The 59th annual FUN show will be January 9-12th, 2014 at the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Drive, Hall E, West Concourse. Dealer set-up is Wednesday the 8th 2PM to 8PM. Early Birds get in at 4PM. The show opens to the public on Thursday at 10AM.
The show will feature over 600 dealer booths, 16 educational seminars, the YN & Scout Programs, the coin club program, the Heritage Auction, competitive exhibits, and much more.
Whether you're an exhibitor or an attendee, we have all the info for you right here on funtopics.com. Check out the FUN Convention info page for general information about the January show, or, if you are interested in becoming an exhibitor, you may want to check out our comprehensive exhibits section for all the forms you need to get on the floor.
Admission to the show is always FREE to the public! However, show attendees must first stop by the public registration booths and pick up their “HELLO” badge before entering the bourse floor.
See you in January!
Florida United Numismatists, Inc. is an organization dedicated to involving and growing the numismatic community both in Florida and throughout the world. We achieve this through several activities, including:
Clubs: You're invited! 2014 FUN Coin Club Get Together
Clubs: Need bus assistance to FUN? Club Bus Trip to FUN Application
Need a hotel for FUN? 2014 FUN Show Hotel Info
The FUN President's 2013 ANA Report
The FUN President's Summer FUN 2013 Show Report
Big discovery by Randy Campbell of ICG at Summer FUN
FUN SHOW LOCATION
The gigantic January show is rapidly approaching! Do you know where to go once you arrive in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) at 9800 International Drive? The FUN show is moving from our previous location in the North-South Building back to our “old” Hall E in the West Building. This is where we were in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, for those of you who have been loyal FUN supporters since that time. As you face the West Building, Hall E is to your far right and is beside the Rosen Plaza Hotel. And, speaking of the Rosen Plaza Hotel, it is now connected to the OCCC with a covered walkway, just as the Rosen Centre is also connected. The Hyatt is convenient, as well, across the street. The Hyatt was formerly the Peabody, but was bought and the name changed as of October 1 of this year. I hope this information will help you navigate once you arrive in the area.
PARKING FEES & SHUTTLE BUSES
Driving instructions are posted on our convention page, and include directions into the parking lot for the West Building. Turn off of International Drive onto either Exhibit Drive or Convention Way (between the Rosen Hotels and the West Building) to access the parking lot. Please note that the normal parking rate is $15/day, but FUN has negotiated a discounted rate of $9/day. Be sure to tell them at the parking gate entrance that you are attending the FUN convention and pay the reduced rate. When the parking lot behind the West Building is full, cars will be sent to the North-South Building parking lot. FUN is running free shuttle bus service from both parking lots to the entrance of the show for your convenience. You can also catch the shuttle back to your car when you depart for the day.
If you park behind the West Building and prefer to walk, you can enter the back of the building behind Hall C, which is in the center of the building. Ride the escalator up to the second level, walk down the hallway alongside Hall C, then come back down to the first level via the escalator. Follow the signs to Hall E.
HERITAGE AUCTION
In addition to the monstrous size of the FUN show, you will definitely want to check out the auction lots being offered by Heritage, FUN’s official auction company. You can pick up auction catalogs at their lot viewing room, W230AB. You can also contact them in advance or check their website for more FUN auction details. Their advertising is currently being released and the Olsen specimen of the 1913 Liberty Nickel, the second finest of only five known, will go to the auction block during FUN, as well as Part II of the Eric P. Newman collection. Some historically significant coins will be sold during FUN 2014, so don’t miss out! You can bid if you can’t attend the convention. Contact Heritage directly for details at 1-800-872-6467.
