Coin sales brisk at Visalia event despite economy - Special-issue quarters, gold draw interest from collectors

On Mon, 9 Mar 2009 09:18:17 -0700, "Arizona Coin Collector"
wrote:

FROM:
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/art...903090308/1002

Visalia, California

Coin sales brisk at Visalia event despite economy

Special-issue quarters, gold draw interest from collectors

BY GERALD CARROLL

March 9, 2009

Economic hard times often mean good times for
the coin business. When money is short, people
often invest in ... money?

You bet, says coin dealer Leo D'Andrea.

The Visalia Coin Show has never seen better times,
said D'Andrea, 82, primary organizer of Saturday's
event at the Sons of Italy meeting hall in west
Visalia. The show comes to Visalia twice a year.

(snip)

Hey! My local show hits the big time! Take that, Long Beach :-)

It was a pretty good show, and it seemed to be busier (at least when
I was there) than the previous show. It surprised me, because right
now, our unemployment rate in the county is running just under 15%.
There were some people selling, but more seemed to be buying.

One of the things a couple of dealers commented on was the food. A
lady who is a former president of the local Sons of Italy chapter
makes sandwiches that put the normal "coin show food" to shame.

I went almost entirely Canadian at the show--filled several holes in
my cent collection, so a complete set from 1876 (minus of course the
1936 "dot" cent) is not too far away. Most of the remaining coins I
need are the ones from 2004 to the present (dealers don't carry 'em
unless I want to spend a couple of hours searching through a junk bin
hoping to get lucky, and I haven't been to Canada since '04). I'm
really just a couple of "spendy" items and a plane ride away from
getting it done :-)

take care,
Scott