Did you know there was a big coin show in Pittsburgh?
The National Money Show was held this past week in Pittsburgh with a rousing silence. There was no news. No announcements. Nothing.
It had to be one of the quietest shows in recent memory.
Although I could not attend, I was waiting for something to come across my email to let me know that the numismatic industry is alive, well, and enjoying Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is a really nice place. It has shaken off its past as a result of the steel mills closing and has really turned itself around. Its redevelopment was well underway when I attended Carnegie Mellon for graduate school. It has only become better.
Did someone go to Pittsburgh for the National Money Show? Or did they go out and ride the Duquesne Incline, visit the Strip District, tour the Heinz History Center, or relax in Schenley Park? There are great places to eat on the South Side including at Station Square, but there was a show going on. What happened?
Instead of worrying about whether a kids-oriented set sold by the U.S. Mint is good for the hobby, maybe the hobby has to think about letting the world know that it still exists!
And now the news…
March 24, 2019The Royal Mint unveiled its Peter Rabbit 2019 coin recently, with the new designs becoming available only last week. At the time of writing, three different designs of the mischievous Beatrix Potter character had been released. 
→ Read more at express.co.uk
March 25, 2019A commemorative 50p coin to celebrate Brexit has not been minted yet, in what must surely be the ultimate metaphor for Brexit. The coin was announced at last year's Budget, with the Treasury suggesting it would bear the date '29 March 2019' and be available from Brexit day. → Read more at mirror.co.uk
March 25, 2019The single biggest hoard of Celtic coins ever found is now thought to be two separate stashes that were buried together. The Le Câtillon II hoard includes 70,000 gold and silver coins and 11 gold torques, or necklaces, and dates to the First Century AD. → Read more at dailymail.co.uk
March 25, 2019This rare Irish coin could fetch thousands of Euro at an auctionWhyte's A rare Irish 20p coin could fetch up to $6,800 (€6,000) at an upcoming auction in the Dublin. Read More: A guide to valuing all your old Irish coins → Read more at irishcentral.com
March 27, 2019A COIN fan who stabbed a fellow enthusiast to death and stole his collection has been jailed for life. Danny Bostock, 33, broke into Gordon McGhee’s flat and knifed him at least 14 times. SWNS:South West News Service → Read more at thesun.co.uk
March 29, 2019From time to time, legislation gets introduced in Congress to eliminate dollar bills in favor of dollar coins. The lawmakers pushing the legislation always tout it as a way to save the government money. → Read more at fedsmith.com
March 30, 2019KOLKATA: Winds of change are blowing over this 232-year-old church, tucked in one corner of Dalhousie, diagonally opposite Raj Bhavan. St John’s Church, which was the first cathedral the British built in the country and was the only cathedral till St Paul’s was built, is being thrown open to public programmes. → Read more at timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Maybe we will hear something from the E-Sylum tonight, it is strange that people weren’t talking about it in social media
Don’t put this on the blog except anonymously. I was at Pittsburgh’s National Money Show and was disappointed. Neither Whitman nor anyone selling books or basic supplies was there. The bourse was small.
As I said before and after last August’s World’s Fair of Money, the ANA needs to hire professional marketing people to market and publicize their shows. For this and other reasons, the hobby is declining because it is mismanaged.
Yes, I was there and I thought the show was excellent. That said, I’m not a dealer. The exhibits were unusually high in quality (I was a judge.) The ANA Board of Governors Candidates Forum was great and made news, as did the Mint Directors’ remarks at the Tuesday night PAN dinner. If you really don’t think it was well publicized enough, maybe you’re checking the wrong medium.
Since I am not a noob to this world of electronic media, where do you suggest I should have looked for information about the show?
The problem you fail to understand was that I did not attend and heard little to nothing. If they can’t get information to me as an interested party, what is getting out to the general public? Not much, as it seems!!
Scott
I agree 100% with your reply to Kurt. The hobby will not grow unless the ANA reaches out to the general public
It DID get out to the general public, at least the part that matters. The Trib had coverage, as did local TV in Pittsburgh. The Trib had it as #1 in “Things To Do in Pittsburgh This Week”. Not only was the best show list site, CoinZip.com there, they were manning the PAN booth (show hosts) for much of the show.
What WAS missing in action was the numismatic press, writ large. Obviously F+W’s bankruptcy kept NN from attending, although Coin World was there. The PAN banquet the night before the show opened FILLED the banquet room at LeMont. These people found out somehow, as did the dealers in a full bourse.
If you actually believe that sites like this are any kind of “must go to” for numismatic news, I believe you’re sadly mistaken. Try money.org.
“…. at least the part that matters.”
So what your saying is that those of us who would attend if it were not for other real life issues doesn’t matter?
Also, as per usual for March ANA shows, Saturday was the CLEAR biggest day for attendance. There was a sizable queue at Registration (free). Sure, it was no Philly show from last August, but then again, not much CAN compare with that show in attendance. Not Rosemont, not Denver(2017), and CERTAINLY not Anaheim(2016).
Kurt, it’s wonderful that it was a good show. And your report on the show is appreciated. I might put together a show report based on your input since it has provided a lot of good insight.
In a previous note, you said something that has a tremendous amount of validity: F+W’s bankruptcy and how it affects Numismatic News is an important lesson for the future of the industry.
I don’t wish to mislead you or your readers – Thursday attendance was not robust. It was almost all real insider heavily committed types, not so much the public. High downtown Pittsburgh hotel rates may have held down multi-day attendance.
Kurt
I got a room at the Westin at $82 per night via Hotwire, well below the ANA’S $169 at the Westin. But, the ANA wouldn’t allow that in the Numismatist because it’s undermining somebody’s work!
There are cheaper rooms out there, but ANA won’t report it. You and ever other ANA member should scrream at them. I was sick in Pittsburgh, otherwise I would have brought it up at the candidates’ forum.
Robert,
I booked many months prior via Expedia and got a nice deal on the Hyatt Place North Shore between the stadiums, but not quite as nice as yours. Good hunting! I did notice on the travel sites that the deals got better as the “last minute” approached. It sometimes works that way, but sometimes not, too. I did notice that several dealers were at that same Hyatt Place, as well as the editor of Coin World. All probably booked as early as I did, because for months it was THE best deal around for the show dates. I went a day early to help ANA with dealer photo badges on Wednesday
By the way, I kinda made the candidate’s forum main controversy come to light. What fun!.