The following was written by Chris.

Frank, Tom, and I attended the annual Central States Numismatic Society Convention last week in Schaumburg, Illinois. In a word, it was eye-opening. Let me explain.

We flew to Chicago late Monday afternoon and I had my first hotel room appointment early Tuesday morning. It was with the typical wholesale dealer I always see first. The first sign that something was up was when he mentioned that he had much fewer boxes than usual. So much fewer that he didn’t bring one of the folks that typically work the bigger shows with him. Granted, that meant he had 12 double row boxes of coins rather than 18, so there was still plenty to go through. When I was done buying, I had a much smaller stack of coins than I typically would have after going through his inventory. He was lamenting how hard it was for him to get coins for this show. And the stuff he did have was strongly priced.

I then went to my next appointment; another wholesaler I typically can buy a decent number of coins from. His inventory, like the previous dealer I saw, is mostly made up of consignments; he doesn’t own the actual coins. Another sign that things were different was that he was not taking offers on anything other than five-figure coins, and even on those he was working tight. I bought fewer coins than usual, simply because the prices were too strong.

Next appointment the dealer only had one box, and I only bought one coin. Prices were too strong to be able to buy and make any money. The dealer after that I had a little bit of success with. He had recently acquired a fresh deal of world coins from a collector, and I managed to pick up a handful of interesting pieces.

My final hotel appointment of the trip (the show opened the next day to PNG dealers) was late in the day. It was another wholesaler with whom I do a lot of business. This dealer’s inventory was his own. He “makes” a lot of his coins, so most of it was freshly graded material. Another sign that this show was going to be different was that he only had 3 ½ boxes for me to look through. I had some success buying, but again left with fewer coins than usual from him.

The next day was the PNG day, so PNG members such as ourselves could set up at their tables. PNG days typically lead to more sales for us (more on our sales later), since there are much fewer dealers on the floor for people to buy from. Some folks that we might not see during the regular show will come by to look at our coins. I went to one dealer’s table that I like to hit early. He had almost nothing but generic gold in his boxes. There was less than half a box of type. I did not buy much at all. Same story with a couple other dealers I visited – not much inventory. Frank’s and Tom’s buying experiences were similar to mine.

I heard the same complaint from other dealers, too – just not much inventory out there, and prices were strong. While pricing out coins throughout the show, I was noticing very strong auction prices realized in March and April sales. The price guides are now lagging behind current market values. It will be interesting to see how the market plays out over the coming months, because based on the Central States show, the market is very strong right now, with prices heading up and demand far outpacing supply. Oh, and by the way, regarding our sales, we had our best Central States show ever. We went with close to ten boxes of coins and came home with about half of that. Incredible.

Here’s a quick summary of my personal non-business experience at the show, for anyone interested. This show has been held every year for a while now at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center hotel. Back in the day the show used to be held in different states every year, just like the ANA used to do. I miss those days. Anyway, the hotel and convention hall are connected. There is a pretty good restaurant at the hotel, and a really cool bar with a great staff. This means that I rarely see the outside at all. I am typically indoors the entire time from when my Uber drops me off the day I land to when it picks up me the day I’m flying out. I’ll usually enjoy a drink at the bar every evening after the show and catch up on office work on my iPad, then order takeout from the hotel restaurant and retire to my room to watch something on Netflix. This show was no different, and I don’t mind that routine at all!

As our regular blog readers know by now, we typically fly JetBlue. Unfortunately, they dropped most of their Chicago routes after their recent partnership with United. So, we flew United this time. It was the first time I’ve flown United in at least three decades. Their app and their communication were top-notch! I had a delay coming home due to weather/runway issues in Boston, and both the gate agent and the pilot once we boarded were constantly giving us updates on the delay. Even their app stated the reason for the delay. The plane itself was nice and clean, with large seatback screens with plenty of entertainment options to choose from. But, it wouldn’t be a show report without me complaining about something regarding an airline. I won’t use words to complain. Just view the photos below and you’ll probably know what my issue was.

The following was produced by Frank.

The following was written by Frank.

Tim Prusmack was a famed currency artist who is well known for his masterful U.S. currency artwork. Prusmack was actively creating his artwork in the 1990s and early 2000s. Most of Prusmack’s work are uniface replicas of large size and early small size notes. Prusmack did create some fantasy notes, including a $10 Educational Silver Certificate. Prusmack replicated some high denomination notes including a $100,000 gold certificate, $10,000 note, and a $5,000 note. Real $100,000 gold certificates are illegal to own, while $10,000 and $5,000 notes are unobtainable for many. Tim Prusmack passed away at the young age of 41 in 2004, but his artwork continues to live on.

The following was written and produced by Frank.

The price of gold has increased by more than 250% in just two years! Watch this video to see how much gold you could buy in 2024 with $1 million compared to today. Where do you see the price of gold going?

The following was written by Brian.

We recently featured one of, if not the most, beautifully designed pieces of American currency one can find. By all accounts here at Northeast, it is an absolute work of art. 

One of just a handful of $5 Educational Notes we've offered, this one was by far the finest. Fr.270 is also by far the scarcest of the 3 $5 educational notes.

It seems that the days of care and beauty being put into our currency designs (and coin design too for that matter) are a thing of the past, so it is quite refreshing to look back and appreciate such art. This note sold fairly quickly as you can imagine, so I wanted to bring it back for your (and my!) viewing pleasure.

Considering the frequent use of the expressions "pinnacle of American banknote engraving" and "most beautiful piece of American currency" to characterize this note, it is understandable for one to develop a sense of cynicism regarding it. However, one look at this note dispels the hype. Like a fine painting, it urges you to reflect for a moment and appreciate it's beauty, detail and charm.