Len Augsburger attended the recent Great American Coin and Collectibles (GACC) show in Rosemont, IL, and passed along these photos and comments for readers. Thanks! -Editor

"This was a commercial show with not a lot of exhibits, club meetings, presentations, etc. I'm sure those will come over time if the show becomes a fixture."

"Shots from the SS Central America exhibit. This was nicely done and gathered artifacts not usually seen – indeed, there was only one "money case.""

"Separately there was an exhibit containing marketing literature related to the PCGS Regency holder, which is quite popular among slab collectors. PCGS has certified several of these ephemeral, marketing pieces. Think about that – is this the first numismatic literature that been "slabbed"? I have a few images here. To clarify, it was in acetate holders. Still certified. It was done by their currency division, not coins."

"This PCGS literature certification is the only the second such instance in history, for at the 1993 NBS meeting in Baltimore, John J. Ford was presented with a slabbed Stack's catalog certified by BUGS, the "Bibliographic Universal Grading Service."

"I believe that Scott Rubin and Marty Gengerke were among the merry pranksters who made this happen. They encased an actual Stack's catalog in a transparent hard plastic shell, making it impossible to open—which was, of course, the point of the joke. Ford was notorious for complaining about receiving Stack's softcover catalogs damaged in the mail, and the BUGS holder assured perfection.

"A photo was taken of a beaming Ford accepting the slabbed catalog, and the original print is in the NBS Archives.

"What I don't know is where the BUGS-slabbed Stack's catalog may be now. I cannot find evidence of it appearing in the Kolbe sales of the Ford Library. Perhaps JJF cracked it out for placement on his shelves?"