Annual HSNA Coin Show

This past weekend, I spent my waking hours at the annual coin show of the Hawaii State Numismatic Association at the Hawaii Convention Center. Three days of being one of three stamp dealers in the largest coin show in Honolulu – in the entire state, actually.

This was the second straight year that I participated as a seller. My sales both years have been enough to make back my table fee and expenses, plus a small profit. If you work out the finances of the thing, I earned 52 cents for every hour I spent during the show itself.

Not the best investment in time and money, but all-in-all, it was worth it and fun. Lots of my regulars stopped by, as well as people I see only once or twice a year when I set up at the larger shows. One of the customers brought packaged Japanese crackers and passed them out to the dealers. Being that Friday was Halloween, I dug up some old Halloween covers I made (2006) and put them on sale for a buck apiece. I sold a dozen or so.

The hardest part of the show was lifting cover-stamp-filled suitcases into my car trunk and back seat – five of them in all, each weighing from 25 to 100 pounds apiece. Had to lift them in and out four times; my back is sore today.

A newspaper photographer dropped by my table on Sunday and took some pictures of a customer digging through my boxes of covers. His picture didn’t make it into the paper this morning, however. Shucks. I could have become famous through association.

It was fun. I’m debating whether or not to do it again next year, especially since they’re raising the table fee. We’ll see … but I’m inclined to think that I will.