2024 GACC Inaugural Tampa Show Report

As many of you have already heard by now, this past week's show in Tampa wasn't exactly what we had been hoping for. As a south Florida Resident, I selfishly would love to see more flowering shows within driving distance. Unlike many other geographical areas, there are no other state borders in driving distance. Orlando is about 2.5-3 Hours, Tampa is about 3.5 hours, and the west coast (Sarasota, Ft Myers) are around 3-3.5 hours. For me, anything around 4 hours or less is VERY enjoyable and pleasant road trip. I have a large SUV that has many creature comfort options, including “Super-cruise” - a very effective autonomous self-driving feature. On a trip like that, I’m able to make all my phone calls that I had been putting off ,and it makes the ride go quickly.

I wasn’t able to make it to Dealer Day, which is a full day of trading for dealers in a separate room. Im currently finishing up renovations on my home, and had much to address on Monday with my contractor, so I decided to leave Tuesday evening. I arrived Tuesday night, just in time  to meet up with Noah and the gang at this restaurant called “Edison : Food and Drink Lab”. They had already had their entrees, but I made it just in time for dessert, and by golly I’m glad that I did. The restaurant is a trendy, smaller portion, rotating menu type of joint. To say that I was blown away with the quality would be an understatement. They had this sage butter cake that was to die for, and we actually went back to the same restaurant the following night because of how much we loved it.

The first day of the show, by all metrics, was a disaster. Collector attendance was virtually non existent, and my only business was with another dealer (and his only business was likely with me 😅). Granted, the one coin that I sold was mid 5 figures, and the profit from that one deal covered my table fee at least. I did spend close to the same amount of money buying for my inventory, so the day wasn't a total loss. I also was able to procure another toned Koban from my new friend @abbyme of Rising Sun Rarities, who is a knowledgeable Japanese coin expert who's helping me with my set of toned Kobans. We all were hoping that the public attendance would materialize on Thursday, considering that the show was pretty well publicized in all of the articles about the ’75 no S dime at GC.

Thursday wasn't much different, and I sold one $6,000 coin to another dealer. There were a few collectors walking the floor, but the overall attendance was quite discouraging. Fortunately, I was finally able to meet @copperindian who brought some of his knockout coins for show and tell, and I reciprocated with some of my new pioneer pieces I brought with me. Other than that, some familiar faces such as @pocketchange, @coinbert, and @DScoin also stopped by to hangout for a bit. Even @CRHer700 managed to find me, and I had the PERFECT $10 Lib for him that I was able to let go at melt, and it was a very nice original choice AU that was still raw in the flip from the 1970's. I was able to spend another 30-40k on inventory so I was not complaining. and I also was able to procure another toned Koban from my new friend @abbyme. I also got to chat with John Albanese for a little while and he showed me the prototype CACG Box that had just been signed off on. The box is heavier and longer than a PCGS box, but the build quality is superior, it fits any holder version from the Big 3, and the coins don't move around much when you shake the box.

On Friday, the floor was a ghost town by 3pm. Many dealers had already packed up and went home. Doug Winter actually wrapped it up on Thursday, and he told me this was arguably the worst show he's ever been to with respect to attendance. I spent about another 30k on inventory, but the floor was empty at this point and only a few of us remained. A collector walked up to my table as I was packing up, and he unexpectedly whipped out over a quarter million dollars in graded rarities. He might have been probing me to see if he thought I was honest, and we exchanged info to try to make something happen at a later date.

General Observations -

1. The setup of the show was fantastic - room was very large, isles wide, and there was ample space in the isles to move around...Hell, we could have rode 4 wheelers up and down the bourse isles if we wanted to. . Lighting was about a 7/10 which is pretty good for coin shows. The equipment such as cases, lights, and power cord were all ready to go from the beginning, and the signage wasn't half bad at all.

   
   

2. The hotel prices were not horrible, but they certainly weren't cheap. I did not plan this one out well so I booked through Expedia last minute, and the room was around $300 a night. Factoring in the expensive Valet, I was in at about $1200 for the hotel. On the plus side, the Embassy Suites has a catwalk to the convention center, and it took me approximately 5 minutes to get to the bourse after I came down from my room.

   
   

3. Table fees were a bit more expensive than other shows, I split a corner with someone else, which cost me about $1000. It took a full tank of gas to get there one way, and my truck runs premium which is about $90 a tank. With the table fees, hotel cost, and travel expenses, I was into this one for about $2500 BEFORE food and drinks. I made $1,600 profit with the two coins I sold, so I did not recoup my expenses unless you count unrealized profits from purchases.

I believe Larry Shepherd and the GACC know how to put on a good show, and some of the attractions and exhibits there were well worth the $15 admission price (or $35 for the entire show). Unfortunately, the timing was a formidable obstacle being right after ANA and the multitude of subsequent auctions, not to mention the fact that the snowbirds aren't in Florida normally at this time. All of the ingredients were measured correctly, but the oven never made it to temperature, and as a result the cake had flopped. What I will say, is that If I were there solely as a collector, I would’ve been happier than a pig in the mud. You could virtually talk to any dealer in the room, at any time, and have extended conversations without bumping elbows with anyone. Dealers do want to cover expenses, so they likely would have been eager to make some deals even if it meant they had to deal with more modest margins. I would go out of my way to attend a show like this, as a collector looking for a pleasant experience and some nice coins.

The next GACC show is in Fort Lauderdale the first week of April, and considering that It’s in my back yard, you can count on us to be there. At that time, there should be more snowbirds and seasonal residents who might be able to attend. I had never been to Tampa prior to this show, but my impression was that it seemed to be amore of a college/younger urban professional city. The Palm Beach/ Broward area likely has better demographics for coin collecting.

All in all, this show was a letdown that did not meet expectations based on how many collectors had told me they were going before hand. Quite a few people told me they decided to bail at the last minute and wait and see how it turned out, which is a very reasonable position. Keep in mind though, that mentality, at scale, is likely why it went the way that it did. Coupled with the $15 attendance fee, which is yet another obstacle for the casual hobbyist. Frankly, I couldn’t care any less about an extra $15 charge when I was solely a collector, but I’ve come to the realization that coin collectors are among the cheapest and most frugal class of people. As Doug Winter put it, a collector will drop 15k on a Dahlonega Half Eagle, but scoff at the notion of a $15 admission charge. It is expensive to rent a venue like this, and it requires hundreds of man hours and months of preparation, and tens of thousands in advertising. Though the show had its problems, I don't think its fair to ridicule and criticize the show promoters. Perhaps we should have a bit more sympathy and give them credit for making an attempt to organize events that invigorate the hobby. I’m sure they’ve learned some valuable lessons, and I expect to see the GACC make some tweaks to future shows that result in a better execution. Besides, has anyone ever been to an inaugural show that was a barn burner?

One really great suggestion I heard elsewhere, but someone mentioned that some vendor shows like this give attendees a voucher equal to the amount of the admission charge, to be redeemed with any of the vendors. I would be THRILLED to accept vouchers if that meant that attendance would be stronger, and even if you gave dealers the option to accept them, I imagine that many of them would.

Anyway, David and I have been working hard this week writing descriptions and taking photographs of our new inventory, as well as aggressively seeking quality coinage to offer to our customers. Our new purchases will go live on the website on Tuesday, September 24, at 3:00 PM EST. Don’t miss it, we expect some fierce competition for these premium collector-grade type coins!