By Jesse Robitaille
Hundreds of collectors came through the door of this September’s National Postage Stamp & Coin Show, where dealers and auctioneers enjoyed strong activity as the numismatic market remains hot at this late stage in the pandemic.
Held on Sept. 10-11 in Mississauga, Ont., with the two-session auction beginning a day earlier, Trajan Publishing welcomed show-goers back to the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale alongside the Ontario Numismatic Association’s (ONA) 60th anniversary convention. Trajan managed the 50-dealer bourse plus one philatelic seminar while the ONA hosted its usual convention events, including a three-speaker educational symposium, meetings, exhibits and a youth program.
“I had a very good show,” said dealer Gary Miller, the St. Catharines, Ont.-based owner of Londinium Coins, who specializes in medals, ancient and world coins plus Canadian chartered and world paper money. “The attendance was as good as I thought it would be, and sales were brisk. Everyone that I spoke to had a good time, and the auction was very strong for historical medals, which is an area of interest to me.”
On the bourse, Miller met with his usual clients plus some new faces while enjoying the rarely seen combination of numismatics and philately at a show.
“It was nice to meet some new collectors, and the crossover between the top coin and stamp dealers is always encouraging,” said Miller, who has been dealing since 2007, when he revived the business established by his father in 1969.
One numismatist who had a hand in organizing the ONA Convention also took advantage of the opportunity to scour philatelic dealers’ offerings.
“Given I wear so many numismatic hats, I was run off my feet and spent at most 20 minutes on the bourse floor,” said ONA Secretary and convention co-ordinator Cassidy Stroud. “Mostly just chatting with the dealers, but I did purchase a very old postcard from Beeton, Ont., which is a town nearby to my home.”
Miller, who attended this spring’s National Show – the first in more than two years due to the pandemic – plans to return in April 2023 for Trajan’s next event.
“For me, it is definitely among my favourite shows because I like the venue, it is always well organized and Mike (Walsh, Trajan’s managing partner and the show’s organizer) makes the dealers feel very safe and welcome.”
As the pandemic stretches into its 30th month, the market for better material “is as strong as I have seen in a long time,” he added.
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