REGISTRATION
There is no pre-registration for the public. Admission is free, but once you arrive at the FUN convention you will need to go to the Public Registration booths and pick up a “HELLO” badge to enter the show. Dealers with tables need to report to the Dealer Registration booths. Your photo ID information will be filed alphabetically by the dealer’s business name. If you are sharing a bourse space with another dealer, all information is filed under the primary dealer’s business name.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS
Have you made your hotel reservations? If not, please do so ASAP. Some of our initial room blocks sold out early, and we were able to secure more rooms. However, the Surf Expo is also in town and there is healthy competition for hotel rooms during the FUN show dates. You can make hotel reservations online via FUN’s website, or you can make them via telephone by calling 1-800-282-6632. This is a Baltimore housing bureau, but they do service the FUN shows, too! Beware of anyone who calls you on the phone to solicit a hotel reservation! There are people calling from the Las Vegas area who seem to have acquired a thorough list of coin show dealers. They offer rooms at reduced rates, but they generally do not have any room blocks at any hotel and you do not want to do business with them. Never give them a credit card number. To make matters more confusing, one of the callers this year says her name is “Cindy.” It’s not me!
SPECIAL GUESTS AND ACTIVITIES AND EXHIBITS
Be sure to allow plenty of time to navigate our bourse floor. In addition to the multitude of dealer tables, we have an impressive selection of guests and activities to entertain you. The Piedmont Gold Panners are coming from North Carolina to teach you how the old timers obtained their gold. The dirt is salted with gold, and you get to keep what you find! The American Numismatic Association is bringing in a special exhibit, sponsored by FUN. Mike Bean will be with us and he’s bringing his spider press. Mike’s educational demonstrations give a clear picture of how paper money was printed before we had the high-powered machines of today. Returning to the FUN show this year after several years away is the Eureka Mint. They will come from Arkansas and teach us how coins were struck “back in the day.” Seeing these exhibits and learning how things were done in the past will give you a new understanding and appreciation of the minting and printing processes. Speaking of exhibits, we also have our large area for competitive exhibits placed by some of our FUN members. Be sure to take a look to broaden your numismatic knowledge and vote for the exhibit you like best. We will also have impersonators on site for both Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee. They love to “meet and greet” the public. There are also several book and supply dealers to help you with your reference collection and numismatic supplies.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
FUN offers a very full line-up of educational seminars running throughout the days of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. At this time there are five seminars scheduled for each day. I don’t have all the details at this time, but some of the topics will include silver dollar varieties, investment advice, grading of coins, Mercury Dimes, detecting counterfeit and altered coins, and world coins. There are many more seminars offered, so be sure to check the complete line-up on our website or the convention program once you arrive so you won’t miss anything of interest.
FUN GIVES AWESOME AND VALUABLE NUMISMATIC-RELATED EXHIBIT PRIZES!
Submit your application to exhibit and you may be a winner. You will also receive a silver medal and valuable feedback from FUN's judges so you can improve your exhibit for future displays. For more details, check out FUN's Exhibit Page and this year's prize list
CLUB ACTIVITIES
Do you belong to a local or speciality club? Is your club a member of FUN? FUN welcomes clubs of all kinds. For our Florida clubs, we have a bus program that is sponsored by FUN. Your FUN member club can submit a request for financial aid from FUN. You need at least 20 people, and you must charter a bus to FUN. FUN reimburses you $25/person up to 40 people (maximum $1,000.00), or the cost of the bus, whichever is less, to bring a bus full of your club members to the FUN convention. There is also a club get-together on Saturday at noon so everyone can share ideas and club news. Each club may send no more than two representatives to the meeting.
YOUNG NUMISMATIST (YN) ACTIVITIES
We offer our collectors of the future a designated Coins and Kids area on the bourse floor with educational activities and projects to entertain them. On Saturday there is a special program in the morning just for our YNs. Attendees must be YN members of FUN, and dues are only $5/year. Each child will learn about coins and collecting, receive a goody bag, and have lunch, compliments of FUN. Saturday afternoon offers a Scouting seminar open to all Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. They can earn their collecting merit badges during this program. Registration for the Scouting seminar is required.
