Coin News

Volume 58, Number 9, September 2021

Outstanding auctions ahead

Volume 58, Number 9, September 2021

Come to COINEX THE September issue of COIN NEWS has, for the last decade or so, been the COINEX special; admittedly it’s not actually the magazine that will be the latest issue when COINEX is being held, that will be the October one, available on the shelves a few days before the show starts, but this magazine is the one that tells you all about the fair, who will be there, etc., and, of course, it’s the one exhorting you to attend—and this year is no different! In the past COINEX has always heralded the start of the new “numismatic season” in the UK; it always used to be the first show after the summer break that had started just after the York Fair (the September London Coin Fair only reappeared a few years ago). The British shows always took a hiatus in August and early September, both for holidays and for the really dedicated to attend the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money in America. They then came back with the extravaganza that was the two day event of COINEX and the accompanying auctions in the early autumn and carried on until the York Fair the following July, after which everyone disappeared again and the market cooled off ready for the autumn. Things are different now, of course, there’s no real season anymore, and whilst people do still take holidays the internet has allowed them to stay trading and collecting all year round. Online bidding has meant that auctions too carry on regardless (after all you can bid as easily from the beach as you can in the room these days) and there’s not a defined “break” as once there was. This year has been particularly strange, with one month merging seamlessly with another, so when COINEX does arrive I am sure it will be greeted with cries of “how on earth is it autumn already? Wasn’t it Christmas a few weeks ago?” But autumn it will be and with it comes the first COINEX in two years (we all know about 2020). Is the fair still as important as once it was? Now we don’t have that “season” is it worth attending? After all what is the difference between COINEX and, say, the London Coin Fair three weeks earlier, or the one just over a month later? Why bother going to a show at all when you can sit at home and buy online? The answer is of course that COINEX is COINEX and whether or not it heralds anything, or attracts more, or fewer, people (collectors or dealers) than the other London shows doesn’t matter. COINEX isn’t just another coin fair; as the “flagship” event of the British Numismatic Trade Association it is as significant a part of the numismatic calendar as the NYINC, the ANA, Berlin, Munich, Singapore, Hong Kong or any of the other “biggies”. Certainly there may well be fewer international dealers and collectors there this year (although recent changes to the travel restrictions mean there may be more than we might have been expecting), but that won’t make the event any less important. Dealers will still be reserving some of their best stock for the show, the auctions that take place in the weeks either side of it will still be offering some stunning pieces and, over coffee, lunches and drinks, there will be deals to be done, in person finally and not over Zoom, email or the ’phone. Of course, COINEX will be a little different this year, it’s bound to be, but that doesn’t make it any less important, indeed in many ways it makes it more so. OK, so it won’t mark the start of “the season” like it used to, I accept there may be fewer international faces than in previous years and no, you no longer have to go to a show to ensure you get the best coins for your collection, but that is all irrelevant. COINEX is the UK’s premier event, it is our “biggie”, and let’s all do our absolute best to ensure that in this very strange year it’s a huge success and that it retains its place as a “must go to” event for collectors from across the globe to attend when this pandemic is finally behind us (and it will be, one day). The Token Team will certainly be there—all being well we’ll be launching our COIN YEARBOOK 2022 at the show and we hope to see you there too. COINEX is being held on Friday, September 24 (1pm until 4pm) and Saturday, September 25 (10am–3pm) at the Ballroom, The Biltmore Hotel, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London W1K 2HP.

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