Lower Cape Fear Wilmington Show a huge success

Greetings from Winston Salem on a lovely Friday afternoon. Last week’s Wilmington show was a huge success for GFRC-Lite with record two day show sales and also the one day LIte show sales record smashed when the doors opened on Saturday.

The Wilmington Show is sponsored by the Lower Cape Fear Coin Club and is held in a well maintained Elks Lodge. This was Lite’s first trek to this event, which is also held during the popular Azalea Festival.

It’s about a 4 hr drive from Winston Salem to the event, I arrived around 5pm on Friday to setup. Lite had its normal 8’ table space populated with 3 cases of certified coins and 1 case of raw.

Lite’s inventory of 19th and 20th century type coins certainly displayed well as dealers, collectors and even the bourse chairman commenting that my inventory was by far the best on the bourse floor for this type of material.

One sales area that stood out from the rest was Early copper. Lite registered a large sale on a 1C 1794 Head of 1794 graded XF40 by PCGS and another on a 1686 Vermontensium graded VF30 by NGC.

Seated Half dimes also had their day in the sun with strong sales recorded for both raw and graded dates.

In total, Lite sold over 50 coins the table so busy at one point that I was working 2 large multiple coin deals simultaneously and had to pass on a purchase as there was no time to allocate to this task.

One change that I’ll make for next year is that now that I know the drive, I’ll leave early on a Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon and save a night’s motel expense. 

Finally, hospitality at the show was fantastic, club personnel took my lunch order, morning coffee refills were unlimited, add in Krispy Kreme donuts, I was a very happy dealer.

The next show is right around the corner, the Midlands Club show in Columbia, South Carolina. This is a Friday & Saturday affair held May 1,2 and prior to that event I’ll be attending the Early American Copper Club’s annual event which is in Charlotte this year. This is my 1st time attending, my own collection with a Half Cent collecting interest.

That’s about it for this show report, thank to all of GFRC-Lite’s loyal friends, and of course, happy collecting!

Rich

Charlotte February 2026 Coin Show Report

Greetings from Winston Salem which is finally thawing out from an unusually cold winter that even included a historic 12″ snow event. I want to 1st apologize for not posting more often. Blogging takes considerable time and I certainly need to do a better job with this activity. A few valued clients / consignors mentioned that show blogs are a window to the current market as show attendance is not always possible

OK, that said, the Charlotte show is now in the books, the 2 day event having concluded on Saturday, Valentine’s day. For this show, steady retail sales were recorded, most notably for the raw material in the Seated Liberty area. All denominations, half dime through half dollar did quite well. If thinking of moving material in this area, particularly Seated Quarters and Seated half dollars, please give me a call. Lite has now handled large raw collections for all Seated denominations and can efficiently move these coins to cash.

Another raw area that pleasantly surprised was Bust dimes, this area had previously lagged and finally found its moment in the sun. The entire Bust area lags Seated type coinage, no doubt the LSCC has done an excellent job in developing a strong marketplace for Gobrecht’s design. Lite will shortly receive in a large Bust Half raw offering and I’m interested in seeing how the marketplace develops for this offering.

Certified sales lagged in general, but I was pleased to see a few Morgans and Peace dollars move in addition to other early 20th century type including Buffalo/Jefferson 5C, later date Indian cents, Mercury dimes, silver Washington Quarters and Franklin halves.

Friday’s show activity concluded with a large seated raw sale at the end of the day. What made the sale notable was that the client 1st mentioned that he had walked the floor and that Lite’s inventory for raw seated was far and away the best on the bourse, no surprise, to me. What really stood out, and what I will remember is that the client revealed that his occupation was that of a Catholic Priest, I’m so glad I was on good behavior. The sale concluded with the Father blessing me, I can certainly use all the help I can get !!

Saturday brought a crowd with pockets that were not so deep. I was able to help both young and novice collectors. It’s always very rewarding to guide young numismatists as they are indeed the future of the hobby and I consider it time well spent to mentor tomorrow’s collectors.

Lite will be posting new show arrivals in addition to consignments received through February. There is a steady stream of new arrivals, and I’m pleased to report the website garnered in strong January sales activity.

Thanks to all for reading.

