I hope you have been enjoying the Whitman Coins & Collectibles Expo. For me it has been a great time to visit with friends old and new, to be a part of Stack’s auction, and to enjoy the surroundings.

I hope you’ve had a chance to check on some of the talks and seminars. Dr. Gregory Dubay’s forum on Chinese counterfeits is not only interesting, it is essential. I had a chance to see some of these coins at an earlier show, and although I had read about them in Coin World and knew that they were dangerous, I was quite surprised to see how deceptive the higher level fakes are.

If you haven’t been to Dr. Dubay’s presentation, by all means do so. It may be one of the most valuable things you have done in a long time.

If you have the time, I’d love to have you come to my talk today at 1:00 in the afternoon, not far away in Room 305. Here is what Whitman has to say about it:

“Great Numismatists I’ve Met: From B. Max Mehl to Present Day.” Among modern numismatists, few have reached the legendary stature of Q. David Bowers, a coin dealer, researcher, auctioneer, and award-winning author since the early 1950s. In this fascinating lecture and Q&A session, Bowers weaves tales of some of the personalities he’s met and become friends with over the years. A fireside chat with a hobby legend, telling about other hobby legends --- you’ll kick yourself if you miss this one!”

That bit of publicity (hype?) may be hard to live up to! However, I’ll try my best, and I hope you can attend.

Speaking of the past, way back in 1957 the American Numismatic Association’s annual summer convention (and they only had one show a year then) was in Philadelphia. The market was as hot as a firecracker, although the number of buyers was much smaller than it is today, and the word “investor” was almost (but not quite) unknown. At my bourse table I had a line of collectors waiting their turn! And other dealers had the same situation.

Keep an eye on your special Guide Book gift from Whitman, just one of 2,009 with the special imprint. Collecting the “Red Book” has been a favorite pastime for many, and some limited editions are in strong demand. We’ll all have to watch this one!

Have a nice day. I’ll see you tomorrow in this column.