Last weekend was the Sydney ANDA Coin and Banknote Show at the Royal Randwick racecourse in Sydney (Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th of August). We usually give readers fly on the wall details about the going on at these shows (including the previous Melbourne show) but this, our first trip to the Sydney show was a fleeting one.
Randwick racecourse was easy to find with help from the GPS. We drove up the Sydney on Friday which allowed us to stay in the city and visit some coin shops in the city that we knew wouldn't be attending the show. The show opened at 10am the next day and we arrived about 10 past hoping to avoid a wait in line. Getting in was quick and easy with security and entrance officials lovely and polite and friendly.
Similar to Melbourne, the Sydney venue is a function room/bar used for racing events. A vast expanse of light coming through the windows with plenty of room for the dealers tables it was a comfortable venue for the event.
Many well known dealers had their usual tables including Waterman's Coins, Prospect Stamps and Coins, Downies, Sterling and Currency, VP Coins, Monetarium Adelaide, Rare Coin Co, John Eccles, Klaus Ford Numismatics, Edlins, JPW Coins, IAG and International Numismatics just to rattle off a few.
A few less often seen dealers of note were Drake Sterling, Ye Olde Coin Co and At the Toss of a Coin.
A notable absence was Renniks so those hoping to stock up on supplies headed on over to the At the Toss of a Coin table which was selling our own The Purple Penny Coin accessories. We helped Gerry McGinley at this table for most of the day on Saturday chatting to visitors and catching up with coin friends and online customers.
Saturday was very busy with hardly a chair to be had to sit down and browse dealers tables until after about 2pm when it quietened off a bit. Some dealers made a lot of sales whilst for others the whole event was a bit slow. The fees to have a table at the show are quite high and it can be very difficult for smaller dealers to simply make costs at these ANDA shows. By 4:30 the day was well and truly over (doors didn't close until 6pm) and some delaers went next door for a bit of a punt on a horse race. We were, after all, at the racecourse! A win on the horses was enough for some dealers to cover costs that weren't made from sales.
The Perth Mint and The Royal Australian Mint were in attendance and both were selling special show issues. When I asked the RAM assistant if the show special was the S over kangaroo privy mark silver proof dollar I got a blank look and he proceeded to open up the coin box to see. I managed to teach him about his own product that he was selling!
As with the other shows this year ANDA provided guest speakers including Rob Jackman (Rare Coin Co), Andrew Crellin (Sterling and Currency), Bron Suchecki (The Perth Mint) and Mark Van de Slys (CEO of Bullionmark) discussing investing and trading for wealth. One might have to put some thought into speaking at the next show about Collecting for Fun and the enjoyment of coins without breaking the budget.
We're sorry that we cannot comment on day two of the show as we had other commitments and a long drive hime. Overall a fun time was had with a few bargains found and purchased.
Posted by harrisk at August 20, 2010 7:07 PM
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