Twice a year, collectors from across Pennsylvania and neighboring states gather in the booming metropolis of Monroeville to attend the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) Coin Show.� The shows are always held in Late May and Late October and run for 3 days.�� I had the great pleasure of attending on 21 May and I would like to tell you all about my experience.� You have already heard about my meeting Clifford Mishler of clock-signing fame but there is more, much more.

One thing I have learned over the years is if you do something, anything, with great confidence, people assume you know what you're doing.� With that strategy in mind, I started out my Saturday by striding past the guards checking credentials at the loading dock a full half hour before the show opened to the public, I had no dealer credential, I had no volunteer credential (although I fully intended to volunteer) but I had a fast stride and a friendly greeting as I walked past the guard.� Entering the main room at the Monroeville Convention Center, I noticed that most of the dealers were still settling in so I stopped by a couple of dealer tables manned by friends and exchanged a some light-hearted banter.� I then proceeded to the Exhibits area to let my friend Tom Corey know I was available to spell him whenever hunger or nature's call needed to be answered.� That was when I met Mr. Mishler, the subject of the preceding blog..��

It was kind of surprising to see a lot of empty dealer tables throughout the bourse, apparently a lot of dealers, maybe 20% had left after Friday's closing, It's a shame as the hall was pretty crowded after 11 AM.� I think the fact that a sports card show was in the adjacent hall might have added some synergy.� I might have gone over there but they were charging like $10 admission, and I was having none of that.�

So, what did I pick up for my personal collection?� My first purchase was a counter-stamped Peace Dollar commemorating the Camp David Peace Accords between Israel and Egypt during the Carter administration.� The backstory on this piece is very interesting and will be the subject of its own blog in the near future.� I also picked up a 1739 Pillar Dollar (8 Reales), three military payment certificates (MPC), the clock I had autographed, a GSA cased 1882CC Morgan and a giant Batman silver 5 ounce from Barbados.� I honestly think I overpaid for the Batman piece, but I love the Batman and the guy who sold it to me was a born salesman, I did talk him down $200 on the price so my overpayment was somewhat mitigated.�

After all this buying, I set up the 50 auction lots for the KidZone auction, manned the KidZone booth for a bit while the couple charged with manning it took a break, and then served as auction runner while Ben Franklin cosplayer Patrick McBride conducted the auction.� All in all a fun but somewhat exhausting ��Did any of YOU attend the Spring PAN show????