that have nothing, nobody, no friendly faces to greet obvious lost souls who don’t know where to start. It ain’t a good feeling.
On a related note: As a dad, I like shows that have active kids’ programming, with enthusiastic hobbyists serving that ambassadorial role for young collectors. I remember Cassidy Stroud, national youth coordinator of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association, volunteering at a recent Central States convention. It was a delight to watch as she engaged with crowds of excited kids who were running through the show’s programs and events, learning and just having fun, connecting with numismatics. That kind of energy is good for everyone involved! Another example: the ANA’s relatively new “Ernie’s Treasure Treehouse” is a hoot—a carnival-style atmosphere with valuable prizes and some education thrown in.
[Image: Future collectors participate in a Young Collectors Corner workshop at the World’s Fair of Money.]
Which brings me to another factor, and this one isn’t necessarily something that can be planned ahead by organizers: “buzz” on the bourse. A lively atmosphere. That’s going to depend on show visitors as much as on coin dealers. How do people describe a dead bourse? “You could roll a bowling ball down the aisle without hitting anyone.” Say I’m sitting at a dealer’s table, immersed and concentrating on the coins, medals, etc., that I’m considering. When I snap out of “coin mode” and look up for a moment, I don’t want to see a dead, empty floor. I like to see action, people moving around. I want to hear laughter and conversation and activity. Not a wild circus atmosphere, necessarily, but a sense of motion and excitement. That brief, almost unconscious, visual and audible input is enough to tell a visitor if a bourse is active or inactive. It’s a split-second judgement. Again, not something a show’s organizers have complete control over, but something that distinguishes a hit from a flop.
One more thought: the element of surprise! New conventions are growing, like the Great American Coin and Collectible Show, and shows of all kinds seem more open to pushing the envelope, bringing in unexpected features, trying new ideas. I loved turning a corner at a recent show and being hit in the eyeballs by a huge display of artist Bob Julian’s framed numismatic artwork. A few months earlier Kevin Lipton brought his million-dollar Saint-Gaudens Victory statue to the ANA World’s Fair of Money. If you go to enough shows over the years, you risk becoming jaded. It’s always fun to encounter something fresh, new, and unexpected.
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Hello! And welcome to the ANA’s blog series, “Collecting Friends.”
We decided to approach this much like a conversation between friends. One of us starts with a topic, then the other responds. Simple as that. Along those lines, we’ll keep the tone conversational as much as possible.
We both write about coins professionally, and will keep our relative style guides in our writing. For Dennis, Publisher at Whitman Publishing, that means capitalizing “Proof” and italicizing Red Book and never saying anything bad about Ken Bressett, who’s awesome anyway.
For Steve, who’s written with Coin World for 15 years, it means Winged Liberty Head dime instead of “Mercury” dime, and similar nuances and oddities. And, it means writing A Guide Book of United States Coins (better known as the “Red Book”).
Both of us started collecting when we were little, introduced to coins by a chance encounter with an old coin that sparked our curiosity. One of Steve’s interests is coin valuation, and he gravitates towards the intersection of art and coins. Dennis enjoys medals and world coins, and studying modern U.S. coins in the context of older series, what came before.
We met in 2012 at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia at an event hosted by the Austrian Mint where there was both a Ben Franklin and a Betsy Ross impersonator. We’ve become great friends in the past decade. We even were appointed together to sit on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee starting in 2016, but Steve resigned soon after he was appointed to accept a full-time job at the Treasury Department while Dennis was re-appointed in 2020.
We taught a course together on numismatic publishing and writing a few years ago at the Summer Seminar, and while life has gotten in the way of us teaching another class, we jumped at our friend Caleb’s suggestion that we write a column. We hope you enjoy it!
The American Numismatic Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and encouraging people to study and collect coins and related items. The Association serves collectors, the general public, and academic communities with an interest in numismatics.
The ANA helps all people discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of educational programs including its museum, library, publications, conventions and numismatic seminars.