ANA Boston Report (Long and rambling)

Just got back from Boston and thought I would pass along some
observations.

I used to live 2 hours away, but moved farther north last year and now
am 4 hours away from Boston. I THOUGHT I knew my way around town, but
was sadly mistaken. Of course it didn't help that Boylston St. is one
way in front of the Hynes Convention Center, and that the banner
advertising the ANA could only be read from across the street, and
should have been rotated 90°. Parked my car at the Prudential Towers
(hereafter known as the Pru) for 3 hours and got a $35 parking bill!
YIKES!! Checked into my hotel and they were charging $20 per night to
park there as well! My daughter lives in Boston, so from that point
on, she picked me up in the morning and we had breakfast every day,
and dinner most nights. No more parking bills until Saturday when I
left.

I spent a lot of time at the CWTS table, which was very inconveniently
located just past the entrance to the show with some of the other
clubs. Seems like very few ever wandered down to the club area, but
went inside before reaching us. We also had to share our table with
ICTA. They said that their table was free, whereas our club paid for
the table, the table we shared. Hmmmm, whats wrong with this picture?

I entered the BEP drawing for the hand-pulled intaglio prints and won
two of them. Sold one to Ken Barr, but kept the other after I had it
signed by Rosa Rios, the Treasurer of the US (she is a BABE!). I told
Ken that I would sell him the 2nd one if I didn't get it signed, but
afterward, found that my friend John Wilson (ex-president of the ANA)
had no luck in obtaining one, so I ended up selling it to him.

I spent some time talking with Ron Landis from the Gallery Mint. Ever
since he sold the business he has been looking to find a home for the
equipment he and Joe Rust had, hoping to keep it all together. He
jokingly asked the Royal Australian Mint if they needed an engraver,
and as it turns out, THEY DO! I hope that the RAM gives him a ticket
to Canberra to check out the facilities. He is still playing bluegrass
music, and he met up with Dave Schenkman at the TAMS meeting. Dave is
a banjo player as well as being a token expert.

Paul Cunningham told me that he had a 'few cases' of books for me. I
drove him to his hotel and we loaded 12 cases of books into my trunk!
A few cases? (20 books to the case) I also got a case of different
books from Steve Hayden. Add those to the case of books that I
brought, and you know the back end of my car was dragging!

At the Royal Canadian Mint, my friend Eric didn't make it for the
show, but did meet up with Alex and Malika who I have made friends
with in the last couple of years. I purchased the last silver TAMS
assemblage medal. Although I have never had any interest in these
before, I fell in love with the artistry of it. Too bad that after 50
years TAMS will no longer issue these. I submitted a Civil War Token
to be slabbed by NGC after I found that despite it's unusual size
(very small diameter, very thick planchet) that the would indeed be
able to slab it. I purchased a modern Commemorative dollar and
completed that collection, and although the dealer didn't have one on
hand, he is mailing it to me, and I should have it in hand on Monday.
I also purchased a Dansco album for the National Parks quarters, PDSS
Volume I at Wizard Coin supply...Volume II not yet available.

At the CWTS meeting I proudly accepted their service award (my 3rd!),
a very nice plaque. I was very happy to see a LOT of kids at the show,
not just the ones that were dragged in by their parents, but Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, and a lot of kids with their own money to buy
coins for their collections. I really hope that they were treated well
by the dealers. I haven't made up my mind how I feel about the ANA
charging admission fees, but they sent me 30 $2 off coupons for
admission, which I gave away to people with kids in line to register.

Despite fewer people I expected to see, I did see a lot of large
transactions going on between dealers. One guy had purchased over 200
slabbed Morgans and was writing a 6 figure check.

My daughter, who works at the Pru, had my ticket for the parking lot
stamped, so that I could get the discount flat rate of $12. Imagine my
surprise when they said that it was only valid for 5 hours, and yes, I
got another $35 parking bill, total parking charges in Boston, $90.
Hotel rates weren't cheap either. One good thing was that there is a
food court at the Pru, as well as a number of really good restaurants,
both inside the Pru and in the nearby neighborhood...not like some of
the venues where you are kept hostage and can only get dried up
sandwiches and hot dogs. (Think Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, or the Rosemont in Chicago).

I had a good time, was glad to have seen old friends and to have spent
some time with my daughter. I sold some old (1601-1775) German States
coins for a good price, and kept my cash flow flowing (mostly flowing
out). I got some good deals on some coins, no break in price on others
but ended up walking away a happy camper.

Look forward to hearing from others that attended!

Jud wrote:
Just got back from Boston and thought I would pass along some
observations.

[observations snipped]

Is Cliff still doing those coin travelogs for NumiNews? If so, he's got
serious competition!

Your blow-by-blow coverage of the event makes me wish even more that I had
been there to experience the ANA convention. Sounds as if you had a great
time. See you in Rosemont in 2011.

James the Envious