Rich

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The OKC hosted ANA World’s Fair of Money was “Bedlam”

Greetings from Winston Salem on a sunny afternoon with the temperature a very pleasant 80 degrees. It’s great to be back from OKC, kudos to the ANA for putting on such a well run event.

For those familiar with college football, one of the great in-state rivalries has always been the Oklahoma Sooners vs the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Its’ always been referred to “Bedlam“, which aptly describes the passions and intensity of the game.

This show was non stop action for me “Bedlam“. Whether I was on the bourse buying or selling, previewing coins for clients at the Stacks auction lot viewing, submitting coins and notes to the TPG services, taking in new consignments, attending the Barber club meeting, or visiting friends at the LSCC table. Oh yes…, I also found time to work the GFRC table from time to time !

Travel for this show was easy as I had non stop flights both to and from Charlotte to OKC. I further made travel even better by staying at the nearby 4 star luxury Omni hotel. All of these preparations and ease of travel came in handy as I was able focus on the above tasks, and also socialize a bit with new dealers and collectors, isn’t this what the hobby is really all about?

Here’s a night pic from my room on the 14th floor overlooking the Paycom Center. On the opposite side of the Omni is the OKC Convention Center

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The OKC Convention Center is a relatively new facility, here’s a pic that captures maybe 20% of the floor. Visiting an ANA Convention can be a bit overwhelming for the first time attendee. It’s very easy to forget where you saw a coin if you didn’t write down the dealer booth location.

Next year the ANA’s summer show will be held in Pittsburgh, one of my favorite towns. I’ve already marked the event on my calendar as I’ll be sure to attend.

I thank all for reading. I will start listing new consignments and purchases shortly.

Rich

Lite Musings, the Oklahoma City ANA World’s Fair of Money Prep Week & 1946-D 50C MS64 PCGS DOILY CAC offering

Greetings from Winston Salem on a dreary, overcast Tuesday. This summer’s weather has certainly been different than the 1st three I’ve experienced here since moving from New Jersey. July saw record high temperatures that hit the upper 90’s on an almost daily basis with August moving toward normal temperature but with lots of rain, some of which quite heavy.

Let’s begin by recapping Lite’s July adventures as there is much ground to cover. To start, I completed a combination stickering visit to the CAC offices in Bedminster NJ with the Annandale Show in Virginia. I left early Thursday morning on the 24th to arrive at CAC by 1PM. The drive was fairly uneventful until off ramping the NJ Turnpike at Exit 10 and heading northwest on Rt 287 where the aggressive tendencies that Jersey drivers are known for kicked in. I had to remember I was no longer driving in the Tar Heel state and quickly upped my game when merging and changing lanes.

Once at CAC I dropped off two boxes for one day turnaround stickering, these coins from my own collection. For this batch of 40 coins which mostly covered later date Indian Cents along with miscellaneous type coins, I had a 50% Pass estimate, and I just got there with 23 stickering. One coin that stickered that I was quite pleased with was a MS63 1899 Barber Dime. What made this special is that my notes show this coin was purchased from GFRC raw in August 2016, ex Maine collection. I remember looking at the Maine raw dimes when Gerry was just starting out and cherry picking this piece for my 19th Century Type set. Pretty cool that this coin PCGS straight graded and subsequently stickered.

If reading this article and having never visited the CAC office, Bedminster is quite an affluent town with Trump National Golf Course situated maybe two miles away. The topography of this area is dominated by lovely rolling hills, with the US Equestrian Team training facility in Gladstone just a few miles further north. While enjoying breakfast Friday morning at the Chester Diner I got the stickering results, picked up the coins and was on my way south before noon to Annandale.

The Annandale show is a Saturday – Sunday event and Lite registered good sales with sales of smaller denominations 1C through 10C leading the way. Of note is that this will be Lite’s last setup at this venue. First, I would like to thank the Promoter, Wayne Herndon for the hospitality always shown Lite. The reason for adjusting my show schedule is that I’ve been able to successfully market the Lite brand at local North and South Carolina shows and can now further focus my efforts.

