Greetings and Happy New Year to all as we start another year and hopefully have put the Covid pandemic behind us for good! It is with high spirits that I report the 2023 Winter Florida United Numismatists ("FUN") show was a success continuing the streak of very active major coin shows in the post-Covid restriction era. The 68th Annual Winter Fun Show took place from January 5-8 at the Orange County Convention Center and proved for dealers and collectors alike that the numismatic and collectibles market continues in an upward trajectory as we kick off 2023!
Overall, many of the coin and currency dealers at the show were extremely pleased with the collector attendance and sales for the show. The high global demand for precious metals continues to dominate the market, leading to strong bullion sales. High grade vintage gold and silver coins, and key date U.S. type coins continue to be sought after by collectors. For currency collectors, better grade large size federal paper money and large denomination currency continue to be in high demand and lead the sector. For international coins and currency, vintage Chinese gold, silver and early copper coins continue to be the most requested by customers at the Winter Fun Show. As for international modern coins, I noticed the Space Panda coin in its unique Lunar Landing display case caught the eye of many spectators before being sold. For international currency, vintage Chinese notes continue to be the most requested amongst collectors as well as currency depicting younger images of the late Queen Elizabeth II which have increased in demand since her passing away. This year's Platinum and Signature Heritage Auctions held at the FUN show contained numismatic treasures from the Harry Bass Collection. These auctions were highlighted by the sell of a 1795 Nine Leaves Ten Dollar US Gold piece (graded MS63+ by PCGS with a CAC sticker), the rarest and most popular of all the Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle ten dollar gold pieces that realized $3,360,000, setting a world record for such a coin by more than $2.3 million. In the same auction, a Justh & Hunter Gold Ingot, the largest S.S. Central America ingot ever offered at auction realized $2.16 million…, which was not bad either.
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From left: Matthew Brotherton, Michael Corley,
Glen Jorde, and Michael Chou at Winter 2023 FUN show
As the annual bellwether numismatic show, the 2023 Winter Fun Show was another sellout with over 600 dealer booths from all over the world and was attended by thousands of collectors over the four day event. The theme for this year's show was "Exploring Space: Next Stop Fun 2023" and featured special participation by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. A space exploration-themed limited-edition note featuring Artemis 1 (part of NASA's new Artemis Program to put humans back on the moon) was produced specifically for the show in which the proceeds go to help honor fallen astronauts and their families as well as develop and fund STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs for our youth. Once again, I set up for the Fun Show with Rick Stelzer (Stelzer Collectibles of Sarasota, Florida), Michael Chou (President of Champion Auctions), Glen Jorde (Lake Region Coin & Currency of Devil’s Lake, ND), Michael Corley, a 20 year grader at NGC and their former Director for Modern Chinese Coin grading, Ron Dickenson (Dickenson Collectibles of Abingdon, Virginia), and Mark Kingsley, a bullion dealer from Fargo, North Dakota. I am pleased to report that our own Glen Jorde was named a 2023 Numismatic Ambassador as sponsored by the Florida United Numismatists. Glen received this very prestigious lifetime achievement award in the numismatic industry at a breakfast ceremony held at this year's Winter FUN Show, and the award was well deserved as Glen has committed nearly 50 years to the industry we all enjoy. Glen Jorde, and Michael Chou at Winter 2023 FUN show
Overall, many of the coin and currency dealers at the show were extremely pleased with the collector attendance and sales for the show. The high global demand for precious metals continues to dominate the market, leading to strong bullion sales. High grade vintage gold and silver coins, and key date U.S. type coins continue to be sought after by collectors. For currency collectors, better grade large size federal paper money and large denomination currency continue to be in high demand and lead the sector. For international coins and currency, vintage Chinese gold, silver and early copper coins continue to be the most requested by customers at the Winter Fun Show. As for international modern coins, I noticed the Space Panda coin in its unique Lunar Landing display case caught the eye of many spectators before being sold. For international currency, vintage Chinese notes continue to be the most requested amongst collectors as well as currency depicting younger images of the late Queen Elizabeth II which have increased in demand since her passing away. This year's Platinum and Signature Heritage Auctions held at the FUN show contained numismatic treasures from the Harry Bass Collection. These auctions were highlighted by the sell of a 1795 Nine Leaves Ten Dollar US Gold piece (graded MS63+ by PCGS with a CAC sticker), the rarest and most popular of all the Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle ten dollar gold pieces that realized $3,360,000, setting a world record for such a coin by more than $2.3 million. In the same auction, a Justh & Hunter Gold Ingot, the largest S.S. Central America ingot ever offered at auction realized $2.16 million…, which was not bad either.
This Winter FUN Show offered a wide variety of activities for collectors of all ages besides just buying and selling numismatic collectibles. Grading service appraisals, educational seminars, auctions, collectors meetings, events for young numismatists such as panning for gold, scout merit badge programs, and other events were featured at this year's show. The United States Mint had a booth displaying their new products and there was a spider press exhibit showing how money was printed over one hundred years ago which was very educational. The FUN Show always has an exceptional display of numismatic exhibits and this year's "Best of Show" award went to an exhibit featuring "Early Republic of Mexico Half Escudo Gold Coins 1825-1870" by Brett Irick. The People's Choice Award for best exhibit went to Steve Feiertag's "A Unique Indian Cent Set Collection" highlighting rare and unusual error coins in the popular US Indian cent type series. The best paper money exhibit was "US Postal Notes of 1883 to 1894, the Little Known Offspring of Fractional Currency" by Kent Holland. My personal favorite exhibit was by a young numismatist, Natalie Courtney entitled "Queen Elizabeth's Changing Portrait in Coins" and followed the popular Queen Elizabeth II’s evolving mark on international coins throughout her lengthy reign as Great Britain's Queen.
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In summary, this year’s Winter FUN Show was another success and all signs point to another strong year for the numismatic industry in 2023 as precious metal sells and demand continue to drive the market. If you ever get a chance to attend a Winter FUN Show I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys numismatics as there something there for everyone, and the warmer weather in Florida makes for a nice vacation for many living in colder weather areas. I want to wish all our readers overseas a Happy Year of the Rabbit, and I look forward to seeing my good friends, Michael Chou, Jeffrey Wai, and others at Champion 2023 Macau Auction and Macau Numismatic Society Annual Expo. Until next time, I wish you all the best in your numismatic pursuits and have a prosperous 2023!