The 14th Annual Carson City Mint Coin Show was held last weekend at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City. There is a lot that goes on in front of and behind the scenes to make a coin show go off without a hitch…
Highlights from the 14th Annual Carson City Mint Coin Show
By Amy Williams
Monday, August 28, 2006
Being involved in coin shows is one of our most favorite events here at Southgate Coins. It gives us all a chance to get outside the walls of our store, meet other coin dealers from outside the Reno area, show off our fabulous coins, eat some great donuts, and meet lots of coin enthusiasts.
However, there is a lot more to a coin show than one might think. There is preparation, paper work, and inventory involved weeks before we even make the trip over the hill to Carson City. The behind the scenes aspect of it might make some novices stressed out – but have no fear, Southgate has this down to a thing of beauty. Way before I was even hired on to the team, there was a little something called the “Coin Show Check-Off List.” This is our shining glory to getting everything together and organized for the show. Instead of asking “Did you pack the Carson City type set holders in all three colors?” we can simply go and check the list ourselves. Another great thing about the check-off list is that everything we need to bring with us is already written down. Could you image getting all the way to the show only to find that you forgot to pack the slabbed coin inventory in PCGS boxes? I didn’t think so!!
I think of coin shows kind of like going camping with your family. You know – you plan for the trip by deciding what you need to bring, you go buy the items that are missing from that list, you pack up the car as tightly as you can, drive to the campsite, unload your items at your campsite, have an amazing time camping, pack up your gear, drive back home, unload your car one more time, and finally, you are left exhausted, but not without some wonderful memories of the trip. Well, thinking about it – coin shows are better than camping because there is no fear of human eating bears lurking around your tent at night…
Anyway, back to the highlights of last weekend.
Friday afternoon marked the kickoff of the show with dealer setup. We all drew straws and Rusty and Kelsey were chosen to take on this important duty of unpacking and organizing our booth at the show.
Saturday was opening day of the show to the public. Heather and I met Rusty early that morning to begin that day’s festivities. We were immediately bombarded with activity from coin show goers. We made several coin sells that day, thankful that the store in Reno was also open so we could call in credit card payments when needed. Later in the afternoon, the rest of our crew – Marie, Kelsey, and Sara met us at the show to help pack up for the night. After the show ended for the day, we all went out for the traditional coin show dinner.
Sunday morning rolled around and again Heather and I met Rusty (and Marie as well) for another fun filled day of coins. The crowd was coming in slower than the previous day. Nonetheless we still had a great time together.
Sunday was also the day that the grand prize raffle was drawn. And, as some of you may not know, our store donated the grand prize to the museum. This grand prize holds up to its name “grand” by being a beautiful historic glass wall hanging containing a picture of the Carson City U.S. Mint from 1875 with an 1878-CC Uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollar which is displayed in a Nevada shaped capital plastic holder along with an 1882-CC choice Uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollar in a GSA holder. This “grand” prize was even grander because our very Rusty Goe inserted personalized descriptions of each of the three items in the frame – this included information on GSA holders themselves, how the mint became the Nevada State Museum, as well as explaining that the 1878-CC Morgan is unique in that 1878 was the first year that the Carson mint minted that particular dollar. Wishing you could have put a ticket in the drawing now?
All and all the coin show was extraordinary. We all had a great time sharing in our passion for coins, especially the Carson City ones. I think it is safe to say that everyone here at Southgate is looking forward to the 15th Annual show.
Until Next Time,
Amy
P.S. - Thanks to Southgate's good friend John Crane and Nevada State Museum curator George Baumgardner for taking our pictures.