The following was written by Chris.

We attended the annual ANA World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City last week. Ok, let me get this out of the way. The decision to host the biggest coin show of the year in a city that is relatively inaccessible from many major cities was perplexing. The airfare there was the most we have spent as a company…ever. And more importantly, there were significant increases in security concerns during the trip there and back due to having to make connections. The main hotel for the event was very expensive, though I will say that those of us (yours truly included) that stayed elsewhere got fairly reasonable rates.

I have almost zero input to provide for the city itself, as my time was limited to walks from my hotel to the convention center, and the time I spent in the convention center. Dinner every night was Grubhub to my hotel room. Good times. I regret not being able to see what OKC had to offer. I will say that that the walk from my hotel to the show was convenient and felt safe. The convention center itself was great. The Oklahoma heat was intense, but I spent the previous weekend in New Orleans (different heat, but still heat), so I dealt with it fine, particularly considering my walk to the show was very short and half of it through air-conditioned spaces.

Time to move on to the show itself. There were a couple of dealers with whom I do regular coin show business that did not attend due to the location. The world coin dealer attendance seemed soft to me, and it was probably because of the location and associated costs. As for the regular wholesalers and dealers that were there, I was definitely pleased with what I was able to buy from them.  If you combine what Tom, Frank, and I bought at the show, it’s probably the biggest buying show we’ve had. As for sales, it was definitely the best show we’ve had in many years. I saw no weakness in the market in the areas in which we deal. Obviously, ugly/low-end coins sell at discounts, and pretty or PQ coins command strong premiums.

I’m not sure how public attendance turned out. It was definitely not overwhelming, although to be fair, I left Thursday night. Perhaps it picked up Friday and Saturday, as it’s easier for working folks to attend on those days. I did have the pleasure of seeing a couple of our regular customers, as well as meeting one of them for the first time (shout-out to Mike from Norman!).

Next year it’s back to Rosemont, IL. I like the location for the convenience, price, and restaurants in the area. I do wish they’d go back to having it in various cities every year. My issue with the location of this past show aside, it’s nice to see different places.

I said Rosemont in error for next year's ANA show. It is in Pittsburgh for 2026, then back to Rosemont in 2027.