I once had a dealer tell me that they had tallied up how much time they had spent in Long Beach and Baltimore as a result of coin shows in those locales, and the tally of years was quite shocking. That being said, there are worse places to be, and I’m glad to say that Baltimore is geographically desirable for us!
We just returned from our last major show of the year, and I have to say that the event was intense, active, and overall very good. We heard from several other buyers that they were traveling up to Charm City as early as Sunday to get “first shot”, but that was a bit ridiculous and unnecessary in our eyes (well, my wife’s at least). We made our way up on Tuesday afternoon, and it was perfect timing. We arrived and hit up first shot with several folks and had great results. The secret to this buying success at so many shows is our breadth and depth of different items that we buy. When you have dramatic needs across the numismatic smorgasbord of coin issues, it causes you to get offered far more coins than specialists in certain series. And we try not to disappoint those with whom we have built relationships with over the years. As a result, we come home with some really interesting pieces!
Tuesday evening, once we were done with the initial round of coins, I had a PNG Board Meeting that lasted three hours. Having not met in person in quite a while, this was a productive outing and I have to admit that I really like the direction the organization is taking. Once that dinner concluded, I received a call from another customer of ours who had several boxes of coins that were “new to them” so we raced over to their hotel room for “first shot”. Once again, we came home with several boxes of new coins, with some really interesting highlights that you’ll see coming up on our website in a few weeks.
This year, the Whitman Expo decided to partner with PNG on Wednesday for a PNG Day, which is essentially a dealer-only day of trading on the bourse floor. This was the first event of this type in Baltimore, and I have to admit that I loved the security and ease of setting up on the bourse a day earlier than usual. It certainly started the show off on the right foot, both buying and selling. That evening, Wes and I attended a congratulatory dinner for the incoming Director of the US Mint, Paul Hollis. It was quite an honor to be invited, and it was pretty fun to meet the new director in a numismatic environment. The attendees were quite diverse, ranging from Modern dealers to some of the biggest players in the auction and rare coin market. Thus, the conversations were quite varied and interesting! It was a real highlight to speak with Paul and to get his insight on what will be an exciting year for American Numismatics in 2026.
Thursday was another active day on the bourse floor, and the floodgates of collectors opened at noon, which delayed our lunchtime by a few hours as our table was mobbed with collectors buying coins and dropping off consignments. It was a fantastic day overall, and we were very pleased with the activity once we closed the books in the evening. Thursday night, several of us (Jack, Wes, and I) attended the PNG NexGen Dinner for future dealers. We had a fantastic outing with over 50 people attending and learning more about opportunities that are available to young people within the industry. These events are one of my favorites as we get to share our perspective on the future of the hobby, and it’s exciting to see so many active young people who are considering a future in the numismatic field.
Friday was our final day at the show, and it felt like a replay of Thursday. The activity was consistent and very positive overall. While we bought a few really neat coins, we also talked to a wide range of customers who made the day enjoyable and different.
This was also the first major show with our new affiliate company, NREX, who was forced to set up in the back of the hall due to the lack of table space, but in our conversations recapping the show, they had a blockbuster event as far as buying and selling went. Overall, the market is incredibly healthy and we’re excited to see it carry over as the year closes out and we prepare for 2026. We still have a small show or two remaining, but this final major event of 2025 was a great way to cap the year and now we get a chance to take a deep breath and recover for a few weeks. Getting back to my hotel room every night at 10-10:30 isn’t something I’m used to doing at this age!
Have a great week! And, take a look at the Chugugm Barber Quarter Collection closing tonight. This group is part 2 of a complete #3-Ranked All-Time Finest PCGS Barber Coinage Registry Set!
Numismatically Yours,
John Brush and Your Friends at DLRC
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