MSNS Convention Report

[Mike Marotta]

The parking lot at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn was crowded. That was
my first clue. I got in, signed at the desk, and found the exhibit
area where I met the chair, Frank Passic. "Good show?" I asked.
"Look around," he said. I turned around to view the Annex. People
were stacked two deep in the aisles. I went back to my car, got my
exhibits and began the set-up and then took a break to see the Main
Hall. It was crowded.

Despite the economy -- or perhaps because of it -- this was as busy a
show as I have seen in several years.

I set up four educational exhibits:
The First Gold Coin
Bay Bucks: the Creation of a Community Currency
Casablanca
The Malcontents Revolt

I also offered to judge the US Coins where I had no entry. (I am ANA
certified to judge Literature and have judged other categories for
MSNS and CSNS conventions.)

I also worked as emcee for teh Educational Forum on Saturday. Our
guest speaker, Karen Elliott of H & R Block, reprised her presentation
from last year -- What the IRS Expects You to Know: Buying and Selling
for the Non-Professional.

The convention also hosted their regular YN luncheon, the Michigan
Paper Money Collectors and the Michigan Token and Medals Society.
There was no special Scouting forum this year. However, there was a
special forum presentation on involving YNs in your club.

Also on Saturday, I worked the sign-in table where we gave out free
coins and banknotes, mostly to childen. I had a lot of fun doing
that.

On Sunday, as is too common, some dealers began packing up before
Noon. Those who stayed bought and sold with the public. It is a
reality that few people work M-F 8-5 with the weekends for leisure.
Friday and Sunday were both about equally busy days, though Saturday,
was heavier. The headcount for Friday was 1400 through the door.

As a member of the public only, I attended the Board of Directors
meeting which was changed to Friday night. (New officers were
installed on Sunday at the awards breakfast.) I applied for the post
of Webmaster of www.michigancoinclub.org work I did a few years ago
when I was also the editor of The Mich-Matist. This Board meeting was
relatively quiet. The MSNS Board voted to nominate Clifford Mishler
for President of the ANA.

The awards breakfast on Sunday held a couple of pleasant surprises.
Three of those who garnered honors were first-time exhibitors and two
were new to MSNS. So, that was a plus. On the exhibit floor, I was
impressed with one of those winners, a six-case layout of traditional
Nigerian money objects. The research and writing were stellar and the
cases were stunning to view.

Mike M.
Michael E. Marotta

[Bob Golden]

I did the show on Friday, it was even busy to the point of there being too
many people in there and it being hot. I suspect there were more than a few
shopping widowers in there just looky looing.

I went through both rooms, never saw the exhibits - by then I was ready to
split.

In the last room, probably one of the last dealers I saw, a bunch of
national banknotes - and the one very small town issuer that I was looking
for - one that I was disappointed had sold without my noticing it in the
Heritage auction last year. There are less than 20 known for the whole
town, large size and small size and this is the nicest example of any of
them - in pristine original EF.

Gold and silver were at ridiculous premiums and I have pretty much given up
on buying it at shows, dealers etc. and just wait for private sales to come
along so I can avoid paying the ridiculous markups on them.