Posted By:
Mike PeichIt was good to see the folks who congregated at the food area Saturday afternoon. John Wonkaticket is a laugh a minute/second, and it was fun trading stories with everyone. I agree with Dave Stinsman--the cameraderie is great. By the way, Ted Golden mentioned that Mr. Mint had suffered a heart attack.
Barry--I think Bob S. has greatly reduced his restrictions on shiny new stuff. There were dealers with vintage offerings like Roger Burns, Terry Knouse III, Dan McKee, Steve Verkman, Ron Vitro, Wayne Varner, and Tony and Rose Carafiel. And, what was available was most expensive, but for the most part there wasn't a whole lot of interesting stuff apart from the usual T series: 206, some 205s, a handful of 207s, and some VERY expensive Turkey Reds (high and low grade). I always look for Pinkerton postcards, and found one: Cobb at $2000--had to pass on that one. I was also looking for 150 series Obaks and only saw a few that were up for auction. Only two Zeenuts. A few caramel cards, and ditto for just about everything else of interest.
There were also a number of dealers absent: the affable Ron and Sheila Barrett, Paul Stark, Rand Bailey, and a few others. And, while the crowd was better on Saturday (Friday was very thin), it was still smaller than Ft. Washington. I fear the event may be in trouble, and that would be too bad.
I know Ted Z. will weigh in with a report, and I'd be interested in knowing from him how the dealers fared. Personally, I came home with far fewer items than I have ever bought in the past--my wife was astonished, and I think secretely proud.
Despite my seemingly gloomy report, I did have fun, and always look forward to going to this show.
Cheers to all, Mike