2017-12-18 Mon

The 2018 Florida United Numismatists show is quickly approaching, and many events are on tap for all collectors to enjoy.

The show begins from Jan. 4 to 7 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. It features more than 600 dealer booths, a competitive exhibit area, Coins and Kids booth, the Young Numismatists and Scout Merit Badge programs, FUN Coin Club Get Together, the Heritage auction and more.

On 3rd January, the pre-show programme starts, with a seminar. American Numismatic Association numismatic educator, Sam Gelberd starts with the Introduction to Cherry Picking Die Varieties. He will cover the basics of die variety identification, how and where to search for them, and tips for buying and selling.

Many more educational programs are slated for the 2018 show. The following events are free and open to the public.

Industry Council for Tangible Assets’ anti-counterfeiting meeting is open to the public. ICTA director of anti-counterfeiting Beth Deisher will update the attendees on the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force’s latest activities.

The ANA exhibit judge refresher training course is a requirement for some. All currently certified ANA exhibit judges must take a refresher course once every five years and recertify by the end of 2018.

The P-D-S Grading System seminar focuses on a grading system that can be used for a wide range of coins.

Other Jan. 4 seminars include: “A Serious Collector’s Analysis of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar Series” by Gregg Wagner; “20 Things To Avoid To Make Your Coin Collecting Experience More Enjoyable” by Tony Swicer; and “Hidden Gems In The Lincoln Cent Series” by David Elliott.

Standing-room-only is expected for “When to Sell Your Coins” by Scott Travers and Maurice Rosen.

The Annual VAM Thing meeting by the Society of Silver Dollar Collectors, information will cover recent discoveries and their approximate values.

Other Jan. 5 seminars to round out the day: “My Top Dozen VAMS For 2018” by John Roberts; “So You Want to Be a Third-Party Grader?” by Bill Fivaz; and “Coins 2018: Stay Interested, Get Rich?” by David Harper, editor of Numismatic News.

The Women in Numismatics general meeting wherein speaker John Kraljevich presents the “African-American History and Numismatics: Collectible Objects, Stories of Freedom.”

Fred Weinberg and BJ Neff will present “What’s Happening in the Error and Variety Market?”, where attendees will learn about current happenings and developments in this area of the market, including the incidence of counterfeit errors and varieties.

At the 40th Annual Silver Dollar Investor’s Forum, Randy Campbell will share his views on where the silver dollar is heading and how to profit from those trends.

Gerry Fortin, president of the Liberty Seated Collector’s Club, will discuss the scarce and rare dates, but also some of the more common dates in “An Overview of the Liberty Seated Quarter Series”.

Don Bonser is back with his entertaining presentation, this year titled: “My 18 Favorite Coins for Fun & Profit in 2018”.

“An Introduction to Variety Collecting, Part III,” by David Close finishes off the day. Parts I and II of this program were very popular, offered at the 2016 and 2017 January FUN Conventions, according to the organization.