The Melbourne ANDA Coin and Banknote Show for 2009 was held on Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th July. The venue for this years show was the the Caulfield racetrack and not the Tennis centre where it has been held previously. This was a bit out of the way for us out-of-towners compared to the Melbourne Tennis Centre right in the city but we found it with the help of our friendly GPS.
What a great venue! Right beside the racetrack with plenty of free parking and right beside the train station. There was tons of room inside for all exhibitor tables and more. Lighting was an issue they'll need to address for future functions. Some tables away from the windows were very poorly lit making viewing difficult. There were plenty of show attendees but it didn't seem at all crowded due to the large expanses of the venue. With heating and good (but expensive) food on offer I would certainly go again but maybe with a packed lunch. We'd rather spend the money on coins!
A wide array of dealers were in attendance. It's good to see them from all over the country making an effort to attend. There were a number of local Melbourne dealers attending too (with a few notable exceptions) with lots and lots of stuff to view. Frequent show attendees present were Steele Waterman Coins, VP Coins, Klaus Ford Numismatics, Prospect Stamps and Coins, Sterling and Currency, Int Numis, Coinsearch, JPW Coins, Monetarium Adelaide, and Edlins just to name a few. Local dealers such as Klaus Ford and Peter Strich loaded up plenty of extra stock that others aren't able to bring due to airline restrictions. There were also the regular auction vendors in attendance Roxbury's, Downie's and IAG. A favourite of ours is Drake Sterling with their usual array of tempting PCGS slabbed coins. It's interesting to note that Drake Sterlings' idea here is quality and not quantity and cabinets of slabbed coins do look appealing.
The Perth Mint showed off their impressive array of recent issues. It's great to see them make an effort to attend. The RAM didn't attend this show with their portable press, a real disappointment for show-goers. We believe there was a representative from the RAM in attendance. Kudo's to one dealer who kept offering us a chocolate coin while we perused his stock. Perhaps we'll eat it next time.
Like the last Brisbane Coin and Banknote Show the ANDA released an overprinted 2009 mintset that was available only at the Melbourne show. The ANDA logo was printed on the slip cover this time, unlike the Brisbane Show which was just a sticker on the outer cover. These were limited to 2 sets per ticket holder. The other ANDA special release was a limited edition Perth Mint gilded Kookaburra with the ANDA logo on the box. Every hour show organisers would make an announcement over the PA system of the winner of the lucky door prize - sadly neither of our names came up. Vic Power of VP coins all the way from Queensland was also giving away his show special token for collectors spending $20 or more at his table, a nice token from Vic.
Overall a pleasing event to attend although Melbourne could have put on some better weather.
Posted by harrisk at July 5, 2009 5:45 PM
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