I would like to now announce that Lite will be attending the following shows for the 1st time:

• SCNA state show in Greenville, SC dates: October 22-25th 2025
• Myrtle Beach, SC show, dates: Dec 11-13th 2025
• Statesville, NC show, dates : March 13-15th 2026
• Azalea Coin Show, Wilmington, NC April 11-12 2026

With the new schedule, Lite will attend FUN, 5 NC shows and 3 SC shows. Concentrating on the Carolinas will have the added benefit of reducing my travel time and expenses. The schedule is also set up so that Lite will have 9 show events in the October – June 9 month time frame. This leaves the summer months to recharge from constant show preparation and do a bit of personal travel.

Let’s now talk OKC and the ANA. I’m always excited to visit new destinations. Although I’ve been to neighboring Texas on numerous occasion, this is a 1st trek to the Sooner state. As many have read in the GFRC blog, I’ll work as a table attendant for Gerry.

When I think Oklahoma, the following verse from Elvis’s “Never been to Spain” keeps running through my head:

“Well I’ve never been to heaven , But I’ve been to Oklahoma, Well they tell me I was born there, But I really don’t remember, In Oklahoma or Arizona, What does it matter, What does it matter”

I have a busy schedule planned for this event. First, I should have time to hit the bourse and hopefully add a coin or two for my own collection. I’ll bring limited inventory to show select dealers I’ve made appointments with pre and post show hours. I also hope to meet with a few Lite consignors and take in new coins for inventory. If the opportunity arises to purchase select coins for Lite’s inventory, I’ll also do that. Finally I very much will try and attend either (or both) of the Barber and Liberty Seated Club meetings. Add in a few good diners at OKC’s top notch steakhouses and I should be a happy camper.

Lastly, Lite recently received for consignment its’ first PCGS Doily labeled coin. Its a 1946-D MS64 Walker also with the CAC sticker. The Doily holder has a following of devoted afficionados with examples commanding multiple x’s the going market rate. Per the museum of PCGS Coin Holders, the Doily was issued from Sept to Oct of 1989. I’ve read that a good estimate of the total number with this holder is 1,000. The below coin is offered at $700. The originality that this Walker exhibits cannot be understated. As of this writing the CAC published retail price is $110. The coin is now listed for sale on the Lite site.

Happy collecting, and if attending the ANA please stop by to say hello.

Rich

Lite Site Enhancements and Upcoming Raleigh Show

I’m very pleased to announce that the Lite site has added a category for New Purchases Last 30 Days that can be found on the home page Sales List. This enhancement has been requested by many clients since the Lite site went live a few years back. It’s a bit different than the GFRC sort, coins are sorted by denomination and date but a column for Date Added identifies when new posts were listed along with the Description column also highlighting the new listing date. I believe site visitors will enjoy the improvement. Coins in the New Purchases category are also listed simultaneously in their respective categories and will be managed within the 30 day timeframe..

This site enhancement, along with the recently added Blog capability demonstrate Lite’s continuing approach to improvement and client/collector focus. I’ve loaded a few new purchase to kick the category off, I’ll just mention two coins that are listed:

• 10C 1883 Seated Dime graded MS-62 NGC#3887987017 offered at $200
• $1 1870 Seated Dollar graded PCGS XF45 PCGS#84994532 offered at $975 -See below picture

The above photo was just shot the other day with my newly upgraded Apple16 Pro Max. I’ve also upgraded to 50 GB iCloud memory so that I’ve got plenty of backup on my phone to accommodate all of the coin images without constant daily management. New coins will be posted on an almost daily basis between now an June 26th, my travel date to the large annual Raleigh Coin Show Event held at the NC State Fairgrounds.

After the Raleigh Show, Lite will attend the Annandale, Virginia Show July 26,27 and then travel to the ANA that’s held in Oklahoma City in August. Lite’s fall Coin Show schedule will also change dramatically this year. I’ll talk about this in the next blog that I post after the Raleigh show concludes.

Thanks for reading. I hope the GFRC community and all the blogamaniacs are enjoying a successful and safe summer.

Rich

Fayetteville Show report and New Classic Commemorative Coin Arrivals

Last week’s Fayetteville Show is now in the books and to say it was a mixed bag would be an understatement. The show was added to Lite’s calendar after the April Midland’s Columbia show was cancelled due to promoter/ venue error with the hope of attending a new event that could be added to the show schedule long term.

