January 17, 2008 - Mid-Month Update

Wave of the Times

The first of the year seems to always be one of the busiest times for us here at Southgate Coins. I don’t know if it is due to the fact that we have lots of people selling off their collections to pay down their holiday debts, or if it is due to lots of post-holiday shoppers who are ready to spend their money that they got from grandma; but boy, have we been busy with both shoppers and sellers these first few weeks in January.

The winter cold and flu season seems to be in full swing as our staff has been suffering from a mixture of both over the past two weeks. Dare I mention that thankfully I have not caught the bug and don’t plan on it either (knock on wood, crossing fingers, etc.). My fellow co-workers and bosses however have not been as fortunate.

The ANA World’s Fair of Money is being held in Baltimore this August. As always our fearless leader Rusty Goe is planning a trip to the big event to host the annual Carson City Coin Collectors of America general meeting. We are awaiting confirmation from the ANA in regards to the official date, time, and meeting place for the annual event, and as soon as we have that information we will get the word out. Any members of the club are encouraged to make the trip to Baltimore to fellowship with fellow club members and get their comments and questions addressed. If you have not yet joined this exciting club, we invite you to do so. The C4OA offers a yearly subscription to its award-winning quarterly journal, Curry’s Chronicle. For more information regarding the application process please refer to the Carson City icon found on the bottom of the homepage.

Also in regards to the club, please be sure to check-out the club’s official blogsite at http://c4oa.blogspot.com. Remember that anyone on the internet can visit the site but only club members are authorized to post articles. Please keep checking the blogsite for updates and changes. We are working hard to make the site more desirable and to hold more information on our favorite niche of coins – the “CC” variety of course! If you are a club member and have yet to be signed-up to make postings to the site, please email me at mariesgate@sbcglobal.net for more information. It is our goal to get at least fifty percent of our membership roster signed-up for the online blogsite. So, don’t wait!

We are getting a lot of calls regarding customers looking to purchase Rusty Goe’s first book, The Mint on Carson Street. Please note that even though there is an informational page posted on our website, at this time, Southgate Coins is currently out-of-stock of these books. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you cannot find one to purchase… some suggestions might be to look on amazon.com, call your local Barnes and Noble or Borders bookstores, or even try Transline Supply Company. There is future talk of either a reprinting or a second edition of the book; however that is just in its preliminary stages at the current time.

Last week we were approached by local news station KOLO Channel 8 in regards to getting an “expert opinion” in regards to the current rise of gold prices. Thankfully our in-house coin expert was available and within no less than thirty minutes from the original call, our store transformed into a temporary news station complete with the local celebrity news anchor (John Tyson) and television cameras and microphones pointing right at Rusty. The news clip was run two times that night and of course we got it on tape!

Rusty and I are getting ready to make a trip to Carson City to give a lecture at the Nevada State Museum. We were asked by the curator of education and coordinator of volunteer tour guides to give a presentation to the future tour guides of the museum and get them up-to-speed on the importance of the Carson City Mint and what a role the museum plays in getting that word out to the general public. When asked to give this presentation, I immediately knew that Rusty was just the man to train the tour guides in this respect. If only the students of the lecture knew what was in store for them… I remember my “crash course” on the Carson City Mint when I first started.

The staff was fortunate to be given a long weekend over the New Year’s holiday to relax and prepare for 2008. All of the employees took advantage of this opportunity and made extravagant plans. Maya flew down to her hometown of Las Vegas to be with her family and friends for New Years. She swears though that she stayed away from the strip on the 31st as that is a “touristy” thing to do. Our newest team member Rachel actually was doing homework (now I wouldn’t call that extravagant)! She was a brave soul and decided to get a 3-credit class under her belt during the four week “wintermester” that the university holds during winter break. What a trooper she was. I myself flew-down to Los Angeles to attend the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena with my family and friends. I have always watched the parade from home on my television since I was a little girl, and when the chance to actually attend in person came along, I jumped at it! It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. We hope you all had equally wonderful New Years as well.

And remember, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Personally, I don’t think anything says “I love you” more than a new 2008 Proof Silver Eagle, which have just arrived. Be sure to get yours for your sweetheart before it is too late.

Until Next Time,

Amy