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by Wayne Homren, 19 Oct 1994
I thought I'd post a show report for last weekend's PAN convention in Pittsburgh:
The show was held at the Pittsburgh Expo Mart in Monroeville, PA. This is the first time we held the show at this site, and things worked out very well. Attendance was 1,850 people over the three days (up from 1,200 last year). 90 tables were sold. While there was never a big rush at the registration desk, traffic was steady throughout the weekend. Very few dealers left early. Nearly every dealer was pleased with the location and the show in general. Some did so well they encouraged us to add a second show in the spring. (We won't consider it for 1995, though).
Several specialty group meetings were held on Saturday. PATCO (Pennsylvania Area Token Collector's Organization) held a Swap meet from 10 til noon. Early American Coppers (EAC) met next, hosted by copper dealer Jim McGuigan. Dealer Tom Reynolds of Omaha, NE was also in attendance.
Civil War Token Society President Larry Dziubek presided over that organization's meeting. He showed a set of slides of CWTS. Several attendees lingered long after the meeting to buy and trade among themselves.
As VP of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS) I hosted the next meeting. I showed slides of the many private and public numismatic libraries he's visited in recent years. Among the attendees were Dave and Mollie Hirt of Frederick, MD. Conversations centered on the upcoming sale of the Champa library.
Saturday night's Banquet was very well received. Dr. Richard Doty, numismatic curator at the Smithsonian Institution, delivered an interesting illustrated lecture on images of Native Americans, Woman, and African-Americans on obsolete paper money. Autographed copies of two of Doty's books were auctioned following the presentation, raising over $150 for PAN.
PAN President John Eshbach won 1st Place for his exhibit on Medals of the Winter Olympics. The People's Choice award went to James Groninger for his display of Groningen Siege pieces.
Two things I forgot to mention:
The 1914-D cent dropped into circulation last October to promote the PAN show has still not turned up. David Krasnosky of Chattahoochie, FL submitted a 1914-D cent he found while searching a bag of wheat cents. After examination the cent turned out not to be the one spent by PAN; in fact, the coin is in better condition than the one spent. Krasnosky didn't win the prize, but he still has a nice 1914-D cent.
Much of the credit for the success of the PAN show belongs to Bourse organizers Kathy Sarosi and John Paul Sarosi of Johnstown, PA. Those who've seen her dedication know that Kathy is the "Theresa Darling" of Pennsylvania coin shows. Like the organizer of the now-famous Long Beach Expo, Kathy works tirelessly to follow up on all the little details needed to make the show a success for all involved. The organization can't thank her enough for her efforts. We tried though, making her blush with a presentation bouquet of roses at the show Friday afternoon.
Wayne Homren
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