The Southgate Crew gets ready for the Reno Coin Show, and Somer tells what steps they need to take in order to prepare for the show.
Avoiding the Minefields of Coin Show Preparation
By Somer Athari
Well, all you coin enthusiasts, this weekend the Reno Coin Club is holding it's annual coin show and of course we at Southgate Coins will be there. We will only set up at three coin shows this year; this Reno show being one, the other two are the ANA in San Francisco (see last weeks Snippets for more details), and the annual Carson City Coin show held at the Old Mint.
We have been spending all week preparing for this show. It is a challenging job preparing for coin shows, while continuing all of our other tasks here at the store. And it's never easy getting everything ready to take with us, but luckily, we have been doing this for some time, and come equipped with checklists to protect us from our worst enemy, mistakes.
First things first. Marie makes the difficult decision of who stays and secures the fort (i.e. coin shop), and who goes out to the field of action at the coin show. Once the itinerary is set and people are aware of their strategic locations, then the next plan of attack is to go through the list and grab everything that may and will be needed at the show. I thought you might be interested, so I have included our detailed list below.
Coin Show Checklist:
Invoices, Purchase Orders
Business cards, Postcards
Checks (checkbook), Cash in pouch
Slabbed inventory in PCGS boxes
Raw inventory in double row boxes
Currency inventory in large envelope
GSA black boxed "CC" dollars
Roster of coin dealers attending
Poster of Rusty's book and Easel
Supplies:
4 display cases with keys
Coin trays and velvet pads
4 swing arm lamps with bulbs (in working order)
Extra cords
Extra light bulbs
Rusty's magnifying glass, extra regular glasses
(6) Hard Covers and (12) Soft Covers of "The Mint on Carson Street"
Greysheet notebook, Redbook, Bluebook
Friedberg book for currency
Rusty's book signing pens and colored pens
Pens, notepads
Table clothes, Sales bags, Trash bags, Scissors, Glass cleaner, Goo-Gone, Paper towels, Kleenex, Ruler, Paper clips
Before our final packing is completed we must coordinate with Rusty:
To gather inventory
Break down one of the auxiliary showcases in our showroom
Review the Dealer set-up schedule
So, as you can tell, us girls know the importance of checking and double-checking each other’s work, making sure that nothing gets left behind. That's why we take special pride in the coin shows. We don't forget anything!
Once everything is given the O.K. by either Marie or Rusty, one of us (I believe that's me) accompanies Rusty to the show on Friday to set up our booth. Bright and early on Friday morning, everything is packed and ready and our first regiment is sent out on a reconnaissance mission to prepare for dealer set-up, which is the term for getting our tables ready for the public, who show up later in the day.
When the show opens to the public, we brace ourselves for a barrage of questions, comments, and people wanting to look at our great selection of inventory. A large part of our time is spent helping the public at these shows because they are the biggest fans of coins in Reno, which makes us all the best allies.
Of course after our main fort closes up for the day at 6:00, everyone comes down to help and enjoy the festivities. That way we can get all the help we need, because not being on our normal flank at the "Southgate front lines" we need to make sure that everything is where it should be and be extra cautious that nothing gets misplaced or stolen.
Then after two full days of happy people, book signing, coin selling, satisfied customers, as well as good friendships, we pack it all back up and bring it all back to the store. When everything is unpacked and put back in it's places, we all go to dinner. (Whoo Hoo!) Then on Monday, back to work, and preparations begin for the next show, which will be in July. YEAH!! That's it for this week, and please, wish us the best of luck at the coin show this weekend.
Your ten-four good buddy,
Somer