Unfortunately, the show was too small for Lite. I had anticipated this might be the case as I focused the show inventory on coins under $500, but the Lite inventory still too much for this marketplace with a whole lotta staring going on. One known dealer that attends this show because it is close to his home saw me and immediately said ” I’m surprised to see you here’. I guess I then knew I was in trouble from the get-go but I was determined to make the best of the situation. I accomplished this by making a few dealer sales, as the Lite inventory does well with local dealers trying to fill client want lists.

More importantly, in the past 2 years I’ve cultivated good dealer relations on the bourse with a strong reputation for fair dealings. I discussed with fellow dealers the topic of which smaller shows in North Carolina the Lite brand would do well at as I’m trying to expand Lite’s local presence while at the same time reducing travel. The result of these conversations is that LIte will be in attendance for the Myrtle Beach December Show and also the Wilmington Azalea Festival Coin Show held in April. The Azalea Show has been touted as “the biggest little coin show in the Carolinas” and I’m thrilled to be in attendance. I should mention that to make the Azalea show happen, 2 dealers sent reference emails to the show promoter on my behalf. I immediately followed up this past Monday and secured the only available table. If all goes as planned the Fayetteville show will not have been for naught and served its purpose.

Ok, lets now turn the attention to new consignments recently received in by Lite. Let’s 1st focus on a recent Classic Commemoratives arrivals. The consignment consists of 32 coins, all PCGS with 10 CAC stickered. Grades range from MS65 to MS67. I’ve already listed for sale 6 of the coins including a 1926-S Oregon PCGS MS65 that’s already spoken for. Here are 3 more commemoratives to be posted today

50C Wisconsin 1936 PCGS MS65 CAC $275

50C 1946 Iowa PCGS MS65 OGH $150

50C 1936-D Texas PCGS MS66 CAC $390

I will list the balance of the classic commemoratives in the next week. After that I’ll continue with plenty of new arrivals across most of the categories handled by Lite. My next blog highlighting the new adds will be approximately 2 weeks. I’ll end as always, with wishing all the blogamaniacs collecting success !

1918-S Key Date NGC AU58 Buffalo Nickel For Sale

GFRC-Lite is pleased to offer this lovely original toned key date Buffalo with lots of eye appeal. Buffalo Nickel series specialists will be sure to note the significance of this coin.

GFRC-Lite Blog “On the Lite Side”

Welcome to GFRC-Lite’s 1st published blog on the Lite website !! As many know,  I’ve previously published show reports on Gerry’s Daily blog but will now publish directly to the Lite website.

In making this move I will now be able to add more pictures of the venues attended along with new coin purchases.  Additionally, I’ll expand pre-show coverage by reporting results of new business developments including grading submission results and new consignments received, etc.

Blog readers can anticipate that I will write 1 or 2 blogs per month that focus on Lite’s show results , new purchase activities, market insights and any other observations or experiences that I feel readers will find of interest. 

With that said, let’s start with reporting that at the Baltimore show I made a small submission of raw coins to CACG. Submitting raw coins to grading services at this point in time takes a good understanding of surfaces, originality and market pricing to be successful. I’ll now discuss the two copper cents submitted that I felt were original and “CACG worthy”. I have a pretty good eye for copper and wanted to see how my grading married up to CACG.

1- A 1874 Indian cent I thought was an original brown AU55 – AU58 straight graded AU55. This was a consignment coin taken in at FUN that the consignor had bought at a very good price. He thought it was Uncirculated but I informed him that I thought AU. After discussion it was decided to still submit at the AU level.

2- A 1808 half cent that straight headed F15. I had purchased this coin as part of a collection and felt that the surfaces were original and unabated. The CACG grade of F15 met expectations.

These two coins are now listed on the GFRC-Lite website under the “Early Copper & Small Cents” Category as follows:

As to upcoming show activity, the Fayetteville show run by the Cape Fear Club is but 2 1/2 weeks away and Lite is in the early preparation stage. Miss Vicky from the club

 called a few days ago to confirm Lite’s attendance as a first time dealer. I thanked her for the follow up and assured her that I was looking forward to attending this event.

I would like to thank all the blogamaniacs that read my previous reports and especially Gerry for allowing me to use his forum.

Happy collecting !

Rich