There were lots of collectors scattered around the bourse room for most of the day and attendance was about normal for a Saturday. Transactions for various collector coins have included Proof Sets, key date issues like 1909 S VDB and 1914 D Lincoln Cents, Washington Quarters (all dates), Indian Cents, circulated better dated Morgan and Peace Dollars and various gold bullion related items. We did notice some novice collectors browsing, asking questions, in an attempt to learn more about numismatics.

        There were continuous meetings throughout the day including an NGC seminar about "Assembling the Ideal 20th Century Type Set." Ponterio & Associates is conducting a Foreign Auction that concludes in the evening and George Kolbe's Fine Numismatic Books Auction is also being held. Ebay had a seminar on "An Introductory Guide to Buying and Selling on Ebay.

        Bob Korver of Heritage reported results of the Signature Sale at just over $2 million. Mr. Korver said they were quite pleased with the results and the last session was the strongest portion of the sale. We also visited with Ron Gillio, the General Chairman of the Long Beach Expo who said, "most dealers who cater to the retail end of the market voiced the opinion that the show was a rousing success, while those dealers who sell wholesale only were somewhat disappointed. The attendance was at least as good as normal with Friday being slightly better than usual. Today appears rather busy."

        This is the day when the Long Beach Expo hosts expect the largest turnout and the day retail dealers have spent months preparing for expecting to see some of their regular Long Beach customers. Friday's overall attendance appeared to be normal, but many dealers have reported moderate sales as compared to previous shows. The coin market is a little tentative as dealers and collectors look for near-term direction. While bullion prices (especially Gold) rose this past week, the premiums did not rise accordingly. However, one major U.S. Gold coin wholesaler reported, "The generic Gold market has turned up dramatically, sales are very strong, but prices were only up slightly." He sold just about everything he bought recently, usually selling 50-100 pieces at a time to other dealers. The Gold market is warming but we will see how prices hold up next week.

        Today's busy agenda begins with a general meeting of Women in Numismatics, followed by the Society for U.S. Commemorative Coins meeting with the topic "Commemoratives Memorabilia". All day long there will be a special table for Young Numismatists where there will be free coins and collecting materials for beginners. Also, PCGS will conduct an educational forum with the topic to be announced.

        Today's public attendance is steadier than yesterday. In fact, there has been an increase in retail sales, especially for the key and semi key dates within a given series. The "tough to find" coins are healthy and any dealer with a decent stock of key coins will typically be very busy at a show like this. Of course, this is somewhat contradictory since "tough to find" coins are not usually found in quantity. As we mentioned previously, the common coins found at nearly every bourse table tend to be soft as demand has yet to catch up to the supplies.

        There is a full slate of events this afternoon including a forum of the National Silver Dollar Roundtable. The main speakers will be Al Johnbrier and Jeff Oxman discussing "The State of the Silver Dollar Market", "VAM Varieties on Morgan Dollars", and "Counterfeit and Altered Dollars". In the evening there will be a general meeting of the Early American Coppers Club exploring "New Finds".

        The U.S. Postal Service is in attendance offering various shipping services for the dealers and stamp products for collectors. Crowds continue to gather near the back of the bourse room where dealers have numismatic books for sale. The educational aspect of numismatics is on the upswing as more collectors try to acquaint themselves with accurate information.

        Thursday's attendance looked to be very strong with a continuously crowded bourse floor. However, most dealers are reporting a less than satisfactory show. Noted numismatist, William Conroy said, "There are just so many coins available as a result of recent auctions that dealer inventories contain more "nice" coins than usual. This creates some great buying opportunities." However, most of the buying opportunities are not for the new purchases which are still commanding healthy prices. Carol Tailby, of Delaware Valley stated, "Coins under $2,000 are somewhat of a difficult sell." This is where you will find the best buying opportunities. Ms. Tailby also said, "Rare and expensive coins are where we are making most of our sales at this show and there is not a lot of price resistance."

        On today's agenda is a morning meeting of the National Silver Dollar Roundtable. There are workshops conducted by Ebay and Amazon, along with an educational seminar on "America's Forgotten Commemoratives: The Philippine Coins of 1936" by NGC. Heritage continues lot viewing for their auctions with their second session of the Signature Sale beginning at 12:00 noon.

        Today has been a bit slow for most wholesale dealers while retailers have been busy with collectors searching for specific coins for their collections. Heritage lot viewing is generally crowded as buyers prepare for the first session at 7:00 p.m. For more information regarding the Signature and Bullet Auctions, visit the Heritage Web Site at www.heritagecoin.com. Included are descriptions and photos of lots available for each session.

        One of the more interesting exhibits is the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, which is attracting lots of visitors. The BEP brought their "billion dollar display" and collectors are truly amazed at the different kinds of notes, many of which they never knew existed. The most impressive display includes the series 1934 Gold Certificate $100,000 denomination notes.

        Dealers arrived early in order to prepare for what they feel will be the best day of the show. It may not be the largest day for attendance, but "first shot" is important to the more serious collectors. As a result of the various auctions and purchases made by dealers in the last few weeks, there are lots of rare coins available. But, if collectors want any of these special coins, now is the time to buy them; once purchased by a collector, they tend to go off the market for a very long time.

        Collectors will have the opportunity to visit with two of the major Internet auction companies; Ebay and Amazon are conducting workshops on maximizing their online auctions. Also, there will be a meeting of the California National Currency Collectors on Thursday afternoon and continuous auction lot viewing of the Heritage Signature Sale.

        The Long Beach Expo opens today for dealers only beginning at 2:00 p.m. With expanding want lists, growing client bases, and plenty of fresh dealer purchases, the bourse floor should be very active. The Expo will open to the public on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

        Many dealers are just finishing up the two pre-show auctions conducted by Superior Galleries and Ira & Larry Goldberg. Both companies are reporting successful sales. Dealers now have the opportunity to view and bid in the Heritage Sales at the Long Beach Expo. Lot viewing is scheduled throughout the show at the Heritage Booths.

        The Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Expo will be held Thursday through Sunday, September 23 - 26, 1999, at the Long Beach, California Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Avenue. Admission is $4 (for a four-day pass), but free to anyone with a valid membership card from any coin or stamp club. Show hours are Thursday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For additional information, contact Andrea Neumann, Expo Coordinator, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 562-436-3636. Or visit the Expo's web site at www.longbeachshow.com.