Welcome to the latest of my Notes. I hope that the holiday season has been enjoyable for you and your family, and that among various festivities and observances you have had a chance to catch up on enjoying things yourself, perhaps by digging into an interesting numismatic book or two, or at least catching up with your reading of periodicals such as Coin World, Numismatic News, COINage, Coins Magazine, Numismatist, and The Bank Note Reporter. I mention these titles as I have a nice little pile of unread copies awaiting my time. Philosopher Oswald Spengler once wrote that one of life’s greatest comforts is a beckoning shelf of interesting unread books. I think the same is true of catalogues and magazines awaiting perusal.

As we head into the new year, many of us at Stack’s will be at the Florida United Numismatists Convention in Orlando. The FUN show, as everyone calls it, has been around for a long time. I haven’t kept track of the conventions I have attended—certainly not all of them—but the majority, dating back to nearly the formation of the group in the 1950s. In the earlier years the show moved around to different cities. Then came the arrival of Mickey Mouse in Orlando with Walt Disney World opening in 1971, I believe. I was there near the opening time, as I knew some of the Disney officials. This soon spawned a veritable entertainment city. In time, Universal City was built, other attractions were opened, and today I believe that Orlando is the number one vacation destination in the world. Las Vegas might give it some competition, but likely not for the entire family, as that city of gambling and entertainment is more oriented toward adults.

In recent times Orlando has been the focal city for the FUN Convention, as it is this year, but two years ago there was a glitch with the Orange County Convention Center, and FUN was held in Fort Lauderdale. Many of us felt this was a mistake, as we were so used to Orlando and its attractions, and looked forward to them each year. Indeed, scarcely a show goes by without my going to my favorite restaurant there, Christini’s, and checking out the menu. Fort Lauderdale proved to be a great show, however, and we all enjoyed it—a nice change that will be remembered for a long time. Unlike Orlando which is inland, Fort Lauderdale is on the seacoast—providing an interesting view of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean from many hotel room windows.

This year at FUN we have a grand auction on Tuesday the 2nd, which promises to be very interesting and important. The venue is at the Renaissance Hotel at Sea World, a very nice facility which we used last year, prompting us to come back now. Then comes a day of catch-up, then the FUN Convention. I will be at the early part of the FUN Show and look forward to seeing you if you plan to attend.

While the Internet has not replaced attending an interesting convention such as the FUN Show, it has become an important and useful supplement to auctions. Today all of our sales have excellent, indeed heavy participation on the Internet. In effect, you can be in the auction gallery while sitting in your favorite chair at home!

Next week I’ll discuss some New Year’s resolutions that might be worth adopting!

All good wishes.

Best Wishes,