Pittsburgh next week — and the grading class I accidentally signed up for twice

I fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow for the ANA World's Fair of Money, August 25–29 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. It's the biggest coin show in the country, it's my first one as a dealer rather than just a guy walking the floor with a want list, and I'm bringing coins to sell.

The class I already took

Before the bourse opens I'm spending Sunday and Monday in Intermediate Grading. I signed up months ago, was very pleased with myself, and only recently worked out what I'd actually done: Intermediate Grading is the same course as Grading II — the one I took at Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs back in June and wrote about here. The ANA just names it differently depending on where it's offered. Summer Seminar calls them Grading I and Grading II; on the road they're Introduction to Grading and Intermediate Grading.

So if you're browsing the ANA course catalog and something looks new, check the description and not the title. Consider that my public service announcement for the year.

I'm going anyway, and not just because I already paid for it. The entire method of that class is reps — you look at a coin, you commit to a grade out loud, you find out what it really is, and you do it again. That's not something you finish. Different instructors, different coins in the trays, a couple of months of practice since June, and the same brutal AU-to-Mint-State range where one point moves the price the most. I'll take that twice.

I'm bringing coins

This is the part I'm genuinely nervous about and genuinely excited for. I'm bringing a case of certified material with me to sell — the same coins you'll find in the shop, everything in PCGS, NGC, or CAC holders, priced the way I'd want to be quoted if I were standing on the other side of the table.

If you're going to be in Pittsburgh and you want to see something in person before you buy it, message me before the show and I'll make sure it's in the case rather than in the safe deposit box at the bank.

Tell me what you're hunting

I'll also be walking the bourse with my own want list, and I'm happy to carry yours. If there's something specific you've been chasing — a date, a grade, a variety, a CAC example of something stubborn — put it on your want list or just email me before Monday. A show floor this size is the one place a hard-to-find coin actually turns up, and I'd rather be looking for something on purpose than browsing.

Come say hi

Whether you're buying, selling, or just want to talk about why copper lies to you differently than silver does, come find me. Half the value of a show this size is the people, and I'd genuinely rather meet a collector than make a sale.

And if you'd rather talk about something that isn't coins, I'm just as happy to. I build software, and lately most of it has AI somewhere in it. NumiGrade came straight out of a grading class — built between sessions because the drill we were doing all day so obviously wanted to be an app. Numikeep came from a quieter one — it's a free place to catalog what you own, keep track of what it's worth, and write down what should happen to the collection if you're not around to explain it to your family. Everything running behind this shop is the same story: the inventory system, the photography pipeline, the pricing tools. If you're curious what any of that could do for your own collection, or you just want to argue about where all this is headed, that's a conversation I'll take every time.

My evenings are mostly open too. I've got dinner with friends on Wednesday night, but any other night that week I'd happily grab a meal, or a beer or two, with whoever's around. Some of the best conversations I've had in this hobby happened after the bourse closed for the day.

Email me at mike@snowpackcoins.com and we'll sort out where and when.

— Mike