The ANA's World's Fair of Money (which we call the ANA Annual Convention) was held August 1 - 5 in Denver. Although the show was somewhat smaller than previous ANA's, a lot of business took place.  Many dealers reported strong sales, but some did not.  I did not have a table at the show, for the reasons listed in my February newsletter. Not having a table allowed me to spend more time at the other dealers' tables. The result was a group of excellent newps!

The auctions were a mixed bag. There were some excellent coins, notably two large Colonials collections that included rarity as well as high quality. Of course, with Colonials, the rarity and the high quality did not often coexist on the same coin. There was a notable collection of Franklin halves in Deep Cameo in very high grade. These brought unbelievable prices, such as $82,250 for a 1951 in Proof-67+ DCAM.  This is interesting because it is 40% over the record sale price for an 1851 half dollar!

Liberty Seated coins in the auction were highlighted by the sale of the 1853-O No Arrows half dollar in PCGS VF-35, by far the finest of only 4 known, as the other three are two VG-8's and a Good-6. This extremely rare business strike coin sold for $517,000. Congratulations from the previous owner (me) to the proud new owner!

Based on transactions I observed or made, it looks like Bust Quarters are coming into vogue again. Quite a few Bust Quarters changed hands at ANA.